DEC 2020 Blues Vol 36 No. 12 - 36TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
DEC 2020 Blues Vol 36 No. 12 - 36TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
DEC 2020 Blues Vol 36 No. 12 - 36TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
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The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 1
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2 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 3
<strong>DEC</strong>EMBER, <strong>2020</strong> • VOL. <strong>36</strong> NO. <strong>12</strong><br />
MICHAEL BARRON<br />
publisher<br />
REX EVANS<br />
editor-n-chief<br />
MISTY ROBERTS<br />
editor<br />
RUSTY BARRON<br />
outdoor editor<br />
THE TEAM<br />
TINA JAECKLE<br />
blue mental health<br />
DARYL LOTT<br />
daryl’s deliberations<br />
On the Cover /<br />
Feature Story<br />
<strong>36</strong><br />
REBECCA CESARI<br />
sales manager<br />
houston/south texas<br />
PHIL PIERCE<br />
sales manager<br />
north texas<br />
JANICE VANZURA<br />
sales manager<br />
austin/san antonio<br />
This month marks the <strong>36</strong>th Anniversary<br />
of The BLUES Police Magazine.<br />
Who would have thought<br />
<strong>36</strong> years ago, that a small police<br />
newspaper would end up becoming<br />
the largest digital police<br />
magazine in America. We hope<br />
you enjoy this moment in police<br />
publishing history.<br />
38<br />
52<br />
C O N T R I BUT O R S<br />
DAVID JONES<br />
contributing writer<br />
DOUGLAS GRIFFITH<br />
contributing writer<br />
CHERYL PEREZ<br />
contributing writer<br />
LIZ SAWYER<br />
contributing writer<br />
JOSH CAIN<br />
contributing writer<br />
DANIEL O’KELLY<br />
contributing writer<br />
BRISTOW MARCHANT<br />
contributing writer<br />
JOE SEVERINO<br />
contributing writer<br />
The BLUES Police Magazine is published monthly by<br />
Kress-Barr, LLC, PO Box 2733, League City Texas<br />
77574. The opinions expressed in some articles, op-eds,<br />
and editorials are those of the author and do not reflect<br />
the opinion of The BLUES or its parent company. The<br />
entire contents of The BLUES are copyrighted© and<br />
may not be reprinted without the express permission of<br />
the publisher. The BLUES logo is a Trademark of<br />
Kress-Barr, LLC.<br />
FEATURES<br />
09 LEOs LOST TO COVID<br />
18 REMEMBERING HPD OFFICER RAY SIMPER<br />
40 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE<br />
56 SIX REASONS WHY YOUR AGENCY<br />
NEEDS A CERTIFIED FIREARMS SPECIALIST<br />
DEPARTMENTS<br />
06 Publisher’s Thoughts<br />
08 Editor’s Thoughts<br />
14 Your Thoughts<br />
22 News Around the State<br />
30 News Around the Country<br />
68 Remembering my Hero - Officer Steve Perez<br />
70 Running 4 Heroes<br />
74 Blue Mental Health with Dr. Tina Jaeckle<br />
78 Honoring Fallen Heroes<br />
82 Outdoors with Rusty Barron<br />
84 Parting Shots<br />
86 <strong>No</strong>w Hiring - L.E. Positions Open in Texas<br />
62 SHOP FOR BLUES, BACK THE BLUE MERCHANDISE<br />
72<br />
76<br />
DARYL’S DELIBERATIONS,<br />
by DARYL LOTT<br />
HPOU EDITORIAL,<br />
by PRESIDENT DOUGLAS GRIFFITH<br />
4 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 5
<strong>36</strong> years and counting<br />
Twelve months ago, we began<br />
a journey. A journey that actually<br />
began <strong>36</strong> years ago this month.<br />
When we made the decision to<br />
resurrect the BLUES, we had no<br />
idea we were about to enter the<br />
twilight zone. Creating a digital<br />
version of the oldest private<br />
police newspaper in Texas was<br />
daunting, yet exciting at the<br />
same time. We knew what to do<br />
and how to do it. What I personally<br />
didn’t expect, was the flood<br />
of emotions of reliving 35 years<br />
of policing in Texas. <strong>No</strong>t only my<br />
experiences, but those of all my<br />
brothers and sisters in Blue.<br />
Anybody in law enforcement<br />
will tell you they compartmentalize<br />
their worst experiences<br />
in order to have any semblance<br />
of a normal life. But when you<br />
dredge up all those memories<br />
and begin to put them in words<br />
for the world to see, all those<br />
bottled up feelings come back<br />
with a vengeance.<br />
And in the midst of these PTSD<br />
flashbacks, the world suddenly<br />
changed course and life as we<br />
know it changed as well. March<br />
7, <strong>2020</strong> was THE day that I was<br />
first informed of what a Coronavirus<br />
was. And that something<br />
called COVID was about<br />
to impact my life and millions<br />
of people on earth. As of December<br />
1, <strong>2020</strong>, over 14.2 million<br />
Americans have contracted the<br />
virus and over 276,000 have died.<br />
In the world, 65.4 million have<br />
contracted COVID<br />
and 1.51 Million have<br />
died. As we went to<br />
press, 158 police officers<br />
have lost their<br />
lives to the pandemic.<br />
Over 35 people<br />
I know personally<br />
have died.<br />
Thinking back to last New<br />
Years Eve, at the stroke of midnight,<br />
I toasted to the beginning<br />
of a new year that I thought was<br />
about to be something incredible<br />
and life changing. I was referring<br />
to bringing the BLUES back to<br />
life. <strong>No</strong>t a pandemic that would<br />
kill my friends. <strong>No</strong>t a war against<br />
police that result in 270 police<br />
officers losing their lives. <strong>2020</strong><br />
was life changing alright, but<br />
certainly not like I envisioned it<br />
to be.<br />
And in the midst of this horrible<br />
battle, millions of Americans<br />
rallied together to support<br />
their president in ways never<br />
seen before. The re-election of<br />
Trump seemed like a slam dunk.<br />
But that too faded into an unbelievable<br />
defeat. Despite claims<br />
of voter fraud and a rigged<br />
election, Biden will take office<br />
January 20, 2021 and the fate<br />
of future Trump trains remains<br />
unknown. What do the thousands,<br />
no millions of pro-Trump,<br />
pro-police people do now?<br />
Trump lit a fire in the hearts<br />
of Americans never seen before.<br />
He made people proud of<br />
their country and more importantly<br />
proud and supportive of<br />
their police. This movement<br />
must continue. The BLUES is hell<br />
bent on re-directing this massive<br />
Trump Train into a BACKthe-BLUE<br />
movement the likes<br />
of which we have never seen<br />
before. The only way to survive<br />
four years of Biden’s bullshit<br />
is to show him and his cronies<br />
that the majority of Americans<br />
support law and order. We<br />
will stand with and protect our<br />
police to the bitter end. We are<br />
unwavering in our commitment<br />
and unstoppable in numbers. You<br />
will not burn down our cities,<br />
nor will you hurt our brothers<br />
and sisters in blue. We will fight<br />
you and we will be victorious.<br />
As the year comes to a close,<br />
I feel like we are all on a beach<br />
at sunset, after a hurricane.<br />
There may be total destruction<br />
behind us, but the beautiful sun<br />
setting on crystal clear water<br />
says I’m the future and it’s better.<br />
Like so many times before, God<br />
has reset humanity. We are so<br />
wrapped up in what we think<br />
we NEED to do to live, we let life<br />
slip by without ever knowing it.<br />
If nothing else, <strong>2020</strong> taught us<br />
how to live life differently when<br />
needed. Taught us to appreciate<br />
the smaller things in life and<br />
realize how fragile it is. Showed<br />
us we need to spend time with<br />
our parents, grandparents, aunts<br />
and uncles, brothers and sisters,<br />
as their time here is shorter than<br />
we think. And for that matter,<br />
time is short for all of us. We<br />
have to make each day count,<br />
live each day as if it were our<br />
last and do our best to leave this<br />
world a little bit better than we<br />
found it. And as the sun slowly<br />
sets on <strong>2020</strong>, all we really know<br />
about 2021 is that sun will rise<br />
again.<br />
And when it does, we need to<br />
rally around our brothers and<br />
sisters in Blue and show them<br />
once and for all we have their<br />
backs and we will not stand for<br />
more innocent lives to be lost.<br />
Each of us needs to watch each<br />
others back, both on duty and<br />
off. If you see a fellow officer out<br />
on traffic or making contact with<br />
a subject, take a minute to make<br />
sure they are OK.<br />
And let’s take time to do what<br />
we can for those officers that are<br />
sick with COVID. I know we can’t<br />
visit them in person, but do what<br />
ever you can, and make sure<br />
they know we are all praying for<br />
them.<br />
And let’s also not forget our<br />
brothers and sisters that have<br />
retired. Just because they no longer<br />
wear a badge and uniform,<br />
doesn’t mean they aren’t still a<br />
part of the BLUE family. These<br />
men and women dedicated their<br />
lives to making sure you and<br />
your family had a safe environment<br />
to grow up in. We owe<br />
them a huge debt of gratitude for<br />
their service.<br />
In the first quarter of 2021, the<br />
BLUES is going to organize the<br />
largest BLUE reunion in the history<br />
of Houston. A chance for first<br />
responders who have served in<br />
the Greater Houston area in the<br />
past 50 years, to come together<br />
and celebrate our history together.<br />
If you would like to assist<br />
with the planning of this monumental<br />
event, send us a quick<br />
email to: bluespdmag@gmail.<br />
com. Also watch our social media<br />
pages for more information<br />
on this incredible event.<br />
As we close the books on <strong>2020</strong>,<br />
the entire staff at the BLUES<br />
would like to wish you and your<br />
family the happiest of Holidays.<br />
A Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah,<br />
and a Happy New Year.<br />
May God Bless our entire BLUE<br />
family.<br />
HAPPY HOLIDAYS<br />
6 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 7
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY DUE TO COVID<br />
As this year’s Holiday Season broad daylight attacks against<br />
$150,000 gets under way, we here ..what the officers it won’t who were get doing you. nothing<br />
<strong>Blues</strong> cannot help but to hit the<br />
proverbial “Pause Button” for a<br />
moment and humbly and sincerely<br />
reflect upon those whom<br />
we’ve lost this year.<br />
The Staff at The <strong>Blues</strong> are truly<br />
saddened and teary eyed, as we<br />
reflect on all the names, faces,<br />
friends, family, brothers and<br />
sisters, whose lives we’ve lost<br />
this year. Whether by violence,<br />
accident or this damn virus. This<br />
year has taken a record number<br />
of our Brothers and Sisters away<br />
from us. Our Thin Blue Line, perhaps<br />
thinner than ever before.<br />
For not only have we endured<br />
record losses of Law Enforcement<br />
Officers, we’ve endured<br />
record protests, marches, online<br />
and in person attacks of the<br />
likes never seen before. Officer<br />
after officer beaten, threatened,<br />
spit upon, human waste thrown<br />
upon, burned, run over, stabbed<br />
and shot as never before. Brazen,<br />
more than wearing their uniform<br />
and sitting at an intersection or<br />
in some parking lot.<br />
What some fail to realize or<br />
perhaps justify in their minds,<br />
is the fact that it’s not just the<br />
officer you’re attacking. It’s<br />
their family and friends as well.<br />
Their mothers, fathers, sons and<br />
daughters. It’s their brothers and<br />
sisters, coworkers, teachers and<br />
teammates from back in the<br />
day. For every officer attacked<br />
or killed, no less than a hundred<br />
people are deeply, personally<br />
and directly affected.<br />
When you look at it in such<br />
context, one can begin to see the<br />
widespread carnage, we in Law<br />
Enforcement are all enduring.<br />
The weight is nearly, unfathomable.<br />
Immeasurable pain, loss<br />
and suffering are wrongly inflicted<br />
because of no other reason or<br />
logic than “They were a cop, so<br />
they deserved it!”<br />
As of the date this is being<br />
written, 263 Law Enforcement<br />
Officers lost their lives in the<br />
Line of Duty. This number (much<br />
more than just a number, mind<br />
you) comes to a 102 percent increase<br />
of last year’s total number<br />
of Officers lost. Keeping in<br />
mind, this is the first of December,<br />
we’ve thirty more days to go<br />
in this terrible year of <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
In closing, it is not all loss,<br />
doom and gloom. We refuse to<br />
end this article on such a note.<br />
There were babies born unto<br />
those families who lost an officer.<br />
Children started Kindergarten<br />
while others, graduated High<br />
School. Some of the surviving<br />
children have become Law Enforcement<br />
Officers, themselves.<br />
Carrying on a tenacious tradition<br />
where their Mother or Father had<br />
left off.<br />
So much sacrifice and its ultimate<br />
endurance of profound loss<br />
Senior Police Officer Ernest Leal, Jr.<br />
Houston Police Department, TX<br />
EOW: Friday, <strong>No</strong>vember 27, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Glenn F. Martinez<br />
Guam Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Monday, <strong>No</strong>vember 23, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Detention Officer Dwight Willis<br />
Greene County Sheriff’s Office,<br />
EOW: Sunday, <strong>No</strong>vember 22, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Richard Allen Wright<br />
Missouri Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Thursday, <strong>No</strong>vember 19, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Agent Christopher Doyle Carney<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Monday, <strong>No</strong>vember 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
cannot be ignored. And yet, neither<br />
can the fact that out of all<br />
the loss, the old saying of “We’ll<br />
find in the ashes, that which we<br />
lost in the fire”, rings true. Out of<br />
everything and everyone we’ve<br />
lost; we must continue to stand<br />
back up and hold the line. If<br />
not for ourselves than certainly<br />
we owe this in the very least to<br />
those whom we’ve lost and held,<br />
Deputy Sheriff Johnny R. Tunches<br />
Harris County Sheriff’s Office,<br />
EOW: Tuesday, <strong>No</strong>vember 3, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Lieutenant Loyd Ray Hamm<br />
Richland Parish Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Monday, <strong>No</strong>vember 2, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corporal Avery Hillman<br />
Crisp County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Saturday, October 31, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Jerad Lindsey<br />
Tulsa Police Department<br />
EOW: Wednesday, October 28, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Raul Gomez<br />
Wharton County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Monday, October 26, <strong>2020</strong><br />
oh so close and so dear.<br />
As December 1, <strong>2020</strong> these are<br />
the officers who have died in the<br />
Line of Duty due to COVID. Please<br />
keep these officers and their<br />
families in your prayers.<br />
Let us all pray that COVID<br />
comes to an end soon and we<br />
don’t lose another brother or sister<br />
in blue to this horrible virus.<br />
Captain Jeff Sewell<br />
Oklahoma Highway Patrol<br />
EOW: Saturday, September 26, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Customs Officer Renie Tumanda<br />
Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency<br />
EOW: Friday, September 25, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Master Jail Officer Robert Charles Sunukjian<br />
Hampton Roads Regional Jail<br />
EOW: Thursday, September 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Captain Randy M. Vallot<br />
Richland Parish Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, September 23, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Christopher Smith<br />
McLennan County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Monday, September 21, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Lieutenant Marzell Jerome Brooks<br />
Brookhaven Police Department,<br />
EOW: Sunday, <strong>No</strong>vember 15, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Alex Arango<br />
Everman Police Department,<br />
EOW: Thursday, October 22, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Charles Edward <strong>No</strong>rton<br />
Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, GA<br />
EOW: Sunday, September 20, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Agent Juan R. Ramírez-Padilla<br />
Puerto Rico Police Department,<br />
EOW: Friday, <strong>No</strong>vember 13, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Major Rickie A. Groves<br />
Kennett Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, October 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Officer Carlo Jay Cayabyab<br />
Department of Homeland Security Officer<br />
EOW: Wednesday, September 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Officer Domingo Jasso, III<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Thursday, <strong>No</strong>vember 5, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sheriff Pete Smith<br />
Sumter County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, October 14, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Eric John Twisdale<br />
Clay County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, September 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant William Darnell<br />
DeWitt Township Police Department<br />
EOW: Wednesday, <strong>No</strong>vember 4, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Dennis R. Oliver, Jr.<br />
Highland Village Police Department,<br />
EOW: Friday, October 2, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Angela Chavers<br />
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office,<br />
EOW: Saturday, September <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
First Lieutenant Roberto Rodríguez-Hernández<br />
Puerto Rico Police Department\<br />
EOW: Wednesday, <strong>No</strong>vember 4, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Donald E. Parker<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Thursday, October 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer Susan Ann Roberts<br />
Williamson County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Saturday, September <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
8 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 9
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY DUE TO COVID<br />
Detective Jose Mora<br />
Fresno County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Monday, September 7, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Lieutenant Maybelle W. Hendricks<br />
Ridgeville Police Department<br />
EOW: Monday, August 17, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Michael Stevens<br />
Galveston County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Friday, July 31, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Captain Steven M. Gaudet, Jr.<br />
Pearl River Police Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, July 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Jose Marquez<br />
Cook County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Sunday, June 28, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Officer Marshall Lee “Bem” London, Jr.<br />
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, MS<br />
EOW: Monday, May 18, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corporal Charles E. Holt<br />
Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Tuesday, September 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Lieutenant Aldemar Rengifo<br />
Broward County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Sunday, August 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Jairo Antonio Bravo<br />
Miami-Dade County Dept. of Corrections<br />
EOW: Thursday, July 30, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V Jerry Esparza<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Wednesday, July 15, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Juvenile Corrections Officer Sean Rahina<br />
Wilson | Texas Juvenile Justice Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, June 28, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Berisford Anthony Morse<br />
Washington State Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Sunday, May 17, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Mayra Rodríguez-Burgado<br />
Puerto Rico Police Department,<br />
EOW: Monday, August 31, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Marshal Anthony Charles McGrew<br />
United States Department of Justice<br />
EOW: Saturday, August 15, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Lieutenant Erik L. Lloyd<br />
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department<br />
EOW: Wednesday, July 29, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Investigator Donald K. Sumner<br />
Patton State Hospital Police Department<br />
EOW: Tuesday, July 14, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Dale Multer<br />
Travis County Constable’s Office - Precinct 5<br />
EOW: Saturday, June 27, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Officer Ching Kok<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Saturday, May 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Maurice Ford<br />
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Thursday, August 27, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V Elizabeth Jones<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Saturday, August 15, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V Eric Johnson<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Monday, July 27, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Master Police Officer Robert J. Hall<br />
Columbia Police Department, SC<br />
EOW: Tuesday, July 14, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Assistant Chief Gail Green-Gilliam<br />
Phenix City Police Departmen<br />
EOW: Wednesday, June 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant José García-Vázquez<br />
Puerto Rico Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, May 15, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V James Weston, Jr.<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Wednesday, August 26, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Stephen Bradley Dutton<br />
Harris County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Friday, August 14, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Corey Pendergrass<br />
Lauderhill Police Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, July 26, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Director N. Kyle Coleman<br />
Bexar County Fire Marshal’s Office<br />
EOW: Tuesday, July 14, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Master Detention Deputy Lynn Jones<br />
Lake County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, June 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Supervisor Fella A. Adebiyi<br />
Kansas Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Tuesday, May <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Jorge Cabrera<br />
Mission Police Department<br />
EOW: Monday, August 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer IV Lebouath Boua<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Wednesday, August <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Senior Police Officer Sharon Williams<br />
New Orleans Police Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, July 26, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Officer Roel De La Fuente<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Monday, July 13, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Steven Allen Minor<br />
Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, June 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Supervisor George<br />
Kansas Department of Corrections,<br />
EOW: Monday, May 11, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Raul Salazar, Jr.<br />
Nueces County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Sunday, August 23, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Dudley J. Champ<br />
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, TX<br />
EOW: Monday, August 10, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer IV Ruben Martinez<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Sunday, July 26, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer Jose “Joe” Kates<br />
California Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Saturday, July 11, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Michael Lee<br />
Navajo Division of Public Safety<br />
EOW: Friday, June 19, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Charles<br />
Glen Ridge Police Department, NJ<br />
EOW: Monday, May 11, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Detective Irving Gene Callender, III<br />
Newark Police Department<br />
EOW: Saturday, August 22, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Gilbert Polanco<br />
California Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Sunday, August 9, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Border Patrol Agent Agustin Aguilar, Jr.<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Saturday, July 25, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Border Patrol Agent Enrique J. Rositas, Jr.<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Saturday, July 11, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Juan Menchaca<br />
Harris County Sheriff’s Office,<br />
EOW: Saturday, June 13, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Antoine J. Jones |<br />
Cook County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Sunday, May 10, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Richard Treadwell<br />
Dane County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Saturday, August 22, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Lieutenant Chris Cunningham<br />
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, August 5, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Investigator Mark Brown<br />
Harris County Constable’s Office - Precinct<br />
5EOW: Saturday, July 25, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Lieutenant Bobby Almager<br />
Corpus Christi International Airport<br />
EOW: Friday, July 10, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V Thomas Adedayo Ogungbire<br />
| Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Thursday, June 11, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Michael W. Clegg<br />
Newark Police Department,<br />
EOW: Sunday, May 10, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Officer Lucas Saucedo<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Friday, August 21, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Border Patrol Agent Marco A. Gonzales<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Wednesday, August 5, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Oscar W. Rocha<br />
Alameda County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Thursday, July 23, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Officer Alfonso H. Murrieta<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Thursday, July 9, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Mikkos Leonardo Newman<br />
Lee County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Monday, June 8, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Chief of Police Marvin Wayne Trejo<br />
Dumas Police Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, May 10, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Virgil Thomas<br />
Richmond Police Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, August 20, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Chief Probation Officer Leslie Dale Allen<br />
Athens-Clarke County Probation Services<br />
EOW: Tuesday, August 4, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Lieutenant Brian McNair<br />
Hall County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Monday, July 20, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Captain Glenn Allen Green<br />
Pike County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Monday, July 6, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Efren Coronel<br />
El Centro Police Department,<br />
EOW: Wednesday, June 3, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V Maria Mendez<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Saturday, May 9, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corporal Michael Ambrosino<br />
Horry County Police Department<br />
EOW: Wednesday, August 19, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer Daniel Glenn Oaks<br />
Yakima County Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Saturday, August 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer IV Jackson Pongay<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Sunday, July 19, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer Kenneth Harbin<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Saturday, July 4, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Kietrell Pitts<br />
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Sunday, May 31, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V Jesse Wayne Bolton<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Friday, May 8, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Detention Deputy Charles Pugh, II<br />
Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Tuesday, August 18, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Parnell Guyton<br />
University of Alabama at Birmingham Police<br />
EOW: Friday, July 31, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Master Sergeant Henry Turner<br />
Louisiana Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Saturday, July 18, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Kelvin Dewayne Mixon<br />
Edwards Police Department,<br />
EOW: Thursday, July 2, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer Daniel Lopez Mendoza, III |<br />
California Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Saturday, May 30, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Raymond John Scholwinski<br />
Harris County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, May 6, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V Herbert Garcia<br />
Captain Kevin Trahan<br />
Master Detention Deputy Richard Barry<br />
Parole Officer IV Joseph William Lange Detective John D. Songy<br />
Officer Omar E. Palmer<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Church Point Police Department<br />
Lake County Sheriff’s Office<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Rutland Police Department<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Tuesday, August 18, <strong>2020</strong><br />
EOW: Friday, July 31, <strong>2020</strong><br />
EOW: Thursday, July 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
EOW: Wednesday, July 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
EOW: Friday, May 29, <strong>2020</strong><br />
EOW: Monday, May 4, <strong>2020</strong><br />
10 10 The The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 11
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY DUE TO COVID<br />
Deputy Sheriff Richard O’Brien, Jr.<br />
Cook County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Sunday, May 3, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V Jonathon Keith Goodman<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Tuesday, April 21, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Jose Diaz-Ayala<br />
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Saturday, April 4, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Ronald Newman<br />
Chicago Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, April 17, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Terrell Young<br />
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 2, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Officer Richard G. McCoy<br />
Department of Homeland Security<br />
EOW: Saturday, May 2, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Warden Wilmot Sandlin<br />
Louisiana Department of Corrections, LA<br />
EOW: Monday, April 20, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Shannon Bennett<br />
Broward County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Friday, April 3, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Detective Alex Ruperto<br />
Union City Police Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Marco DiFranco<br />
Chicago Police Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 2, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Senior Police Officer Mark Hall, Sr.<br />
New Orleans Police Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 30, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Sheila Rivera<br />
Cook County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Sunday, April 19, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corporal Dean Savard<br />
Wayne County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Friday, April 3, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Joseph Spinosa<br />
Sands Point Police Department<br />
EOW: Wednesday, April 15, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Jeff Hopkins<br />
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, April 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Michael Alexander Conners<br />
Newark Police Department,<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 30, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Ronald Newman<br />
Chicago Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, April 17, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Terrell Young<br />
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 2, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Jose Fontanez<br />
Boston Police Department<br />
EOW: Tuesday, April 14, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Kenneth J. Moore<br />
District of Columbia Department of Youth<br />
EOW: Wednesday, April 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Detective Sergeant Randall C. French<br />
Troy Police Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 30, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Detective Alex Ruperto<br />
Union City Police Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 16, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Marco DiFranco<br />
Chicago Police Department<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 2, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant AlTerek Shaundel Patterson<br />
Bedminster Township Police Department,<br />
EOW: Sunday, April <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Detective Marylou Armer<br />
Santa Rosa Police Department<br />
EOW: Tuesday, March 31, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Detention Deputy Timothy De La Fuente<br />
Bexar County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Thursday, April 30, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Joseph Spinosa<br />
Sands Point Police Department,<br />
EOW: Wednesday, April 15, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Jeff Hopkins<br />
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, April 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Francesco S. Scorpo<br />
Paterson Police Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, April <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sypraseuth “Bud” Phouangphrachanh<br />
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Tuesday, March 31, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V James D. Coleman<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Tuesday, April 28, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Jose Fontanez<br />
Boston Police Department<br />
EOW: Tuesday, April 14, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Officer Kenneth J. Moore<br />
District of Columbia Department of Youth<br />
EOW: Wednesday, April 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Interim Police Chief Mark J. Romutis<br />
Ambridge Borough Police Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, April <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Constable Levi Kelling Arnold<br />
New Orleans Constable’s Office<br />
EOW: Monday, March 30, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer Coy D. Coffman, Jr.<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Sunday, April 26, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant AlTerek Shaundel Patterson<br />
Bedminster Township Police Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, April <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Detective Marylou Armer<br />
Santa Rosa Police Department<br />
EOW: Tuesday, March 31, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Clifford W. Martin, Sr.<br />
Chicago Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, April 10, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Reserve Captain Raymond Andrew Boseman<br />
New Orleans Police Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, March 29, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Senior Detention Officer Alexander Reginald<br />
Pettiway | Durham County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Saturday, April 25, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Francesco S. Scorpo<br />
Paterson Police Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, April <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Agent Miguel Martínez-Ortiz<br />
Puerto Rico Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, April 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Kurt James Enget<br />
Bainbridge Island Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, April 10, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Commander Donafay Collins<br />
Wayne County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Wednesday, March 25, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Joseph Cappello<br />
Melrose Park Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, April 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Interim Police Chief Mark J. Romutis<br />
Ambridge Borough Police Department<br />
EOW: Sunday, April <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corporal Lawrence Onley<br />
United States Department of Defense<br />
EOW: Tuesday, April 21, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer IV Kelvin D. Wilcher<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Monday, April 6, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Captain Jonathan Parnell<br />
Detroit Police Department<br />
EOW: Tuesday, March 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Patrolman Gary Walker<br />
Bloomingdale Police Department,<br />
EOW: Friday, April 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Clifford W. Martin, Sr.<br />
Chicago Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, April 10, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Deputy Jeremy Smith<br />
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Tuesday, April 21, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Special Deputy Marshal Brian Leath Magee<br />
United States Department of Justice<br />
EOW: Monday, April 6, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Agent Miguel Martínez-Ortiz<br />
Puerto Rico Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, April 24, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police Officer Kurt James Enget<br />
Bainbridge Island Police Department<br />
EOW: Friday, April 10, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer V Jonathon Keith Goodman<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Tuesday, April 21, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sergeant Jose Diaz-Ayala<br />
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Saturday, April 4, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corporal Lawrence Onley<br />
United States Department of Defense<br />
EOW: Tuesday, April 21, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Corrections Officer IV Kelvin D. Wilcher<br />
Texas Department of Criminal Justice<br />
EOW: Monday, April 6, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Warden Wilmot Sandlin<br />
Louisiana Department of Corrections<br />
EOW: Monday, April 20, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Deputy Sheriff Shannon Bennett<br />
Broward County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Friday, April 3, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Correctional Deputy Jeremy Smith<br />
Special Deputy Marshal Brian Leath Magee Correctional Officer Sheila Rivera<br />
Corporal Dean Savard<br />
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office,<br />
United States Department of Justice<br />
Cook County Sheriff’s Office<br />
Wayne County Sheriff’s Office<br />
EOW: Tuesday, April 21, <strong>2020</strong><br />
EOW: Monday, April 6, <strong>2020</strong><br />
EOW: Sunday, April 19, <strong>2020</strong><br />
EOW: Friday, April 3, <strong>2020</strong><br />
<strong>12</strong> The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 13 13
CIVILIAN POLICE BOARD IN CHI-<br />
CAGO WANTS POLICE FIRED FOR<br />
JUSTIFIED SHOOTINGS<br />
Maybe the Chicago police should<br />
stand down from ALL calls for now<br />
because any call, as we know, can<br />
be dangerous.<br />
Instead, let the civilian board review<br />
idiots get their little asses out<br />
there and handle the calls themselves:<br />
without guns since they’re so<br />
worried about criminals being shot.<br />
Tell them to bring a social worker<br />
along with them and see how that<br />
works.<br />
I think BEFORE they’re allowed<br />
to make any decisions, that they<br />
should be required to work the<br />
streets as police officers do, for at<br />
least one year prior to becoming a<br />
civilian board review idiot.<br />
They also should require a psychological<br />
evaluation for each civilian<br />
board review idiot.<br />
It’s the OTHER idiots that are<br />
allowing anybody two become a<br />
civilian board review idiot and that’s<br />
why they don’t even understand<br />
anything about police officers and<br />
working the streets. They’re complete<br />
idiots and so are the people<br />
that let them on that review board.<br />
MORE SENSELESS KILLINGS<br />
We do not understand why the<br />
senseless evil in this world exists or<br />
why some embrace and even promote<br />
it. The war on law enforcement<br />
by radical, evil people continues.<br />
Charleston, WV police officer<br />
Cassie Johnson was shot in the face<br />
and killed over a traffic complaint.<br />
A damn traffic complaint!! The life<br />
of a police officer is less important<br />
than a parking situation? The<br />
devaluing of human life and the<br />
desensitizing of life itself as well as<br />
the nonchalant attitude about death<br />
has become the normal to some. It’s<br />
absolutely sickening and disgusting.<br />
This young police officer, on<br />
the job for just 1 year was shot in<br />
the face and killed by a degenerate,<br />
evil, thug who was prowling<br />
the streets while out on bond for<br />
OTHER firearm offenses!! Our criminal<br />
justice system and political<br />
environment is failing. Our families<br />
are failing by turning their backs on<br />
faith, refusing to teach their children<br />
about the Lord, pursuing the<br />
obscene and embracing the wickedness.<br />
What was spoken by Jesus<br />
is now hidden from our world. It’s a<br />
sad, sick time this world faces.<br />
Officer Johnson, go rest high on<br />
that mountain, Sister. You’ve served<br />
your time in hell, here on earth.<br />
Your shift has ended and we’ll call<br />
you off duty. You are 10-7/10-41.<br />
You’ve earned your wings and the<br />
title of Police Officer. The modern<br />
day Saint Michael and protector.<br />
Heavenly Father, welcome<br />
Your newest angel, comfort her<br />
co-workers, family and friends and<br />
heal our hearts. Jesus, we surrender<br />
and trust in You. Amen.<br />
Loosing a K9<br />
I found myself trying to console<br />
Officer Clark today on the phone<br />
and telling him how lucky Trevor<br />
was to have him in his life while I<br />
was uncontrollably sobbing myself.<br />
We knew this day was coming and<br />
we were not looking forward to it.<br />
Throw Away Dogs K9 Trevor was<br />
laid to rest today as he was failing<br />
fairly quickly from Canine degenerative<br />
myelopathy and also had a<br />
tumor on his kidney.<br />
This is so hard for me as Trevor<br />
was our very first Throw Away Dog.<br />
I’ll never forget the first time Jason<br />
and I met him. Boy was he a ball<br />
of energy with a little bit of sass.<br />
But so loyal and loving. He was in a<br />
shelter then went to rescue and returned<br />
twice before we found him.<br />
This was our pilot program dog. We<br />
had no idea what we were doing<br />
at the time but managed to make<br />
it work and we all fell in love with<br />
this special dog that was sure to be<br />
euthanized if this didn’t work out.<br />
Michael and Trevor became a<br />
bonded pair and worked tirelessly<br />
to make Trevor the best Narcotic<br />
Detection K9 he could be.<br />
A piece of me feels like I died<br />
today because our beloved Trevor<br />
was the beginning of something<br />
so special and near and dear to my<br />
heart. One of the pictures below<br />
was the day Jason and I had to say<br />
goodbye to Trevor and leave him<br />
to start his new life with his new<br />
purpose. I cried all the home from<br />
Indiana worried about what might<br />
happen.<br />
Thank goodness for Officer Clark<br />
and his Department for giving<br />
Trevor and our program a chance<br />
otherwise he wouldn’t have the life<br />
he did and his purpose.<br />
I will never forget you dear Trevor,<br />
thank you for being you and being<br />
your quirky self. You were absolutely<br />
misunderstood but not broken<br />
Rest In Peace my sweet boy, until<br />
we meet again.<br />
K9 Trevor, EOW 11-29-20<br />
Narcotic Detection,<br />
Lawrence Indiana PD<br />
CAROL<br />
TIRED OF THE HURT<br />
I hope all is safe first off, I’m tired<br />
of seeing everyday an officer is hurt<br />
or killed in the line of duty. I am<br />
a former LEO and former military.<br />
With that being said, the officers<br />
out here following the orders of a<br />
politician has got to f—king stop.<br />
Your oath is not to the crooked<br />
dumb asses sitting in their office.<br />
It’s to the people of this country.<br />
14 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 15
The officers in NYC that arrested a<br />
man for keeping his busy operating<br />
to support his family is a disgrace.<br />
Grow a set and stand up to these<br />
jackasses who continue to violate<br />
the constitution which you swore<br />
to uphold. I am on LEO’s side, I will<br />
never drive by an officer in need and<br />
not stop. There are millions like me<br />
out here but y’all have got to start<br />
honoring the oath and the people of<br />
this country. I pray all of you return<br />
home safely to your love ones. Take<br />
a stand ,you are the publics first line<br />
of defense.<br />
MIKE SARGENT<br />
BUNCH OF IDIOTS<br />
I love it when these anti-police<br />
and anti-military Liberals try to hire<br />
my dad’s private security company.<br />
He of course tells them to f*** off!<br />
The hypocrisy of these people is<br />
just mind boggling. They hate the<br />
police but they want someone to<br />
protect them. They hate the military<br />
but they want someone to defend<br />
the country. The city of Minneapolis<br />
abolishes the police department.<br />
Then they decide the city needs<br />
protection so they hire private<br />
security. Private security is armed<br />
just like the cops. Unlike the cops<br />
private security can legally shot first<br />
and ask questions later. So which is<br />
better? A group that will just shoot<br />
criminals or a group that will arrest<br />
them and read them their rights?<br />
You can’t make this stuff up. What a<br />
bunch of idiots!!!<br />
STEPHEN GOODE<br />
they would the regular keypad?<br />
Cashier: no words. Confused look.<br />
Me : Why Don’t you pack the grocery<br />
bags anymore?<br />
Cashier : Because of COVID 19 to<br />
reduce the spread of catching or<br />
spreading the virus.<br />
Me : But a shelf packer took it out<br />
of a box and put on the shelf, a few<br />
customers might of picked it up and<br />
put back deciding they Don’t want<br />
it, I put it in my trolley then on the<br />
conveyor belt, YOU pick it up to scan<br />
it.. But putting it in a bag after you<br />
scan is risky??<br />
Cashier : no words, confused look<br />
Me AT DRIVE-THRU:<br />
Server: (holds a tray out the window<br />
with a bag of food for logical<br />
friend to grab)<br />
Me: why is my bag of food on a<br />
tray?<br />
Server: so I don’t touch your food<br />
because of COVID.<br />
Me: didn’t the cook touch my<br />
food? Didn’t the person wrapping<br />
my food touch it and then touch it<br />
again when placing it in my bag?<br />
Didn’t you touch the bag and put<br />
it on the tray? Didn’t you touch the<br />
tray?<br />
Server: no words. Confused look.
