Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Corporal Stephen Ballard

Corporal Stephen J. Ballard, 32

Delaware State Police

April 26, 2017 – Corporal Stephen Ballard was investigating a suspicious vehicle when one of the occupants opened fire, wounding him. Corporal Ballard attempted to find cover but the attacker chased him and continue to fire his weapon, wounding the officer several times, including after he’d fallen to the ground. The suspect fled and barricaded himself inside a home where he later died in an intense shootout with police.

Corporal Ballard is survived by his wife and daughter.


c_c_meggan

Sergeant Meggan Lee Callahan, 29

North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Prisons

April 26, 2017 – Sergeant Meggan Lee Callahan was attacked and killed by an inmate who was already serving life in prison for another murder.

Mindless Super Hero

Today, when your keystrokes guide your protagonists through the perils that go hand-in-hand with saving the day, pause for just a moment and consider the lives of real-life officers. Do your characters measure up to a human officer’s abilities? Have you over-written the character? Are they mindless superheroes like the one in the photo above? Have you given them human emotions? Is the danger level realistic? Are they believable?

Think about what you’ve seen on this site for the past few years—cordite, uniforms, handcuffs, Miranda, Glocks, SIG Sauers, edged weapons, defensive tactics, etc. Where do I get my ideas? Well … mostly from the mistakes I see in those books I read (smelling cordite, thumbing off safeties when there aren’t any, etc.).

I read a lot. A whole lot. Book after book after book, including tons of books written by readers of this blog. Just this past weekend I was pouring over the pages of a wonderfully written book when suddenly a paragraph stopped me dead in my tracks. So I backed up to re-read the last few lines to make certain that what I’d read was actually on the page and not my mind playing tricks on my tired eyes.

Nope, there it was as plain as day. One of the most impossible, unbelievable ways to kill ever written (I won’t go into detail because the book is very new). Then, to make matters even worse, the scene was followed by a few more paragraphs containing incorrect information about the weapons and materials involved in the goofy slaying. Not even close to realism.

Now I have a problem. I really liked this author’s voice. It was fresh, new, and exciting. However, I doubt that I’ll have the courage to pick up another book written by this particular author. Why? Because he/she didn’t bother to check facts. The author didn’t even make an effort to use common sense. I wondered if they’d ever seen a real-life cop.

Mindless Superhero

One of the best thriller writers of our time, Lee Child, writes some pretty over the top action, but he does so in a way that makes us believe every word, even though some of it probably couldn’t happen in real life.

I once asked Lee how much research he conducts before writing his books. His answer … “Better to ask if I do any research before I write the last word! I don’t do any general research. I depend on things I have already read or seen or internalized, maybe years before. I ask people about specific details … like I asked you what a rural police chief might have in his trunk.  But in terms of large themes I think it’s difficult to research too close to the time of writing … research is like an iceberg – 90% of it needs to be discarded, and it’s hard to do that without perspective.”

So how does Lee make all that wacky action work? He uses common sense. Well, that and more talent in his little finger than I have in my dreams.

So yeah … common sense.

Please don’t write mindless supercops.

Old Cop

Over the hill, they said. The nerve of those youngsters, with their shiny round faces and buzz-cut hairdos. Why, it was just ten or fifteen years ago when I could deftly place sixty rounds dead-center of the target, leaving nothing but an irregularly-shaped and tattered fist-size hole.

I could read a rear license place from a distance of twenty car lengths or more. And I could chase a punk for miles and then bring him down and handcuff him, like a rancher ropes a steer.  Toe-to-toe and fist-to-fist, I could hold my own against any combative man, or woman.

Push-ups … could do them all night long.

Pursuit driving … piece of cake.

Now, mere days after receiving my thirty-year service pin, well …

Each time I lift my left foot to put on a sock, there’s a strange and quite sharp pain that shoots through the hip on the same side. So I’ve resorted to slipping the sock over my foot while it’s flat on the floor. This works okay, but leaning over far enough to reach my toes tends to cause a painful twinge in my lower back.

Tomorrow we’re scheduled to re-qualify at the range. I hope I score the required 70%. Otherwise, you get a second try at it before the department sends you packing. Can’t shoot, can’t be a cop. Simple as that. The last time I was there I sort of pointed my gun at where I thought the middle of the target should be and then hoped for the best. I scored 72%. I was just happy I passed and was able to keep my job.

tired eyesEither bad guys are getting faster these days, or my old legs have decided they no longer care if we catch them or not. And my breathing … wow, when did all that wheezing start? I used to be able to run ten miles without feeling as if my inside were about to explode into tiny bits of fire.

