It is a pleasure when I am able to write an article for our Labor News about something very positive. This is a moment when I really can say “we” take care of our own, and it was truly a team effort.

Let me start by stating that while taking care of one of our own we were in the perfect place and time to help the wife of a fellow officer from another state. Brother Jaime C’s wife  was in Hospital due to a serious illness.  Thankfully and with the Grace of God, she is recovering wonderfully at her home with her family. As Paul Harvey would say, and here is the rest of the story.

On Thursday, August 24, 2006 I was at the Hospital with Jaime and a fellow FOP Brother who introduced me to a woman he and Jaime had met at the Hospital. The woman Chris introduced me to was Winnie, the wife of 34-year veteran detective of the Suffolk County Police Department. 

Suffolk County Police Department sent the detective to Arizona on a warrant extradition. Due to a contract situation his stay in Arizona had to be a total of 3 days. While staying in Arizona “Freddie” who is an experienced skydiver, decided to go on a sky diving trip in southern Arizona. Tragically while on one of his sky diving ventures his parachute did not completely open and he was severely injured.  As of the writing of this article, Freddie is still in very critical condition in the intensive care unit.

I was informed that this incident occurred about 3 to 4 weeks ago and Winnie who flew in to be with her husband has been staying in a shelter with people who have names like “crazy Larry” and so on. Winnie has no family in town and needed to be close to the hospital in case something happened with Freddie.

After talking it over we knew that we could not let the wife of one of our Brothers in Law Enforcement stay in a shelter with “Crazy Larry” so we began the telephone calls. I contacted Brother Jeff Saul, who by the way is also from New York.  He was able to contact our fellow FOP Brothers from New York to try and get some help to Winnie.

While Jeff was on the phone to our Brothers in New York I contacted Arizona State FOP President Bryan Soller and explained the situation. I was hoping through our FOP network we would be able to at least provide a short stay in a hotel for Winnie so we could get her out of the shelter.

It was approximately 15 minutes later when I received a phone call from Brother Kevin Clark, he told me to give him about 1 hour so he could arrange some accommodations for Winnie.

Kevin called me back and told me he was able to secure a room at a very nice hotel for Winnie.  She could stay there for as long as she needed and her meals would also be taken care of. I gave Winnie’s information to Brother Clark who telephoned Winnie with the information.

I contacted the 100 Club and spoke with Elaina and explained Winnie’s situation, Elaina told me she and or members of the 100 club would be in contact with Winnie to help her out.

Words cannot express the gratitude Winnie had for the FOP and what was done for her. Winnie told me the Arizona FOP has done more for her in two hours than what her own husbands department has done in the time she has spent here. 

Brother Saul called me back and informed me that New York State FOP Vice-President Mike Nied was in contact with Suffolk County Police Department and they would be speaking with Brother Clark. We received a phone call from Brother Mike Nied who advised him he was in contact with the Suffolk County Police Departments DPBA who would also be sending Winnie a check to help out with her expenses.

This is a case where no matter what Law Enforcement affiliation Brother Freddie belongs to, we as a Team of FOP members came together to help out one of our OWN. If you would like to help out our fellow Brother and his wife with donations or gift cards to a restaurant please contact me. Click here

Thank you to everyone…this is True Fraternalism.

Fraternally,
Tony Fajardo
Secretary
Mesa FOP Lodge 9

Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, announced that the Steve Young Memorial Scholarship Program has awarded a scholarship to Erika Mitchell of Mesa, Arizona.

“The F.O.P. sees the Steve Young Memorial Scholarship Program as part of its obligation to our extended law enforcement family,” Canterbury said. “When Mrs. Mitchell lost her husband in the line of duty, she became a single parent and a sole supporter of her family. This scholarship is designed to help families in these circumstances.”

The Steve Young Memorial Scholarship Program, created by a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, is administered by the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation to assist the spouses of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Officer Larry B. Mitchell was an officer with the Gallup Police Department. On 5 May 2001, he was the first one on the scene of a SWAT team call and was shot three times. He is survived by his wife and five year old son.

The scholarship enables recipients to receive personalized career counseling at one of the more than 1,900 One-Stop Career Centers, where they will develop an individual employment plan to help them reach their career goals. F.O.P. Grant Liaison David Heshley will accompany Mrs. Mitchell on her initial visit to the Mills Memorial Computer Learning Center to meet with her Career One-Stop Case Manager. While Mrs. Mitchell is currently undecided on how she wants to utilize the scholarship, she looks forward to the guidance of her Case Manager at the One-Stop Career Center to help her meet her career goals.

Arizona FOP NOTE:
Trial Set For Man Accused Of Killing Gallup Officer

The Associated Press April 2, 2004

GALLUP — A state district judge has set an Aug. 16, 2004 date for the trial of a man accused of killing a Gallup police officer nearly three years ago.

Judge Grant Foutz held a status conference Friday on the case against Robert Kiro. The judge vacated a planned April 13 trial date in favor of the August date and gave Kiro's defense until May 15 to name the psychiatrist they plan to have testify during the trial.

The trial has been repeatedly delayed, largely over procedural matters. Last month, Foutz granted a continuance after Kiro's public defender told the court that a psychiatrist who interviewed Kiro in January was not licensed to practice medicine in New Mexico.

Kiro is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Cpl. Larry Brian Mitchell after a nine-hour standoff with police on May 30, 2001.