Rookie RI Cops Jump in Water And Rescue Man
Way to go, Officers Moody & Lavallee!!!
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The Providence Journal Bob Thayer
Newport police officers Scott Moody, left, and Joseph Lavallee, who rescued a South Carolina man Friday after his boat capsized off Brenton Reef, joined the Police Department just over two years ago. Both are Newport natives who know the island’s waters well.
The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer
NEWPORT –– Two men clung to the hull of a capsized boat, struggling in the rough water about 150 yards off Brenton Reef Friday morning.
As the 5-foot waves crashed against the boat and high winds shoved it toward the rocks, one of the men, age 35, took a chance.
He started swimming toward shore in the cold, churning water. His friend, 67, tried to follow.
Neither was wearing a life jacket.
As the younger man reached land, he pointed back to his friend, who was flailing, and screamed at the police officers and firefighters on shore: He needs help!
The rocks kept the Coast Guard boat from getting close enough to save the man. The Newport fire boat, carrying rescuers, was on the other side of the reef. Firefighters on shore were getting into their wetsuits and grabbing their rescue gear.
But the two rookie police officers on shore dropped their belts and their bulletproof vests –– and started swimming.
Those who know Brenton Reef know that it’s treacherous, especially in stormy weather, Newport Fire Capt. James McIntosh said later, and those who aren’t familiar with it can get caught in its rocky passages.
“That area’s pretty dramatic,” he said.
At around 7:30 a.m., when other fishermen were heading out, someone on shore spotted the capsized 20-foot center-console Grady-White and called for help.
The call brought the Coast Guard and firefighters, all with training and equipment for water rescue.
It also brought Officers Scott Moody, 30, and Joseph Lavallee, 26, both natives of Newport, who know the waters around the island. They both joined the Police Department a little over two years ago, but they hadn’t performed a water rescue since their days together in the police academy.
They saw the man go under the waves once. And again. And then he stopped moving.
“It was at the point where he was going to give up,” Moody said.
They walked over the slippery rocks and ventured into the chest- and head-high ocean waters, pushing against the waves and keeping the drowning man in sight.
“It looked like the guy didn’t have much time,” Lavallee said.
The water was about 60 degrees, but the officers said they didn’t notice the cold as they swam.
“It was a nice awakening to the morning,” Moody said.
The man’s head was still above water, but he couldn’t move when they reached him. The officers got on either side of him, hauled under his arms and started bringing him back. They tried to help him walk when they got closer to shore, but he told them he couldn’t stand.
“He’d been treading water for 35, 40 minutes,” Moody said. The officers carried him the rest of the way to the firefighters on the shore.
The man they rescued, 67-year-old William Murdock, of North Charleston, S.C., was treated by the firefighters for hypothermia and admitted to Newport Hospital. His friend, Jason Catlender, 35, of Scituate, Mass., was treated at the emergency room and released.
Murdock’s boat, which had smashed against the rocks all morning, was brought to shore.
Trooper of the Year does ‘the right thing’
Trooper Carey Hixson likes to keep it simple.
“This job’s not that difficult,” he said. “It’s just about being out there, doing the right thing and trying to help folks out.”
Some days the right thing’s as simple as a traffic stop. Other days, it’s racing 90 mph after a convicted felon wanted in a string of armed robberies.
Hixson’s work to catch that suspect last April and his help with an FBI counterterrorism investigation recently earned him recognition as the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s 2008 Trooper of the Year for the Knoxville district, which consists of 11 area counties.
He and others chosen from districts around the state “represent the outstanding achievements of the Tennessee Highway Patrol,” Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell said. “Often, the public does not see the good work done by this fine organization.”
Hixson, 35, spends most of his workday patrolling Interstate 75 through Loudon County. He grew up one county over in Rockwood, where his father served as a city police officer and where his aunt, Teresa Brown, works as a trooper.
He joined the THP in 2001 after working nearly four years as a guard at the Brushy Mountain prison.
“I liked sirens and blue lights, so I guess this was just in my blood,” Hixson said.
