Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 3 Volume 9 | Page 45

first officers drove up they looked confused
to see several individuals lying on their
stomachs ready to be searched and cuffed.
My observer was laughing hysterically as
he directed the ground officers to the right
suspect.
As the Code-4 was broadcast, we left the
ground officers to explain and pacify those
other citizens who had apparently had
guilty consciences about something else.
“We turned and flew off into the sunset
on our blue and white steed. I just wish that I
could have left a silver bullet for those to
ponder— Who were those guys in the air?”
R ON WAS GIVEN A DISABILITY PENSION IN 1977. N O LONGER ABLE TO DO POLICE WORK , HE PURSUED VARIOUS JOBS
IN PRIVATE SECURITY AND TRAINING IN PERSONAL SAFETY , INCLUDING BEING A BODYGUARD , DIRECTOR OF SECURITY ,
CONSULTANT AND TRAINER FOR SECURITY FORCES AT DOE NUCLEAR FACILITIES .
H E MOVED TO L AS V EGAS IN 1993 AND JOINED LVMPD. O N BEHALF OF THE D EPARTMENT , HE SERVED AS A CPTED
(C RIME P REVENTION T HROUGH E NVIRONMENTAL D ESIGN ) EXPERT CONSULTANT TO VARIOUS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTI-
TIES IN L AS V EGAS . H E RETIRED IN 2011 AFTER SEVERAL YEARS AS THE P OLICE A CADEMY T RAINING M ANAGER .
R ON HAS WON SIXTEEN AWARDS FOR HIS WRITING SKILLS IN GENRES OF POETRY , FLASH FICTION , AND FICTION AND
NON - FICTION SHORT STORIES FROM THE P UBLIC S AFETY W RITERS A SSOCIATION . H IS PUBLISHED MEMOIR BOOK , B EYOND
R ECOGNITION , WON A FIRST - PLACE AWARD IN 2013. H E HAS BEEN MARRIED TO HIS HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART FOR
OVER 53 YEARS , AND HAS THREE CHILDREN AND SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN .
Photo courtesy of the Transportation Accident Investigation Commission
“When we look at fatal accidents, it’s not like we can determine a cause right away be-
cause NTSB has to investigate,” he told Rotor & Wing International in an interview. “Look-
ing at types of helicopters and what missions they were on, they really are all over the
board. There also is no commonality among the types of aircraft that have crashed. Bell,
Hughes, Robinson, Guimbal, AgustaWestland/Leonardo all are represented.“That’s all over
the place, too,” Molinaro said. “The aircraft are just as different as the missions they were
flying.”
F ALL 2019
P AGE 41
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE