Off Duty Officers Honors Law Enforcement During National Police Week

National Police Week hits differently for us than it probably does for most companies. It's not a chance to post something nice on social media and move on. A lot of the people who work here have worn a badge. Some still do on their days off. So this week, we take it seriously.

Off Duty Officers was founded by Terry Degelder, a retired San Diego Police Detective. Terry wasn't just any detective. He was the lead investigator on the Betty Broderick case, one of the most high-profile murder cases in San Diego history and later the subject of books, documentaries, and a television series. That's the kind of real-world experience this company was built on from day one.

The brand is now part of the Blue Star Specialized family, led by president Anthony Varchetto, himself a retired Chicago Police Sergeant. He spent years working the streets of Chicago before taking the helm. The way he runs this company comes directly from that background. The culture, the expectations, the way we talk about the job. That's not a talking point. It's just the truth.

What This Week Is Really About

Law enforcement officers don't get nearly enough credit for what they deal with on a daily basis. Every shift they're walking into situations most people would never want to be near. They're making quick decisions with incomplete information, trying to keep people safe, and doing it all knowing that things can go wrong fast. They do that for their communities, and a lot of the time they do it without much thanks.

National Police Week is a chance to change that, even briefly. Thousands of officers across this country have been killed in the line of duty. Many more come home carrying things they'll never fully put down. The stress, the things they've seen, the weight of it follows them. Their families feel it too, probably more than most people realize. That deserves more than a quick acknowledgment.

We think about this a lot at Off Duty Officers, because we have people on our team who've lived it. When they talk about law enforcement, it comes from experience, not from the outside looking in.

Who Works Here

A good portion of our staff are retired law enforcement, off-duty officers, or military veterans. They're not here because they passed a basic security course. They're here because they spent years in careers where paying attention and making the right call actually mattered. That kind of background doesn't just disappear when someone retires or picks up extra work. They bring it with them.

We also have unarmed security professionals who may not have a law enforcement background but are trained, reliable, and take the job seriously. Not every client needs the same thing, and we staff based on what the situation actually calls for. A front desk presence at an office building is a different assignment than working a large public event, and we treat it that way. What we expect from everyone, regardless of role, is the same: show up ready, stay focused, and do the job right.

Clients tend to notice the difference. There's something that comes through in how people carry themselves when they have real experience behind them, whether they're managing access at a corporate building or keeping an eye on a crowd. That's what we work to maintain across every post.