A time to relax

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year

Love Marie and Sam



Home for Christmas

A New Chapter, US Offically Ends Iraq War

Not only do I hope these men and women of the military are home for the holidays but I hope it'll be home for good.

:(

I had a dream early this morning about getting a "Home Safe" text from Sam. It was in poem form and a little longer than usual. I guess when I woke up around 4am I didn't think much of it. I woke up again at 6am thinking about the text, I rolled over to look. I had no unread texts from nor did I have a text saying he was home from work. I sent him a quick one asking if he was home. A few minutes later I get a phone call from him. He starts off with "So to make a long story short".

And yes, to make the long story short because thats the only version I have; he started to have chest pains at the beginning of the shift and thought nothing of it, that they'll go away by the end of the shift. Well I'm not sure exactly when he went to the ER, if it was during shift or at the end this morning, but he got admitted and is still there.

I hope nothing its nothing serious. It was in his voice though, I could something was off when he started talking. He seemed fine though yesterday when he left for work. :(

All Men are created equal, then few become Police Officers

Darn! I meant to post this before, however, I've been forcing myself to take withdrawls from the computer since I'm on it 8 hours straight and then some Monday thru Friday with occassional Saturdays like the one I'll be working tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful officer. I can't believe he's been with the department for 2 years already. He just grumbled about it when I brought it up. There have been some ups and downs that he and myself have encountered in this past year. I snagged this from Mrs. Fuzz's blog on looking back through this past year:

• attended and completed radiation training making him qualified to assist in a nuclear emergency. He just attended a training scenario a week ago at the power plant.
• RADAR Gun Operator Certification. Speeders beware! He can also judge a car's speed just by eyeballin' it; he likes to get "two-fers" or "three-fers" when he pulls over speeders: not wearing their seatbelts and outstanding warrants.
• Was able to get back to duty after 2 months and with physical therapy with no problem after a leg injury during a chase with a suspect the day after completing radar classes. His knee though still gives him pain but that's because there's a bone fragment floating around in there.
• CIT training certified - he gets to wear a shiny pin on his uniform and can affectively encounter and diffuse situations involving mentally unstable individuals.
• He's been recognized by the department in catching restaurant grease theives.

I think that's all the big stuff that happened toward the end of last year and this year. He's looking to apply for a position with the detective bureau. That'll get him another step closer into working traffic homicides which was his goal when we first started dating. I'm so proud of my man. :)

A Thanksgiving apart

Thanksgiving and Christmas are times when family and friends who have off travel the long (or short) miles to come and exchange good times, delicious food and watch football. Holidays are a little different when a loved one happens to be an officer.

Last year we were lucky to have Sam over for dinner. If it weren't for that knee injury, he probably would have worked the holiday. It was also the first year we had two Thanksgiving dinners in one day. Talk about sleeping on a full stomach.

This year my Thanksgiving has been stretched over the week. Because he is working tonight, we had Thanksgiving dinner with his family on Sunday. Yup full on turkey dinner. But I'm missing him tonight. Everyone is here at the table laughing and eating, then gathered around the tv for football. And he's out there patroling the streets probably getting shot at and called a racist nazi pig. Not how I or he would want to spend his Thanksgiving. But I can't be selfish. If he wasn't out there, someone else's officer would be and others are in the same boat as me and his family.

So Happy Thanksgiving to everyone near and far. And if your officer is out there tonight, may he be watched over and kept safe so you can have Thanksgiving together when he comes home.

Busy for the holidays

So for the past few weeks my schedule has been rearranged. Five days a week I've been waking up at 4:45am to leave the house at 5:40am to be at work by 6am...unless I'm at Sam's because then I have to leave at 20 after. Atleast I get to leave at 2:30pm, that's if I don't work overtime. Sam's jealous about the hours and especially the overtime. The company practically hands it out like Halloween candy. Whenever we want to work overtime, need extra hours or a little extra money we can work overtime. So nice. Though I feel like an old woman lately since my bedtime every night is between 9 or 9:30pm.

Upside! I'm finally employeed making decent money and hours just in time for the holidays. Downside is that some family members are expecting some nice gifts this year.

Great news

Yay!! Everybody jump for joy! I finally got a job after what seems like forever. This one, however I didn't even apply for. A neighbor of mine recommended me for a data entry position that opened up at the company he's been working for since I've known him. I showed up there this afternoon thinking it would be a simple tour of the facility and interview. Well they were ready for me to start that afternoon! But I'll start Monday since there is paperwork that needs to be filed and I have to attend a safety orientation for new hires (the woman who is in charge of it wasn't there today), and the woman who was going to train me was getting off work. Right now its only a temporary full-time position and I'm being hired as a contractor but I'm hoping and so was the man who gave me the job that it leads to a permanent position.

Sam is happy too because this will mean I get to move out of my parents' house and in with him. And we'll get to see each other every day. So much is changing on my upcoming 25th birthday in a few days and I'm loving it.

10-7B

I'm taking a small hiatus from a few things as I try and regroup. My Grandpa suffering from Alzheimer's/Dementia recently came to live with us at my parent's house. Over the past two weeks he just continued to deteriorate at a rapid pace until he eventually passed away early Friday morning. His funeral service is next Friday and we'll be busy accomodating family that'll be flying in during the week.

As for me, I'm doing okay. I'm extremely exhausted though and everyone has been very supportive.

Courageous

Just got an email about this movie that came out today. Anybody have thoughts on it or have heard of this film?



Courageous, official website

Luck have anything to do with it?

I'm constantly reminded by almost everyone that Sam is lucky to have me. Truth be told, I'm very lucky and blessed to have him.

No news?

I usually hear about Sam's night at work from him the next day. Sometimes I hear about things that happen in his city on the online news sites, but just the little things or some murders. I think they're up to 19 in just this year alone. There are days when I hear about his nights that I'm in disbelief it didn't make it to the news especially when some stories do that aren't necessarily newsworthy in my opinion.

I would think a police chase involving 25 cruisers through a few towns in the county would get some air time. Sam was excited about it. He said he was about the 5th car behind the guy. They eventually caught the guy who hit a car and fled the scene with injuries. Oh well, I'll just have to get my unofficial official news report from him later.
9/21/2011: Just a small edit! Turns out there was an article that ran online (posted a few hours after my post). The man ran from police because of a suspended license and for having cocaine in the car. I also stand corrected as Sam informed me there were 35 cruisers following him including FHP, Sheriff's Department and another city police department within the county along with Sam's department.

Probably not as newsworthy, a few nights prior Sam and one of his zone partners, Dan, rescued a baby opossum in some lady's house. I thought that was adorable :)

NFL's 9/11 - Chicago's Soldier Field

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=7ffd9bd2-2505-400f-a6b1-1a97efcb4841" target="_new" title="">The NFL's 9/11 Remembrance</a>

Oh the Keeper of Men

(images courtesy of: treasuredheros on Ebay)
10 years. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long. With all the media memorials on TV these past few days it feels like only yesterday I was sitting in my math class freshman year of high school. I remember that being one of the big questions people would always ask: 'Do you remember where you were that day?'. That day shook me, because my family and I had just visited New York City earlier that summer. I don't remember if we even visited the towers during our visit. :(

For this year my family and I will be attending a memorial ceremony this evening at a near by high school. I'll be wearing my thin blue line lapel pin for that and probably the rest of the month. Not sure what Sam will be doing.

I have a feeling that something similar will be taking place at fire houses around the nation, but this is what our neighboring county is participating for the Moment of Remembrance:

U.S. Senate resolution S. Res. 237 is calling on all Americans to participate in a Moment of Remembrance on September 11, 2011.

