june 2013 - squarespace

June 2013 The Voice of Harris County Law Enforcement Vol. 25, No. 6

Official Publication of The Harris County Deputies’ Organization www.hcdo.com

The Harris County Star

According to preliminary statistics released by the FBI, 47 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2012. The total number of officers killed is 25 fewer than the 72 officers who died in 2011. By region, 22 officers were killed as a result of criminal acts that occurred in the South, eight officers in the West, six officers in the North-east, five officers died due to incidents in the Mid-west, and six officers were killed in the U.S. territo-ries of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

By circumstance, 12 officers died from injuries inflicted while investigating suspicious persons or circumstances, eight who died were conducting traf-fic pursuits or stops, five were engaged in tactical situations, and five officers were killed as a result of ambushes (four due to entrapment/premeditated situations and one during an unprovoked attack). Four officers’ deaths occurred as a result of answer-ing disturbance calls (two of which were domestic disturbance calls) and three officers were transport-ing, handling, or maintaining custody of prisoners. Two of the fallen officers sustained fatal injuries dur-

ing drug-related matters, two were attempting to make other arrests, and two were performing investi-gative activities. Two officers were responding to rob-beries in progress, one was responding to a burglary in progress, and one officer was killed as a result of handling a person with a mental illness.

Offenders used firearms in 43 of the 47 felonious deaths. These included 30 incidents with handguns, seven incidents with rifles, and three incidents with shotguns. The type of firearm was not reported in three of the incidents. Two victim officers were killed with vehicles used as weapons; one was killed with a knife; and one officer died from injuries inflicted with personal weapons, such as hands, fists, or feet.

Twenty of the slain officers were wearing body armor at the times of the incidents. Six of the officers fired their own weapons and two officers attempted to fire their service weapons. Three victim officers had their weapons stolen; however, none of the offi-cers were killed with their own weapons.

The 47 victim officers died from injuries sustained in 44 separate incidents. Forty-two of those incidents

have been cleared by arrest or exceptional means. An additional 45 officers were accidentally killed

in the line of duty in 2012. This total represents eight fewer officers who died in accidents when compared with the 53 officers who were accidentally killed dur-ing the same time period in 2011. By region, 27 offi-cers died due to accidents in the South, eight in the Northeast, seven in the West, and three in the Mid-west.

Of the officers who died as a result of accidents, 22 died due to automobile accidents, 10 were struck by vehicles, and six officers were in motorcycle acci-dents. Three of the officers were killed due to aircraft accidents, two in accidental shootings, one from a fall, and one officer died as a result of an ATV acci-dent.

Final statistics and complete details will be avail-able in the Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s publi-cation, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and As-saulted, 2012, which will be published on the FBI’s Internet site in the fall.

FBI National Press Office

Deputy Reginald “Rocky” Norwood was heading to work at the Harris County detention center in Septem-ber 1985 when he spotted a five-car pileup on the Eastex Freeway.

Norwood jumped out of his car and began assisting the injured. He ran to help someone trapped inside an overturned truck when another motorist drove into the median to get around the accident scene.

The car struck Norwood, killing him instantly. He was one of 39 Harris County sheriff’s deputies

killed in the line of duty who were remembered Thurs-day at this year’s Harris County Peace Officers’ Me-morial Ceremony.

A roll call for the fallen lawmen began with sheriff’s deputy Carl Court, who was gunned down in Novem-ber 1895 while patrolling an area in west Harris County.

As each name was read, a currently serving deputy stood in their place, answering “here.”

“It is always stirring and moving. It gives me a chance to be proud of my brother,” said Carolyn Campbell, Norwood’s sister. “This is my chance to remember his sacrifice.”

Houston jeweler Franco Valobra is vice-president

of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Foundation. While public memorial ceremonies are important,

Valobra said nothing can truly fill the void felt by the families.

“But we know, we understand and we are grateful,” he said.

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said May’s ceremony was a “humble effort” to honor the fallen lawmen and their families.

“We have not forgotten and we will never forget,” Garcia said.

The service was held at the Crime Stoppers of Houston in the 3000 block of Main. It will eventually also be the site of a permanent memorial for fallen Harris County sheriff’s deputies and constables.

There is a bond between people who have lost family members who were in law enforcement.

Campbell called it a “club you don’t want to be a part of.”

“They know exactly that pride,” she said, “but also that pain.”

Houston Chronicle

FBI Releases 2012 Preliminary Statistics for Law

Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty

Memorial honors fallen deputies

Sgt. Moreau and Major Jones at the Harris County Peace Officers’ Memorial ceremony

www.hcdo.com The Harris County Star

by Robert Goerlitz

President, HCDO

President’s Corner

Do you know what your organization officers are doing? Would you like to know with whom they are meeting and the results of those meetings as they happen? Would you like to be on a mailing list to receive regular updates from the organization? If

so send Bob an email and he will put you on the list to receive regular updates.

His email address is [email protected]

Gun-control

There has been a lot of debate about gun control across the country and a lot of sheriffs and other law en-forcement people have weighed in on it. Someone recently asked me what the third amendment was and how it related to the second amendment. The men who wrote these amend-ments did not do so because they just felt like it at the time. There was a very specific purpose for the way it was written.

Everyone seems to be quite famil-iar with the Second Amendment of the US Constitution but have lost sight of how the Third Amendment relates to the Second. The Third Amendment prevents the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner’s consent. With both of these taken in conjunction with one another, it is quite clear of the intent of them.

We swore an oath and that shall not be taken lightly. There are those across the world making sure we have these rights. My son is currently serv-ing in the military for all of us. It is our duty here to make sure those rights are preserved because they were not freely given but fought for and earned.

Stewards

We are very much in need of stew-

ards in each area of the department. If you are one of those people who have said that something needs to be done about a particular issue, then you probably need to be a steward. Through attrition we have lost many of the stewards we used to have. Com-munication is the key to any large group. Stewards are the ones to fulfill that key component to the members.

I have come across individuals across the county who did not know our representation was open to them. We are available to any county law-enforcement of Harris County, both certified and noncertified. People have come to us after some type of an incident has already occurred. Unfor-tunately for them, we don’t work that way. With our legal staff and other benefits we are like car insurance - you don’t get it after you’ve already had a wreck. We do have conces-sions for that, but it is extremely cost prohibitive.

If you have any interest in working as a steward or knowing the things you may be asked, do not hesitate to call me. I am not asking you to put yourself on the line; just merely be the eyes and ears for us all. Unity through organization.

Never better, never stronger.

Each month I sit here and try to

rack my brain on what to write about. The month of May is quite special due to it being the law-enforcement month of recognition for those who have fallen in the line of duty. I was in Aus-tin this year for the state memorial that is put on every other year. As each name of those who have fallen over last two years is called, the family members walk up to the podium. You picture the officer space in your mind, and many times, the thought of but by the grace of God go I.

I did not spend much time with the officers that were in attendance but instead spent my time with the families of those who have fallen. It is truly the ultimate sacrifice of himself and his family we are there to honor. You will be happy to know our organization went above and beyond to take care of those families as best we could. We will continue to do so in the future.

Legal

Almost every time I run into some-body, the first thing they ask is what’s new with the organization. Some of the major events lately I’ve been with our legal staff. We recently had a member that found himself in bit of a dilemma. There were many who be-lieved that he would not be getting his job back after he had been terminated. With the excellent representation he was given, he has since returned back to duty.

Recently there was another event that took place that many were not aware of. We have represented our members for course and scope of duty incidents. One of our members at one of the Constable Offices found himself in such a situation where the county determined they were not going to rep-resent him.

The story goes that he was working an extra job at a local establishment for some type of a family event. While at this extra job he was forced into the situation of making an arrest. The po-

lice agency for that area was called for transport and filing of the charge. Through miscommunication between agencies, the district attorney at the time later dismissed the case. Be-cause of all this, it resulted in a civil suit against this officer.

When the civil suit was filed, the County determined since the officer was not on duty when the arrest took place, he would not be receiving repre-sentation by the county. This became very serious, very quickly because of the enormous amount of money he was being sued for personally. With the representation provided to him by our legal staff, the end result was a summary judgment in his favor.

These types of things happen all the time more than you know. This is just but one example of the many ways we are here to watch your backs as peace officers in Harris County. The legal staff is there for you, the members. Use them.