Speaking of getting faster. Today’s crooks must be driving super-fast, souped-up cars because I can’t seem to keep up during pursuits. They dodge and weave and glide through traffic like an olympic figure skater slips and slides across an ice rink. Me, my movements are herky-jerky, at best. I think the patrol cars they give us these days are designed to resist quick steering and acceleration. And they definitely prefer to move along at slower speeds than the cars we used to drive twenty years ago. Man, those cars could cut through traffic like a freshly-honed paring knife slices through butter.

Police supply companies have lost all my respect. Believe it or not, they’re cutting corners like all other businesses. The shoes they sell us are horrible. I say this with authority. Yes, I know what I’m talking bout. These two feet of mine are screaming at the end of the day. I know, without a doubt, it’s the shoes. My feet are not to blame. Sure, there’s a little arthritis in the toes. Still … It’s the shoes.

It seems like just yesterday when I put my hands on someone to cuff them and they did not could not pull free. Today, these youngster must spend every waking moment in a gym because they, every one of them, are as strong as a team of plow horses.  It’s tough to get restraints around the wrists of these super-strong people. Women are equally as strong. It has to be them, because I’m just as strong as I ever was. Really, I am.

I’ve still not quite mastered the computer thing. I’d still rather hand-write reports. Or, the old Royal in the corner is still just as fast and good as ever. Ribbon’s almost new, too.

68 percentThe boss tells me there’s an opening in the evidence room. The job consists of taking stuff officers bring in, assign it a number, and then stick it on a shelf until someone comes by to pick it up. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. That’s the job. Day after day after day. She wants me to take it. I don’t want to. Can’t really make out all the fine print on those evidence labels. I guess my eyes are just tired after all those years of reading and writing detailed reports.

Maybe, though, I should take the sergeant’s advice. After all, she says, next time I go to the range I may shoot a 68.

And, well, a 68 just isn’t good enough …

… and I love my job.

Really, I do.

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Deputy David Wade

Deputy Sheriff David Wade, 40

Logan County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office

April 18, 2017 – Deputy Sheriff David Wade was shot and killed when confronted by three men while serving an eviction notice. While checking the men’s identification, one drew a weapon and began firing, striking Deputy Wade multiple times. The shooter then stole Wade’s patrol vehicle and fled. He later carjacked another vehicle.

Deputy Wade is survived by his wife and three children.


Agent De Los Santos Barbosa

Agent Benjamín De los Santos-Barbosa, 32

Puerto Rico Police Department

April 19, 2017 – Earlier in the week, Agent Benjamín De los Santos-Barbosa attempted to stop a vehicle for illegally-tinted windows. The driver, a parolee in violation of his parole conditions, refused to stop, leading officers on a pursuit. The suspect eventually stopped and opened fire as he got out of his vehicle, striking Agent Benjamín De los Santos-Barbosa in the head. He was transported to an area hospital where he remained on life support until he succumbed to his wounds four days later.

Agent De los Santos-Barbosa is survived by his nephew, who he obtained custody of after his mother, Agent De los Santos-Barbosa’s sister, was tragically murdered. She, too, served as a police officer with the Puerto Rico Police Department.

4/20 Day Cannibis

Today is 4/20, the unofficial national holiday for pot smokers. It’s their birthday, Christmas, anniversary, Hanukkah, and kindergarten recess all “rolled” into one smoke-filled day.

The precise history of how April 20 became widely known as “National Weed Day” is not totally clear (surprising…not really). But the most popular notion is that in the early 1970’s a group of Marin County, Ca. students, known as the Waldos, met every year on 4-20 at 4:20. Next thing you know, 420 was the code word for smoking weed. High Times magazine picked it up and, well, the rest is a bit haaazzzyyyy.

So…

It’s Saturday night, Dark Side of the Moon is on the turntable, and bags of M&M’s and Doritos stand ready for…wait a minute. Before we go any further, to help set the proper mood you absolutely must click on the video and crank up the volume.

 

Okay, that’s better.

Now, if the previous mention of Pink Floyd and delicious snack foods took you back to the days of black light posters, Janis and Jimi, 8-track tape players, and spilled bong water, well, you already have some understanding of the mechanics of pot smoking. However, it’s a whole new world out there today and, as you know, in some states marijuana is approved to treat certain medical conditions, such as glaucoma, depression, and even cancer.