BLUES Founder & Editor<br />
Remember Ray Simper<br />
MICHAEL BARRON, BLUES FOUNDER<br />
REX EVANS, BLUES EDITOR In CHIEF<br />
In 1984, I was just a rookie at<br />
Harris County, but I was about to<br />
embark on a mission that would<br />
continue for the next <strong>36</strong> years. I had<br />
this idea of starting a police newspaper<br />
and in order to make it work,<br />
I needed advertisers. At the time, I<br />
really only new one guy that was<br />
in the police business – Raymond<br />
Simper, the owner of Central Police<br />
Supply.<br />
I had been a frequent customer of<br />
Ray’s Police Emporium and had become<br />
fairly good friends with Ray.<br />
So, on a cold rainy day in October<br />
of 1984, I waltzed into Central and<br />
announced to Ray I was starting<br />
a police newspaper and what did<br />
he think of the idea. And he says,<br />
there already is a Police Newspaper<br />
in town, it’s called the Badge &<br />
Gun. So, you might want to think of<br />
something else to occupy your time<br />
Mikey.<br />
But Ray, I know about the Badge<br />
& Gun and it’s an association newspaper<br />
and the County <strong>Blues</strong> will<br />
be for everyone. “That’s the name<br />
----County <strong>Blues</strong>---like as in Harris<br />
County? That’s the name you picked<br />
out?” says Ray in his somewhat sarcastic<br />
voice of his.<br />
<strong>No</strong>, as in Hill Street <strong>Blues</strong>. This<br />
conversation went on for a while<br />
and I could tell it was going to<br />
take some convincing to get Ray<br />
to advertise. But by the time I got<br />
ready to actually publish an issue<br />
in December, his interest began to<br />
grow as did his daily suggestions.<br />
You should add this or made write a<br />
story about so and so. You want me<br />
to proof this rag before you actually<br />
print the darn thing. <strong>No</strong> Ray I’m<br />
good.<br />
The truth is that it wasn’t until the<br />
fourth issue in April of 1985 that I<br />
sold the first paid ad. Oh there were<br />
ads in the first three issues, but they<br />
were all my businesses or friends<br />
that owned businesses. But the<br />
FIRST paid ad was Central Police<br />
Supply and Ray insisted that it be in<br />
the center of the newspaper and in<br />
COLOR.<br />
“<strong>No</strong>w what color blue do you use<br />
for your logo? Because we have a<br />
certain color blue we use” says Ray.<br />
*NEXT PAGE<br />
You’d have to go a mighty long building.<br />
“whatchamacallit”.<br />
ways back to find the origins of There were multiple owners, all There were a few times some<br />
Central Police Supply Store, located Houston Police Officers, and they snap broke, some light stopped<br />
at the corner of Houston and Washington<br />
Avenues. Conveniently locat-<br />
‘F15’ business. Well time and fate it and it was always easier to just<br />
had gone in together on the original working or a jacket had a hole in<br />
Retired HPD Officer Raymond ‘Ray’ Simper,<br />
ed, right across from the old Central dwindled the number of ‘partners’ stop in at Central and get what I<br />
Founder of Central Police Supply<br />
Headquarters of the Houston Police in the business until the longest needed fixed, repaired, serviced<br />
AUGUST 16, 1945 – AUGUST 28, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Department.<br />
running partner, Officer Ray Simper, or replaced! A few times, the folks<br />
<strong>No</strong>w to be fair, it wasn’t always was the sole survivor of the original there proved to be a “lifesaver” of<br />
called Central Police Supply. It’s group.<br />
sorts when you work evenings or<br />
original name was “F-15”. And it Over the years, a LOT of Officers, nights and your SL-20 stopped<br />
wasn’t always located in the red Deputies, Troopers, State and Federal<br />
charging or working. They would<br />
brick building it has been housed in<br />
Agents have all made a stop always repair it right then and there.<br />
for the last 20 years either. Though into Central Police Supply. I can’t I’ll even admit, there was a time<br />
it’s always been located at that intersection,<br />
possibly remember all the times or two, I had gone in with holes in<br />
it was once housed in the I have been there over the last 30 my boots, uniform, or jacket and<br />
smaller gray stone and brick building plus years. I always had to have<br />
TRIBUTE TO RAY/PLAY<br />
THE HISTORY OF CENTRAL POLICE SUPPLY/PLAY<br />
immediately adjacent to the current the latest and greatest “thing” or<br />
*NEXT PAGE<br />
18 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 19
MICHAEL BARRON, BLUES FOUNDER<br />
REX EVANS, BLUES EDITOR In CHIEF<br />
Uh Huh, and what pray tell is that<br />
color BLUE that is so critical to your<br />
logo Mr. Simper?<br />
“I don’t actually know, but I’m sure<br />
Judy knows, ask her”<br />
And that’s the story of the how the<br />
first ad was sold in the BLUES and<br />
how Ray became the first unofficial<br />
editor and color selector of the<br />
BLUES. Over the years, Ray and Central<br />
Police Supply became one of<br />
our biggest supporters. And it was<br />
Ray that introduced me to Buddy<br />
Williams the editor of the Badge &<br />
Gun, who would later become the<br />
owner of the BLUES for almost 25<br />
years.<br />
In fact, it was Ray’s idea (one of<br />
perhaps a thousand over the years)<br />
to change the name of the newspaper<br />
from County <strong>Blues</strong> to just<br />
the BLUES. Said I was too partial to<br />
Harris County and I needed to expand<br />
my horizons or something like<br />
that. Expand readership statewide,<br />
he says. I’m pretty sure this was<br />
his idea to get Central’s ad seen by<br />
more cops across the state and of<br />
course not pay more for said ad.<br />
About the time that Ray retired<br />
from HPD I had sold the newspaper<br />
to Buddy and it was rare that I ran<br />
into him at Central. But when I did,<br />
he and I had to catch-up and take<br />
note of ways to improve the BLUES.<br />
LOL<br />
<strong>No</strong>t sure how much advice he<br />
gave Buddy over the years, but<br />
I’m sure if he had stopped by, Ray<br />
would have imparted his knowledge<br />
of the publishing world to Buddy.<br />
Over the years, Central became<br />
a second home to hundreds if not<br />
thousands of officers. In the almost<br />
half of century that Central and F15<br />
have been in business, they have<br />
outfitted officers with damn near<br />
everything they could ever need.<br />
When we relaunched the BLUES a<br />
year ago, I ran across a video that<br />
Greg Smith made about Ray and<br />
the history of Central Police Supply.<br />
(see attached<br />
link)<br />
It’s a great<br />
video that<br />
gives insight<br />
into Ray’s<br />
history as an<br />
HPD police<br />
officer and<br />
his involvement<br />
with<br />
F15 and later<br />
as the owner<br />
of Central<br />
Police Supply.<br />
I was out<br />
of town in<br />
August when<br />
a friend<br />
called me and said Ray had passed<br />
away. I was truly saddened by the<br />
news. Ray was always like an older<br />
brother to me and I wish that I had<br />
made it a point to visit him over the<br />
years. I am however thrilled to see<br />
his daughter Jacqueline running<br />
the family business. I know Ray was<br />
so proud when Jacqueline wanted<br />
to take over as manager and she is<br />
every bit as smart as her old man.<br />
Finally, I’d like to thank Jacqueline<br />
and the staff at Central Police<br />
Supply for once again placing their<br />
trust in the BLUES to promote a true<br />
legend in Houston. I think Ray would<br />
be proud of the ad in this issue and<br />
yes sir, we made sure the logo is in<br />
fact the right color of blue.<br />
I know Ray is riding his tractor in<br />
heaven and watching over all his<br />
family – both personal as well as<br />
BLUE. Can’t wait to see you again<br />
my friend and tell you all about the<br />
digital version of the BLUES and I’m<br />
sure you’ll have ways to improve it.<br />
God Bless you my friend.<br />
Ray or one of the girls would let<br />
‘charge’ new pair until payday. It<br />
wasn’t often mind you, but the two<br />
or three times over 30 years I could<br />
charge something, kept me returning<br />
as a faithful and loyal customer.<br />
<strong>No</strong>t so much for the convenience, as<br />
the leniency and compassion they<br />
always had for their customers. <strong>No</strong><br />
one there ever had to help me. They<br />
did so because they knew me and<br />
they knew I would always show up<br />
with cash and a dozen donuts. My<br />
way of saying “Thank you” for the<br />
grace given unto me when I needed<br />
it.<br />
<strong>No</strong>wadays, such customer service<br />
isn’t really<br />
afforded anywhere<br />
on this<br />
planet! Which I<br />
understand. Times<br />
and people have<br />
changed. Hell,<br />
the whole world<br />
has changed.<br />
One thing that<br />
hasn’t changed,<br />
is the fact Central<br />
Police Supply<br />
remains open and<br />
active at the intersection<br />
of Houston<br />
and Washington<br />
Avenue. And<br />
Officers, Deputies,<br />
Troopers, Federal and State Agents<br />
are still walking in, getting whatever<br />
they need, buying the latest and<br />
greatest, and the whatchamacallits<br />
they just had to have!<br />
For a business in the City of Houston,<br />
that’s quite an accomplishment.<br />
When it comes to Law Enforcement,<br />
we haven’t exactly kept our rich,<br />
dedicated and oftentimes quite<br />
interesting history alive. Central<br />
Police Supply is a testament to over<br />
a half century of service to those<br />
who, Serve and Protect.<br />
In closing, on a very personal<br />
note, one day in a pouring thunderstorm,<br />
I stopped in for one of those<br />
long “Duster style” raincoats. I had<br />
just enough money for it. Ray was<br />
over attending to something else as<br />
the girl rang me up. But he stopped<br />
what he was doing and mentioned<br />
the holes in the sides of my boots<br />
where they had become separated.<br />
With the raging thunderstorm<br />
going on outside he said “What size<br />
boot do you wear?” I told him and<br />
within about a minute he walked<br />
back over with a brand new pair of<br />
boots in the box. He told me to take<br />
off my soaked, torn up boots and<br />
put on the new ones. I explained<br />
to him I only had enough money to<br />
get the coat, I didn’t have money<br />
for the boots. He went on to tell<br />
me he didn’t ask me about money,<br />
he simply couldn’t and wouldn’t<br />
let a cop come in with boots like<br />
that and walk out in a middle of<br />
thunderstorm with the same worn<br />
out boots on. He said “I know when<br />
payday is…just come back and see<br />
me then, ok?” I thank him, switched<br />
to new and dry boots and went<br />
back to work. I’ll never forgot his<br />
kindness and I’ll never shop anywhere<br />
else. Such moments are all<br />
but a rarity these days, locked away<br />
to history. <strong>No</strong>t all “Old School” was<br />
bad. <strong>No</strong>t at all….<br />
20 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 21 21
HPD Sgt. Sean Rios<br />
Another Houston Hero Lost to Gunfire<br />
HOUSTON – On <strong>No</strong>vember 9,<br />
<strong>2020</strong>, Houston Police Sgt. Sean<br />
Rios, a 24-year veteran of the<br />
department, was on his way to<br />
work at Houston’s Intercontinental<br />
Airport when he witnessed a<br />
road rage incident that erupted<br />
in gunfire on Houston’s <strong>No</strong>rth<br />
Freeway.<br />
<strong>No</strong>t one to ignore a crime in<br />
progress, Rios found himself in<br />
the middle of a gunfight between<br />
two thugs from Houston<br />
– Robert Soliz, a 24 yr. old<br />
known gang member who was<br />
out on bond for what else, a gun<br />
possession charge; and another<br />
suspect Jason Vasquez, who is<br />
still at large as of <strong>No</strong>v. 30th.<br />
According to court records,<br />
prosecutors said three men witnessed<br />
the exchange of gunfire<br />
from the Dixon Motors car dealership<br />
on Interstate 45. They told<br />
detectives that they noticed a<br />
black Chevrolet truck and a blue<br />
Mercedes Benz parked behind<br />
the business on Stuebner Airline.<br />
A man, believed to be Soliz, was<br />
seen getting out of the Mercedes<br />
and running into the nearby Cactus<br />
King nursery, directly across<br />
from the dealership.<br />
Another man, later identified<br />
as Rios, was seen firing into the<br />
nursery from a driveway. The<br />
man in the nursery fired back at<br />
Rios, witnesses said, and the sergeant<br />
retreated<br />
back toward<br />
Stuebner Airline.<br />
At that point,<br />
the witnesses<br />
saw the driver<br />
of the black<br />
truck waving his<br />
hands toward<br />
the nursery. One<br />
witness said the<br />
driver appeared<br />
to be signaling<br />
for Soliz to<br />
come out. Soliz<br />
then stepped<br />
onto Stuebner<br />
Airline and again<br />
opened fire<br />
toward Rios, the<br />
witness said.<br />
Both the Mercedes<br />
and the<br />
pickup sped off,<br />
while Rios made<br />
his way toward<br />
the front office<br />
of the nearby Taj Inn & Suites,<br />
where he walked inside and<br />
asked the clerk to call 911 and<br />
then collapsed. By the time EMS<br />
arrived, Rios was pronounced<br />
dead.<br />
According to prosecutors, Soliz<br />
went to GTO Transmission Repair<br />
on Berwyn Drive, about half a<br />
mile from the scene. His child’s<br />
grandfather works there, and<br />
Soliz asked the man if he knew<br />
anyone who could fix his car.<br />
There was a fresh bullet hole<br />
in the windshield. Soliz told him<br />
he “just got shot at on the freeway,”<br />
according to prosecutors.<br />
The grandfather told detectives<br />
that he went inside the shop<br />
and when he returned, Soliz had<br />
driven away with a man in a<br />
black pickup.<br />
He knew Soliz always carried a<br />
gun and when he saw the bullet<br />
hole, he “didn’t touch the vehicle<br />
as he did not want to get involved,”<br />
prosecutors said.<br />
Surveillance video from the<br />
repair shop, shows Soliz arriving<br />
with the man in the black pickup.<br />
In the video, Soliz appears to be<br />
pacing and can be heard saying<br />
“my f’ing jammed,” according to<br />
prosecutors, who believe he was<br />
referring to his gun. He also said,<br />
“he almost hit me,” prosecutors<br />
said.<br />
At the scene, HPD recovered<br />
two types of ammunition. Two<br />
.40-caliber casings were found<br />
on Stuebner Airline and two 9<br />
mm casings were found within<br />
the nursery. Police also found a<br />
.38 revolver on Stuebner Airline,<br />
believed to be Rios’ gun. Detectives<br />
said he fired three rounds.<br />
The casings were still in the<br />
cylinder of the gun.<br />
Soliz was charged with capital<br />
murder in Rios’ death and also<br />
faces two counts of aggravated<br />
assault with a deadly weapon<br />
for unrelated incidents — one of<br />
which was connected to a road<br />
rage shooting earlier this year<br />
with a former high school classmate.<br />
Wade Smith, Soliz’s attorney<br />
at the hearing, said his client is<br />
originally from the Houston area.<br />
Soliz’s social media accounts<br />
show he is a member of The<br />
Sauce Factory gang, which is<br />
known for selling drugs and<br />
promoting underage prostitution.<br />
The group also has been<br />
tied to several murders in the<br />
Houston-area and are involved in<br />
ongoing feuds with rival gangs.<br />
At the time of the shooting,<br />
Soliz, had been out on a $100<br />
bond since February for an unlawful<br />
carrying of a weapon in a<br />
motor vehicle charge. According<br />
to Harris County records, Soliz<br />
has bonded in and out of jail<br />
for several misdemeanor arrests<br />
dating back to 2014 when he was<br />
a teenager.<br />
In January 2018, he pleaded<br />
guilty to charges of evading arrest<br />
and weapons possession in<br />
exchange for a six-month sentence<br />
in the Harris County Jail.<br />
He failed to surrender to the jail<br />
to start that sentence and another<br />
agency picked him up within<br />
days.<br />
That following July, he served<br />
another 90 days in the jail for a<br />
terroristic threat charge.<br />
Soliz also faces two additional<br />
charges of aggravated assault<br />
with a deadly weapon, according<br />
to prosecutors. The first case is<br />
from January, when he was accused<br />
of threatening store clerk<br />
with a gun. In the second case<br />
from October, he was accused<br />
of shooting at a person’s vehicle<br />
*NEXT PAGE<br />
22 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 23
Chase Cormier ready for XGAMES with ATV wheelchair.<br />
during a road rage dispute.<br />
Attorney Looney said Soliz<br />
called him on Monday <strong>No</strong>v. 9th<br />
and said he needed his help. Looney<br />
picked him up the following<br />
afternoon, about 24 hours after<br />
Soliz had shot Rios to death.<br />
Looney arranged with prosecutors<br />
to deliver Soliz to the Harris<br />
County District Attorney’s Office<br />
downtown and outlined when<br />
he was leaving and which route<br />
they would take.<br />
But HPD decided to stop the<br />
two in route and Looney found<br />
himself surrounded by unmarked<br />
police vehicles on the Katy Freeway,<br />
where he was pulled from<br />
the vehicle and Soliz was arrested<br />
with Rios’ handcuffs.<br />
In a statement, Dane Schiller,<br />
spokesman for the district attorney’s<br />
office, said “Officers acting<br />
on a warrant arrested the defendant<br />
before he could surrender<br />
and took him into custody<br />
without anyone being harmed,”<br />
Schiller added that his office<br />
is limited in what can be said<br />
about the case because of an<br />
ongoing investigation.<br />
The shooting once again illustrates<br />
the broken criminal justice<br />
system in Harris County. The<br />
BLUES has called for the resignation<br />
of Harris County DA Kim<br />
Ogg who clearly has the blood<br />
of nearly a dozen Houston Police<br />
officers on her hands.<br />
“The total disregard for human<br />
life at the Harris County District<br />
Attorney’s Office is unacceptable,”<br />
remarked BLUES Publisher<br />
Michael Barron. “Until the entire<br />
judicial system in Harris County<br />
is replaced, innocent citizens and<br />
police officers will continue to<br />
die at the hands of thugs who<br />
should be locked up. <strong>No</strong>w more<br />
than ever, Kim Ogg needs to step<br />
down”<br />
Since May <strong>2020</strong>, Houston Police<br />
Department helicopter pilot<br />
Chase Cormier has been working<br />
to recover from a helicopter<br />
crash that left his partner dead<br />
and him without the use of his<br />
legs. Cormier, 35, said he remembers<br />
steering the helicopter<br />
away from an occupied apartment<br />
building to a vacant one<br />
as the helicopter went down. He<br />
remembers not feeling his legs<br />
after the crash and asking about<br />
whether they’d been severed as<br />
firefighters worked to remove<br />
him and his partner, Officer Jason<br />
Knox, from the wreckage.<br />
Months later, Cormier is still<br />
working to recover. Cormier<br />
hopes to one day fly again, but<br />
in the meantime, he has to learn<br />
to walk again. “You just have to<br />
keep pushing hard. You have to<br />
stay focused mentally and physically<br />
focused toward goals,”<br />
Cormier said. “It’s a marathon,<br />
not a sprint and I truly understand<br />
what that means,” he said.<br />
Independence Corps, a<br />
non-profit organization which<br />
helps to restore the freedom and<br />
dignity of mobility to the nation’s<br />
wounded and disabled heroes,<br />
purchased the nearly $14,000<br />
chair for Cormier to help him<br />
traverse hills and uneven terrain.<br />
“You can get out there go<br />
hunting, shooting, fishing, play<br />
soccer, football, baseball, all<br />
of it from the chair,” Cormier<br />
said. “I know in my soul that I’ll<br />
walk again, but there’s still a<br />
lot of unknown factors of what<br />
that will look like and what I’ll<br />
be able to recover with. It’s out<br />
of my hands but I trust in God’s<br />
hands and he’s been great and<br />
he’s blessed me so far.” A Go-<br />
FundMe page has been established<br />
to help the Cormier family<br />
with medical and other expenses.<br />
24 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 25
Sunset Advisory Commission <strong>No</strong>vember <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sunset Advisory Commission issues blistering report<br />
on Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCLOE)<br />
AUSTIN – Texas Commission<br />
on Law Enforcement (TCOLE)<br />
received a not so glowing report<br />
from The Sunset Advisory<br />
Commission amid a contentious<br />
nationwide re-evaluation of<br />
the fundamental role of police.<br />
The commission, which reviews<br />
the performance of state agencies<br />
every 10 years or so, issued<br />
the blistering report, citing the<br />
deaths of Sandra Bland, Eric<br />
Garner, Tamir Rice and George<br />
Floyd, among others, prompting<br />
calls for stronger oversight from<br />
police departments and civilian<br />
review boards, as well as stricter<br />
limits on police use of force.<br />
In the report, they claim more<br />
than 600 Texas law enforcement<br />
officers received a dishonorable<br />
discharge from their agencies<br />
for misconduct. Yet more than a<br />
quarter of them were rehired to<br />
work as sworn officers.<br />
They also state: ”to qualify for<br />
a peace officer license, Texas<br />
cops need fewer hours of basic<br />
training than licensed cosmetologists<br />
and less than half the<br />
education required of air-conditioning<br />
and refrigeration contractors.<br />
While the basic training<br />
