Vol. 42, No. 2

Law Enforcement

©Copyright 2011 POAM All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Vol. 42, No. 2

JOURNAL LEJ Fall 2011

Federal Money Put to Good Use by Monroe County and the Ohio Northern Border Initiative (NBI)

By Ed Jacques, LEJ Editor

F

or the last decade, POAM Legislative Director Kenneth E. Grabowski and POAM Washington D.C. Lobbyist Dennis McGrann have been petitioning the U.S. government to allocate a more significant share of homeland security monies to local law enforcement agencies. Their argument has been that no one possesses more intelligence on the specific issues surrounding border patrols and potential troublemakers than local police and sheriff department personnel.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), competition for impressive statistics and doubts about fellow federal agents’ competence have been undermining efforts to improve coordination of U.S. law enforcement agencies combatting drug smugglers, illegal immigrants and potential terrorists along the porous U.S./Canada border.

The GAO reports that the Border Patrol maintains an “acceptable level of control” over only 32 miles of the 4,000 mile northern border with Canada. The report also states that agents only maintain “situational awareness along approximately 1,000 miles of the border.”

“Situational awareness” encompasses areas where the probability of detection is high, although apprehensions may be L2R: U.S. Congressmen John Banishak and Hansen Clarke get the affected by rough terrain and limited re- lay of the land from Monroe County sources.

Deputy Dave LaMontaine and Wayne After joining other POAM Executive County Deputy Brian Barle.

Board Members on a recent lobbying excursion to Washington, D.C., on this very same subject, Monroe County Deputy Dave LaMontaine suggested an idea that has sprouted an exceptional coalition that has improved security along Michigan and Ohio’s border with Canada utilizing local law enforcement officers who are most familiar with the terrain.

LaMontaine approached Major David Thompson from his department who is in charge of and has achieved success petitioning grant money from the federal government. Monroe County took advantage of numerous federal grants that allowed them to purchase a 31’ SAFE Boat. The boat is custom built and sports twin 300 horse power Mercury outboards, extensive navigational and global positioning electronics, and many other state of the art features. The price tag was nearly $250,000 and the vessel is built like a tank but it performs like a sports car. Previous Monroe County Marine Patrol boats were converted fishing boats bought from local marine dealers. There isn’t a single function that this boat can’t perform on Lake Erie’s western basin and its deployment opened up even more opportunities for local law enforcement and improved border patrol.

Ohio has its own Department of Homeland Security which recognized the need for involving multiple agencies and disciplines in a comprehensive

effort to protect Ohio’s northern border. While the Lake Erie region is a tremendous resource for commerce, recreation and fresh water, the relatively unsecured border and the associated shoreline also creates a target of opportunity for terrorist and other criminal activity. Ohio’s own international border with Canada stretches 158 miles through the middle of Lake Erie and in the summer time brings millions of tourists, boaters and fishermen to the water, possibly facilitating illegal activity. The Ohio division of Homeland Security needed help in protecting its largely unsupervised internaMonroe County’s SAFE Boat is a work horse. tional border.

In an unprecedented collaboration, the NBI and OHS have partnered with the Monroe County Sheriff’s office to provide a stronger presence and a more effective response to any emergency in the west end of Lake Erie. OHS reimburses Monroe County for the wages of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, as well as fuel consumed during patrols and is spared the expense of purchasing and maintaining an expensive watercraft and have the advantage of utilizing top-notch local law enforcement officers who have lived and worked in the area their entire lives. Marine officers from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office have received training from the United States Coast Guard to become tactical boat operators. Monroe County is the benefactor of a workhorse vessel and an increased presence on Lake Erie at a minimal expense to the department.

This local use of federal money is a perfect example of what POAM has been advocating for years. Legislative Director Grabowski developed a strong relationship with Michigan Congressman Hansen Clarke who serves on the Homeland Security Subcommittee and wanted to emphasize to the congressmen how well this project was benefitting the NBI, Monroe County and the OHS. Michigan’s congressman from the Upper Peninsula John Banishak is heavily involved in monitoring federal grants to measure their impact at the local level. He has also adopted the same position as POAM, that money is best utilized at grass root levels.

Grabowski invited both congressmen to the Detroit Yacht Club (DYC) which is located on Belle Isle on the Detroit River to discuss the benefits of this program with all the people involved. LaMontaine arranged for Major Continued on page 15

Signed and Sealed

Agreements gain vital benefits for POAM members

Summaries and highlights of recently completed local contract negotiations and 312 arbitrations

Act 312 Award

Negotiated

Novi Dispatch

Zeeland POA Duration:

Duration: 07/01/2009 – 06/30/2013

07/01/2011 - 06/30/2014

Wages:

2009 – 3.0%

2010- 0.0%

2011- 1.5%

2012 – 0.0%

Wages:

2011 – 1% 2012 – 2% 2013 – 2%

Longevity pay will be the following: 1 – 4 years $0 5 – 9 years $500.

10 – 14 years $750.

15 – 19 years $1,000.

20 – 24 years $1,250.

25+ years $1,500.

No change to health care or pension.

Probationary period increased to 12 months.

Bargaining team consisted of Joe Michmerhuizen and Brian Breuker, who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jim DeVries.

Negotiated

Port Huron POA Duration:

Healthcare changed from PPO 1 to PPO 2 with $1,000/$2,000 deductible with $10/$20/$40 drug card.

07/01/2011 - 06/30/2014

Employees to pay 3.5% of base salary as their premium share.

Wages:

Retirees required to pay Medicare Part B when they reach age 65.

2011 – 0% 2012 – 0% 2013 – 0%

New hires enrolled into a retiree healthcare account.

Added two personal days.

Healthcare is PPO 3 with $10/$30/$45 drug card.

Employee pension contribution increased by 5%.

Bargaining team consisted of Brian Kerrigan and Eric Krikorian, who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jim Tignanelli.

Act 312 Award

Arbitrator was Barry Ott, bargaining team consisted of Tracey Geary, Sue Hein and Janet Kaplan who were assisted by POAM’s 312 Advocate William Birdseye, Kevin Loftis and Jerry Radovic.

Law Enforcement JOURNAL

Romulus POA

After continuous negotiations and mediation the matter went to arbitration.

The arbitration was conducted by Arbitrator George Roumell.

The Employer sought 16 issues with changes and eliminations. The award was as follows: 1. Duration: Employer sought two years, Awarded three years, expiring June 30, 2013.

2. Health Insurance: Blue Cross Blue Shield Community Blue Option 3 or equivalent to BlueCare Network HMO. Prescriptions shall be increased Negotiated to 5/40/80. Elimination of the contractual prescription drug reimbursement and elimination of an opt-out waiver eliminating HMO savings account.

Additionally, all members are now required to pay 2% pre-tax premium.

3. Wages: Police Officers received a $1 per hour reduction. Dispatchers received $0.80 per hour reduction, however these reductions are restored on July 1, 2013 unless changed by negotiations or an Act 312 proceeding.

4. Pension: Pension contribution is increased to 7%.

5. Vacation Schedule: Remains status quo.

6. Holiday Pay: Lincolns Birthday and Washington’s Birthday shall be replaced by President’s Day, elimination of a holiday day.

7. Pension Multiplier for New Hires: New Hires pension shall be at 2.5% and overtime shall not be included the calculation of final average compensation.

8. Health Insurance for Future Retires: All new hired empoloyees shall receive an HSA savings account. The city shall contribute 1% and employees will contribute 2%.

9. Past Practice for Discipline: Status Quo 10. Paid Time Off for Disciplinary Suspension: Status Quo. 11. Minimum Manning: The Employer sought to remove any reference to minimum manning in all portions of the contract. The Arbitrator recognizing that the minimum manning by virtue of decisions by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission and the Court is now a permissive subject of bargaining and ordered that all references to minimum manning be deleted.

Arbitration conducted by Kenneth E. Grabowski, Kevin Loftis, local association President Rick St. Andre, Vice President Jamie Garcia, Eric Harris, Steve Littleton and Roger Salwa.

Holiday pay improved.

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF MICHIGAN

27056 Joy Road, Redford Township, Michigan 48239-1949 The LEJ is published bi-annually.

JAMES TIGNANELLI - President, Fraser PSOA HARRY VALENTINE Vice President Washtenaw County DSA

MARK ZACKS Secretary Southfield POA

WILLIAM BIRDSEYE Treasurer Detroit POA

Executive Board

GERALD RADOVIC Business Agent POA of Dearborn

PATRICK SPIDELL Business Agent Clinton Township POA

KENNETH E. GRABOWSKI Legislative Director Redford Township POA

JAMES DeVRIES Business Agent Board Member — MCOLES Grand Haven POA

GARY PUSHEE Business Agent POA of Dearborn

THOMAS FUNKE Lavonia POA

TOM SCHERER Clinton Township POA

KEVIN LOFTIS Oak Park PSOA

TIM LEWIS Kent County LEA

DAVE LAMONTAINE Monroe County DSA

JIM McMAHON Gross Pointe Farms PSOA

MATT VAN LIERE Ottawa County DSA

WAYNE BEERBOWER Business Agent Farmington Hills POA DAN KUHN Saginaw POA GREGG ALLGEIER POA of Dearborn PAUL POSTAL Grand Traverse County DSA

POAM REPRESENTS YOU

• MCOLES- Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards • Mid-States Coalition of Police Officers ED JACQUES – Law Enforcement Journal Editor

For editorial and advertising (313) 937-9000

From the President’s Desk

T

by Jim Tignanelli Summer of Discontent

o say the summer of 2011 will be long-etched into our memories might be the most significant understatement of all time. Michigan’s legislature and governor have not only been on a fast track, they have been driven recklessly.

Raises that had already been tentatively agreed to by both employer and union were rendered useless due to P.A. 54. Members who were denied retroactive pay for steps that had been earned by seniority, were being forced to pay the difference in health care premiums from one year to the next even when the union was not proposing changes in co-pays, deductibles and premium share.

It’s worth mentioning that I dealt with a number of employers that were eager to get a deal negotiated. Midland and Port Huron come to mind among others. Many of these employers recognize that the union has, for years, found ways to control the increases in health care benefits. Often the union has proposed little or no wage increases to offset the increase in health care premiums. How many times have I heard, “I’ll take three 0%’s if you leave my health care alone.” How many contracts were settled with a reduction in retiree benefits for new hires or like benefits for actives and retirees? What would encourage such a deal now?

If that wasn’t enough, SB7 forces employees to be responsible for 20% or more of health care premiums. In years past, we would reduce benefits or increase deductibles. Why do that now? In one city, where a family plan was $20,000, a group was asked to reduce their benefit to the $15,000 hard cap or face a 20% premium share. Turns out the 20% was a better deal but not for

F E A T U R E S

the employer who ended up with a $16,000 net instead of a $15,000 net.

The law enforcement community and associated employers learned long ago how to control health care costs through benefit changes, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, etc. All were rendered unnecessary by this legislation. It’s good to know our legislators are so skilled at negotiating health care benefits.

Some of the employers are savvy enough to recognize that the penalties that are going to be imposed in 2014 by National Health Care Reform are going to be immediately effected by the 20% that the state is demanding employees pay. The state requires the employer to impose premium share on its employees and the feds demand that the employer pay a penalty for charging the employee?!?!?!

The legislature, with all their experience in negotiating health care, took a huge swing at something of which they had little knowledge. It seemed every legislator that POAM spoke to said, “This isn’t supposed to effect police and fire.” None would take credit. They had thrown a net over the teachers and grabbed the police and fire officers.

Your representatives in Lansing continue to pursue a resolution of these matters. Much like the attack on PA312, which settled down ultimately, we will continue to do our best.

On a different note, our friends at the Tune Inn in Washington, D.C. suffered a serious building fire this past summer. Our oasis has reopened but much of what had existed is no more. Their generosity deserves our thoughts.

Rest assured, we will be on the scene in May, 2012. Please join us.

Inside this issue  Federal Money Put to Good Use--------------------------------1, 15  POAM License Plates Available------------------------------------ 6  Members Need To Be More Proactive----------------------------- 7  New Worker’s Comp. Reform a Loser----------------------------- 8  Memo From Member Services-------------------------------------- 9  Calhoun County Gets Involved------------------------------------ 11  Research on Law Enforcement Shootings------------------- 12, 13  POAM Merchandise-------------------------------------------------14  CIC Calculates 80-20 or Hard Cap--------------------------------15  P.O.s of the Year-------------------------------------------------16-24  Loyalty Award Winner----------------------------------------------24

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

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The Regulars Signed & Sealeds ---------------------------- 2, 13, 27, 31 From the President’s Desk ----------------------------------------- 3 Vice President’s Viewpoint ----------------------------------------- 4 Treasurer’s Ledger ----------------------------------------- 5 Guest Column ----------------------------------------- 6 Director’s Chair ----------------------------------------- 7 Training ----------------------------------------28 MColes Report ----------------------------------------25 Letters ----------------------------------------28 Federal Perspective ----------------------------------- 29, 30 Fall, 2011

Vice-President’s Viewpoint

by Harry Valentine Career Question

I

s it a job or a profession? Some would say working in law enforcement, corrections, or dispatch operations is just a job no different than any other job, a means to an end. Others would say it is a profession, a career, a higher calling. I would say it is the latter.

We all come to this profession for varying reasons. I recall my first oral board and the question, “Why do you want to be a Deputy Sheriff?”

I gave the answer most applicants give, “Because I want to help people.”

I watched the reactions of my questioners. One interviewer picked the lint from his uniform sleeve. One scowled, and the other seemed interested in my response.

However, helping people is the truth of this profession. We help people, some good, some not so good. We make our communities a better place for our having been there. There are those who disgrace our profession with actions born of bad judgments or character flaws. However, they are few and far between, but become the focus of everyone’s attention.

We make a difference. Sometimes we see it and know the importance or our actions other times we may never know. It is because of our profession that people in America know the benefits and responsibilities of a free society. It separates us from countries where the only law enforce-

ment is offered by armed bands of individuals following a self-appointed leader.

We must maintain certifications, specialized skills, and are charged with the duty and responsibility that can deprive people of their freedom and even their lives. Every decision we make is scrutinized by anyone of higher authority or someone who wants to venture an opinion no matter what their motivation. We are constantly held to a higher standard than the average person.

We all have stories about people we have assisted, helped, or even saved. We have all seen our comrades laid to rest when their efforts to protect their communities result in them paying the ultimate sacrifice.

The outpouring of public support in those times is inspirational.

Each year the POAM honors those who have demonstrated professionalism and heroism while discharging their duties. Our work is more than just a job and we should be proud of that fact.

When politicians, administrators, and the media want to minimize our profession to facilitate their motives, we are told our profession is just a job. As a colleague once told me, “you can’t understand this profession unless you have experienced it”. Stay safe and continue to be professional in all you do. 

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LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

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fall, 2011

The Treasurer’s Ledger

by William Birdseye Is History Repeating Itself?

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n November 16, 2011, approximately 17 of 26 police officers did not finish their shift in Detroit’s northeastern precinct. I couldn’t help but think of the massive “blue flu” epidemic that occurred in the City 45 years ago when I was a young Detroit Police Officer during those tumultuous times.

Media sources report that the action taken last night was in response to Mayor Dave Bing’s announcement two days previous that the city is seeking another 10% salary cut from all employees or layoffs are forthcoming. Ironically, layoffs were the main issue in the 1960s that caused the “illness” that infected a majority of the department.

The Detroit Police Officers Association (DPOA) recently ratified a contract that included no raises and a decrease in the pension multiplier for active employees from 2.5% to 2.1%. New hires have no pension and soon all employees will be paying 20% of their health care premium.

Even if Detroit police officers accept more concessions, there is no guarantee an Emergency Financial Manager would not void their collec-

tive bargaining agreement and implement even more cuts.

In 1967, the Detroit riots forced the city’s administration and police department employees into an unexpected alliance. Officers knew they had to protect the community and the administration implied that if all police officers manned their stations, which they all did, the city would drop its “blue flu” investigation.

If the City of Detroit plans on conducting a real war on crime, its General, whether that be the mayor or the EFM can’t abuse the foot soldiers who are paramount in winning the battle. Maybe that’s the message that those current Detroit police officers, and possibly many more in the future, are trying to send.