At 1 p.m., Sunday all fire engines and rescue trucks in St. Lucie County will sound their sirens for 20-30 seconds. St. Lucie County Law Enforcement will be joining firefighters at the fire stations for this Moment of Remembrance.

The U.S. Senate resolution calls for first responders, houses of worship, towns, and others throughout the country to sound sirens and bells as a signal for everyone to stop and remember the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

I meant to post this a little later in the day and not at 2am, but since I have to care for my Grandpa at night I figured I might as well post it now.

You are never forgotten if one person remembers

(image copyright 2011 by WPBF.com. All rights reserved.)

This story is similar to a story in April I posted about the firefighter who ran the Boston Marathon in full uniform. Palm Beach County Firefighter Aaron Piering says he's running (or rather ran) the Jeff Annas Memorial Firefighters 5K Run in full bunker gear in honor of those men, women and all those who perished in the September 11th attacks. He was able to raise $3,000 to benefit local charities including "Little Smiles", which benefits children with cancer.

I wonder if it was on purpose that he was given the number 343?

Roll Call - September

K9 Troll (aka: Troll von der Schwarzen Nister)
Elmore City Police Department, Oklahoma
EOW: Thursday, September 1, 2011
Cause of Death:

K9 Nitto
Ridgecrest Police Department, California
EOW: Sunday, September 4, 2011
Cause of Death:

MWD K9 Bart
United States Marine Corp
EOW: Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Cause of Death:
*received the rank of Sergeant

Corporal Kevin Aigner
Travis County Constable's Office, Precinct 2, Texas
EOW: Saturday, September 10, 2011
Cause of Death: Duty related illness

K9 Pablo
Norman Police Department, Oklahoma
EOW: Saturday, September 10, 2011
Cause of Death: Natural causes

Police Officer Sherman Abrams
New York City Police Department, New York
EOW: Monday, September 12, 2011
Cause of Death: Heart Attack

Police Officer Eric Charles Fontes
Honolulu Police Department, Hawaii
EOW: Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault

Sergeant Joseph Szczerba
New Castle County Police Department, Delaware
EOW: Friday, September 16, 2011
Cause of Death: Stabbed

Deputy Sheriff Derrick Whittle
Union County Sheriff's Office, Georgia
EOW: Sunday, September 18, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Trooper Mark Toney
Iowa State Patrol, Iowa
EOW: Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

K9 Cezar
Brewster Police Department, New York
EOW: Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Cause of Death: Cancer

(6/5)

Roll Call - August

Detective Tina Rambo
Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, New Jersey
EOW: Monday, August 1, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Deputy Sheriff David Jennings Dawson, III
Greene County Sheriff's Office, North Carolina
EOW: Monday, August 1, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Trooper Frederick "Fred" F. Guthrie, Jr.
Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri
EOW: Monday, August 1, 2011
Cause of Death: Drowned (Presumed drowned, body yet to be recovered)

K9 Reed
Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri
EOW: Monday, August 1, 2011
Cause of Death: Drowned

K9 Dakota
Connecticut State Police Department, Connecticut
EOW: Monday, August 1, 2011
Cause of Death: unknown medical reasons

Police Officer J. Ryan McCandless
Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota
EOW: Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Bohden
Fresno County Sheriff's Office, California
EOW: Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Cause of Death: Heat exhaustion

Probation/Parole Officer II Jeffrey "Jeff" Settle
North Carolina Department of Correction - Division of Community Corrections, North Carolina
EOW: Thursday, August 4, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

MWD K9 Bart
U.S. Government, U.S. Navy
EOW: Saturday, August 6, 2011
Cause of Death: Helicopter crash, Causalty of War

K9 Hatos
St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office, Louisiana
EOW: Saturday, August 6, 2011
Cause of Death: Heat stroke

K9 Hercules
Lawrenceville Police Department, Georgia
EOW: Saturday, August 6, 2011
Cause of Death: Illness
*achieved the rank of Sergeant

Police Officer Jeremy Henwood
San Diego Police Department, CA
EOW: Sunday, August 7, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

Police Officer Nick Armstrong
Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota
EOW: Sunday, August 7, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

Corporal John Kendall
Louisiana Department of Public Safety Police, Louisiana
EOW: Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Police Offficer Robert A. Lasso
Freemansburg Borough Police Department, Pennsylvania
EOW: Thursday, August 11, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Barry
Modesto Police Department, California
EOW: Monday, August 15, 2011
Cause of Death: Seizure

Police Officer Evan Burns
Caruthersville Police Department, Missouri
EOW: Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault

Police Officer Bart Child
United States Department of Defense - Fort Huachuca Police Department, US Government
EOW: Thursday, August 18, 2011
Cause of Death: Heart attack

Constable Ross R. Potter
Carter County Sixth District Constable's Office, Tennessee
EOW: Friday, August 19, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

K9 Apollo
Hartford Police Department, Connecticut
EOW: Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Cause of Death: unknown

K9 Cade
Burton Police Department, MI
EOW: Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Police Officer Justin Sollohub
Anniston Police Department, Alabama
EOW: Thursday, August 25, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

Sergeant Mark Scianna
Bexar County Constable's Office, Precinct 3, Texas
EOW: Saturday, August 27, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Agent Emiliano Torres-Soto
Puerto Rico Police Department, Puerto Rico
EOW: Sunday, August 28, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Possum
Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, Louisiana
EOW: Sunday, August 28, 2011
Cause of Death: Seizure (possibly linked to brain tumor or other neurological or vascular abnormality)

Mickey C "Mik"
Mounted Patrol Chicago Police Department, Chicago
EOW: Sunday, August 29, 2011
Cause of Death: Seizure

Probation Officer Tiffany Bishop
Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia
EOW: Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Accidental)

K9 Buddy
Springfield Police Department, Missouri
EOW: August 2011
Cause of Death:

(16/11/1)

A dog has one aim in life. To bestow his heart. - J.R. Ackerley (part 2)

(photo by Lisa Pembleton / Getty Images)

Article by: Scogg Stump, TODAY.com contributor; updated 8/25/11 9:54:58 AM ET

Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson lay in a coffin, draped in an American flag, in front of a tearful audience mourning his death in Afghanistan. Soon an old friend appeared, and like a fellow soldier on a battlefield, his loyal dog refused to leave him behind.

This picture reminds me of the ending scene to Where The Red Fern Grows, in the movie...coinicidentily its the only part of the movie I did see.

"The U.S. led coalition said in a statement that 30 American service members, a civilian interpreter and seven Afghan commandos were killed when their CH-47 Chinook crashed in the early hours Saturday. A current U.S. official and a former U.S. official said the Americans included 22 Navy SEALS, three Air Force air controllers and a dog handler and his dog."

Feel like a million Bucs

I hoping that's what he's going to feel like in a few weeks. My diabolical plan is quickly coming together. About two days ago, I purchased 2 tickets to the Bucs Monday night football game in early October. Yay! They aren't the seats I was hoping for because honestly I waited too long to buy them but I'm sure he'll enjoy them regardless.

This is part of his anniversary gift for being with the department for two years come November. No doubt he deserves it for all the hard work he does. It'll be nice too to actually see them play. Last year during football season, he was working Sundays and Mondays, not that it mattered when it came to watching his team play. Even though there are a number of Tampa fans here on the East Coast of Florida, their games were blacked out on TV so he couldn't watch them even if he was off. They should've showed their games more since they made it to the playoffs last season. He has the good shift now where he has off Sundays and Mondays, so he can watch football (once he gets that cable fixed).

Now I just have to wait for the tickets to arrive in the mail so I can surprise him. I even bought myself a Bucs shirt, thanks to Old Navy of all places. Not even the sports memorabilia shops in our town have Bucs gear. I can't wait to surprise him!

Pray for you

This about sums up how I've been feeling for the past week now, and thanks to the radio on my drive to work today I have a song to describe my emotions. Thank you Jaron and The Long Road To Love.

So the one time I'm not at the house when my brother visits on his work release furlough something of mine turns up missing. A pair of $80 Skullcandy headphones given to me by Sam as a Christmas gift last year. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt but honestly his name was the first I thought of when searching for them last Thursday night, nevertheless I didn't say it allowed. I still hadn't gotten a good search of the house or at Sam's house. And here we are. After going through the house multiple times including this afternoon and confirming that it isn't at Sam's, my brother is the only conclusion I can draw. I sent him a message over Facebook, not accusing him but simply asking if he had seen the headphones on his Wednesday visit. He said he didn't but said he would have thought of him first too given his past history. Not entirely convinced, I sent another message saying the headphones were important as they had been a gift from Sam. No reply on that one yet.

My mom texted me last night asking if I thought he had taken them. Yes, I think he did. I can't prove but I think he did. She wants to give me money to go and buy another pair. Not exactly the solution I want.

I told Sam about it and the other day he sounded ready to arrest my brother. My brother doesn't know that Sam is an officer and I'm pretty close to playing that card. Ugh. Today though Sam did suggest that I could make a report with our sheriff's office and list him as a suspect. It's something I'm considering at this point.

I didn't talk to him today when he was over since it is his birthday but I would like to confront him face to face or on the phone and ask him about the headphones again. And it isn't necessarily about the headphones, though I do want them back because they were a gift but it's more about him. He says constantly that he's doing better and he's changed, something I personally don't believe. He's trying to pull the wool over every one's eyes, which he's never been good at , especially with me. I just wish he'd grow up and stop doing this stupid shit that got him in trouble in the first place. He has a good thing going and I don't want him to mess up over headphones.

First Responders left off the guest list

I'm just so appalled. I just don't know how to express myself. I was just made aware through a friend's post on Facebook and this article: First responders excluded from 9-11 ceremony. To think they weren't invited to any of the ceremonies is a blatant lack of respect. We go on and on about patriotism and how we'll never forget those who gave their lives for others and this is how the city shows their appreciation is an outrage. I'd like to know who'd be invited over these survivors other than the families who lost their loved ones. And if space is the concern, find a bigger venue. All and all I just think they should've been included.

I hope some kind of justice and appreciation can be shown to these outstanding individuals.

Hero of the Week

So I only just saw this article: I won't photograph ugly people and the little blurb where people were praising her as a hero. I had to read it thinking how is this woman a hero for only wanting to photograph attractive people? There should be a more negative connotation to this matter. Well I have to admit they certainly catch your attention and force you to open up the article to read it. The photographer, Jennifer McKendrick wasn't about not photographing physically unattractive people. She is refusing to take photographs of students she has evidence of being bullies. I think this is her blog where she wrote about it.

I know its technically not police related but this is a growing concern we need to be more aware about because this is something that needs to be stopped before it becomes a police issue.

Well I hope everyone is having a happy Friday at least :)

Repost

Somewhere a cop is being yelled at for taking too long to get there; trying to save the life of a total stranger; holding his bladder because his radio just went off; starving because he missed a meal; having to keep a stone face at an accident scene where there's 2 dead kids; and now its 4 am, and he's missing HIS family while taking care of YOURS. Re-post if you are a cop, love a cop, or appreciate a cop.

This was mainly a Facebook thing Sam had on his, which I reposted but felt like reposting it here to for everyone else.

"The objective of the Citizen Police Academy is not to train an individual to be a “Reserve Police Officer” but to produce informed citizens..." - Taken from the National Citizens Police Academy Association

A neighboring sheriff's office, in the county of Sam's department, posted an article in the paper announcing the class and they still have openings. Its a 10 week course starting in September. I'm interested in participating. I just don't want to miss the first class because of work, it'll only be in the last few days of work anyways.

I'll go ahead and fill out the application and submit it. Hopefully, this is one application that'll get accepted. It may give me hope again about the job search.

Late night, busy mornings

Sam didn't get in until 6:30ish AM - 3 hours after the time he's supposed to be pulling in the driveway. This woman, he sent me a pic of her sitting in the cruiser, had gone and smeared hand lotion all over his cruiser's rear window. Needless to say he wasn't happy on all accounts. He said its not easy to get that stuff off his car either. I'm sure I'll be hearing about it tomorrow when I see him as well as the rest of his busy week.

EDIT (8/8/11): So I found out this morning that I had been misinformed. The woman who had smeared handlotion on his car was a fellow officer. She had actually smeared the lotion on his window because he had first messed with her window. I wish he'd clarify himself sometimes.

A birthday surprise

Sam's mom's birthday is coming up in another month or so and he went with his dad to pick out her present, a Taurus Model 94 (.22 long rifle). Similar to the gun she already owns, a .38 though.

Any who he has ultimately decided to let me in on a certain secret as well, that is my birthday present. I bet you can't guess what it is! What? I'll give you a hint: his mom is getting one this year. Yup he's going to get me a gun. ...Something that I don't have an interest, at least now, in owning. I spent the better half of the morning on Monday with him arguing that I didn't want it.

Guns are not cheap. His mom's was on the low end of $500. He complains about money for the house and bills; he's constantly taking extra details since the furlough stints just to bring in a couple extra paychecks. But he's such a hypocrite on the matter too. During his time off he was going to work two details but dropped them because he didn't want to think about work for eight days. He then dropped a detail from this past Sunday saying he just didn't want to go. Then I'm "kidnapped" and taken out for breakfast or dinner  about 4 different times in a row. He complains about it but then he goes and spends the money. He's got something up his sleeve.

No matter though, I'm going to fight him on this gun business. He doesn't need to be dropping another $500 or so dollars for a gun.

Maybe I'll ask him to get me something "normal" for my birthday....if that's at all possible. *smiles and shakes head*

Home visit

My brother is visiting again before my parents leave for Texas. He seems okay I guess, not really as changed as he puts on. He talks to us a bit but spends most his time on the computer on Facebook talking with people or playing some computer game. My parents buy him sugary drinks. Just the kinds of things that'll enable an addict. I don't know why they don't just offer him water or something without loads of sugar. He drinks coffee too which isn't the best because of the caffeine, but oh well. I just wish his visits were more productive of sorts.

...My mom just let it slip that Sam is a cop in front of him. I kind of wanted to keep it under wraps for a while. I worry for his safety just like he worries about mine, not that I don't think my brother would do anything stupid.

