SEPT 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 9

I figured I could turn

I figured I could turn around and try to find an alternate route on my GPS. About two miles down the road, my car lost power. After a few minutes, it started again so I felt it was best to turn around and head back toward the officers in case the car had another issue. As I was turning around, my car died again. Now I was blocking both lanes of the road, with no lights, and traffic coming from both directions. I had no cell service and I felt I had to decide to be hit in my car or walking. I had dark clothing on and felt my chances were better in the car. This is when I started praying, I told God if it’s my time, I understand but please don’t let anyone else get hurt. It was at that moment I saw another car coming at me and I just braced for impact. To my surprise, the car slowed down, and I thought to myself, GREAT, I’m going to be killed by some drunk serial killer. It was at that moment the driver, who turned out to be a Florida Trooper, turned on his overheads and I couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. I wasn’t out of the woods, but I had help. Out of nowhere, Trooper Brown came to my rescue. I jumped out of the car and explained I had no power and it wouldn’t go into neutral. The Trooper said he would use his car to push it off the road. He tried putting the car in neutral but had no luck. I knew he was risking his own safety to try and move my car. With no other options, he used his car to push mine off the road. He tried to be gentle, but he had to force it off the road and into a ditch. Once off the road, it was as no longer a danger to oncoming traffic. It was then that Sgt. Seay showed up to the scene and I told him if there is any damage, it’s on me. I told him thank you and that I could just walk home. He told me he couldn’t allow that and made sure I got home 18 The BLUES safely. Trooper Brown is my Hero, and I can’t even image what would have happened if he had not shown up. In this day and age, it seems everyone wants to show LEO’s doing something wrong. Trooper Brown was extremely professional and made his badge shine. I can’t thank him enough for being there for me so I’m hoping there is something you can do to reward him for his actions. What an outstanding Trooper and person. AGAIN, THANK YOU!!!!! COPS AND DONUTS Okay, I know – cops and donuts go together. I mean, everyone likes donuts, but cops REALLY love them, right? Well, sort of… The joke is that cops take to donuts like a fish takes to a worm. While there is some truth to that – it’s not the whole story. The truth is, in the old days, cops liked the convenience of them…and the taste. Old cops remember the days when there were no 24-hour convenience stores, and not many all-night diners. In 1940s and 1950s, a cop assigned to the midnight shift was a lonely person. The good people were mostly at home, leaving only the cops and the bad guys out on the streets. In such cases, donuts were the key. When working a long, slow shift, most people, including cops, get sleepy. So, if there were only a couple of diners open in town, coffee was usually available. Further, if almost nothing else was open, that was the only place to go to take a break. By the way, the coffee was black – plain, black coffee. No sweetened, iced, double latte, whatever. It was just plain, hot, black coffee. Today, if a bad guy is looking for a place to get some quick cash, he has a plethora of places to choose from to rob. But in the 40s and 50s, the one or two open diners made for slim pickins for a bad guy to rob. In order to keep them away, a police car parked in front is a good deterrent. So, how do you get a police car in front without the expense of having to hire someone to provide security? Donuts. They are tasty, easy to make, and delicious. So, the diner owners surmised, why not offer free donuts and coffee to keep the cops coming around, and the police cars in front? It was a win-win! That is how it happened. Here is the problem… young officers are stuck with battling the stigma created by old guys like me, even though they don’t eat the little fat pills like we used to. But you better be quick about asking an old cop if he remembers the old days of eating donuts. Most have either died of heart disease or old age. Well, there you have it. You now

have the truth of the matter – maybe. I think I’ll go have a donut and a cup of black coffee. Mike Simmons DEMOLITION DERBY & TRUMP And now we have yet a fourth indictment against former POTUS Donald Trump for alleged efforts to overturn his loss in the last presidential election. The 98-page indictment lists 41 separate counts against a total 19 defendants for everything from not accepting the vote tallies in Georgia to stepping on a crack in the sidewalk (sarcasm). The indictment was brought by Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney. The DA’s Office webpage says Willis is a dogged chaser in fighting crime; it’s her webpage, it would say that. Where’s her pursuit against Trump and his supporters been for 2½ years? I guess there’s a time and purpose for everything. It would seem Willis is now laser-focused on Trump but not so much on the other crime that flourishes in Fulton County which is in the 15th percentile; meaning 85 percent of the 3,142 counties in America are safer. Fulton County beats the national average in assaults, murders, robberies and is statistically tied in the number of rapes, suggesting that if you live in the greater metropolitan Atlanta area either you or your property will eventually be a crime victim. I wondered how many crime victims in Fulton County were glad to see Fani focus on a presidential race now well in the rear-view mirror, and then the obvious occurred to me. Fani Willis, Alvin Brag (the Manhattan DA) and Jack Smith (special counsel), are all really focused on the next POTUS race in 2024, not 2020. So, if the Jan. 6 trial happens in Washington, D.C., in January; the Georgia trial in February; the Manhattan trial in March; and, the Florida trial happens in May, all the Dems have to do is get one more trial in the June timeframe and Trump’s Republican Convention hopes in July will be dashed forever. The Orange Man will have been beaten. Does anyone think this timing is an accident? That all this is some giant coincidence? All Democrat eyes now look to Arizona in hopes that Gov. Katie Hobbs can get the Arizona attorney general (Kris Mayes) to bring a fifth indictment. C’mon Katie, you can do it! Who doesn’t like to watch a demolition derby? This kind of judicial gaming erodes public faith in our election process even more than Jan. 6 ever could. DOG & PONY SHOW FOR CHIEF I read your editorial last month about cities hiring police chiefs and I have a question. Why do some agencies announce they are seeking a new police chief, launch a “nationwide search for the best candidate” and then hire someone they had in mind for the position anyway. They put on a dog and pony show to attract all these applicants from far and wide, narrow the list to 4 or 5 candidates, have them spend days in an interview process, meet and greets, and such. Only to hire who everyone knew was their favorite from the get-go. Why waste taxpayer dollars, not to mention the time and money of the applicants, when you can just hire your favorite and be done with it. Did you know that 85% of cities that spend over a ¼ of million dollars to conduct a nationwide search for a new Chief, end up hiring either someone within the department or someone local from another department. 0,000 is a lot of money to waste. That money could be spent on new body armor, body worn cameras, etc. Here’s another fact. Of the 15% that do hire outside the department, 90% of those new hires end up leaving in 2 years or less. In other words, the entire recruiting process for finding a new police chief is just a load of BS. Either promote someone within your department who has worked their way up through the ranks or hire an experienced chief from another local agency that has the experience you’re looking for. Just stop wasting money and everyone’s time acting like you want the best and then hire someone everyone knew from the start has the job. Finally, my last word of advice. Don’t hire a chief who has spent 30+ years with another department and retired. They’ve already given their best years to that agency. Now they’re just looking for a place to chill and collect a check. If you think for a minute that ole timer is going to go out and run calls, you are sadly mistaken. They are riding the desk until they die. NAME WITHHELD DON’T MISS THIS MONTH’S BADGE OF HONOR ON PAGE 124 The BLUES 19