Michigan’s current legislature has imposed similar treatment to the tens of thousands of public safety personnel who are expected to maintain civility in our communities. They’ve done it under the guise of “public employee reform,” but the political reality is that they are demoralizing our troops.

As history teaches us, that’s not a good idea.

“In 1967, the Detroit riots forced the city’s administration and police department employees into an unexpected alliance.”

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Fall, 2011

Guest Column

by Jerry Radovic

R

Officer Safety or Big Brother Accountability?

ecently, while meeting with a president of a local association, he informed me that the city where he is employed decided they are going to have their police officers on patrol wear miniature video cameras attached to their vests to promote officer safety. I had a conversation with the president’s supervisor a short time later and he stated, “If the officer is doing nothing wrong he has nothing to worry about.” After that conversation, I’m not so sure that officer safety is the only real reason for the cameras.

Things certainly have changed since I started my career in law enforcement four decades ago. During many of those years, Big Brother was not watching and recording every move a police officer made. At one time, supervisors, prosecutors, judges and juries depended on the officer’s account of what happened at the scene. They were not continually reviewing videos and recording devices to verify the account of what took place.

With the advent of computer technology, things have changed dramatically. Police officers are now subjected to intense scrutiny with the in-car video cameras, personal recording devices, GPS tracking of scout cars and cell phones. They are also required to account for their time minute by minute on department required logs and a litany of other accountability standards that weren’t in existence in the past.

Years ago, police officers were able to spend most of their time on patrol fighting crime and not looking over their shoulder to see who is watching them or spending a multitude of time filling out documentation on every person they had contact with. They were unencumbered with all the technology that was developed supposedly for their safety. When officers were sent to a scene and it was found there was nothing to it, the officer advised the dispatcher it was unfounded and checked back into service. No report or log entries were necessary. Names and addresses, when taken, were written in the officers note book and were accessible later if needed. That is no longer the case. Every contact must be documented.

Scout cars lacked all equipment that is in the cars today. Two officers could actually fit comfortably in the front seat with room to spare.

When officers confronted a criminal and he resisted, they didn’t have to worry that every move was being recorded by their in-car video or someone passing by. Those officers didn’t have to worry that their videos would be reviewed by the media or criminal and civil courts critiquing their every move in hopes of finding some mistake.

Times have definitely changed, many of these changes have been positive, but I find it hard to believe they were all done for the sake of the officer. Who knows what may be next, a radio transmitter embedded under the officer’s skin so they can be monitored 24/7?

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4. Credit for unused portion of current license can be used toward purchase.

5. Plate will be delivered within two (2) weeks.

These are exclusive plates and it is a misdemeanor for ineligible people to display such.

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

PAGE 6

fall, 2011

The Legislative Director’s Chair

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by Kenneth E. Grabowski What happened to Governor Mitt Romney?

hile our members have traditionally been supporters of Republicans and worked for and endorsed many Republican candidates, the recent attacks by GOP members on law enforcement have been disheartening. When did police officers become the enemy?

If you have watched The Gong Show of presidential debates, you could hear every politician talk about how police unions are evil and the cause of all problems, except for Governor Mitt Romney, our own hometown Michigan boy, the candidate of experience and reason.

Well, I’m most disappointed to inform you that Governor Romney drank the Kool-Aid and endorsed the attack on Ohio police officers initiated by Governor Kasich. These new laws destroy a police officer’s ability to negotiate anything and protect themselves. These actions have taken away all rights from police officers, even allowing a department to lay off a veteran officer of 24 years while retaining a first-year rookie. It is insane!

Governor Romney, you should be ashamed. Is there no common sense left?

As I am sure you are aware the Michigan House of Representatives continues to assert state control over local issues. Lansing apparently feels that they can run local units of government better than your local elected officials, and with that, effective January 1, 2012, will begin the implementation of the state’s mandated co-pays in medical coverage.

This state control of local police officers is an ugly period, unlike anything we have ever seen in recent history. I, along with other representatives of POAM, am meeting consistently with all elected officials in an attempt to educate them and repair this damage. These are the elected officials that the voters of this state have sent us to work with. We have no choice but to work with those that have been elected.

Remember, at a minimum, the Michigan State House of Representatives will remain as is until December 30, 2012. Although these assaults on local control have turned the bargaining process upside down and are greatly affecting the economic future of our members, POAM is making

MEMBERS NEED TO BE MORE PROACTIVE ON LEGISLATION

By Ed Jacques, LEJ Editor

T

here are numerous legislative bills introduced in the spring and fall sessions that demand your immediate attention and

action.

HB 4059 prohibits local union officials and administrators from conducting any labor related issues while either is on-duty. This includes any guidance or representation immediately following a critical incident or something as simple as a five-minute conversation on who gets a shift pick or qualifies for overtime. The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police agree with POAM that this legislation is very problematic for police and sheriff departments, stopping command officers and local union leaders from resolving important issues on the spot, avoiding costly arbitrations.

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

some progress on stopping and correcting the legislative assault that has harmed police officers. Progress is unacceptably slow but it is occurring. Some Republican legislators are working with POAM and proposing technical amendments to recently passed legislation to protect police officers. POAM is being assured by the Republican leadership that police officers were not the target of some legislation passed and they are very concerned with its unintended consequences. POAM is adamantly advising our elected officials that these corrections are a must and must occur sooner than later.

In a short period of time POAM will be asked to make endorsements for future elections. The POAM endorsement is one of the most sought after endorsements in the state. POAM endorsements will not be made in haste. Elected officials must be aware of who they are supporting and the damage that is being done to the careers and economic futures of our officers.

The tactic that is being imposed by both employers and the legislators is reducing the quality of applicants for future police officers. I’m afraid future applicants will be taken directly from the county jail. This is not what anybody wants and when our endorsements are made we will remember who supported POAM and who did not. Wayne Beerbower, Bill Birdseye, Jim Tignanelli, Ed Jacques, Dave LaMontaine and I are tag teaming the legislators and doing everything possible to correct the wrongs that have been made. I know I sound like a broken record but I am going to say it again, I cannot stress how important it is for you to continue to contact your elected officials. You must keep the pressure on.

They must be contacted on a regular basis through written documents, e-mail and telephone calls. Do not wait for someone else to do what you need to do. Without contacts and pressure being placed on your elected officials none of this will be repaired. Urge your family, your friends and your partner to contact their legislators and explain to them how they are destroying your career and economic future. Some are listening. 

See Ken’s letter to Romney on page 26

HB 4060 limits the amount of a defined benefit pension as a percentage of base pay. This bill will force many of you to push your squad car for an additional five or 10 years before you can afford to retire.

HB 4588 prohibits public employers from deducting dues deduction for employees’ unions.

This is clearly an attempt to cripple or eliminate many of the programs, services and resources available from credible labor organizations. Local executive boards will become dues collectors, taking away from other more important responsibilities. If your Association currently collects additional monies to support local charities or sponsor internal events, those worthwhile activities will stop.

HB 5002 will modify the definition of disability and conditions on compensation for covered injuries. See Art Borella’s column on page 8.

On the positive side, Representative Richard LeBlanc has introduced HB 4879 which would create privilege for information obtained by an PAGE 7

agent of a labor organization in the course of representing a union member. This would create a much-needed confidential relationship similar to the attorney/client privilege that currently exists.

The recent victory over anti-union legislation in Ohio and the recent recall in Michigan should make Michigan legislators concerned because these initiatives obviously lack public support.

POAM, COAM, FAOM and TPOAM members need to remind their senators and representatives that backlash is imminent for legislators that blame public employees for our state’s economic troubles.

Access the POAM website, www.POAM.net, for specific details and make sure to provide our staff with your current e-mail address so we can notify you of any emergency call to action just prior to legislation being voted on. But please don't count on us to do all the work. Politicians fear reprisal from local citizens, business people and public employees in their district. Make contact with your legislators on these issues today! Fall, 2011

CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR ABOUT HB 5002 IMMEDIATELY

By Arthur A. Borella and Charles W. Palmer, Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

T

here is a dangerous workers’ compensation bill that already passed the House and is now in the Senate. It may pass out of committee as early as November 22nd, so you must do your lobbying NOW. It is known as House Bill 5002. It has several provisions that are radical changes from existing law, and passage in its current form will result in significant hardships to all injured workers in the State of Michigan, including injured police officers and their families.

The bill would change the calculation of wage loss benefits paid to injured police officers, by allowing insurance companies and employers to deduct an injured police officer’s, “residual wage earning capacity” from the officers’ actual lost wages, resulting in a drastic reduction in the wage loss benefits. Furthermore, the bill would also force injured police officers to look for other work as soon as they are injured, even before they have had appropriate treatment and recuperated, which could result in those officers losing their jobs with their departments because of provisions in their union contracts. To make things even worse, the bill increases the insurance company’s and employer’s control over medical care from the current 10 days to 45 days. This would mean that the insurance company or the employer, or their third-party administrator, would be telling you who is going to perform your surgery and where and when to get treatment. Finally, the bill would force older injured police officers to take their retirement pensions when they get injured.

We will explain each of these proposals below.

Under current law, an injured worker who has work restrictions because of his/her work injury, collects 80% of their average after-tax pay, regardless of any, “theoretical residual wage earning capacity”, including minimum wages at another job within the work restrictions. However, HB 5002 would allow insurance companies and employers to deduct from the injured workers’ actual wage loss, the worker’s theoretical residual wage earning capacity, “whether or not actually earned”.

New section 301(8) provides: ..THE EMPLOYER SHALL PAY OR CAUSE TO BE PAID TO THE INJURED EMPLOYEE AS PROVIDED IN THIS SECTION WEEKLY COMPENSATION EQUAL TO 80% OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INJURED EMPLOYEE’S AFTER-TAX AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE BEFORE THE PERSONAL INJURY AND THE EMPLOYEE’S WAGE EARNING CAPACITY AFTER THE PERSONAL INJURY… LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

The cruelty of this provision is evident upon considering the example of a police officer who has already had his benefits reduced because some insurance companies are illegally doing this, believing this concept will become the law soon. Michael Czinski is a 49-year-old detective sergeant in a suburban Detroit police department.

He was injured 5 years ago while responding to a, “man with a gun” call. While running, he tripped and fell, fracturing his dominant right wrist. He has since had three surgeries to that wrist. He no longer has the ability to shoot a gun. His doctors have allowed him to use his right arm for office work only. He was given light duty by his department for three years between the second and third surgeries, but after the third surgery the department would no longer provide light duty to him.

He was laid off and put on workers compensation benefits instead. His average weekly wage at the time of his injury was $1,049.43, which entitled him to workers’ compensation wage loss benefits in the amount of $644.35 per week. He was paid this, all along performing a diligent job search, after he was laid off, until September 3, 2011, when the insurance company unilaterally reduced his benefit rate to $190.75 per week. The reduction was based on a vocational counselor’s evaluation, without even interviewing Mr. Czinski, that concluded that Mr. Czinski was capable of working as a state welfare worker at $17.18 per hour. Mr. Czinski applied for that job, as well as other jobs suggested by the vocational counselor, but he was not even called to be interviewed by anyone. Nonetheless, the insurance company reduced his benefit rate, claiming that his, “residual wage earning capacity” was $17.18 per hour. He has a case pending in the Workers’ Compensation Agency, but in the meantime, he and his wife and three children are forced to live on $190.75 per week in workers’ compensation benefits.

The proponents of the bill, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Self-Insureds Association (which include the Big Three), have testified in hearings in the State House that this provision will only be used against lazy workers who should be looking for work. This is a big lie, as the law will apply to everyone who gets hurt at work. They also claim that there is language in the bill that would only allow wage loss benefit rates to be reduced if the job is, “reasonably available.” This is also hogwash, because the only way wage loss benefits should be reduced is if the police officer actually finds another job.

Allowing employers to reduce wage loss benefits by what we are calling, “phantom wages” is bad news and bad law for everyone injured on the job.

We must fight to change this bill.

Under the current system, paying the full 80% wage loss benefits to partially disabled employees creates an incentive for employers to return the person to their former employment. However, if the employer does not have to pay the full wage loss benefit, any financial incentive to bring the employee back to work is lost.

To add further insult to injury, the bill forces all injured workers to immediately look for other work in order to qualify for any wage loss benefits. Section 301(4)(B) provides, “…AN EMPLOYEE HAS AN AFFIRMATIVE DUTY TO SEEK WORK REASONABLY AVAILABLE TO THAT EMPLOYEE.” Given our state’s high unemployment rate, it is unrealistic to think that injured police officers will be able to quickly go out and find a new job. Furthermore, by requiring partially disabled police officers to look for work in order to be eligible for wage loss benefits, the police officer is not being given any time to simply heal from his or her injuries. Under this bill, an injured police officer who is not totally disabled must immediately look for other work, even while treating with doctors for his/her injuries, and there is no requirement that the employer has to take him or her back to light duty work with the employer.

Under almost every union contract, a police officer who takes another job for a different employer would lose his or her seniority and be terminated from the department. So this bill will not only pay injured police officers a very low wage loss benefit, but also causes the police officer to have to look for work and get fired when they find something to help supplement their pathetically low wage loss benefit.

And if this weren’t enough, the bill also would force police officers who are eligible for their normal retirement pensions to take them when they get injured. Under current law, insurance companies and employers can only deduct actual pension payments being received from the worker’s compensation wage loss benefits. HB 5002 changes that by allowing insurance companies and employers to deduct the after-tax amount of pension payments “..received by the employee, or which the employee is eligible to receive at normal retirement age…” The bill does not define, “normal retirement age.” That could be after 25 years of service, when most police officers are eligible to take their retirement pensions. Under this bill, since police officers could be considered “normal retirement age” because they had sufficient years of service, they would face the unpleasant choice of choosing financial ruin or being forced to retire and take their pensions far earlier than they wish.

If we haven’t totally shocked you by now, let Continued on page 24

PAGE 8

fall, 2011

Memo from Member Services

A

by Ed Jacques CONTACT WITH THE MEDIA NEEDS TO BE CALCULATED

s POAM’s Director of Member Services, I am frequently contacted by many different media sources requesting information or comment on issues and incidents surrounding first responders. Although everyone likes to see their name in print or their face on camera, it is mandatory that a spokesperson’s ego be put on the shelf when contemplating inserting themselves and their opinions on precarious subjects.

I think it’s safe to summarize that I try to comment 100% of the time on positive news, occasionally on internal department policies, procedures and politics, but never on ongoing or potential grievances on behalf of individual members.

A pretty good rule that POAM leaders and I have followed over the years is that if there is any possible remedy of a bad situation that can be addressed through the collective bargaining agreement, rhetoric through the media should be kept to an absolute minimum.

A keen understanding of local politics, public reaction and the story’s “legs” must be calculated when considering commenting on bad behavior on the part of administrative personnel. The motivation in these types of cases should be to correct an ongoing problem, not embarrass a certain individual. However, there are times when an individual administrator’s arrogance and incompetence is the overwhelming reason

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

for poor department morale and high turnover and needs to be exposed.

POAM’s annual recognition of its “HORSE’S ASS” is a good example of selected media exposure.

Although news agencies are always hungry for an exposé, feel-good stories about members’ and administrators’ positive work should be included on the menu of stories made available to the news media. If you are politically involved, all endorsements should be included in an official press release. That gives your association balance and credibility.

And while we are on the subject of credibility, no personal or confidential information that was garnered on the assumption of privacy should ever be made public.

You will be pleased to know that POAM has policies in place when commenting on or leaking information to any news reporting agency.

Those include, but are not limited to, contacting and receiving approval from the local associations that may be affected, discussions with POAM’s assigned business agent and evaluation of any legal ramifications with POAM’s attorneys.

Above all, no comments should be made when tempers are boiling.

The 24-hour rule is always a good policy to gain the necessary perspective to make an intelligent statement.

PAGE 9

Fall, 2011

Visit us

@ our NEW West Branch location: 511 E. Houghton Ave., Ste. B56 West Branch, MI 48661 989-345-3680

Police Officers Association Announces New Member Vision Program with SVS Vision!

