Metroplex Concerns of Police Survivors
PO Box 701
Mansfield, TX 76063
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
2011 – 2012 Executive Board
President
Maria Barreda-Alvarado, P/1997
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
On February 14, 1997, my life came to a sudden halt. My son, Corporal Richard (Ricky) Barreda was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident while in pursuit of a speeding motorist at DFW International Airport. Part of me died that Valentine’s Day. My family’s lives were completely shattered.
I became involved with Metroplex C.O.P.S. and soon discovered I was not alone. There were other survivors, and I was embraced. Those who had come before reached out to me. I now extend a hand to those that have just begun their journey that I and so many others have traveled.
Our National C.O.P.S. is there to recognize and honor the sacrifice of our officers and those of us that are left behind. It feels good to know others work so they will never be forgotten!
To our communities we want them to know we exist and there are needs to be met, and we need your help. We do not walk alone just as we cannot fulfill the growing needs of our survivors alone. I ask you to be part of the C.O.P.S. family and get involved. I have made some good friendships along this journey and they have had an impact on my life.
There will be more survivors in the future, that will not go away…and neither will we. I am only a phone call away at (817) 946-9806.
“We comfort each other, always remembering.”
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
EOW 02/14/1997
Vice President
Joyce Wisdom, P/1992
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
On September 2, 1992 as our family ate breakfast together we had no idea that that would be the last time the four of us would be together. Our oldest son, Brent, was a Fort Worth, TX police officer just 6 months on the job. He and I had lunched together that day before he left for work. That evening right before his shift was over he was dispatched to help a man and his 14 year old son with a flat tire. Brent helped them change their tire and as they were putting the flat tire in the trunk a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.25 going approximately 50 mph slammed into Brent’s body pinning him between the two cars and dragging him down the street about 70 feet which ripped both of his legs off his body. Brent passed away later that night at Harris Hospital and our family’s lives have never been the same again.
Brent lost his life helping someone else and that is what has kept me involved with C.O.P.S. I feel like this is time I get to spend with Brent while focusing on helping other police survivors and working toward supporting them rebuild their lives as I rebuild mine too.
We are all survivors (parents, spouse, children, siblings, in-laws, and co-workers), and sad to say there will be others that follow along after us, so I urge you to come and be a part of the Metroplex C.O.P.S. family and help us reach out and meet the needs of present and future survivors.
Fort Worth Police Department EOW 09/02/1992
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
My husband, Officer Dwayne Freeto, had worked for Fort Worth PD for just 9 short months when I received the knock on the door the early hours of December 17, 2006. I was in no way prepared the hear what the officers that were at my door told me. They said Dwayne was involved in an accident and didn't survive. At that very moment, my life changed and a wave of emotions went through my body like no other and the one that took over was shock. Our girls were 3 and 9 at the time and I was forced to be a single parent, something I hadn't signed up for when we got married almost 11 yrs prior.
C.O.P.S. has helped me in so many ways, from understanding my grief and realizing that there are others out there that feel the SAME WAY I do! What a relief that was! I can only hope that I can make a difference in someone's life like all my fellow C.O.P.S. members have made in mine, both locally and nationally.
Fort Worth Police Department
Treasurer
Lee Hickey, P/1999
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
May 30, 1999…the day the roof caved in on our lives. Six days of wondering whether our daughter, Officer Tiffany Catherine Hickey of the Cockrell Hill Police Department, would survive the injuries sustained in a tragic accident as a passenger in the car with her field-training officer resulted in the answer that no one wants to hear.
“Life changing” is an understatement. Regroup and move forward are terms that seem non-existent. Regardless of which way you turn, you feel that you are on a journey by yourself…one that no one has ever traveled before.
And then there is help. Total strangers start to reach out to you and offer you a boost up the ladder toward recovery. They share with you the experiences that they have encountered and listen as you share yours. These folks actually “get it”. Concerns Of Police Survivors is a group of people that are here to serve others….you and me and others like us.
It is our goal, as members of Metroplex C.O.P.S., to provide the kind of love and support to others that we received at the lowest time of our lives. Please join us, take advantage of what we have to offer, and help us to extend that same opportunity to others.
“When your loved one becomes a memory, the memory becomes a Treasure.”
Officer TIffany Catherine Hickey
Trustee Chair
Mike Mehagan
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mike is the Father of fallen Osage County Oklahoma Sheriff's Deputy Adam M. Mehagan. Deputy Sheriff Mehagan was responding to a ‘robbery in progress’ call when his patrol car left the road resulting in his on December 3, 2009. Deputy Mehagan left behind his wife, 11 month old daughter, father, step-mother, mother, sister, two stepbrothers and parent in-laws.
Mike and his wife, Marion, have three grandchildren. Mike has recently retired and is dedicating much of his time to Metroplex C.O.P.S. and helping other Survivors. As a devoted Bass Fisherman, Mike and his area Bass Club organize an annual Memorial Tournament in honor of his son Adam.