True Police
Stories
"Courage is the ability to move;
when all around you are frozen in fear
and no one would blame you if you did nothing at all."
Capt. Click. Phx. PD
My Name is Warren Solomon
Taken from the book Think
About it... for your reading convenience
It is a great honor to add my testimony to that of my “Brothers.” I call them my
brothers because they
and all of us have the same loving and merciful Father who lives in heaven. I
also call them my
brothers because of our profession. We are police officers. Police officers are
peculiar people. They
face many challenges and obstacles. They are often hated, loved, blamed and
thanked all in one shift.
Officers see much of death, sorrow, pain, poverty and many other negatives in
life. For this reason,
I’m ever grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for our Savior Jesus Christ.
Without the knowledge I have of God’s plan for His children,
I probably would have no faith in mankind or care for anyone else.
I’m presently a Sergeant for the Mesa Police Department and have been in law
enforcement for over
ten years. Eight of those years I have been on the SWAT team. Many times I have
said a silent prayer
to my Father in Heaven when things looked or felt bad. As a SWAT team member, I
often do “High
Risk Entries” into buildings for search warrants, or dope houses on narcotic
raids, or to apprehend
high risk fugitives of justice, or for suicidal or homicidal people or for some
other situation where the
possibility of violence is very high.
Sometimes it is to apprehend the guilty,
sometimes it is to protect the innocent.
In most cases, there is a silence among the entry team before the mission. Some
are going over the
entry plan in their heads, while others are contemplating what if scenarios and
still others are saying
silent prayers. The entry team has said a prayer as a group on a few occasions.
Why do these rough
and tough SWAT officers pray or have a time of silence? Because they know, deep
in their hearts that
God exists and listens to His children.
I think that all men call upon God when they are in a desperate situation or
humbled by a misfortune.
There is a saying among soldiers on the battle field. It goes, “There are no
atheists in a fox hole.” I
believe that to be a true statement. What we need to realize is that our
Heavenly Father wants to hear
from us in good times as well as bad times. We should always give Him thanks for
the blessings of
everyday gifts that are too often taken for granted.
We who live in the United States of America are the most blessed people of all.
This land was
declared a land of promise, a land of freedom, a land free from bondage. It is a
land protected by our
Heavenly Father. This land will continue as such as long as we, the citizens of
this land do only one
thing ...serve God. Serving God is simply doing those things that each of us
know in our heart and
souls, is right. Living the Golden Rule by treating others as we would have them
treat us is a great
start to keeping our country great and our families strong.
I know that Heavenly Father has not left us alone in our efforts to do good
deeds and to combat evil.
He has given us the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost can give us counsel, strengthen
us in time of
temptation, confirm answers from our Heavenly Father and can be a voice of
warning. I mention the
Holy Ghost because He has been a great strength to me and has kept me safe. Many
times I have
walked into a situation at work and I have had the Spirit tell me that something
is wrong. That is
when I step back, get a back-up or just get out of the area until I feel better
about the situation.
One case in particular comes to mind when the Holy Ghost helped me. I was
working a graveyard
shift when I received a call from dispatch of a 911 hang-up. It was at a mobile
home. I was riding
with another officer that night. As we approached the front door, we could see
three adults drinking
in the living room, but everything appeared to be normal. My partner handled the
call and knocked
on the door. A woman answered the door and she immediately became enraged. She
punched my
partner in the face and ran down the hall. I chased the woman down the hall but
was confronted by
another woman who tried to stop me from apprehending the woman that had just
assaulted my
partner. I eventually got past the second woman and headed down the hall. As I
reached the end
bedroom, I was totally caught off guard. The woman suddenly came out of the
bedroom with a
revolver. She had it raised and pointed at my head.
I can still remember staring down the barrel of her gun.
I can still remember seeing that cylinder loaded with bullets.
I was close enough to see that the bullets were hollow points.
If she fired, there would be no way she could miss me!
Police officers are trained to instantly react to life threatening situations.
Not to stop and think about
them. So without thinking, I did as my training had taught me. I drew my weapon,
stepped behind
a door jam for cover while instantly picking a clear front sight and began to
squeeze the trigger to
counter the threat before me. What happened next, I did not expect.
A clear voice and feeling came to me that she would not shoot.
It was made clear to me that I was to stop squeezing the trigger
of my weapon and that I was in no danger as she would not shoot me.
I was stunned by this feeling. It was against all my training, but I listened
and I backed off of the
trigger. Suddenly she dropped the revolver and ran back into the bedroom. When
word got around
the department about my armed confrontation, I was told by many of my fellow
officers, “You are
an idiot! You could have been killed!” By law and by policy, I would have been
more than justified
in taking the life of that woman. But the Spirit unmistakably spoke to my soul.
The Spirit has never
led me astray nor will it ever mislead me. That I know! No matter what anybody
said, I knew I had
done the right thing in not shooting her. I spoke to that woman several months
later after her plea
bargain. She told me the same thing the Spirit had told me that night. That she
never intended to
shoot me.
Had I shot her and had she died,
there would be three more motherless children on the earth today
and I would have great regrets for not listening to the Spirit and obeying.
I wish to testify of one more truth, and that is of repentance and forgiveness.
One hears much about
Jesus Christ and why it is important to accept Him into your life. All of us
have weaknesses and all
of us have sinned. So, a Savior was provided that we may be forgiven and return
to our Heavenly
Father. That Savior is Jesus Christ. He gave of His perfect life, a sacrifice
for you and me. All we
need to do is accept His sacrifice and do His will.
An ancient prophet named Alma learned how beautiful and comforting repentance
can be. Alma was
an enemy to God and persecuted those that believed in Christ. He led a life of
wickedness and sin.
Alma knew of Heavenly Father because of his father who was also named Alma. Alma
the younger
had been taught by his father in his youth. But Alma the younger wouldn’t
listen. One day Alma the
younger was visited by an angel and commanded to stop the destruction he was
causing. Alma
immediately realized the seriousness of what he had done by his persecution.
Alma had a perfect
recollection of all his guilt and sins. He began to suffer tremendously. Alma
then remembered the
teaching of his father. He remembered that Christ would die for our sins and
that we could be
forgiven of all sins. This principle of forgiveness motivated Alma to repent and
immediately he
experienced great joy and happiness. He no longer had the pain of sin, but now
had the joy of
forgiveness.
Each of us can also experience exquisite joy in our lives as we repent and call
on Christ. More
importantly, our families will benefit from our repenting. Sin distracts us from
those things that bring
us true happiness and peace of mind. Regardless of your job, social status,
political views or other
factors that make us all different and unique, we all have two things in common.
We are the sons and daughters of God,
and we are here on earth for a purpose and not by mere chance.
I know these things to be true!
Sergeant (&RM) Warren Solomon Badge #8183
If you are or were a police officer,
soldier, fireman
or wife, mother, father of such or some other branch of emergency
personnel
and would like to share an unusual testimony building experience with
others,
please contact us for details at
Samuel@ldscops.com
or use the link on the front page of this site at
www.LDSCOPS.com
Thank you and God bless,