Visit us @ our NEW West Branch location: 511 E. Houghton Ave., Ste. B56 West Branch, MI 48661 989-345-3680

OPTION 1 – Members currently covered by an optical plan SVS Vision office locations will: • Provide free cleanings and adjustments • Repair breakages occurring in the line of duty at no charge • Provide a one-year breakage warranty OPTION 2 – Members without current vision coverage SVS Vision office locations will: • Discount your total out-of-pocket sales amount in addition to any current advertised pricing • Provide free cleanings and adjustments • Repair breakages occurring in the line of duty at no charge • Provide a one-year breakage warranty OPTION 3 – SVS VISION CARE PROGRAM Our SVS Vision Care program is available to POAM members and their dependents for a minimal annual fee of $29 per each POAM member and $20 per dependent.

SVS Vision office locations will: • Provide vision testing examinations by a doctor of optometry • Take 50 percent off our retail price on any frame • Take 25 percent off our retail price on lenses, coatings, and tints • Take 20 percent off our retail price on contact lens exams

Preferred Vendor

Change the way you look.

For more information: 800-SVS-4600 or visit www.svsvision.com SVS082C10 POAM AD_r2.indd 1

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

PAGE 10

Over 30 Michigan locations to serve POAM members • For more information, contact your nearest SVS location

• Adrian 517-265-8086 • Allen Park 313-382-0100 • Allen Park 313-382-0100 • Brighton 810-227-2376 • Brighton 810-227-2376 • Clawson 248-435-2189 • Clawson 248-435-2189 • Detroit (Mack) 313-882-7883 • Detroit (Mack) 313-882-7883 • Detroit (W. Warren) 313-240-7551 • Detroit (W. Warren) 313-240-7551 • Flint (Lapeer Rd.) 810-742-6733 • Flint (Lapeer Rd.) 810-742-6733 • Flint (S. Linden Rd.) 810-230-9300 • Flint (S. Linden Rd.) 810-230-9300 • Fraser 586-293-4198 • Fraser 586-293-4198 • Garden City 734-458-5181 • Garden City 734-458-5181 • G. Rapids (Northland Dr.) 616-364-4099 • G. Rapids (Northland Dr.) 616-364-4099 • G. Rapids (28th St.) 616-245-6300 • G. Rapids (28th St.) 616-245-6300 • Imlay City 810-721-9411 • Imlay City 810-721-9411 • Kentwood 616-538-6511 • Kentwood 616-538-6511 • Lake Orion 248-693-8666 •• LakeLansing Orion 248-693-8666 517-323-8221 •• Lansing 517-323-8221 Livonia 734-421-2844 •• Livonia 734-421-2844 Marine City 810-765-3509 •• Marine City 810-765-3509 Marysville 810-364-5520 •• Marysville 810-364-5520 Monroe 734-243-0960 •• Monroe 734-243-0960 Mt. Clemens 586-468-7612 •• Mt. Oak Clemens Park586-468-7612 248-399-1556 •• Oak Saginaw Park 248-399-1556 989-791-1044 •• Saginaw 989-791-1044 Shelby Twp. 586-247-2652 •• Shelby St. Twp. Clair 586-247-2652 Shores 586-778-7542 •• St. Clair Shores 586-778-7542 Sterling Heights 586-979-6260 Taylor 313-299-8870 •• Sterling Heights 586-979-6260 Trenton 734-675-8197 •• Taylor 313-299-8870 Walker 616-363-9831 •• Trenton 734-675-8197 • Waterford 248-666-4020 • Walker 616-363-9831 Wayne248-666-4020 734-728-5940 •• Waterford West Branch 989-345-3680 •• Wayne 734-728-5940 Ypsilanti 734-572-8822 •• Ypsilanti 734-572-8822 • Adrian 517-265-8086

3/10/10 2:22:09 PM

fall, 2011

Calhoun County DSA Gets Involved

By Ed Jacques, LEJ Editor

W

hen Jonathan Pignataro and Bryan Gandy filled their association’s vacant president and vice-president positions in early 2010 they had a mutual vision for their association. The key component in the plan was to have more impact in their county and within their membership through a comprehensive program that included being actively involved in local politics.

The first order of business was to make sure their local association’s business was in order.

The Executive Board reviewed their by-laws and expanded them from 1 page to 13 pages including a preamble and a constitution. The Calhoun County DSA (CCDSA) expanded their executive board from eight members to nine and because they are a blended unit, accounted for having representation on their board from both the corrections and law enforcement divisions. Although correction officers do make up the lion’s share of the unit, there are now safeguards in place to ensure both sides are appropriately represented.

Shortly thereafter CCDSA implemented an endorsement committee and those members compiled a questionnaire which was forwarded to candidates running for County Probate Judge, County Commissioner, State Representative, State Senator and Governor. Although this was the Association’s initial leap into the political process, numerous responses from candidates of both parties were received. However, it should be noted that the group of approximately 140 members had already earned an excellent reputation throughout the County. The committee authorized endorsements for a Probate Judge, five of the seven County Commissioners, both State Representatives, State Senator and Governor with all 10 endorsed candidates winning their respective elections. In fact it was readily apparent that the group’s endorsement for Probate Judge clearly provided the needed votes for the 2010 winner. CCDSA endorsed Judge Michael Jaconette who won a contested race in a County with over 135,00 residents by 59 votes. The political arm of the Calhoun County DSA garnered instant credibility and sent a strong message to local politicians establishing

“The political arm of the Calhoun County DSA garnered instant credibility and sent a strong message to local politicians establishing themselves as a player in the process.”

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

Jonathan Pignataro (left) and Bryan Gandy guided a dedicated executive board and blended collective bargaining unit into a high profile status.

themselves as a player in the process. “Our Executive Board was looking for ways to establish legitimacy for our group and we worked our plan,” said Pignataro. “We felt the political climate changing in Lansing when in January 2011 a slew of new legislation, many of it harmful to public employees, was being introduced in the Michigan House and Senate. Our initiative helped improve our relationship with our elected state officials including Jase Bolger who is Speaker of the House.”

The CCDSA also elected a contract committee and sent two of its members to a collective bargaining class at Wayne State University. They have established a dialog with the new County Commissioners and participate in monthly union round table meetings with the County Administrator to ensure that their local Association is up to date with the budget process. In early February 2011 Pignataro and Gandy began negotiating a new contract with the assistance of former board member and past President Dave Tenziegloski and the group’s Chief Steward (also a Past President) Mike Beaumont who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Wayne Beerbower. Negotiations were cordial and professional and the outcome was a settled contract with 87% of the members ratifying the deal.

In July 2011, the collective bargaining unit joined the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Michigan (DSAM) and Pignataro was nominated and ran in an unopposed election to represent the group and sit as its District Representative on the DSAM Board. Pignataro was immediately appointed to the organization’s Legislative Committee and has been active in both Lansing and Calhoun County Politics.

Recently the association took another huge step in improving its political clout by forming a local Political Action Committee (PAC) and has filed the necessary paperwork with the Calhoun County Clerk’s office. The Executive Board and CCDSA members have committed to conducting and participating in fundraisers to finance the PAC and other non-political activities that the PAGE 11

association feels would promote themselves in a positive manner. They have also engaged in numerous benefits and have submitted donations to several groups including donations for fallen officers such as Kalamazoo PSO Eric Zapata and donations to assist Deputy Jeff Edwards with his highly popular “Child Seat Safety Day” in Calhoun County.

CCDSA has implemented a process where they have guest speakers at their membership meetings which are held every three months.

“Those guest speakers tend to offer new insight as well as provide for a different atmosphere in our membership meetings and that draws more participants,” said Vice-President Bryan Gandy. Speakers have included POAM, DSAM, The Michigan Employees Retirement System (MERS) and The Thin Blue Line of Michigan, to name a few.

Pignataro and Gandy are adamant about giving much of their association’s improved status to members of their Board. Those folks are Kathy Seedorff, Secretary; Chris Mandoka, Treasurer; Mike Beamount, Chief Steward; and Trustees Connie Elliott, Darrell Ettleman, Shad Walling and special thanks to Trustee Tim Howell who was a leading proponent of their collective bargaining unit’s switch to POAM five years ago.

Gandy and Pignataro both state, “If it weren’t for the cooperative teamwork of our board we would not be this far. If we are going to do this we are going to do this together and do it right.”

“I really appreciate the special functions and guidance that our mother union has made available to our association,” stated Pignataro.

“Wayne Beerbower is a superb Business Agent and always provides valuable input. We especially thank other Executive Board members at the POAM, Dave LaMontaine, Paul Postal, and Matt Vanliere, who have offered their help on a number of fronts, including our head first dive into political waters.”

Fall, 2011

Law Enforcement Involved Shootings-- Research on Circumstances

Source: Force Science News provided byThe Force Science Research Center.

New findings on how offenders train with, carry and deploy the weapons they use to attack police officers have emerged in a just-published, 5-year study by the FBI. Among other things, the data reveal that most would-be cop killers: â–Ą show signs of being armed that officers miss; have more experience using deadly force in "street combat" than their intended victims; â–Ą practice with firearms more often and shoot more accurately; â–Ą have no hesitation whatsoever about pulling the trigger.

"If you hesitate," one told the study's researchers, "you're dead. You have the instinct or you don't. If you don't, you're in trouble on the street.."

These and other weapons-related findings comprise one chapter in a 180-page research summary called "Violent Encounters: A Study of Felonious Assaults on Our Nation's Law Enforcement Officers." The study is the third in a series of long investigations into fatal and nonfatal attacks on POs by the FBI team of Dr. Anthony Pinizzotto, clinical forensic psychologist, and Ed Davis, criminal investigative instructor, both with the Bureau's Behavioral Science Unit, and Charles Miller III, coordinator of the LEOs Killed and Assaulted program.

"Violent Encounters" also reports in detail on the personal characteristics of attacked officers and their assaulters, the role of perception in lifethreatening confrontations, the myths of memory that can hamper OIS investigations, the suicide-by-cop phenomenon, current training issues, and other matters relevant to officer survival. (Force Science News and our strategic partner PoliceOne.com will be reporting on more findings from this landmark study in future transmissions.)

Commenting on the broad-based study, Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Research Center at Minnesota State UniversityMankato, called it "very challenging and insightful--important work that only a handful of gifted and experienced researchers could accomplish."

From a pool of more than 800 incidents, the researchers selected 40, involving 43 offenders (13 of them admitted gangbangers/drug traffickers) and 50 officers, for in-depth exploration. They visited crime scenes and extensively interviewed surviving officers and attackers alike, most of the latter in prison.

Here are highlights of what they learned about weapon selection, familiarity, transport and use by criminals attempting to murder cops, a small portion of the overall research.

Weapon Choice

Predominately handguns were used in the assaults on officers and all but one were obtained illegally, usually in street transactions or in thefts.

In contrast to media myth, none of the firearms in the study was obtained from gun shows. What was available "was the overriding factor in weapon choice," the report says. Only 1 offender hand-picked a particular gun "because he felt it would do the most damage to a human being."

Researcher Davis, in a presentation and discussion for the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police (IACP), noted that none of the attackers interviewed was "hindered by any law--federal, state or local--that has ever been established to prevent gun ownership. They just laughed at gun laws."

Familiarity

Several of the offenders began regularly to carry weapons when they were nine to 12 years old, although the average age was 17 when they first started packing "most of the time." Gang members especially started young.

Nearly 40% of the offenders had some type of formal firearms training, primarily from the military. More than 80% "regularly practiced with handguns, averaging 23 practice sessions a year," the study reports, usually LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

in informal settings like trash dumps, rural woods, back yards and "street corners in known drug-trafficking areas."

One spoke of being motivated to improve his gun skills by his belief that officers "go to the range two, three times a week [and] practice arms so they can hit anything."

In reality, victim officers in the study averaged just 14 hours of sidearm training and 2.5 qualifications per year. Only six of the 50 officers reported practicing regularly with handguns apart from what their department required, and that was mostly in competitive shooting. Overall, the offenders practiced more often than the officers they assaulted, and this "may have helped increase [their] marksmanship skills," the study says.

The offender quoted above about his practice motivation, for example, fired 12 rounds at an officer, striking him 3 times. The officer fired 7 rounds, all misses.

More than 40% of the offenders had been involved in actual shooting confrontations before they feloniously assaulted an officer.

Ten of these "street combat veterans," all from "inner-city, drug-trafficking environments," had taken part in five or more "criminal firefight experiences" in their lifetime.

One reported that he was 14 when he was first shot on the street, "about 18 before a cop shot me." Another said getting shot was a pivotal experience "because I made up my mind no one was gonna shoot me again."

Again in contrast, only 8 of the 50 LEO victims had participated in a prior shooting; 1 had been involved in two previously, another in three.

Seven of the 8 had killed offenders.

Concealment

The offenders said they most often hid guns on their person in the front waistband, with the groin area and the small of the back nearly tied for second place. Some occasionally gave their weapons to another person to carry, "most often a female companion." None regularly used a holster, and about 40% at least sometimes carried a backup weapon.

In motor vehicles, they most often kept their firearm readily available on their person, or, less often, under the seat. In residences, most stashed their weapon under a pillow, on a nightstand, under the mattress--somewhere within immediate reach while in bed.

Almost all carried when on the move and strong majorities did so when socializing, committing crimes or being at home. About one-third brought weapons with them to work. Interestingly, the offenders in this study more commonly admitted having guns under all these circumstances than did offenders interviewed in the researchers' earlier two surveys, conducted in the 1980s and '90s.

According to Davis, "Male offenders said time and time again that female officers tend to search them more thoroughly than male officers. In prison, most of the offenders were more afraid to carry contraband or weapons when a female CO was on duty."

On the street, however, both male and female officers too often regard female subjects "as less of a threat, assuming that they not going to have a gun," Davis said. In truth, the researchers concluded that more female offenders are armed today than 20 years ago--"not just female gang associates, but female offenders generally."

Shooting Style

Twenty-six of the offenders [about 60%], including all of the street combat veterans, "claimed to be instinctive shooters, pointing and firing the weapon without consciously aligning the sights," the study says.

"They practice getting the gun out and using it," Davis explained. "They shoot for effect." Or as one of the offenders put it: "[W]e're not working with no marksmanship...We just putting it in your direction, you know...It don't matter...as long as it's gonna hit you...if it's up at your head or your chest, down at your legs, whatever...Once I squeeze and you fall, then.if I want to execute you, then I could go from there."

Hit Rate

More often than the officers they attacked, offenders delivered at least some rounds on target in their encounters. Nearly 70% of assailants were successful in that regard with handguns, compared to about 40% of the victim officers, the study found. (Efforts of offenders and officers to get on

PAGE 12

fall, 2011

target were considered successful if any rounds struck, regardless of the number fired.)

Davis speculated that the offenders might have had an advantage because in all but three cases they fired first, usually catching the officer by surprise. Indeed, the report points out, "10 of the total victim officers had been wounded [and thus impaired] before they returned gunfire at their attackers."

Missed Cues

Officers would less likely be caught off guard by attackers if they were more observant of indicators of concealed weapons, the study concludes.

These particularly include manners of dress, ways of moving and unconscious gestures often related to carrying.

"Officers should look for unnatural protrusions or bulges in the waist, back and crotch areas," the study says, and watch for "shirts that appear rippled or wavy on one side of the body while the fabric on the other side appears smooth." In warm weather, multilayered clothing inappropriate to the temperature may be a giveaway. On cold or rainy days, a subject's jacket hood may not be covering his head because it is being used to conceal a handgun.

Because they eschew holsters, offenders reported frequently touching a concealed gun with hands or arms "to assure themselves that it is still hidden, secure and accessible" and hasn't shifted. Such gestures are especially noticeable "whenever individuals change body positions, such as standing, sitting or exiting a vehicle." If they run, they may need to keep a constant grip on a hidden gun to control it.

Just as cops generally blade their body to make their sidearm less accessible, armed criminals "do the same in encounters with LEOs to ensure concealment and easy access."

An irony, Davis noted, is that officers who are assigned to look for concealed weapons, while working off-duty security at night clubs for instance, are often highly proficient at detecting them. "But then when they go back to the street without that specific assignment, they seem to 'turn off' that skill," and thus are startled--sometimes fatally--when a suspect suddenly produces a weapon and attacks.