requires officers to spend 48<br />
hours on the firing range, it demands<br />
only two hours of “civilian<br />
interaction” instruction.”<br />
And the report says: “The difficulty<br />
of purging bad officers<br />
from the ranks of Texas police<br />
and outdated and inadequate<br />
officer training highlight how<br />
state lawmakers have rendered<br />
the Texas Commission on Law<br />
Enforcement unable to meaningfully<br />
oversee law enforcement<br />
agencies in Texas.”<br />
Although it is charged with<br />
licensing police, correctional officers<br />
and 911 dispatchers, TCLOE<br />
differs from state agencies that<br />
regulate other professions in<br />
that it has almost no authority to<br />
act against an officer’s license.<br />
Instead, most oversight of police<br />
conduct is left up to each of the<br />
state’s 2,700 law enforcement<br />
agencies, which set their own<br />
policies and standards.<br />
Without a shared definition of<br />
professional conduct, many have<br />
widely differing rules. For example,<br />
“In the Dallas-Fort Worth<br />
Metroplex, choke holds are an<br />
acceptable technique west of the<br />
3200 block of Sandy Lane, but<br />
are not allowed on the east side<br />
of the same street because it<br />
crosses two different … jurisdictions,”<br />
the Sunset report found.<br />
Texas’ patchwork of uneven<br />
oversight has resulted in “a<br />
fragmented, outdated system<br />
with poor accountability, lack of<br />
statewide standards, and inadequate<br />
training,” the Sunset report<br />
stated.<br />
While advocacy groups and<br />
demonstrators have demanded<br />
better police oversight, they also<br />
have called on cities to reallocate<br />
millions of dollars from law<br />
enforcement budgets into community<br />
services. That, in turn,<br />
has sparked swift blow back<br />
from conservative politicians and<br />
supporters of law enforcement.<br />
In Austin, a lawmaker recently<br />
filed legislation prohibiting local<br />
governments from cutting police<br />
budgets.<br />
Washington-based criminologist<br />
Matthew Hickman said the<br />
protests and impassioned conversations<br />
about police reform<br />
have revealed holes in how<br />
municipalities, states and the<br />
federal government oversee law<br />
enforcement officers.<br />
Accountability starts at the department<br />
level, he said, with internal<br />
affairs investigation. At the<br />
other end, in the most egregious<br />
circumstances, the Department<br />
of Justice can pursue civil rights<br />
investigations against problem<br />
departments.<br />
Early in Process<br />
Charley Wilkison, executive<br />
director of the Combined Law<br />
Enforcement Associations of<br />
Texas (CLEAT), said the Sunset<br />
report was just the beginning of<br />
the process of state lawmakers’<br />
evaluation of the law enforcement<br />
commission. Legislators<br />
will hold hearings next year and<br />
almost certainly change some of<br />
the Sunset staff’s recommendations.<br />
ExEcutivE Summary of<br />
SunSEt Staff rEport<br />
Project Manager: Andrew McConnell<br />
Texas’ approach to law enforcement regulation no longer meets the needs<br />
of the state. Texas has relied on a bifurcated regulatory model since it began<br />
licensing peace officers in 1970. At the state level, the Texas Commission on<br />
Law Enforcement (TCOLE) sets minimum licensing and training standards<br />
for law enforcement personnel and enforces compliance with them. Meanwhile,<br />
local law enforcement agencies set their own standards of professional<br />
conduct and disciplinary policies, as well as additional training requirements<br />
for their employees. However, over the past 50 years, the<br />
world in which law enforcement personnel operate has<br />
changed significantly, becoming much more complex and<br />
demanding. Technology has increased the public’s awareness<br />
of law enforcement activities, greatly increasing pressure<br />
for professionalism and external scrutiny of conduct. The<br />
bifurcated regulatory model from 1970 has not kept pace<br />
with these changes, and can no longer ensure the conduct,<br />
training, transparency, and accountability the public expects of law enforcement<br />
in <strong>2020</strong>. The Sunset review found the state’s regulatory approach has resulted<br />
in a fragmented, outdated system with poor accountability, lack of statewide<br />
standards, and inadequate training. And while Texas has a continuing need to<br />
regulate law enforcement, the state’s current regulation is, by and large, toothless.<br />
TCOLE has struggled to adapt to this changing environment, but many<br />
struggles are beyond its control. Instead, they stem from the state’s bifurcated<br />
regulatory model, which has created a significant disparity between the public’s<br />
expectations and TCOLE’s actual authority. The public presumes TCOLE is a<br />
fully capable professional licensing and regulatory agency, similar to the Texas<br />
Medical Board or Texas Pharmacy Board, with broad authority to set high<br />
standards for individuals to receive and maintain a law enforcement license,<br />
and to hold these licensees fully accountable.<br />
In reality, TCOLE has relatively limited authority to set or enforce anything<br />
but minimum licensure standards, which are outdated and insufficient. TCOLE<br />
has no role in setting or enforcing standards of professional conduct for law<br />
enforcement personnel, and only has authority to hold law enforcement<br />
licensees accountable for their conduct in cases of a criminal conviction or<br />
deferred adjudication. TCOLE also has no authority to enforce standards for<br />
law enforcement agencies, such as local sheriffs’ offices. Additionally, within<br />
Texas Commission on<br />
Law Enforcement<br />
Full Report Here<br />
sunset.texas.gov<br />
The state’s current regulation<br />
of law enforcement is, by and<br />
large, toothless.<br />
26 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 27<br />
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement<br />
Executive Summary of Sunset Staff Report<br />
1
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“What you’re seeing there is<br />
not going to be state law,” he<br />
said. While his organization<br />
agreed some changes were<br />
needed, he said, it opposed<br />
granting the state commission<br />
sweeping new enforcement<br />
powers to investigate and discipline<br />
officers.<br />
Still, policing watchdogs said<br />
the report’s findings rang true.<br />
“Right now, it definitely feels like<br />
at the state level, there’s little to<br />
no regulation of law enforcement<br />
that’s happening,” said<br />
Chris Harris of the nonprofit public<br />
interest justice center Texas<br />
Appleseed, “and to the extent<br />
there is, it’s not effective.”<br />
And one key Houston-area<br />
legislator said he was inclined to<br />
make some changes. Reforms to<br />
the agency are “long overdue,”<br />
said state Sen. John Whitmire,<br />
D-Houston, who said the Texas<br />
law enforcement commission<br />
should operate more like other<br />
regulatory boards such as the<br />
State Bar of Texas or the State<br />
Board of Pharmacy.<br />
The report was notable for<br />
its sweepingly critical evaluation<br />
of nearly every facet of the<br />
agency, calling its regulation of<br />
the profession “fundamentally<br />
broken.” It said the changes<br />
it recommended were stopgap<br />
and called for legislators to form<br />
a blue ribbon committee “to<br />
comprehensively look at how the<br />
state regulates law enforcement<br />
and recommend needed changes<br />
to improve law enforcement<br />
regulation in Texas.”<br />
It took particular note of the<br />
state’s inability to discipline<br />
officers for misconduct. It pointed<br />
to a recent incident in which<br />
the San Antonio Police Department<br />
fired an officer for giving a<br />
homeless man a sandwich filled<br />
with dog feces. Yet the officer,<br />
Matthew Luckhurst, was able to<br />
return to the force. He was later<br />
fired — for good — after another<br />
feces-related incident.<br />
The example highlighted the<br />
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement’s<br />
limited authority to<br />
take any action against an officer’s<br />
state license. The agency<br />
may act only when officers fail<br />
to complete mandatory continued<br />
education, if they are convicted<br />
of or received deferred<br />
adjudication for felonies or<br />
certain misdemeanors, or if they<br />
receive a second dishonorable<br />
discharge. The agency has even<br />
less authority to sanction individual<br />
law enforcement agencies.<br />
Rigorous Screening<br />
Roger Goldman, retired law<br />
professor from the Saint Louis<br />
University School of Law, said<br />
that about two-thirds of states<br />
have stronger oversight abilities<br />
at the state level than Texas, and<br />
that in many states, officers can<br />
have their licenses revoked for<br />
misconduct even if they haven’t<br />
been convicted of a crime.<br />
Many states across the country<br />
are taking other tacks to try to<br />
prevent bad officers from getting<br />
hired at other departments after<br />
allegations of gross misconduct.<br />
Some states are now requiring<br />
departments to screen candidates<br />
more rigorously. In Vermont,<br />
for example, lawmakers<br />
passed a bill requiring departments<br />
to provide information<br />
about why they fired officers to<br />
other departments when those<br />
officers try to get new jobs. In<br />
Connecticut, lawmakers implemented<br />
rules requiring regulators<br />
to create a list of officers<br />
fired for serious misconduct but<br />
whose licenses were not decertified.<br />
The list prevented officers<br />
from being rehired by other departments,<br />
Goldman said.<br />
Matt Simpson, with the ACLU of<br />
Texas, said that while the Sunset<br />
review recommended a panel<br />
to study needed changes, lawmakers<br />
in the meantime should<br />
“ensure public safety is not<br />
threatened” by unqualified cops<br />
and pass reforms to give the law<br />
enforcement commission more<br />
authority to discipline officers<br />
dishonorably discharged, as well<br />
as empower the agency to sanction<br />
law enforcement agencies<br />
that “fail to hold up their end of<br />
the bargain in hiring and training<br />
qualified law enforcement<br />
officers.”<br />
Simpson also urged the Legislature<br />
to pass reforms that set<br />
statewide use of force standards<br />
and require a focus on de-escalation<br />
and proportional response;<br />
require officers to intervene if<br />
they witness other officers using<br />
excessive force; and pass citation<br />
requirements for low-level<br />
offenses.<br />
28 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 29
Minneapolis mayor, police chief call<br />
proposed police cuts ‘irresponsible’<br />
Mayor Jacob Frey and Chief<br />
Medaria Arradondo pushed<br />
back on a proposal to cut the<br />
police budget by nearly $8<br />
million amid rising crime.<br />
By Liz Sawyer<br />
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)<br />
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis<br />
Mayor Jacob Frey and police<br />
Chief Medaria Arradondo on<br />
Monday struck back at a proposal<br />
by three of City Council members<br />
to cut the Minneapolis police<br />
budget by nearly $8 million,<br />
with Frey calling the plan “irresponsible<br />
and untenable” amid a<br />
year of rising violent crime and a<br />
shrinking police force.<br />
Although both said they support<br />
some community alternatives<br />
and reforms in policing,<br />
they said it cannot come at the<br />
cost of further cuts to the department<br />
already facing historic<br />
attrition rates — the department<br />
is down <strong>12</strong>0 officers since the<br />
start of the year, with more destined<br />
for departure.<br />
“This notion that in order to<br />
have a more comprehensive<br />
public safety strategy you have<br />
to do away with one critical element,<br />
which is police, is wrong,”<br />
Frey said. “We are hearing from<br />
communities right now that they<br />
are looking for a ‘both-and’ approach.”<br />
by Sandy Malone & Holly Matkin<br />
“This is literally a life-anddeath<br />
matter right now and we<br />
need to get it right,” he said.<br />
The proposal by a trio of City<br />
Council members — President<br />
Lisa Bender, Phillipe Cunningham<br />
and Steve Fletcher — would<br />
move roughly 5% from MPD to<br />
violence prevention, a mental<br />
health crisis team and other departments<br />
that could help process<br />
reports of property damage<br />
and parking violations.<br />
The council members’ proposal<br />
would fund a department with<br />
roughly 770 officers and reduce<br />
the authorized force size to 750<br />
in future years. That’s far lower<br />
than the 888 “target level” included<br />
in Frey’s budget proposal.<br />
The three council members<br />
were on the losing side of a<br />
7-6 vote this month to spend<br />
$500,000 for other law enforcement<br />
agencies to help the Minneapolis<br />
police patrol the city.<br />
Frey’s budget plan includes<br />
roughly $1.5 billion in spending<br />
for 2021, about $179 million of<br />
which would go to the Police<br />
Department. His plan calls for<br />
adding three recruit classes to<br />
LAPD: Verbal consent now a must to<br />
search someone during routine stops<br />
New rules say officers must<br />
record detainees agreeing to<br />
a search if officers are making<br />
a stop without reasonable<br />
suspicion.<br />
By Josh Cain<br />
Daily News, Los Angeles<br />
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles<br />
Police Department officers who<br />
search people during routine<br />
stops must now document getting<br />
consent for those searches,<br />
according to a new policy approved<br />
Tuesday<br />
The new rules, adopted in a<br />
unanimous Los Angeles Police<br />
Commission vote, mean LAPD<br />
officers must use their body<br />
cameras to record detainees<br />
verbally agreeing to a search, or<br />
get written permission, if they’re<br />
making the stop without a reasonable<br />
suspicion that a crime<br />
has occurred.<br />
The change in policy follows<br />
an Office of Inspector General<br />
report released in October<br />
that showed LAPD was stopping<br />
Black and Latino drivers at a<br />
disproportionate rate to white<br />
drivers for minor traffic violations,<br />
as well as subjecting them<br />
to more intense searches of their<br />
vehicles.<br />
The intent of the searches<br />
was to suppress violent crime,<br />
Inspector General Mark Smith<br />
wrote in the report. But the strategy<br />
didn’t work.<br />
“The OIG concluded that some<br />
portion of the racial disparities<br />
seen in both stops and poststop<br />
activity ... were the result of<br />
strategies designed to use these<br />
violations as a pretext to identify<br />
or suppress more serious<br />
crimes,” Smith wrote. “The data<br />
also indicates that these strategies<br />
are, on balance, of limited<br />
effectiveness in identifying evidence<br />
of illegal firearms or other<br />
serious crimes.”<br />
The report found that in hundreds<br />
of thousands of such<br />
searches, Black and Latino drivers<br />
were less likely to be caught<br />
with guns or drugs than white<br />
drivers, or to be arrested of<br />
crimes.<br />
The practice came under scrutiny<br />
after a Los Angeles Times<br />
investigation found that squads<br />
of crime suppression officers<br />
in LAPD’s Metropolitan Division<br />
were making thousands of stops<br />
of mostly innocent drivers in<br />
South L.A. and around downtown.<br />
After furious outcry from community<br />
leaders and civil rights<br />
activists, LAPD wound down the<br />
strategy. The department recently<br />
redeployed Metro Division<br />
officers in units investigating<br />
shootings.<br />
The policies adopted Tuesday<br />
do not affect officers’ ability to<br />
stop and search people who they<br />
suspect have committed crimes.<br />
“This order pertains only to<br />
consensual searches and should<br />
not be confused with other legal<br />
searches, such as pat-downs<br />
when an officer has articulable<br />
facts which cause him or her to<br />
reasonably believe the person is<br />
dangerous or may be carrying a<br />
weapon,” officials wrote in the<br />
new policy.<br />
Commissioners said the policies<br />
implemented Tuesday,<br />
which also included new rules<br />
for serving search and arrest<br />
warrants, were part of a move to<br />
reduce biases found in the way<br />
LAPD polices different communities.<br />
Several commissioners<br />
also expressed interest in study-<br />
*CONTINUED ON PAGE 34 *CONTINUED ON PAGE 34<br />
30 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 31
Small town in S.C. loses entire police force<br />
The fourth police chief to step down in the last three<br />
years said his departure was due to a “hostile work<br />
environment” at the hands of the mayor<br />
By Bristow Marchant<br />
The State (Columbia, S.C.)<br />
PINE RIDGE, S.C. — Situated in<br />
the southeast of Lexington County<br />
near where Interstate 77 ends<br />
at Interstate 26, the town of Pine<br />
Ridge has a small police department<br />
protecting its population of<br />
2,000 people. At most, the town<br />
would normally have three fulltime<br />
officers on staff, supplemented<br />
by part-time officers.<br />
But Pine Ridge has been without<br />
a functioning police department<br />
since Oct. 13, when Lt.<br />
Vincent Silano, the town’s interim<br />
police chief and only serving<br />
full-time officer, resigned after<br />
only five months on the job.<br />
Silano is the fourth chief to<br />
step down in the last three years,<br />
and five other officers have left in<br />
the same time span.<br />
In a resignation letter to Mayor<br />
Robert Wells and the town<br />
council, Silano laid the blame<br />
for his resignation at the feet of<br />
the mayor. His departure, Silano<br />
said, was “solely due to the constant<br />
impediment of police matters<br />
and micro-managing at the<br />
hands of Mayor Robert Wells.”<br />
“It has created a hostile work<br />
environment for not only myself<br />
but my two part time officers as<br />
well and it will not be tolerated,”<br />
Silano wrote. “Since it does<br />
not seem that anything can be<br />
done regardless of the knowledge<br />
of wrongdoing, I have no<br />
choice but to resign from my<br />
position.”<br />
At a contentious town council<br />
meeting <strong>No</strong>v. 10, Wells said the<br />
town faces challenges in retaining<br />
personnel similar to what<br />
other small towns face.<br />
“We have Lexington and different<br />
towns offering a $10,000<br />
cash bonus just to walk in the<br />
door,” Wells said. “We have no<br />
tax base. <strong>No</strong>body in this room or<br />
in this town has paid a dime (in<br />
taxes) for police in this town. All<br />
the money comes from franchise<br />
fees and business licenses.”<br />
Wells told The State he had<br />
two main disagreements in the<br />
department. One was the decision<br />
to suspend the town’s K9<br />
officer program. Wells said a K9<br />
unit wasn’t really needed in Pine<br />
Ridge.<br />
“In town, the number of calls<br />
for a canine were zero,” he said.<br />
“Everything was mutual aid calls<br />
to other municipalities.”<br />
The other came over Wells’<br />
insistence that an officer police<br />
the school zones around Pine<br />
Ridge Middle School and Herbert<br />
A. Wood Elementary School at<br />
set times.<br />
“If that’s mismanagement or<br />
micromanagement or whatever<br />
you call it, then that’s micromanagement,”<br />
he said.<br />
The mayor reiterated that turnover<br />
in a town like Pine Ridge<br />
tends to be high, and officers<br />
leaving is not a sign that anything<br />
is wrong.<br />
“If we make a change, and we<br />
continue to have resignations,<br />
then we know it was not Mayor<br />
Wells,” Councilman Dinkins said<br />
at the town council meeting. He<br />
argued some action would be<br />
needed “to regain the trust and<br />
respect of the people of this<br />
town.”<br />
But town residents are worried<br />
about living in a town without a<br />
police department and whether<br />
the sheriff’s department will be<br />
able to respond in time to calls.<br />
Resident Cheryl Patrick recalled<br />
meeting Silano at a neighborhood<br />
watch meeting after neighbors<br />
had spotted a prowler in<br />
the area at night.<br />
Speaking to the town council<br />
Patrick said she hoped the town<br />
got its police department sorted<br />
out soon.“Barney Fife would be<br />
better than nobody,” she said.<br />
Charleston Officer Cassie Johnson<br />
dies from gunshot to head<br />
By Joe Severino<br />
CHARLESTON, W.Va. —<br />
Charleston Police Chief Tyke<br />
Hunt said the city police officer<br />
shot by a resident Tuesday<br />
afternoon, December 1, did not<br />
survive.<br />
Officer Cassie Johnson, 28,<br />
was gravely wounded when she<br />
was shot just before 3 p.m. on<br />
Garrison Avenue.<br />
“With a heavy heart, I hate to<br />
say she is not going to be able to<br />
pull through this,” Hunt said outside<br />
of Charleston Area Medical<br />
Center General Hospital. “She is<br />
still fighting but her body is unable<br />
to sustain life by itself.”<br />
Johnson was responding to<br />
a traffic complaint on Garrison<br />
Avenue when Joshua Phillips, 38,<br />
of Charleston, allegedly shot her<br />
in the face, said Kanawha County<br />
Sheriff Mike Rutherford. The<br />
Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office<br />
believes Johnson also shot<br />
Phillips, which sent him to CAMC<br />
General.<br />
Hunt said there was no update<br />
