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This & That…

December 1, 2011
Kevin M Martin SFPOA Vice-President

It was a true Family [House] Thanksgiving…

I hope every one of you had a great Thanksgiving Holiday and took advantage of every opportunity to spend time with friends and loved ones.

I know that many members of our department were involved in several holiday functions around the city this Thanksgiving. One event that has become a favorite tradition is the cooking of a Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings for the wonderful people, staff, and guests of UCSF Family House at 50 Irving Street.

As many of you know, Family House is a place of refuge for families who have infants or young children admitted to UCSF Hospital for a serious illness. Many are families of the children we visit each month. Family House has been exceptionally kind and generous to members of ours and other police departments in need.

Paul Gould, Director of Operations at Family House is a real great guy and is wonderful to work with, as is the entire staff.

One of the better aspects of cooking the Thanksgiving Dinner at Family House is that sons and daughters of our members involved in the effort are encouraged and allowed to participate in the festivities, as well making it a real family event!

This year was no different. We had several volunteers, some new ones and some “old timers” who joined us for a great day of cooking, laughing, talking, watching football and, of course, eating turkey with the families.

My beautiful and talented wife Ellen Marie, along with our daughter Grace, joined forces with Commander Lyn Tomioka and her husband Kirk (both whom have volunteered at Family House for the past four Thanksgivings -- as long as we’ve been doing this!); Tony Flores and his very lovely daughters Monica and Jessica; “The Great” Joe Finigan and his lovely wife Linda and their adult children Doug and Krista; and Al “The Carver” Wurdinger (also a fourth year volunteer); POA Treasurer Marty Halloran; and last but certainly not least, Edie Lewis of Traffic Company who is truly one of San Francisco’s Finest. Edie is a wonderful person who gives so much of herself to so many people. With all the volunteer work and mentoring that Edie does, it’s a wonder that she was able to find time to help out at Family House…but that’s Edie, always putting others before herself. Edie is a great representative and diplomat for the department and certainly for this association.

We also had a very special volunteer with us for the first time, Christine Pubill, daughter of Jose “Nido” and Kathy Pubill who did an outstanding job making the pumpkin pies and the punch with our daughter, Grace.

The shopping was done the day before at Arguello Super with the assistance of Sal Qaqunda. Sal is just a great guy and friend and supporter of the POA.

The helping hands met at ten o’clock when the menu was discussed and the assignments delegated. Everyone kept busy working together until finally at four o’clock the masterpiece dinner was ready to be served. With Al carving the turkey, and Joe slicing the ham, we were in business and ready to go!

All enjoyed the great meal and the guests of Family House were very happy to have the opportunity to have a taste of home cooking.

My very special thanks to all the above named volunteers who made this great day possible. Each of you was responsible for bringing joy and happiness to some very deserving people. Thank you all very much.

 

Where does the time go…

It amazes me just how quickly this year has passed by with 2012 knocking on the door.

Many notable events took place this year in our own department, including the naming of Greg Suhr as our Chief of Police.

Without going into the matter too deeply, let’s just say it is very nice to have “One of our own” back in the saddle.

I am very pleased the way things turned out and it appears that our ship is on the right course once again; especially in light of the recent election results which saw Mayor Lee effectively elected to a four year term, and the great success of the Prop “C” victory and the significant defeat of Prop “D.”

Those victories have virtually ensured that our contract will remain intact through 2015, which is of great relief to many (…and much to the chagrin of a few ignoble others.)

In a year marred with violence against police and an alarming rate of police officers killed in the line of duty, (as of this writing) I am so grateful that our members have been free of grave violence. I thank God, our training, our instincts, our partners, our fellow officers, and our will to fight back and survive the violence of others against us for this good fortune.

I am very grateful for and pleased with the more “hands-on” and aggressive approach to our employment of defensive tactics in the field.

The Defensive Tactics instructors at the academy are doing an outstanding job of keeping us on top of our game and keeping us healthy and safe. Thanks guys!

We solemnly remembered the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks on our country with memorial services at City Hall with elected officials and honored guests; at AT&T Park with the San Francisco Giants with a truly wonderful and memorable pre-game ceremony event involving members of the San Francisco Police Department and members of the Sheriff’s Department. (Just in case you forgot Greg Neal, the G-men thumped the bums that day 8-1!)

