On March 27th, 2015, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Sergeant Robert Bemis, a trainer, specializing in officer safety was on his way home Hummelstown when he was involved in an accident that would change his life forever.
While driving, he came upon a vehicle that was about to be engulfed in flames, near mile marker 121, in the southbound lanes of Interstate 81, Butler Township, near Frackville, Schuylkill County.
Bemis parked along the berm of the road to help the motorist. Moments after exiting his vehicle, an SUV that was traveling southbound, left the roadway striking his vehicle at a high rate of speed, catapulting him into the air.
Bemis suffered permanent life altering injuries in the accident and spent months in the hospital recovering.
During his time of recovery, Governor Wolf met with Bemis, which leads to why Bemis has written and open letter to Governor Wolf and his recent reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as protests.
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An open letter to Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania:
You may not remember me, but you know who I am. I’ve included a photograph of us to help if you’ve forgotten. We met once, and I’ll explain what that meeting and your actions before the meeting meant to me, as well as why I’m bringing it up now, but first a little background on who is writing.
I am a Pennsylvania resident, born under less than “privileged” circumstances to a single, unemployed welfare mom, who raised me in public housing, lecturing me daily on the importance of equality, personal responsibility and the nobility of public service. I’ve resided in Pennsylvania for all but six of my 52 years of life on this planet, those years being the time spent wearing a U.S. Marine Corps uniform, serving just as my mother had hoped. I understand you served as well, but I’m not sure if the Peace Corps even has a uniform. Doesn’t really matter though, you did something to help others and I was taught to respect that. It really is something when parents understand their responsibility to raise their children properly.
In my youth, my drive toward service was strong, as well as my desire to return home to Pennsylvania to continue service. I enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police in 1993 and served the citizens of the Commonwealth in numerous assignments for the next 24 years.
I didn’t vote for you either time you ran, but I was there, at the State Capitol on the day of your first inauguration in 2015. I wasn’t there to celebrate with you or even to stand with protesters who were there, voicing their opposition to your election. No, I was there because I took an oath to be of service. I was there as part of a group of Troopers who were standing by to protect you, your guests, the citizens of Harrisburg, AND the protesters. To protect the process – the peaceful transition of power, as well as the Constitutional right to express dissent. I like to think that your first day in office was incident free, due in no small part to the unseen efforts of so many men and women serving in law enforcement.
Sometimes service has a price. Only two months later, I became the first PA Trooper to be seriously injured under your administration. While returning home from an assignment in the northeastern part of the state, I stopped my police vehicle along an interstate highway to assist a motorist whose vehicle was on fire. Another motorist lost control of her vehicle and struck the rear of my car. As a result of that crash, I sustained a permanently disabling spinal injury.
This was when you first became aware of me. In the hours after my crash, as members of my PSP family and my extended law enforcement family around the country were rallying around my wife and children, you personally telephoned my wife to express your support. I always felt like someone in your position could’ve delegated that uncomfortable phone call to someone else, but you didn’t. That was a positive leadership moment and I’ve appreciated how it made her feel.
In May of that year, while I was still hospitalized for my injuries, I was able to briefly attend the Memorial Service held annually at our Academy to honor all of the Pennsylvania State Troopers who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. You were there. You listened as they read aloud the names of 96 men who gave everything in service to Pennsylvania. Two more names have been added since. You listened as every Trooper, active and retired, recited the State Police Call of Honor. When the ceremony was over, I was told that you wanted to meet me, and I was happy to oblige. We spent a few minutes talking, and I had the opportunity to personally thank you for the phone call to my wife. That was when we posed for the photo that you see.
For a lot of people, the level of injury that I received might be enough to discourage them from wanting to continue working, but that’s the difference between a job and a calling. All I’d ever wanted to do is to help others as a law enforcement officer and after months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, I resumed my career as a State Trooper until retiring in 2017. Since that time, I’ve tried to continue my life of service by traveling throughout Pennsylvania and across the country to raise awareness to the dangers present to all responders on our highways. I am also an advocate on behalf of tens of thousands of injured and disabled police officers who face a lifetime of struggles for the choice they made to serve their communities. All too often, their sacrifice is quickly forgotten when their time with their agency ends.
When I tell my story, I usually share with the audience photographs that capture key moments in the story, including the incredible show of support that I received afterward. The picture of you and I has always been in the presentation, and I speak to the idea that even if you don’t agree politically, a person can still show compassion and leadership when it means the most.
Which brings me to why I’m writing this letter. This will be the last time that this photo and the story that goes with it will be told to the public. Under your administration, I have tolerated a lot of the political decisions you have made AND STILL told the story of your one small act of human kindness. While I fully understand that you are not responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, you are responsible for the state’s response and for the decision to end my son’s senior year of high school. And even with all the extra time on my hands, following your stay-at-home order, I still did not remove your picture from my presentation.
Then our nation, already battered from the pandemic, experienced another crisis with the reaction to the murder of a citizen at the hands of a person who disregarded his sworn oath. He and the others present should and will be held accountable. While I fully understand that you are not responsible for the death of that man, you are responsible for our state’s response. The images of graffiti covered, burning state police vehicles, the injured officers and a Trooper covered in paint were difficult to watch, but what changed my mind about you took place later in the week. Just days after my son and my family had to watch his “virtual” graduation from our living room, you violated your own stay-at-home order to march shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of protesters carrying signs that said “Blue Lives Murder” and “ACAB” (which if you didn’t know, means ALL COPS ARE BASTARDS). You were marching alongside with people who believe the solution to the issue is to abolish law enforcement. I don’t know why you chose to participate in the march, but your presence indicates support for their cause.
Am I a bastard Mr. Wolf? Can you tell me which of my friends in uniform are? ALL of them? I’m certainly not a murderer, but I’ve known some Troopers who have been murdered. What part of our lifetime of service was worthy of such disrespect?
I’m sure in response you would go into some long speech about not understanding the issue from the other point of view, but I have news for you, I do. I grew up in poor, racially mixed neighborhoods, the so-called “projects”. Although I can’t say what it was like to have a different skin color, I can understand the frustration that comes with the struggles of poverty and the daily decisions to stay on the right path. Although I can’t vouch for every single police officer in this country, I can say that I have NEVER treated any person differently because of their skin color. My Call of Honor prevents that as I have a duty to obey the law, and to enforce it without any consideration of class, color, creed or condition. That oath is engrained in my very soul. Finally, for the last five years, I can personally attest to what it feels like to be treated differently, in my case because of my disability, yet I have never allowed that to discourage me from continuing to live my life in a productive, responsible manner. I am not a victim and I will never allow my circumstances to define me.
At the end of the day, what difference will it make by removing your photo and no longer sharing the story of our few moments of human interaction? Probably not a lot of difference to tell the truth. I’m sure by now the reality of politics has hardened you to the emotions expressed by people who disagree with you. Police have kind of the same armor, but not because of politics. If your legacy is important to you, I hope you realize that your time in service will always be judged by this dark chapter and by your failures as a leader. I hope you realize that the good things that you do for people can sometimes be overshadowed later by poor decisions. Apparently, in this new "cancel culture" society of ours, it's perfectly acceptable to erase things from our life that upset us, so I'm sure you won't mind if I delete this picture.
Sincerely,
Robert E. Bemis