In Part 1, Vivian Eney Cross revealed how her husband — U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant Chris Eney — was killed in a 1984 training accident, and how the system failed her completely in the aftermath. In Part 2, we hear the rest of the story.

Vivian finally learns the full circumstances of how Chris died: the abandoned Capitol Hill building, the zigzag stairwells, the training drill that went wrong in a single unguarded moment. With remarkable grace, she describes forgiving the officer who fired the shot — and meaning it. From there, the conversation moves to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial itself. Vivian reveals how she argued for the lions over the eagles, why a children's book called Chronicles of Narnia shaped that decision, and how the inscription now etched into the memorial wall came to her in an instant — not researched, not labored over.

The episode closes with two moments that bring everything full circle: an active-duty officer standing at the memorial wall, tears streaming down his face, telling Vivian "you're the one that let me know I don't have to die to be appreciated" — and Craig Floyd spotting Vivian on a Washington street 33 years after their first difficult phone call, the day the National Law Enforcement Museum was dedicated.

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<b>My daughter Heather got up</b>

<b>the day that Chris was killed.</b>

<b>There on the kitchen</b>

<b>table were two erasers</b>

<b>that Chris had gotten her</b>

<b>for her brand new chalkboard.</b>

<b>So she sat down and</b>

<b>wrote this thank you letter,</b>

<b>thanking him for getting them for her.</b>

<b>And of course he never got the letter.</b>

<b>He was killed that day.</b>

<b>And if you fast forward</b>

<b>maybe four or five years later</b>

<b>and we're in the car and Heather says,</b>

<b>mom, you got to listen to this song.</b>

<b>And she turned it up</b>

<b>and I'm aging myself.</b>

<b>It was Mike and the</b>

<b>mechanics, the living years.</b>

<b>And the voice came on,</b>

<b>the verse came on that said,</b>

<b>I wasn't home that</b>

<b>morning, my father passed away.</b>

<b>I didn't get to tell him</b>

<b>all the things I had to say.</b>

<b>And so I grabbed her hand and I said,</b>

<b>well Heather, what would</b>

<b>you have said to your dad?</b>

<b>And she said, I would have</b>

<b>asked him to watch over me.</b>

<b>I would have asked him</b>

<b>to love me every day,</b>

<b>but I would have</b>

<b>thanked him for my erasers.</b>

<b>And with that, she started to cry.</b>

<b>And so I held her hand and we got to</b>

<b>where we were going.</b>

<b>But when I got back to the house,</b>

<b>I called another survivor who knew</b>

<b>what those moments were like,</b>

<b>who would talk me through it,</b>

<b>not pity me, pity is a wasted emotion.</b>

<b>Just help me be and do</b>

<b>what I need to for myself</b>

<b>and my girls and others</b>

<b>that are going through this.</b>

<b>And so it's just this</b>

<b>camaraderie that is based on</b>

<b>an event that ties</b>

<b>you together completely.</b>

<b>That moment in the car with Heather</b>

<b>happened years after Chris was gone.</b>

<b>But to understand why it hit so hard,</b>

<b>we have to go back to</b>

<b>the day Vivian learned</b>

<b>exactly how her husband died.</b>

<b>So Vivian, we've talked</b>

<b>about Chris quite a bit,</b>

<b>but we still haven't talked about</b>

<b>what actually happened to Chris.</b>

<b>Okay, it was funny.</b>

<b>At the time I was told</b>

<b>that nobody could talk to me.</b>

<b>They were told nobody</b>

<b>could talk to me about it.</b>

<b>And then they told me that</b>

<b>the grand jury had to meet</b>

<b>before anything could happen.</b>

<b>I don't know what that was about,</b>

<b>unless somebody on</b>

<b>the grand jury thought,</b>

<b>oh, she was going with</b>

<b>this guy that shot him</b>