on Phillips’ condition as of<br />
Wednesday evening, except he<br />
was recovering in the hospital.<br />
Rutherford said the sheriff’s<br />
office is currently handling the<br />
investigation. He said a confrontation<br />
on Garrison Avenue led<br />
to the shooting, but declined to<br />
comment further until witness<br />
statements and evidence collection<br />
can be completed.<br />
“Once that’s finished, we will<br />
turn our information over to the<br />
Charleston Police Department<br />
and the Kanawha<br />
County Prosecutor’s<br />
Office<br />
and they will<br />
determine what<br />
charges [will be<br />
filed against Phillips],”<br />
Rutherford<br />
said.<br />
“I really can’t<br />
get into more<br />
detail, I’m sorry,”<br />
Rutherford said,<br />
“but we don’t<br />
want to cause a<br />
problem with the<br />
investigation and<br />
have a problem<br />
down the road.<br />
We want the full<br />
extent of the law<br />
to apply in this<br />
case. We’re going<br />
to do this right<br />
and we’re going<br />
to do a thorough and conclusive<br />
investigation.”<br />
Hunt asked for continued<br />
prayers for Johnson and her<br />
family, and commended Johnson<br />
“for even in her passing still<br />
being a true hero.”<br />
“As one final parting gift to<br />
continue to help others, she is<br />
an organ donor,” Hunt said. “The<br />
doctors are working with the<br />
family to determine eligibility<br />
and work out some donor-ship<br />
there.”<br />
Johnson was the first city<br />
police officer sworn in by Mayor<br />
Amy Shuler Goodwin when she<br />
began her term in January 2019.<br />
Goodwin said Wednesday Johnson<br />
is going to be remembered<br />
by the community for her commitment<br />
to service.<br />
“Her family still needs your<br />
prayers, and to this community<br />
we still need your strength,”<br />
Goodwin said. “[She] is a wonderful,<br />
bright young woman who<br />
is going to leave an amazing<br />
legacy for every woman in this<br />
city.”<br />
The city held a candlelight<br />
vigil for Johnson at 6:30 p.m.<br />
Wednesday, December 2 at Laidley<br />
Field.<br />
32 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 33
Minneapolis<br />
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31<br />
help offset a wave of officer departures<br />
following Floyd’s death<br />
and the related rioting.<br />
Arradondo cited more than<br />
500 shootings and nearly 80<br />
homicides, saying it would be<br />
“reckless and dangerous” to<br />
reduce department numbers<br />
without awaiting the results of<br />
a city-sanctioned study of MPD<br />
staffing numbers.<br />
“We need to dream about a<br />
better future but we cannot<br />
sleepwalk on public safety of<br />
our residences and our businesses,”<br />
Arradondo said. “Crime<br />
is occurring, the shootings, the<br />
carjackings, the robberies. They<br />
are citywide, they are impacting<br />
everyone, and not just one constituency<br />
base and not just one<br />
neighborhood.”<br />
In an email to constituents<br />
Monday, Fletcher lauded the<br />
“Safety for All Budget Proposal”<br />
as a data-driven solution to start<br />
transforming the current policing<br />
structure, while reigning in<br />
overtime spending by MPD.<br />
“These investments will reduce<br />
the burden on our police department,<br />
deliver more effective<br />
and appropriate responses when<br />
people in our communities need<br />
help, and prevent and interrupt<br />
cycles of violence,” he wrote.<br />
Minneapolis residents are<br />
still torn over whether the Police<br />
Department is best suited<br />
to improve safety in the city —<br />
and how much to invest in it —<br />
months after the police killing<br />
of George Floyd and in a year<br />
marred by violent crime.<br />
LAPD<br />
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31<br />
ing the effects on crime in other<br />
cities where police are banned<br />
from making any kinds of pretextual<br />
stops.<br />
LAPD Chief Michel Moore, however,<br />
balked for now at ending<br />
such stops altogether. He said<br />
the department would continue<br />
“proactive policing” strategies,<br />
especially amid a spike in shooting<br />
violence this year.<br />
“We need those officers out<br />
there,” he said. “And I think the<br />
vast majority of Angelenos want<br />
those officers out there.”<br />
P.U.S.H. LA, a coalition of civil<br />
rights groups that includes Black<br />
Lives Matter LA and the American<br />
Civil Liberties Union, said in<br />
a statement after Tuesday’s vote<br />
that the new rules didn’t go far<br />
enough.<br />
Speaking at the commission<br />
meeting, Hamid Khan, a frequent<br />
LAPD critic who founded<br />
the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition,<br />
said the numbers in the inspector<br />
general report showed the department<br />
needed to end pretextual<br />
stops.<br />
“The facts on the ground remain:<br />
We have people who were<br />
directly impacted because of<br />
these stops,” Khan said. “They<br />
talked about the level of humiliation,<br />
they talked about the level<br />
of dehumanization.”<br />
Flashlights<br />
Pepper spray<br />
Ammunition<br />
Handguns<br />
Cotton Masks<br />
Gloves<br />
Portable disinfectant<br />
Knives<br />
10345 Brockwood Rd<br />
DALLAS, TX 75238<br />
4930-D Dacoma Rd<br />
HOUSTON, TX 77092<br />
34 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 35
Working the night shift was<br />
something new to me. For 9<br />
years, I worked days and lived<br />
a somewhat normal life. <strong>No</strong>w I<br />
try my best to sleep until noon,<br />
get up, work an extra job, come<br />
home, see the wife and kids,<br />
take a nap and go back to work.<br />
Today was no different and as<br />
I was about to drift off for my<br />
45 minute nap, I prayed tonight<br />
would be slow and uneventful.<br />
As I showed up for roll call, I<br />
noticed “a lot” of shops parked<br />
everywhere. What the hell was<br />
going on. It’s a Sunday night for<br />
heaven’s sake, why is evening<br />
shift still here. I walked thru the<br />
door and into a war zone. People<br />
were scrambling everywhere,<br />
the phones were ringing, radios<br />
were raging non-stop and the<br />
Sergeant was yelling for everyone<br />
to take a seat.<br />
In almost 10 years of roll calls I<br />
have never been to one where all<br />
three shifts were here at once.<br />
All five sergeants, two lieutenant’s<br />
and the captain were<br />
all here. What in God’s name is<br />
happening.<br />
“Ladies and gentlemen and<br />
I use that term lightly, let me<br />
begin by thanking you all for<br />
coming in on a Sunday night.<br />
Some of you may be aware of<br />
the protests across the country<br />
that have become outright riots.<br />
It seems these so called protestors<br />
are coming to our city<br />
and we need to be prepared.<br />
But that’s not why we are here<br />
tonight. District 5 is covering our<br />
section of the city for the next<br />
hour or two, so we can brief you<br />
on what to expect in the coming<br />
days, weeks maybe even months.<br />
We have Mr. White from the CDC<br />
here with us and he is going to<br />
go over the pandemic and explain<br />
what a Coronavirus is and<br />
how COVID 19 will affect us all.”<br />
For the next hour, we sat and<br />
listened in disbelief. Restaurants,<br />
bars and retail stores will<br />
most likely close, the public<br />
will be ordered to stay at home<br />
and hospitals will become war<br />
zones. Lots of people, millions<br />
in fact will become infected and<br />
die. This virus will spread like<br />
wildfire and as first responders<br />
we need to be prepared. And<br />
yes, some of you will get sick<br />
and some will die. Come on. This<br />
must be worst case scenario. I<br />
heard the president say it’s just a<br />
bad case of the China flu. It can’t<br />
or won’t be as bad as they are<br />
making it out to be. Right?<br />
WORDS BY DAVID JONES, 2DAVID 20<br />
Unfortunately, the meeting<br />
was cut short. Dispatch was on<br />
the phone and wanted to speak<br />
to the captain ASAP. He walked<br />
back into the room and looked<br />
like he’d seen a ghost.<br />
“Guys we need to wrap this up.<br />
We have a problem downtown.<br />
Several hundred protesters have<br />
begun setting fires to buildings<br />
and Central is under attack.<br />
They are firing on FIRE and EMS<br />
preventing them from fighting<br />
the fires. We have reports of<br />
several officers down, one confirmed<br />
dead. I need all of you to<br />
partner up and get down to the<br />
command post at Main and 5 th<br />
avenue. They’ll have riot gear for<br />
us when we arrive. I’ll meet you<br />
down there”<br />
I found my car share partner<br />
in the parking lot and we loaded<br />
all his gear into the shop. As we<br />
left the lot and headed downtown,<br />
we were both in shock.<br />
What were we about to jump<br />
into. Jason called his wife to tell<br />
her he had to stay at work and<br />
don’t wait up for him. He left off<br />
the riot part. After that we pretty<br />
much rode in silence the rest of<br />
the way. Each lost in reflection<br />
on whether we would even make<br />
it home…ever.<br />
Downtown was insane. Flames<br />
from fires leapt hundreds of feet<br />
into the air. Smoke filled the air<br />
and you could hardly breathe.<br />
And the buildings were just<br />
burning. <strong>No</strong> one was even attempting<br />
to put them out. The<br />
protesters, let’s just called them<br />
rioters, were running madly<br />
through the streets carrying<br />
TVs, clothes, and whatever else<br />
they could grab out of now wide<br />
open store fronts. And the heat!<br />
You could feel the heat everywhere.<br />
Then we heard gunshots echoing<br />
from the buildings. That<br />
sound was all to familiar to me<br />
and Jason. We have both done<br />
tours in Iraq and no one forgets<br />
the sound of gunfire echoing<br />
off buildings. As we checked<br />
in at the command post, I saw<br />
our captain talking to one of<br />
the assistant chiefs. They both<br />
looked confused as fuck. I knew<br />
right then and there we were on<br />
our own. We grabbed riot gear,<br />
radios, long guns and ammo<br />
and checked in with our Sgt. He<br />
too had served two tours in Iraq<br />
and Afghanistan knew we knew<br />
what to do. There were ten of us<br />
in our group. First and foremost,<br />
he said, watch each other’s six.<br />
Ironically none of us were given<br />
non-lethal rounds. If fired upon,<br />
we were given the green light<br />
to return fire. Protect ourselves,<br />
firefighters and civilians. That<br />
was the order. Of course, we all<br />
know how that changed after<br />
that first night. But tonight, it<br />
was balls to the wall.<br />
Our first order of business was<br />
to take out the shooters and get<br />
FD started on knocking down the<br />
fires and saving adjoin structures.<br />
Sarge sent two guys topside to<br />
provide cover in case we ran into<br />
snipers. I can’t believe I’m talking<br />
cover fire in downtown. Seemed<br />
so unreal, yet so familiar in a lot<br />
of ways. But I also could see that<br />
five of the guys in the group had<br />
not served and were confused as<br />
to what was happening. Jason<br />
and I took them aside and said,<br />
look just stay behind us and follow<br />
our lead. We’ll get through<br />
this together.<br />
For the next five hours, we<br />
hunted down and arrested over<br />
a dozen armed rioters. And not<br />
a single shot was fired from<br />
our team. <strong>No</strong> fatalities on either<br />
side. Come sunrise, the flames<br />
were reduced to mostly towers<br />
of white smoke from the burnt<br />
out hulks of storefronts. The<br />
owners of the business stood in<br />
the streets watching in horror<br />
as their dreams truly went up in<br />
smoke. The most shocking thing<br />
to me was the fact that 90% of<br />
these people were black and<br />
the people setting the fires were<br />
from Black Lives Matter. Don’t the<br />
lives of black business people<br />
matter too? I mean WTF.<br />
Tonight was only the first of<br />
many that would consume our<br />
time. Standing guard, trying to<br />
protect a city from out of town<br />
thugs. But the rules after that<br />
first night changed dramatically.<br />
When the mayor found out we<br />
were locked and loaded searching<br />
for looters, he went nuts.<br />
Going forward it would be mostly<br />
non-lethal rounds and non<br />
conformational contact with the<br />
protesters. Yeah, they continue to<br />
call them non-violent protesters.<br />
I continue to call them what they<br />
are, thugs.<br />
As time went on, this virus<br />
took over our lives. Stores<br />
Closed. Restaurants had food to<br />
go and pick-up zones. <strong>No</strong> more<br />
bars. Schools closed and remote<br />
learning became a thing. All of<br />
our extra jobs vanished. But the<br />
worst thing of all was the lives it<br />
was taking. Day after day, officers<br />
got sick and at least one<br />
a week died. And these weren’t<br />
old guys either. Just average<br />
joes that got sick, went to the<br />
hospital and never came home.<br />
I’ve gone to so many funerals<br />
I’ve lost count. Officers shot and<br />
killed for just doing their jobs<br />
plus all the COVID deaths. It’s just<br />
a nightmare.<br />
“Unit 2David20, I have local<br />
alarm at <strong>12</strong>500 Highway 390<br />
south, Code 2”<br />
Unit 2David20, show me in<br />
route. Hell, that’s just around the<br />
corner.<br />
Unit 2David20, show me out.<br />
Alarm is still sounding, and I<br />
have entry at the front door, can<br />
you send me another unit….”<br />
Unit 2David20, did you copy?<br />
Unit 2David20, dispatch did you<br />
copy?<br />
“David! David!” What?<br />
“David wake, up. Didn’t you<br />
hear the alarm? You’re gonna be<br />
late. And your sergeant called,<br />
he wants you to come by the<br />
station for role call, something<br />
about someone being sick from<br />
a virus. Are you Ok?”<br />
I had the weirdest dream about<br />
something called Corona and<br />
riots.<br />
“Honey you need to stop<br />
dreaming about beer and get<br />
your ass to work. LOL”<br />
OK, I’m going...wierd ass<br />
dream.<br />
<strong>36</strong> The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 37
After effects are “The AFTERMATH”<br />
The “action” of the event is<br />
always what everyone seems<br />
to remember and talk about.<br />
You know, the car chase, the<br />
shootout, the whatever it was.<br />
However rarely do we in Law<br />
Enforcement talk about what we<br />
went through, afterwards.<br />
For example, one Christmas<br />
Eve I was working for another<br />
Deputy so that he could spend it<br />
with his young family. I had no<br />
family at home at the time, so it<br />
seemed like a cool thing to do,<br />
right? Well, you’re about to see,<br />
not so much.<br />
The night was rolling along<br />
easy enough. <strong>No</strong>t a lot of calls<br />
for service and not a lot of traffic<br />
out to contend with. Then, as<br />
fate would have it, a Priority 1<br />
call drops. “Family Disturbance,<br />
with a weapon. Male has a knife<br />
to the neck of his girlfriend.” Off<br />
we go. Oh wait. I was the only<br />
Deputy in that beat that night.<br />
The closest units would be several<br />
minutes away….Oh well,<br />
he’ll probably be GOA by the time<br />
I get there, anyways.<br />
As I exited my unit, the screams<br />
told me otherwise. He was still<br />
there. To speed this up a bit, this<br />
guy beats the fire out of me and<br />
a Houston PD Officer who also<br />
responded to the call. The complex<br />
was oddly enough, half in<br />
the City and half in the County.<br />
So, the residents always seemed<br />
to get some pretty good response<br />
times, from one or the<br />
other.<br />
<strong>No</strong>w this was pre-Taser and OC<br />
Spray days, so the SL-20, radio<br />
and anything else I could put my<br />
hands on was used in the fight.<br />
Same goes for the City Officer.<br />
Realizing this fella was twice our<br />
size combined, I think it’s safe to<br />
say we were both very happy to<br />
hear all the responding back up<br />
Officers and Deputies arriving.<br />
As the peak of broken equipment,<br />
blood, mud, beer and<br />
cops, we finally got the suspect<br />
in custody. I felt a numbness on<br />
my left side and couldn’t move<br />
my arm, hand or fingers. Someone<br />
stopped and looked at me<br />
and said, “You don’t look so<br />
good bro…You ok?” That’s about<br />
all I really remember for the next<br />
few moments.<br />
As it turned out, my shoulder<br />
WORDS BY REX EVANS<br />
had been ripped from its socket,<br />
tendons and all. My arm and<br />
shoulder were hanging down<br />
freely by about three inches or<br />
so. When I arrived at the Hospital,<br />
even the Doctor was like, “I’m<br />
not going to lie, this is gonna<br />
hurt…” You know you’ve done<br />
screwed up big time when even<br />
the Doctor is like “oh boy!”<br />
It was six weeks of home<br />
bound, workers comp, no extra<br />
job, no one really stopping by<br />
and only a phone call now and<br />
then from my fellow Deputies.<br />
My Sergeant at the time called<br />
me the most, and only to ask “So,<br />
when you coming back to work?<br />
I got people who need off!” Yep!<br />
That’s how that one went for me.<br />
The aftermath of an incident<br />
of any kind that is traumatic, or<br />
injury driven in nature, causes a<br />
wake on the still waters of life, I<br />
assure you. You find out quickly,<br />
the workers comp folks are not<br />
your friends. Repeat after me…<br />
Workers Comp people are not<br />
your friends! Good? <strong>No</strong>w just<br />
remember, If you get hurt on<br />
duty understand this, if you’re off<br />
for any length of time, it will be<br />
challenging and upsetting. You’ll<br />
find you’re more alone, like on<br />
some island, than you are surrounded<br />
by friends.<br />
In Law Enforcement, this has<br />
been some kind of weird anomaly.<br />
The Fire Service has always<br />
done better with Incident Command/Control<br />
and taking care of<br />
their own, than we have. That’s<br />
just a fact. We need to work<br />
harder, do better and for crying<br />
out loud, take better care of one<br />
another. Our profession has one<br />
of the highest suicide rates in<br />
the world. That’s right, the world.<br />
Why do you think that is? Exactly!<br />
Because we (Law Enforcement)<br />
get an “F” in taking care<br />
of each other.<br />
Somehow, someway we’ve lost<br />
the “Old School” ways of looking<br />
out for one another, helping one<br />
another and lifting one another<br />
up. We now see where its all for<br />
one and one for themselves and<br />
no-one else. Which is a terrible<br />
tragedy. We’re fighting multiple<br />
fronts in our effort to “Hold the<br />
Line”. If you ever studied history,<br />
multiple fronts usually don’t turn<br />
out so well for those who try it.<br />
Which brings me to the end<br />
of the whole “Aftermath” point.<br />
Just because you survive the<br />
initial event/incident, understand<br />
it can and in all likelihood will,<br />
remain a burden of sorts for you<br />
forevermore. Don’t fight it alone.<br />
Don’t. And if you’re standing<br />
there watching a fellow Officer<br />
go down in flames from the<br />
trauma of something, they are<br />
struggling with…SHAME ON YOU!<br />
We owe it to ourselves and one<br />
another to stand up for our fellow<br />
Officers and help lift them to<br />
their feet. <strong>No</strong>t to simply step over<br />
them and forget about them.<br />
You want to do something with<br />
your career in Law Enforcement?<br />
Like, seriously do something.<br />
Reach out and help a fellow cop<br />
who’s hurting. Who’s down and<br />
struggling. Hold the Line isn’t just<br />
some rallying cry when the heat<br />
is on…it’s what it takes after the<br />
fight when our sick, injured and<br />
hurting counterparts need us the<br />
most. If we fail each other here,<br />
how are we really helping each<br />
other anywhere else.<br />
The Aftermath of trauma HAS<br />
to be faced. It just has to.<br />
Have a unique story you’d<br />
like to share with the<br />
BLUES readers?<br />
Send it to: bluespdmag@<br />
gmail.com. Please change<br />
all the names to protect the<br />
innocent and to avoid prosecution<br />
in the event that<br />
the statute of limitations<br />
hasn’t expired.<br />
38 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 39
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48 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 49
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HPD Chief of Police Marcus McDonald must make critical decisions when he discovers an impending<br />
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superior firepower to the fight. Even with their help, the outcome of the battle is in doubt.<br />
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Deacon Blue is the pen name of retired Sgt. David Cole. He was a Houston Police officer from 1981 to 2018. He started<br />
in Southwest Patrol and then transferred to Homicide Division where he worked the desk for three years. He Continued was then on assigned Page 16 to the Ho-<br />
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micide Sex Crimes Unit where he investigated sexual assaults and other cases. He finally promoted to sergeant in 2007 and went back to patrol.<br />
After six months as a patrol sergeant, he was assigned to the HPD Jail division. He escaped from the jail two years later and spent the last<br />
50 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />
The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 51<br />
nine years of his career in the Office of Planning. <strong>No</strong>w that he’s retired, he cuts the grass, drives his wife to the store and sometimes writes books.
