Join NWC for National First Responders Day!
October 28, National First Responder Day, recognizes the important contribution that courageous women and men perform daily. Many times, these diligent individuals place themselves in harm’s way to save lives. This decision to save lives may involve revealing misconduct or reporting dangerous behavior. This year we recognize and celebrate Police Whistleblowers in an engaging LinkedIn live panel.
It takes a tremendous amount of courage to report law enforcement infractions. The Lamplighter Project works to remove barriers to whistleblowing, preventing retaliation, and elevating ethical officers. National Whistleblower Center is dedicated to protecting and rewarding whistleblowers internationally.
This panel discussion highlights the importance of whistleblowing in the Police Community as well as informing this community of some of the risks and opportunities for a courageous individual decides to blow the whistle. This discussion will highlight lamplighter stories and help to shed light on important information about blowing the whistle.
Police Whistleblower Panel
October 28, National First Responder Day, recognizes the important contribution that courageous women and men perform daily. Many times, these diligent individuals place themselves in harm’s way to save lives. This decision to save lives may involve revealing misconduct or reporting dangerous behavior. This year we recognize and celebrate Police Whistleblowers in an engaging LinkedIn live panel.
Our Police Whistleblower Panel will present the stories of police whistleblowers, law enforcement professionals, and whistleblower experts.
Speakers:
Moderator: Maureen McGough
Maureen McGough is the Chief of Strategic Initiatives for the Policing Project at NYU law, where she oversees national efforts to develop national standards for police departments and reimagine public safety by minimizing unnecessary reliance on police responses. Maureen spent a decade with the federal government in various roles with the US Department of Justice and US Department of State. She served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Director of the National Institute of Justice – the USDOJ’s research, development, and evaluation agency – where she led agency efforts to advance evidence-based policing and implement systems-level criminal justice reform initiatives. Maureen is an attorney and earned her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.
Shannon Spalding, Whistleblower and Former Chicago Police Officer
Shannon Spalding is police whistleblower. in 2007, Shannon started working with the FBI to expose a criminal extortion ring in the Chicago Police Department. Almost ten years later, after multiple death threats and a high-profile lawsuit, the mayor of Chicago was forced to admit what the people had known for years: the Code of Silence is real, and it’s killing our most vulnerable communities. Shannon will share her story of whistleblowing and her ongoing activism to break the blue wall of silence.
Art Acevedo, Former Chief of Police in Austin, Houston and Miami
Art Acevedo served as Chief of Police in Austin, TX, Houston, TX and Miami, FL. He began his law enforcement career as a patrol officer with the California Highway Patrol, in 1986, patrolling the streets of East Los Angeles. Chief Acevedo rose through the ranks of the CHP and was promoted to Chief in 2005. He served as a peace officer at the state and municipal levels for over 35 years. In 2007, he was appointed as Chief of the Austin Police Department (APD), where Acevedo served the rapidly growing and changing city for nearly 10 years. In 2016, Chief Acevedo was appointed as Chief of the Houston Police Department (HPD), where he served the most diverse city in America for nearly five years. In 2021, he was appointed as Chief of the Miami Police Department. Acevedo will share insights from his experience as a seasoned first responder and leader among police.
Jacqueline Garrick, Whistleblower, LCSW-C.m President and CEO of Whistleblowers of America
Jacqueline “Jackie” Garrick is a policy and program expert with 30 years of service to the military/veteran community. She was a political appointee at the Pentagon for eight years, setting up personnel programs for Wounded Warriors and the Defense Suicide Prevention Office. She established a crisis hotline in Afghanistan and later investigated issues related to diversity and inclusion and NO FEAR Act violations. While working for the Defense Department that Ms. Garrick blew the whistle on fraud, waste, and abuse and suffered retaliation. Garrick has several prestigious awards, including the Lincoln Award and a Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service. Ms. Garrick is the founder and President of Whistleblowers of America and will discuss the psychological impacts of whistleblower retaliation and how the first responder community can better support whistleblowers.