Mind-set

Thirty-six of the 50 officers in the study had "experienced hazardous situations where they had the legal authority" to use deadly force "but chose not to shoot." They averaged four such prior incidents before the encounters that the researchers investigated. "It appeared clear that none of these officers were willing to use deadly force against an offender if other options were available," the researchers concluded.

The offenders were of a different mind-set entirely. In fact, Davis said the study team "did not realize how cold blooded the younger generation of offender is. They have been exposed to killing after killing, they fully expect to get killed and they don't hesitate to shoot anybody, including a police officer. They can go from riding down the street saying what a beautiful day it is to killing in the next instant."

"Offenders typically displayed no moral or ethical restraints in using firearms," the report states. "In fact, the street combat veterans survived by developing a shoot-first mentality.

"Officers never can assume that a criminal is unarmed until they have thoroughly searched the person and the surroundings themselves." Nor, in the interest of personal safety, can officers "let their guards down in any type of law enforcement situation."

Signed and Sealed

Agreements gain vital benefits for POAM members

Summaries and highlights of recently completed local contract negotiations and 312 arbitrations

Act 312 Award

Negotiated

Allegan POA Duration:

Duration:

07/01/2011 - 06/30/2014

Wages:

Cadillac POA

2011 – 1.5% 2012 – 1.5% 2013 – 1.5%

Health care, dental and vision insurance premium sharing by employees are as follows; 2011–12%, 2012–15% and 18% in 2013.

Opt out of health care is $4,620 year.

Pension is MERS B-4, F-55/30 with E-2 riders.

For new employees, the Employer’s maximum contribution shall be 10% of wage, with new employee’s responsible for the remaining cost. Any payouts of PTO over 240 hours (cumulative) will not be counted towards FAC. New employees not eligible for longevity.

Bargaining team consisted of Jay Gibson and Melvin Brummle, who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jim DeVries.

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

07/01/2011 - 06/30/2014

Wages:

Negotiated

Calhoun County DSA Duration:

01/01/2011 - 12/31/2013

2011 – 0% 2012 – 1.5% 2013 – 0%

12 hour shifts memorialized into contract.

8pm – 8am shift premium is .40 cents per hour.

Wages:

2011 – 0% 2012 – 1.5% 2013 – 0%

Reduced vacation time by one week and increased carry-over of unused time.

Employees pay 15% of healthcare premium. $450 tuition reimbursement.

Clothing allowance increased to $750 year.

Bargaining team consisted of Jonathan Pignataro, Bryan Gandy, Mike Beaumont and Dave Tendziegloski who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Wayne Beerbower.

PAGE 13

City agrees to minimum staffing level.

Paid sick leave maximum is 96 hours per year.

Unused portion will rollover to a maximum of 1440 hours of paid sick leave.

Employees to contribute $60/$115/$135 per month for health care coverage. Annual out of pocket copayment liability shall be $1000 (single) and $2000 (2 person or family). Annual deductibles are $250 and $500. Drug card is $10/$40.

Dental and vision plans provided at no cost to employees.

Bargaining team consisted of Tony Crawford, Thomas Wade and Christopher Maslin who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jim DeVries.

Fall, 2011

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

PAGE 14

fall, 2011

Northern Border Initiative, cont. from cover

Detroit’s Ambassador Bridge is one of the busiest points of entry into the United States.

Thompson and Deputy Timothy George to cruise the SAFE Boat the 30 miles up the Detroit River from Monroe to meet with the congressmen and explain the practical aspects of this initiative and let them see first-hand the quality of the watercraft purchased with federal dollars.

On August 8, 2011 the entire POAM Executive Board greeted Congressmen Clarke and Banishak at the DYC and thanked them for taking such a personal interest on this important issue. The congressmen experienced the capabilities of the vessel on a ride stretching from the mouth of Lake St. Clair down to the Ambassador Bridge. The congressmen were impressed with the SAFE Boats’ per-

formance and spent a great deal of time talking with the Monroe County Deputies about its application and accomplishments.

Ken Grabowski was especially appreciative of the congressmens’ visit and pleased to see democratic and republican congressmen working together. “When I am walking the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C. and meeting with legis- Banishak gets a handle on lators, I often invite them to meet with our the technology (GM World Headquarters in background.) members in their district on many law enforcement initiatives. It’s obvious by their appearance that they care a great deal about homeland security and how federal money needs to be spent,” said Grabowski. “Local law enforcement always has been and always will be our first line of defense. Federal dollars can improve our national security and at the same time offset some of the many law enforcement positions lost in Michigan over the past 10 years.” 

WELCOME New Members Since July 1, 2011

Previous Affiliation POLC How We Spent Last Summer Monroe County Command It’s hard Schools to believe the snow has started to fall.

Detroit Public POA It seems like just yesterday we were pouring New over Haven POA draft # ???? of Senate Bill 7. How would the final bill shake out? Hard caps or 80/20? reimbursementsFOP from HRAs /HSAs be Previous Would Affiliation included or excluded from the definition of Bay“total City POA health care cost”?

Previous Affiliation UAW

designated benefit level, usually the union Nankin Transit Employees negotiated benefit levels thus keeping the contracts intact.

Previous Affiliation Teamsters Ok, back to the PA152. We would have never Pentwater Employees anticipated that thePublic data we had been

collecting for the past eight years would assist our current public sector clients in dealing with Congratulations Welcome! the regulations of PA152. While& others are scrambling and making their best guesses at how to calculate “premium equivalency,” As we all know, Senate Bill 7 (House Bill 6) actuaries have indicated our data and formulas became Public Act 152 on September 24, 2011 are sound and time-tested. We can use our when Governor Snyder signed the bill into law. data for both new groups that have no data, as Both hard caps and 80/20 rule were included in t’s hard to believe the snow has started to fall. It seems like just yesterday copays to a designated benefit level, usually the union negotiated benefit well as for our current clients who are or have the law. HRA, HSA and FSA contributions are we were pouring over draft # ???? of Senate Bill 7. How would the levels thus keeping the contracts intact. past years of data. We’ve also made it easier included in the total healthcare cost.

Ok, back to the PA152. We would have never anticipated that the data final bill shake out? Hard caps or 80/20? Would reimbursements from for our clients to see the financial difference HRAs /HSAs be included or excluded from the definition of “total health we had been collecting for the past eight years would assist our current between the hard caps and the 80/20. By At CIC Benefit Consulting Group, our work care cost”? public sector clients in dealing with the regulations of PA152. While othdeveloping a PA152 rate calculator. began back in April when we scheduled our first As we all know, Senate Bill 7 (House Bill 6) became Public Act 152 on ers are scrambling and making their best guesses at how to calculate “preof a dozen webinars to educate our public September 24, 2011 when Governor Snyder signed the bill into law. Both mium equivalency,” actuaries have indicated our data and formulas are Summer is gone and winter will soon replace it. sector employer clients on what might be hard caps and 80/20 rule were included in the law. HRA, HSA and FSA sound and time-tested. We can use our data for both new groups that have At CICBCG, we’re hard at work for our partners. coming down from Lansing. We continued to no data, as well as for our current clients who are or have past years of data. contributions are included in the total healthcare cost.

We understand your unique needs and we’re hold these webinars regularly through October.

At CIC Benefit Consulting Group, our work began back in April when We’ve also made it easier for our clients to see the financial difference behere to answer your questions whether you In addition, we were asked to speak on the we scheduled our first of a dozen webinars to educate our public sector em- tween the hard caps and the 80/20. By developing a PA152 rate calculator. have any about PA152, other legislation or if topic at several different venues over the ployer clients on what might be coming down from Lansing. We continued Summer is gone and winter will soon replace it. At CICBCG, we’re you’d like more information on how we can summer and into the fall. to hold these webinars regularly through October. In addition, we were hard at work for our partners. We understand your unique needs and we’re potentially save precious budget dollars, please asked to speak on the topic at several different venues over the summer here to answer your questions whether you have any about PA152, other give me a call. We would be happy to discuss As the leaves started to fall and the bill was and into the fall. legislation or if you’d like more information on how we can potentially this in further detail with you. becoming closer to reality, we realized it had As the leaves started to fall and the bill was becoming closer to real- save precious budget dollars, please give me a call. We would be happy to been more than just this one summer we had ity, we realized it had been more than just this one summer we had been discuss this in further detail with you. Happy holidays to you and your family. been working toward helping our public sector working toward helping our public sector groups comply with this legislagroups comply with this legislation - it had been tion - it had been since 2003 when the IRS amended Section 105 of the Happy holidays to you and your family.

John O’Connor and the entire since 2003 when the IRS amended Section 105 tax code. Our agency became licensed as a third-party administrator so CIC Benefit Consulting Group Team of the tax code. Our agency became licensed as John O’Connor and the entire CIC Benefit Consulting Group Team we could take full advantage of Section 105 on behalf of our clients. Es(855) 306-1099 ext. 1020 a third-party administrator so we could take full (855) 306-1099 ext. 1020 pecially useful where collective bargaining agreements are in place, this advantage of Section 105 on behalf of our is a great vehicle to help employer groups save premium dollar costs and clients. Especially useful where collective help labor keep their contracts whole. From 2008 through 2010, CICBCG bargaining agreements are in place, this is a saved our clients over $16 Million by administering creative strategies, great vehicle to help employer groups save including Health Reimbursement Arrangements. Groups purchase High premium dollar costs and help labor keep their Deductible Health Plans, which saves premium dollars in an already tight contracts whole. From 2008 through 2010, budget. This plan is then funded to reimburse deductibles, coinsurance or CICBCG saved our clients over $16 Million by LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL PAGE 15 Fall, 2011 administering creative strategies, including Health Reimbursement Arrangements. Groups purchase High Deductible Health Plans, which

I

How We Spent Last Summer

2011 TAYLOR POLICE CPL. MATTHEW EDWARDS (POSTHUMOUSLY) AND CPL. GREGORY PICHÉ

In Hollywood, bullets kill the bad guys and the hero prevails. But last July, when a fatal bullet felled a 2008 POAM Officer of the Year, a stunned Taylor Police Department had to face the fact that no such guarantee exists for real-life heroes.

On July 23, just as the sun began to rise, Taylor Police Corporal Matthew Edwards and Corporal Gregory Piché responded to a report that a man was attempting to climb through a window into an apartment complex unit.

When the officers arrived, they questioned a man they found leaning on the hood of a minivan in an adjacent parking lot. They noted that the beer cans balanced on the minivan’s hood matched additional cans on the apartment stoop.

The man admitted he’d been drinking earlier in the evening but said he’d not had a drink for some time. He spoke respectfully to the officers and did not appear to be intoxicated. His wife, he explained, had kicked him out of their apartment during an argument. All he wanted was to get the minivan keys from the apartment so he could leave.

At Cpl. Edwards’ suggestion, the man agreed to depart without any trouble if one of the officers could retrieve the keys from his wife.

As Piché headed toward the apartment to talk to the wife, Edwards remained by the police car with the man. But Piché had gone no more than 20 feet when he heard gunshots behind him.

Piché pivoted, just in time to see the man who had spoken so coolly to both officers firing a black semiautomatic handgun directly at Cpl. Edwards. Edwards collapsed, just out of sight behind the patrol car.

Piché then saw an even more chilling scene: the suspect continued to fire, this time at a downward angle directly toward where Edwards had fallen.

Mrs. Edwards

Retired NYPD Det. Sgt. Joe Blozis presents Gregory Piché his award.

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Piché drew his service weapon and fired several rounds at the suspect, who was now running north, away from the police car and around the outside of the apartment. In response, the suspect turned around and fired multiple shots at Piché before falling to the ground.

But the fight was not over.

The suspect got up and again ran north, continually exchanging gunfire with Piché, who called for back-up and emergency medical

aid for Edwards as he simultaneously raced after the man who had downed his partner.

Now partially shielded by a parked car and only 25 feet from Piché, the suspect fired at least two more rounds at Cpl. Piché. Piché answered with several rounds of his own.

The stakes could not have been higher when the slide on Piché’s weapon suddenly locked. Without missing a beat, Piché released the empty magazine and reloaded.

Crouching behind a vehicle and inching forward, Piché saw the suspect about 20 feet away. He was lying with his back on the ground, motionless and bleeding, between two parked cars. But he still clutched a black semiautomatic in his right hand.

When Piché ordered him to drop the weapon, the suspect moved his head and arms. The gun remained in his hand.

Alone and sure the suspect was about to once again fire at him, Cpl. Piché shot two more rounds. The suspect rolled onto his left side. His semiautomatic fell to the ground.

Piché trained his weapon on the man, ordered him not to move and kicked the semiautomatic far out of reach — at which point the man asked Piché to kill him.

Piché turned the suspect onto his stomach and cuffed him. He found no additional weapons, but he did pull empty plastic bags and a large sum of cash from his pockets. As Piché searched him, the suspect repeatedly asked to be killed.

As soon as reinforcements arrived, Piché returned to where Cpl. Edwards lay on the ground near their patrol car. It was then he learned that Cpl. Edwards had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

The suspect, however, survived and is in jail awaiting trial. Police later found the story he’d told Edwards and Piché to be only partially true. He did not live in the apartment he’d tried to enter, and the woman, although the mother of his child, was not his wife. His criminal record included convictions for shooting people with whom he’d argued.

Cpl. Edwards made the ultimate sacrifice, giving his own life to protect others. Three years ago, POAM honored Cpl. Matthew Edwards as Police Officer of the Year for the courage he displayed in confronting a drunken, knife-wielding man. This year we honor him again with POAM’s coveted Police Officer of the Year. But this time, we sadly do so posthumously.

Cpl. Gregory Piché, we also honor you for reacting to the most tragic of events in a heroic manner that brings honor to our profession. You boldly risked your own life to ensure that your partner’s killer would not go free.

You demonstrated matchless professionalism and cool thinking under the most stressful circumstances. Cpl. Gregory Piché, we salute you as 2011 POAM Officer of the Year.

KENT COUNTY DETECTIVES DAVID SCHMUKER AND R ANDALL KIEFT

Devil’s Night came a day early last year for two Kent County detectives during a high-speed chase with an armed and dangerous suspect.

The night before the Oct. 29 chase, several detectives — including Kent County Detective Randall Kieft —went to the man’s house with a search warrant for stolen firearms taken during several home invasions. But the wily suspect—carrying a stash of stolen weapons — had eluded the detectives by fleeing into the swampy woods behind his house.

Assuming the suspect would eventually call his girlfriend for a ride, detectives visited her house. As they questioned her, one of them surrepti-

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David Schmuker and Randall Kieft’s story was told by Michigan Supreme Court Justice Stephen Markman (third from right)

tiously attached a small tracking device to her car. The stage was set.

The next afternoon, Kieft and Kent County Detectives Dave Schmuker — in separate unmarked cars — began monitoring the girlfriend’s car. The covert surveillance took them into unfamiliar areas, beyond radio communication with Kent County dispatchers.

When Detective Kieft finally pulled next to the car, he identified the girlfriend at the wheel and the suspect in the passenger seat.

The twosome, immediately recognizing Kieft and now aware they were being followed, took off in the car. Attempting to evade the two detectives, they drove in ever-changing directions through a gas station, around the back of a building and again onto the paved blacktop in the small village of Scott.

As the fugitive car entered the village, a Kalamazoo County deputy sheriff in a marked car with emergency lights flashing appeared. Joining the pursuit from the east, the deputy pulled in front of the fleeing southbound car to cut him off. But the renegade car veered right, traveling around the marked car.

The chase then took a more serious turn as the suspect leaned out of the passenger window and fired several shots at Kieft, whose unmarked car was between the fleeing vehicle and Detective Schmuker’s car. Kieft swerved and, as he did so, a bullet pierced Schmuker’s now-exposed windshield.

Kieft saw the suspect’s car fleeing at ever-increasing speed — up to 70 miles per hour in the 25-mile-per hour village speed zone. He had no idea whether the suspect’s bullets had struck Schmuker or anyone else. The marked Kalamazoo County deputy sheriff’s car that might have helped had been thrown off course by a sudden turn and was now out of sight.