Roll Call - July

K9 Jeff
Jacksonville Police Department, Florida
EOW: Friday, July 1, 2011
Cause of Death: Animal attack (snake bite)

Sheriff Dee Stewart
Spalding County Sheriff's Department, Georgia
EOW: Sunday, July 3, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Deputy Sheriff John Mecklenburg
Hernando County Sheriff's Office, Florida
EOW: Sunday, July 3, 2011
Cause of Death: Vehicle pursuit, Automobile accident

Patrolman II Timothy Warren
Memphis Police Department, Tennessee
EOW: Sunday, July 3, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Hunter
Harpersville Police Department, Alabama
EOW: Monday, July 4, 2011
Cause of Death: Struck by vehicle

Patrol Officer Elieser "Eli" Colonroche
Sanford Police Department, North Carolina
EOW: Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Cause of Death: Training accident

Police Officer Bryan Mitchell Hebert
Beaumont Police Department, Texas
EOW: Friday, July 8, 2011
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault

Sergeant Steven Kenner
Bismarck Police Department, North Dakota
EOW: Friday, July 8, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

Police Officer Ryan Stringer
Alhambra Police Department, California
EOW: Sunday, July 10, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Police Officer Brent Long
Terre Haute Police Department, Indiana
EOW: Monday, July 11, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Badger
Dayton Police Department, Ohio
EOW: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Cause of Death: Accidental causes (ball lodged in throat)

K9 Rina
California State Park, California
EOW: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Cause of Death: unknown medical condition

Deputy Sheriff Roger Rice
Laurens County Sheriff's Office, South Carolina
EOW: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Lightcap
Fairfax County Police Department, Virginia
EOW: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Cause of Death: Cancer

Detective Fermin "Sonny" Archer
New York City Police Department, New York
EOW: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Agent Luis E. Gomez-Crespo
Puerto Rico Police Department, Puerto Rico
EOW: Friday, July 15, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

Hank
Mounted Patrol Belmont County Sheriff's Office, Ohio
EOW: Friday, July 15, 2011
Cause of Death: Blood loss

K9 Viper
Brunswick County Sheriff's Office
EOW: Saturday, July 16, 2011
Cause of Death: Poision (accidently bit into bag and ingested lethal amount of cocaine)

K9 Cheisa
Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio
EOW: Saturday, July 16, 2011
Cause of Death: Illness

K9 Cain
Salina Police Department, (state)
EOW: Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Cause of Death: Heat related

K9 Doss
McDonald County Sheriff's Department, MO
EOW: Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Cause of Death: old age

Deputy Sheriff Richard "Rick" Jerome Daly
Clayton County Sheriff's Office, Georgia
EOW: Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Ranger
Glasglow Police Department, Montana
EOW: Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Cause of Death: Animal attack (snake bite)

K9 Nitro
Kanawha County Sheriff's Department, West Virginia
EOW: Thursday, July 21, 2011
Cause of Death: unknown
*inducted with handler in American Police Hall of Fame in Florida

K9 Riley
Kanawha County Sheriff's Department, West Virginia
EOW: Thursday, July 21, 2011
Cause of Death: unknown
*inducted with handler in American Police Hall of Fame in Florida

K9 Sarah (aka Molly)
(department, state)
EOW: Monday, July 25, 2011
Cause of Death: unknown

K9 Dani
Santa Cruz Police Department, California
EOW: Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Cause of Death: unknown

K9 Cooper
Bartlesville Police Department, Oklahoma
EOW: Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Cause of Death: Heat related or poisioned (?)

K9 Blaze
Yorktown Heights Fire Department, New York
EOW: Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Cause of Death: Cancer

Deputy Sheriff Bryan P. Gross
Converse County Sheriff's Office, Wyoming
EOW: Thursday, July 28, 2011
Cause of Death: Drowned

K9 Jake
Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, West Virginia
EOW: Friday, July 29, 2011
Cause of Death: illness

Police Officer Daniel Ackerman
Buena Park Police Department, California
EOW: Saturday, July 30, 2011
Cause of Death: Duty related illness

Police Officer Russell Willingham
Winston-Salem Police Department, North Carolina
EOW: Saturday, July 30, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

K9 Dante
Falls Police Department, PA
EOW: Saturday, July 30, 2011
Cause of Death: Cancer

K9 Kayne
Blount County Police Department, Tennessee
EOW: Sunday, July 31, 2011
Cause of Death: Bloat

K9 Ruger
Cambridge Police Department, Ohio
EOW: July 2011
Cause of Death: unknown illness

K9 Tank
Concord Police Department, North Carolina
EOW: July 2011
Cause of Death: undetermined

(15/21/1)

Driving home from work today, I saw in the southbound lanes I saw numerous red flashing lights which immediately peeked my interest as usual. There wasn't a whole lot of traffic for 8pm on the highway but of course there isn't any traffic reports on the radio at that hour. As I approached, I saw two fire rescue trucks, two fire engines, two ambulances and a couple of trooper's patrol cars around another ambulance that had overturned on the side of I-95. I didn't see any other vehicles involved but then I had very limited sight at 75mph on the northbound side of the road.

Here's what I was able to find on RadioReference:
TRAFFIC ADVISORY 07/26/11 20:16 - (JUPITER - TAC 2A) UPDATE: DEPUTY CHIEF 1 INCIDENT COMMAND OF ROLL-OVER MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT INVOLVING COASTAL CARE AMBULANCE, MINOR INJURY, LANES BLOCKED [FLA172]

I didn't see any other news online, but I hope everyone involved are okay.

Happy Anniversary....AGAIN!

This post is quite belated in that the second half of my anniversary gift arrived last week. And I'm only getting around to posting now. The gift wasn't at all what I thought, or hoping it would be. Back when we first started dating last year, he introduced me to the computer game Portal. If you've never played, its the most frustrating game ever!!! Oh I hated Gladys. She was the worst. It's actually a fun game of puzzles but it does get frustrating after a while. Anywho, Sam got me a plush companion cube from the game:

Here's a rather "sad" video about it:

He's been threatening to incinerate it. *frowns*

Actually, since he didn't get what I thought he was going to get for me, which I had originally suggested to him, I decided to buy it for myself. *smiles* It just arrived in the mail today too. I'm not really a religious person but I think this saying has a lot of meaning behind it when it comes to the relationship we have. Sometimes too I'll catch myself praying for his good night at work and that nothing crazy happens on shift. So it's a "best friends" type necklace where each person wears a half...not sure if he'll wear it; he's not much a jewelry type I think but maybe he can just keep it in his patrol car or on his keychain. On the back is the Biblical passage Genesis 31:49 "Lord watch between me and thee while we're apart from one another"

I found this through friday_j's Ebay page. It's rather inexpensive and there are some other styles too - sterling silver and more pricey- if you search. I liked this one because of the shield style on the front but in a way I do wish I had gone with the more expensive one only for the clarity in the passage on the back. Maybe in the future, if this gets worn will I "upgrade" it.

Simple Machines

Sam and I are getting ready to go on another gruelling bike ride through the neighborhood. We just bought me a bike yesterday and I made the mistake of agreeing to go with him on a 5mile ride in the middle of the day. He's had his bike for I guess a month now and goes on 5 and 10mile rides just about everyday when he's not working...which means for the next eight days while he's off waiting to switch shifts he'll be on a bike ride, but not necessarily with me. We did about 4 and a half miles yesterday and I thought I was going to die.

My oh-so-glamorous look from yesterday after yesterday! He got me an ice pack to help cool me down.

We just got back from our ride of 2.8 miles. Shorter than he wanted only because some dark rain clouds chased back to the house. My blessing in disguise *laughs* Though I don't nearly as bad as yesterday so that's good. We'll probably go again Saturday when I'm back again.

Awards

I don't think Sam enjoys being publicly recognized for his work to the department. He definitely likes to brag about it to me but doesn't always bring it up. Like his CIT training. He never said he got a "diploma" for completing the class. I only found out after seeing his picture from his department's facebook album. He was like "Oh yeah" when I brought it up.

Well last week he did show me an email from his department with his name and others for awards they were to receive. He said he got a medal. When I asked to see it, he said they were going to place it in his mailbox since he didn't feel like going to the award ceremony earlier that same day. I couldn't believe him. *shakes head and smiles* Well I'll be sure to see it this week hopefully if he's taken it home, but I don't want him making this into a habit.

