From The Tribune staff reports
LEEDS — The City of Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin was cordially invited to become a member of the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund’s Destination Zero Selection Committee on June 10.
Upon receiving such an honor, the Chief contacted Mayor David Miller, who approved and congratulated Irwin on this honor.
In 2019, Irwin was the police chief of Pell City when they received this national award for “Officers General Wellness and Safety.” Irwin, along with other officers from Pell City, went to Washington D.C. to receive the award.
Irwin said it has been an honor to work with everyone at the National Law Enforcement Memorial since winning the award in 2019.
“They have shared a lot of information with me and other law enforcement agencies around the world,” Irwin said.
The goal of Destination Zero is that zero officers are lost in the line of duty.
“I look forward to continuing to work and collaborate with them and other law enforcement professionals,” Irwin said. “Our goal is the same to protect law enforcement officers who go out every day and face dangerous situations from being shot to having a medical condition that could have possibly been prevented.”
Destination Zero gathers information on traffic safety, officer safety, health, and wellness. In addition, they must continue to support their employees who love to serve as law enforcement officers because the number of individuals signing up to join those ranks is few.
“There is a very small pool of applicants, and there are a lot of individuals leaving the profession,” Irwin said. “I look forward to assisting in being a solution to this problem and making sure everyone goes home to their family at the end of their shifts. Law Enforcement Officers are heroes who go out every day and make positive impacts on people’s lives and save them from
dangerous situations. Anything I can do to make it safer for them is an honor that I will always cherish.”