Police departments pride themselves on quick responses to emergencies.
And apparently the credit unions that serve them do too.
Even before the names of two Iowa police officers who were killed on Nov. 2 were released, the Des Moines Police Credit Union began its response by establishing fundraising accounts for the officers’ families.
“We like to say we serve those who serve us,” credit union CEO Andy Fogle said. “We find unique ways to serve them.”
He added, “sometimes we serve people through loans and sometimes we serve them through establishing accounts for donations.”
On Nov. 2, Des Moines Police Sergeant Anthony Beminio, 38, and Urbandale Police Department Officer Justin Martin, 24, were shot and killed in an ambush series of attacks about 20 minutes apart.
Both officers were sitting in their patrol cars when they were killed. One man, Scott Michael Greene, 46, of Urbandale was arrested for both shootings. He had had previous altercations with law enforcement officials, police said following his arrest.
Martin had joined the Urbandale police force last year. Beminio was an 11-year veteran of the police department. He was married with three children.
On the first day after the deaths were announced, the credit union received 500 donations and in the first week, it received 1,200. The credit union is not publicly releasing the amount it has raised in an effort to respect the privacy of the officers’ families.
“We’ve just seen them flood in,” Fogle said. “The response was just incredible.”
Credit union employees visited the Des Moines Police Department, some eight blocks from the credit union to pick up donations dropped off there. And employees also visited the Urbandale Policer Department, located 20 to 25 minutes from Des Moines to collect donations dropped off at that police department.
The credit union posted information about how to donate on its Facebook page and Twitter account. And on his twitter account, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad also endorsed the credit union’s fundraising effort.
This wasn’t the first time the credit union raised money for officers who died.
Earlier this year, two Des Moines police officers were killed in a vehicle accident. “We weren’t ready for that,” Fogle said, adding that the credit union established an online store through Square, a company that provides such services.
This time, the credit union was prepared and used the same online store to raise money for the slain officers.
“Unfortunately, we had been through this before,” Fogle, said.
Any processing fees for the donations through Square also have been donated. “One-hundred percent of the money is going to the families,” he said.
Fogle said his credit union also is active in other charitable activities in the community, but often focuses on those that benefit area police officers. “We try to focus on charities important to our members,” he said. “We exist to serve people.”
Fogle’s credit union has a long history in the Des Moines community. First established in 1932, the credit union serves government employees in the Des Moines community and has almost $52.3 million in assets. In September, the board of the Polk County Schools Employees Credit Union voted to merge with Fogle’s credit union.
Credit unions around the country have a history of assisting police officers who have been killed on duty.
In Texas, the Cornerstone Credit Union League’s Fort Worth chapter participated in a fundraising event to support the families of the five slain police officers and seven officers who were wounded in the Dallas shooting sniper attack on July 7.
And following 9/11, the Municipal Credit Union forgave between $400,000 and $500,000 in loans that had been made to police officers and firefighters who were killed.
