October Hot Sheet 2017

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Last month we had our annual WSRDSPOA summer convention in Kennewick. The big news from the convention was the unanimous passing of the by-law change allowing LEOFF 2 members to become full voting members in our association. The Friday morning membership meeting also had updates on what is going on in Olympia at this time. Ronnie Johnston is also heading up a by-law committee that will be looking at our current by-laws. When we were going through the by-laws for the LEOFF 2 membership change we found a few minor things in the current by-laws that need a little tweaking. As with all by-law changes, this will be a long process where the by-law committee will come up with the necessary changes, those will then be presented at membership meetings and finally voted on at the summer convention.

Everyone seemed to have a great time. There were lots of get togethers at different folks’ RV’s for drinks, stories and snacks. It was a great time to get together with people we haven’t seen in a long time. Thursday dinner at the Canyon Lakes Golf course was excellent as usual and lunch on Friday was also a lot of fun. Some of us went wine tasting to several wineries and the Columbia Sun RV resort had its own wine tasting party that was really great as the RV’ers didn’t have to drive anywhere. For the golfers among us, the Canyon Lakes golf course is an outstanding facility. The Saturday potluck dinner was very nice with a lot of good food shared by good friends.

WSRDSPOA has already made reservations at Columbia Sun RV resort for next year, Thursday, September 14 – Sunday, September 17. Please plan on attending as this is a great time for all of us to get together and have a wonderful and relaxing time. The RV resort has gotten very popular and fills up fast. If you plan on going, call right away and make your reservations for the “Old Cops” group. For you golfers, our golf numbers are getting pretty small, this is a great course and just waiting for you. There is a trophy waiting for you, too, if you win the association tournament. We are also looking into more activities other than wine tasting for our members that attend the convention.

At our convention potluck dinner there was some discussion on the tasty dishes that were there and how it would be nice to have recipes for them. This led to “Hey, let’s have the editor put some recipes in the news letter.” I am now hoping to be able to do this in every edition but I need your help. Please send me your favorite recipes, entrées, desserts, casseroles, salads etc.

COP’S CULINARY CREATIONS

Corn Medley Salad

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup cider vinegar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 can (15 ¼ ounces) whole kernel corn, drained

1 can (15 ounces) whole baby corn, rinsed and drained

1 can (11 ounces) yellow and white whole corn, drained

1 can (11 ounces) white or shoepeg corn, drained

1 large sweet red pepper, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

4 to 5 celery ribs, sliced

Leaf lettuce, optional

            In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar and oil. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Cool completely. In a bowl, combine the corn, red pepper, onion and celery. Add dressing and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

            Stir well. Serve with a slotted spoon in a lettuce-lined bowl, if desired. Yield:

10-12

Thanks to baseball legend, Yogi Berra, we will have a never-ending amount of great quotes. Here is a sampling of some of his best, they are all timeless.

1. When you come to a fork in the road, take it.

2. You can observe a lot by just watching.

3. It ain’t over till it’s over.

4. It’s like déjà vu all over again.

5. No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded.

6. Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.

7. A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.

8. Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.

9. We made too many wrong mistakes.

10. Congratulations. I knew the record would stand until it was broken.

11. You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.

12. You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you.

13. I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.

14. Never answer an anonymous letter.

15. Slump? I ain’t in no slump… I just ain’t hitting.

16. How can you think and hit at the same time?

17. The future ain’t what it used to be.

18. I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better.

19. It gets late early out here.

20. If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.

21. We have deep depth.

22. Pair up in threes.

23. Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel.

24. You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.

25. All pitchers are liars or crybabies.

Editor’s note:

The following article was published in Police magazine September 22, 2016. This goes to show where policing in this nation is heading, and they wonder why they have a hard time getting qualified recruits.

L.A. Police Commission Finds 3 Officers Out of Policy in Fatal Shootings

Los Angeles Police Commission Tells Officers to Run Away, or Else

The message the Los Angeles Police Commission is sending to officers confronted with a violent and dangerous suspect is clear: You can save your life or save your job, but you cannot do both.

Run away. If a police officer is confronted by a suspect with a weapon, those entrusted to set policies for the Police Department believe officers should run away. That’s the recent finding from the Los Angeles Police Commission which has turned Monday morning quarterbacking into a weekly agenda item at the three-ring circus they preside over every Tuesday morning.

In the Commission’s most recent decision on an officer-involved shooting, in which a suspect charged at two officers swinging an 8 to 9-inch knife, they faulted the officer for not “redeploying” to “create distance.” In plain English: the officer didn’t run away.