<b>and they've made this deal</b>

<b>to get him out of the way</b>

<b>so that they could continue.</b>

<b>Now that was what I was</b>

<b>told was the reason behind it.</b>

<b>But it was 10 months</b>

<b>before I got any payment.</b>

<b>But I mean, right away, like</b>

<b>they came and picked you up</b>

<b>and you went to the hospital</b>

<b>and all that kind of stuff.</b>

<b>But how soon did you</b>

<b>know the cause of death</b>

<b>and the circumstances</b>

<b>surrounding it and whatnot?</b>

<b>It was a while before I heard.</b>

<b>Finally, one of the</b>

<b>officers from the CERT team</b>

<b>came over to my house on his</b>

<b>own and told me how it happened.</b>

<b>They were training in an abandoned</b>

<b>building on Capitol Hill.</b>

<b>The elevators were taken out.</b>

<b>So when you went up the different levels,</b>

<b>you would have a set</b>

<b>of stairs on the left,</b>

<b>go across the floor</b>

<b>and have the other stairs</b>

<b>up to the next floor.</b>

<b>So it was a kind of a</b>

<b>zigzag way to get out.</b>

<b>Well, they had been training on,</b>

<b>I believe it's the</b>

<b>third and fourth floors.</b>

<b>They were doing training if</b>

<b>there is an active shooter</b>

<b>in one of the rooms of Congress,</b>

<b>how do we go in to get him out or her out</b>

<b>with as little danger to</b>

<b>the people there as possible?</b>

<b>And so they were practicing that.</b>

<b>Well, in the meantime, the one officer</b>

<b>went up to change his</b>

<b>clothes and go home,</b>

<b>where about 20 of them</b>

<b>stayed on the floor they were on</b>

<b>and continued talking</b>

<b>about the scenarios.</b>

<b>Well, he went up there, he changed,</b>

<b>he's required to wear his loaded gun</b>

<b>and he came down the stairs.</b>

<b>And as he walked the</b>

<b>cross, he got caught up</b>

<b>and when they were arguing about the</b>

<b>different scenarios.</b>

<b>And so finally Chris said,</b>

<b>okay, we'll do it one more time</b>

<b>and you, you and you come in on me.</b>

<b>And he chose the one</b>

<b>gentleman that had changed his clothes</b>

<b>and reloaded and without</b>

<b>thought he fired the shot.</b>

<b>And he was also Chris's friend.</b>

<b>I never had any animosity toward him.</b>

<b>We're all human.</b>

<b>We all make mistakes.</b>

<b>And when officers are</b>

<b>involved in this kind of incident,</b>

<b>you know they are shattered</b>

<b>inside out kind of shattered.</b>

<b>And I never had any animosity.</b>

<b>I wished him well.</b>

<b>I think he finally went on to</b>

<b>flexi and taught down there.</b>

<b>And I just, I wish him</b>

<b>nothing but the best.</b>

<b>To have that moment inside your head</b>

<b>is terrible for any person.</b>

<b>So did he stay on the</b>

<b>department for a little while</b>

<b>or how did it all play out?</b>

<b>Yeah, he stayed on the department</b>

<b>and eventually he went down to flexi.</b>

<b>The Florida.</b>

<b>He was the federal law</b>

<b>enforcement center in Georgia.</b>

<b>Georgia.</b>

<b>Yeah.</b>

<b>And he taught down there gun safety.</b>

<b>Can you think of a</b>

<b>better person to do that?</b>

<b>Perfect.</b>

<b>Vivian, the National Law</b>

<b>Enforcement Officers Memorial,</b>

<b>you as COPS president</b>

<b>served on our board of directors</b>

<b>for three years.</b>

<b>And it was the years when</b>

<b>we were actually designing</b>

<b>this memorial.</b>

<b>What was it gonna look like?</b>

<b>What were the elements</b>

<b>that were gonna be part of it?</b>

<b>And we got to this</b>

<b>debate about whether or not</b>

<b>we should have representational statuary,</b>

<b>meaning officers in</b>

<b>uniform on a pedestal,</b>

<b>maybe three or four of</b>

<b>them to represent all</b>

<b>of law enforcement.</b>

<b>And we realized, my</b>

<b>goodness, how could we do that?</b>

<b>There are so many</b>

