• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
      Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
      How not to fail as an outside chief
      Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
      Go that extra mile with a smile
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
        How not to fail as an outside chief
        Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
        Go that extra mile with a smile
    • Editor’s Picks
      • Off duty, but never off guard
        The tyranny of memories
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
        Empowering through experience
        Getting ahead of the story
    • On the Job
      • Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
        Policing and fatherhood
        2025 Top Cops
        What’s with all the gear?
        Reckless elegance
    • Labor
      • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
        Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
        Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
        The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
        Critical incidents and waiting woosah
    • Tech
      • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
        Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
        A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
    • Training
      • Blind spots
        LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
        Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
        Off duty, but never off guard
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
    • Policy
      • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
        Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
        Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
        Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
        Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
    • Health/Wellness
      • “Hold my beer”
        When empathy backfires
        Navigating retirement
        Keeping work at work and home at home
        Avoiding the road to burnout
    • Community
      • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
        Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
        San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
        Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
        Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
        What’s with the white chairs?
        The pain and sorrow of loss
        A cop and his car
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
      Policing and fatherhood
      2025 Top Cops
      What’s with all the gear?
      Reckless elegance
  • Labor
    • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
      Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
      Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
      The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
      Critical incidents and waiting woosah
  • Tech
    • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
      Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
      A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
  • Training
    • Blind spots
      LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
      Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
      Off duty, but never off guard
      Meeting training needs on a limited budget
  • Policy
    • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
      Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
      Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
      Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
      Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
  • Health/Wellness
    • “Hold my beer”
      When empathy backfires
      Navigating retirement
      Keeping work at work and home at home
      Avoiding the road to burnout
  • Community
    • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
      Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
      San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
      Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
      Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
      What’s with the white chairs?
      The pain and sorrow of loss
      A cop and his car
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Partners in the News

C.O.P.S. survivor story: Captain Matt Bloesch

Sara Slone Published May 17, 2023 @ 3:09 pm PDT

Matt Bloesch
Captain Matt Bloesch (Matt Bloesch)

Matt Bloesch was a typical 13-year-old trying to find his place in the world. His dad was his best friend, who he respected and looked to for guidance. Matt’s world was completely shattered on August 2, 1988, when his dad, San Francisco, California, Police Officer James Bloesch, was accidentally shot and killed while on duty.

Through the rest of his teen years and into adulthood, Matt became fiercely independent and distracted himself with sports, partying and, eventually, his career. “I was good at things like work because there was an instruction manual. But I never learned how to be a good dad, husband or friend because I never learned how to deal with my emotions,” Matt said.

Matt’s world started to collapse around him, and he knew he needed help. He found it at the West Coast Post-Trauma Retreat, a center for first responders living with post-traumatic stress injury. “I was trapped for a long time because I thought I was the only one suffering and feeling the way I felt,” Matt said. “When other people opened up to me about what they were going through, I no longer felt alone, and I felt safe talking about all of the dark things that had been running around in my head.” 

Getting his life back on track meant Matt was ready to focus on his future. Wanting to be like his dad and work in a field where he could help people every day, Matt took courses in administration of justice. “Ten minutes into my first law class, I knew that law enforcement was my calling. I have loved every day of this career.”

Matt and his wife, Karen, attend the C.O.P.S. Adult Children’s Retreat each June. In 2022, Matt was grateful for the opportunity to serve as a mentor at both Kids Camp and Young Adults Camp. “They were both great experiences, but I related more to the young adults because I remember being that age and trying to navigate life without my dad,” he said. “Life between the ages of 15–20 was the hardest years of my life. I talked about some of the things I dealt with at that age, the mistakes I made, where I wish I would have zigged instead of zagged, and the things that really helped me through those years.”

Knowing how lonely losing a parent at that age can feel, Matt wants every surviving child to know he is at least one person who truly “gets it.” The advice he gives is this: “Be good to yourself. Your parent who you lost loved you very much. The best thing you can do to honor them is to live a whole and happy life and carry on the legacy. This is something I learned along the way after having my own kids. I want them to be happy and healthy. If anything ever happened to me, I would still want them to be happy and healthy, and to remember me by doing their part to make the world a better place.”

On December 2, 2022, Matt was promoted to captain at the Fairfield, (California), Police Department. He will oversee the Operations Division. He is pictured with his wife (Karin), daughter (Bridget) and son (James).

Sara Slone

Sara Slone

Sara Slone is the outreach director for Concerns of Police Survivors.

View articles by Sara Slone

As seen in the May 2023 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: Partners in the News

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • “Hold my beer”
  • NLEOMF’s 2025 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Fatalities Report reveals law enforcement deaths have decreased by more than 50% over last year
  • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
  • Blind spots
  • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread across nation
  • Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property regulators
  • When empathy backfires
  • 2025 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Officers Fatality Report
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces May 2025 Officer of the Month
  • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police recruits in effort to boost hiring

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Off duty, but never off guard

Off duty, but never off guard

May 05, 2025

The tyranny of memories

The tyranny of memories

May 04, 2025

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

May 02, 2025

Empowering through experience

Empowering through experience

April 18, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.