LAPD SWAT Sgt. Gomez retires after 33 yrs
A veteran LAPD SWAT officer, who was awarded a Medal of Valor for his actions during the 1997 North Hollywood shootout, retired from the force on Friday. Sgt. Steve Gomez was hailed as a hero for his role in one of the most violent episodes in LAPD history. 
Gomez had hoped to turn in his gear, say bye to a few people and quietly slip out the back door, but the LAPD wasn’t about to let his retirement go unnoticed after 33 years on the force.
“Even heroes have heroes and Steve is one of those. Steve is somebody that we all hold in awe and respect,” LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said at a special ceremony outside the downtown Police Administration Building on Friday.
Gomez was one of the SWAT officers involved in the North Hollywood shootout at a Bank of America in 1997. Two heavily armed bank robbers wearing body armor fired more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition at police. A total of 19 civilians and police officers were injured. Gomez earned a Medal of Valor for his role in the 45 minute gun battle.
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Police help deliver baby on roadside in Montville
Montville Police Officer Addison Saffioti left, and Connecticut State Trooper Sgt. Troy Gelinas were two of the three people to respond to a baby being delivered in a SUV on the side of the road on Route 2A in Montville.
Two state troopers and a police officer were within 60 seconds of the spot where a car stopped Friday morning because a woman was having a baby.
The first emergency call came in at 3:42 a.m. Friday. By 3:47 a.m., Trooper Lori Foster held the infant in her hands.
“It was just a very fortunate situation where everybody was in the right place at the right time,” said Foster, who helped a 20-year-old woman deliver the baby in the passenger seat of her mother’s car on the side of the road.
“You couldn’t have asked for a better scenario,” said Sgt. Troy Gelinas, who arrived moments later and clamped the umbilical cord. “Three people were there within a minute. It’s just … It was a good day at work.”
The mother, who was not identified by police, declined to be interviewed. She was taken by ambulance to The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, and both she and the baby were in good condition, according to a police news release.
The baby weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces. The mother planned to name her Olivia Louise, troopers said.
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Conn. police K-9 recruit has rewarding new job
The Danbury police department’s newest recruit is a bit on the young side, but don’t let that fool you.
Zeke, a 22-month-old, black German shepherd, and his handler, Officer Greg Topa, began training together earlier this September.
Earlier this week, the partners worked on obedience training, as well as sniffing out marijuana and heroin at a local soccer field.
Jars containing the scents were hidden in a series of plastic pipes. When Zeke found the pipe containing the jar, he received a reward.
“It’s so much fun coming to work every day and learning new techniques,” said Topa, an eight-year veteran of the force.
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South Valley’s top dogs
Porterville police officers Cody Dean and Gary Miller know how to handle their Belgian malinois.
Having earned seven trophies at the Second Annual South Valley K9 trials earlier this month, they were distinguished as the “Top Team” for accumulating the highest combined score in such tests as agility, area search and protection. They, along with their sharp-nosed pooches Dodge and Seven, were stacked against tough competition — 22 law enforcement agencies as large as the Fresno and Bakersfield police departments.
“For them to do as well as they did, compared to the larger agencies, it’s very impressive,” Sgt. Brian Nix, who leads the local K9 unit said. “I’m very proud of them.”
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K-9 Officer’s Bite Definitely Worse Than its Bark
Running, jumping, playing and tracking down criminals are all in a days work for one police officer in Upshur County.
Four year-old Wyatt joined the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department in May of 2008. “First week he was on the road, he found about 1lb of marijuana in the engine compartment of a vehicle,” says Sheriff Virgil Miller.
Since then he’s helped them track down criminals and sniff out drugs alongside Sgt. Marshall Powers, “we were at the training facility for two weeks, he was already trained prior to that, but this was to introduce me to the training, and then I’ve trained weekly with him, since then,” says Sgt. Powers.
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State Police name new Troop D commander
Chris Guillory was promoted to the rank of captain on Wednesday, and effective immediately will serve as commander of Louisiana State Police Troop D in Lake Charles.
When he received news of the promotion, Captain Guillory said, “I am humbled by Colonel Edmonson’s decision to promote me. I look forward to increasing cooperation with area law enforcement agencies to advance the common goal of keeping our citizens safe. It is also very important that we continue our efforts to reach out to youth in our community.”
Troop D encompasses the parishes of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis in Southwest Louisiana. The troop area covers over 5,000 square miles and over 5,400 highway miles.
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Tech upgrades to boost sheriff’s deputies’ safety
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies charged with the safety of thousands of county residents will soon get a dose of safety themselves.
A $1 million overhaul of department squad cars, spread over the past four years, will upgrade the modems in squad cars countywide.
Once installed, dispatchers will be able to track the department’s more than 850 squad cars — and no longer have to rely on deputies to say where they are as they patrol.
The long-discussed upgrade could be a life-saving move, deputies say, allowing backup units to more easily reach colleagues in danger.
The GPS-like tracking system is one in a line of technology upgrades the sheriff’s department has launched.
Project leaders say the changes will not only protect design safety, but also improve department efficiency.
The second major upgrade under way, a project that is related to the system upgrade, will do away with thousands of paper reports.
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Support for the canines
A Valparaiso animal hospital is stepping up to raise money for the Valparaiso Police Department’s K-9 Unit.
Vale Park Animal Hospital has been holding $5 canine nail trims on alternate Saturdays since July as a lead-up to Sunday’s fundraiser, the Canine Cop Crusade. The nail trims raised more than $1,000, veterinarian Randi Olson said.
She got the idea for the nail trims from clinic staff members who have been involved in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and decided to do the same for the K-9 Unit. The clinic provides services to the dogs in the unit free of charge.
The open house includes a dunk tank for the clinic’s veterinarians, a silent auction, and a look behind the scenes at the animal hospital.
Olson hopes the animal hospital’s efforts raise $6,151. The amount, she said, was inspired by the pet store Pet Supplies Plus, which donates food for the dogs and had a fundraiser for them that generated more than $6,000.
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Police dogs are sought-after commodity
By the time Brock the police dog finishes his training Friday at Castle K9, he will be able to find a lost child, sniff out explosives, grab and hold a criminal by the arm and politely visit a classroom of students.
Just like their human counterparts, police dogs have become multitaskers. And it seems more police departments want them, even as grants to buy and train the dogs are drying up.
When Aftermath, Inc., a national company that specializes in cleanups of crime scenes and accidents, offered a police dog drawing last year, it got 2,200 applications, and it’s expecting five times that many for the next drawing.
Lower Allen Townshipwas the winner of Aftermath’s prize, getting $8,000 toward the dog, which, when added to the $4,000 already raised, comes close to the $16,000 the department needs to train the dog and its handler.
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