A Weary World Rejoices<br />
As we enter a holiday season<br />
in a year that has been devastatingly<br />
horrendous for many<br />
people around the globe, I would<br />
like to share an experience I had<br />
some years back when I was a<br />
teacher at Pasadena High School.<br />
As the story will reveal, taking<br />
life’s blessings for granted is<br />
something we should never do.<br />
Arrangements had been made<br />
at the school for a gentleman<br />
from the Houston Holocaust<br />
Museum Speakers Bureau to<br />
visit the school and speak of his<br />
experience in World War Two.<br />
The speaker had two conditions:<br />
first, due to the emotional toll<br />
the speech would take on him,<br />
he could only do it once, and,<br />
second, every student in the audience<br />
would have to be taught<br />
the Holocaust prior to the presentation.<br />
The teachers in the English<br />
Department were very sincere<br />
and their desire to expose the<br />
students to this material was<br />
compelling. To satisfy the first<br />
requirement, the auditorium was<br />
chosen to be the venue since<br />
it would actually hold all the<br />
students. This auditorium was<br />
actually a jointly owned location<br />
and held by Pasadena ISD and<br />
the City of Pasadena, so it was<br />
larger than most schools’ auditoriums.<br />
It wasn’t just a converted<br />
cafeteria. I’m not sure of<br />
the seating capacity, but it was<br />
greater than 2000. All the students<br />
would fit in the auditorium<br />
to listen to the speaker’s onetime<br />
remarks. First box checked.<br />
I was asked to teach the Holocaust<br />
to all the students at PHS.<br />
That was a huge honor for me,<br />
but it was an awesome responsibility.<br />
Administrators arranged<br />
for a substitute to handle my<br />
classes while I taught the subject<br />
to all the students in a newly<br />
constructed teaching theater. I<br />
developed my own lesson and<br />
taught it over the course of several<br />
days. I used PowerPoint; it<br />
was new then and the lesson had<br />
video clips and many photos. I<br />
included a video clip of a speech<br />
from Hitler and I told the students<br />
to listen for one word that<br />
is the same in English and German.<br />
“Intolerant” was the word<br />
that that the students learned<br />
that day in the teaching theater.<br />
They heard the word come directly<br />
from Der Fuhrer’s mouth.<br />
One of my precious students<br />
advised her peers that the word<br />
was basically the same in Spanish<br />
as well. This was important<br />
because Spanish was the native<br />
tongue of most of the students<br />
there. I suppose when a word is<br />
very ugly no language wants to<br />
claim it as its own. Every student<br />
was now equipped with the<br />
background information to fully<br />
appreciate the speaker’s remarks.<br />
Second box checked.<br />
The next day, the speaker<br />
arrived. He was an older gentleman,<br />
but certainly not frail. He<br />
actually looked like a movie star<br />
who could have been a leading<br />
man a couple of decades prior.<br />
He thanked us all for preparing<br />
his audience and then he went<br />
to work with an enthusiasm that<br />
can only be held by someone on<br />
a special mission. He was a gifted<br />
speaker. He introduced himself<br />
and told the kids that they<br />
could call him Walter. He told<br />
the kids he was going to relay<br />
to them what happened to him<br />
when he was a teenager. And<br />
then he did.<br />
I was already in awe of him<br />
and the instant rapport he established<br />
in the room. Every<br />
teacher’s nightmare is that their<br />
students will be unruly and<br />
disrespectful to a guest speaker.<br />
That fear is heightened exponentially<br />
if the speaker is an honored<br />
guest from the Holocaust Museum.<br />
That day I saw something<br />
that I never saw before or since.<br />
Over two thousand teenagers<br />
were in one room and nobody<br />
uttered a word. That in and of<br />
itself was incredible. It only added<br />
to the mystique of this man<br />
named Walter.<br />
After Walter established this<br />
incredibly magnificent rapport,<br />
he said that he was from Łódź,<br />
Poland. His father owned a large<br />
commercial laundry there and<br />
was very successful. Walter<br />
lived there with his parents and<br />
sister. Then the Germans came.<br />
They took his sister and some<br />
other people and shot them<br />
down in the street in front of<br />
Walter. The long evil nightmare<br />
had begun for Walter.<br />
His parents were separated in<br />
Łódź. Walter and his father were<br />
transported to various locations,<br />
including Oswiecim, Poland.<br />
The Germans called this place<br />
Auschwitz. Walter told us of his<br />
experiences there in his home<br />
country of Poland. One cannot<br />
imagine the horror of this place.<br />
Walter unrolled his sleeve and<br />
showed the kids a number that<br />
was tattooed on his arm. He was<br />
just a number to the Nazis.<br />
Walter’s father was assigned<br />
to a work detail outside the<br />
camp. Polish farmers in the area<br />
would hide food in the form of<br />
potato pancakes that the unfortunate<br />
Jews in the work parties<br />
would place under their clothes<br />
and smuggle back into the camp.<br />
Walter’s father would feed his<br />
son this hidden food to keep<br />
him alive. The days stretched to<br />
weeks, months, and years. The<br />
horrors of Auschwitz were magnified<br />
and increased daily. Eventually,<br />
over one million people<br />
died at this location alone. That<br />
scale of death is<br />
something that<br />
is impossible to<br />
wrap your head<br />
around.<br />
As the war progressed<br />
and the<br />
Soviets moved<br />
through Poland,<br />
Walter and<br />
his father were<br />
transported from<br />
Poland to Austria.<br />
They went through<br />
the system of unimaginable<br />
cruelty<br />
in Mauthausen and<br />
ultimately ended<br />
up in Gunskirchen.<br />
The German Army<br />
could no longer<br />
feed their own<br />
troops properly<br />
so the thought of<br />
giving a Jew some<br />
food never entered<br />
their minds.<br />
Mass starvation<br />
could now do the<br />
work of bullets<br />
and gas.<br />
There wasn’t<br />
a dry eye in the auditorium as<br />
Walter spoke. The teaching lesson<br />
of the Holocaust had literally<br />
come alive and the kids were<br />
receiving the lesson of a lifetime<br />
- and they knew it.<br />
Then, finally, one of the happiest<br />
days of Walter’s life had<br />
come at long last. The 71st Infantry<br />
Division of the U.S. Army<br />
arrived and liberated the death<br />
camp. One of the soldiers gave<br />
Walter a Hershey bar and he<br />
told the kids that it was still his<br />
favorite candy. But the Army and<br />
Walter learned a sobering lesson<br />
that day: starving people can’t be<br />
fixed with a Hershey bar.<br />
Walter’s father was admitted<br />
to a U.S. Army hospital and treated<br />
for hunger for thirty days.<br />
Walter was with his father daily<br />
hoping that their lives would<br />
soon be restored, but that was<br />
not to be. Walter received the<br />
Army doctor’s sad news that his<br />
father could not be saved. At age<br />
39, Walter’s father had starved<br />
to death and Walter was utterly<br />
alone. Walter now realized that<br />
his father had sacrificed his life<br />
by giving him his food so that<br />
*CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE<br />
52 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 53
Walter could live.<br />
By now the school auditorium<br />
could no longer conceal the<br />
audible sobs from the audience.<br />
Walter continued his story by<br />
telling the students that hate<br />
is something to be on guard<br />
against. He said that you know<br />
hate because it destroys while<br />
love builds things up. He told a<br />
knowing audience how intolerance<br />
led to the unimaginable.<br />
He reiterated that word. The kids<br />
knew that word was especially<br />
evil. They learned that word well.<br />
He started the conclusion of<br />
his remarks by telling the kids to<br />
never take for granted the special<br />
things in their lives. Their<br />
family being the first. Walter lost<br />
seventy members of his family<br />
in the Holocaust. He told the kids<br />
that their parents were doing<br />
the best that they could and to<br />
ALAN HELFMAN<br />
appreciate their efforts. He told<br />
them that their little brothers,<br />
sisters, and cousins might seem<br />
like brats, but the little children<br />
looked up to them for guidance.<br />
He told them never to take their<br />
freedom for granted and to not<br />
while away their youth in some<br />
jail cell someplace. He told them<br />
that sitting in an auditorium and<br />
receiving an education from<br />
people who cared for them was<br />
another thing he was denied as<br />
a teenager. He told them that<br />
shelter is something that all<br />
human beings need and it can<br />
be gone if the month’s rent is not<br />
paid. He said that his wife often<br />
kidded him about the pantry<br />
in his house. It was huge and<br />
always contained enough food<br />
so that nobody he knew would<br />
ever starve to death again before<br />
his eyes. He told the kids to<br />
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eat properly and to never waste<br />
food.<br />
Finally, he told the kids to<br />
never take love for granted. The<br />
love from and for others is God’s<br />
greatest gift to all human beings.<br />
In the end it will always overturn<br />
hate. Love for his father and from<br />
his father was what kept his<br />
faith in God alive and that gave<br />
him the will to live in the saddest<br />
circumstances our history<br />
has ever endured.<br />
Walter told the kids he loved<br />
them and he left the stage.<br />
<strong>No</strong>body who heard him was<br />
ever the same. We lost Walter<br />
Kase in 2015 to Parkinson’s, but in<br />
a sense we never lose anybody<br />
who lives on in the love of our<br />
hearts.<br />
This holiday season of <strong>2020</strong>, I<br />
am heeding Walter’s message to<br />
not take for granted those things<br />
in my life that hold a higher<br />
priority, it seems, than they did<br />
in the past. Over the last year, I<br />
have found out that priorities are<br />
things that have to be reevaluated<br />
from time to time. Hard times<br />
reveal the things that truly matter.<br />
Walter’s list is a good one<br />
to build upon: freedom, parents,<br />
education, family, shelter, food,<br />
and, of course, love.<br />
As we experience the <strong>2020</strong><br />
holiday season, let us not forget<br />
others who may need our help.<br />
In John’s Gospel, the sixth chapter,<br />
Jesus fed a multitude of over<br />
5000 with a lad’s sack lunch.<br />
Jesus didn’t wave a magic wand,<br />
his disciples acted as his hands<br />
and feet to feed all the people.<br />
The miracle wasn’t simply the<br />
supernatural event, the miracle<br />
was and is that we can be an answer<br />
to somebody’s prayers. We<br />
can be the hands and feet of God<br />
in a needy world.<br />
54 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 55
6<br />
Personnel<br />
reasons why your agency needs a<br />
certified firearm specialist<br />
with proven comprehensive<br />
firearms knowledge help prevent costly<br />
accidents, mistakes and legal battles<br />
BY DANIEL O’KELLY<br />
Having taught hundreds of multi-day firearm technology seminars to law enforcement personnel,<br />
the most common comment heard from LE personnel after a seminar is “I wish I’d had this<br />
training 20 years ago!” The irony is, the most common comment prior to this type of training is,<br />
“I already know everything about guns.”<br />
Let's test your firearms knowledge. Do you know the answers to these questions?<br />
• Why is one <strong>12</strong> gauge firearm legally allowed to have a 9” barrel, while another has a 16”<br />
barrel but is a felony to possess?<br />
• What does the second number “30” refer to in the name of the .30-30 Winchester cartridge?<br />
• What four categories of shootable and deadly firearms are exempt from federal gun laws?<br />
• What are the legalities of building a homemade “ghost gun”? What element, if missing,<br />
makes a "ghost gun" prosecutable in state court but not in federal court?<br />
Being a range instructor or even a firearm/toolmark examiner isn’t enough to equip you for the<br />
situations where technology meets difficult-to-maneuver gun laws. (Getty Images)<br />
The list of confusing questions about firearms and ammo technology is long, and not knowing<br />
the answer to a technical question about firearms or ammunition can be costly to law enforcement.<br />
The truth is that LE personnel are only taught how to shoot, when to shoot and maybe how to<br />
repair the gun models that we carry. But what do you do when your need for gun knowledge in<br />
the field goes beyond that?<br />
Consider that there are 393 million guns in private hands in the U.S., that’s <strong>12</strong>0.5 guns for every<br />
100 residents. Your chances of encountering them regularly are definite. As a result, your agency<br />
needs to have personnel who can ensure that firearms are accurately identified and classified so<br />
that court cases are not lost due to misidentification, violations are not overlooked, no injuries<br />
occur during handling, and arrests are not made for something that is not illegal.<br />
Being a range instructor or even a firearm/toolmark examiner isn’t enough to equip you for the<br />
situations where technology meets difficult-to-maneuver gun laws. Here are six reasons why<br />
your department needs to go the extra mile and have one or more certified firearm specialists:<br />
56 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 57
Daniel O'Kelly<br />
3. AVOID ARRESTS FOR NON-VIOLATIONS<br />
These are embarrassing, can<br />
lead to civil suits and are a<br />
waste of resources.<br />
The ability to classify firearms<br />
allows the specialist to know<br />
the legal difference between a<br />
pistol, a shotgun, a rifle, or an<br />
“other firearm” (which is neither<br />
a handgun nor a shotgun nor rifle)<br />
and which is not required to<br />
be registered with the ATF.<br />
Also, knowledge of the quirks<br />
in ATF rulings allows the specialist<br />
to avoid embarrassment<br />
by knowing things such as blank<br />
cartridges are not “ammunition”<br />
despite the fact that each of the<br />
three components that make<br />
them are ammunition separately.<br />
Well-developed knowledge of<br />
the category known as Curios<br />
and Relics will also allow the<br />
specialist to recognize those<br />
guns that would otherwise warrant<br />
an arrest for possession of<br />
an unregistered short-barreled<br />
rifle or shotgun but have been<br />
exempted. Again, civil suits for<br />
malicious prosecution and unlawful<br />
seizure of property can<br />
be avoided.<br />
1. AVOID OVERLOOKING SERIOUS FELONY VIOLATIONS<br />
Pictured above are several<br />
small gadgets considered by<br />
the ATF to be machineguns<br />
just by themselves. They don’t<br />
shoot, but the simple drop-in<br />
installation of them allows a<br />
certain model of a gun to fire<br />
fully-automatic. The fact that<br />
such gadgets are easily made at<br />
home from common materials<br />
allows for them to be commonly<br />
encountered by law enforcement,<br />
and failure to recognize<br />
them allows violations to go<br />
unchecked.<br />
Other examples of overlooking<br />
a violation are that the mere<br />
frame of a gun, although not<br />
always recognized, is a firearm<br />
by itself. Also, ammunition com-<br />
2. AVOID ACCIDENTS DUE TO IMPROPER GUN HANDLING<br />
The saying is that there are two<br />
kinds of gun-handlers: those<br />
who’ve had an accidental/unintentional<br />
discharge and those<br />
who will.<br />
Most classes of instruction<br />
will teach you that there are two<br />
places to check for ammunition<br />
in a gun (magazine or cylinder,<br />
and chamber); however, there<br />
are actually four places! There<br />
are also five safety considerations<br />
when test-firing a firearm.<br />
Do you know what they are?<br />
Many LE personnel have never<br />
heard of a gun that fires from<br />
an open-bolt. In such a design,<br />
the gun is meant to fire a cartridge<br />
upon chambering it. And<br />
many accidental/unintentional<br />
ponents are legally considered<br />
“ammunition” by themselves,<br />
even spent shell-casings. The<br />
ability to field-test an empty gun<br />
for full-auto capability is another<br />
valuable tool that helps avoid<br />
overlooking violations of law,<br />
and there are many more.<br />
discharges of a firearm result<br />
from the untrained handling of<br />
a modified firearm equipped<br />
with any number of after-market<br />
gadgets designed for various<br />
purposes. Of course, most<br />
accidental and unintentional<br />
discharges with injury result in<br />
expensive civil suits.<br />
4. AVOID MISIDENTIFICATION OF EVIDENCE<br />
It is believed that if you were<br />
to inventory the average law<br />
enforcement evidence vault, you<br />
would find any number of firearms<br />
listed as “Smith & Wesson”<br />
although they were actually<br />
manufactured by another company<br />
for use with ammunition<br />
invented by the Smith & Wesson<br />
company, and which only bears<br />
that notice.<br />
There is the propensity for tin-<br />
kerers to build their own firearms<br />
based on a classic design, such<br />
as the 1911 pistol or AR15, by<br />
using mixed parts made by any<br />
combination of other companies.<br />
As a result, the slide may say<br />
“COLT” as clear as day, although<br />
the firearm (frame) was actually<br />
manufactured by another company.<br />
Unhappy and embarrassed<br />
is the LE witness to whom this<br />
fact is displayed in court by a<br />
defense attorney asking, “Where<br />
is the Colt that you reportedly<br />
took from my client?”<br />
You’ve also undoubtedly heard<br />
of “ghost guns” manufactured<br />
from home-made frames. That<br />
topic alone makes even some<br />
firearm laboratory personnel<br />
nervous when it comes time to<br />
be grilled about them in court by<br />
the defense.<br />
5. LEARN THE OVERALL ABILITY TO EXPLAIN THE FACETS OF FIREARMS<br />
Defense attorneys have the<br />
liberty of letting the answer to<br />
one question bring about another<br />
question and do so indefinitely.<br />
For that reason, a firearm<br />
or ammunition witness needs<br />
to be able to explain more than<br />
just the definition into which a<br />
firearm falls. For example, being<br />
able to explain the eight steps<br />
that occur between the firing of<br />
one shot and the next are what<br />
can silence an attorney versus<br />
inviting them to do more digging.<br />
Also, being able to simply<br />
explain the differences between<br />
firearms that reload their own<br />
chamber automatically and those<br />
eight types that do not is key<br />
knowledge that establishes your<br />
credibility.<br />
6. BECOME CLEAR ABOUT AMMUNITION: NORMALLY A VERY CONFUSING TOPIC<br />
For many people, ammunition<br />
is the most confusing facet<br />
of the firearm field. It becomes<br />
simple after you learn that the<br />
source of the confusion is the<br />
various naming systems used<br />
since metallic cartridges were<br />
invented. Armed with this information,<br />
a specialist can determine<br />
what counts as ammunition<br />
in support of a criminal<br />
prosecution and what does not.<br />
Knowledge of ammunition<br />