I can't wait when he gets his house in order to start putting stuff back up on the walls. He has a few paintings in the kitchen and bathroom. He did have some of his awards/plaques from the academy up on the wall in the living room but they came down once he painted. I think he should put them up in his office (if he ever paints in there). I also think his anniversary gift I'll be giving him in November will be a nice addition. Just sucks that I have to wait until the end of the year...well its only four more months.

I'm very proud of him ♥

Hero of the week

I think what Officer David Sedmak did was an act heroism. He did what any officer should have done, respond to an officer down call over the radio, which he heard over his scanner on May 7. Did he get a congratulations or a job well done? No, he was fired from his position "for dereliction of duty." I don't have any other specifics other than the article presented: Cop Fired for Responding to Officer Down Call

The article says that he failed to alert dispatch of his whereabouts when he responded to the officer down call. But I don't think termination was called for. I don't think what his employer made the right call on that and there are too many unknowns the article doesn't delve into. Its just a sad day when you get punished for wanting to the right thing and help someone in a dangerous situation.

I applaud what Officer Sedmak did for his fellow officers.

so...I'm back...

I know I said I was taking a slight break but I can't. Not because I'm feeling better. I don't think its even been an hour since my last post. I'm restless. Mostly because the first time I've heard from Sam all day, besides this morning when he got home, was 20 minutes ago. He's out working a shooting that just happened...20 or so minutes ago. I'm not worried, too much. I know he'll be fine and I'll get that text he's home safe in another couple of hours.

Worry is actually exhausting *laughs* So I'm going to finish watching this episode on tv and to bed with me.

M.I.A

Happy belated 4th! I hope it was enjoyable for everyone. I'm taking a slight blog-sabbatical. I haven't been feeling great for the past few days. I may be holding Sam responsible if I'm getting sick with what he had last week.

I'll check in again soon!

Wonderful

Since we both had to work on the 29th our anniversary, it was quite the blessing that we were both off yesterday. We rarely ever have the same day off without asking for the time off. So we got dressed up. I was in a dress and that about never happens, and we were off to the Longhorn for some delish steaks. Dinner was soooo good! It makes me wish that everyday was our anniversary. *smiles* I love how comfortable he feels around me out in public since he started telling me about the night when he got the brain matter on his pants. Some guy got hit with a tire iron or a baseball bat on his head and it split open. He's yelling at someone to grab something from his care, some type of kit and a towel while he's getting his gloves on and holding this guy's head closed. A fellow officer, Mike comes buy to assist. Sam said he kind of just sauntered up putting on his gloves and whistling until he saw the situation. He took a hold of the guy's legs once he started to flail. Just ordinary cop dinner talk. After dinner we went to go rent some movies (Shrek: The Final Chapter, Little Fockers, and Centurion). We only got through Shrek and maybe half of Little Fockers before calling it a night.

Now I can't forget about gifts! I got him some more of his cologne since he's been out for many months. It really seems like it was a gift for me because I just love the way it smells on him. Sometimes when we're cuddling on the sofa or we're passing each other in the house and I catch a whiff, I like to bury my nose in that spot on his chest or arm. He thinks its weird which it probably is but I love the way it smells on him. *laughs* His other gift is sort of gaggy. I got him a little crank flashlight because he enjoyed playing with the one in my car so much. I hope he puts it in his truck, and if he doesn't I will, so I can play with it.

This was one of the gifts he got for me, all nice and wrapped in tin foil even though there was wrapping paper on the kitchen table. I'm excited to read the book and had been contemplating on getting it for a few months now. I read the reviews and they're either "this is a great book/must read" or "horrible book/writer knows nothing about police/depressing", nothing really in the middle. I'm hoping its good. I'll be sure to give some reviews or thoughts on here as I read.

Now my other gift has not yet arrived. I have an idea of what it could be since I made the suggestion in an email to him a few weeks ago. But I don't want to say until I find out if I was right or not.

Only 363 more days to our 2nd year anniversary. Go team go!!

Roll Call - June

Trooper Ellen E. Engelhardt
Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts
EOW: Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault

Master Patrolman Jefferson Taylor
Riverside Police Division, Missouri
EOW: Friday, June 3, 2011
Cause of Death: Weather/Natural disaster

Sergeant James Medwetz
Hammond Police Department, Indiana
EOW: Friday, June 3, 2011
Cause of Death: Heart attack

K9 Hans
Ohio Highway Patrol, Ohio
EOW: Friday, June 3, 2011
Cause of Death: illness related

K9 Chico
New Castle Police Department, PA
EOW: Saturday, June 4, 2011
Cause of Death: Heat related

K9 Fantom
Eagle County Sheriff's Office, Colorado
EOW: Saturday, June 4, 2011
Cause of Death: possibly natural causes due to a neurological complication

K9 Ajo
Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department, Oklahoma
EOW: Monday, June 6, 2011
Cause of Death: possibly natural causes

Deputy Sheriff  Kurt Wyman
Oneida County Sheriff's Office, New York
EOW: Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire
**Deputy's wife has baby after husband is slain

Deputy Sheriff Keith Bellar
Dickson County Sheriff's Department, Tennessee
EOW: Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Blaze
Galloway Township Police Department, New Jersey
EOW: Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Cause of Death: pending necropsy

Investigator Warren "Sneak" B. Lewis, III
Nash County Sheriff's Office, North Carolina
EOW: Thursday, June 9, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Elko
Knoxville Police Department, Tennessee
EOW: Thursday, June 9, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Ema
Watertown Police Department, New York
EOW: Friday, June 10, 2011
Cause of Death: Cancer

Police Officer Charles "Chuck" Armour
Detroit Police Department, Michigan
EOW: Saturday, June 11, 2011
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault

SAR K9 Cash
Bryn Mawr, PA
EOW: Saturday, June 11, 2011
Cause of Death: Natural causes

Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Alexander
Chemung County Sheriff's Department, New York
EOW: Sunday, June 12, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

K9 Bruno
Texarkana Arkansas Police Department, Arkansas
EOW: Sunday, June 12, 2011
Cause of Death: Natural causes

Police Officer Kevin Sandoval
South Pasadena Police Department, California
EOW: Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Cause of Death: Fall

K9 Plato
City of Malvern Police Department, Arkansas
EOW: Thursday, June 16, 2011
Cause of Death: Bloat

K9 Nick
Savannah-Chatham Metro Police Department, Georgia
EOW: Thursday, June 23, 2011
Cause of Death: Arthritis and other ailments

Trooper Adam M. Bowen
Virginia State Police, Virginia
EOW: Friday, June 24, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Sergeant Darrell Curley
Navajo Division of Public Safety, Tribal Police, Arizona
EOW: Sunday, June 26, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

Police Officer Russell Anthony George
Ball Police Department, Louisiana
EOW: Sunday, June 26, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Deputy Sheriff Charles Allen VanMeter
Brazoria County Sheriff's Office, Texas
EOW: Sunday, June 26, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Deputy Sheriff Kyle Pagerly
Berks County Sheriff's Department, Pennsylvania
EOW: Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire

K9 Liberty
Greenville Police Department, Texas
EOW: Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Cause of Death: Heat related

K9 Adam
Grand Island Police Department, NE
EOW: Thursday, June 30, 2011
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

(14/13)

My shoulder

First of all, today is our 1year anniversary. We've survived! *smiles* Secondly, I have had a crazy night and I'm so thankful to have him at this point in my life.

Around 3:30 this afternoon, I've finished setting up the Blu ray and Netflix on the TV for my parents, and I'm going to start getting ready for work when my dad asks about movie times for Green Lantern and Transformers 3. I find the times and they ask if I want to go, but because of work I said I may not be able to go but not to wait for me. So I'm at work and get a call that they are headed to the movies and that dinner will be in the fridge for me. I say okay and got out of work at 7:45 and got home after 8.

