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ATLANTA, Ga. (July 15, 2020)–Point 27, a global nonprofit based in Atlanta, Georgia, https://point27.org/ recently honored fallen Simpson County Deputy Sheriff James Blair, who was shot and killed while transporting a subject from an involuntary psychiatric evaluation at a mental health facility on June 12.
Point 27, directed and founded by US (Ret.) Army Col. David Dodd, honored Blair by sending gifts of Thin Blue Line Shields of Strength dog tag necklaces engraved with Mathew 5:8: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God,” to the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department.
For Blair’s family members, Point 27 also sent gifts of 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,” Dodd said. “We are presenting Thin Blue Line Dog Tags to the deputies who served closest with Blair, to thank these officers for putting their lives on the line every day 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.
“For Blair’s family members, we pray the scripture on the Folded Flag Pendant Necklaces reminds them that we will never forget their loved ones,” he said.
Since its founding, Point 27 has awarded gifts of several hundred thousand Shields of Strength to members of the military, veterans and law enforcement officers, including high volume gifts in partnership with the national organizations: Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), Tragedy Assistance Program for [military] Survivors (TAPS) and The Gary Sinise Foundation.
Since 2018, Point 27 has honored all law enforcement officers in America, who die from all causes suffered in the line of duty. Line of duty deaths have included deaths from 9/11-related illnesses, and now Point 27 recognizes COVID-19 as another threat to law enforcement, and honors officers who die from the virus they were exposed to on duty.
“The ultimate goal is to equip every law enforcement officer in the country with a gift of the Thin Blue Line Shield of Strength: more than 111,000 officers equipped; representing about 10 percent of the estimated one million law enforcement officers serving in this country,” Dodd said.
With the help of a growing number of outreach coordinators in states across the country, Point 27 has honored every fallen law enforcement officer (line-of-duty deaths) in every state reported by the Officer Down Memorial Page in the past two years in the US, their agencies and their families with gifts of Shields of Strength. Point 27 continues 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: more than 111,000 officers equipped; representing about 10 percent of the estimated one million law enforcement officers serving in this country.
Dodd commanded a battalion of the first troops deployed to Afghanistan following 911. He wore a Shield of Strength inscribed with Joshua 1:9 next to his government-issued dog tags, and 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.”
In 2015, law enforcement officers requested Thin Blue Line Shields of Strength and specified the scripture they wanted on the dog tags.
MageeNews.com is an online news source covering Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi.