It was only a few months before the 9/11 Ceremonies were observed by Americans and Citizen’s of the World when an elite team of Navy Seals fatally wounded the Adolf Hitler of our time, Osama Bin Laden, in a swift, calculated operation under the watchful eye of our Commander in Chief. You can rest assured that not many tears were shed at the loss of such a human monster. Enough said.

Our department is one in transition. In almost no time at all, our department will see all 267 members currently in the DROP retire and leave the department. This crisis-in-the-making is due in large part to a failure on the part of the Board of Supervisors to extend the DROP beyond June 30, 2011. The department is taking measures for this mass exodus by implementing changes that they and the city hope will keep the department effective and efficient.

 

If it’s November, it must mean politics…

The political landscape of the city is once again changing with the introduction of “Rank Choice Voting” to our voters and very important Supervisorial elections in key districts about the city in the upcoming year.

Through it all, our department and its outstanding members, the best cops in the world, continue to do an outstanding job day in and day out. We do our job professionally and with great integrity because that’s what is expected of us all. This is a world-class city with a world-class police department.

We exercise great compassion and generous community outreach to the residents and neighborhoods of San Francisco through our many sponsored programs such as The Police Athletic League; The Wilderness Program; The Fishing Program and through the donations to many local charities and organizations through our Community Services Committee.

We are called upon by so many to do so much…and we answer the call. Whether it’s handling a call for service; spending time coaching or mentoring youths; visiting sick children at the hospital; tending to a senior citizen who just needs a friendly ear and a few minutes; chasing a purse snatch suspect down a dark alley in the middle of the night in the rain; standing on line at a demo (we’ve done a lot of that lately!) or addressing a group of concerned citizens at a community meeting, we always answer the call. We go where few dare…we deal with some of the very sickest, deranged and violent people society has to offer…we run towards danger when so many run the other way…as they should. We listen to those who have no one to talk to, we offer counsel, advice and encouragement to those who are trying to do it right…we feed the hungry, we talk the severely depressed out of taking their lives, we protect the vulnerable and the weak…we’re cops, it’s what we do. And, we do all that very well!

It is easy to get discouraged and frustrated when we become targets of unfair criticism. It is very disheartening to see a political hack making a name and headlines for him or her self by attacking honest and hardworking cops for doing their jobs! It’s even more disingenuous when it happens during a political campaign. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this crap and it sure as hell won’t be the last because this is what these losers do. They have little or no substance to their campaign, so they go after big targets like the uniformed cops. The media doesn’t blink, either, because cops make the news, and the news sells the papers and the TV commercials. Of course, levelheaded people see through these staged crises, and the offending candidate ends up more often than not with a very dismal showing at the ballot box.

Sadly, there is no regard for these officers or their families. They have to live through this hell for what must seem forever. Their lives and careers are put on hold indefinitely. It’s really rather sad to see this happen. Disgusting and infuriating indeed. But in the end, just really, really sad.

I know the officers will emerge triumphantly from this madness because they are right and just. They are honest, hardworking, professional and with great integrity.

They will survive this ordeal because they are men of strong faith and good moral character; so much more than their accuser.

 

Holiday Gift ideas…

If you’re looking for a great holiday gift for family or friends, consider some outstanding barbeque sauces and barbeque spice rubs from our good friend Spencer O’Meara and his lovely sweetheart Sara Burchard who have formed S&S Brand. Spencer is the Executive Chef at the Paragon Restaurant, and has developed an outstanding line of barbeque sauces and dry rubs just in time for Christmas. Spencer has been involved with many POA and Police Department events in the past such as the Torch Run for Special Olympics and Make a Wish. Spencer is a great guy who is a friend of the cops!

Go on line to www.sandsbrand.com or call 415-994-3384 for more information or to order some of the very best barbeque sauces around!

Support Spencer and Sara and give some great holiday gifts your family and friends will really love!

 

This year’s final thoughts…

As this year draws to a close, I want to take this time to I wish you all a joyous and peaceful season of light and love! God Bless you all and thanks so much for the great year! May all your holiday dreams come true!

See you next year, and may all of your winter dreams come true … except for the Red Sox fans.