A Deputy Discovery

In the wake of the shooting of Deputy Joseph Matuskovic, I learned something. I came across this discovery the morning of his funeral.

Charleston County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Matuskovic, was shot and killed Monday Sept 8 by a man who was causing disruption in the Gardens at Ashley River apartment complex.

Patriot Guard Riders lining the road
in honor of Deputy Joe Matuskovic
Courtesy of Twitter

Now on the day of the funeral, I had a revelation. My Twitter feed was covered up with coverage. Everything from road closures to the Patriot Guard Riders who were lining the sidewalks was being talked about--all in light of the funeral.

Among all the posts, it was one tweet that really caught my eye...

Courtesy of Twitter

I had never seen anything like this before, but little did I know, mourning band protocol has been around for quite some time. This symbolic band, covering the name of agency, is a way to show respect to those who have fallen within your department of law. The band is to be worn for a period of 30 days from the date of death of the department officer.

Later that same day, I was catching up on my new favorite show, Reckless. Now, even though this show is simply TV fiction, I stopped in my tracks when I saw the mourning band being worn. 

Scene of Reckless character wearing the 'mourning band'
following the day of the shooting in the show's plot.
Courtesy of CBS

In the show’s plot, officers were killed in a line of action. The very next day, all those in the department were wearing the mourning band.

This was not something talked about on the show, but when I saw it, I knew I had to write about it. It was neat to see a TV show tying in something that occurs in law enforcement departments off the screen. When I saw this connection, I right away started researching the topic and knew I had to share my latest discovery. Like they say, you learn something new everyday!