<b>different uniforms and ethnicities</b>

<b>and man and woman.</b>

<b>And we decided, you know what?</b>

<b>We need a symbol of law enforcement</b>

<b>that could represent</b>

<b>all of law enforcement.</b>

<b>And it came down to a</b>

<b>debate between the eagle</b>

<b>and the lion.</b>

<b>And Vivian sat at that board meeting.</b>

<b>I remember it vividly</b>

<b>and made a compelling case</b>

<b>for the lions, which we ended up</b>

<b>selecting, of course.</b>

<b>After Vivian's commentary,</b>

<b>there was really no decision to be made.</b>

<b>It was obvious the lions were our choice.</b>

<b>But Vivian explained to me the lions.</b>

<b>You mentioned Narnia,</b>

<b>which I was not familiar with</b>

<b>at the time, but it had</b>

<b>something to do with your girls.</b>

<b>And I'd love to hear</b>

<b>maybe that story again,</b>

<b>if you can recall it.</b>

<b>Absolutely.</b>

<b>When the girls were</b>

<b>younger, they would go to bed</b>

<b>and I would read them a</b>

<b>chapter from the Chronicles</b>

<b>of Narnia.</b>

<b>And this was about a fantasy world</b>

<b>where the lion was the king,</b>

<b>but he always looked after the children</b>

<b>who were there in Narnia.</b>

<b>And my girls loved those stories.</b>

<b>They couldn't wait to go to bed</b>

<b>so they could hear the next chapter.</b>

<b>And to me, that really</b>

<b>spoke of law enforcement.</b>

<b>I have seen cops, when they think a child</b>

<b>has been wounded or abused,</b>

<b>man, you just see the hair goes up.</b>

<b>They are on high alert.</b>

<b>They can't stand that</b>

<b>something evil has happened</b>

<b>to a child.</b>

<b>And I thought, what</b>

<b>better way to draw other people</b>

<b>to the memorial than to see these lions</b>

<b>who are constantly on watch.</b>

<b>Actually, there's a wall</b>

<b>near the National Archives</b>

<b>that says eternal</b>

<b>vigilance is the price of freedom.</b>

<b>And that's what those lions are doing.</b>

<b>They are constantly on watch</b>

<b>and they are constantly looking around,</b>

<b>making sure nothing</b>

<b>happens to those young lions.</b>

<b>You know, that's one of</b>

<b>the more memorable things</b>

<b>for me too are the lions.</b>

<b>And the only quote that I</b>

<b>can still today remember</b>

<b>from being at the memorial is your quote,</b>

<b>right next to the lion.</b>

<b>And it's, again, that quote is,</b>

<b>it's not how these officers</b>

<b>died that made them heroes.</b>

<b>It's how they lived.</b>

<b>And I think we'd all like to know</b>

<b>everybody that's listening.</b>

<b>Did that just come off the</b>

<b>top of your head off the cuff?</b>

<b>Or was that something that you researched</b>

<b>and thought about?</b>

<b>How was that inspired?</b>

<b>Well, it was inspired</b>

<b>by a lot of departments</b>

<b>ranking line of duty death.</b>

<b>If you went down in a blaze of glory,</b>

<b>you were a hero,</b>

<b>streets were named after you,</b>

<b>all that kind of thing.</b>

<b>But if you died accidentally,</b>

<b>especially if that ugly</b>

<b>word liability rears its head,</b>

<b>it was swept under the</b>

<b>carpet as soon as possible.</b>

<b>And to me, it was just</b>

<b>such an appalling way</b>

<b>to look at law enforcement.</b>

<b>An officer gets</b>

<b>dressed, he goes into work</b>

<b>and he doesn't say, well,</b>

<b>I think at three o'clock,</b>

<b>I'm gonna be at this door</b>

<b>and I'm going to be shot and killed.</b>

<b>They don't think that.</b>

<b>Another officer coming</b>

<b>into work does not think that,</b>

<b>oh, you know what?</b>

<b>Today I'm going to be in</b>

<b>an accident during a pursuit</b>

<b>and I'll be killed.</b>

<b>They don't think that.</b>

<b>They go, they go out.</b>

<b>That's what's important, is</b>

<b>that they're always going out.</b>

<b>So Vivian, did you labor over those words</b>

<b>over a period of time</b>

