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wife of Patrolman Fratus or the two infant
children that would grow up without a father.
There is a very sobering statistic regard-
ing male police officers and firefighters which
calculates that the average lifespan for those
public servants is just 67 years when com-
pared to 73.6 for the American population.
Environmental factors such as exposure to
deadly chemicals at response scenes undoubt-
edly play a role while though the most deadly
and silent killer especially for law enforce-
ment officers is occupational stress and the
elevated risk of heart attacks and or strokes.
My Dad was an occasional cigarette smoker
before joining the police department but the
number of packs smoked jumped consider-
ably. Job related stress does not always re-
main behind at the station once a shift has
ended and often ends up being carried home.
Midway through his career my father’s blood
pressure began to gradually increase which
became very noticeable (265/110) to his fam-
ily and friends requiring medical attention
including high doses of medication to bring
his BP down to “acceptable levels”.
I remember as a young teenager having
my fair share of school yard fist fights defend-
ing what my father did for a living and when
police officers were referred to as “pigs”. Un-
fortunately bullying back in the late 60’s and
early 70’s did not receive the attention which
it does today and it is difficult to try and ex-
plain what it was like growing up in a law en-
forcement household during those turbulent
times. It just so happened that in 1972 my
Dad was working the beat where I attended
high school. One day he was driving by at the
same time I was outside during gym playing
tennis. A student standing on the other side
of the net looked over at my Dad as he drove
by in his squad car commenting “pig”. I ca-
sually walked up to that person and pulled
him by the tee shirt into my face and stated
“That’s no pig, that’s my father”. An apology
was immediately forthcoming.
In 1972 I joined the Law Enforcement
Explorers Program and became a Police Cadet
with Warwick Police Department and subse-
quently chosen to work in their Detective Di-
vision for that summer. I was assigned to work
in the Bureau of Criminal Identification sort-
ing out the evidence room, processing prison-
ers which included taking their photographs
and fingerprints and trained how to develop
negatives and film along with printing black
and white photographs in the darkroom. This
was a lifetime experience that would unknow-
ingly provide me with a skill set that would one
day be put to use in a similar career. The best
of working at the police station was the op-
portunity to see my Dad who had since been
promoted to Detective Division along with his
fellow investigators who strangely enough re-
sembled the cast from the 1970’s TV sitcom
Barney Miller. Dad who was half Polish could
have easily passed for Wojohowitz.
Like my father and grandfather my pas-
sion was public service and the pursuit of a
career in law enforcement which was partially
realized in 1981 when I became a Rhode Is-
land Capitol Police Officer though I soon re-
alized that this was a position better suited for
a retired officer and not someone like me who
desired a more traditional law enforcement
career. In 1991 I was selected for a position as
a criminal investigator with a newly formed
detective division tasked with investigating
environmental crimes. In September of that
year I attended the Rhode Island Municipal
Police Training Academy. Little did I know
that my first week in training would proved
to be life defining moment when I collapsed
from heat exhaustion while a fellow classmate
dropped beside me and subsequently died of
a heart attack. This incident served to only
strengthen my resolve to complete the train-
ing and graduate alongside my fellow class-
mates as quitting was never an option.
During my career as a criminal investiga-
tor, I was extremely fortunate to have had the
ability to work with many local, state and fed-
eral law enforcement agencies including the
Federal Bureau of Investigation which had an
agent from the local Resident Agency office in
Providence work with investigators from the
DEM Office of Criminal Investigation. How-
ever, the Bureau’s mission statement changed
following tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. Be-
cause of unique skills which I possessed, i.e.,
the ability to locate forensic evidence with the
aid of sophisticated electronic equipment I
began working with the FBI’s Evidence Re-
sponse Team dating back to 1994 and con-
tinue to this day to provide them with routine
in-service training and render hands-on assis-
tance at working crime scenes.
In 2004 I achieved what I term the
highest achievement one can make in their
law enforcement career when I was selected
by the FBI to attend their National Academy
(Session #217) located at Quantico, VA. My
entire family was extremely proud regarding
this prestigious appointment though needless
to say that my father beamed with pride as
he lived his life through me vicariously after
retiring from law enforcement in 1982. Dad
was present along with my wife, youngest
son during the graduation ceremony held on
April 11, 2004 along with approximately 150
other police officers and their families. This
was a memorable experience unlike any other
and a lifetime achievement which generally
leads to promotional advancement and un-
paralleled networking capabilities both na-
tionally and internationally.
Sadly, on August 25, 2006 a little more
than 2 years after graduating from the FBI
National Academy my father Norman R.
Thatcher, Jr. died at the age of 68 of a mas-
sive heart attack which was the end result of
occupational stress and living with high blood
pressure. Like my father and his father I too
have a great love for country, family and the
opportunity to have dedicated my life to pub-
lic service and to have proudly grown up un-
der that same banner of red, white and shadow
of blue for which so many law enforcement
personnel and their families have sacrificed to
ensure the protection of our countries citizens
and the American way of life.
About the Author: Deputy Chief Thatcher retired in 2011
following a 30 year career in law enforcement and enjoys
spending time with his wife of 41 years along with their
four children and three granddaughters. He remains ac-
tive in the FBINAA New England Chapter and providing
crime scene training/assistance to police agencies includ-
ing the FBI’s Evidence Response Team and is currently
working on novel that highlights his 20 year career work-
ing as an environmental crimes investigator for the State
of Rhode Island.
Raised Red, White and Under the Shadow of Blue continued from page 13
Ptlm. Norman R. Thatcher, Sr.,
Badge #41, 1934.
Deputy Chief Thatcher, 2010
FBINAA Nat’l. Conference.
Full Dress Uniform –
Warwick Police, 1934.
Ptlm. Norman R. Thatcher, Jr.,
Badge #70 , May 1962.
Det. Lt. David Thatcher,
FBINAA – Session #217.
1991, David N. Thatcher, Sr.,
Rhode Island State Capitol