Public Relations Professional Steps Up to Prepare Cops For Media Scrutiny
MONROVIA, CA - Reacting the national wave of anti-police activism, a Southern California public relations firm has launched a new service to prepare and represent individual law enforcement officers who find themselves facing media scrutiny. Cop PRotect (www.CopPRotect.com) provides police officers across the country with web-based media relations and reputation management services. It is designed to both prepare officers for possible media scrutiny and represent them if the need arises.
The concept for the service was born from several incidents in recent years that have ended the careers of police officers following pressure from activists with little regard for facts or evidence. Most notable was Ferguson, Missouri officer Darren Wilson, whose life was turned upside down after he defended himself from a violent assault by a robbery suspect. The service was created by Southern California businessman Robert Parry. Mr. Parry previously led an effort to help rehabilitate the reputation of Los Angeles Police Officer John Hatfield, whose career was destroyed after he was involved in a violent arrest of a car thief.
“Cops today are completely at the mercy of activists who don’t care about the truth,” said Parry, owner of Compass Check Consulting Services, LLC, a small business public relations and advisory firm based in Monrovia, CA. “Darren Wilson was nearly murdered and now lives in hiding, while the man who tried to kill him is declared a hero by activists.” Parry added, “Cop PRotect gives cops like Darren Wilson and John Hatfield a trusted friend to tell their stories in ways agency information officers, union representatives and the media cannot or will not.”
The service costs $50 per year and includes a Subscriber Guide for developing a media-savvy reputation and access to an internet data base to which subscribers can upload critical documents and information that are the tools for a media relations campaign. The Subscriber Guide includes techniques officers can use to ensure they have established solid reputations in their communities to create a complete set of tools that illustrate their service. “Most cops are doing the right thing,” said Parry, “the challenge is ensuring that the story elements are presentable in a way the media can use.”
Parry has worked in public relations for over a decade and previously published a community newspaper in Southern California. He has also published several opinion articles for publications including The Los Angeles Times, LA Daily News, Pasadena Star-News and Ricochet.com about misperceptions of police work, management practices and police-community relations.
ABOUT COP PROTECT
Cop PRotect is a subscription-based product of Compass Check Consulting Services, an experienced business marketing and public relations firm with unique skills and experience in media relations, public relations, social media and law enforcement. The firm’s founder, Mr. Robert Parry, has extensive experience in public relations, media relations and marketing with expertise in controversial sectors including investment banking, oil & gas exploration and policing. He is a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, For more information visit www.CopPRotect.com, call 626-407-3001 or email rparry@compasscheckconsulting.com.