<b>or did that just pop</b>

<b>right out of your head?</b>

<b>It just popped right out of my head.</b>

<b>It's not how they</b>

<b>died, it's how they lived.</b>

<b>That's what needs to be honored.</b>

<b>And now we have the</b>

<b>memorial in the museum</b>

<b>where the memorial</b>

<b>acknowledges who they were</b>

<b>and the museum tells us what they did.</b>

<b>And it's just such a perfect blending</b>

<b>of two elements of law enforcement.</b>

<b>One thing, go ahead, Dennis.</b>

<b>No, I was gonna say, you</b>

<b>may say the same thing, Craig,</b>

<b>or we're recording this</b>

<b>before police week 2026</b>

<b>and it'll be played back</b>

<b>before police week, I'm sure.</b>

<b>Tell us Vivian about the</b>

<b>importance of police week.</b>

<b>I remember my first time there, Bill Erfurth</b>

<b>first took me there,</b>

<b>introduced me to</b>

<b>Craig, how many years ago?</b>

<b>20 some years ago.</b>

<b>I know what it means to me,</b>

<b>but I'd like to know what it</b>

<b>means to you and your family,</b>

<b>your girls.</b>

<b>We have come to cherish it.</b>

<b>It is looking at that</b>

<b>memorial and saying,</b>

<b>finally, America has</b>

<b>acknowledged their heroes</b>

<b>and it brings us such comfort.</b>

<b>Every time the girls go, they're gonna</b>

<b>get over by the lions</b>

<b>and touch them and do that kind of stuff.</b>

<b>And our grandchildren</b>

<b>have been there too.</b>

<b>And it is just such a</b>

<b>special place for me.</b>

<b>I remember my mother had two brothers</b>

<b>that when served in World War II.</b>

<b>And after the war, we</b>

<b>went to every monument</b>

<b>that was in DC for World War II veterans.</b>

<b>And man, when we were there,</b>

<b>we better hadn't bother my mom</b>

<b>unless we were bleeding or unconscious.</b>

<b>They were honoring the honorable.</b>

<b>And it was a miracle both of</b>

<b>her brothers lived through it.</b>

<b>One was on the USS California</b>

<b>when Pearl Harbor was bombed.</b>

<b>And it was a sacred place.</b>

<b>And now the memorial has become</b>

<b>Law Enforcement's hallowed ground.</b>

<b>And Craig, as the founding</b>

<b>person here of the memorial</b>

<b>and the museum and the chairman emeritus,</b>

<b>I want you to give your speech.</b>

<b>We try to do this on every episode of</b>

<b>Heroes Behind the Badge</b>

<b>but tell our audience</b>

<b>why they need to show up</b>

<b>at police week.</b>

<b>I think there's really two sets of folks</b>

<b>that we're addressing here.</b>

<b>Both need to attend police week,</b>

<b>need to see that memorial,</b>

<b>need to visit that museum.</b>

<b>First group of course is</b>

<b>the law enforcement family.</b>

<b>That would be the officers who've served</b>

<b>or are serving and their families.</b>

<b>They need to understand</b>

<b>that they are following</b>

<b>in the footsteps of some of</b>

<b>the greatest men and women</b>

<b>that have ever walked</b>

<b>the face of this earth.</b>

<b>That they are falling</b>

<b>and carrying on the service</b>

<b>of men and women who</b>

<b>literally laid down their lives</b>

<b>for their profession</b>

<b>and for public safety.</b>

<b>And so I think, and Bill</b>

<b>has spoken to this many times</b>

<b>on this podcast about why</b>

<b>police week is important to him</b>

<b>as an officer that it</b>

<b>kind of rejuvenates him,</b>

<b>makes him realize why</b>

<b>he became an officer</b>

<b>in the first place.</b>

<b>Because some officers get</b>

<b>hardened by all the filth</b>

<b>and the depths of depravity</b>

<b>that they have to deal with</b>

<b>in law enforcement.</b>

<b>But you come to police</b>

<b>week and it's refreshing</b>

<b>and it's rejuvenating and it's inspiring.</b>

<b>So that's why I think the</b>

<b>law enforcement community</b>

<b>needs to make that trip.</b>

<b>You visit that museum</b>

<b>and you see the history</b>

