Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Arizona Department of Transportation present check to the Arizona Chapter of C.O.P.S. (Concern for Police Survivors) from proceeds from the Fallen Officers (C.O.P.S.) license plate

On Monday March 1, 2010, Arizona DPS Director Robert Halliday and ADOT Director John Halikowski presented Arizona C.O.P.S. with a check for $100,000. The money comes from the Specialized Fallen Officers license plate. $17 out of the special $25 fee is set aside for Arizona Chapter of Concern for Police Survivors which provides services for family members and co-workers of fallen police officers. In 2006, the Arizona Chapter of Concern for Police Survivors raised $32,000 for ADOT to design a special license plate to memorialize fallen Arizona police officers. That same year, the Arizona Legislature passed a law designating DPS as the agency to administer the funds for Arizona C.O.P.S. A portion of these funds will go to the national organization to help efforts to “rebuild shattered lives.”

The money will assist family members to work through the grieving process by assisting them in attending C.O.P.S. programs for survivors which include the National Police Survivors' Conference held each May during National Police Week, scholarships, peer-support at the national, state and local levels, "C.O.P.S. Kids" counseling reimbursement program, the "C.O.P.S. Kids" Summer Camp, "C.O.P.S. Teens" Outward Bound experience for young adults, special retreats for spouses, parents, siblings, adult children, in-laws, and co-workers, trial and parole support and other assistance programs.

“The Arizona Department of Public Safety is proud to have played a role in directing these funds to Arizona C.O.P.S. Sadly, DPS lost Officer Paramedic Bruce Harrolle in 2008 and Officer Chris Marano last year. C.O.P.S. is an organization that does a lot of excellent work helping families cope with their tragic loss while preparing them for the future,” said Robert Halliday, director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

“This is huge for us to get a check of this size. We will now be able to help our Arizona survivors with a host of services such as attending the conferences during National Police Week in Washington D.C. along with the many retreats around we offer aimed at helping family members with the healing process. There is no membership fee to join C.O.P.S. because those family members have lost loved ones who already paid the ultimate price. This is a lifelong process,” said James Warriner, president and surviving co-worker of the Arizona Chapter of Concern for Police Survivors.