I let myself in and my dog is at the front rug eating something. I think she's gotten something and immediately tell her to drop it. She confused and does so when I hear my mom's voice saying that she had given it to her. I look again and see it is in fact just a dog treat. My poor dog looks upset because she knows she didn't do anything wrong. I give her the treat back and ask if they already got back from the movies. I knew the movie hadn't ended because they had only called after 7 and both movies are well over an hour and a half long.

My mom just gives me this look from the kitchen and tells me to come over and she'll tell me. She says that dad is okay but that he's walking home from the mall. What?? It's like 8:30 at night, dark, it's raining steadily, and the mall is 8.5 miles from our house and my dad is walking? What happened?

She says they were taking my grandpa back to his assisted living home, and he moves slow, pretty normal for a 90 year old man with Dementia. Anyways they were off to a slow start, but they weren't running late by any means. Plus the movie start time is usually when previews start and then you still have at least a 5 to 10 minute leeway. Now my dad doesn't like to get somewhere late. If he even thinks there is the slightest chance he's running behind schedule, he will drive a little faster than usual. On occasion it has made me and my mom uncomfortable but he has never done so to the degree my mom described. He was driving fast, made a wide turn into the mall and cut someone off and was driving fast. My mom voiced her concern which only prompted him to go faster because his frustration was rising. My mom again said to slow down and then opened her passenger door like she was threatening to exit the car. All while my dad is speeding through the parking lot.

I'm still hazy about everything that happened, but my dad said he was going to leave the keys in the car and just walk home. My mom called and talked to her sister and then went after my dad. He was stubborn and didn't respond to her and continued walking home so she left him. And that's where I came in the door and she told me all this. She then said that I could go look for him if I wanted. If I wanted? Of course I was going to go and try to pick him up. So I drove and eventually found him but he was continuing to be stubborn, refused the ride and kept going.

I sat in the parking lot for a little bit, not really sure what to before deciding to call Sam. I called him and after two rings in I thought about hanging up when he answered saying he was on a call but what's up. I felt obligated to speak but he was busy with work, I told him that I would talk to him later and to deal with work. I guess he could tell something was wrong because of the emotion in my voice and said no, to tell him what was wrong...so I told him just about everything I've written above. He even asked if there was anything he could do for me. I would have liked to have told him to drive down and pick up my dad, but I told him that I would be okay and for him to get back to work.

My dad did make it home okay after 10p and just went straight to bed. I hope everything is okay between my parents...

T.M.I

You ever regret asking a question knowing that the answer will be more than you expected? I felt that way after Sam texted me last night before bed. It was 1am and I sent him a text "<3", usually letting him know that I'm getting ready to sleep. He sent me a heart text back. I then sent him a text asking how work was going, expecting a short answer of either "busy/boring/good". Was that the answer I got back? Nope:

i have brain matter on my pants

Yeck! Not wanted I needed to know. Usually, I'm lucky that he doesn't delve into so much detail when he tells me about work, but other times I hear it all. I told him not to send me a picture of that. A fellow officer dared him to send a picture of his elbow the other night. He just sent me another "<3". I said I loved him too and to clean his pants before I saw him next. I know him. He'd probably leave that gunk on his pants for a good while before they saw the inside of the washing machine or sink.

I'm sure I'll hear what happened on Thursday. I didn't see anything about it online but I'll keep checking back just in case.

The Smoking Gun presents!

Instead of writing up a separate post every time I find an interesting news piece, I've decided to bulk them into one post. For the most part these are criminals doing just stupid things. Florida gets their own little section because well my state is just that "special"

Good ole Flor-idiots:
Cops: woman tried to buy dad, 80, hooker (Tampa; April 25, 2011)
Website named 'Silk Road' called Amazon, ebay of heroin, cocaine, drug trafficking (Tampa; June 13, 2011)
Fla. Woman throws pancakes, then punches (Naples; June 15, 2011)
If you don't want your gun stolen, don't leave it in your car (Port St. Lucie; June 15, 2011)
Fla. Woman pleads no contest to selling grandson for $30,000 (Daytona Beach; June 17, 2011)
Crooks steal cash from register while clerk sleeps (West Palm Beach; June 20, 2011)
Car burglarized while daughter visits father's grave (Lake Worth; June 20, 2011)

Elsewhere:
British man Sean Murphy shoots off own finger with shotgun to remove wart (UK; June 16, 2011)
Police follow corn dog trail to thief's house (Oklahoma; June 20, 2011)
Woman Sprayed Breast Milk At Police Following Argument (Ohio; June 27, 2011)

Lit up like Christmas

So here's the status of Florida as of today regarding the wild- and brushfires. This interactive map can be found here http://tlhforweb03.doacs.state.fl.us/fmisdataviewer/

Doesn't my state just look so pretty in orange? I hate it, all these fires. I'm hoping for a Tropical Storm just to soak the state. Nothing too destructive, just a lot of rain. We've had some storms come in but they're mostly just blowing wind and lightning strikes....which is only adding fuel to these fires.

Sadly, 2 Florida Firefighters Killed Battling Brush Fire over this past weekend. They may not have been Brothers in Blue, but for the families of these men of the Red Line, my thoughts, support and prayers go out to them.

According to the article, "Firefighters have battled more than 1,500 wildfires in the state since May 1."

(New York, N.Y. (Sept. 14, 2001) -- A fire fighter emerges from the smoke and debris of the World Trade Center. The twin towers of the center were destroyed in a Sep. 11 terrorist attack. U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Jim Watson. )

St. Florian's Prayer of Firefighters:

 Almighty God, Protector of all Mankind, Your strength, power, and wisdom are a beacon of light to all men: Give special guidance to Firemen and Firefighters so that we may be protected from harm while performing our duty. Help me with your loving care while I work to save the lives and property of all people young and old. Give me the courage, the alertness to protect my neighbors and all other whom I am pledge to aid when involved in fire or accident. Amen.

Cops seek suspects in shocking hit-and-run

From: Associated Press, June 24, 2011

YEADON, Pa. — Police in a Philadelphia suburb say they have found the car involved in a hit-and-run that injured a man in a convenience store parking lot, a crime recorded by surveillance cameras.

WPVI-TV reports that a tip led Yeadon (YAY’-den) police to a silver 2007 Dodge Caliber in Philadelphia. Detective Sgt. David Splain says it has damage consistent with the June 9 accident, which injured a 7-Eleven employee.

Police say the owner and driver of the car, 32-year-old Wilaisha Rankins, remains at-large. A passenger in the car surrendered Tuesday. Police say that person is cooperating and likely won’t face charges.

Footage from the store’s surveillance cameras shows the car hitting the employee around 10:30 p.m. on June 9, pushing him into the store. He suffered an injured leg.




After watching the video, it almost looks like the car intentionally hits the employee. You see it from the second angle. The driver backs out of the space, but doesn't pull away instead sits there until employee puts bag in trash and guns it forward! Then the passenger calmly exits the vehicle and walks off camera while the passenger in the backseat exits in a roll out the car as its backing up to pull away. Anyways, I suspect foul play just by watching the video and I hope they're able to find the driver and that the employee makes a speedy recovery.

Viewer discretion is advised

I have always loved watching police shows since before high school. I would watch COPS religiously every chance I got in my free time, and on weekends my Sunday morning cartoons consisted of Forensic Files, American Justice or anything else on CourtTV (now TruTV). Back then I wanted to be an officer, a K9 officer more specifically and I enrolled in the local department's Explorer program. After high school the thought of becoming an officer sort of dwindled for one reason or another but I never missed the chance to continue watching my crime dramas and police related TV.

