AMAC Members Invited to White House Police Protection Roundtable Hosted by President Trump, VP Pence and AG Barr

President Trump hosted a roundtable discussion at the White House last Monday for Americans to relate personal encounters they had with members of law enforcement who demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to duty. Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General William Barr also participated in the discussion. Two AMAC members, Rhonda Norris, and Debby Wisner, both of Maryland, were invited to attend this intimate gathering.

Rhonda told of how she was broadsided in an automobile accident where she was revived by an off-duty state trooper who just happened to be at the scene of the crash. The trooper cared for her as the car had to be cut in order to extricate her from it. He gathered her belongings and followed the ambulance transporting her to the hospital where he met her husband, Mark. He remained with Mark until all of her tests were completed. Rhonda describes her experience with the state trooper as “a cornerstone in my life.” She “was shocked when the White House called within 48 hours and said, “we’ve chosen your essay” and we would like you to sit down at a round table discussion with the President.”

When asked to relate her experience at the White House roundtable, Rhonda said she was “astounded” at President Trump’s demeanor to roundtable participants in the room. He was “so kind, so polite, so concerned (as) he was listening. He’s a force to be reckoned with when I see him deal with the press on a normal basis…and then his kindness when dealing with us in the room and listening…was amazing. It was just truly an amazing experience.”

AMAC member Debby Wisner related how her mobile phone was stolen along with her purse and then a few days later, received a call in the middle of the night from a man asking for a reward to return it. She agreed, gave the man her address and called the police. The police responded and waited out of sight until the man came calling at 2:00 AM with her mobile phone. As soon as he arrived, so did the police. After running a check on the man, he returned the phone to Debby who then gave him his reward. As Debby said at the discussion “I’m grateful that we have community policemen that are willing to come at two in the morning and do this. That’s the only reason we were OK with this.”

Debby said “it was a surreal experience to be invited to the White House, to speak with the President, the Vice President, the Attorney General. I’m grateful that they don’t give you a lot of time in advance to get nervous about it. So, that’s probably the best part, that it was a few days in advance. It gave me time to think about my story. And then when we got there, they just treated us so graciously.”