components allows recognition<br />
of such things as armor-piercing<br />
cartridges and those that<br />
require ATF registration to avoid<br />
prosecution. This means you will<br />
be able to quickly convert in<br />
your head that an exotic-sounding<br />
cartridge marked 7.62x63 is<br />
actually an American-designed<br />
.30 ’06 hunting cartridge manufactured<br />
in a metric-system<br />
country.<br />
58 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 59
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DANIEL O’KELLY<br />
About the author: Daniel O’Kelly is the director of the International<br />
Firearm Specialist Academy. He uses his 34-year career<br />
experiences as a police officer and retired ATF Agent to raise the<br />
bar on firearm knowledge among law enforcement personnel. He is<br />
a former ATF National Academy instructor, where he co-wrote the<br />
ATF firearm training and has taught at the International LE Academies<br />
in Europe and Africa. He regularly teaches seminars at major<br />
law enforcement agencies nationwide.<br />
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emembering my hero ...<br />
Concerns of Police Survivors is an Organization whose mission is to help rebuild<br />
the shattered lives of those family members and co-workers of law enforcement<br />
officers that are killed in the line of duty. On Sunday, August 27, 2017 Cheryl<br />
Perez lost her husband, Officer Steve Perez in the midst of Hurricane Harvey. This<br />
is her story.<br />
Sergeant Steve Perez was a<br />
devoted and protective husband,<br />
father, son and officer. He spent<br />
most his free time with his kids<br />
and was always involved in their<br />
activities. When his father passed,<br />
he stepped up and took care of<br />
his mother too. He was so loved<br />
by his family. Sgt. Perez also loved<br />
his job. He supported a lot of people<br />
in the community and within<br />
the police department. Often<br />
giving advice and helping others<br />
with resources and information.<br />
He was a fair and considerate<br />
officer. He was chosen to attend<br />
the Academy in New Jersey and<br />
worked many local community<br />
events like the pride parade and<br />
rodeo and volunteered with the<br />
YMCA and church.<br />
Our family always knew the<br />
potential dangers a police officer<br />
could face and lived each day<br />
in appreciation; always taking<br />
the time to say our goodbye-s<br />
and I love you-s. We had gone<br />
through many storms, literally.<br />
If Sgt. Perez was physically able<br />
to patrol during a storm, he was<br />
out there no matter the severity.<br />
So when Hurricane Harvey hit, it<br />
was just another typical work day<br />
for him. When he was about to<br />
leave for work early that morning,<br />
I asked if he was sure he should<br />
be going out in this weather? He<br />
responded as he usually did, “We<br />
got work to do”. I hadn’t heard<br />
from him throughout the day<br />
and night but was not too concerned<br />
as this was typical during<br />
a bad storm. I knew he was busy<br />
and he knew we were safe. As<br />
usual, he had seen to it that<br />
we were prepared and safe at<br />
home before leaving. By the next<br />
afternoon, I still hadn’t heard<br />
from him and neither had his coworkers.<br />
<strong>No</strong>w I was concerned.<br />
The next morning, I heard on<br />
... Officer Steve Perez.<br />
the news that a police officer had drowned. By that<br />
afternoon, the Chief of Police was at my home telling<br />
my family that the drowned officer was my husband. I<br />
already knew it that morning, in my heart, that it was<br />
him.<br />
There were so many questions and so much to<br />
handle and grieve. The 100 Club and an HPD officer<br />
never left my side and helped with arrangements. I<br />
got through this all and still coping with the help of<br />
community support. I became involved with COPS,<br />
Concerns of Police Survivors. I now attend the memorial<br />
for fallen officers in Washington every year. I go<br />
to every funeral and fundraiser that I can to support<br />
the fallen and survivors. It helps to be involved with a<br />
community who knows what you are going through<br />
and I would encourage others in similar situations to<br />
reach out and stay involved. It is a way to heal. That’s<br />
what keeps me going, to be able to support other<br />
survivors. I know that’s what my husband, Sgt. Steve<br />
Perez, would have done.<br />
68 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 69
unning 4 heroes<br />
Zechariah<br />
Cartledge:<br />
a True American Hero<br />
ZZechariah’s <strong>2020</strong> Run Tracker and Sponsors:<br />
Total Miles Run in <strong>2020</strong>: (as of 11/30/20): <strong>36</strong>3<br />
Total Miles Run in 2019: 376<br />
Overall Miles Run: 739<br />
<strong>2020</strong> Run Stats:<br />
Total Miles Run for <strong>2020</strong> fallen LEO’s: 266<br />
Total Miles Run for <strong>2020</strong> fallen Firefighters: 75<br />
Total Miles Run for 2019 Fallen LEO’s: 4<br />
Total Miles Run for 2019 Fallen Firefighters: 0<br />
Total Miles Run for 2019/<strong>2020</strong> Fallen K9’s: 0<br />
Total Miles Run for <strong>2020</strong> <strong>No</strong>n Line of Duty Deaths: 13<br />
Total Miles Run for Other Heroes: 0<br />
Total Tribute Runs by State for <strong>2020</strong>: 5<br />
States Run: Florida, New York, Georgia, South Carolina (2), Pennsylvania,<br />
Illinois (2), Texas (3), Kentucky, Arkansas, Nevada, California,<br />
Arizona<br />
Sponsors:<br />
Shoes - Honor And Respect LLC<br />
Stickers - Powercall Sirens<br />
Lights - Guardian Angel Device<br />
Food - MISSION BBQ; Marco’s Pizza; Rock & Brews Oviedo30<br />
Games - ZagBag Board<br />
70 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 71
Don’t let the stars go to your head CHIEF !<br />
Sometimes you just have to<br />
wonder, who in the hell elects<br />
these guys. Or even more troubling,<br />
why would any mayor<br />
pick “this” guy to lead his department.<br />
You know the guy, or<br />
lady, I’m talking about. With the<br />
gold badge with Chief, Sheriff, or<br />
Constable emblazoned on it. The<br />
three or four Stars on their collar<br />
or shoulders. In the fancy office<br />
and the car with a million antennas<br />
on it. You know the ones.<br />
You’d be in awe of them if they<br />
weren’t so scatterbrained. They<br />
can’t seem to find their way out<br />
of a paper bag with two maglights<br />
guiding the way. Are you<br />
seeing them now?<br />
Most of us know these people.<br />
Those who “Lead” from behind<br />
closed doors. Having weekly<br />
or even daily ‘Command Staff’<br />
meetings behind those same<br />
closed doors where everyone<br />
leaves said meetings in an awful<br />
mood. Well, except for the<br />
person who called the meeting.<br />
They leave all giddy because<br />
they’ve “told” everyone what<br />
to do thus their “Ego” is in full<br />
swing!!<br />
These so-called leaders could<br />
honestly care less about the new<br />
guy on evenings or nights. They<br />
most likely don’t even know their<br />
name or who they are. They<br />
are too busy trying to impress<br />
people they call into THE office.<br />
Meanwhile, the Troops are carrying<br />
the burden of being a police<br />
officer in <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
Most people never see these<br />
types of leaders until it’s too<br />
late. Others see them for what<br />
they are right away. Either way,<br />
the damage they inflict upon<br />
innocent people is just about<br />
immeasurable. They are so<br />
narcissistic, they actually get off<br />
berating, chastising and hurting<br />
as many people in a day as<br />
they possibly can. <strong>No</strong>thing anyone<br />
does is right unless they put<br />
their two cents in. And whatever<br />
anyone else does is worthless.<br />
Which is exactly how such guys<br />
see everyone – as worthless.<br />
And when it comes to vehicles,<br />
by damn if they don’t get<br />
the newest vehicle in the fleet<br />
every single year. A true leader<br />
would drive the oldest vehicle in<br />
the fleet and ensure their troops<br />
have the best vehicles, radios<br />
and equipment money can<br />
buy. They’d realize it’s not about<br />
them, it’s about their people.<br />
Then again, that’s what should<br />
happen. But to the chosen ones<br />
- nope that’s not the case. It’s all<br />
about them!<br />
These guys look at their employees<br />
as pawns. Everything is<br />
just a “Game” to them. The problem<br />
with this Sociopath outlook<br />
is life isn’t a game and people<br />
are human beings, not pawns.<br />
They have hearts, emotions,<br />
ideas, feelings, dreams, families<br />
and friends. Some leaders never<br />
understand this. They are too<br />
busy trying to keep the spotlight<br />
on themselves to notice what a<br />
great job their employees are<br />
actually doing.<br />
<strong>No</strong>w to be completely fair,<br />
these tyrants and bullies are few<br />
and far in-between. More often<br />
than not, good hearted men and<br />
women wear the Chief’s Badge<br />
for all the right reasons. They<br />
take care of their troops and<br />
back them 100%. Unfortunately,<br />
the opposite is true here in Texas<br />
where some narcissistic leaders<br />
still exist. They hold senseless<br />
meetings, behind closed doors,<br />
with all their mementos, degrees,<br />
diplomas and the like<br />
are perfectly and strategically<br />
placed for all to see.<br />
So please allow me to add<br />
another prestigious award to<br />
that wall – the Famous LIGHT<br />
BULB AWARD. An award given to<br />
individuals who believe the universe<br />
revolves them. Who waste<br />
time patting themselves on the<br />
back instead of recognizing the<br />
fine men and women who actually<br />
do all the work. If you see<br />
yourself in this article, congrats<br />
on the award. On the other hand,<br />
if you one of the truly amazing<br />
leaders of a police agency here<br />
in Texas, you have our utmost<br />
admiration and gratitude. Perhaps<br />
you can have a chat with<br />
your less than perfect counterpart<br />
and get them to see the<br />
light. Or you can help them hang<br />
this famous award on their wall<br />
of fame. Either way, kudos to the<br />
good guys and the losers.<br />
72 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 73
Sometimes it helps just to talk<br />
EDITOR: Dr. Jaeckle is on special<br />
assignment this month and will<br />
return in January . Please enjoy a<br />
reprint of her column from February.<br />
I heard the phone vibrate at<br />
about 2 a.m. and I slowly turned<br />
over to answer it. On the other<br />
end was a young female police<br />
officer who had recently started<br />
her solo journey following the<br />
completion of her field training.<br />
She had been assigned to one of<br />
the most violent areas of the city<br />
and the pressure of the situation<br />
did create some anxiety, and<br />
she questioned her ability to “do<br />
the job”. Some may say this was<br />
weakness, and that she was not<br />
cut out for this work.<br />
I say, she is simply human and<br />
just needed some support. After<br />
a long and productive conversation,<br />
she was able to move<br />
forward, and today I consider<br />
her one of the finest officers I<br />
have ever met. I was fortunate<br />
to have met her during academy<br />
training, and she trusted<br />
me enough to call. During that<br />
vulnerable moment it could have<br />
gone either way. She could have<br />
decided to walk away from a<br />
career she loves, or she would<br />
become stronger and realize it<br />
is perfectly acceptable to ask<br />
for help. Fortunately, she chose<br />
the latter and will now have this<br />
experience to reflect upon and<br />
can hopefully encourage others<br />
to also reach out in times of<br />
crisis. I am simply blessed to be<br />
this lifeline.<br />
We watched the number of<br />
law enforcement suicides consistently<br />
rise in 2019 and it certainly<br />
ignited a call to do more.<br />
Public safety agencies and<br />
non-profit organizations stepped<br />
forward out of the shadows to<br />
offer more mental health services,<br />
peer support, education,<br />
and awareness on the stressors,<br />
challenges and potential toxicity<br />
of the career. Police leaders<br />
have begun to speak openly<br />
about law enforcement suicide<br />
although it is still not enough.<br />
Please do not misunderstand. I<br />
am fully supportive of all these<br />
approaches and have observed<br />
over the last twenty years the<br />
significant shift in the willingness<br />
to discuss these issues with<br />
transparency and honesty, but<br />
we can do more and we must. It<br />
is imperative that we start at the<br />
beginning when law enforcement<br />
officers are just beginning<br />
their journey.<br />
I was approached in 2017 by<br />
the Fraternal Order of Police<br />
Lodge 5-30 in Jacksonville,<br />
Florida regarding the need for a<br />
professional specifically trained<br />
in addressing the mental health<br />
needs of law enforcement officers.<br />
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s<br />
Office previously had an employee<br />
assistance program which offered<br />
support by trained mental<br />
health professionals who were<br />
DR. TINA JAECKLE<br />
culturally competent in providing<br />
services to law enforcement<br />
officers, but it was eliminated<br />
due to budget cuts. I was given<br />
the ability to create a program<br />
which included an eight-hour<br />
day of academy instruction to<br />
police and corrections on stress,<br />
PTSD, and resiliency in the career.<br />
This not only provides stress<br />
management tools, but also<br />
allows for the opportunity to<br />
build rapport with me as their<br />
EAP counselor moving forward.<br />
The recruits are given my contact<br />
information and encouraged<br />
to reach out whenever needed. I<br />
have an off-site office in a nonlaw<br />
enforcement related location<br />
to provide a sense of privacy<br />
for those who seek counseling.<br />
This program has no connection<br />
to any fitness for duty evaluative<br />
processes and is not mandatory.<br />
Police, corrections, and<br />
their families can utilize these<br />
services at no cost to them and<br />
includes unlimited visits.<br />
But education and support<br />
should not stop at academy<br />
instruction and counseling. With<br />
the assistance of the FOP and the<br />
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office we<br />
have built a best practices model<br />
to also include family nights<br />
throughout the year. These<br />
events encourage officers and<br />
their families to enjoy a meal<br />
and discuss a wide range of topics,<br />
including financial planning,<br />
managing stress at the holidays,<br />
effective communication, and<br />
relationship skills, just to name<br />
We want to thank all the men and women in<br />
Law Enforcement in Texas and beyond, for all<br />
the great work and service during this past year.<br />
KopecekDesign LLC<br />
Peter & Nena Kopecek<br />
a few. An eight-hour course for<br />
officers who are transitioning<br />
into retirement has recently been<br />
added to this model. The goal<br />
is to provide a continuum of<br />
support and education throughout<br />
the entire law enforcement<br />
career.<br />
I would be highly interested in<br />
how Texas training academies<br />
view this important component.<br />
I have approached several law<br />
enforcement leaders who are<br />
charged with the creation and<br />
approval of state academy standards<br />
and curriculum, and I am<br />
often met with the response that<br />
there is simply no time to add<br />
this block of instruction. I recognize<br />
that a significant amount<br />
of money and time goes into the<br />
creation of a strong, well rounded<br />
officer. While I will never<br />
To<br />
question that tactical training is<br />
essential for survival in this field,<br />
I will always counter that we<br />
will ultimately save more lives<br />
with an equally important focus<br />
on the importance of mental<br />
health from beginning to end.<br />
74 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 75
Thank you, Joe! Here’s to looking<br />
back and moving forward<br />
EDITOR: Just as The BLUES was<br />
about to publish the final issue of<br />
<strong>2020</strong>, we learned that Joe Gamaldi<br />
had scored number one on the sergeants<br />
exam and resigned his post<br />
at HPOU. We want to thank Joe for<br />
his service as president also thank<br />
him for his monthly contribution<br />
at The BLUES. Given his position as<br />
vice-president at the FOP, I’m sure<br />
we’ll be hearing more from Joe in<br />
the future. On that note, we welcome<br />
Douglas Griffith as president<br />
and the newest contributor to the<br />
BLUES.<br />
Looking back over my time with<br />
the Union it is evident that I have<br />
worked with some really great<br />
leaders. As an HPOU board member,<br />
I had the good fortune to<br />
work with Gary Blankinship and<br />
J. J. Berry, who were class guys<br />
and taught me a lot about what a<br />
union should be and how it should<br />
function.<br />
After taking J. J.’s place as 1st<br />
vice president in 20<strong>12</strong>, I had the<br />
honor of working with Ray Hunt<br />
and Joe Gamaldi, both of whom<br />
have been exceptional leaders for<br />
our great organization, and individuals<br />
that I am proud to call<br />
friends.<br />
As most of you know, Joe<br />
worked very hard and burned a lot<br />
of time to prepare for the sergeant’s<br />
exam. In what should not<br />
be a surprise to anyone that he<br />
ended up number one on the list.<br />
I am so very proud of his hard<br />
work and dedication to this organization<br />
and the greatest police<br />
department in our nation. I look<br />
forward to watching him move<br />
up the management ladder in this<br />
department as he will be a great<br />
supervisor and – most of all – a<br />
great leader.<br />
As you know, the HPOU constitution<br />
does not allow a sergeant<br />
to hold the office of presidency.<br />
Therefore, Joe Gamaldi resigned<br />
as president of the Houston Police<br />
Officers Union at the Dec. 3 board<br />
meeting.<br />
Although Joe has left the HPOU<br />
leadership position, he will continue<br />
to be the national vice<br />
president of the Fraternal Order of<br />
Police, speaking out for officers<br />
across the country. For those not<br />
keeping up, since Joe was sworn<br />
into this national FOP office, the<br />
organization has excelled with its<br />
rapid growth.<br />
I am confident that under the<br />
leadership of Pat Yoes and Joseph<br />
Gamaldi the Fraternal Order of<br />
Police will be on the front line on<br />
issues that will affect the Law Enforcement<br />
community nationwide.<br />
Thank you, Joe, for your dedication<br />
and continued commitment<br />
to the HPOU and for your continued<br />
friendship.<br />
As we move forward as an organization,<br />
I want to thank the board<br />
of directors for having the faith<br />
in me to run the organization and<br />
voting me in as the new president<br />
of the HPOU for the remainder of<br />
DOUGLAS GRIFFITH<br />
the term. I know that I have very<br />
big shoes to fill, as the example<br />
has been set by those before me.<br />
I am honored to represent the<br />
officers of the Houston Police Department<br />
and will dedicate myself<br />
to leading the organization and<br />
continue to protect our officers.<br />
I also understand that it is<br />
incumbent upon myself and the<br />