He’d pulled over off U.S. Highway 321 to make a phone call that day in April when a white Mitsubishi Eclipse roared by. Authorities said the driver, 31-year-old Joseph Duggan, had just robbed four convenience stores in Knox and Roane counties in a 12-hour span.
“I’d heard the description on the radio,” Hixson said. “When he drove by, he looked right at me.”
Hixson and fellow trooper Brent Cagle chased Duggan north on I-75 for about a mile until Duggan pulled over, then changed his mind and sped away. The chase stretched out about another mile, topped speeds of 90 mph and ended on Campbell Station Road after Duggan’s car blew a tire and Hixson used his cruiser to bump the car off the road. Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Duggan there.
“We were flying down the road after him,” Hixson said. “He had to be stopped. The whole time I was praying, ‘Please don’t let me hit an innocent person.’ The adrenaline’s fired up and going in a chase like that, but it’s not fun.”
A month later, Hixson stopped a driver from Washington on the interstate and wrote out a ticket on a registration violation.
“He kept saying he had diplomatic immunity,” Hixson said. “I told him that didn’t apply to traffic tickets.”
The man turned out to be a foreign official. FBI agents told Hixson that the man was under surveillance and forbidden to travel outside the D.C. area. His trip remains under investigation as part of a counterterrorism case, officials said.
That brief traffic stop earned Hixson a commendation and personal thank-you from FBI Director Robert Mueller – even though the trooper’s still not sure exactly what he helped with.
“I’m very appreciative, but there’s a lot of people out here doing good things,” Hixson said. “You just have to remember who you are and what you do.”
Chasing bad guys, serving public like Dad
Growing up the sons of a Miami police officer in the 1970s made for an exciting childhood for Kenny, 39, and Richard Dobson Jr., 41.
Their father, Lt. Richard Dobson Sr., brought his sidekick home every night, the amazing Rocky, a German shepherd who played hide and seek with the boys and saved his teeth for the bad guys. The violence of Miami’s streets — punctuated in the 1980 Liberty City riots — if stressful for Richard Sr., offered thrilling tales for the boys.
“We couldn’t wait to hear his stories when he got off from work, what he did that night,” said Richard Jr.
Occasionally, they saw it first hand, pulling up on car accidents, stopping petty crimes in progress and generally helping those in need. Richard Sr. has a knack for being where he’s needed.
There was the time Richard Sr. and a 15-year-old Kenny spotted a tire thief, and father and son split up to give chase.
“I’m running between houses chasing the guy, don’t know what I’m going to do when I catch him,” Kenny recalled. “And I hear this little car screaming and sliding around corners and it’s (Richard Sr.) in the passenger’s seat. He’s got a lady, who he confiscated her car. She’s driving.”
As they grew older, both sons embraced their father’s love for helping people: Richard Jr., first in his 22-year Navy career and now as a newly minted corrections officer at the downtown jail. Kenny as a firefighter, and now the chief of the Fort Myers Fire Department
Richard Sr., at 60, is still collaring the bad guys, now for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Lehigh Acres.
If his sons’ childhood excitement has worn off, or at least matured into caution — Richard Sr. says he’s relieved that neither works road patrol as he does — it has been replaced by something more basic.
“To me, it’s working with people — inmates, other officers, the public,” said Richard Jr. “It’s just working with other people that I like.”
His brother, bound more to his desk than a fire truck these days, finds a similar energy in outreach, speaking to children at schools or detention centers.
“I actually don’t miss the tactical and operational aspects of the job,” he said of his position. “I miss the contact with the people.”
It’s called public service, a simple ideal passed on from one generation to the next.
“I think all of us feel the same way,” said Richard Sr. “Now, whether they picked it up from me or we picked it up together through living together, I don’t know. But I think it’s something we all feel.”
All in the family
It took a couple of decades, but 22-year-old Robbie Lewis finally grew into his father’s boots.
When Robbie was just a small boy, his father, Bob Lewis, used to come home from work as a Collier County sheriff’s deputy, change out of his uniform, and take off his boots.
