Congratulations to Sgt. Gerry Newbeck of Bayview Station, and Officer Albern "Al" Ciudad of Central Station, as they have been chosen as this year's winners of the Academy of Art University of San Francisco scholarship. I am so pleased for both Gerry and Al and their families as these scholarships will afford them a wonderful gift and tremendous opportunity to enhance their futures.
Gerry and Al were chosen for this award based upon the essay each wrote expressing why they wanted to attend the Academy of Art University. Gerry and Al have been very popular members of our department and association for some time and are very deserving of such honors. Al has been a member of the SFPD since July of 1997 while Gerry has been with the department since June of 1999.
I would also like to congratulate Miss Alyssa Juco, daughter of Officer Glenn Juco (permanently assigned to Tenderloin Station) who received a very special Presidential Scholarship to the University and will be attending this prestigious and world-class institution beginning in September. Alyssa has participated in the Academy of Art's "Summer Art Experience" program the last two years and has really impressed members of the university with her work and desire in the field of art.
I would like to this opportunity to personally thank Dr. Elisa Stephens, President of the Academy of Art University, for her overwhelming generosity and kindness to our members and their families. Dr. Stephens and her wonderful staff, including Ms. Sallie Huntting, Alexandra Chope, and Helen Riesenhoover, have been just great to work with. They have all been so accommodating to the Police Officers' Association in the past and certainly present day and have made the four-year university scholarship as well as the Summer art Experience a tremendous success.
I would like to remind the recipients of the Summer Art Experience scholarships (for sons and daughters of our members in high school) of the Scholarship Award Dinner which will be held on Friday, May 14, 2010 from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the Academy of Art University Gallery located at 79 New Montgomery Street. Please make every effort to attend this outstanding event to celebrate your children's accomplishments.
The winning essays by Gerry Newbeck and Al Ciudad, along with an essay by Miss Alyssa, can be viewed in this edition of The Journal.
Once again, congratulations and good luck to Gerry, Al and Alyssa…we're very proud of and very happy for you!
Special Concert…
The San Francisco Bach Choir, under the direction of Corey Jamison, will present the premiere concert of American music celebrating American heroes titled, Thanksgiving For Heroes, a concert in honor of those who serve the community in their daily lives, and those that have given their lives to protect the lives of others.
There will be two (2) concerts, and they will be performed at Calvary Presbyterian church located at 2515 Fillmore Street, the corner of Jackson Street. The first will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 8:00 pm and the second on Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 4:00 pm.
Complimentary tickets will be available - by reservation - to members of our department and their families. Please contact Ms. Sharon Gustavson at 415-922-6562 or by e-mail at singet@sbcglobal.net.
The POA will announce this concert to all members through a department bulletin.
I would like to thank Mr. Michael Jordin, Ms. Sharon Gustavson and the members of San Francisco Bach Choir for their wonderful invitation and recognition of police officers as first responders to those in crisis.
The San Francisco Bach Choir is the oldest volunteer choir in the United States of America! To learn more about the San Francisco Bach Choir or their new work, Thanksgiving For Heroes, please go to their website at sfbach.org.
Please plan to attend this concert with your family and friends. It promises to be a great event and tribute to the men and women in blue.
Hospital Visit…
My very special thanks to Airport Rep., Sgt. Joe Finigan, for his part in gathering a great group of officers who made our monthly visit to UCSF. On Wednesday, April 14th the officers played educational games with some wonderful youngsters in the afternoon, and then return in the evening to hang out with some cool teens in the "Teen Lounge." Joe was joined by Katherine Culbertson, Jamie Ongpin, Steve Ryan, and "The Great" Jonathan Fong who works at the Airport Range. Later that evening, I was joined by Joe, Michelle Matli, and officers Josh Olson and Mel Maunu of Northern Station who proved to be very efficient in getting crushed playing video games by teens while at the same time I was being stripped of all dignity while getting beat up by some very talented teen while playing foos-ball.
As usual, a great time was had by all and some of the visiting cops asked me when they could come back to visit again. Sometimes it's hard to tell who had the better time…the cops or the kids…thanks again guys, I am very grateful for your kindness and consideration.
Live Music Fridays…
Thanks to Captain Al Casciato of the Narcotics Detail for passing along that the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club will be presenting live music on Friday nights. Most of the music is jazz or easy listening oriented. The next show is scheduled for Friday, April 30th and will feature the A. Dudnick Duo featuring guest jazz singers. For more information and a schedule of future shows go to clubevents@sfiac.org or call 415-781-0165. The SFIAC is located at 1630 Stockton Street in the heart of North Beach …
10-25…Help needed…
The Catastrophic Illness Program is in need of donor hours. As of April 1, 2010 four (4) members are in need and three (3) of our members have family health issues that require special care. Please consider donating SP or VA time to members (employees) or VA time only for Family Member.
Catastrophic Illness Program - Employee- May receive SP OR Vacation time: #000939…confidential (Co. B); #001471…officer Alice Dicroce (Co. C); #001542…Officer John Mulkern (MTA); #001548…Sgt. Karen Lynch///Catastrophic Illness program- Family member- may receive Vacation time only: #001534 Officer Lisa Curry (Co. C); #001487 Officer Lisa Torres (Compstat).
Just as a reminder to our members in regards to the transfer conditions of the C.I.P.; transfer must be in units of eight (8) hours; i.e., 8, 16, 24, 32, etc: maximum of 160 hours per pay period - 80 hours per individual C.I.P.; Marital status or spousal consent must be completed; Once transferred, all donations are irrevocable; May transfer to C.I.P. pool or individual once per pay period and Donations are subject to San Francisco Administrative Code.
