Tuesday-Full Day of Class

First off, I would like to voice my frustration with Blogger! I am having serious issues uploading pictures. I am using an iPad to post here and I have been using an app on my phone to upload pictures. All of sudden, I can’t add any photos. I left a negative review for the app on the App Store. I’ve signed out, signed in, even added Dropbox to here. I’m getting frustrated. This blog is already boring...without pictures would be a special kind of torture! I’ll keep fighting on.

Today was another good day of class. These classes are interesting. We have discussions that most of us can relate to. I find myself saying daily, “yeah, I know what you mean!”. Today was one of those days.

We had a seminar today from survivors of the Washington Navy Yard shooting and the Virginia Tech shooting. They provided some serious insights to what an everyday victim goes through. It was intense and they both are very lucky to be alive. They both were face to face with their bad guys and lived to tell about it. Sobering how life comes you.

My advice if you are coming here, get started on your home work and keep up on it. Most of us are and I think we are busy. I hear we get less busy if we keep this up. So far though, I have something to do pretty much every night. I don’t know if that is because I took master’s level classes or not, but either way I am working. It’s not terribly difficult, just tedious.

Tomorrow we are going to DC for the Law Enforcement Memorial trip. I am on the committee and I will be an usher for the event. Tonight I will line up the 5 names I am going to read off as having died in the line of duty. Unfortunately, the past 2 years around my hometown has been pretty bad and I have plenty of names to choose from.

The Des Moines area experienced 5 line of duty deaths in 2016.
Carlos Puetnte Morales-DMPD-March 26, 2016
Susan Farrell-DMPD-March 26, 2016
Anthony Beminio-DMPD-November 2, 2016
Justin Martin-Urbandale PD-November 2, 2016
Shawn Miller-West Des Moines PD-August 3, 2016

I personally knew Shawn Miller and Carlos Puente-Morales. My county was involved somehow some way in each of line of duty deaths and I won’t ever forget them. Morales and Farrell were killed by a drunk driver on Interstate 80 in Dallas County, very near my home. Beminio and Martin were killed in the same night by the same coward who ambushed both of them. He was arrested a day later in my county by my Deputies. Miller was killed in a car accident in Dallas County on his way home from court. All of these senseless deaths are still fresh in my mind and I think about them often, even though I don’t say much about it. They were all great people with a family who now marches on without them. I didn’t intend for this post to go this route, but it’s got me thinking.

I can’t talk about line of duty deaths though, without mentioning one of my all time favorite people, Sean Wissink. Sean and I were partners on the Task Force for a couple of years. He was a great man, a loving father and husband, who had a laugh that was infectious and commanded your smile. He was tall, charming, funny, and all around great police officer. One of the best I ever met. I was close to him in a way that dudes understand. We didn’t talk every day after he was reassigned, but when we saw each other, we picked up right where we left off. We were close and I miss him. I miss the fact that he hasn’t been able to see his kids grow up.

Sean Wissink-DMPD-February 11, 2007

Tomorrow night will be tough for me I think. I have to narrow my list of 6 officers down to 5, as that is all we are allowed to read off.

I won’t be back till late, so probably no post tomorrow night, sorry in advance.

Steps 11,678 = 5.20 miles (light day)