“I would go and put his big boots on. I was just a little guy,” Robbie Lewis said. “I remember from that moment on I always wanted to put on the full suit.”
Robbie Lewis finally joined his father at the Collier Sheriff’s Office right after he finished high school about four years ago. He now works in the agency’s traffic unit.
Bob Lewis, 52, a commander in charge of the Sheriff’s Office’s Special Operations Group, wasn’t surprised at his son’s career choice.
“I knew at the time if he wanted to do that, I’d be supportive of him, and if he wanted to be a doctor, I’d support him in that also,” Bob Lewis said. “If work is a passion, it’s not really work.”
There are at least 10 fathers at the Collier County Sheriff’s Office whose son or daughter works with the agency, officials said. Robbie Lewis said he sees his dad quite often at work, and occasionally gets to grab lunch with him.
“I still live at home, so I see him all the time there,” Robbie Lewis said of his dad. “I see him at work. I can’t get away from the guy.”
One year after Robbie joined the force, Kristin Lewis, Bob’s daughter and Robbie’s sister, graduated from high school and was hired as a 911 dispatcher. However, her career with the Sheriff’s Office was never so certain.
Kristin, who turned 21 on Saturday, said she considered a career as a veterinarian, but nixed that idea because she didn’t enjoy biology class. Never a fan of school, Kristin wanted to do something after high school besides college.
Her dad suggested dispatch.
“She’s found her niche there,” Bob Lewis said. “She’s very good at what she does. I’ve had a lot of compliments as to her abilities there.”
Kristin Lewis said she enjoys her job because every day is something different. And sometimes its fun to dispatch her father and brother.
“I get to tell them what to do for a change,” Kristin Lewis said. “It’s nice.”
And if three Lewises aren’t enough, Bob’s wife, Andrea Lewis – Robbie’s and Kristin’s stepmom – works as a supervisor in the Sheriff’s Office’s central records division.
“It’s the whole Lewis clan, I guess you could say,” Kristin Lewis said.
Bryan PD gets new K-9′s
Release the hounds! The Bryan Police Department has two new patrol teams on the streets. The K-9 Unit supervisor Sgt. Dean Swartzlander and the two new handlers traveled to Virginia Beach, Virginia to select and purchase two new police service dogs. The trio tested over twenty dogs and selected the two most driven and trainable police service dogs. Officer Hanks was partnered with K9 Kohn, a 2 year old Belgian Malinois, and Officer Hauke was partnered with K9 Falco, a 2 ½ year old Belgian Malinois.
The two police service dog teams completed a rigorous 16 week basic K-9 Handlers course. The lessons were physically demanding on both the police service dog and handler. The topics covered in the course are building searches, tracking, evidence recovery, narcotics searches, suspect apprehension, obedience, gunfire discipline, and tactical deployments. The teams successfully complete the 16 week course in May and obtained an International Police Dog Handlers Certification for Patrol Dog Applications and Narcotics Detection.
Dog days (and nights) of summer
BULLHEAD CITY – Ah, a dog’s life.
Most humans would relish being able to live a dogs life: sleeping, eating and playing all day.
But there are a few dogs that perhaps people would not like to trade lives with. Bingo and Kaia are police K-9 units. They perform difficult and often dangerous tasks that police officers do, and frequently can perform additional duties that officers can’t.
Officers Jill Menard and Eric Clevinger are assigned to the K-9 unit for the Bullhead City police department. Menard is Kaia’s trainer and handler and Clevinger is responsible for Bingo.
The dogs are part of Menard’s and Clevinger’s families; they live with their trainers and they travel to and from work together.
Both Bingo and Kaia are Belgian Malinois. The breed is slightly smaller than a German Shepherd, have less fur and have a longer snout. Kaia, 3, is approximately 70 pounds and Bingo around 50 pounds. Bingo is the senior dog on the force and is 6 years old.
Clevinger said Bingo is on a special diet for senior dogs.
“I recently put him on a food with glucosamine and chondrotin in it,” he said.
Clevinger had to retire his last police dog, Rocky, due to arthritis and wants to make sure Bingo doesn’t suffer the same affliction.