Now I'm a little particular when it comes to my police shows, reality or not. Some of my favorites are Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) - Thanks to Netflix I've been able to watch the first 10 seasons from the beginning, will be starting the 11th here soon. I was sad to hear that entering the 13th season I think it is, Benson is being promoted so limited air time and Stabler is leaving the show :( I never was fond though to the other Law and Order series. Another favorite is The Closer and I'm sad the show is entering in its final season this summer :( This makes me a sad panda. And thanks to Sam: Dexter...not your typical police show but it is really good!!

For reality shows, of course COPS, American Justice, Forensic Files, The First 48, and the Police Women of (series: Broward Co, Maricopa Co, Memphis, Dallas, and Cincinatti). I haven't been able yet to watch K9 Cops or Unleashed: K9 Broward County, but I did some clips and they look pretty good.

My mom says I should still find some kind of job in law enforcement since I enjoy watching the shows all the time. I tell her that I'm not interested in that kind of work. I don't know if I'd want to anymore, one cop (Sam) is enough. *smiles*

Any other suggestions of police related shows? Or the ones you may enjoy watching if you do?

Sorry if the post is short, my time is being divided by pet sitting and a new episode of PWoBC. Have a good night everyone!

Grumble...

I'm this close to not going over to Sam's tonight after work.

Some back story: Right after college and my internship in 2010, I moved back in with my parents while I looked for a job, and now as I look for something more financially stable. Sam has not come over to my house for visits as often as my parents would like because of his schedule and mine...to which has become a sense of hostility between my mother and I.

So now my parents just left last night on vacation to the Dominican Republic with my aunt and uncle, leaving me and my dog to fend the house. Sam has five days off from work and no details this week. Since I'm always driving up to see him I thought I would see if he'd come to my house for the night. I sent him a text earlier saying that I would come over tonight but I'd have to bring the dog, unless he and the pups wanted to come and stay over. He texts me no and that I should come to his house. I sigh and in a jest I ask when he is going to come to my house. I quote his response:

im not going over there unless ur parents are home...i want credit for the visit

I had to take a step back from the phone and be like are you kidding me?? He can't come over to my house to see me just to see me? He has to credit for it. Am I totally blowing this out of proportion? Am I overreacting? I ended up calling him a jackass for the comment.

I'm still going over there, probably and I'll let him know that I'm still slightly annoyed at him. But I mean really? What he texted to me hurt.

Slight steam let off

Its nothing horrible and not that I'll get nasty about but I need to let it out here because I didn't really want to have it out with my friend, Meg.

So I went over to my neighbor's house since Sean and Meg were visiting the inlaws for Father's Day. My family was invited over for cake but it was late when we ate and my parents were tired...so I was the ambassador because I wanted cake, which was tasty. Anywho, we're sitting at the table when their inlaws ask how Sam is. I say he's doing good. Meg says they miss him to which I come with a quick reply that I miss him too. She looks at me like what are you talking about. I explain he only had one day off this past week and he's been sick so I only saw him once before he was off to work and I didn't get to cuddle with him as normal because he didn't want me catching what he had. Not to mention he works all night and sleeps most the day. So there isn't too much face time between us. She says that he sounds just like Ryan, her brother-in-law who just got married this May.

Now I kept my mouth shut and just agreed at the time, but the comparison she was making between the two just isn't the same. Ryan does spend a lot of time traveling along the South Eastern region, but he inspects restaurants and food chains helping them pass health inspections and getting their facilities to operate more efficiently. This is by no doubts a very important jobs and I do feel for his newly wed wife who may not get to spend time with him as often as she likes but his time at work is so much different than Sam's time.

Their clientele are on different ends of the spectrum. I'm sure Ryan doesn't spend his days, or nights actually chasing after people who are running from him, he doesn't have to hop over chain link fences. He doesn't have to carry around 13 lb (I'm guesstimating) gun belt, bullet resistant vest, heavy work boots. He doesn't have an awkward time getting in and out of his car because of belt or lower back problems by the end of the work day. He doesn't have to be on constant alert, and he can probably switch off his "work brain" at will. He isn't spit at, physically assaulted, and shown disrespect. He isn't called names like racist pig and a Nazi. He doesn't have to do searches of abandoned houses and drug holes. He doesn't have to see dead bodies of people from gang violence or drug overdoses. He doesn't get puked on, peed on or have people poop in the backseat of his car. Beat up by old ladies (that's a funny and true story!). He doesn't have to worry if he'll have to shoot someone. He doesn't have to worry about injury to himself, his coworkers, the bystanders and even the suspect. He doesn't have to worry about the harsh reality of his line of work. ...Sam does. And most of this can happen in one night.

Sorry, I just needed to get this out and off my chest. I feel better now that I got it out in the air. I really didn't want to come off snappy at Meg. They're lucky they only get to hear the funny stories like him getting attacked by the old lady. But I get to hear the icky ones like dead bodies and people pooping in his car or him getting relieved on.

I wish he would work in a nice safe office somewhere, tucked away with a desk where he doesn't have to worry about all of the above. I loved when he was on light duty last year. But would I want him to trade in his badge for business attire and a 9-5? Not a chance in the world. I wouldn't want to be anything other than a cop. He'd get too stir crazy and I don't know if I could handle that again. *smiles*

I'm better now, work was off to a bad start when some idiot didn't know how to drive right but I got a free root beer from Dan (soda machine gave him two) and free Snapple from a promo truck outside the stadium...even though they weren't supposed to be there.

I get knocked down but I get up again, You're never gonna keep me down

I'm in the bathroom just getting ready for bed....yes at 2:34AM....when I hear the little you've-got-a-text-message jingle from my bedroom. Sam still has another hour before heading home and he's only gotten home at 2:30 just once. I finish in the bathroom, crawl into bed and am greeted with this:

Not sure if you can see it, but this is his elbow, just a little banged up. He called after he sent the picture to tell me the story, his voice was very excited *smiles*.

He and a fellow officer stepped out with a man when he took off running. Naturally, Sam gave chase. The guy hopped a chain link fence, which didn't have that top horizontal support pipe so it was just chain links....if that makes sense. Because it's dark, Sam didn't notice the flawed fence and when he went to go over it the fence and him collapsed. I'm not sure if it was the guy he was chasing stopped to laugh at him or if it was another bystander. It was probably the runner, who else would be up at that hour? *shrugs* Well my babe is a trooper, he got up and kept chasing the guy. When Sam sent the picture and called, they had lost the guy but were currently patrolling the area. I hope they find this guy.

Sam was okay though, just a scratch...of course I'll see how bad it is on Tuesday when I see him. He also ripped his pants a little when he got tangled with the fence.

(title lyrics "Tubthumping (I get knocked down)" by Chumbawamba)

Back to the original plan...maybe?

Sam is hard at work! He only has one day off this week, which is good for his bank account but bad for me. I'll only get to see him on Friday, that makes me both a sad and happy panda.

There is only 2 weeks to go until our 1 year anniversary!! I'm so very excited *smiles* and I've been looking around for gift ideas and he was throwing out some hints. Not necessarily for anniversary but maybe he'll get lucky. I was flipping through his ThinkGeek magazine, he was telling me he wants Tactical Bacon (must be a man thing) and some ice cube molds that make shot glasses from ice. I was excited by the shot glass ice molds, but unfortunately they're out of stock when I checked online last night. Major bummer, but back to what I was getting at. I was flipping through the catalog when I saw this R/C Forklift for his desk (pictured below)

Isn't cute? He's been wanting a toy for his patrol car since last year...and not just any toy but "the" toy. We went to ToysRUs, Walmart, Target, etc on a hunt for the perfect toy and came up empty handed. So when I mentioned this desk toy, he flatly told me no. He doesn't want a desk toy until he makes detective. This of course was news to me since the last time we talked he was thinking about switching to corrections.