Leadership

I catch a lot of flak because many times I question things going on here locally, and I question those who make those decisions. When I am on duty I follow the orders of my superiors to the best of my ability. Even if I don’t agree with the order given, as long as it is a legal order, I follow it. This is the path I have chosen in a paramilitary organi-zation. This is the way it must be.

On the other side of the coin, I am also a citizen and I consider it my duty to question those who have been elected into office. This is one of the rights I served my country for and con-tinue to serve the county for. I refuse to simply sit in the corner, wait for the next thing to happen and be too timid to speak up. That is simply unaccept-able behavior.

If our leadership is not comfortable with that then they can avoid me, ig-nore me or refuse to answer the ques-tions when asked. It isn’t me they are hurting but those they are attempting to lead who are confused and seek answers.

ATTENTION HCDO MEMBERS: WE NEED YOUR STORIES!

We want to hear from you. The Harris County Star is setting aside pages for you to let us know what is going on in your

workplace. We will be looking for someone from every district, every jail, and each Constable Precinct, along with Baytown and the Port, to write a few lines. You can let us

know about major arrests, benefits for fellow officers or send out an "Atta-Boy" for one of your fellow deputies or

supervisors. Just make sure we hear from you. Send your articles to [email protected] or you can

contact HCDO office at 713-659-0005 ext. 1

The Harris County Star www.hcdo.com

Call Us Anytime... We’re Your Organization!

And We Are YOUR Board

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS

Robert Goerlitz, President

713-659-0005 [email protected]

Eric Batton, Vice President


Dale Hubert, Secretary/Treasurer


BOARD MEMBERS Pos. 1 James Henry [email protected] 713-530-4664

Pos. 2 Curtis Brown [email protected] 713-826-1831

YOUR REPRESENTATIVES PATROL: Stuart Campbell DIST.2 6A-2P 713-744-8178

Daniel Wareham DIST.4 10P-6A 281-814-3246

Chris Aguirre DIST.5 10P-6A 832-922-5605

Frank Garcia DIST. 1 713-299-8026

Bryan Cross DIST. 1 10P-6A 281-830-9162

Sgt. Tim Fite DIST. 1 2P-10P 281-705-5380

CONSTABLES:

James Grohman PCT. 4 7A-3P 832-868-1714

Sgt. Matt Walker PCT. 4 10P-6A 281-734-4904

DETECTIVE BUREAU:

Curtis Brown HOMI. 1P-9P 713-826-1831

David Cuevas 832-250-1716

I.P.C.:

Open positions all shifts

COURTS:

TRANSPORTATION DIVISION:

Brian Merritt 10P-6A 715-566-5074

1301 BAKER: Arthur Ramirez 2P-10P 832-483-9197

Carlos Arguelles 701 2P-10P 713-545-4341

701 JAIL:

Open positions all shifts

CHAPLAIN:

Shannon Bowdoin 936-776-6537

COMMUNICATIONS:

Traci Mullins 6A-2P 713-816-8508

Rosalyn Wiley 832-324-4335

Kristin Chambers 281-914-6017

Elizabeth Barber 2P-10P 281-796-8926

COMMUNITY SERVICES BUREAU:

PARKS:

James Henry 6A-2P 713-530-4664

YOUR OFFICE STAFF

Cathy Hill

Organization Office: 1314 Texas Ave, Suite 2000, Houston, TX 77002

Main Office: 713-659-0005

Legal Dept.: 713-659-0017

Fax No.: 713-750-0070

www.hcdo.com

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The Harris County Star is published by the Harris County Deputies’ Organization and is not

copyrighted. Other police organizations are encouraged to reprint material which originates with

The Star. We require only that you give credit to the author and this paper when reprinting. All

articles are subject to review by the editorial committee. Letters and/or guest articles appearing in

the editorial section of The Star are the sole opinion of the author, and do not necessarily reflect

the opinions or views of the Board of Directors or membership of the Harris County Deputies’

Organization.

The Star encourages Organization members and other readers of the publication to submit

letters for publication on the editorial page. The HCDO reserves the right to refuse to print any

submission not deemed in the best interest of the Organization.

Notice: All articles and photos for The Harris County Star must be submitted prior to

the 5th of each month preceding deadline. Any articles submitted after this date will appear,

space permitting, in the next issue of The Star. Thank you for your cooperation. Articles can

be submitted at the HCDO offices or by e-mail. To submit articles directly to the editor,

send to: [email protected].

The Harris County Star is administered by Sgt. G.L. “Buddy” Williams, Lone Star Publishing

Co. under the direction of the Board of Directors of the Harris County Deputies’ Organization.

Your Harris County Star Staff Publisher .................. Buddy Williams

Composition Editor…..Shaun Harpstrite

Staff Writer ................ Stephen Skinner

Distribution………………Garrett Hardin

HCDO NEWSPAPER COMMITTEE Robert Barber

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For information on ad rates or deadlines,

please call:

Cathy Hill at 713-659-0005 ext. 1

Or e-mail inquiries or ad copy to

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Your Harris County Star

Any member of the Harris County Deputies’

Organization is allowed and encouraged to submit

articles for publication in this newspaper. Opinions,

events, family announcements, war stories...all are

welcome and enjoyed by all Deputies. Submissions will

only be edited as necessary to protect your organization

from legal liability.

Blue/Gold


WE SALUTE

TEXAS PEACE

OFFICERS

The Helfman Family Of Fine

Automobiles

Jeff Smith

Helfman Ford

281-240-3673

WE SALUTE

TEXAS

PEACE

OFFICERS


Automobiles

Steven Wolf, Helfman Dodge Chrysler Jeep

713-533-6100

WE SALUTE

TEXAS

PEACE

OFFICERS


Automobiles

Capt. Alan Helfman

River Oaks

Chrysler Jeep Dodge

713-524-3801

Coming Soon

By Gabriel Russell, Law Enforcement Today Are the officers in your department

trained to defend themselves against or even to recognize the types of at-tacks found in Mixed Martial Arts com-petition? There is an increasingly likeli-hood that the average dirtbag wreak-ing havoc on the mean streets of America has been trained in once rare and exotic but now commonplace strangulation and joint destruction techniques that pose severe risk of injury, unconsciousness, and even death.

Traditional Karate, Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do schools often now add MMA or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to their cur-riculums in an effort to attract students who watch the sport at home. All branches of the United States military now teach combatives in basic training that include these techniques. Even a criminal suspect with no martial arts training at all is more likely to attempt a choke or arm bar merely because he has seen it on television and is aware of the effect it can have.

These debilitating attacks are de-rived from various forms of Japanese or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and were brought to widespread awareness by the dominance of Royce Gracie in the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. These tournaments were intended to test each of the exist-ing martial arts against one another in head-to-head competition and the dominance by BJJ fighters and other grapplers opened a lot of people’s eyes to the power of joint locks and strangulation techniques.

In a fight with a trained attacker failure to recognize an action that poses a risk of a broken arm or rapid unconsciousness could be fatal. Many police officers that I know devote their personal time training in MMA or BJJ to enhance their defensive tactics skills. But for the average officer who has neither the time nor inclination to do so, teaching them to recognize, avoid, defend, or escalate their own use of force appropriately is critical.

While on a recent training trip to the south east I met with nationally re-nowned Senior Defensive Tactics In-structor and professor of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Scott Devine. Scott began his study of BJJ in the late 80’s in Hawaii under Relson Gracie, family champion of the famed Gracie family, and was his first American student to be pro-gress from white belt all the way to black belt. Scott is a former law en-

forcement supervisor and currently teaches at one of the largest law en-forcement training academies in the county.

He has successfully competed many times at prestigious BJJ tourna-ments such as the Pan Americans, and has successfully coached numer-ous BJJ and MMA competitors at both the amateur and professional level. During basic and advanced law en-forcement training he has been a role player in hundreds of scenarios with trainees and is intimately familiar with how cops react when fighting on the ground.

I asked Scott what types of tech-niques are the most effective when a police officer is faced with a trained grappler and he began by saying “Don’t get into that position (the ground)”, indicating that prevention or avoidance is always the best defense. Chokes or joint destruction techniques are much more difficult to apply against a standing and fully mobile fighter who can maneuver to affect an escape. A basic principle of BJJ is known as “position before submission” and refers to the importance of achiev-ing a position that controls the adver-saries’ movement prior to attempting an attack.