Working dogs eat a diet that is high in calories so that they have enough calories to burn off while they are on patrol.
On patrol
Bingo was on patrol Friday night. His job is a support role, Clevinger said.
“He is an extra tool for the department,” Clevinger explained. “He has a special function in supporting officers with their investigations.”
Friday, Bingo’s first call was to Lazy Harry’s, where he supported the officers as they questioned witnesses to a reported brawl between two Hispanic males and a group of Hells Angels. Bingo was able to get out of the car and assist Clevinger with crowd control. He supported officers by being on the lookout for suspicious activity and was ready to defend Clevinger and the other officers if need be.
His second call was to Laughlin Ranch to check for suspicious activity in a house that had the garage left open. Bingo and Clevinger went in to check for any prowlers; fortunately, Bingo gave the all clear.
When Bingo does not have his own assignment, he can be called out by other officers who need his assistance. Bingo and Kaia are trained to sniff out illegal drugs of all kinds, so they assist with vehicle searches and search warrants.
Additionally, they are trained to hunt down perpetrators.
Training
Both dogs participate in a regular training regimen. Twice a month the dogs work on fine-tuning their skills, both sniffing out drugs and searching for people.
During training, the dogs perform the same duties that they would in a real situation.
“To them, work is play, so it’s important to take their training just as seriously as we would when they are working,” Clevinger said.
Every time the dogs get in the car they know they are going to work and are prepared for any situation that might arise.
Cars
The police cruisers that Clevinger and Menard drive are specially equipped to transport the dogs. The backseat of each cruiser is equipped with a traveling spot for the dog. The backseat has been taken out and replaced with a non-slip mat that the dogs can stand or lay on.
The panels of both doors are gone, replaced with solid steel panels. The doors are on a remote switch system, so if Menard or Clevinger were in danger they could activate a switch and the doors would open, allowing the dogs to come to their rescue.
Perhaps most importantly the cars are fully equipped with a separate air vents to keep the dogs cool as well as fans in the backseat.
“People sometimes get mad at us for having the dogs in the car,” Menard said. “Then we have to explain that the dogs are in no danger of overheating.”
In addition to the climate control mechanism, the cars are equipped with an automatic alarm system should it get too hot inside. The sensors will automatically roll the windows down and will alert Menard and Clevinger that the car is too hot.
The cars are always running when the dogs are inside allowing all of the systems to work.
“It’s important to know that the dogs are not mistreated, they aren’t being left alone in a hot car,” Clevinger said. “Both Jill and I are animal lovers and we would never put our dogs in that situation.”
K-9 officer to be guest on sheriff’s BLAB TV show
An Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office K-9 officer will be a featured guest today on the sheriff’s weekly BLAB TV show.
The show, “Wanted Fugitives,” airs at 10 p.m. on BLAB TV. It was taped Friday at the network’s Pensacola studio, said the program’s director, Deshani Baines.
Hosts of the show questioned the deputy about the operation and use of sheriff’s dogs. The department is currently investigating a police dog attack on a local woman.
BLAB TV can be found on Cox Cable Channel 6 in Escambia County and on Mediacom Channel 38 in Santa Rosa County, according to the station’s Web site.
Spokane canine hero in need of help
A shot from a car-thief on March 17, 2009 ended K-9 police dog, Var’s, 8 year career. Happily, Var was well on the road to recovery, and even received a purple heart for his bravery, when a second health scare emerged to threaten his life.
It has been discovered that Var has a brain tumor that will end his life if not treated soon. He has been seen by WSU veterinarians who feel that he has a great chance at recovery if the surgery is completed in time. Unfortunately, the enormous bills that go along with brain surgery are falling on his current owner and former partner, Dan Lesser.
Lesser, along with other Spokane police officers, are banding together to raise funds to get Var the medical attention that he needs to survive. The officers feel that it is the least that they can do for a dog who put his life on the line for his partner. The car thief that shot him only did so because Var was between the suspect and the police officers. Now it’s time to pay him back for his bravery.