<b>of your profession and</b>

<b>how you now proudly wear</b>

<b>that same badge as</b>

<b>the officers who served</b>

<b>two, 300 years ago.</b>

<b>And you go into that Hall of Remembrance</b>

<b>and you see the, and hear the</b>

<b>stories of the men and women</b>

<b>who have made the ultimate sacrifice.</b>

<b>So now fast forward.</b>

<b>You've got the public</b>

<b>audience, all right?</b>

<b>If you're a citizen of this nation</b>

<b>and we call our group</b>

<b>Citizens Behind the Badge, right?</b>

<b>These are the majority of Americans,</b>

<b>vast majority of Americans</b>

<b>who support law enforcement</b>

<b>and respect law enforcement.</b>

<b>But to come to national police week,</b>

<b>attend that candlelight vigil,</b>

<b>attend the Peace</b>

<b>Officers Memorial Day service</b>

<b>at the FOP and their auxiliary,</b>

<b>put on every May 15th at the US Capitol.</b>

<b>You all of a sudden</b>

<b>understand that the value</b>

<b>of law enforcement in this country</b>

<b>and are inspired by the men and women</b>

<b>who are literally</b>

<b>willing to put down their lives</b>

<b>for the safety and protection of others,</b>

<b>people they don't even know.</b>

<b>It's incredible to me.</b>

<b>And this is why I</b>

<b>wanted that museum built</b>

<b>more than anything because</b>

<b>I wanted the fellow citizens</b>

<b>who hadn't had the chance</b>

<b>to meet a police officer,</b>

<b>to meet a survivor,</b>

<b>to hear their stories,</b>

<b>to have a sense of what</b>

<b>it's like to walk in the shoes</b>

<b>of a police officer and</b>

<b>understand the dangers they face.</b>

<b>So all of that is so important to me</b>

<b>why not only officers and their families,</b>

<b>but the citizens of this</b>

<b>nation need to come to Washington</b>

<b>at some point in their lives.</b>

<b>During national police week,</b>

<b>this year it's the week of</b>

<b>May 10th through the 16th,</b>

<b>attend the candlelight</b>

<b>vigil on the national mall</b>

<b>where 30 to 40,000 people will gather</b>

<b>and hold candles aloft to</b>

<b>honor the fallen heroes.</b>

<b>More than 24,000 of them have their names</b>

<b>on the national memorial.</b>

<b>And then they'll go</b>

<b>away inspired, I think,</b>

<b>and have such a great appreciation</b>

<b>for the men and women in law enforcement.</b>

<b>So to me, that's why it's so important.</b>

<b>And by the way, when we</b>

<b>talk about what's different</b>

<b>between 1984 and today,</b>

<b>there was really no assembly of law</b>

<b>enforcement professionals</b>

<b>and thousands of</b>

<b>survivors on the west front</b>

<b>of the US Capitol or at</b>

<b>the National Law Enforcement</b>

<b>Memorial or on the mall</b>

<b>honoring the men and women</b>

<b>in law enforcement.</b>

<b>That didn't exist in 1984.</b>

<b>It was 1982 actually, the FOP did start</b>

<b>to have a national ceremony in Washington</b>

<b>to honor National Police Week</b>

<b>and Peace Officers Memorial Day.</b>

<b>But those ceremonies were sparse.</b>

<b>There were no survivors there.</b>

<b>There were maybe a few</b>

<b>hundred people today.</b>

<b>There's 30 to 40,000 people that attend,</b>

<b>including thousands of the</b>

<b>surviving family members.</b>

<b>So night and day, as Vivian said,</b>

<b>between 1984 and today,</b>

<b>and all those are</b>

<b>some of the reasons why.</b>

<b>Along those lines, I wanna</b>

<b>ask Vivian before we finish,</b>

<b>I wanna ask her this question.</b>

<b>You mentioned two</b>

<b>organization, one being cops</b>

<b>and the other, I</b>

<b>think, being heroes, right?</b>

<b>Yes.</b>

<b>I'm very familiar with it.</b>

<b>My daughter serves in</b>

<b>central Florida with cops here.</b>

<b>So I go to all their events.</b>

<b>I'm a huge supporter.</b>

<b>But could you let people</b>

<b>know here, our audience,</b>

<b>how they can become involved?</b>

