California Police Chief- Fall 2013 CPCA_2018_Spring Magazine_Final | Page 26

ready. If my life were a pyramid, Tami is the centerpiece –
the point where all other stones cascade downward, love’s
mortar sealing the relationship’s structure. Tami is the
cornerstone of a marriage well-cultivated…a family well
sculpted, with the clay of hard work, perseverance and
love. I cannot imagine where my life’s path would have
led me had I not been blessed with my incredible family -
each child more successful than their father. I imagine that
other road most traveled, dark and damp, filled with road
blocks, impediments, thistle bushes with thorns slicing at
my attempts to fulfill my personal goals and ambitions.
Instead, good fortune was bestowed upon my family.
My profession expects me to look behind the blinds and
exposes me to the horrors of humanity. I am fortunate
my family is an oasis where I freely swim in their lake’s
abundant acceptance and absorb their bounty under shady
palm trees of support.
In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning (1946), Holocaust
survivor Viktor Frankl wrote, “Everything can be taken
from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms-to
choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to
choose one's own way.” From the moment I was diagnosed,
I treated this disease as “vanilla cancer” and faced my
struggles with humor. I share this personal information
with you, neither to receive sympathy nor accolades, but
to demonstrate my commitment and dedication to law
enforcement and my belief in community oriented policing.
I believe I am the first police chief in the nation to work
with a TEP. I owe a huge debt of gratitude for my former
City Manager, Paul Cayler, my current City Manager,
David Kelley, for allowing me the opportunity to return
to work, and the support of our gracious City Council for
accepting me back with my new communication abilities.
I want you to know that my personality, my work ethic,
and work product have not changed – only my voice has
changed.
Today I channel the words of Lou Gehrig as I consider
myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. I cuffed
cancer and I am back to work. I have the support of my
co-workers and the Cloverdale community. I have so much
more to accomplish, both professionally and personally.
I look forward with anticipation to my children’s
achievements, three more weddings, and countless more
grandchildren. I look forward to the next chapters in my
life, from breaking ground on our new police facility to
earning a second doctorate degree. I am a survivor – a
living example of what people can endure and survive.  ■
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