A private fund has been established at the Spokane Law Enforcement Credit Union, 924 W. Sinto, Spokane, WA 99205 – account number 4780. Any excess funds collected will be used to help care for other retired K-9 dogs in need of medical attention. The officers are in the process of creating a non-profit fund specifically for this purpose.
Var’s surgery has been scheduled for this coming Tuesday at Washington State University in Pullman, WA. Let’s hope that the surgery is a resounding success and that this brave dog can live out the rest of his life enjoying a happy and healthy retirement.
S.F.’s new top cop looks to be tailor-made
When he takes charge at San Francisco’s Hall of Justice later this summer, new Police Chief George Gascón will be the first outsider to lead the department since the 1970s – but those who’ve worked closely with him in Los Angeles and Arizona say he’s tailor-made for this unique city.
His controversial views on illegal immigration match Mayor Gavin Newsom’s. He’s weathered his share of scandal, political battles and budget cuts. He was an outsider when he took his current job as police chief in Mesa, Ariz. (“the largest city that you’ve never heard of,” said former Mesa City Councilwoman Claudia Walters), but eventually won over his officers.
Throw in the 55-year-old Gascón’s obsession with technology, the intellectualism that led him to earn a law degree and participate in a three-year Harvard project to improve policing, his concern for health that makes his breakfasts with city officials consist of fruit and tea, his love of surfing and his comfort in the spotlight, and maybe it’s an oddly perfect match.
“You’re a limelight city,” said Bryan Soller, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Mesa. “He loves to be moving and grooving, and you guys do that out there. You guys make us look like Mayberry.”
Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton worked closely with Gascón for several years and agreed it’s a good fit.
“From the issues I understand you have in San Francisco, it’s the right person at the right time in the right place,” Bratton told The Chronicle. “I’ve worked in this business for 40 years, and he’s one of the best there is.”
Gascón was raised in Cuba, the only child of his parents, Maria and Marcos, a mechanic who fixed trucks at a beer brewery. Marcos Gascón initially supported the revolution led by Fidel Castro.
“But then he realized democracy was not to be and became an opponent of it,” his son recalled. “Police controlled every aspect of your life.”
Gascón described seeing police abuse of civilians in the streets and his neighbors’ widespread fear of the police and government in general. The disillusioned Gascóns joined extended family in Los Angeles when George Gascón was 13. He said his childhood led him to become a strong advocate for human rights and to hold firm beliefs about what is appropriate police conduct and what is not.
He said that belief was strengthened by weathering the LAPD’s Ramparts scandal, the widespread corruption in the anti-gang unit that rocked the department in the 1990s. Gascón was a captain at the time and was chosen to join a small group to look at the failures in management and supervision that allowed the corruption to spread.
“Good, hardworking, ethical police officers are some of the most honorable people who walk the face of the earth,” he said. “If you’re a hardworking, ethical officer, you’ll have my full support. If you’re not, we’ll have to talk.”
Several of his Mesa colleagues said that was a theme of his tenure.
“He’s a stickler for protecting rights,” said Mayor Scott Smith. “He will enforce the law without apology, but he also is absolutely committed to doing it in a way that recognizes that law enforcement is useless unless you understand that constitutional rights are the most important thing.”
Reigning with transparency
Walters, the vice mayor when Gascón was hired, said the chief was concerned that everything in his department “pass the headline test.”
“He’s very tight about making sure you do things on the up-and-up – no hanky-panky,” she said. “He doesn’t even want the appearance of it.”
Occasionally, that’s meant angering police officers when he goes straight to the media upon hearing of potential misconduct. Earlier this month, police officers and paramedics were called to a Mesa hotel where a pregnant woman was experiencing a miscarriage. The officials were confused about what to do with the fetus and wound up flushing it down the toilet.
Gascón immediately held a press conference – before police union leaders had a chance to investigate what had happened and prompting them to call the chief’s conference premature. No criminal charges are expected to be filed against the officers.
Gascón said he is “obligated to be transparent” and doesn’t regret going to the media. He said he often tells his officers that if they give him a good story, he’ll take that to the media, too.
