IN HONOR OF CPL. JAMES O’CONNOR, PHILADELPHIA, PA POLICE
National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers Grieves The On-Duty Death of Philadelphia SWAT Officer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dated: Friday March 13, 2020
The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc. (NABLEO), and our Philadelphia-area chapter, the Guardian Civic League, both as organizations of career law enforcement professionals and individual members of the various African American communities we serve, join with the members of the Philadelphia, PA Police Department and the City of Philadelphia community in their grief and sorrow at the tragic death of Cpl. James O’Connor, age 46 years old, on March 13, 2020. Cpl. O’Connor, the first member of the Philadelphia Police Department to suffer a tragic on-duty death since 2015, was fatally shot and killed during the service of an arrest warrant for a suspect wanted in a local homicide.
A 23 year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, 15 years of which were served as a member of the department’s SWAT Team, Cpl. O’Connor leaves behind a wife, and two children, a son who is a member of the Philadelphia Police Department currently serving in the 9th District and a daughter, who is a member of the United States Air Force.
The loss of any member of our law enforcement family is a burden that is shared by all who have chosen to dedicate themselves to serve and protect our communities, transcends the barriers of race and ethnicity, and brings despair to all who wear the uniform and badge. We honor the service of Cpl. James O’Connor, whose life was taken so suddenly and needlessly. We share the grief of his family, friends, and co-workers, and extend our heartfelt condolences to the entire Philadelphia Police Department, even while knowing that these sentiments are not enough.
Yet we shall also rejoice in his coming unto The Lord, Our God and Savior, for He, in His Great Omnipotence and Wisdom, has called him to His side. For He is the arbiter of our fate, and in Him lies our strength and redemption.
The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc, a 501.(c).(3) non-profit, is a premier national organization representing the interests and concerns of African American, Latino and other criminal justice practitioners of color serving in law enforcement, corrections, and investigative agencies throughout the United States, and the communities in which they serve.
