Every now and again, I’m asked, “What is ForceEffects?” Most people will hear the name and assume it refers to the physical effects of using force, or better said the “The Effects of Force”. This was done by design to trick everyone into believing that. Scratch that, truth is every other name I came up with was already taken and I had to come up with a cool logo that would sell some t-shirts! All kidding aside, the inspiration for ‘ForceEffects’ was a brainchild birthed in my bathroom while listening to the television playing in my bedroom. A popular news station was reporting on people rioting in Ferguson, Missouri over a police shooting.
By this time I had already proudly served for 26 long years in law enforcement and could not remember ever feeling so unappreciated by the people I swore to protect. I wondered if there was anything I could do to help change people’s perceptions of who we are and regain some of the public’s trust we’d obviously lost. Add to that all of the mass shootings, terrorists attacks and every other violent crime you can think of. I got tired of watching videos of people being victimized and not knowing how to defend themselves!
In short, the name ForceEffects is derived from The Fourth (IV) Amendment to the United States Constitution:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
So there you have it! I swapped out “Fourth (IV)” with “Force” and I added “Effects” from the US constitution. In other words it speaks of the force we use and its effects to both us and the citizens we serve. If you still don’t get it just buy a t-shirt!
Ed Pantoja 