It may be possible to identify a sus-pect who trains in MMA or BJJ by their clothing or distinctive appearance. The medical condition known as cauliflower ear, or swelling and scar tissue on the exterior ear, should be looked for and taken as a warning sign that you are dealing with a trained fighter. And though fans and practitioners of MMA may wear t-shirts and hats that display logos from the UFC or brands like Ta-pout, a t-shirt with a Gracie or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu logo is more likely to be worn by someone who trains in the art.

Avoiding a takedown or throw will usually keep an officer out of a situa-tion where he may be threatened by joint locks and chokes and takedown defense such the sprawl should be taught and are covered in most police academy training. It’s not reasonable to expect, however, that an assailant who is often younger and more athletic to begin with and who trains take-downs or throws several times per week or who has made thousands of training repetitions as a competitor can be defended by an officer who may train takedown defense only once or twice a year.

You must prepare your officers for (Continued on page 11)

Police Defense Against MMA

Blue/Gold


Fallen Texas Peace Officers Honored at Capitol

“In valor there is hope.” –Tacitus quote from the National Law Enforcement Memorial

Last month, law enforcement officers took part in a memorial for the 25 Texas police officers who died in service over the past two years.

Every two years, the Peace Officers Memorial Foundation of Texas hosts a candlelight vigil and a memorial ceremony and parade in May. The parade started at the Congress Avenue Bridge and ended at the Capitol, marched by a procession of color guard teams, police motorcycles, cyclists and pipe and drum corps.

At the Capitol, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst addressed families of the

fallen officers and spoke about the importance of Texas's police force.

“There heroes that we’re honoring today are just not a statistic, they’re not just a badge number. They’re sons and daughters and husbands and wives and brothers and sisters. I swear to you, their names and their stories are now woven into the legendary tradition of Texas lawmen.”

There was a candlelight vigil at the State Capitol’s Texas Peace Officer Memorial the night before the parade.

KUTNews

http://www.pomf.org/

http://www.pomf.org/

Family Matters

Births * Deaths * Illness

Retirements * Promotions


Get your Texas Tailgate Party Package!

The Texas Gulf Coast Crime Prevention Association is holding a raffle. This raffle

is to raise funds for our association.

For $5.00 dollars, you can get:

A 10 X 10 Texan Awning 2—Texan Chairs

2—JJ Watt Jerseys A Texan Cooler

A Texan Tailgate BBQ Pit

AND 10 pounds of sausage (Donated by Baywood’s Food – Freeport)

Drawing will be held at the TCPA Conference in July 2013 Contact a TGCCPA

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Texas Gulf Coast

Crime Prevention Association

www.tgccpa.org

E-mail: [email protected]

TGCCPA Fund Raiser

TEXANS TAILGATE PARTY PACKAGE RAFFLE

Texas Gulf Coast Crime

Prevention Association

gratulations to the Wolfe family on their new addition!

Yates

Larry and Patricia Yates are proud to announce the birth of their 5th grand-baby, Rhyan Avery Yates. Baby Rhyan was born on April 10, 2013, at 11:35 a.m. She weighed in at 6 lbs., 7 oz., and is 20 in. long. Parents Jerod and Ashley Yates and Baby Rhyan are all doing well. Congratulations to the Yates family on this most joyous occa-sion!

Special Occasions

Congratulations Linda

Green

Please join us in congratulating Linda Green on her recent retirement after

21 years of loyal and dedicated ser-vice with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office!

Congratulations Sergeant

Terry Twiggs

Please join us in congratulating Ser-geant Terry Twiggs on his recent re-tirement after 25 years of loyal and dedicated service with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office!

Congratulations Sergeant

David Martin

Please join us in congratulating Ser-geant David Martin on his recent re-tirement after 26 years of loyal and dedicated service with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office!

Deaths

Barnes

We have been informed that Betty Barnes, mother of Deputy Jeffrey Bar-nes and grandmother of D.O. Candace Miles, passed away Friday, April 12, 2013. Please keep the Barnes family in your thoughts and prayers.

Muras

Gregory E. Muras, Father of Monica Gonzales, Communications Division, passed away in April. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Gonzalez/Muras family during this difficult time.

Thomas

Mrs. Billie Thomas, mother of Ser-geant Mike Thomas (Patrol K9); Dep-uty David Thomas (Patrol K9); Deputy James Thomas (Patrol K9); Deputy Jeff Thomas (Safe Home Task Force) and Sergeant Doug Thomas (Runaway/Missing Persons), passed away on April 15, 2013. Please keep the Thomas family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Mauro

Barbara Jean Mauro, mother of Deten-tion Officer Sergeant Mauro, passed away on Wednesday, April 17, 2013. Please keep the Mauro family in your thoughts and prayers during this diffi-cult time.

Watson

Billy Watson, retired reserve deputy, passed away on April 18, 2013. Mr. Watson was the husband of Joanne Watson, who retired from the Business office, and his daughter is former 911 Coordinator, Ronda Watson. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Wat-son family during this difficult time.

Briles

It is with great sadness to inform you that Sarah Briles, mother of Deputy Rodger Bates (701 – OPS), passed away on Saturday, April 20, 2013. She was 74 years old. Please keep Deputy Bates in your thoughts and prayers

during this difficult time.

Godby

It is with great sadness that I informed the HCSO family that Detention Officer Christopher Godby died as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle acci-dent on Saturday, April 20, 2013. Please keep the Godby family in your thoughts and prayers.

Perry

Rosie Perry, the grandmother of D.O. Valerie Perry’s (1200 Detentions) hus-band, passed away on Monday, April 22, 2013. Please keep the Perry family them in your thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time.

Hindmon

Mrs. Beatrice Hindmon, grandmother of Deputy Jeff Robinson (District V Patrol), passed away Thursday, April 25, 2013. Please keep the Robinson family in your prayers during this most difficult time.

Shaver

It is with great sadness that I inform the HCSO family that Deputy Mike Shaver, husband of D.O. Maria Shaver, passed away Thursday, April 25, 2013. Please keep Maria and the Shaver family in your thoughts and prayers.

Dehnert

Larry Dehnert, retired assistant chief investigator – HCDA, passed away on May 8, 2013. Please keep the Dehnert family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Births

Wolfe

Sergeant Arnold Wolfe and his wife, Tamitri Wolfe, are proud to announce the arrival of their daughter, Aariell Dominique. Ms. Aariell was born this morning and weighed in at 7 lbs., 1 oz. Baby and mom are doing great. Con-

http://www.tgccpa.org/

mailto:[email protected]


What to do if you are involved in a shooting or any other

critical incident

1. Call for medical assistance for yourself, other deputies/officers, other citizens and even the suspect if necessary. 2. Call the H.C.D.O. Emergency Assistance number, 713-659-0017 ext. 2. Stay on the line and you will be connected directly to an attorney. 3. Speak to NO ONE until the attorney arrives at the scene, usually only 20-30 minutes. 4. Relax, you joined the H.C.D.O. You’re in great hands and you are protected by a force of thousands. 5. The H.C.D.O. attorney(s) will assist our members in giving any statements and in preparation for any “walk through” at the scene. 6. The attorneys will accompany the member to the appropriate investigating agency where a sworn affidavit will be prepared pertaining to the events giving rise to the shooting. 7. The H.C.D.O. attorney(s) will accompany the member at their Grand Jury appearance.

What impact will Missouri

v. McNeely have on DUI

enforcement?

By Tim Dees, PoliceOne.com

On April 17, 2013, the U.S. Su-preme Court handed down its decision in Missouri v. McNeely, ruling that ob-taining involuntary specimens for blood alcohol testing without a search warrant is an unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

This case has substantial impact on the procedure many police officers follow in investigating drunk driving cases.

The case began in October 2010, when Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Mark Winder stopped Tyler McNeely for speeding in Cape Girardeau County. Trooper Winder noticed that McNeely displayed symp-toms of alcohol intoxication, asked McNeely to step out of his truck, and administered a series of standard field sobriety tests. McNeely performed the tests poorly, and Trooper Winder placed him under arrest for driving while intoxicated.