In stark contrast to the press-shy current San Francisco Chief Heather Fong, Gascón is known for having a tight relationship with the media – and is even engaged to be married at the end of this year to a reporter for the Spanish-language TV channel, Univision. (The couple are house-hunting in San Francisco, and she may move from Los Angeles at some point.)
A reputation for change
Going to the media isn’t the only thing that’s angered Mesa police officers. They were resistant to Gascón when he arrived from the LAPD and quickly began shaking up the department – though they are now big supporters of his.
“He’s done a lot of good here,” said Stoller, the police union president. “Your department better get ready, though. He’s going to come in there, and he’s going to clean house and he’s going to come up with these new programs. The best thing I can tell the guys there is try them before you get really upset.”
In Mesa, Gascón moved detectives out of police headquarters and into district stations, which many say helped improve the homicide clearance rate from 55 percent when he arrived to above 90 percent now. San Francisco’s is notoriously low, with just a quarter of homicides leading to prosecution.
Gascón also created a “fusion center” where public safety officials from around the region work together and brought in the program Compstat, which he also used in Los Angeles, to track crime statistics and deploy officers to high-crime areas. Those initiatives are credited with lowering the number of homicides in Mesa from 26 in 2006 to just three so far this year.
He did this despite major budget cuts to his department three years in a row. Mesa is unusual in that it levies no property tax and has had to cut the budgets of just about every department.
Change and innovation have marked Gascón’s entire career, and he’s now participating in a three-year project at Harvard to study how to improve policing. The project involves 15 police chiefs, and Gascón is pairing with researcher Todd Foglesong to study how to reduce the cost of policing while increasing performance.
Foglesong said he’s enjoyed hearing about Gascón’s discussions with his daughter (he has two, 25 and 27 years old, from a previous marriage) who’s finishing law school. Gascón’s daughter is unsure whether to pursue immigration law or take a job in a corporate firm.
“He’s never told her what he thinks is best – he’s helped her figure out what she wants to do,” Foglesong said. “I think that applies to his vision of public safety. The police department doesn’t necessarily know what’s best, and it has to work with the community to come up with what is best.”
Sanctuary city controversy
But what got the most attention during Gascón’s stay in Mesa was his pitched battle with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio, who dubs himself the toughest sheriff in America, led sweeps of Mesa libraries, City Hall and other institutions looking for illegal immigrants so he could turn them over to federal authorities for deportation.
During one two-day sweep of Mesa last June that Arpaio dubbed “Operation Ghost,” Gascón had authorized the creation of “free speech zones” for demonstrators and turned his own officers out in force to keep the peace – or, as Arpaio’s allies saw it, to make the sheriff’s staff look puny by comparison.
In April, Gascón testified on Capitol Hill against the sheriff’s sweeps and faced his own mini-scandal when it emerged that an advocacy group in favor of open borders paid for his trip to Washington. The chief then paid back the money and took the days as vacation time.
Gascón said he believes undocumented immigrants shouldn’t face arrest by local police just for being here illegally because that prevents them from reporting crime and allows gangs to take over entire neighborhoods.
“But if you’re here committing crimes other than the undocumented crossing of the border, I believe the police should use every tool in the toolbox,” he said.
Many advocates and supervisors in San Francisco, though, have slammed Newsom for his new policy of turning over undocumented youth arrested for felonies to federal authorities, regardless of whether they’re found guilty. Gascón said he doesn’t believe in a blanket policy for undocumented youth and that turning them over upon arrest would depend on their age and the severity of their alleged crime.
“If the juvenile commits a homicide … I don’t distinguish at that point between someone who’s 18 and someone who’s 16 or 17,” he said. “On the other hand, if you have a 9- or 10-year-old and he commits a crime, he should be looked upon differently.”
His refusal to arrest people just for being here illegally fits in well with San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy, but polarized Arizona. Arpaio declined to comment for this story, saying through a spokesman that if he has nothing nice to say about somebody, he’d rather not say anything.
J.D. Hayworth, a former Arizona congressman who is now a conservative radio personality, did not hesitate to share his thoughts on Gascón.