So it looks like he's thrown corrections out the window and back on track with his original plan when first started dating a year ago. He's thinking of trying for detective in another year and ultimately becoming a traffic homicide investigator. He seems very excited about that...well as excited as one can be about traffic homicide. I guess I'll have to buy it eventually so that when he makes detective I'll give it to him. But that's what his plan looks like as of right now.

Fingers crossed people!!

Cop boyfriend and Criminal brother

My brother was finally transferred into a local work release in the same town where Sam works. I told that to Sam as he was cooking dinner the other night. He just looked at me wide-eyed from the kitchen and I could see his cop brain begin to click into gear. At first he didn't say anything but asked "if I see him doing something illegal should I arrest him?" It was like he was asking permission. I told him it was up to his discretion, if it's illegal and he sees it then he must do his job regardless if it happens to be my brother. He replied that it would be awkward. I said that while my brother may know I have a boyfriend he doesn't know who Sam is. Regardless, Sam still says it will be awkward because he knows he's my brother. So we'll see...

Now my brother isn't a hardened criminal, he's just had minor offenses, But he's a repeat offender. This is his second time in jail but he seems like he's trying to get his life turned around, especially after his young child passed away earlier this year.

I'm sure Sam wasn't saying it as if my brother was going to get in trouble nor will he actively keep an eye on him.
I think I may finally write to my brother. I've been thinking about doing it for some time now but haven't had the motivation to do it. I really do want him to succeed. As much conflict as there is between us, I've never wanted him to fail, I just hope that he will straighten out in the end. The road will be tough for all of us I'm sure.

Welcome Welcome!!

Woohoo! Four followers to my blog! How exciting is that? Pretty darn exciting dammit *laughs* considering I didn't think to get even that many. I have such high standards for my blog. I just wanted give a nice warm and fuzzy welcome to everyone that has started following. *waves* Hello out there.

 

 

When I first started this blog it was erected as a memorial to those that have fallen in the line of duty. Back then I had just gotten back into blogging and started my other blog on this site: Into the Wolf Den which focuses mainly on my whatever happenings in the world, looking into going back to school and working toward working with animals....and then Sam came into the picture. I started following the ODMP site and I started this blog to memorialize them. That got a little depressing after a few months and it wasn't what I was looking to do. I gave thought to it a little more when things between Sam and his job and me started to turn serious. There were things I wanted to talk about and get out of my system that I thought wasn't pertinent to my other blog but it was here.

 

 

So that brings us here to my blog, a diary, a memorial. A relationship of me, my man and the law. An emotional trial for all to see. Let's get to know me. I'm fairly quiet unless I know you and even then I'm quiet, but will be heard if needed. Get me online though, I can be a chatterbox. I'm a college graduate with a Bachelors in Psychology...please don't back away now! I promise I won't psychoanalyze you, diagnose you or anything like that. Those stereotypes are some of the reasons I hate telling people what my degree is, it sucks. But anyways, what I want to do is work with animals, something in wildlife conservation, ecology or ethology. I'd really love to do something concerning wolf studies because I think that's where my passion really lies. Let's see, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, drawing, reading, writing, playing with animals, old school muscle cars. I like the outdoors, wooded or field areas mostly.

That's me for the most part in a nutshell, anything else I'm sure I'll put in the blog in one way or another and just ask if you want to know anything else. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all through our blogs.

It's a bad day to be a cop in Seattle...

...because you could be attacked by a murder of crows!! No joke, just saw this article on my homepage a few minutes ago: Angry birds dive-bomb police officers

Now crows are a very interesting species of birds given their high levels of intelligence. Some make tools to use in their daily hunt for food. And recently research suggests and observed in the article, these birds have the ability to recognize humans as individuals from their facial features.

State Fish and Wildlife Department biologist Ruth Milner ...noted crows also can recognize people's individual features. And they hold grudges.

That's just amazing! Not too good though if you happen to be one of these officers. I would hate to be attacked by a mob of birds coming in and out of work. I hope they'll be able to hold them off.

Hero of the week

Finally after weeks of hearing/seeing negative stories in the news involving officers and departments, Officer Fazio of the Port St. Lucie Police Department (Florida) swoops in to save the day. This especially after Sleeping St. Lucie Deputy Disciplined For Arriving Late For Security Detail. Here's Officer's Fazio's story: Police Officer Saves Baby From Choking.

Now I just want to take a slight aside to "bash" on the Deputy and the detail. I just think her actions of the whole ordeal is just ridiculous. I think she may have tried to call out only a few hours before she was supposed to go on duty. I don't think she should have called out without first securring another off-dutty officer to cover the detail.

..she said, "I genuinely didn't feel like working. I'm known for canceling details. People back up my details all the time for that reason."

I don't know if all officers in a department are required to take details, but why else would she sign up for it? I commented on the article...not too negatively, but I said that I know Sam would more likely call off one twelve hour regular duty night than a six hour detail. He makes $28.50 I think an hour for a detail...that's almost $12 more than he would make driving around the hood. To me that doesn't make much sense especially when he spends most detail hours sitting in the ER bored to death....Sorry for the mini rant. It just frustrates me that she didn't cover herself in an appropriate and professional manner.

Back to Officer Fazio...not only is a hero once but twice. His first gold-star moment occured back in January when he resusitated a baby after it was found in the pool. More stories like these need to be highlighted in our news and to the public. We need a better image portrayed on our officers. We need more Fazios and so forth. Great job Officer Fazio!

Just a time bomb

Got to work this afternoon and saw this ad front page of the Post: Popular police cars prone to explode, tied to deaths (3page article from the Palm Beach Post). I'll have to post one of the pictures the online article didn't include, showing the position of the fuel tank near the axle. Sam texted me while I was reading the article, he was getting ready for work. He knew that Vics could do that. I don't like that; him and other officers driving around in just the larger version of the Pinto. Its also sickening to think that Ford knew about the defect in their vehicles. How could they knowingly put these servants and civilians lives at risk? In the name of profit?

These are the five officers listed in the article from Florida who died in Crown Victoria related incidents:
Trooper Patrick Ambroise
Florida Highway Patrol, Florida
EOW: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Police Officer Alex Del Rio
Hollywood Police Department, Florida
EOW: Saturday, November 22, 2008
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Deputy Sheriff Jefferson Hancock Davis
Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Florida
EOW: Thursday, May 30, 2002
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Deputy Sheriff Steven Michael Agner
Madison County Sheriff's Office, Florida
EOW: Monday, July 26, 1999
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Trooper Robert G. Smith
Florida Highway Patrol, Florida
EOW: Saturday, July 26, 1997
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault

It makes me think of Sam's accident last week. I've only had dreams or worries about him being seriously injured and never entertained the thought long enough to see its conclusion. I would hate to even think what I would do if something happened...I know in his line of work there is always the possibility but I'd like to think of him as my invincible knight, that nothing could ever harm him, except for my "playful" smack on his biceps after him spitting water in my face for a quick giggle *smiles* I love that man as annoying and as silly as he is.

All any of us can do is hope and pray for our men and women is to be safe when they're out there on patrol or driving to and from work. Sorry, I think its that time of the month soon, I'm getting all emotional. :)