<b>Because apparently both</b>

<b>organizations get support</b>

<b>from people who are not just</b>

<b>survivors from the community.</b>

<b>I'd love to hear you</b>

<b>tell us how to get involved.</b>

<b>Well, Heroes organization,</b>

<b>they're in the phone book.</b>

<b>All they need to do is call up and say,</b>

<b>where can I send a donation?</b>

<b>What can I do to help?</b>

<b>And with cops, basically</b>

<b>the same thing is true.</b>

<b>We do get some grants</b>

<b>from the government,</b>

<b>but there's always need.</b>

<b>I mean, nobody wants to</b>

<b>talk about the financial need,</b>

<b>but it's there</b>

<b>bringing all these people in</b>

<b>and having them all in hotels.</b>

<b>It's a major, major</b>

<b>event to get this done.</b>

<b>And so that's one way.</b>

<b>I know I met a lot of</b>

<b>people when I've gone up</b>

<b>to the Memorial where they</b>

<b>said they're volunteering.</b>

<b>And so they were there</b>

<b>handing out brochures</b>

<b>or answering questions and that is good.</b>

<b>But you do need to</b>

<b>get the public involved.</b>

<b>Absolutely.</b>

<b>The last decade has been</b>

<b>horrible for law enforcement.</b>

<b>Yes, for sure.</b>

<b>And I know my daughter every year,</b>

<b>the cops in central Florida does a gala</b>

<b>and that's open to the public.</b>

<b>And that is one of their</b>

<b>major fundraising events.</b>

<b>And if you want to be</b>

<b>really, really moved,</b>

<b>I mean, some of the</b>

<b>survivors, as you know,</b>

<b>stand up and tell</b>

<b>their story right there.</b>

<b>I mean, in all of its detail.</b>

<b>And I'll tell you, if</b>

<b>you can sit through that</b>

<b>and not have a sense of awe about their</b>

<b>ability to stand up,</b>

<b>I'm sure you've done that.</b>

<b>And that is so impactful.</b>

<b>I can't say enough to our listeners,</b>

<b>if you haven't gotten</b>

<b>involved with cops or heroes, do it.</b>

<b>They need support, they need</b>

<b>volunteers, they need money.</b>

<b>Let's be real, they need money.</b>

<b>So if you would like to donate</b>

<b>to one of those</b>

<b>organizations or both, check it out.</b>

<b>Yes, absolutely.</b>

<b>You know, I wanna jump back in.</b>

<b>We were talking about</b>

<b>National Police Week,</b>

<b>which is coming up</b>

<b>here in May and the events</b>

<b>and Vivian's talked about</b>

<b>it, Craig just talked about it.</b>

<b>I wanna say a little bit</b>

<b>more because, you know,</b>

<b>the focus of course on</b>

<b>Police Week is officers,</b>

<b>law enforcement officers</b>

<b>killed in line of duty,</b>

<b>but it's just so much more than that.</b>

<b>It's a collective coming</b>

<b>together of camaraderie</b>

<b>and an esprit de corps.</b>

<b>And aside from the</b>

<b>immensely impressive awe,</b>

<b>inspiring type of</b>

<b>events, the candlelight vigil</b>

<b>and everything that</b>

<b>else goes on, it's a party.</b>

<b>It's a party to celebrate life.</b>

<b>And it's a party to celebrate police</b>

<b>camaraderie and unity</b>

<b>and something that</b>

<b>Vivian hit on about cops</b>

<b>where you wanna tell</b>

<b>the story to somebody else</b>

<b>and they say, I understand and I know.</b>

<b>Well, now you're with</b>

<b>like-minded people of cops.</b>

<b>And let me tell you</b>

<b>something, the Irish pubs there</b>

<b>and the bars and the parties,</b>

<b>they used to have these</b>

<b>bonfires in the streets.</b>

<b>I don't know that they do that anymore,</b>

<b>but I think it's important</b>

<b>for people that haven't gone.</b>

<b>Not only are you</b>

<b>there to honor the fallen,</b>

<b>you're there to celebrate life.</b>

<b>Absolutely.</b>

<b>And celebrate the profession.</b>

<b>Yeah.</b>

<b>Yeah.</b>

<b>Vivian, there was a moment, last question</b>

<b>and then I have a comment, quick story,</b>

<b>but there was a moment that</b>

<b>you related to me years ago.</b>