After handcuffing McNeely and placing him in his patrol car, Trooper Winder asked McNeely to submit to a breath test.

McNeely refused. During the 17 years that Trooper

Winder had been in law enforcement, he had many times obtained search warrants to secure blood specimens for testing when DUI suspects refused to provide a breath or blood test will-ingly.

However, shortly before this arrest, Trooper Winder had read an article in T r a f f i c S a f e t y N e w s t i -tled ,”Warrantless Blood Draws: Are They Now Authorized in Missouri?”

The article was written by a traffic safety resource prosecutor, and indi-cated that search warrants were no longer necessary in these cases, be-cause Missouri had modified its im-plied consent law.

The old law specified that when a person refused both a breath analyzer and a blood test, then “none shall be given.” In 2010, that section was amended to remove the phrase “none shall be given,” and the author of the article opined that this enabled Mis-souri law enforcement officers to ob-tain forcible blood specimens when DUI suspects refused to provide them

voluntarily. Acting on this information, Trooper

Winder drove McNeely to a hospital and directed a staff phlebotomist to draw his blood over McNeely’s objec-tions. When tested, McNeely’s blood alcohol content was well over the 0.08% statutory limit.

At trial, McNeely sought to sup-press the blood test results as an un-reasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. The trial court granted McNeely’s motion, and the state ap-pealed to the Missouri Supreme Court. That court affirmed the ruling of the trial court, as did the U.S. Supreme Court most recently.

Cops have been obtaining com-pelled blood alcohol specimens since at least the 1980s, when activist or-ganizations like MADD raised aware-ness of the impact of drunk drivers.

Most states elevated driving while intoxicated from an expensive traffic ticket to a criminal offense with man-datory jail time. They allowed or re-quired prosecution of repeat offenders as a felony, and many have war-rantless nonconsensual blood draws written into their statutes when a sus-pect refuses a blood or breath test.

Some require special circum-stances, such as prior convictions for DUI or involvement in an injury acci-dent. Some jurisdictions in Texas have “no refusal weekends” when everyone arrested for drunk driving provides a blood or breath sample whether they want to or not.

Missouri’s amended statute only implied that officers could obtain blood specimens without a search warrant or consent, where laws in other states explicitly allow it. Nevada Revised Statutes 484C.160-7b states:

If a person to be tested fails to sub-mit to a required test as directed by a police officer pursuant to this section and the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be tested was [driving under the influ-ence], the officer may direct that rea-sonable force be used to the extent necessary to obtain samples of blood from the person to be tested.

Quite a number of drunk drivers I arrested told me I couldn’t do that. They are all believers now.

The McNeely decision may, and probably does, make all of those com-

(Continued on page 12)

Nonconsensual blood draws

ruled unconstitutional

The Harris County Joint Task Force was launched a few months ago with four members from the Sher-iff’s Office and three Precinct 3 Con-stable deputies.

Since then, 40 felons have been taken off the street. And task force members have made 30 misde-meanor arrests and have written a hundred traffic citations. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia:

“Patrol deputies have been having to respond to a barking dog as much as to a bank robber. And this team is dedicated to focus on those chronic areas, and we believe it’s making the community safe.”

He says the task force responds to citizen complaints through the use of modern technology.

“They’re getting information from a variety of areas, but it is through the iWatch Harris County phone applica-tion system that we shut down a hyrdroponic in-house grow operation

— marijuana grow operation. And so we know that the system is working, and we want people to use it more often.”

The task force is busy conducting special investigations of high crime areas, while freeing up regular depu-ties to respond to other calls for ser-vice.

Harris County Pct-3 Constable Ken Jones says he’s happy to pad the unit with his deputies.

“We know there’s drugs here. We know there’s thievin’ rings — you know — organized rings. We know that there’s felons living in our com-munity. We know there’s child moles-ters out there that are not being moni-tored. So by doing this, we start find-ing these people, and we encourage people to call.”

Task Force members were se-lected based on their productivity, effi-ciency and familiarity of the area.

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Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia in partnership with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Honor Guard and Crime Stoppers honored law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

Last month, the Harris County Peace Officers’ Memorial took place at Crime Stoppers of Houston. The ceremony paid tribute to fallen HCSO deputies and deputies from all eight Harris County Constable Precincts.

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, several Harris County law enforcement personnel have been killed since 1985: “…39 HCSO deputies and detention officers have died in the line of duty while the Constable offices combined have lost 17.”

The ceremony was held in the parking lot of Crime Stoppers of Houston.

Harris County Sheriff Honors Fallen Law

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News From Another Beat

require scrutiny because of their age and various peculiarities. Such was the case with the Flint officer Smith, who died within hours of eating his lunch on Oct. 27, 1921. The cause of death was arsenic poisoning and an autopsy found trace amounts of strychnine and other chemicals in his body.

Floyd said Smith's case, re-searched by his granddaughter, Kath-leen Smith, and Flint police Sgt. Greg Hosmer, was unusual for investigators because it involved poisoning and it was never solved. He credited the careful investigation by family and po-lice as well as the department's rec-ommendation.

"We didn't believe we met the crite-ria in D.C. to have him honored, but we did the best we could to at least have him memorialized here in this city," said Hosmer, a veteran investi-gator of the city's cold cases. "As far as I was concerned, he died in the line of duty. We did send it on to D.C., in hopes that they would see it differ-ently."

For Smith, researching the grandfa-ther she never knew helped fill some holes in genealogical history and carry on the legacy of her father, the family's "keeper of everything sacred" who died in 2002.

"It was fun to go back and see if we could find a little bit more, a little bit more," Smith said. "My dad never knew some of this. ... It was nice to know that it wasn't a made-up story."

The memorial board also was chal-lenged as it dealt with deaths on Sept. 11, 2001, or those stemming from the

terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

One difficult case was that of Ronald Bucca, a fire marshal with the New York City Fire Department who was among the first responders and one of hundreds of them killed.

The board first concluded Bucca didn't qualify, since he was a firefighter — and firefighters have a national me-morial in Emmitsburg, Md. But it re-considered upon learning that fire mar-shals in the state of New York have arrest powers. Bucca's name now graces both the police and fire memo-rials.

While the rules have served the organization for 25 years, Floyd ac-knowledged that sometimes they are changed when a compelling case can be made. For instance, Floyd said offi-cials added a paragraph to the criteria that says a correctional officer qualifies if he or she had primary responsibility and custody of a prisoner at the time of death.

"Our job is not to exclude officers from the memorial, our job is to make sure we cross all the Ts and dot all the Is," Floyd said. "We err on the side of inclusion whenever there's any doubt at all."

Police chiefs

nationwide weigh in

on senate gun vote

The Major Cities Chiefs Association characterized last week's Senate vote as "a disgrace"


Police memorial wall

comes with some

tough calls

Two controversial cases show it isn't always so black-and-white to honor the nation's fallen men and women in blue

By Jeff Karoub, Associated Press

DETROIT — Deciding which police officers killed in the line of duty belong on a national memorial usually is driven by facts and presents few ob-stacles. But this year, two cases show that it isn't always so black-and-white to honor the nation's fallen men and women in blue.

This year, the cases of two induc-tees highlight different challenges fac-ing leaders of the National Law En-forcement Officers Memorial Fund, which holds a vigil Monday for 321 officers added to the wall in Washing-ton, D.C.

Detective Sgt. Caleb Embree Smith of the Flint Police Department died by poisoning in 1921, and Wauwatosa, Wis., Officer Jennifer Sebena was shot multiple times while working last Christmas Eve. Her husband has been charged in her death.

The final decision by the memorial board last month to include Sebena was ultimately unanimous but came after pressure from lawmakers, police and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

The group's board reversed its original rejection of Sebena's bid that was based on the belief that she died as a victim of domestic violence. But after reviewing hundreds of pages of reports, and speaking with the local police chief and prosecutor, the board decided Sebena died in the line of duty and deserved to be honored.

Smith's nomination also received unanimous approval and didn't require a reversal, but the nearly century-old case came with its own shades of gray: He was poisoned, though it was never determined how or by whom. Despite the passing of time, missing pieces and unusual cause of death, the group determined it was a line-of-duty death.

"It would be easy to say OK to eve-ryone," said Craig Floyd, the fund's chairman and chief executive. "We do

need to give that wall a certain integ-rity."