“You can sit back and say, ‘Oh yeah, now this all makes sense.’ This has been a big audition to get the gig in the city by the bay,” Hayworth said. “To the extent San Francisco was searching for a cover guy for the misguided sanctuary city policy, you found him in George Gascón.”
A need for ‘vision’
The San Francisco Police Commission was immediately impressed with Gascón after interviewing him last month. Commission President Theresa Sparks said that not only do his views on immigration align with the commission’s, but his track record of change and innovation is desperately needed for the SFPD.
“I think many departments like this are inbred – an individual teaches the next generation the way they did it,” she said. “What we want him to do is develop strategies and a vision for the department based on best practices, not based on the political whims of the city.”
But the city may not have him for long. Gascón has been rumored to want the top job in the LAPD and was in the running for it in 2002, losing out to Chief Bratton.
He will make $292,000 annually when he starts his job. The chief of police has no contract and serves at the pleasure of the mayor and Police Commission.
Asked at the City Hall press conference how long he will stay in San Francisco, he said only, “This is a great city – I’ve been made to feel extremely welcome and I’m very glad to be back in California.”
Officials in Mesa are disappointed he’s leaving after three years.
“I was hoping he’d stay at least another two years. I teased him that he’s like the Rick Pitino of police chiefs,” said Dennis Kavanaugh, chair of the City Council’s public safety committee, referring to the basketball coach who’s led numerous teams.
“It’s the way it is,” Kavanaugh said, “when you have very successful people.”
Matier & Ross: Newsom’s choice for police chief works out just fine for mayor’s political ambitions. B1
George Gascón
Age: 55
Childhood: Born and raised in Cuba, moved to Los Angeles at 13.
Current position: Police chief of Mesa, Ariz.
Previous experience: Los Angeles Police Department, 1978-81 and 1987-2006. Spent most of the ’80s managing a car dealership and working as a volunteer police officer. Promoted to assistant chief in 2003 to oversee patrol and detective functions.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in history from Cal State Long Beach, law degree from Western State University. Member of the California Bar Association. Participating in study of police innovation at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Military service: Army, 1972-75. Honorably discharged as a sergeant.
Family: Divorced, two adult daughters. Engaged to be married.
Family and friends keep Trooper Brinkerhoff’s spirit alive
“It’s a dangerous job, to be a police officer. But when it got too hard for us, that’s when David’s unit showed up,” Nigrelli said.
Trooper Brinkerhoff was a member of the New York State police mobile response team. It is the same team that helped capture Ralph ‘Bucky’ Phillips, in 2006.
“From a little kid, he always know what he wanted to do. He worked his way through the ranks,” said Brinkerhoff’s brother, Mike. “Dave may be gone, but his memory lives on. And today, his memory runs on,” said State Police Captain Steve Nigrelli.
500 people raced to remember a life cut short. State trooper David Brinkerhoff was killed two years ago when his unit was searching for a fugitive in Margaretville, New York. He was just 29-years-old.
The money from this event will go toward a high school scholarship in Brinkerhoff’s memory, and to the Town of Boston recreation department.
“We grew up on these fields, we played baseball, soccer, football. This is what raised us,” Brinkerhoff said.
The day Bucky Phillips was caught was the same day Brinkerhoff’s daughter was born. Brinkerhoff returned home for her birth. Seven months later, he would never return from a different manhunt. Brinkerhoff’s wife and daughter weren’t able to make it to Saturday’s race.
The trooper Brinkerhoff foundation also raises money for law enforcement and emergency responders, as well as the Special Olympics.
“DAVID LEFT HIS OWN MEMORY. THROUGH THIS WE CAN HELP OTHERS FURTHER,” said Mike.MIKE BRINKERHOFF SAYS HIS BROTHER ALWAYS WANTED TO HELP PEOPLE. THROUGH THE FOUNDATION, BRINKERHOFF CONTINUES TO HELP EVEN AFTER HIS DEATH.
Link“Unfortunately, they couldn’t make it out here. I know they like to spend time together. They have their special father’s day event planned,” Mike Brinkerhoff said.
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