Montgomery County police Officer Greg Knott jumps out of planes with a parachute with the letters C.O.P.S. emblazoned across it. He does it to raise awareness and cash for the National Organization of Concerns of Police Survivors Inc., a group that extends a helping hand to the family members left behind when a law enforcement officer dies in the line of duty. On Saturday, Knott was awarded the organization’s highest recognition for volunteers.
How did you get involved with C.O.P.S.?
I spent 10 years in the Army, serving in the Middle East. A year after I joined the Montgomery County police force in 1998, I met an officer on the honor guard and started learning about C.O.P.S. For a law enforcement officer, there’s no better organization than C.O.P.S. … When a law enforcement officer is lost in the line of duty, their family has to rebuild its shattered life.
When did you start jumping out of airplanes?
In 2000, I asked for permission from the organization and they granted it, although they looked at me like I was crazy. I was working part time and was able to use that job to raise the money to buy the canopy with C.O.P.S. on it. In January a group of 25 of us celebrated C.O.P.S.’s 25th anniversary by jumping. We raised $25,000 for the organization.
What kinds of programs do survivors attend?
As an example, during National Police Week, we send many survivors to Washington, where they meet and support each other. I have worked with the children of survivors for eight years. We spend two days at the FBI Academy in Quantico. The kids talk about things that they’re dealing with.
Is it hard to hear?
Working with the kids is self-rewarding. But it’s hard to listen to a teenage girl talk about her dad, and talk about how she’ll miss not having him there when she graduates or to walk her down the aisle.
