Dear COBA Members;

Over the last several months we have all experienced an incredible amount of stress and upheaval in our lives. Almost 100 COBA members tested positive for COVID-19. Several Officers and members of their families had to be hospitalized. Numerous others suffered through periods of quarantine due to exposure. Some of our Uniformed and Civilian retiree friends have passed from COVID. Unfortunately many of our members including myself, had family members die from this horrible disease and pandemic. The economy collapsed, leaving 40 million people unemployed almost instantly, including again many of our own family members, placing an even bigger burden on us to provide for our families.
 
Then, this terrible and completely unnecessary incident in Minneapolis occurred, unraveling what was left of the fabric that held our society together. Peaceful and righteous protests were co-opted by Anarchists, far left Antifa groups and far right supremacist groups as detailed and confirmed in a recent report by the FBI. Add in criminal opportunists and paid actors who were sent to specific areas to incite unrest along with paralyzed, useless government officials and all we are left with is destroyed neighborhoods with helpless people in need of support and a continued pandemic that we're barely beginning to phase out of.

Individually, these things would be enough to create anxiety, fear, uncertainty and anger. Combined they are a powder keg of emotions that could blow up at any time. We can't let that happen.

I have always been very proud of the members of this Union and Department. Some of you drive me crazy and I know some of you don't like me, but thats life, it comes with the territory. To be clear, during this COVID crisis you all showed an incredible amount of courage in the face of adversity dealing with this unseen enemy. We all worked together to provide equipment and supplies and donations to keep you safe. You all came to work every day and did your jobs despite this fear of the unknown. We also have a new Administration in the middle of all this creating more unknowns. I am hopeful that we can have a good working relationship with them as we figure each other out and continue the fight to restore this Dept to its rightful and respected place in the Law Enforcement Community after having been decimated and demoralized by horrible past administrators.

To be clear, and some may not agree with me, but we in Corrections are a family. Dysfunctional at times yes, and like any family we have problems.
We come from many different backgrounds, races, religions, nationalities, ethnic groups, male and female. We are going to have differences of opinion. We will squabble and argue because we've had different experiences in life. But in the end I hope we all realize that we are one team performing one of the most dangerous jobs in Law Enforcement together. Unfortunately, all the stress we have all been under has started to show, and its only natural. We all have strong opinions on issues facing us in this world, and we're all stressed out over what's been going on, but we have to realize that our Brother and Sister Officers have opinions that need to be respected also. That is a two way street for every single one of us. One thing I have always tried to stress with this job is that together we are strong as a group. In the end, we are all we have. We cant rely on politicians who are nothing but opportunists. We cant rely on Administrators who historically come and go. We can only rely on each other for what matters most, our personal safety and a mutual respect for ourselves and the professional essential job we perform for the residents of Nassau County every single day.

The main thing is keeping everything in perspective. If you need to work off frustrations, buy a punching bag. If you need some professional help with issues that are weighing you down, seek it out. Don't let things boil over to the point where you say or do something that you'll regret immediately.
Respect yourself. Respect your partners right to their opinions, even if you don't like what they're saying. Remember, we never know what burdens our fellow Officers may be carrying.

At each Recruit Orientation we always say the following: Look around the room. Some of these people may end up being your friends for life. Some you may not like and never hang around with. But one of the people in this room may actually save your life someday.  

If you're reading this and wondering if this message is geared to anyone in particular, you're right. It's geared to every single Correction Officer and Supervisor on this job and in this Union.  

You cannot DEMAND respect, you can only EARN it.

Always in Unity;
Brian Sullivan, COBA President