Recipients in are always very grateful for the kindness and consideration of our members in this regard.
Please contact Officer Pat Burley at the Behavioral Science Unit at 415-837-0875 or Kevin Martin at Behavioral Science or the POA 415-861-5060 For further information regarding this most worthwhile and helpful program. Thanks in advance for your participation.
Community Teamwork…
It's a winner! Sgt. Lisa Frazer recently brought this item to my attention and thought it very newsworthy. The good Sergeant was made aware of many complaints in the area of the 700 block of Market and 700 block of Mission Street of a transient who had been assaulting women in the Street and in the vicinity of St. Patrick's Church. There are currently three (3) open court cases as a result of this "homeless" man who has a very bad habit of grabbing and touching women. To help stem this problem, Sgt. Frazer requested a "Stay Away Order" on behalf of the church. The Judge receiving the request from the Sgt. issued a Stay Away Order" for only the interior of the church but not from the vicinity thereof.
The suspect in the open cases was then seen on a daily basis loitering about the entrances and grounds of the church and essentially was still an active menacing miscreant to women on the street.
On March 25, Sgt. Frazer received information from the District Attorney's Office that there was to be another hearing on March 29, 2010 to amend the Stay Away Order and expand the area of said order to further protect women in the area.
Sgt. Frazer got the word out to community leaders and through the great cooperation of St. Patrick's Church, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, The Yerba Buena Community Benefits District and the San Francisco Police Department, fifteen (15) citizen's arrived for the hearing and were prepared to testify in Department 16. The mere presence of these concerned citizens in the courtroom was enough to persuade the Judge to expand the boundaries to 250 yards prohibiting the suspect from being in the area of his prior criminal acts.
Sgt. Frazer notes that "The men and women of the San Francisco Police Department can only do our part to bring criminals to justice. We need the partnership and cooperation of concerned citizens to support our efforts by getting involved and letting their concerns be known. I truly believe the presence of these citizens definitely influenced the Judges decision as he knew his actions and words were not going unnoticed by the community." Good work, Sergeant! Thanks for reminding us that quite often our successes are the result of teamwork.
Teamwork continued…
Congratulations to Lt. Michael Flynn and Sgt. Gene Galeano both of Southern Police Station for their outstanding work and leadership at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. Mike and Gene coordinate and supervise the Ballpark Detail. It was recently reported that the San Francisco Police Department received a 98% rating by fans and employees of major league baseball for the overall outstanding work during the 2009 baseball season. This outstanding rating is also a clear reflection upon all the men and women of this department assigned to the many facets of game day operations.
From a solid police communications team to the officers handling the details of every pre and post game responsibilities and all that goes on during the game, the members of this department are absolutely on top of their game.
The San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Giants organization have always enjoyed a great relationship whether at Candlestick Park where the Giants played from 1960 through 1999 until Pacific Bell Park (currently AT&T Park) opened in 2000. Many of the senior members of the department remember the days of Candlestick Park when the game-day details were run by Diaramid Philpott and Mario Busalacchi, then later by Tony Novello and Bert Olsen who were in charge of the detail during the 1989 Bay Bridge World Series between the Giants and A's. I wonder how many current members of our department were assigned to Candlestick Park for Game 3 of the series (first Giants home game of the series) that featured the great earthquake not too long before the first pitch was thrown. What a memorable experience that was! Hey, Joe Pieralde, do you remember that day? (Joe was featured in a photo as seen in Sports Illustrated).
Speaking of Candlestick, how many of our readers and officers in the department remember seeing the recently retired Rickey Terrell as a permanent fixture in the visitor's dugout with his trademark toothpick protruding from his mouth. I'm sure Rickey has some great memories of Dodger games in which he was often called upon to break up fights between Giant fans and Dodger players.
Don Carlson took the helm with Greg McEachern when the new ballpark opened in 2000 and their leadership included the 2002 World Series and later on Greg took over to run the show with Bill Roualdes.
The above listed members both current and retired have provided some outstanding leadership for this department and created a tradition of excellence that obviously has carried over to current day.
Not too long ago, Sgt. Mario Busalacchi (retired) visited the POA and regaled Steve Johnson and me with some great and funny stories of his Candlestick Park exploits. Mario had us laughing with his accounts of some very interesting incidents out there. It was great to see you Mario…come by more often…
The Department's high rating was based on overall job performance, relations with fans and staff, knowledge of the ball park, communications, courtesy and of course, professionalism. I know Mike and Gene would pass the accolades onto the members of the department who work at the games on an overtime and detailed basis but it is their provided leadership that guides the officers working the games. Way to go guy's on a job well done!
This month's column is dedicated to one of the outstanding veteran members of our department and association. Officer Miguel Granados # 826 has been a fixture at Mission Station for over twenty-five years and has served the station and its members in a great variety of assignments. Always very popular and a natural leader with wisdom and humor, Miguel is as highly respected and popular with members of the community as he is with his fellow Blue Knights. Miguel joined the San Francisco Police Department on January 4, 1982 and has just as much enthusiasm and love for the job today as he did when he walked through the doors of this great institution of ours known as the SFPD.
I have always looked up to Miguel as a mentor since I was a member of the Sheriff's Department and Miguel encouraged me to join the "Boy's in Blue".
Miguel is the embodiment of the inscription on our SFPD patch; "Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra". "Gold in Peace, Iron in War".
Thanks, Miguel for being such a great mentor to so many of the younger members of our department but also for maintaining such a great attitude and spirit for all these years…
See you guy's next month…Go Giants…Go Yankee's…Red Sox are chumps!