The integrity, Floyd said, comes through following a process and abid-ing by certain rules, even if it means facing scrutiny, such as with the Se-bena case. The nonprofit organization requires that in order to be chosen for inclusion on the wall, the officer must have died in the course of duty and served directly for a governmental agency with the powers to arrest.

Exclusions include officers who engaged in misconduct or gross negli-gence, or died as a result of substance abuse or suicide. Still, Floyd recog-nizes those are problems within law enforcement.

The group considered 632 cases for inclusion this year. Slightly more than half were approved, only 13 were denied, and the roughly 300 remaining await more information or final sign-off by the department or agency that em-ployed the officer, he said.

He said the group first saw the Se-bena case as a "death of personal na-ture" and not one because of her work, and said similar cases previously had been denied. But officials with the Wis-consin Professional Police Association found other officers honored by the group had died in similar circum-stances.

Associat ion spokesman Jim Palmer, who cast one of the 15 votes to add Sebena's name, told The Asso-ciated Press last month he hoped the board would avoid future controversies by enacting clear rules.

"They have a difficult test every year. These decisions aren't necessar-ily easy," he said.

Floyd said a closer look provided clarity: Authorities accuse Benjamin Sebena of ambushing his wife from behind as she conducted a routine solo patrol in the Milwaukee suburb. The Iraq War veteran pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the charge of first-degree intentional homi-cide, and his trial is scheduled to start in July.

"She was clearly murdered while on duty — in uniform," Floyd said. "Upon reconsideration, we came to a different conclusion — I think the proper conclusion."

Some cases lack controversy but


may cause him to discontinue attempt-ing the deep collar grip as he must use his hands and forearms to defend. They are also useful in preparing to open his guard, thereby allowing es-cape, or access to weapons located on the gunbelt.

Once the deep collar grip has been obtained small joint manipulations that break the suspect’s thumb or fingers should be applied rapidly and violently. These techniques are illegal in all forms of competition and most fighters are not prepared to counter them.

The Straight Arm Bar

The straight arm bar is often the first joint lock taught in Judo and BJJ. It’s very powerful because it allows the attacker to use the muscles of his legs and lower back, and to use the strength of both arms, against one of a victim’s isolated arms. The objective of the technique is to dislocate the elbow by hyperextending it backwards.

Regarding the straight arm bar Scott said, “Law enforcement officers will often extend their arms and grab a suspect by the shoulder or put a hand on his neck. Sometimes they do this from instinct just to try and keep the guy away from them and sometimes they are trying to use some kind of control hold or arrest technique. This places the officer in a lot of danger from the arm bar. Once the suspect grabs ahold of the extended arm he is going try and pull it across his center and throw a leg over the officer’s head to finish the arm bar.”

In MMA and BJJ fighters are taught to avoid extending their arms to pre-vent this attack. Law enforcement can learn from this and should also avoid fully extending their arm except for when making brief, rapid movements such as punching or when maneuver-ing to get better position. They must also prevent the attacker from pulling their arm across his center line when they are in the suspects guard.

The arm bar, once locked in and fully applied, poses a high likelihood of breaking the officer’s arm or dislocat-ing his elbow joint. The closed guard is not a natural or intuitive fighting tech-nique. If a suspect wraps his legs around an officer’s waist, crosses his ankles and starts manipulating an arm, the officer should immediately recog-nize that he is facing a trained fighter and escalate his use of force in accor-dance with his or her agency policy.

Not all police officers have seen MMA events or are familiar with these techniques. Highlight films that depict


the possibility that they will end up on the ground in a position of disadvan-tage. Once on the ground they must be able to recognize and defend against submission techniques. Their chances for successful defense will be improved if they use techniques which are illegal in competition as there is less chance their assailant will be fa-miliar or mentally prepared for them.

Defending threats from punches and kicks is fairly intuitive. Approach a completely untrained person who has never been in a fight and draw back your fist as if to punch them in the face. Chances are they will reflexively raise their hands and forearms in a useful protective posture. One of the things that can give a criminal trained in grappling an advantage over a po-lice officer is that the defense to the technique is not obvious. In fact, some of the things that a police officer may do intuitively can place him or her in increased danger.

Joint locks and chokes are usually applied in a series of steps although a highly trained fighter may apply them so quickly and smoothly they appear to be one action. Recognizing the po-tential danger of an attack from the first steps allows a defender to take action that will disrupt the attack be-fore it can be completed. I asked Scott what the most likely attacks a police officer might be likely to face were and how they might be recog-nized. He replied with “The collar choke and the straight arm bar, either from the guard or from bottom side control.”

The Collar Choke

Scott stated, “The collar choke is one of the most dangerous techniques there is. It can’t be used in MMA be-cause the fighters don’t wear shirts or gis (martial arts uniforms). But it’s a common technique in Judo and Jiu Jitsu. It’s done by using a fighter’s col-lar to cut off the blood to his carotid arteries.” Coincidently, just as Scott was discussing the technique with me

we observed an experienced, expert-level BJJ competitor choked into un-consciousness with this technique in mere seconds while sparring with a training partner.

With the officer either in his closed guard or when on top of the officer in the mounted position the suspect will initiate the choke in the same manner. The attacker begins by thrusting his one of his hands deep into the victim’s collar. There are a number of varia-tions to this choke and it can be initi-ated with either the right or left hand and using either a palm-up or palm-down grip. He will try to reach as deep into the collar as possible, attempting to put his thumb behind the base of his opponent’s neck.

The second step of the collar choke varies and it can be completed with differing support hand grips either in-side or outside of the collar on the op-posite side of the victim’s neck. The key threat indicator for the officer to react to is the attacker attempting that first deep collar grip. Once this grip is obtained there is an immediate risk of the officer being strangled to uncon-sciousness and possibly killed.

Understanding the risk posed pre-pares the officer to use appropriate techniques and a level of force accord-ing to agency policies. Most depart-ments consider strangulation tech-niques to be lethal force if used against a criminal suspect and the re-verse would be true when a suspect attempts them against an officer.

While the use of intermediate force weapons or a pistol can be an excel-lent option against a potential deadly technique the collar choke is most likely to be attempted when the sus-pects legs are blocking access to the officer’s gun belt in either the closed guard or the mounted position This reinforces the value of having a weapon located somewhere other than the officer’s gun belt that can be reached from a variety of positions.

This last Christmas I gave as gifts to all my officers a Colt brand tactical pen that when carried in a breast pocket can be drawn from most posi-tions and used to strike an assailants eyes and face. A neck knife or a backup gun worn in a holster mounted to your body armor are also good op-tions for last ditch weapons systems when you are in a position of disad-vantage and your life is on the line. A sturdy commercial ball point pen with a metal body might serve as a contin-gency weapon as well.

Hammerfist strikes or other punch-ing techniques to the assailant’s face

(Continued from page 4)

MMA

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Meetings

June 4 and July 2

the broken limbs, dislocated joints and unconsciousness that result from these attacks should be included dur-ing in-service training sessions to cre-ate awareness. While these images can be disturbing to a non-martial art-ist they are important in sensitizing people to the danger posed by these techniques.

The threats our officers face con-stantly change and police supervisors and training staff must constantly stay on top of these developments and

ensure that our officers are receiving realistic training and have the equip-ment and agency policies that position them to survive. They deserve the best we can give them.

Gabriel Russell is a Deputy Re-gional Director with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protec-tive Service, a First Sergeant in the Army National Guard, Founder and Managing Partner at Takouba Secu-rity LLC, and a volunteer at Safe Call Now. He has a Master of Science De-gree from Central Washington Univer-sity and a Bachelor of Arts from the Evergreen State College.


MMA

pulsory blood draw statutes unconsti-tutional. Drunk drivers and their law-yers across the country are likely very happy with this development. Law en-forcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices are going to have to move fast to change their procedures.

Most states provide for telephonic or electronic applications for search warrants, and this process will have to be streamlined for DUI cases. The

blood specimens have to be obtained quickly, as the evidence dissipates with the metabolization of alcohol in the body.

Some states and counties will have to establish a system of on-call magis-trates, as the typical judge is not going to like being called out of bed several times every night.

This ruling potentially impacts every drunk driving arrest after April 17, 2013. If your agency has not de-veloped new procedures and training to comply with the new ruling, it’s im-perative you do it quickly.

