Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class Brent Scrimshire, who was shot and killed in the line of duty last month, was recently honored by the global nonprofit organization Point 27, which presented all of his fellow officers with Thin Blue Line Shields of Strength dog tags.
Founded and based in Atlanta, Point 27 awards the tags, which are engraved with the Biblical quote from Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God," to members of the military, veterans and law enforcement officers, including high volume gifts in partnership with Concerns of Police Survivors, Tragedy Assistance Program for (military) Survivors and The Gary Sinise Foundation.
Scrimshire, an eight-year veteran of the HSPD, was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop on March 10.
HSPD Cpl. Joey Williams said Tuesday that all 108 of Scrimshire's fellow officers in the department received the dog tags, which have an American flag on one side and the Scripture quote on the back.
Point 27 also presented Scrimshire's family with Folded Flag pendant necklaces inscribed with John 15:15, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."
"We are forever grateful for these brave men and women in law enforcement," retired U.S. Army Col. David Dodd, the founder and executive director of Point 27, said in a news release.
"We are presenting Thin Blue Line Dog Tags to the officers who served closest with Scrimshire, to thank them for their putting their lives on the line to protect their communities. The dog tag is engraved with a Bible verse and serves as a physical reminder that God is with them day and night as they patrol and protect the streets of their communities. We want them to know we appreciate and value them," he said.
"For the families of the fallen officers, we pray the Scripture on the Folded Flag Pendant Necklaces reminds them that we will never forget their loved ones."
Two officers were killed in the line of duty in Arkansas in 2019 and none in 2018. With the help of a growing number of outreach coordinators in states across the country, Point 27 has honored every line-of-duty death in every state reported in the past two years in the country, their agencies and their families with gifts of Shields of Strength, the release said.
"Point 27 plans to continue that practice in 2020, with the ultimate goal to equip every law enforcement officer in the country with a gift of the Thin Blue Line Shield of Strength: 111,000 officers equipped; representing about 10% of the estimated one million law enforcement officers serving in this country," it said.
Marcia Davis, communications representative for Point 27, told The Sentinel-Record Tuesday the organization gets its funding from donations and anyone wishing to contribute can go to the website https://point27.org/ to donate to the cause or to request dog tags.
Davis said Point 27 follows the Officer Down Memorial page website and receives notification when an officer is killed in the line of duty.
"Immediately, Point 27's national coordinator contacts the respective law enforcement agency to offer the Thin Blue Line Shields of Strength, gets the contact information for mailing and asks the number of surviving family members and depends on the agency to distribute the Folded Flag Necklaces to the family of the fallen," she said.
According to the release, Dodd commanded a battalion of the first troops deployed to Afghanistan following 9/11. He wore a Shield of Strength next to his government-issued dog tags inscribed with Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
He equipped each of the soldiers in his command with a Joshua 1:9 dog tag before they deployed. He founded Point 27, after retiring from 27 years of military service, he said, "to encourage members of the military, veterans and families of the fallen with Shields of Strength inscribed with the Scriptures which encouraged him and the troops in his command."
Local on 04/08/2020