20151223_094029In other states, recreational use of marijuana is absolutely legal. Well, it’s legal with the tiny exception that the federal government still classifies pot as having no medicinal value, which makes it a Schedule I drug—the worst of the worst along with heroin and LSD. Cocaine, interestingly, is a classification lower, a Schedule II drug. To be clear, this translates into the federal government saying that marijuana is, without a doubt, illegal.

Therefore at any time anyone is caught with marijuana in their possession, even when a state’s law says it is legal to do, federal agents could swoop down from one of those spiffy black helicopters and cart the evil pot smoker off to a secret federal prison where they’d spend the next 100 years working in a prison factory making Kevlar helmets or office furniture.

You, as writers and researchers, should know there are two main types of cannabis (marijuana)—Indica and Sativa.

Sativa plants are tall and loosely branched, with narrow leaves (leaf pictured above). Indica plants are short, densely branched, with wide leaves (the appearance is similar to the above photo, but the leaflets are much broader).

20151223_092520By the way, a marijuana leaf is a compound leaf, a leaf composed of individual leaflets. The top photo of the marijuana leaf shows a single leaf with seven individual leaflets (cannabis leaves will have between 5-9 leaflets with serrated edges).

Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are the two main ingredients in the marijuana plant.

THC is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. It’s the component that makes you high. CBD is non-psychoactive (CBD does not make you high) and is the ingredient that’s most attractive as a medicine. Both, however, are used in medical marijuana.

Uses of Medical Cannabis

Sativa is said to be uplifting, therefore it’s used to treat mild depression, social anxiety, ADD, fatigue, and migraines. It’s also thought by some that Sativa helps increase creativity. Sativa is best used during daytime hours.

Indica promises to be relaxing and calming and is used to treat conditions such as, anxiety and panic attacks, pain, glaucoma, muscle cramps, asthma, complications associated with AIDS, epilepsy, gastric disorders, MS, cerebral palsy, Crohn’s Disease, Fibromyalgia, and insomnia. Experts say Indica is best used at night.

Wintermint Edible Cannibis

There are numerous methods of consuming medical cannabis. For example, smoking, vaporizers, tinctures or tonics, topicals applied directly to the skin as a salve (for joint pain, etc.), and edibles, to name a few.

Since most of you are probably familiar with pot smoking (you’ve at least heard about it…yeah, right), we’ll address edible cannabis and its many forms and products. Remember, cannabis edibles are not the meek and mild pot brownies of days long ago. Edibles today are much more potent.

Sure, it’s said that edibles do a great job of reducing anxiety and helping to induce deep, restful sleep without the medicated feeling that one experiences after consuming pharmaceutical medications. However, dosing of edible cannabis can be a hit or miss situation. The perfect amount for one person may not be right for another. Therefore, a bit of trial and error can come into play before a user/patient finds the correct size “bite/dose” that best suits their needs.

Of course, should you prefer to not purchase your 420 supplies readymade…

…you could always prepare your own.

20151223_092547420 has actually turned into a rather large deal, with big businesses capitalizing on the “holiday.” Companies such as General Mills (Totinos Pizza Rolls) erected huge billboards in Denver where marijuana use is legal (per state law, not federal) that read, “420 is Better on Pizza Rolls.” And another touting the pizza bites- “Stock Up B4/20.”

And let’s not forget Ben and Jerry’s “Half-Baked” ice cream.

Other popular 420 snack favorites include:

  • Funyuns
  • Andy Capps Hot Fries
  • Bacon Fried Oreos
  • Salt & Vinegar chips
  • In-N-Out’s Monkey Style Burger

But the award for totally weird goes to…

  • Spaghetti-Os Cupcakes with Velveeta Frosting and Goldfish Sprinkles

Finally, I certainly hope that last night, on 420 Eve, you left out a plate of pot brownies and a glass of milk for jolly old “you know who.”

WillieNelson

*Please know that I am not condoning or condemning anything. This article was meant to be both informative as well as a tongue-in-cheek attempt at humor. But, to be totally serious for a moment, if you do celebrate at anytime by consuming any intoxicating substance, please be responsible and DO NOT drive.

For help with substance abuse of any type –  www.samhsa.gov/find-help.

 

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After the shooting

Cecil spends most of his time thinking about that day, wondering what he and Wilbur could’ve done differently. He doesn’t remember pulling the trigger. Nor does he understand why time seemed to slow down when the bullets started flying.