Without back up or radio communication, driving an unmarked car in unfamiliar territory, Detective Kieft knew it was his duty to follow — alone though he was — until back-up arrived. For several miles, he tailed the speeding getaway down two-lane county roads, over pavement and gravel, as the suspect continued to fire at him and the civilians they passed.

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Eventually, marked cars from several jurisdictions joined the pursuit.

The additional patrol vehicles, however, only intensified the chase as the girlfriend accelerated to nearly 100 miles per hour, and the suspect continued to fire round after round at both officers and the civilians.

Suddenly, just as quickly as it had begun, the shooting stopped. The suspect had run out of ammunition. But he had not run out of determination to avoid capture at any price.

As pursuing officers watched, the suspect’s girlfriend — opting for suicide over surrender — rammed her car head on into a large tree. She and her boyfriend were seriously injured, but they lived to face several felony charges in multiple jurisdictions.

The bullet that pierced Detective Schmuker’s windshield had sent shrapnel into his hand, but he had fortunately escaped far more potentially serious injuries.

Kent County Detectives David Schmuker and Randall Kieft, you showed true bravery and dedication to duty in your unrelenting pursuit of an enraged, armed criminal. You put your own lives on the line to save fellow law enforcement officers and innocent civilians. You have truly earned POAM’s 2011 Police Officer of the Year Awards.

BLACKMAN TOWNSHIP OFFICER Darin McIntosh

Veteran police officers come New York City Fire Fighter Tim Brown to understand that survival means (right) was humbled by Darin McIntosh’s coping with unexpected tragedies heroism. that hit hard and fast.

But when a 21-year-old Blackman Township rookie — with only one year on the force — faced a tragic line-of-duty disaster, he had no such experience to fall back upon. What he did have was true grit.

In the earliest hours of March 9, 2010, Blackman Township Police Officer Darin McIntosh set off to investigate a domestic violence complaint.

The alleged crime — a man threatening to kill his wife — had actually occurred in Blackman Township. But the suspect had already returned to the couple’s home in neighboring Jackson, so Jackson Police dispatched Officer James Bonneau to assist McIntosh.

McIntosh arrived first and found the suspect home alone. Although obviously intoxicated, the man invited McIntosh inside where they began to talk.

When Officer Bonneau appeared soon after, the suspect became inexplicably agitated, springing from the couch where he’d been sitting as he talked to McIntosh.

The more two officers attempted to pacify the man, the more hostile and aggressive he grew.

Worried the situation might escalate beyond control, McIntosh grabbed his handcuffs and managed to secure the suspect’s right hand. But while Officer Bonneau tried to cuff the struggling suspect’s left hand, all three men

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fell back onto the couch.

Without warning, the suspect reached into the couch cushion with his free hand and whipped out a .357 revolver. He fired four shots. One missed. One struck Officer McIntosh in the upper right thigh. Another grazed Officer Bonneau’s vest. The last sailed into the side of Bonneau’s chest, killing him.

Despite agonizing pain from his injury, McIntosh fired at the suspect, fatally wounding him with two bullets to the head. Maintaining his professional calm in the most tragic circumstance, he then called in a “shots fired, officer down” report.

When help arrived, McIntosh refused medical assistance, selflessly insisting that the medics should work on Bonneau and forget about him. But, tragically, Officer Bonneau lay only inches away but far beyond help.

Officer McIntosh spent two weeks in the hospital, underwent two surgeries and was unable to work for several months. During that time, he went through all the normal questions — over and over and over. He wondered why Bonneau had to lose his life. He questioned his own abilities. He wondered whether he was cut out to be a cop.

But, young as he was, Officer McIntosh possessed the determination and perseverance of far more experienced officers. And, when he finally did return to work, the rookie cop who had already excelled in performance during his first year on the force, had become a better cop than ever, according to those who work with him.

“Darin McIntosh is a 21-year-old ‘kid’ who has gone through more in a year as a cop than most cops will go through in their entire careers,” observes his fellow officer Chris “Jake” Jacobson. “What we see is a young man who had courage and faith in his abilities to come back to a stressful job. He has been an inspiration to me and to many others. I am proud of him, and I’m proud to serve along side him.”

Blackman Township Police Officer Darin McIntosh, we honor you for bravely maintaining matchless professionalism despite grueling physical pain from your injury and the intense emotional pain of watching a fellow officer’s life snuffed out before your eyes. We also salute the courage and faith you’ve shown in returning to your community and dedicating your career to Officer Bonneau’s memory.

The POAM proudly honors you with our 2011 Police Officer of the Year Award.

MONROE COUNTY DEPUTY DOUGLAS P. BENDER II

Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Douglas Bender set off on his annual Northern Michigan vacation last summer set to enjoy a week of R&R with cousins and close friends. He didn’t plan on nearly losing his own life and then saving the lives of others —— all within 24 hours.

Bender cherished his Lake Michigan getaway in Frankfort as the perfect antidote for his stressful law enforcement career.

But August 16, when he and his cousin went for a swim, a powerful rip current and five-to-six-foot waves carried them away from land no matter how hard they swam. Frantically, they realized that they were literally and figuratively over their heads.

Desperately, they changed directions, now attempting to swim parallel to the shore toward rescue ladders spaced along the 200-foot harbor pier.

Butt by the time they reached the pier, the current had carried them far beyond the escape ladders.

When they finally grabbed the pier wall, waves repeatedly slammed LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

Douglas P. Bender II (center) is flanked by POAM President Jim Tignanelli (left) and Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Young (right).

them against the concrete, making it all but impossible to hang on. Several times, the waves pushed Bender under. Water filled his mouth. He began to panic.

But strength, determination and the will to live somehow triumphed as both men managed to drag themselves up onto the pier, scraped, cut and bleeding — vowing never again to put themselves in a similar situation.

Bender’s resolve lasted only one day.

The next day, Aug. 17, was just as windy, and the waves were equally rough. As Bender, his cousin — a Huron Township police officer — and two friends sat on the beach contemplating going inside to await better beach weather, Bender heard urgent cries. At the end of the same pier where he’d sought safety the previous day, a lady was frantically throwing a life ring out to the water. No matter how many times she threw it, the wicked wind boomeranged it right back to her.

Mindful of his own frightening battle with the current, he alerted his companions and raced down to the pier. The lady who had been tossing out the life ring showed Bender where fierce rip currents had pulled a 14-yearold boy far out from shore. When Bender spotted the young teen, he had already been pulled underwater near the lake’s bottom.

Before Bender could do anything about the boy, he heard more shouting and spotted an elderly large man in the water pleading for someone to save him. Waves crashed over the man’s head.

The man, Bender learned, was among three people — the boy’s grandfather, his uncle, and a Good Samaritan — who had jumped into the water minutes before to rescue the boy.

Bender ran for another life ring because the teen’s grandfather, still in the water, was holding onto the one the woman had thrown. But the bystander, flailing in the water, had panicked to the point of being unable to reach out to the lifesaver.

Undeterred, Bender managed to get the man’s attention by yelling at him and even intentionally hitting his head with the ring until the man finally grabbed it, allowing Bender to pulled him to the pier. The man, however,

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2011 lacked the necessary strength to pull his sizeable body up to the ladder, which was somewhat above water level. When waves knocked the man’s grip from the bottom of the ladder, Bender adeptly pulled him back with the life ring rope.

Bender’s own recent brush with a watery death and his vow not to go into the water was still fresh in his mind, but he knew the man would go permanently under if the waves again knocked him from the ladder.

Jumping into the water, Bender got under the man’s vast bulk with his shoulder, grabbed the ladder rung and both men together pulled up on the ladder. The boost was enough for one of Bender’s friends, now on the dock, to grab the man’s hands and pull him to safety — just as another wave washed Bender off the ladder and into the churning water.

Knowing his rescue mission was far from done, Bender somehow managed to grab the ladder and scramble to safety, where he immediately focused on the teen’s uncle, who was now near the pier and yelling for help.

Bender threw him a life ring, which the uncle caught. Knowing he’d totally depleted the reserve energy he’d used in his life-saving performance with the bystander, Bender simply dragged the man by the life ring rope all the way back to shore.

Bender then dashed back the area of the pier where his cousin, who had jumped into the water despite Bender’s warning about rip currents, was now supporting the boy’s head above water. The cousin was struggling —without much success — to push the boy up to the pier where Bender’s friends could haul him to safety. The battering waves and the weight of the second body made it impossible for the cousin to climb the ladder. Time was running out.

Then, miraculously — and no one knows how it happened because none of the men threw the rope — one of the life ring ropes wrapped efficiently around the boys body in just the right places, and the three men on the pier, working together, managed to pull him a full eight feet to the top of the pier.

The boy, who had been submerged for quite some time, was stark white, had no pulse and was not breathing.

Immediately the men started CPR. They worked for what seemed like forever, but there was no response. Just as they were about to abandon hope, the boy spit up some water. Next came deep but delayed breaths.

He was alive!

When the paramedics arrived, the young teen was unconscious but breathing. The ambulance rushed him to the hospital, where doctors warned that he might not survive. But after two days in a coma, his vital signs improved. A week after his miraculous rescue, he left the hospital — and, days later began practicing with his hockey team.

POAM now has the privilege of honoring Monroe County Deputy Douglas P. Bender II with its 2011 Police Officer of Chris Carlson accepted on behalf the Year Award for his heroic of Rachael Davis.

Lake Michigan water rescue. But Deputy Bender insists some of the credit should go to his cousin and friends — and much more to something bigger than all of them.

“All credit and glory for this kid and the others being with us today belongs to God,” he observes. “There are all kinds of reasons why. None of us wanted to be at the beach that day. I had said I wouldn’t get into the water.

No one knows how that life saving rope managed to wrap itself around the boy’s body. Too many things fell into place that day not to have a higher reason behind it. God decided it was not their time and placed all of us in the right place at the right time to carry out his will.”

Deputy Bender, you demonstrated unwavering courage and the highest gallantry — not to mention humility. You were off duty, on vacation and under no obligation to respond as you did. We commend your heroism, your determination, your dedication and your strength for your role in saving three lives. We’re proud to name you 2011 Police Officer of the Year.

WAYNE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY R ACHAEL DAVIS

Size matters. But not as much as fortitude.

That’s the lesson Wayne County Deputy Rachael Davis demonstrated on March 14 last year when she saved the life of a gravely injured fellow officer.

Deputy Davis was patrolling Hines Park at about 4:30 p.m. when she responded to a chilling call about her colleague, Wayne County Cpl. Christopher Carlson. Only moments before, an errant driver had run from his car after Carlson pulled him over. Carlson, on foot, had followed after him.

Somehow, the man had doubled back, jumped into the corporal’s patrol car and drove the patrol car directly at Carlson —running over the corporal’s torso and head. But once was not enough for the ruthless escapee, who backed up and ran over Carlson yet a second time before taking off in the stolen patrol car.

Responding officers quickly joined in pursuing the suspect, as Deputy Davis raced to aid Cpl. Carlson. She covered the five miles between them in near-record response time.

When Davis arrived at the scene, she saw Carlson stretched out in the middle of the street, bleeding from his nose and mouth. His uniform was torn — and tread marks lined his face. Although he was conscious, he was unable to move on his own, had difficulty breathing and complained of pain in his legs and arms.

As she radioed for medical assistance, Davis heard Carlson scream.

She turned to see the stolen patrol car racing dead on towards her and Cpl. Carlson. The driver showed no sign of slowing down or swerving to avoid them.

Carlson — at 5-foot, 9-inches and 260 pounds — weighed twice as much as Deputy Davis, who carried only 130 pounds on her 5-foot, 3-inch frame.

But Davis somehow managed to pull Carlson out of the middle of the street just as the renegade car whizzed by.

Seconds later, the driver crashed the stolen patrol car and fled on foot, where pursuing officers arrested him. Thanks in part to Deputy Davis’ testimony, he was convicted of several criminal counts.

Although Deputy Davis doubtlessly saved Cpl. Carlson’s life, he suffered severe injuries and required lengthy hospitalization. He’s still recovering at home.

Continued on page 20

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Had Deputy Davis not responded so quickly to the initial radio call for assistance and made that split-second decision to risk her own life to remove her fellow officer from danger, Cpl. Carlson would not have survived the driver’s diabolic rage.

The entire incident, from the first call for help to the suspect’s apprehension, spanned less than 15 minutes. In that short time period, Deputy Davis saved a life and proved herself a hero.

Wayne County Deputy Rachael Davis, you summoned the strength and fortitude to transport an injured colleague twice your weight from imminent death to safety — despite the danger you faced in taking this action.

For your selfless bravery, we commend you, thank you and name you 2011 POAM Police Officer of the Year.

PORT HURON POLICE OFFICER CHAD M. SMITH

The St. Clair River’s dangerous currents have claimed the lives of many unsuspecting swimmers who fail to heed posted “Do Not Swim” warnings.

Those same currents would have claimed one more statistic — a 17-yearold youth — over Independence Day weekend last summer had Port Huron Police Officer Chad Smith not been on duty at the right place and at the right time.

As dark was closing in on July 3, Smith was working uniform patrol when he and a fellow officer responded to a rescue call for a swimmer in distress. Two teens had been jumping into the water and climbing back up the seawall ladder.

One of the teens, however, found too many people on the ladder he’d previously used, so he decided to swim over to the next ladder. But, by the time he got there, the seawall had blocked what little light remained in the day, and the teen could not find the safety ladder.

Even worse, the powerful current was pulling him away from shore. The more he tried to swim toward the seawall, the more the current dragged him away.

L2R: Jim Tignanelli, Chad Smith and Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Pete O’Connell.

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

When Officer Smith arrived at water’s edge, a group of onlookers pointed to the teen, bobbing in and out of sight about 50 feet off shore and obvious distressed. He was too far out to pull to shore with a life ring and throw rope.

Knowing he had only seconds to act, Smith flung down his gun belt but remained in full uniform, including shoes and bulletproof vest. Clutching a rescue ring and rope, he dove into the dangerous St. Clair River current.

Stroke by stroke he swam until he reached the teen. But when he attempted to use the life ring, it proved defective, sinking into the choppy water. As Smith watched it submerge, he saw that the teen was far too weak to have held onto it anyway. Smith himself would have to be the young man’s “ring of life.”

As Officer Smith supported the panicked teen above water and tried to calm him, someone swam a much longer rescue rope out to them.

The longer rope allowed the responding officers on land to pull Officer Smith and the teen to the seawall ladder. They then boosted the teen into the fire department rescue boat, which rushed him to emergency medical care.

Not long after his heroic, full-uniform rescue, Officer Smith received the following note: “I’m Joel, the kid you pulled out of the water on July 3rd. I’d just like to say thank you. I honestly believed that I was going to die that night. I was praying and calling to God that he would save me, and then you came up and pulled me in. I wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you. Joel.”

We at POAM also want to thank Port Huron Police Officer Chad Smith for his swift action and selfless courage in plucking this lucky young man from a premature and watery grave. Officer Smith turned a near-tragedy into a true July 4 celebration. Officer Smith, we commend your brave deed and honor you with the proud designation of 2011 POAM Police Officer of the Year.

EASTPOINTE DETECTIVE TIMOTHY STOPCZYNSKI

When deals between drug dealers go bad, it’s simply back-alley survival of the fittest. Bullets fly and bodies fall — with no great loss to society.

But when a deal between a drug dealer and an undercover cop goes bad, the stakes are infinitely higher.

That’s what happened last September 17 to Eastpointe Detective Timothy Stopczynski, who had painstakingly built a relationship with a man who was selling large amounts of oxycontin and heroin.

The two set the ground rules for a buy: They’d meet at 1 p.m. in Detective Stopczynski’s car, which would be parked in a well-lit market parking lot in Detroit where people were coming and going. That would provide a relatively safe environment, giving Stopczynski time to check the drugs and the dealer time to count his money.

Stopczynski made arrangements with other Eastpointe and Detroit detectives. A main surveillance crew would watch him and his vehicle in the parking lot, while two stand-by takedown crews would arrest the suspect once the deal was done. He would not wear a wire, but he would abide by prearranged signals to indicate whether it was a good deal, a takedown or a robbery.