The key facts in this case are not in dispute. A female suspect, armed with an 8 to 9-inch knife, charged at officers, repeatedly ignored commands to stop, and was recorded yelling “shoot me” as she swung her knife from side to side.

The armed suspect quickly closed the gap between her knife and the police officers from 70 feet to less than 5 feet in under 10 seconds. That is when the first officer discharged his service weapon. The second officer involved had only three seconds to respond to the imminent threat. Even the Commission stated that “It was reasonable for Officer C to believe, in the moment when the use of force occurred, that the subject would imminently assault him with the knife.”

So where’s the beef?

The officers didn’t run away. The Commission, armed with video and their own political agenda broke down the footage frame by frame to determine that in the course of seconds, the first officer whose “position initially provided Officer C with a position of tactical advantage” lost the advantage as the suspect charged him. They wrote, “this advantage rapidly diminished as the Subject continued her advance, leaving him with neither distance nor effective cover as the Subject approached the space between two parked vehicles by which Officer C was located.”

Suspect charging from the front. Vehicles on either side. Where do you “redeploy?” Run backwards. This is absurd and it’s dangerous. What happens if the officer loses his footing with a charging suspect? What happens if the suspect runs into a nearby home or store and confronts its occupants with her weapon? What if the suspect also had a concealed gun? What is created when an officer turns tail and runs away is a large target. It’s called a back. The officer would put their lives in further jeopardy by running away if the suspect had a gun. At this close range, running away would create a self-caused danger to the officers and the public.

Chief Beck, who has absolutely no problem finding fault with officers, agreed with these officers’ actions. The Commission, with a grand total of zero years of experience in law enforcement, overruled the Chief’s decision. The Commissioners created an alternative set of facts that acknowledged that the officer was right to believe his life was in jeopardy but found fault with the officer shooting the knife-wielding suspect because the officer should have run away. Pathetic.

It sure must be easy to talk about “redeploying” an officer’s position while sipping a Diet Coke or bottled water while sitting in a police-guarded, air-conditioned room, in a cushy office chair, watching the events unfold in slow motion on a big-screen TV.

But that’s not reality. The Commission is becoming nothing more than a politically motivated rubber stamp for the warped worldview of a handful of activists that they pander to. In this instance, only Commissioner Steve Soboroff was willing to let facts and reason prevail.

The message the Los Angeles Police Commission is sending to officers confronted with a violent and dangerous suspect is clear: You can save your life or save your job, but you cannot do both. You choose.

Bill passed away September 22, having been bedridden for several months.  No memorial is planned per his request.

Bill was the #1 candidate in the February 1, 1961 class of the King County Sheriff’s Office.  He always had a knack for making you wonder whether he was really smart or really stupid.  SMART was the answer.

Bill spent a considerable portion of his career working in the jail, and later was assigned to warrants.

His daughter Lisa, of whom he was rightfully very proud, works as a forensic criminologist for the Washington State Crime lab.  It was she that identified Gary Ridgway’s DNA as the Green River Killer.

In his earlier years, Bill was scouted by several major league baseball teams.

Welcome to our newest members: (We are always wondering on how to get new members. Here is an idea. Wayne and Jan Cross gifted a one year membership to friends of theirs, the Whetstines. Whom do you know would like this and is not yet a member?)

Jerry and Kathy Whetstine              Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office

Both Kathy and Jerry retired LEOFF 1 from Sno County S.O. Their hobby is to collect cookie jars and old California pottery.

Robert and Connie Christilaw                        Spokane County Sheriff’s Office

Robert is retired LEOFF 2 and is an active member of the Behind the Badge Foundation. He is also part of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard.

Wally Johnson, King County, says thanks for everything. He says ” I’m doing better than I deserve to but those that know me have known that all along. I miss so many of you and send my love and best wishes from Payson, Utah. A small pocket of green in an otherwise not so green state.”

We have had a problem with members being “Unsubscribed” when they did not ask to be “Unsubscribed”.

I called Constant Contact and explained my problem of members being “Unsubscribed” without asking to be.  Their explanation is that when a member receives an email and wants to forward it to a friend, if for some reason, that friend hits the “Unsubscribe” button, the friend and the Member are “Unsubscribed”.

So, Constant Contact added a “Forward this Email” button.  It is located just below the “Green” block near the bottom of the email.  When you use this button to forward the email to a friend, if the friend were to “Unsubscribe”, it will not “Unsubscribe” you.  So you are strongly encouraged to use this new “Forward to a Friend” button.

So we will try that new button and see what happens.

If you want to “Unsubscribe”, please call or email me and I’ll take you off the mailing list.  I reiterate, Please do not use the “SafeUnsubscribe” button.