He can’t sleep and sometimes he even cries for no reason. He’s losing weight—no appetite—and he doesn’t enjoy spending time with his family. Actually, he doesn’t care all that much about seeing them or knowing what they’re doing. His headaches are getting worse, and now he’s started vomiting several times a day. At first, he thought about the dead guy all day every day.

No Way Out

Now, though, the dead guy lives inside his head, clawing at the inside of his skull. He wants out but Cecil doesn’t know how to help him.

When Cecil closes his eyes he smells the dead guy’s sweat and blood. And the guilt …  Self-condemnation is eating at Cecil’s nerves, one at a time. Plucking them like banjo strings. Why must it be like this, he wonders? After all, the kid fired his gun first.

But the worst thing—the worst of all—is that his fellow officers are avoiding him, talking about him behind his back. And he sees the way the brass looks at him. He’s expecting to be fired at any time. And there’s the possibility of a criminal trial. They say the shoot was justified, but now Cecil’s not so sure. In fact, he’s not sure about anything. Well, except that he’d like to be dead.

He feels helpless, and alone …

It’s been over two weeks since Cecil and Wilbur were in the shootout with the kid who robbed the liquor store over on 37th Street. And Cecil’s not handling the situation very well. Wilbur, on the other hand, seems to be coping quite nicely. So he goes to visit will Cecil, hoping to cheer him up.

The two veteran cops sit at Cecil’s chipped Formica-topped kitchen table, the one with the rusted chrome legs. Cecil absent-mindedly uses a spoon to swirl his coffee around in an over-sized ceramic mug. He looks like hell—bloodshot eyes, cheeks sagging, and the corners of his mouth fixed in an upside-down smile. His hair even looks dull, and grayer by two shades.

“How do you do it, Wilbur? Doesn’t it bother you?” said Cecil without making eye contact.

Wilbur leaned back, balancing his chair on its two rear legs. “Sure, it does. It’s definitely not a good feeling knowing we killed someone. But, honestly, I’m just happier’n a pig eatin’ slop that I’m alive. And I’m glad that I practiced shooting all those years. We could shoot and he couldn’t. It is what it is and I’d do it again tomorrow if I had to.”

Dead GuyCecil sighed, still stirring his coffee. The spoon made tinkling noises as it touched the sides of the mug. “Something must be wrong with me, then. “Cause I’m wishing it’d been me instead of him.”

“You can’t think like that, partner. We had a job to do and we did it. Nothing more, nothing less. One less worthless mouth to feed in prison, you ask me.”

Cecil looks up. Tears are streaming down his face. He feels like he’s going to throw up, so he covers his mouth with one hand, the one he’d been using to stir the coffee. The other hand is resting in his lap, beneath the table, clutching his service weapon. The skin on his knuckles is taut. His index finger is easing toward the trigger. Sweat droplets dot the space on his forehead between his bushy eyebrows and hairline.

There’s no other way.

the devil in your headThe monster inside his head … well, Cecil has lost the fight.

Like Cecil and Wilbur, no two officers experience identical post-shooting reactions. But what are some of the more common reactions? Well, lets start with the shooting itself. During the gunfire, many officers experience sensory distortions, such as slow or fast motion and muted or distorted sounds.

After a shooting, like Cecil, many officers experience trouble sleeping, nightmares, anxiety, fatigue, headaches, crying spells, loss of appetite, nausea, sadness, fear, feelings of worthlessness, reliving the incident on a non-stop loop, or they cannot remember parts of the incident. Some officers have actually fired at a suspect and never realized they’d pulled the trigger until their weapons were checked by authorities (all weapons and rounds should be checked and accounted for following any officer-involved shooting).

It is extremely important for police agencies to train their officers about what to expect during and after a shooting. Teaching survival is important, but good mental health is equally important.

Finally, it’s sometimes a good idea to employ a third-party counselor to assist with the debriefing sessions, because officers may feel that a department counselor would not be impartial and side with the agency in court or during a departmental disciplinary hearing.

BUT … no matter what, officers should ALWAYS seek some sort of counseling following a shooting event. Sure, you may feel fine today, but you never know when the dead guy may show up for a visit.

Please, don’t be a “Cecil.”

 

 

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Officer Brittney Roy

Her father, a New York Police Department officer, was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Yesterday, Brittney Roy was sworn in as a police officer in her father’s beloved NYPD.

Brittney, the moment you pinned the NYPD badge to your chest you showed more courage than most of us could know in a lifetime.

Congratulations, Officer Roy.

Your dad would be very proud,

Of his precious daughter.

Stay safe.

