PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lori Sitler or Janice Fitzsimons
Phone: (302) 577-8314
Pager: (302) 247-1132
Date: November 24, 2004

NOTE TO EDITOR: This article was drafted by Attorney General Jane Brady to call attention to Project Blue Light this holiday season. Please feel free to use it as the basis for a news story or as a submission to the editorial page.


PROJECT BLUE LIGHT

By: Attorney General M. Jane Brady

The holiday season is a time to gather with family and friends to celebrate timeless traditions. At this time of the year, we reflect, assess, and take the time to find ways to give back to those who have given so much to us. We take time to let people who are important to us know that we appreciate them and that they are in our thoughts.

The holiday season is also a difficult time for those who have lost a loved one. Family traditions
are bittersweet, and the loss more acute as, all around, others share special times and make new memories. Some of those we have lost are public servants who put their lives on the line each day to keep us safe - law enforcement officers. 

This year, start a new tradition and remember these very special people - both those we have lost, and those who continue to serve - put a blue light in your window and participate in Project Blue Light. 

Project Blue Light was started by Dolly Craig, whose son-in-law, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty. She put a blue light in her window to remember him at the holidays. Since 1989, the program has grown tremendously. Original participants included law enforcement officers, their families and departments. Today, businesses, organizations and citizens in their communities participate. They want to let their neighbors and police know that they recall the sacrifices made by those no longer with us, and that they support those who work, every day, regardless of the danger, to keep their communities safe.

Every year, police officers in this country are killed in the line of duty. On average, a law enforcement officer dies in the line of duty every 39 hours. Delaware has not been spared the trauma of losing an officer, even during this year. Through the years, over 80 Delaware law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty. Some of the families of those officers burn a blue light in their window every day of the year in honor of their loved ones. COPS (Concerns of Police Survivors) is comprised of family members who have lost loved ones in the line of duty, and provides assistance to the families of those officers killed in the line of duty. COPS promotes Project Blue Light, and has a chapter in Delaware. 

By participating in Project Blue Light, let us remember the officers who made the ultimate sacrifice and, as we do, honor those who are protecting us now.

For more information about Delaware’s local COPS chapter, contact, Capt. Rick Pulling, Jr., Chapter Director at (302) 739-2454.

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