leadership team to start looking to<br />
the future. The HPOU must recruit<br />
talented young officers and start<br />
developing the skills that they<br />
need to run the organization into<br />
the future.<br />
I know from experience that<br />
there is a learning curve to this<br />
job, it takes dedication and a<br />
healthy time commitment. I will<br />
do everything within my power<br />
to make sure that the HPOU will<br />
recruit and develop the future<br />
leaders of the organization for the<br />
next generation of officers.<br />
As always, stay safe and watch<br />
after each other.<br />
76 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 77
Police Officer<br />
Marshall Waters, Jr.<br />
Mangham Police Dept., Louisiana<br />
End of Watch Thursday, <strong>No</strong>vember 5,<strong>2020</strong><br />
Age 49 Tour #N/A Badge #PD3<br />
Police Officer Marshall Waters succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained<br />
on October 17th, <strong>2020</strong>, while conducting a traffic stop on Highway 425<br />
near the Franklin Parish / Richland Parish border. The vehicle had just been<br />
stolen during an armed commercial robbery in Rayville. As Officer Waters<br />
stepped from his patrol car the driver of the vehicle shot him once in the<br />
abdomen. The round struck Officer Waters below his vest and damaged<br />
his femoral artery. The man fled the scene and was arrested in Franklin<br />
Parish several hours later. Officer Waters remained hospitalized until succumbing<br />
to his wound.Officer Waters served as a part-time police officer<br />
with the Mangham Police Department and was a full-time EMT for the<br />
<strong>No</strong>rtheast Louisiana Ambulance Service.<br />
Sergeant<br />
Sean Rios<br />
Houston Police Dept., Texas<br />
End of Watch Monday, <strong>No</strong>vember 9, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Age 47 Tour 25 Years Badge #N/A<br />
Sergeant Sean Rios was shot and killed in the 7700 block of <strong>No</strong>rth Freeway<br />
at about 1:30 pm while en route to start his shift at George Bush<br />
Intercontinental Airport. He encountered two vehicles and an armed<br />
man on the roadway and became engaged in a shootout with the subject.<br />
Sergeant Rios was fatally wounded in the shootout. The subjects in both<br />
vehicles fled the scene. The man suspected of shooting Sergeant Rios<br />
was arrested the following day. The second subject remains at large.<br />
Sergeant Rios had served with the Houston Police Department for 25<br />
years and was assigned to the Airport Division. He is survived by four<br />
children, parents, brother, and two cousins who work also serve with the<br />
Houston Police Department.<br />
Police Officer<br />
Travis C. Wallace<br />
Helena-West Police Dept., Arkansas<br />
End of Watch Thursday, <strong>No</strong>vember <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Age 41 Tour #N/A<br />
Badge #N/A<br />
Police Officer<br />
Charlie Cortez<br />
Tulalip Tribal Police Dept., Washington<br />
End of Watch Tuesday, <strong>No</strong>vember 17, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Age 29 Tour 3 years Badge # N/A<br />
Police Officer Travis Wallace was shot and killed in the <strong>12</strong>00 block of Highway<br />
Police Officer Charlie Cortez died after the 24-foot fisheries enforcement<br />
49 while attempting to arrest a subject wanted for a shooting that<br />
vessel he was in capsized after being struck by a rogue wave in the Puget<br />
occurred the previous week. Officer Wallace and another officer saw the<br />
Sound, Washington, at about 9:00 pm. He and his partner had just escorted<br />
subject in a vehicle and conducted a traffic stop as it exited a motel parking<br />
a distressed boater into Tulalip Bay when their vessel was struck<br />
lot. The suspect immediately exited the vehicle, advanced on Officer<br />
by the wave and capsized. A search was immediately initiated by tribal,<br />
Wallace’s vehicle, and opened fire. Despite being wounded, Officer Wallace<br />
local, state, and federal agencies in the area. Officer Cortez’s partner was<br />
returned fire at the suspect. Officer Wallace was transported to a local<br />
located in the water suffering from hypothermia near Hat Island at about<br />
hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.<br />
11:45 pm and rescued by tribal fishermen. Officer Cortez was not located<br />
and, due to cold water temperatures and adverse weather conditions,<br />
Officer Wallace is survived by his son.<br />
it was determined that Officer Cortez could not have survived.<br />
Officer Cortez had served with the Tulalip Tribal Police Department for<br />
three years.<br />
78 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 79
Deputy Sheriff<br />
Jared Michael Allison<br />
Nash County Sheriff’s Office, <strong>No</strong>rth Carolina<br />
End of Watch Tuesday, December 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Age 26 Tour 2 years 6 months Badge # I-104<br />
Deputy Sheriff Jared Allison succumbed to injuries sustained on Thanksgiving<br />
Day while attempting to stop a motorcycle on U.S. 301 Bypass in<br />
Rocky Mount. He had just completed a traffic stop and was attempting<br />
to catch a motorcycle when another car attempted a left turn in front<br />
of him at the intersection with May Drive. Deputy Allison’s patrol SUV<br />
struck the vehicle and overturned. He was ejected from the vehicle and<br />
sustained critical injuries. He was transported to Vidant Medical Center<br />
where he remained until succumbing to his injuries on December 1st,<br />
<strong>2020</strong>.<br />
Deputy Allison was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the Nash<br />
County Sheriff’s Office for 2-1/2 years. He is survived by his wife, son,<br />
and parents.<br />
Patrolman<br />
Cassie Johnson<br />
Charleston Police Dept., West Virginia<br />
End of Watch Thursday, December 3, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Age 28 Tour 4 years Badge #N/A<br />
Patrolman Cassie Johnson succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained the<br />
previous day while responding to a parking complaint in the 200 block<br />
Garrison Avenue at about 2:30 pm. Despite her wounds, she was able<br />
to return fire and wounded the subject. The man was arrested a short<br />
distance away. Patrolman Johnson was transported to Charleston Area<br />
Medical Center where she remained on life support until December 3rd,<br />
<strong>2020</strong>, so that her organs could be donated.<br />
Patrolman Johnson had served with the Charleston Police Department<br />
for two years and had previously served as a city humane officer for two<br />
years.<br />
Police Officer<br />
Andy Ornelas<br />
California Highway Patrol<br />
End of Watch Wednesday, December 2, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Age 27 Tour 4 years Badge # N/A<br />
Officer Andy Ornelas succumbed to injuries sustained in a motorcycle<br />
crash near the intersection of West Avenue N-3 and <strong>No</strong>rth 32nd Street,<br />
in Palmdale, nine days earlier.<br />
He was en route to a vehicle crash at about 7:05 pm when another vehicle<br />
attempted a U-turn after missing its turn into a driveway. The vehicle<br />
turned directly into Officer Ornelas’ path, causing a collision. Officer Ornelas<br />
was transported to Antelope Valley Hospital where he succumbed<br />
to his injuries on December 2nd, <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
Officer Ornelas had served with the California Highway Patrol for four<br />
years and was assigned to the Antelope Valley Area Office. He is survived<br />
by his wife, parents, brother, and sister. His parents, brother, and an uncle<br />
all serve in law enforcement.<br />
Sergeant<br />
Herschel Turner<br />
Moline Acres Police Dept., Missouri<br />
End of Watch Saturday, December 5, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Age N/A Tour 22 years<br />
Badge #N/A<br />
Sergeant Herschel Turner was struck and killed by a police car while assisting<br />
a neighboring agency at the scene of a traffic stop on Chambers<br />
Road near Lance Drive. He and a Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department<br />
officer had stopped a stolen vehicle at about <strong>12</strong>:30 am. Another<br />
Bellefonte Neighbors officer was arriving at the scene to assist when a<br />
vehicle in front of it struck one of the police cars. The officer swerved to<br />
avoid striking the vehicle and unintentionally struck Sergeant Turner.<br />
Sergeant Turner had served with the Moline Acres Police Department for<br />
16 years and had previously served with the Pagedale Police Department<br />
for six years. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.<br />
80 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 81
A tradition that I have enjoyed for<br />
the better part of the last decade is<br />
that a couple days after Christmas<br />
I load up my truck with my hunting<br />
gear and head to South Texas to enjoy<br />
one last dove hunting trip of the<br />
year with my two sons and many of<br />
my friends from Shell. There are<br />
a lot of reasons why this trip has<br />
become one of my most anticipated<br />
hunts of the year and such a great<br />
way to end the hunting season, not<br />
least of which is that Texas dove<br />
seasons open back up again in late<br />
December and runs into late January.<br />
First, most hunters will agree<br />
that dove hunting is one of the few<br />
hunts were it is ok to make it a<br />
social affair. I love the fact that you<br />
can hunt in groups and you can talk<br />
to your buddies in-between shots,<br />
either congratulating them on those<br />
amazing shots or give them grief<br />
when they miss the ones that seem<br />
to float right over their head. Dove<br />
hunting is also a great way to introduce<br />
beginners to hunting because<br />
it is easy to provide one-on-one<br />
coaching on gun safety and the art<br />
of wing shooting, while still being<br />
able to get some shots off yourself.<br />
Secondly, late season dove hunts<br />
can be very fun and very challenging,<br />
even for the most experienced<br />
shotgunner. See if you are hunting<br />
the early season opener you have<br />
a mix of immature and mature<br />
birds making their way casually in<br />
and out of the fields, unaware of<br />
the hundreds of small lead pellets<br />
about to be heading their way.<br />
While during the second season<br />
opener, these late season survivors<br />
have seemingly learned many evasive<br />
maneuvers to stay alive. On<br />
several morning hunts this year, the<br />
Whitewing doves would fly just out<br />
of shotgun range over our haybale<br />
hideouts only to see them get over<br />
their feeding grounds and dive<br />
down like Teal ducks dive-bombing<br />
to their favorite watering holes. If<br />
you have ever hunted Teal you know<br />
what I am talking about. Then<br />
after an hour of feeding, these late<br />
season doves come out of the fields<br />
equally as fast and full of quick<br />
turns and dives to avoid our awaiting<br />
guns. And for these memories<br />
alone of so many challenging<br />
flights, I love these late season dove<br />
hunts.<br />
However, the top reason that this<br />
trip has become a one of our family<br />
hunting traditions is that the place<br />
we go has the best dove hunting in<br />
the state of Texas and their lodge<br />
has indoor/outdoor spaces that<br />
are perfect for spending downtime<br />
with your friends and family. I<br />
am talking dove hunting like I hear<br />
about in Argentina, with plenty of<br />
birds to provide daily limits. Our<br />
host Sammy <strong>No</strong>oner, called the<br />
“Duke of Dove” by Texas Sporting<br />
Journal, operates the Valdina<br />
Ranch and the <strong>No</strong>oner Ranch. I have<br />
known Sammy for most of my 30+<br />
years at Shell and our mutual love<br />
for the outdoors and hunting connected<br />
us from the start. Sammy<br />
PHOTOS BY RUSTY BARRON<br />
was a successful Fuel Wholesaler<br />
for Shell in South Texas for several<br />
decades before he turned his<br />
attention full time to his passion<br />
for the outdoors. Today, Sammy’s<br />
ranches have earned recognition as<br />
being two of the top deer and dove<br />
hunting operations in Texas.<br />
So if you have never experienced<br />
hunting late season Whitewing<br />
doves in South Texas, consider<br />
grabbing some family and friends<br />
and try it in <strong>2020</strong>. You might be<br />
just starting a new tradition that<br />
will last for decades.<br />
82 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 83
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BLUES<br />
84 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 85
City of Belton<br />
Hays County Criminal District Attorney’s Office Get Info Investigator 01/23/2021 - 5pm<br />
Hutto Police Department Get Info Patrol Officer <strong>12</strong>/07/<strong>2020</strong> - 11am<br />
Hemphill County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/04/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Burkburnett Police Department Get Info School Resource <strong>12</strong>/31/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Clay County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/14/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
University of St. Thomas Police Department Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/20/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Alvin Community College Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/22/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Rollingwood Police Department Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/26/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Belton Police Department Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/07/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Leon Valley Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/09/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Floyd County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/09/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Texarkana ISD Police Department Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/09/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Point Comfort Police Department Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/18/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Onalaska Police Department Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/31/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Wise County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/15/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Loving County Sheriffs Office Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/<strong>12</strong>/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Texarkana ISD Police Department Get Info Police Officer <strong>12</strong>/16/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Dalhart Police Department Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/31/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Hearne Police Department Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/20/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Andrews County Sheriff Office Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/18/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Highland Village Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/18/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
City of Farmers Branch Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/20/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Navarro College Department of Public Safety Get Info Peace Officer 01/20/2021 - 5pm<br />
Mills County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Cadet Deputy Sheriff <strong>12</strong>/23/<strong>2020</strong> - 4pm<br />
The Town of Trophy Club Police Department Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/30/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
Armstrong County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 01/01/2021 - 5pm<br />
BNSF Railway (El Paso) Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/05/<strong>2020</strong> - 5pm<br />
BNSF Railway (Haslet) Get Info Peace Officer <strong>12</strong>/09/<strong>2020</strong> - 9am<br />
PLACE YOUR DEPARTMENTS’<br />
JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BLUES<br />
FOR ONLY $250<br />
email us today: bluespdmag@gmail.com<br />
Police Officers<br />
Interested in a New Career?<br />
Join the Belton Police Department<br />
Join a team dedicated to community service, quality of life, and committed to the<br />
importance of family time. You can make a real difference while being part of the<br />
solution. The City of Belton is currently accepting applications for Police Officer<br />
positions. You do not have to be licensed/certified by TCOLE (Texas Commission on<br />
Law Enforcement) to apply. <strong>No</strong>n certified applicants will be required to attend a regional<br />
police academy at the City’s expense and be paid while attending.<br />
$5,000 Hiring incentive for certified, experienced officers<br />
Applicants must pass a written Civil Service exam to be administered on<br />
Saturday, December <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong>, at 9:00 am<br />
Harris Community Center<br />
401 N. Alexander Street, Belton<br />
Application Deadline: 8:00 a.m., Monday, December 7, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Interested persons may submit application via e-mail, by fax, or in person to Human<br />
Resources or the Belton Police Dept. Applications available at Human Resources or<br />
online. Visit our website at www.beltontexas.gov/policecareers for more detailed<br />
information regarding our hiring process.<br />
City of Belton-HR<br />
P O Box <strong>12</strong>0<br />
100 S. Davis<br />
Belton, Texas 76513<br />
Phone: (254) 933-5805<br />
Fax: (254) 933-5859<br />
hr@beltontexas.gov<br />
EOE<br />
86 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 87
SCHOOL<br />
RESOURCE<br />
OFFICER<br />
JOB SUMMARY<br />
The Burkburnett Police Department School<br />
Resource Officer (SRO) will be assigned to a<br />
designated Burkburnett Independent School<br />
District campus. The SRO will work with<br />
school principals to provide alcohol and drug<br />
education, maintain a peaceful campus<br />
environment, and take appropriate action<br />
regarding on-campus or school-related<br />
criminal activity. The work schedule will<br />
consist of 40 hours weekly, with a flexible<br />
schedule. Typically, the SRO will work a daily<br />
shift of 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, consistent with<br />
the District calendar.<br />
SALARY RANGE:<br />
$41,000-$49,500<br />
Additional Certification Pay<br />
MINIMUM<br />
QUALIFICATIONS<br />
TCOLE Peace Officer License<br />
2 years of experience as a fulltime<br />
TCOLE Peace Officer<br />
REQUIREMENTS<br />
Physical & Drug Screen<br />
Written Exam<br />
Physical Agility Test<br />
- 800 Meter Run,<br />
under 4min 15sec<br />
- 30 Sit Ups / 1min<br />
- 20 Push Ups / 1min<br />
- 70% Bench Press<br />
- 165lb Dummy Drag<br />
- <strong>12</strong>in Vertical Jump<br />
APPLY ONLINE<br />
https://www.burkburnett.org/human-resources-employment<br />
BENEFITS<br />
- Paid Health Insurance<br />
- Optional Dental & Life<br />
Insurance Plans<br />
- Vacation: 104 hours<br />
- Sick Leave: <strong>12</strong>0 hours<br />
- 13 Paid Holidays<br />
- Longevity Pay<br />
-<br />
Retirement System<br />
88 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES [2:1 match] POLICE MAGAZINE 89<br />
- Employee Wellness
90 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE
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