The President ’ s Message
Remembering Bobby Smith and matters related to PFRS
Patrick Colligan
‘ Those are my heroes ’
Lieutenant Scott Smith , SWAT team deputy commander for the Orlando Police Department , presented a case study on the Pulse nightclub shooting at our convention in September . Scott was asked to do the same presentation at the Chiefs of Police Association on Oct . 2 . Until Oct . 1 , the Pulse nightclub shooting was the largest mass shooting in U . S history . On the morning of Oct 2 ., Scott had to change his PowerPoint slide . What an incredibly sad commentary on our society .
I was in the lobby of the Mandalay Bay that night . My room was on the 29th floor . Our group of 12 got separated while we were heading back to our rooms . We had no idea what was happening outside . Here is an excerpt from my Facebook post :
There are thousands of heroes from that night , including thousands of every day citizens . Extraordinary circumstances make average people do extraordinary things . I want to recognize the five or six “ average ” cops that were among the first into Mandalay Bay when the carnage started . I saw them at the elevator bank screaming to get up to the 32nd floor . Their handguns were out and the looks on their faces told me that this was no false alarm . They knew what they were going to face . I had no idea at the time . They knew it was going to be a death sentence to engage that monster on the 32nd floor and they were screaming to get up there . Those in law enforcement know what I mean . Average cops . No long guns . No ballistic shields . Likely no advanced SWAT training . A couple wearing reflective traffic vests , not ballistic vests . Probably just running from a “ quiet ” Sunday night outside job post in the corner parking lot of a country music concert . They had the simple “ luck ” of being posted closest to Mandalay Bay that evening , nothing more . Those are my heroes . A death sentence of extraordinary firepower awaited and those guys literally couldn ’ t get there fast enough ! I can ’ t get them out of my mind .
I posted this on Oct . 3 . Now , I have an idea who they were , and now I know that I was correct . The world got to see them on 60 Minutes a week later . Just a few cops who were closest to the Mandalay Bay . Nothing more . One was a SWAT team member . I hope you ’ ve seen the body cam footage . They knew they had to get up there to engage the shooter . And they did . As usual , the coward couldn ’ t face a real adversary and did what cowards do .
This is bravery that lacks an adjective to adequately describe it . In the wildest training scenarios , you couldn ’ t even make that up . And yet they went . And for a few wonderful days , even the liberal media liked law enforcement again . It was great while it lasted .
Finally , our November issue will not come out until after Election Day . Believe me , I hear your questions . I do . One candidate for governor wants to make the 2 percent Arbitration Cap law ; wants to force police and fire consolidation ; wants to give us our pension with the liabilities ; would keep the chair of PERC ; would keep the chair of Civil Service ; would continue to let the Department of Community Affairs annihilate collective bargaining and the continuation of these insane rule changes . The list goes on , but my space is limited . If sanctuary cities is what you care about most , then close the curtain and pull the lever how you see fit . I ’ m not happy about some of the positions either , but this backward slide must stop . We ’ ve “ been there , done that ” eight years ago and I ’ m not interested in repeating history . I can ’ t afford it ! d
NEW JERSEY STATE POLICEMEN ’ S BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE BOARD
PATRICK COLLIGAN State President
MARC KOVAR Executive Vice-President
Peter Andreyev 1st Vice-President Henry Werner 2nd Vice-President Michael Pellegrino 3rd Vice-President Mark Aurigemma 4th Vice-President Eugene Dello 5th Vice-President Keith Bennett 6th Vice-President Richard Kott 7th Vice-President Frederick Ludd , Sr . 8th Vice-President Luke Sciallo 9th Vice-President Frank P . Cipully 10th Vice-President John Cernek 11th Vice-President Ed Carattini , Jr . 12th Vice-President
Michael Kaniuk Financial Secretary Margaret Hammond Recording Secretary John Monsees Treasurer
Michael Freeman Trustee Bryan Flammia Trustee Robert Ormezzano Trustee Terrance Benson , Sr . Trustee Rodney Furby Trustee Charles Schwartz Trustee Patrick Moran Trustee
Joseph A . Macones Sergeant-at-Arms Sean Plasket Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Tardio Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Heller Sergeant-at-Arms Keith Curry Sergeant-at-Arms Christopher Ricciotti Sergeant-at-Arms John Granahan Sergeant-at-Arms Andrew Pacucci Sergeant-at-Arms
Joseph Nigro Sergeant-at-Arms
Kelly Polack Sergeant-at-Arms
Glenn Pagano Sergeant-at-Arms
4 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ OCTOBER 2017