At the appointed time, Detective Stopczynski waited in the lot. Soon after, the suspect called to say he too was now in the lot and that he was watching Stopczynski from his vehicle. Then he added something Stopczynski did not expect: He was sending his “cousin” to Stopczynski’s car to

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Tignanelli and Blozis congratulate Timothy Stopczynski (right).

complete the deal rather than doing it himself.

Stopczynski objected, reminding him that they had agreed to deal only with each other and that no third party was to be involved. But before he could say much, he spotted the drug dealer’s stand-in already approaching his car.

Quickly, he got off the phone with the suspect, rolled up the windows for added privacy, contacted the main surveillance unit to report the change and hung up — just as the drug dealer’s alleged cousin hopped into his passenger seat.

Detective Stopczynski asked for the pills, but the man said he’d have to see the money first. Stopczynski, however, refused to produce the money before he saw the pills. The deadlock continued until the suspect pulled out a rolled up brown paper bag, claiming that the rest of the pills were in his pocket.

With his left hand, Stopczynski pulled a stack of money from his left pocket. The suspect then reached into his own pocket with his right hand.

But instead of producing the pills he’d promised, he brandished a silver semiautomatic handgun.

Pressing the handgun into the detective’s ribs, the suspect said, “I will kill you in a second if you don’t to exactly what I tell you to do.”

Despite the threat, Stopczynski remained calm. He assured the man he’d follow his orders but that he didn’t want the gun to go off accidentally in his ribs.

The man responded by moving the gun to the detective’s head. “There won’t be any accidents here, motherfucker,” he said. “I’ll fucking kill you if I want to.”

He then reached over, grabbed the money from Stopczynski’s left hand while still pointing the gun at the detective’s head.

Continually yelling obscenities at Stopczynski — and repeating that the detective’s life was in his hands now and that he’d die if he made one false move, the suspect reached over. He shut the vehicle’s engine, and then grabbed the keys and Stopczynski’s cell phone.

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

The detective started to reach for his department-issued handgun, which he had stashed under his left leg. But his armed captor noted the movement, forcing Stopczynski to close his legs for fear that the suspect would see the gun.

Calmly, Stopczynski awaited an opening — even a split second — when he could take control.

His patience paid off. The suspect — while holding the money, car keys and cell phone in his left hand and trying to keep the gun in his right hand pointed at his captive — was fumbling to locate the door handle. For one brief second, his eyes strayed to the door. It was the opening Stopczynski had been awaiting — and it was an opportunity he couldn’t waste.

With split-second precision, he retrieved his handgun, angled his head away from the suspect’s gun — still pointed directly at him — and fired a single shot at the suspect’s head.

The passenger-side window shattered and the suspect ran from the car, but Stopczynski wasn’t sure what damage his bullet had done — or, just as important, if the suspect was still armed and able.

Not wanting to be a sitting duck, Stopczynski left the car and worked his way around to the passenger side. Once there, he glimpsed the suspect running through the parking lot, where innocent people were coming and going.

Thinking first of the civilians, Stopczynski shouted a warming that the man was armed and dangerous. When a clear line of fire briefly opened, he fired. But the clearing quickly closed, and he had to cease fire or risk injuring shoppers in the lot.

The standby takedown teams then sprang into action and tackled the suspect, who had been hit in the face by Stopczynski’s original shot.

Detective Stopczynski’s astounding professionalism allowed him to remain calm and make split-second decisions under extraordinarily stressful conditions. His courage and quick action saved his own life as well as the lives of countless innocent bystanders — and took one more dangerous drug dealer off the streets.

Eastpointe Detective Timothy Stopczynski, you have demonstrated bravery and the utmost professionalism. You maintained your calm and processed split-second decisions with your life and the lives of countless civilians hanging in the balance. POAM proudly names you 2011 Police Officer of the Year.

FLINT TOWNSHIP POLICE DETECTIVE R ANDY KIMES

Sometimes an out-of-the way detour can prove the most direct route.

That’s the way it worked for Flint Township Police Detective Randy Kimes last summer when he took an unexpected turn on his way to work.

On July 30, Kimes had responded to a crime scene in Flint Township. A 60-year-old man with multiple stab wounds had been found face down and dead in a restaurant driveway.

Two days later, while en route to work, Kimes overheard a police radio report about a homicide in the neighboring city of Flint. Acting on nothing more than a hunch, Kimes changed directions and went directly to the new crime scene, even though it was outside of his jurisdiction. He would soon learn that the detour put him directly on the path of a heinous mass murderer.

PAGE 21

Continued on page 22 Fall, 2011

Continued from previous page

2011

On-scene officers shared the details with him. This crime too was a stabbing — with chilling similarities to the Flint Township homicide two days earlier.

Kimes immediately met with Flint detectives, sharing details of his Flint Township investigation and reviewing both cases.

As they investigated further, Kimes’ hunch to explore the second murder led to something far more unsettling than two related stabbing homicides. They discovered several other similar stabbings in adjacent communities over the past two months.

A serial stabber was on the loose.

Representatives from all law enforcement agencies in Genesee County gathered for an emergency meeting. They determined that at least 14 similar stabbings — resulting in five homicides — had occurred between May 24 and the AuMichigan Attorney General Bill Schuette gust 2 stabbing in Flint. At least four (right) was proud to honor Randy Kimes. other similar stabbings had popped up in Ohio and Virginia since then.

Michigan State Police created a special investigative task force made up of the FBI and local detectives, including Detective Kimes. Working round the clock, Kimes joined his task force colleagues investigating more than 600 tips and leads.

Twenty-four hours later — and only nine days after Kimes had followed a hunch and visited the crime scene in Flint — police arrested the suspect at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Ga., just as the serial stabber prepared to board a flight to Tel Aviv, Israel.

Search warrants that Kimes and others executed unearthed extensive evidence — including victim DNA found inside his car and luggage at the airport — connecting him to the crimes.

Detective Randy Kimes’ intuition, matchless expertise and work ethic throughout this investigation helped speed the capture of a crazed murderer before he could strike yet again — possibly even in another country across the ocean where he could begin his murderous streak anew.

Flint Township Detective Randy Kimes, we honor you with POAM’s highest recognition and name you 2011 Police Officer of the Year.

SOUTHFIELD POLICE OFFICERS MARC DOUVILLE AND JASON SCHNEIDER

In the movies, heart-thumping car chases cost the price of admission. In real life, they can cost lives.

Just such a chase played out on well-traveled suburban Detroit freeways last summer. It began minutes before midnight July 30 when a man used a sawed-off shotgun to rob a Walled Lake liquor store. He had hit the same liquor store two years earlier but had escaped.

The suspect was well known to area law enforcement. He had a record of armed robbery convictions, was also wanted for a second armed robbery that had occurred less than 24 hours before the Walled Lake hold-up and he’d been arrested in Southfield several years earlier while driving a stolen LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

Mark Douville and Jason Schneider were surrounded by Jim Tignanelli (left) and Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Brian Zahra (right).

vehicle. During the Southfield arrest, he had resisted so violently — even assaulting one of the arresting officers — that police had resorted to handcuffing him to the patrol car push bumper to control him.

Now he was at it again. Officers from neighboring Novi had attempted to pull him over after the liquor store heist. But he had rammed their surveillance vehicle and sped onto the eastbound freeway.

Southfield Police Officers Marc Douville and Jason Schneider responded, positioning their car on the freeway, ready to pursue. Within minutes, they spotted the suspect’s car, cutting in and out of traffic at over 100 miles per hour on the southbound Lodge Freeway in Southfield.

Douville and Schneider, in the primary pursuit car, cut in front of the suspect and maneuvered into a rolling roadblock on the freeway. The suspect’s car spun out, careening across two freeway lanes, bouncing off the concrete retaining wall and then cutting back across the two freeway lanes it had just crossed. A pursuing Novi patrol car stopped at the driver’s door, while a Southfield car rammed into the vehicle’s front bumper to hold the suspect in place.

But the crazed fugitive was not about to surrender. Instead he climbed through the driver’s window onto the police car’s hood, leaped down and ran toward the retaining wall. He then jumped the wall and fled on foot towards a residential Southfield neighborhood.

Schneider and Douville ran from their car, now directly behind the suspect’s vehicle. Fearing that the dangerous man would escape or use his shotgun to harm others, both officers fired, mortally wounding him before he reached nearby homes.

Southfield Police Officer Marc Douville and Officer Jason Schneider, you pursued an armed felon, throughout a high-speed chase and on foot, to prevent him from injuring fellow law enforcement officers as well as innocent people asleep in their homes in the adjacent neighborhood.

Your outstanding courage and rapid response stopped a violent and elusive repeat offender from striking again. You have each truly earned the honor of receiving POAM’s 2011 Police Officer of the Year Award.

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fall, 2011

2011 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD TAYLOR POLICE CPL. DANA PARISH

When it comes to the two most chilling words in law enforcement, the normally rare report of “Officer down!” hits the top of the list. For Taylor Police Cpl. Dana Parish, it was the second such call within six weeks.

A bullet had killed his fellow corporal, Matthew Edwards, July 23 last year as Edwards and a partner investigated a reported breakin attempt. On September 7, the dreaded “Officer down!” dispatch Dana Parish blared again. A hit-and-run driver had struck Taylor Auxiliary Lt. Danny Komer as he helped a stranded motorist on the busy I-94 freeway in Taylor.

Cpl. Parish, one of the first two responders on the scene, found the downed officer lying unresponsive in the right traffic lane of the freeway.

He was not breathing.

Without hesitation, Parish began CPR, aggressively performing chest compressions and rescue breathing non-stop for a good ten to 15 minutes until the Taylor Fire Department arrived to relieve him.

Sadly, despite Parish’s herculean efforts to save him, Lt. Komer’s extensive injuries were too severe to save him. Taylor had lost its second officer in only six weeks.

Although Cpl. Parish was unable to save Lt. Komer, POAM feels Parish deserves recognition and praise for his exceptional behavior and character as this tragic event unfolded.

He demonstrated selfless bravery, risking his own life during his all-out race through traffic to the scene and then in administering immediate CPR — despite the fact that he had to do so on a dark freeway stretch in a heavily trafficked lane.

He further ignored his own personal safety and showed compassion for a fellow officer by performing CPR, knowing full well that the blood and body fluids covering Lt. Komer’s body might expose him to potentially dangerous pathogens.

And he showed remarkable strength and diligence in continuing his resuscitation attempts for an extraordinary time period until medical relief arrived.

All of this, he did unhesitatingly and with commendable professional calm, despite the natural stress and anxiety accompanying any “Officer down!” call — much less the second such call in just six weeks.

For all this, Taylor Police Cpl. Dana Parish, POAM honors you with our coveted 2011 Distinguished Service Award.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD WYANDOTTE POLICE OFFICER DANIEL FOLEY

We expect friends to be there when we most need them. But last summer, Wyandotte Police Officer Daniel Foley stepped far beyond the call of

duty when he befriended an entire neighboring police department.

Officer Foley had long steeped himself in honor guard duties and training. He has been a member of the Wyandotte Police Department Honor and Color Guard team for 25 years, raises funds to operated an annual honor guard training school he established and volunteers much of his free to performing honor guard duties.

So when tragedy twice struck the Taylor Police Department last summer, Foley was well prepared to show the entire department what “honor” and “guard” truly mean.

It was a difficult time for the Taylor department last July 23 when a fatal bullet felled on-duty Taylor Police Cpl. Matthew Edwards. Three of Edwards’ fellow officers, struggling with their own shock and grief, began the sad task of planning a full-honors funeral for their fallen comrade.

“The task was overwhelming, physically and emotionally strenuous, and, in simple terms, maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” recalls Cpl. Gerald Cole, one of the three Taylor police officers assigned to the task.

But before Cole and his team had time to focus on any details, their phone rang with a totally unexpected and unsolicited call from Officer Foley. Foley — even though he had no affiliation with the slain officer’s department — volunteered to do anything he could to support, guide and assist the Taylor department in conducting the funeral.

Selflessly and efficiently, he took over all the necessary tasks.

He guided the department in protocol. He assembled a team to perform all necessary duties. He obtained U.S. flags for the funeral.

He found photographers to capture events at no charge to the grieving family. He established broadcast connections for funeral overflow locations. He coordinated a multijurisdictional honor guard and color team to accompany the downed officer’s body at the funeral home, Dan “Axel” Foley (right) is thanked for his in transport and during the funer- service to surviving families. al. And he trained Taylor officers to stand casket guard for the threeday viewing — thus giving Edwards’ colleagues a chance to show their respects in a professional as well as in a personal way.

Although the Detroit Police Honor and Color Guard had been designated to head the event, Officer Foley filled in at many places the Detroit team could not cover. And he created contingency and redundancy plans for every eventuality — just in case.

He did all this, according to Cole, “without ever being in the way, never causing waves and never interfering with the flow of ceremonies. He was always standing in the wings, waiting to help and filling in where needed.”

Unfortunately, the Taylor Police Department was not yet done with Foley’s services. Tragedy again befell the same department only six weeks later when Taylor Police Auxiliary Lt. Dan Komer was stuck and killed by a hit-and-run vehicle.

Continued on page 24

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Fall, 2011

Continued from previous page

2011

Again, Foley rushed in to help. He knew exactly what to do and he did it, efficiently and tirelessly. He helped an entire department of twice-grieving personnel honor yet another officer.

If Foley’s service had been limited to Taylor, it would have been worthy of high commendation. But limiting what he can give has not been part of Officer Foley’s philosophy.

Foley and his team have done 10 full honor-in-the-line-of-duty funerals in the past five years, most recently assisting at Livonia Police Officer Larry Nehasil’s funeral. He also volunteered as a consultant for U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s funeral.

Wyandotte Police Officer Daniel Foley, you have never hesitated to volunteer your time and expertise after an officer’s death in the line of duty.

Your unwavering commitment and knowledgeable help has eased the way for many departments during one of the most difficult and emotional challenges any law enforcement agency can face.

For being a best friend in a time of desperate need to the Taylor Police Department — and to several other law enforcement agencies as well — the Police Officers Association of Michigan honors you with our 2011 Distinguished Service Award.

Rick St. Andre Wins POAM’s Coveted Award

By Ed Jacques, LEJ Editor

L

oyalty is both a virtue and a blessing. It is a virtue of the person that it is bestowed upon, and a blessing to the people that have earned its reward. It’s the most common quality that best defines the law enforcement family. That is why POAM insists on presenting its annual Loyalty Award to a local association president that has unselfishly given their heart and soul to the membership and in turn, greatly benefitted the POAM. This year’s recipient is Romulus Police Officer Rick St. Andre, who is a 25-year veteran, the first nine years as a deputy at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the last 16 with Romulus PD. Rick has served on his local executive board for the past ten years as Sergeant at Arms and Vice President, and the last four years as President. St. Andre has always been a strong advocate for his members and an active supporter of the POAM. The Romulus Police Officers Association is respected in the community because of the professional work that they do on the job, but also because of their long-time support of local charities and sports teams. Much of that money comes from their 13 years at running a successful golf tournament where the entire membership gets involved.

Rick admits that his job as local association president, especially in a community like Romulus, is a tough but rewarding job. “Our Executive Board is not comfortable until we know that we have done everything we can to benefit an individual officer and the group as a whole,” said St. Andre. “It’s impossible to please everybody, but that doesn’t mean you don’t try.” Rick’s commitment has forged one of POAM’s strongest local collective bargaining units in the state.

St. Andre is especially appreciative of the services his group receives

from the POAM staff. “Whether we need one of their staff attorneys on a critical incident or excessive discipline, or research support and advocacy in a 312 arbitration, the POAM staff has always been responsible and available at our request.” St. Andre added, “And nobody cares more about patrol officers than our Business Agent, Ken Grabowski.”

POAM Business Agent Ken Grabowski (right) Romulus POA members have appreciates Rick St. Andre’s dedicated loyalty. always been active participants in all of POAM’s functions. That includes political events, labor training seminars and our annual convention. In fact, St. Andre has only missed one convention/seminar in the last 23 years, even when he was a non-member.

“Local association leaders need to take full advantage of POAM’s programs and services,” states St. Andre.

