Months after setting the wheels in motion for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to speak at an annual law enforcement banquet, Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley found himself hospitalized and unable to attend the event.
"I was very disappointed when I came down with the worst case of the flu ever about a week before his scheduled appearance" on Friday, said Whiteley, who indicated circumstances may change, but "real friends don't."
Describing Greitens as a "true American patriot" and a friend, Whiteley said, the governor took time "out of his very hectic schedule to come visit me in the hospital, along with (Department of Public Safety) Director Drew Juden and his wife."
Whiteley said Greitens, who visited him immediately after speaking at the 31st annual Elks Law and Order Night, was grateful to have been invited to speak at the event.
"He was thoroughly impressed by the representation at the Poplar Bluff Elks Lodge and the partnerships that were obvious by the members attending, which was the largest ever," said Whiteley, who indicated Greitens also was impressed by the "immense" support he saw shown for those in law enforcement.
"I want to thank him for being a true friend of law enforcement and first responders, and as he said, he always has our back, and as a friend for taking his time to come visit me personally," Whiteley said.
In asking Greitens to speak at the event, "he totally understood it was not a political event," but was a "show of the unification of law enforcement resources in the Bootheel of Missouri," Whiteley said.
The fact that Greitens is a former Navy SEAL, Whiteley said, he understands and is a product of teamwork, mission direction and leadership.
When Whiteley first met Greitens, he said, he asked him questions "point blank" about methamphetamine and the opioid epidemic, as well as his "commitment to law enforcement and our military.
"He, without hesitation, said 'I will have your back.'"
Greitens' response, he said, is why he asked the governor to speak to the law enforcement officers, first responders and their judicial partners who attend the annual banquet.
As law enforcement administrators, Whiteley said, he and his counterparts have "long recognized" the need to "use every available resource to combat the upward spike in domestic, foreign and homegrown criminal enterprise that is putting our country, the rural communities and the urban communities," at risk.
In doing so, Whiteley said, departments are challenged with budget cuts and manpower shortages, as well as the "fact it's never been more dangerous for law enforcement officers not only in Southeast Missouri, but within the whole United States."
According to Whiteley, there are a number of factors he believes that have contributed to this.
Those, he said, include the "derogation of society due to the legalization of narcotics activity by liberal fascists (and) the removal of parental responsibility teaching young people that there are consequences for evil behavior."
Another factor, he said, is the "liberal philosophy of removing God, patriotism and moral values from our young, K through 12."