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Typically, Friday’s Heroes is a weekly tribute to the U.S. law enforcement officers who’ve lost their lives in the line of duty. However, this week we are making an exception to include and honor a remarkable hero from outside the United States.

Nagwa Abdel-AleemNagwa Abdel-Aleem, 55

Egypt’s Police Force

April 9, 2017 – Egyptian Officer Nagwa Abdel-Aleem was on duty, protecting the entrance at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Tanta, about 60 miles north of Cairo, when a suicide bomber (ISIS claimed the attack) approached. Officer Nagwa Abdel-Aleem bravely stood her ground and denied access to the church. The bomber then denoted the device, killing himself and Officer Abdel-Aleem. It is believed the terrorist’s target was Pope Tawadros II, who had left the site a few moments prior to the devastating explosion.

One of Officer Abdel-Aleem’s sons was also killed in the blast. He, too, was a police officer.


master sergeant carl cosper

Master Sergeant Carl T. Cosper, 56

Barry County Missouri Sheriff’s Office

April 7, 2017 – Master Sergeant Carl Cosper was killed in a vehicle crash when a bus turned in front of his patrol car, He was responding to a domestic call when the crash occurred.


Deputy Sheriff Levi Pettway

Deputy Sheriff Levi Pettway, 61

Lowndes County Alabama Sheriff’ Office

April 10, 2017 – Deputy Levi Pettway died in a traffic crash when his patrol car left the roadway and struck a tree.

He is survived by his wife.


Trooper Anthony J. Borostowski

Trooper Anthony J. Borostowski, 34

Wisconsin State Patrol

April 11, 2017 – Trooper Anthony Borostowski was killed in a single car crash at 4 a.m., when his patrol left the roadway and struck a tree.


Master Police Officer Jason G. Harris

Master Police Officer Jason G. Harris, 39

Spartanburg South Carolina Police Department

April 13, 2017 – Master Officer Jason Harris was killed in a crash when, while responding to assist another officer, his department motorcycle struck the rear corner of a car as it turned in front of him. He succumbed to his injuries two days later.

Tale Twisters

Hey, did you know …

  1. Doomsday bunkers are all the rage right now. So much so, in fact, that one Texas company has seen a whopping 400% increase in sales in the past two months.
  2. PetPace LLC markets a wearable health monitoring system for pets and working animals, including police canines.
  3. Isopropyl methylphosphonic acid, a chemical which sarin degrades into, was found in the blood and urine samples taken from recent victims of the gas attacks in Syria.
  4. FABIS-Mobile is a facial recognition software that performs real-time identification of individuals using still or video images.
  5. A secure means for protecting and storing fingerprints is in use at U.S. border crossings.
  6. Higher quality fingerprint collection with silicone membranes.
  7. On June 30, 2012, clocks gained an extra second. Why? Because the earth’s rotation is slightly slowing, increasing the length of a solar day.
  8. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) has moved forward with a number of technologies to make software safer against hacking. Gee, I wonder what it was that suddenly brought this action to the front burner …
  9. Scientists have developed a “super sponge” that absorbs mercury from a contaminated body water within seconds. The sponge converts the toxin into a non-toxic material that can be tossed into a landfill. The sponge also kills bacterial and fungal microbes. So yes, it’s a super sponge.
  10. Re-accommodation of paying customers. Let’s examine the definition of this term in the United Airlines policy manual.

united-airlines-reaccommodation

This is why I cut WAY back on speaking at events. I DESPISE air travel.

Cow Alarms for Cars

It’s no secret that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), traffic crashes are the leading cause of death of people between the ages of 15 and 29 years old.

Add to this horrifying statistic … cows.

That’s right, those pesky bovines who refuse to move out of the way of oncoming traffic. Yes, this is a real concern, especially in India where a large number of car crashes involve drivers smashing into cows who seem to enjoy loitering in public streets.

For those of you not familiar with these walking sirloins, well, they move when they’re good and ready.

Cow Alarms for your Cars

As a result of the many traffic crashes in India, Sachin Sharma and Dharmesh Shah of the Department of Electronics & Communication, at Gujarat Technological University, in Ahmedabad, India, developed an alert system for cars that detects the presence of live bovine roadway obstacles (cows in the road).

When an animal is detected, the alarm lets the driver know, in advance, to apply brakes. This all occurs before the driver sees the hazard.

Obviously, though, cows in India do not understand basic signage, like the posted instructions we have here in the U.S. If so, one look and they’d know to remain on the sidewalks or shoulder.

Dumb cows …

Cow Alarms

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