Patricia and K-9 Josey

I was a police officer for the City of Minneapolis for 25 years. Most of my career was spent on the North Side of Minneapolis which has the highest crime rate in the city. I joined the department in 1991 intent on making a difference and helping people. I loved my job and the people I worked with. I was always a carefree and happy person. In the fall of 2007, my life was drastically changed along with my partners life and the lives of a wonderful family.
November 1st, 2007 will always be the second worst day of my life with November 9th being the worst. On the morning of Nov.1st my partner and I were responding to a shots fired call on the North side. Throughout the morning there were several 911 calls of shots fired from a vehicle occupied by several people. Eventually a squad spotted the suspect vehicle and a pursuit ensued. It was then aired that the suspects had bailed from and were running in multiple directions. My partner and I spotted one of the suspects run through the alley and we pursued the suspect in our squad. Unknowingly, we did not know another officer was in foot pursuit of the same suspect. As I drove down the alley we heard a loud thump on the side of our squad. The officer pursuing the same suspect had collided with our squad. My co-worker, my friend, was laying there. The officer was rushed to the hospital and died several days later.
The agony of seeing the family and the survivors guilt was at times too much to bear. I hid everything away and locked it inside. I went back to work because it is where I thought I needed to be. I was also a single mother who needed to provide for my daughter.
Shortly after the accident I joined the Community Response/Narcotics Team. My life was consumed by work but at the same falling apart around me. My anxiety and anger were noticed by everyone, but me. My thoughts always turned to the worst and the fear of something bad happening was constant.
In 2016 I decided that it was time to leave the department. I needed to do what was best for my family and for myself. It has been 16 years and the anxiety, fear and anger are still here a lot of the time. My love of animals has always been great. I find comfort and peace being around dogs and horses. I know that being apart of Soldiers 6 will allow me be a part of something bigger again. It will allow me to find comfort with my rescue dog from Cocos Heart Rescue. I am hoping that this will be one more step towards peace.