<b>If you recall it, you</b>

<b>were at the memorial</b>

<b>and there were two</b>

<b>officers that were visiting.</b>

<b>It was maybe a weekday,</b>

<b>not many people there.</b>

<b>Yes.</b>

<b>You were at your quote,</b>

<b>it is not how these officers died,</b>

<b>they made them heroes,</b>

<b>it is how they lived.</b>

<b>And you had to maybe</b>

<b>explain it to those two officers.</b>

<b>And when you did it, it</b>

<b>had quite an impact on them.</b>

<b>Do you recall that story?</b>

<b>Yes, I recall that.</b>

<b>And they, before they</b>

<b>left, they asked me my name</b>

<b>and I told them, and this one officer,</b>

<b>you could actually see</b>

<b>the color leave his face.</b>

<b>And he said, you're the one</b>

<b>that wrote that over there?</b>

<b>And I said, yes.</b>

<b>And he said, and I mean,</b>

<b>tears were coming down.</b>

<b>He said, you're the one that let me know,</b>

<b>I don't have to die to be appreciated.</b>

<b>Wow.</b>

<b>I'll never forget that.</b>

<b>And that's so impactful.</b>

<b>The story I wanted to end with is,</b>

<b>we talked about Vivian and my first</b>

<b>encounter with Vivian,</b>

<b>not being all that positive and loving,</b>

<b>but we became great friends</b>

<b>and obviously did a</b>

<b>lot of good work together</b>

<b>to build that memorial and</b>

<b>to help support survivors</b>

<b>and fallen officers and so forth.</b>

<b>But I love the end of that story.</b>

<b>I call it the end,</b>

<b>we're obviously still</b>

<b>gonna be lifelong friends,</b>

<b>but we had just dedicated</b>

<b>the National Law Enforcement Museum.</b>

<b>This is October of 2018.</b>

<b>We first encountered each other in 1985.</b>

<b>So you do the math, that's</b>

<b>basically 33 years later.</b>

<b>We've dedicated the</b>

<b>museum, I'm walking the street,</b>

<b>I'm headed to a reception,</b>

<b>and who do I spot on the street but</b>

<b>Vivian Eney Cross.</b>

<b>And I was so thankful,</b>

<b>it's almost like God said,</b>

<b>you know what, you all</b>

<b>deserve a hug at this point</b>

<b>because you've come full circle.</b>

<b>Nice, nice story.</b>

<b>Very, very important moment for me.</b>

<b>Nice story.</b>

<b>Absolutely.</b>

<b>Let me thank you, Vivian.</b>

<b>Let me thank you on behalf of our heroes</b>

<b>behind the badge audience</b>

<b>for sharing all you've shared today.</b>

<b>You know, we all know that loss</b>

<b>is unfortunately a part of this job.</b>

<b>But what we didn't</b>

<b>know is there are groups,</b>

<b>there weren't back</b>

<b>then, but thanks to you,</b>

<b>there are now groups like</b>

<b>COPS, the memorial itself,</b>

<b>and heroes that can</b>

<b>help someone get through,</b>

<b>not recover fully,</b>

<b>but get through the need</b>

<b>you had to go through.</b>

<b>So I salute you, you</b>

<b>know, I look at grief,</b>

<b>grief can be either a wall or a doorway.</b>

<b>It's your choice.</b>

<b>Guess what Vivian chose?</b>

<b>Vivian chose a doorway, right?</b>

<b>She had every right,</b>

<b>after hearing her story today,</b>

<b>she had every right to</b>

<b>make it a wall, didn't she?</b>

<b>She made it a doorway,</b>

<b>she chose the doorway,</b>

<b>she walked through the doorway.</b>

<b>And on behalf of every law</b>

<b>enforcement officer family,</b>

<b>I wanna thank you for</b>

<b>walking through that door.</b>

<b>It has made a difference.</b>

<b>You have made a difference.</b>

<b>Thank you for guesting on</b>

<b>Heroes Behind the Badge.</b>

<b>Thank you, it was an honor.</b>

<b>I wanna remind our audience,</b>

<b>if you liked anything</b>

<b>that Vivian had to say today,</b>

<b>and there was plenty to like, okay,</b>

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<b>That's it for this episode.</b>

<b>Thank you again, Vivian.</b>

<b>We'll see you next time</b>

<b>on Heroes Behind the Badge.</b>

<b>(upbeat music)</b>