The Correctional Peace Officers (CPO) Foundation is a national, non-profit charitable organization created in 1984. Its primary function is to preserve and support the surviving families of Correctional Officers who lose their lives in pursuit of their chosen profession of protecting the public from those remanded to correctional custody and supervision in the nation's prisons and jails. The CPO Foundation is a bona fide charity registered with the Internal Revenue Service under IRC 501(c)(3), 509(a)(1) & 170(b)(1)(A)(vi), ID No. 68-0023302. The CPO Foundation is not a political action group or committee of any kind, nor is it affiliated with any political action group or committee of any kind, nor is it involved in any collective bargaining issues with any employee groups, associations and/or administrations. It is the policy of the CPO Foundation that we do not recognize privatization in the field of Corrections. The CPO Foundation adheres to the policies of the Federal Government's Department of Justice. Those policies recognize only law enforcement officers within the public sector.

MISSION STATEMENT The purpose of the Correctional Peace Officers (CPO) Foundation, Inc. is to operate and maintain a general fund for the perpetuation of the memory of those Correctional Peace Officers killed in the line of duty; to provide for their spouses, children or other beneficiaries; and to promote and project a positive image of the Corrections profession, both internally and to the general public. "Taking Care of Our Own" _____________________________________________________________

Correctional Officer Donna Fitzgerald Florida Department of Corrections, Florida On June 25, 2008, Correctional Officer Donna Fitzgerald, born October 3, 1957, in Parsons, West Virginia, was stabbed to death by an inmate at the Tomoka Correctional Institution in Volusia County   The inmate had become separated from other inmates and attacked Officer Fitzgerald with a piece of folded metal.  Officer Fitzgerald had served with the Florida Department of Corrections for 13 years.

Correctional Officer Jose Rivera United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Prisons U.S. Government   On Friday, June 20, 2008, Correctional Officer Jose Rivera, United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Prisons U.S. Government, was stabbed to death by two inmates at United States Penitentiary Atwater in Atwater, California. The inmates stabbed Officer Rivera with homemade knives as he was locking cell doors in preparation for the 4:00 pm headcount. Other officers immediately responded to the location and restrained both suspects. Officer Rivera was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds several hours later. Officer Rivera was 22 years old, a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for only 10 months.

Honored in 2008      2007 Line of Duty Deaths   Correctional Officer Pablo Vazquez California State Prison - Sacramento California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation California  End of watch: January 25, 2007    Transportation Officer Stephen Anderson Utah State Prison Utah Department of Corrections Utah End of watch: June 25, 2007   Community Service Director Jerome Brewer Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility Indiana Department of Correction Indiana  End of watch: August 1, 2007   Deputy Marshal Bucky Burke United States Department of Justice-Marshals Service District of Columbia  End of watch: September 18, 2007   Correctional Officer IV- Field, Susan Canfield Wynne Unit Texas Department of Criminal Justice Texas End of watch: September 24, 2007      Corrections Deputy Daniel Thorpe Shelby County Jail Shelby County Sheriff's Office, Memphis Tennessee  End of watch: October 22, 2007      Deputy Sheriff Paul Rein Broward County Sheriff’s Department Florida  End of watch: November 7, 2007  Transport Officer Laura Whittingham Howell County Sheriff’s Department Missouri End of watch: December 6, 2007   Correctional Officer Elizabeth Franklin Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women Alabama Department of Correction Alabama End of watch: December 7, 2007    Military Deaths Correctional Officer Arthur Laguna Folsom State Prison California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation Died January 23, 2007 United States Military – Killed While Serving our Country in Iraq   Army Specialist Cameron Payne 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas Son of Correctional Officer Denise Jackson, California Rehabilitation Center.    Army Sergeant Jan M. Argonish 55th Brigade, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Scranton Pennsylvania Was a Correctional Officer at the United States Penitentiary -Canaan, Federal Bureau of Prisons   Army Specialist David E. Lambert 237th Engineer Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 91st Troop Command of the Virginia National Guard.  Was a Correctional Officer at Keen Mountain Correctional Facility, Virginia Department of Corrections     In the Past Line of Duty Deaths   Deputy Sheriff William Hudnall Jr. Kern County Sheriff’s Department California End of watch: November 14, 2006   Senior Officer Specialist Merle Clutts United States Penitentiary- Marion Federal Bureau of Prisons Illinois End of watch: October 22, 1983   Senior Officer Specialist Robert Hoffmann United States Penitentiary- Marion Federal Bureau of Prisons Illinois End of watch: October 22, 1983