(Continued from page 7) By Kimball Bennion, The Salt Lake Tribune

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A group of police chiefs from across the United States, including Salt Lake City's top cop, issued a statement condemning the U.S. Senate's vote rejecting a se-ries of gun control amendments, in-cluding one requiring background checks for all gun show and online gun sales.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank, who is on the board of direc-tors of the Major Cities Chiefs Associa-tion, joined in the group's characteriza-tion of last week's Senate vote as "a disgrace."

"Showing an unprecedented lack of courage, U.S. Senators defied the will of the American people and voted ac-cording to their instructions from the Washington gun lobby," the associa-tion's statement reads. "Much was said about the rights of gun owners, but almost nothing was said about the equal rights of the public to be safe from gun violence."

In an interview after the Senate vote, Burbank said the strong lan-guage of the letter was approved by the association's five-member board of directors but that the association's support of stronger gun laws — which include universal background checks, limits to high-capacity magazines and a ban on assault weapons — repre-sents the unanimous opinion of the association's members, who oversee police agencies in the 70 largest cities in the U.S. and Canada. Burbank has been the board's vice president for three years.

Burbank said that while mass shootings such as the ones in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., get the most attention, there are many other gun deaths in cities across the country that police deal with every day. Re-stricting criminals' access to guns would make a difference, he said.

"People who want to do society harm are getting access to firearms when they shouldn't," Burbank said.

Burbank said that the measures supported by the police chiefs were moderate.

"Reasonable, in the middle, is where we need to be, and unfortu-nately there doesn't seem to be a lot of reason in this current debate," he said.

The letter also cited the bombing attacks by two suspects in Boston, which also included the fatal shooting of a police officer, as "a reminder of the violence that constantly threatens the public and their police."

"Like all cops who put on a uniform

each day, Chiefs of Police will not give up on Washington," the statement continues. "We will continue our strug-gle for laws that protect the public from gun violence."

In addition to the background checks amendment, both Republican Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee opposed an amendment to limit the size of gun magazines and enact a ban on assault weapons.

The Utah senators did vote in favor of a Republican amendment that would increase resources for gun prosecutions, augment mental health screenings and add to school security, as well as permit interstate handgun sales. None of the amendments met the chamber's 60-vote threshold to pass.

"[Senator Hatch] voted for a pro-posal that wouldn't restrict Second Amendment rights," said Hatch spokesman Matthew Harakal.

Harakal noted that Burbank did not reach out to the senator's office before the vote. The day after the measures failed, Hatch said in a Senate floor speech that the measures he voted against "failed to respond to the New-town tragedy."

Hatch added that "people, not guns, kill and harm other people and criminals will not obey the law."

"It does no good to pretend other-wise or legislate for a society in which those things are not true, in other words, for a society that does not ex-ist," Hatch said.

Lee's office declined to offer any comment on the police chiefs' state-ment, but Lee has offered previous public statements about his vote.

In an op-ed piece published in USA Today on the day the gun measures were defeated, Lee defended his deci-sion to vote against the background checks measure, known as the Toomey-Manchin amendment, saying it was "too vague for law-abiding citi-zens to understand with certainty, and too easy for criminals to avoid."

"Gun-control advocates point to polls that show support for expanding background checks," Lee wrote, "But members of Congress do not get to vote on broad poll questions. They have to vote on specific legislation. If we are trying to minimize the burden on law-abiding gun owners while tak-ing significant steps to prevent the next Sandy Hook, the Toomey-Manchin amendment, and the others that would have limited Second Amendment rights, failed both ele-ments of that test."


News from another beat Blood draws

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eating out or having a big, fancy house. Those are wants. Most people also have enough clothes in the closet and a way to get around town. They may not have designer clothes or a fancy foreign sports car, but again, those are wants, not needs. Keeping the lights on and the house warm in winter and cool during the summer? Utilities are a need. But no one needs a $300 super-deluxe cable television package.

Now, there are some important wants. I want you to have life insur-ance to protect your family. I also want you to have a will and health insur-ance. I want you to have some other nice things, too, like a better car or a nicer house. There’s nothing wrong, at some point, with having a few toys or eating at a good restaurant once in a while. But again, these things are wants, not needs.

Believe it or not, very few Ameri-cans struggle with basic necessities. Sure, there are hungry people and homeless people in America. Those of us who have been financially blessed should want to help the less fortunate in ways that allow them to get back on their feet and start providing for them-selves again. But most folks in this country have nothing to whine about. There’s nothing wrong with having a few wants, but you should define them correctly—and never, ever put them ahead of your needs!

How do mutual funds work? I’d like to start investing in mutual

funds, but I have no idea how they work. Could you explain about them please?

Jennifer Dear Jennifer, First of all, don’t rely solely on my

answer here. You should never invest in anything you don’t fully understand. Before you do anything else, sit down with a good mutual fund broker, some-one who has the heart of a teacher, who will help you find what’s best for you and your specific situation and goals.

Simply put, a mutual fund—if it’s a stock mutual fund—is a group of 90–200 stocks. If it’s a growth stock mu-tual fund, then it’s a group of 90–200 growth stocks. Analysts buy the stocks

they think will increase in price and sell the stocks they feel will go down in price. When the analysts buy growth stocks, it turns it into a growth stock mutual fund. If they buy bonds instead, it becomes a bond mutual fund. Sev-eral people put money into these groups, and that’s where you get the name “mutual fund.” They’re mutually funded.

These types of investments are much safer than single stock investing because your money is spread across several different stocks. Plus, you’ve got people who know what they’re do-ing picking the stocks. My advice would be to take a hard look at mutual funds that have been out there for 10 to 20 years and have a good track re-cord for a long period of time. I have one that has been open since 1934, and that kind of longevity and stability gives me confidence that over time they’ll be just fine!

She stole his identity Dear Dave, If a wife takes out a credit card in

her husband’s name without his knowl-edge, and they get divorced, can the husband claim identity theft?

Nancy Dear Nancy, Absolutely! Unless they have

power of attorney, anytime someone opens an account in a name other than their own, they have stolen an identity. Being married to someone doesn’t give you the right to sign their name to a document.

I knew a guy in the real estate busi-ness years ago who was doing a lot of property deals under his own name. Occasionally, the title company would require his wife’s signature, and he would sign her name on the papers himself. Sometimes he signed her name after calling her up and explain-ing what was happening, and she was okay with the situation. Then, he signed some papers she didn’t know about, and it came back to bite him. He was charged with criminal fraud!

You cannot legally sign your spouse’s name without first having power of attorney privileges. If you do, it’s called identity theft. It’s a crime anytime you lie to get money.

—Dave

She wants to work I’m a stay-at-home mom now, and

my husband brings home $2,600 a month. We’re trying to get out of debt, but we need more money coming in. I want to go back to work, but emotion-ally part of me feels like I should stay home with our 2-year-old daughter. What do you think?

Kayla Dear Kayla, I understand the feelings involved,

especially if you’ve spent all of your time home with your child. But don’t make the mistake of blaming the debt if you simply want to go back to work. You’re not a bad person if you have kids and you work outside the home.

I have several ladies on my team who have young children, and they work 40 hours a week. Guess what? They’re excellent mothers! Anyone who says a woman can’t be a great mom because she works outside the home is full of crap. On the other hand, if anyone says you’re not fulfill-ing yourself as a person or you’re stunting your intellectual development because you’re a stay-at-home mom, they’re full of it too!

I’d advise you and your husband to sit down, talk about this a lot, and pray about the situation. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks, because it’s none of their business. You guys are in charge of your lives and your family. That makes it your job to decide what’s best.

If you want to stay at home, and you guys can make it happen finan-cially, that’s a great thing. If you can’t right now, or you simply want to go back into the workforce, that’s fine too. It’ll help solve your debt problem. Then after you’ve got your money under control, you might find you want to come home again. The option will be there.

For now, I think you should go back to work. Why? Because you want to!

Financing the college experience

We live in New Jersey, and my wife and I can afford the $10,000 to send our son to a state college. However, we have a younger child who is head-ing to college in a couple of years, and

I’m having a hard time justifying room and board when he can commute. My wife doesn’t have a problem paying for it, even though it would mean taking out a loan. What do you think?

