The President’ s Message
Remembering Bobby Smith and matters related to PFRS
25 years has been
Patrick Colligan a great start
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I made it: August 2017. The 25-year stopwatch finally finished the countless laps around the dial. I know Tier 3 officers out there( 30 years). We’ re working on that!
It sounds cliché, but we all have heard it a thousand times. It really does feel like it was yesterday. I was sitting in my car at the end of Cougar Court in Hillsborough in August 1992. I was sitting in my car because we weren’ t“ worthy” to step foot on Somerset County Police Academy soil yet. I remember listing to Howard Stern on the radio and waiting patiently for the staff to summon Class 9-92 to 23 weeks of training. I was a bit older than everybody else, probably thought I was a bit smarter( I wasn’ t) and wanted to get going with the academy.
I was unaware that eight drill instructors had some other plans that morning. I should have guessed because I heard about 20 laughing cops in the woods surrounding our cars at the end of the court. Yes, the previous class had decided to come out for the show. And so the drill instructors arrived as promised, eight perfectly groomed Neanderthals marching down the block to a cadence that soon overtook Howard Stern. I thought this was a pretty good time to turn off the radio.
So Day 1 of the 9,125 of my new career was off to a rousing start. Class 9-92( affectionately known that day as Class 9-92 … Class without a Clue) spent about two hours at the end of the block that day. Both of those hours are deeply imbedded in my memory. On the 10th trip back to our cars for screwing up, I somehow thought that listening to Howard would work out well. The problem was that Honda put power antennas on the 1992 Accords. I might as well have fired a flare gun. That rising antenna caught the eye of every one of those Neanderthals that morning. I was surrounded. Neanderthals have great hearing. It was the last voluntary decision I made for the next 23 weeks. Like all of us that first day, I drove home wondering what the hell I was thinking in becoming a law enforcement officer.
So day 9,125 creeps up on me in the beginning of August, and I have to say I’ ve never looked back and thought I made the wrong decision. It’ s been an incredible journey that isn’ t over quite yet. There are a new set of goals to tackle, new ideas to explore and an agenda that that still has quite a few items to address. I’ m excited, for example, to start a journey with an administration in Trenton that we can talk to. We deserve that.
In the meantime, Harvey and Irma have wreaked their havoc on Texas and Florida. We are still facing an active hurricane season. Our sincere thanks to those that donated to NAPO’ s relief efforts( the information is still on our web site). NAPO has members on the ground in Texas and Florida. It was frustrating that our friends in Texas really didn’ t want us to send anything. In fact, they are packing up trailers to send to Florida. The vast majority of Texas was unaffected by the storm, and Texans really do take care of their own. Now the hundreds of officers who lost their homes simply need monetary donations. The NJSPBA will be adding $ 10,000 to the NAPO fund. I will personally assure you that the funds will be spent responsibly and will go directly to our brothers and sisters.
Every line of duty death is tragic. But I want to close this month with the extraordinary story of Houston Police Sergeant Steve Perez, a 34-year veteran who died in the line of duty two days before his 61st birthday. I suppose not too many people would have asked why he couldn’ t make it to work that day. A record hurricane, 34 years of service and 60 years of age certainly affords you some rights at the station. His wife asked him not to go in that day. He simply told her,“ We’ ve got work to do.” He never made it. He drowned driving in the darkness to do our work. And that ladies and gentlemen – and mayors, council people, assemblypersons, senators and Mr. Governor – is why we are different. 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 ■ SEPTEMBER 2017