Ken Grabowski is especially appreciative of St. Andre’s work in the field.

“Rick calls me often for advice when special things come up, but there are very few issues that he can’t handle himself,” said Grabowski. “His training and experience have made him a credible leader with the administration and his members, and that makes my job a little bit easier.”

The POAM is pleased and honored to name Romulus Police Officer Rick St. Andre as its POAM Loyalty Award winner for 2011. 

CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR Continued from page 8 us tell you about one more gem in this bill. Under current law, an injured worker is obligated to treat with the medical provider determined by the insurance company or employer for the first 10 days after the injury. Section 315 of the bill increases that from the first 10 days to the first 45 days. This increase in insurance company and employer control of the medical provider is outrageous. Don’t we live in America, the land of the free? Americans do not appreciate their government, their insurance company, or their employer telling them who their doctor must be.

Medical treatment, especially surgery, is a very personal choice that the patient should be allowed LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

to exercise. Given that every doctor in Michigan is already limited to the charges allowed under the Workers’ Compensation Agency’s medical cost containment rules, an injured police officer is currently free (after the first 10 days) to obtain the best possible doctor or surgeon to treat their work-related injury, at no extra cost to the insurance company or employer. The proposed bill would force injured police officers to treat with the less skilled industrial clinics and force those officers to obtain surgery from doctors under the insurance companies’ control.

This bill has already passed the House, and if we don’t all call or visit our State Senators, this PAGE 24

bill will be on Governor Snyder’s desk by Christmas. Please call, write, and visit your State Senator, and tell them, HB 5002 is unfair and must be changed. You can find your State Senator by going to http://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysenator/ fysenator.htm. Make sure you tell them that you don’t want phantom wages deducted from workers’ comp payments, you don’t want to be forced to retire early, and you don’t want to be told who your doctor is for the first 45 days after an injury.

If every police officer in the state contacts his or her state senator, we can make a difference and change this bill.  fall, 2011

I

MCOLES Report

By Jim DeVries, MCOLES Board Member

t has been a busy year for MCOLES, specifically focused on statutory revisions. Some of these changes are both beneficial and in my opinion, controversial.

The Commission focused on four areas of the statutes: ethics, regular employment, Michigan Justice Training Fund and medical requirements.

Changes to the ethics provisions were approved by the commission in 2010 and are being moved forward to the legislature. The change gives MCOLES the ability to revoke an officer’s license for more than a felony conviction.

This change was the most controversial. It is my belief that this resolution gives far too much power to the commission and takes away the responsibility from the employing agency to discipline, or suspend its employees when there is alleged misconduct.

After considerable debate, the issue was brought to vote. Two members of the commission, Commissioner Luty (MSPTA) and I voted in opposition of the resolution but it passed with the remaining members present voting in favor. You may review the minutes of the meeting by going to www. michigan.gov/mcoles.

As far as changes to the medical statutes, MCOLES has received applications from individuals who have a physical disability. Currently the statutes have automatic exclusions such as a person shall have all of their extremities. Given the advancements in technology some disabilities can be overcome such as with prosthetic limbs. MCOLES is asking the governor’s office, through an emergency order, to repeal the automatic exclusion portion of the statutes. This will bring MCOLES more in line with the ADA. This does not mean that all persons with disabilities will be approved for entrance into the profession it just requires MCOLES to look at each situation on a case by case basis.

The most significant issue has been the 520 hour rule enacted by MCOLES in 2010 with implementation scheduled for 2012. The rule required that for officers to keep their license they would have to work a minimum of 520 hours in a year. That rule has been replaced by an advisory standard of 120 hours with training. That training requirement is being developed by MCOLES staff for implementation later in 2012. This change, in this commissioner’s opinion, contradicts the previous auditor’s recommendation that the commission create a clear definition of “regularly employed,” and provides a greater security for having a police officer’s license lapsing to part-time employee than those who work full time. Again, after considerable debate, the commission passed the resolution with me and Commissioner Luty voting in opposition.

The final changes are to the Justice Training Fund which affects agencies more than the individual officer. These changes require agencies that have not spent their training dollars to return them back to MCOLES. That money will then be redistributed to agencies that have the ability to spend their respective training funds.

As I said earlier, I did not agree with all of the changes. However, some significant changes were needed in many of the statutes. It is incumbent on you to take interest in these changes and other issues with MCOLES. This is the agency that holds your license. MCOLES staff has significantly increased their time in the field, taking part in training and making themselves available to not only administrators but to the officers who utilize the training. They want your input and encourage you to contact them either in the field or at the MCOLES offices.  www.michigan.gov/mcoles

Preferred Vendor

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

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Fall, 2011

You have an opinion.

Tell us about it.

LETTERS Thank you, POAM

Dear Mr. Tignanelli: I am writing to express my gratitude for the scholarship from the Police Officers Association of Michigan. I want to thank you and the membership of the POAM for this award. I also appreciated the encouragement you voiced in your letter.

I plan to study occupational therapy. I will use the scholarship to pay for textbooks during my first semester.

Thank you, Lindsey Lewis

Send your letters to: The Police Officers Association of Michigan 27056 Joy Road Redford Township, Michigan 48239-1949

T

hank you so much for your generous donation to the Thurston High School Senior All Night Party. It’s because of people like you that we are able to hold this party every year to give our graduating seniors a safe graduation night! The seniors enjoyed food all night, a deejay, awesome decorations, inflatables, a henna tattoo artist, a charicaturist, a hypnotist, haircuts and lots of giveawy items!

Thanks again, Thurston High School Project Graudation 2011

No Thank You Mr. Romney The Police Officers Association of Michigan 27056 Joy Road Redford Township, Michigan 48239-194 October 31, 2011 The Honorable Mitt Romney Mitt Romney For President Inc. P.O. Box 149756 Boston, MA 02114-9756 Re: Speaking Request - POAM Annual Convention Dear Governor Romney: On behalf of Michigan’s law enforcement community and the thousands of officers across the state, the Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM) regrets to inform you that we are formally revoking our prior invitation, dated October 10, 2011, to speak at our convention as a guest of honor and keynote speaker.

Your recent decision to support Ohio Governor John Kasich’s efforts to deny .public employees their collective bargaining rights is extremely troublesome. Based on your prior actions, POAM was under the impression that you were the candidate of reason and we looked forward to engaging with one of our own from Michigan. Apparently you have decided to discard your prior stance and political thoughtfulness with an attack on police officers.

Kasich’s proposal is dangerous to all police officers, and directly threatens the safety of every officer on the street. Collective bargaining is the only way police officers have to protect themselves. The Chiefs and Sheriffs don’t protect us, nor can we rely on other elected officials. Many in the public want to harm us, and as such, we have to rely on each other in all circumstances. To take this ability away — like the Ohio legislators want — will most certainly do harm to the very people dedicated to protecting all citizens of the United States of America.

It is unfortunate that your campaign is driving away members who have supported you and others in your party in the past. As such, we withdraw our invitation.

Sincerely, Kenneth E. Grabowski Legislative Director, POAM LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

Scholarship Recipients

Mr. Tignanelli, Thank you and the POAM for the generous donation I recently received to be used for towards my college education in the Fall of 2011. I am honored that you have made this investment in me and my future. Scholarship monies are not easy to attain, which makes me even more appreciative for the investment you’ve made.

This coming fall, I will be attending the University of Michigan. Every dime you’ve invested in me will be spent at the U of M. My intended major will be Pre-Medicine, and I will be a physician one day.

Again, thank you and the POAM for the assistance you’ve provided.

Your generosity is sincerely appreciated!

Sincerely, Ryan T. VanDerWoude Dear POAM, Thank yo uso much for the $250 scholarship.

This is greatly appreciated and will truly be put to good use next year at grant University where I will begin to study nursing. Again, thank you so much for the support.

Taylor Blask Mason, MI

Dear POAM, Thank you very much for awarding me with your scholarship. It will greatly help me further my education at Grand Valley State University to become a physical therapist.

- Mitch Baker

Mr. Tignanelli, Thank you so much for granting me this scholarship. I really appreciate it and it will definitely help with fall tuition.

- Shannon Heika

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fall, 2011

Signed and Sealed

Agreements gain vital benefits for POAM members

Summaries and highlights of recently completed local contract negotiations and 312 arbitrations

Negotiated

Negotiated

Hillsdale POA

Dearborn Heights Dispatch Duration:

07/01/2009 - 06/30/2013

Wages:

2009 – 0%

2010 – 0%

2011 – 0%

2012 – Wage re-opener Increased comp bank to 156 hours.

Incorporated 12 hour shift language.

Clothing allowance increased to $500 year, and personal time increased to 48 hours. Vacation time increased and capped at 224 hours.

Shift mentor compensation increased.

Bargaining team consisted of Cheryl Frank and Mike Mimnaugh, who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Wayne Beerbower.

Duration:

Wages:

2009 – 0%

2010 – 0%

2011 – Wage re-opener

Negotiated

Midland POA Duration:

07/01/2011 – 06/30/2014

Wages:

2011 – 3%

2012 – 1%

2013 – 1%

Agreed to limited use of part-time officers.

12 hour shift implemented for a one year test period, helping to add one more police officer to schedule.

Healthcare is either a PPO 3 or PPO 14 with $15/$30 drug card.

New hire receive Act 345 basic benefit with HCSP with a 2% contribution from Employer and employees.

Bargaining team consisted of Marc Goulette and John Dubois who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jim Tignanelli.

Health Insurance is BC/BS Simply Blue PPO. New hires enrolled into HSA with $1250/$2500 deductible and $10/$40/$80 drug card. Employees pay 20% of premium.

Bargaining team consisted of Steve Pratt, Scott Hephner and Thad Doty, who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Wayne Beerbower.

Negotiated

Plymouth (City) POA Duration:

07/01/2010 - 06/30/2012

Wages:

2010 – 0%

2011 – 0%

Clothing allowance increased from $500 to $650 per year.

Both parties to continue negotiating conversion to public safety.

Bargaining team consisted of Justin Bulmer, Jeff Jones and Tony Angelosanto, who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jerry Radovic.

Negotiated

Melvindale POA Duration:

Negotiated

More Signed and Sealeds on inside cover.

Health insurance deductible increased to $1000/$2000 with employer funding $1800 in FSA to offset deductibles. Maximum out of pocket deductible is $1000/$2000.

01/01/2010 – 12/31/2012

Wages:

2010 – 0% signing bonus $1000

2011 – 0%

2012 – 0% Healthcare will be a self-insurance program similar to Community Blue 4 with a $5/$25/$50 formulary drug card. Employees will premium share at a monthly rate of $50 (single) and $75 (2 person or family).

New hires to pay 20% of healthcare premium.

Bargaining team consisted of Mike Welch, Nick Martinez, Dan Jones, Chad Detrich and Rolando Hinojosa who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jerry Radovic.

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

07/01/2009 - 06/30/2013

Negotiated

Ionia County DSA Duration:

01/01/2011 – 12/31/2013

Flint Township POA Duration:

01/01/2012 - 12/31/2013

Wages:

2012 – 0%

2013 – 0%

Wages:

2011 – 0%

2012 – 0%

2013 – 0%

Employees to contribute 5% of health care premium into HRA.

Employer to offer four health care plans:

12 hour shifts implemented into contract.

HSA with $1250/$2500 deductible $5/$25/$50 drug card with $100/$2000 description cap and no premium share.

PPO #1 with $5/$25/$50 drug card.

PPO #6 with $5/$25/$50 drug card and $250/$500 deductible.

PPO (new plan) with $5/$25/$50 drug card and $500/$1000 deductible.

Employees selecting Plan 2, 3 or 4 shall pay the premium cost difference between the HSA. Employees choosing the HSA will receive between $700-$900 contributed into their account annually by the Employer.

Bargaining team consisted of Lynn Cruttendon and Richard Charon, who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jim DeVries.

PAGE 27

Equalization of overtime language incorporated into contract.

Eliminate mandatory two person cars between 12am and 6am.

New employees will receive a MERS defined contribution or Hybrid Plan with employers contribution not to exceed 10% of employee’s wage.

Bargaining team consisted of Vern Chontos and Randy Kimes who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jim DeVries.

Fall, 2011

Revised October 2011 – Program Manager: Joe Marchetti – To register contact: 248.232.4220

TRAINING & INFORMATION BULLETIN Information listed is tentative and subject to change, please verify before attending.

Seminars run January, 2012 through June, 2012

JANUARY

APRIL (continued)

12………….. Stress Management 12-13……… Promotional Assessment Centers 13………….. DNA Update 16………….. Standard Field Sobriety Refresher 17………….. 911 Liability – MacNlow & Associates ® 18………….. Customer Service for 911 Professionals 19………….. K9 Hard Surface Tracking 19-21……… Speed Measurement Operator 25………….. Understanding Domestic Violence 27………….. Law Enforcement Interview and Interrogation 30-Jun 1...... Patrol Dog Academy

11-Mar 31..... Reserve Academy 17…………... Legal Update for K9 Officers 19…………... First Response to Jail Crimes 23-27……..… A/I #1 – Initial Investigations 26-28……….. Speed Measurement Operator 30…………... Report Writing

FEBRUARY

TBD………... Cold Weather Sniper Training 3………….… Basic Edged Weapons DT 9-10………… Emergency 1st Aid for K9 Officers 13………...… Standard Field Sobriety Refresher 16…………... K9 Tactical Building Search 16-17………. Leadership & The Frontline Supervisor 20-24……….. A/I #2 – Follow-up Investigations 20-Mar 2...… Evidence Technician School

MAY

MARCH

TBD……….. Tactical Response to Critical Incidents TBD……...… First responder Talk Tactics/Critical Incidents 5-7…...….….. Standard Field Sobriety Practitioner 8……………. Courtroom Testimony Seminar 9………….… Cold Case Homicides Seminar 12………….. Fugitive Investigations 13-15….…… Advanced Emergency Medical Dispatch 19………….. Drug Asset Forfeiture 20-May 3...... 911 Dispatch Academy 20-22&27-28. Emergency Telecommunicator Course 21…………... Legal Update and Review 26……...…… A/1 #4 – Grid Mapping Evidence 27-28……….. A/I #3 – Accident Photography 29…………... A/I #5 – Tire Dynamics and Examination 29………,,,… Michigan Criminal Law for Dispatchers 30………….. A/I #6 – Lamp Examinations

APRIL

TBD……...… Tactical Life Saver 3-4…………. Fire Communications 3-5…………. Simunition® FX® Scenario Instructor and Safety Certification Course 5……………. Homeland Security 11………….. Handling Despondent/Suicidal Callers

TBD……….. Patrol Rifle Instructor 1-3…………. Advanced Emergency Medical Dispatch 7-9………..... Emergency Fire Dispatch 10………….. Superglue Workshop 11………….. Fingerprinting Difficult Surfaces 14-18………. First Line Supervision 14-18………. Pistol Instructor School 15-16………. Emergency Medical Dispatch Q 16-17………. Computer Crimes/Incident Triage 17…………... K9 Tactical Tracking 21-23…….… Standard Field Sobriety Practitioner 21-25…….… A/I #7 – Commercial Vehicle Accidents 22………….. Basic Empty Hands CQB

JUNE

4-5……….…

4-8……….…

6……………

7-8………….

11-13……….

12…………..

14-15……….

21…………..

22…………..

Phase 1 and 2 Combat Pistol w/Lou Chiodo Basic Police Mountain Bike School Legal Update and Review Cop shock A/I #8 – Motorcycle Accident Investigations Dispatch Orientation (6:30PM) Forensic Grave Excavation K9 Urban Tracking Scenario Promotional Oral Interviews

Officers need their MCOLES license number in order to update their training record.

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

PAGE 28

fall, 2011

The Federal Perspective

By Dennis McGrann, POAM Lobbyist, Washington, D.C.

W

ith the political season ramping up, Congress and the Administration have been busily working to complete action on several necessary pieces of legislation and working to advance their respective legislative and regulatory priorities. With this in mind, we wanted to make you aware of several issues which have the potential to impact the law enforcement community in the state of Michigan.

Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) Funding

In March, during National Police Week in Washington, D.C., POAM Legislative Director Ken Grabowski held meetings with Members of the Michigan Delegation. During a meeting with Congressman Hansen Clarke (D-MI-13), discussions were focused on the federal funding of local law enforcement, as well as the numerous challenges presented by the Northern border.

Subsequently, during June floor debate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, the U.S House of Representatives passed Congressman Hansen Clarke’s (D-MI-13) amendment (H.Amdt. 370) to preserve grant funding for the Detroit Metropolitan region and other urban areas, striking language from H.R. 2017, the FY12 Homeland Security Appropriations Act. At risk was the region’s eligibility for the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grants. Over the past three years, the metropolitan area has received more than $40 million in UASI grants, which provides unique equipment, planning, training and exercises to help local authorities, first responders, law enforcement and agencies in high threat urban areas prepare, prevent, protect and recover from a terrorist attack and other disasters.

Congressman Clarke’s amendment − with support from Governor Snyder’s office, POAM, and most of the Michigan Delegation, including Congressmen Dan Benishek (R-MI-01), Bill Huizenga (R-MI-02), Justin Amash (R-MI-03), David Camp (R-MI-04), Dale Kildee (D-MI-05), Fred Upton (D-MI-06), Tim Walberg (R-MI-07), Gary Peters (D-MI-09), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI-11), Sander Levin (D-MI-12), Hansen Clarke (D-MI-13), John Dingell (D-MI-15), and Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-MI-10) allows DHS to continue to address risk according to local assessment of threats and vulnerabilities, rather than an arbitrary cap. The power of the collective voice of the Michigan law enforcement community was pivotal in preserving this funding: in 2011 the Detroit metropolitan area received $9,437,120 to aid security efforts from the UASI program.

Overall, the FY 2012 House Homeland Security Appropriations bill provides $40.6 billion in total non-emergency funding for the various programs and agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This is a decrease of $1.1 billion, or 2.6% below last year’s level and $3 billion (7%) below the President’s request.

On September 6, 2011 the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security approved their version of Fiscal Year 2012 funding legislation that totals $41 billion in discretionary budget authority, providing $2.58 billion for state and local grants and $557 million above the House level. The Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee indicated directly to POAM’s Washington team that despite the reduction in funding levels, no boundaries on Tier I or Tier II funding were established by the Senate, and that no cap had been set. This means that the underlying authorization sets the top 100 at-risk areas (including Detroit) and the Secretary of Homeland Security has the authority to make the final determinations of “risk.”

The additional $557 million appropriated by the Senate over the House version is a result of significant lobbying efforts put forth on behalf a diverse coalition of elected leaders, first responders and national organiza-

tions over the summer. POAM, during the Congressional recess in August, hosted Congressmen Hansen Clarke (DMI-13) and Dan Benishek (R-MI-01) at the annual Executive Board meeting at the Detroit Yacht Club. This meeting was the culmination of federal efforts undertaken on behalf of POAM Legislative Director Ken Grabowski and Ms. Tara Terpstra, a staff member in Representative Hansen Clarke’s Detroit Office, part of a unified advocacy strategy to reinforce the needs of the federal government as it pertains to funding of local law enforcement.

POAM Executive Board Member David LaMontaine conducted a briefing for Congressmen Benishek and Clarke that was attended by POAM Legislative Director, Ken Grabowski, and Wayne County Deputy Sheriff Brian Earle. During the briefing, the Congressmen were orientated using charts of the Detroit River, as well as the western basin of Lake Erie.

Congressmen Benishek and Clarke were then taken out on the Detroit River by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office 31 foot Safeboat, operated by Deputy Sheriff Tim George, and crewed by Major David Thompson. While onboard the vessel, discussions were held covering topics regarding federal funding of local law enforcement, as well as the numerous challenges presented by the northern border. Additional discussions were held regarding the need for supplemental funding of first responders, and the definition of the roles of the governmental resources in support of first responders.

Ongoing efforts by the federal government in regards to force multiplication, interoperability and the Operation Northern Border Initiative were discussed, as well as opportunities for improvement.

Debt Reduction Panel In August, after weeks of intense debate over raising the federal debt ceiling, President Obama signed into law the formation of a bicameral, joint debt reduction panel tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in future spending cuts. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) tapped two influential Members of the Michigan Delegation: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI-04) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI-06) to serve on the bipartisan panel.

November 23, 2011 is the deadline for the Joint Committee to vote on legislative proposals, with a 10-year deficit reduction goal of $1.5 trillion. One month later, by December 23, the House and Senate must vote on proposals, without amendment.

Senate Law Enforcement Caucus

Senators Christopher Coons (D-DE) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) have joined efforts to form a Senate Law Enforcement Caucus. This caucus will support federal, state and local law enforcement agencies by educating and informing Members and staff about the ongoing policies, programs and initiatives that enhance officer and community safety. The Caucus will serve as a platform for members to discuss the ways in which the federal government can continue to assist and support efforts and promote and encourage talented individuals to pursue careers in law enforcement. The formation of this Caucus comes at a time when law enforcement is facing shrinking budgets and federal resources. Once the Senate caucus is formalized, the Washington, DC office of POAM will strongly encourage Michigan Senators Carl Levin (D) and Debbie Stabenow (D) to join and stand with law enforcement across the state.

The Senate Law Enforcement Caucus joins the existing House Law Enforcement Caucus, co-chaired by Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) and Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA). Members of the Michigan Delegation Continued on next page

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

PAGE 29

Fall, 2011

include Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI-04), Congressman Sander Levin (D-MI-12), Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI-08) and Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI-06), respectively.

Interoperability & D-Block Reallocation

In the March edition of the POAM Washington Report, we reported on the U.S Congress’ efforts to reallocate 700MHz D-Block spectrum for a national interoperable broadband network for public safety. In June, the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved S. 911, the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, allowing it to be scheduled for a full vote by the Senate. It would reallocate the 700 megahertz (mHz) D-Block spectrum for public safety and create a mechanism for funding a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network.

Later in July, Michigan Representatives John D. Dingell (D-MI-15) and Gene Green (D-TX-29) introduced a companion bill to S. 911 to reallocate the D-block spectrum to public safety while placing requirements on incentive auctions. H.R. 2482, the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, will establish the framework for the deployment of a nationwide, interoperable, wireless broadband network for public safety, the lawmakers said. Dingell and Green are members of House Energy and Commerce Committee. The committee’s communications and technology subcommittee scheduled a legislative hearing on spectrum and public-safety issues for July 15. Representatives Hansen Clarke (D-MI-13) and Dale Kildee (D-MI05) are co-sponsors of the bill.

While there are a litany of bills in the 112th Congress that seek to overcome the barriers to providing state-of-the-art wireless technology for public safety, only S.911 has been reported favorably out of committee in either the House or the Senate.

Congressional sources indicate that the House Energy and Commerce Committee may markup D-Block legislation during October, and that the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology may do so as soon as early as the week of October 3. However, this proposal differs significantly from the Senate S. 911 bill that has been approved by the Senate Commerce Committee because it would not reallocate the D-Block to public safety and would “sunset” narrowband use of 700 MHz after 10 years.

The full Energy and Commerce Committee is Chaired by Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI-06); Congressman John Dingell (D-MI-15) is a senior Democratic member of the committee. Passage of a spectrum bill this year lies with the deficit reduction committee, which could fold spectrum provisions into its prospective proposal and count revenue raised from spectrum license auctions toward shrinking the deficit. POAM will continue to monitor and follow this issue closely.

House and Senate FY’12 CJS Appropriations

On July 18, 2011, POAM sent letters to the entire Michigan Delegation, encouraging no additional cuts to state and local law enforcement initiatives in the full House Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations bill.

In the letter, POAM stated its particular concern about the dramatic funding cuts to state and local law enforcement grant programs under this measure. The bill included no funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program or the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which provides funds to states and local governments for the cost of incarcerating undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes.

On September 14, 2011, the Senate Commerce Justice Science Appropriations Subcommittee reported out a FY 2012 spending measure which would provide $26.9 billion to the Department of Justice, two percent less appropriated for FY2011. State and local law enforcement activities, however, would be funded at $2.3 billion, 17 percent less than is available this year.

The bill would provide $232 million for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants, including $200 million to hire or retain roughly 1,500 police officers. Additionally, this bill provides $1 billion for state and local law enforcement assistance, including Byrne formula grants, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, bulletproof vests, and DNA backlog grants. It appears that within this Byrne Justice Assistance Grants would be funded at $396 million, $35 million (eight percent) below this year’s level but $38 million more than the House bill would provide.

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

President Obama’s Funding for Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS)

On September 8, 2011, President Obama presented the American Jobs Act in a joint address to Congress. State and local law enforcement would see $4 billion in funding for the COPS Hiring Program to enable the new hiring and rehiring of thousands of law enforcement officers across the nation, as well as the prevention of officer lay-offs.

Michigan LE Notes

The Washington D.C. office of POAM is in constant communication with the Michigan delegation regarding pertinent law enforcement related legislation and actions that support Michigan’s law enforcement community. Below we have compiled a selected list of the recent law enforcement related actions and bills supported by Members of the Michigan delegation in the 112th Congress.

State and Local Law Enforcement Discipline, Accountability and Due Process Act

On May 5, 2011, Minnesota Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-MN-03) reintroduced H.R. 1789, the State and Local Law Enforcement Discipline, Accountability and Due Process Act. The bill would codify key holdings of the U.S. Supreme Court by creating a minimum level of procedural due process for law enforcement officers using a balanced approach between the legitimate exercise of constitutional rights by law enforcement officers and the ability of a law enforcement agency to maintain internal discipline. This bill will help good officers defend themselves against unfair allegations, making it possible for them to continue serving and protecting their communities. The Washington, DC office of POAM will continue to encourage Members of the Michigan Delegation to support this bill.

National Blue Alert Act (HR 365)

Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI-08) was joined in April by Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-MI-10) as a co-sponsor of this legislation. The National Blue Alert Act of 2011 directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish a communications network within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to disseminate information when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty; and (2) assign a DOJ officer to act as the national coordinator of the Blue Alert communications network. Sets forth the duties of the national coordinator, including encouraging states and local governments to develop additional Blue Alert plans, establishing voluntary guidelines for states and local governments to use in developing such plans, developing protocols for efforts to apprehend suspects, and establishing an advisory group to assist states, local governments, law enforcement agencies, and other entities in initiating, facilitating, and promoting Blue Alert plans. Furthermore, the bill would amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act to require the use of public safety and community policing grants to assist states in developing and enhancing a Blue Alert plan and communications network.

The State and Local Law Enforcement Hatch Act Reform Act of 2011

On September 15, 2011, Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced S. 1562, the State and Local Law Enforcement Hatch Act Reform Act of 2011. The Senate bill allows state and local law enforcement officers to be a candidate for the Office of Sheriff without being forced to quit their jobs and clarifies current law to allow sheriffs to endorse political candidates without fear of potentially violating the Hatch Act. The bill also establishes a statute of limitations of 6 months to file a claim against a state or local law enforcement officer for alleged violation of the Act. The Senate bills joins its House companion HR 498, which was introduced by Robert Latta (R-OH) earlier this year and is co-sponsored by Michigan Congressmen Dan Benishek (R-MI-01) and Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI-08).  As always, the Washington, DC office of POAM will be closely following legislation pertinent to the police and peace officers of Michigan. If you have any questions or need additional information regarding federal initiatives regarding the law enforcement community, please do not hesitate to contact us at (202) 544-9840.

PAGE 30

fall, 2011

Signed and Sealed

Agreements gain vital benefits for POAM members

Summaries and highlights of recently completed local contract negotiations and 312 arbitrations

Negotiated

Negotiated

Saginaw County DSA, Corrections & Command

West Bloomfield Township POA Duration:

Wages:

Oak Park PSOA

2010 – 0% 2010 – 3.50% lump sum 2011 – 1.75% lump sum

Healthcare is Community Blue 1.

Bargaining team consisted of Andreotti, Gomez and Yeager (DSA), Sheldon, Sloan and Huiskens (Corrections) and Gutzwiller (Command) who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jim Tignanelli.

Act 312 Award

Hastings POA

Duration: 07/01/2010 – 06/30/2013 Wages: 2010 – Both parties agree to 0%.

2011 – City offers 1%; Union’s offer is 2%; Arbitrator rules in favor of Union.

2012 - Both parties agree to 1% in first half and additional 1% in second half.

Union requested $500 signing bonus. City countered with $0, Arbitrator ruled in favor of the City.

City requested new language utilizing part time employs in lieu of offering over time to full time employees. Union argued for no change in contract language. Union prevailed.

Arbitrator ruled in favor of City’s offer of a “bridge” pension plan for current employees with all new contributions at a 2.0% multiplier.

New employees will be enrolled in the MERS Hybrid Plan H with a 1% multiplier and a defined contribution component of 10% of wage, less the cost of the defined benefit component of the Plan.

Arbitrator was Thomas Barnes, 312 Advocate for the Union was POAM Business Agent Jim DeVries.

LAW ENFORCEMENT JOURNAL

Act 312 Award

After extensive negotiations and mediation of the parties concluded an arbitration proceeding conducted by Arbitrator George Roumell.

1. Duration: Awarded three years 2. Wages: Arbitrator awarded a threeyear wage freeze. Additionally, the public safety officers will continue to work 2,184 hours a year based upon a 12-hour day but will only be paid if as if working 2,080 hours, however the provisions of this wage reduction are that on the terminal date of the agreement the base wage will be restored to 2,184 straight hours unless otherwise negotiated or changed by an Act 312 award.

3. Insurance: The Arbitrator awarded the Community Blue 4 Plan with no premium copay, with increase in prescription drug rider and deletion of the provided HMO. The prescription coverage is 5/40/80.

4. “6 through 8 Rule”: Arbitrator eliminated.

5. Pension: PSO’s hired after July 1, 2011 will have a multiplier decreased to 2.5%.

Minimum retirement will now be at age 55 and 25 years of service. Pension contributions had varied between 5.55% and 7.5% for employees.

All employees will now contribute 7.5%.

6. Hours of Work: The City attempted to eliminate the minimum guarantee of 2 persons off per platoon. The Arbitrator awarded status quo.

7. Minimum Manning: The Employer sought to remove any reference to minimum manning in all portions of the contract. The Arbitrator recognizing that the minimum manning by virtue of decisions by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission and the courts is now a permissive subject of bargaining and ordered that all references to minimum manning be deleted.

8. Legislative Acts: The Arbitrator awarded the adoption of all legislative acts and regulations.

9. Continuation: The Arbitrator awarded that all terms and conditions of the 2006-2010 to be carried over in the 2010-2013 agreement unless modified by this award.

Arbitration conducted by Kenneth E. Grabowski, William Birdseye and Kevin Loftis, local association President Eric Sanders, Vice President Matt Theisen, Secretary Mike Hodakoski.

PAGE 31

01/01/2011 - 12/31/2013

Wages:

2011 – 0%

2012 – 0%

2013 – 0% Years to maximum pay step increased to six years for new employees.

Longevity decreased by 1% with the money saved being placed into a Retiree Healthcare Trust.

Members pay 5% of gross pay to fund pension.

New hires will be enrolled in a defined contribution plan with a 2.25% multiplier.

Employer to establish a Health Care Saving Program (HCSP) for new hires.

Health care is Community Blue 12 with $1,000/$2,000 deductible with a $5/$25/$50 drug card.

No premium sharing by employees.

Bargaining team consisted of Mike Cupp and Dave St. Germaine, who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jerry Radovic.

Negotiated

St. Clair County Corrections, Dispatchers & Command Duration:

01/01/2011 – 12/31/2015

Wages:

2011 – 2% Dispatch only, others 0% 2012 – 2% Dispatch only, others 0% 2013 – 0% 2014 – 0% 2015 – 0%

Healthcare is BC/BS PPO 8 with a $15/$30/$45 drug card.

Retiree Healthcare for new hires is a Healthcare Savings Account (HSA).

Bargaining team consisted of Rene Prone (911), Kevin Stover and Scott Philliben (Corrections) and Mark Dedenbach and Scott Braun (Road Command) who were assisted by POAM Business Agent Jim Tignanelli.

Fall, 2011

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