Andy Dear Andy, I’m with you on this one. If you had

an extra $40,000 lying around, this wouldn’t be an issue. But if you’re talk-ing about borrowing money just for him to live in a dorm, my answer is a re-sounding no!

If your son, or your wife, wants the “college experience” to be part of the equation, then Junior can get a job to pay for the added expense. Anyone can make $10,000 a year delivering pizza while in school, and it would be a great life experience. You might spot him a little something to get him in there and get things going, but I’d make it contingent on him working to pay the remainder.

There’s no reason to take out loans for something like this. It sounds like you guys can cash flow the important stuff, but make sure this kid learns what work is and why it’s important. I worked full time while I was in college and still graduated in four years.

Besides, most college dorm rooms look a lot like prison cells; they’re tiny, with concrete block walls and maybe a window, if you’re lucky. Does this really sound like an “experience” worth going into debt for? I don’t think so!

Today's necessities C a n y o u p l e a s e d e f i n e

“necessities” in today’s world while trying to get out of debt and live on a budget?

Matthew Dear Matthew, Whether you’re talking about the

world today or 50 years ago, necessi-ties haven’t changed. Necessities are still food, shelter, clothing, transporta-tion and utilities. We’re talking about needs versus wants. The problem is that many people were never taught that there’s a difference between the two—a big difference.

Most people have enough food to eat and a decent place to live. Those are necessities. I’m not talking about


TRAINING

Harris County

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The Harris County Sheriff's Academy

is certified by the Texas Commission on

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and abides by its rules. Training certificates

are provided to all students who satisfacto-rily complete Academy courses, and all

training is reported to TCLEOSE. Certain

courses require prerequisites (as indicated

in the course descriptions) which must be

met prior to acceptance for admission.

The Academy charges a nominal fee for

individuals sponsored by agencies not

f u n d e d b y H a r r i s C o u n t y :

Basic Law Enforcement - $550.00

Advanced Training Classes - $1.00 per

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The fee must be paid on the first day of

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Some courses taught by outside vendors

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CAD Training/General User/(ARS,

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Basic Low-Light Firearms – June 3rd

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CPR/First Aid/AED (Course Number

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at the worksite and give first aid. The Heartsaver First Aid Course consists of six

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understand the Glock save-action pistol.

The student will also be taught how to field

strip the Glock and be given instruction to maintain a Glock handgun. Student must

provide a Glock handgun and a gun clean-

ing kit.

Health Insurance Portability and

Accountability Act (HIPAA) – June 4th –

9a.m.; June 12th – 1p.m.; June 18th –

9a.m. Two-hour course. Students must be

employed by Harris County. This course

provides a review of the HIPAA Privacy

Rules in accordance with the Code of Fed-

eral Regulations to ensure compliance with

administrative, security, and technical rules

relating to protected health information

(PHI) including associated penalties for non-compliance. This course is presented

by Harris County Human resources & Risk

Management (HR&RM).

TCIC/NCIC for Full Access Opera-

tor (Course Number 3802) – June 5th –

8a.m. 16-hour course. Students must be

employed by a law enforcement agency.

$16.00 fee for students not funded by Har-

ris County. This class is for employees

who enter data into the system.

State and Federal Law Updates

(Course Number 3182) – June 5th –

8a.m.; June 12th – 8a.m.; June 20th –

8a.m. Three-hour course. $10.00 fee for

students not funded through Harris County.

This course will familiarize law enforce-

ment personnel with selected bills passed

by the 82nd Legislative Session. Meets

required training as cited in the Texas Oc-

cupations Code 1701.351(a).

NCIC/TCIC for less than Full Access

Operators – June 5th – 8a.m. Eight-hour course. Students must be employed by a

law enforcement agency. $10.00 fee for

students not funded by Harris County. This

class is for any user who will be submitting

requests for information through the NCIC/

TCIC system.

Intermediate Inmate Rights and

Privileges (Course Number 3502) – June

10th – 8a.m. 16-hour course. Students

must be employed by a law enforcement

agency. $16.00 fee for students not funded by Harris County. If Basic Jailer certificate

was issued on or after March 1, 1993, then

all of the following courses must be com-

pleted to qualify for the Intermediate Jailer

certificate:

• 3501 Intermediate Suicide Detection and

Prevention in Jails

• 3502 Intermediate Inmate Rights and

Privileges

• 3503 Intermediate Interpersonal Commu-

nications in a Jail Setting • 3504 Intermediate Use of Force in a Jail

Setting

• 2109 Spanish for Law Enforcement

Tow Truck Rules, Regulation and

Inspection – June 10th – 8a.m. Six hour

course. $10.00 fee for students not funded

by Harris County. The goal of the course is

to give students a basic understanding of

Tow Truck Rules and Towing Policy and

learn to complete an inspection of permit-

ted Tow Trucks.

Gang Awareness - A Little about A

Lot – June 11th – 8a.m. Eight-hour course.

Students must be employed by a law en-forcement agency. $10.00 fee for students

not funded by Harris County. The goal of

this class is for the average person, officer

or not, to gain a greater perspective and

broader insight of the gang subculture. The

class will provide the student with tools in

regards to laws that affects gang members

as well as identifiers. The student should

leave with a greater understanding and

knowledge and how to apply it to some part

of their lives.

Expandable Baton Re-Certification/2

hour Course (Course Number 3300) –

June 11th – 9a.m. Two-hour course. Stu-

dents must be commissioned Peace Offi-

cers. $10.00 for students not funded by

Harris County. Students will revisit the use

of force and liability issues involved in the

use of impact qeapons as well as the tech-

niques for effectively using the expandable

baton. This course meets the Department

requirement to recertify with this type of weapon. Students must bring an expand-

able baton, belt, and baton sheath. A

mouth guard is strongly recommended.

This is a physically demanding course.

Transition to Optics for Patrol Car-

bines – June 11th – 9a.m.; June 12th –

9a.m.; June 20th – 9a.m. Four-hour

course. For law enforcement personnel

who have already successfully completed

the 24-hour Patrol Carbine Course. $10.00

fee for students not funded by Harris County. Through lecture, demonstration,

class discussion and live fire range exer-

cises, the student will be able to demon-

strate safe utilization of the Patrol Carbine

and approved electronic optical sighting

system under departmentally approved

circumstances. This is a four-hour range

session utilizing lecture, demonstration,

and live-fire range drills, with a compre-

hensive skills test at the end of the block of

instruction.

Intermediate Special Investigative

Topics (rev 2010) – June 12th – 8a.m.

Eight-hour course. $10.00 fee for students

not funded by Harris County.

Intermediate Human Trafficking –

June 13th – 8a.m. Eight-hour course.

$10.00 for students not funded by Harris

County. The goal of the course is to in-



crease the law enforcement community

awareness of the issue of human traffick-

ing, through the exposure of information

including: victim identification, investiga-

tion, rescue and prosecution considerations,

referral and service providers availability,

the critical need for development of a coor-

dinated community response and the inter-

connectivity of state, federal and global

human trafficking concerns.

Public Speaking for the Faint-Hearted – June 13th – 8a.m. Four-hour

course. It has been said that people fear

public speaking more than death. It is true

that the mere thought of public speaking

can intimidate the hardiest of souls, but it

doesn’t have to be that way. This course

presents strategies for reducing and manag-

ing fear of public speaking. Topics include

proper preparation, strategies for engaging

an audience, effective use of slide presenta-

tions, managing the room, and handling questions and answers. This course also

addresses important issues of image and

presentation including appropriate dress,

handling a microphone, effectively using a

podium, the proper use of humor, under-

standing the power of the pause, how to

finish strong, and more. This course is

presented by Joe Serio/Joe Serio Enter-

prises, LLC. Joe Serio was a presenter at

the HCSO 2011 Executive Leadership Con-

ference.

Building Effective Relationships with

the Media – June 13th – 1p.m. Four-hour

course. Building effective relationships

with the media can be the most important

task of any agency or organization. A poor

media performance can have significant

and ongoing social and economic ramifica-

tions, not the least of which will be the

reputation of the organization. The purpose

of this course is to teach you how to build

credibility with the media and do every-thing to ensure that your message is the one

that is broadcast across the airways. This

course presents the realities of media work

and strategies for building effective rela-

tionships with the media. Attendees will

learn the various forces at work on produc-

ers and reporters that influence how they do

their jobs. Understanding these dynamics

is critical to success with the media. Atten-

dees will also learn how to define and re-

search their primary audience, promote their agency’s mission, create a strong

online presence, handle loaded questions,

and more. Additionally, this course will

cover how to anticipate a call from the me-

dia, what they will ask, and how to design

an appropriate response to media requests.

This course is presented by Joe Serio/Joe

Serio Enterprises, LLC. Joe Serio was a

presenter at the HCSO 2011 Executive

Leadership Conference.

Marine Safety Enforcement Officer


8a.m. Eight-hour course. Students must be

commissioned Peace Officers. As of Janu-

ary 1, 1999 Texas law requires all Peace

Officers who enforce the Texas Water

Safety Act to be certified as an MSEO. This includes writing water citations, BWI

Enforcement, Boating Accident Investiga-

tions, and performing Water Safety Inspec-

tions.

Prerequisite: Prior to taking this class, you

must complete the Texas Parks and Wild-

life Boater Safety Course. This course is

offered on the following website: http://

www.boat-ed.com/tx. If you pass by scor-

ing 80% or greater, you may generate a

temporary certificate online. You should receive your permanent Texas Parks and

Wildlife Boating Safety Education Certifi-

cate by mail within five to seven days.

There is a practice test you can take prior to

paying for the certification exam. The

course fee is $25.00 paid to Texas Parks &

Wildlife for Non HCSO-Reserves. There is

an additional $10.00 tuition fee for those

not funded by a Harris County agency.

Instructor Development (Course

Number 1014) – June 17th – 8a.m. 40-hour course. Students must be funded by a


students not funded by Harris County. This

course is designed to provide the basic con-

cepts of instruction and to increase the

quality of professional law enforcement

training. It will introduce the student to the

teaching-learning process, phases of the

teaching-learning process, factors affecting

learning, preparing a lesson plan, and meth-

ods of instruction. The student will be taught how to develop and use instructional

media to enhance their presentations. In

addition, the fundamental techniques of

developing testing and evaluation proce-

dures will be presented. Each student must

demonstrate the basic knowledge and skills

required to effectively instruct a lesson

during two teaching exercises which will

be evaluated by Academy Staff members.

This course complies with TCLEOSE Rule

221.27 (a)(2). Requests to attend the Instructor Develop-

ment Course must be made by correspon-

dence, signed by employee's immediate

supervisor. The request shall include the

potential student's daytime and/or cell num-

ber, and is to be submitted to the Academy,

Attention Advanced Training Sergeant.

Request will be maintained for one

TCLEOSE training cycle, after which the

student will be required to resubmit for the

class. Students who have been accepted for this class will be notified of their accep-

tance by the Advanced Training Coordina-

tor.

Animal Law 101 - From Pit Bulls to

Rabies, Protecting Your Community


8a.m. Eight-hour course. For law enforce-

ment personnel. $10.00 fee. This course is

designed to provide students with an over-

view of Animal Control services available

to law enforcement and civilians alike. Covered topics will include new laws per-


taining to animal control, vicious versus

dangerous dog designations, and commu-

nity services available. This course would

be particularly helpful for field officers and

communications personnel.

Cultural Diversity-3939 / Required

Training (rev. 2009) – June 18th – 8a.m.

Eight-hour course. $10.00 fee for students

not funded by Harris County. Updated

effective January 1, 2009.

Reid Technique of Interviewing and

Interrogation – June 18th – 8a.m.; June

21st – 8a.m. 18-hour course. Participants

come from both the private sector

(retailing, finance, health care, manufactur-

ing, etc.) and the public sector, including all levels of law enforcement and govern-

ment, from every U.S. State and Canadian

Province, as well as countries in Europe,

Asia and the Middle East. Seminar topics

include interview and interrogation prepa-

ration, distinction between an interview and

interrogation, proper room environment,

and afctors affecting a subject’s behavior.

Contact Debbie at (888) 255-1635 for pric-

ing. Acceptable forms of payment are

cash, check, or purchase order made pay-able to John E. Reid and Associates, Inc.

Representatives of John E. Reid and Asso-

ciates, Inc. will collect all registration fees

on the first day of class. The Harris County

Sheriff's Academy will not collect funds

Integrity Centered Leadership – June

19th – 8a.m. 20-hour course. This course

is designed to provide new, current, and

future leaders at all levels with a foundation

that will allow them to immediately trans-

fer these principles and skills to real-life challenges that they will experience in both

their personal and professional lives.

“Integrity-Centered Leadership” is about

sound human resource development that

highlights the difference in an average or-

ganization or one that provides the

“winning edge” in employee, staff and or-

ganizational development.

Value Based Leadership – June 19th –

8a.m. Seven-hour course. $10.00 fee for

book. This management course and may be taken by anyone already a supervisor or

anticipates becoming a supervisor. This

course provides participants a better under-

standing of the importance for those indi-

viduals representing governmental author-

ity and law enforcement to constantly strive

to meet the highest expectations of honor

and integrity when exercising the authority

delegated to them by means of our Consti-

tution.

All students will need to pay $10.00 for the book supplied. Requested form of payment

is cash and is to be paid to the instructor. If

an agency needs to pay by purchase order/

check, contact Kirby Griffin for arrange-

ments (832) 875-7658.

Ropes Challenge Course High Ele-

ments Beginners – June 19th – 8a.m.

Eight-hour course. This course will help

the student with personal achievements by

confronting fears and/or anxieties which

will build self confidence, hence building more team reliance. The course will also

allow the student to explore the fundamen-

tals of trust, craftsmanship, coaching, and

teamwork. Officers may not weigh in ex-

cess of 300 pounds due to equipment limi-

tations. This course is outside and takes place on raised equipment. Inclement

weather may result in the class being can-

celled. It is the student's responsibility to

verify the class has not been cancelled by

calling the Academy at (281) 436-2900.

Intermediate Suicide Detection and

Prevention in Jails (Course Number

3501) – June 21st – 8a.m. Eight-hour

course. Students must be employed by a


students not funded by Harris County. This course is designed to provide county cor-

rections officers with an understanding of

offenders with mental impairments, suici-

dal behavior, and methods for detection and

prevention of suicide. Suicide prevention

should begin at arrest and continue

throughout the individual’s stay in a correc-

tional facility. Experience has shown that

almost all jail suicides can be averted with

implementation of a comprehensive pre-

vention program that includes: staff train-ing, intake screening, communication be-

tween staff, appropriate and safe housing,

frequent observation, prompt intervention,

and human interaction between staff and

inmates.

If Basic Jailer certificate was issued on or

after March 1, 1993, then all of the follow-

ing courses must be completed to qualify

for the Intermediate Jailer certificate:

• 3501 Intermediate Suicide Detection and

Prevention in Jails • 3502 Intermediate Inmate Rights and

Privileges

• 3503 Intermediate Interpersonal Commu-

nications in a Jail Setting

• 3504 Intermediate Use of Force in a Jail

Setting

• 2109 Spanish for Law Enforcement

Property Room Management Train-

ing Seminar/IAPE – June 25th – 8a.m. 16

-hour course. This course will teach the

student proven methods for storing and preserving property and evidence, to in-

clude policies and procedures, documenting

and numbering, and documenting move-

ment. The course will also cover firearms,

drugs, and money as evidence. Contact the

Internal Association for Property and Evi-

dence, Inc./Training Division for pricing

and registration at (800) 449 - IAPE

(phone), (818) 846 - 4543 (fax) or

www.iape.org.

Investigation of Child Abuse (Course Number 2105) – June 26th – 8a.m. 24-

hour course. Student must be a commis-

sioned Peace Officer. $24.00 fee for stu-

dents not funded by Harris County. Stu-

dents will learn the correct procedures in

recognizing child abuse and the law regard-

ing the responsibility of police in the inves-

tigation of child abuse cases. Emphasis

will be on signs of child abuse, interview-

ing witnesses, case preparation, and Child

Protective Services. This is an Intermedi-ate Core Course.

Training

Blue/Gold

Captain Alan Helfman

River Oaks Chrysler Jeep

Dodge

Call Capt. Alan Helfman

713-524-3801

www.riveroakscars.com


june 2013 - squarespace

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