President Vice President - MSPTA · 2016-08-29 · MSP Budget Update You may recall earlier this year MSP budget highlights included pro-jections for the next fiscal year, FY17, to

1 ▪ Michigan Trooper ▪ ▪ Spring 2016 ▪ 1

1st District .........................Tpr. Eric ByerlyPost ..........................................Representative(s)Lansing ............................ Tpr. James MootsBrighton .....................Tpr. Joe Pendergraff

Tpr. Olivia SivyJackson ...............Tpr. James “Tony” Weldy

Tpr. James WojtonMonroe .......................Tpr. Herman BrownLansing Lab .....................S/Sgt. Jeff BedellTraining Division ...........Sgt. Rob Schwalm

2nd District ..............Tpr. Jay MorningstarPost ..........................................Representative(s)Metro .......................................Tpr. Rich Fell

Tpr. Joel KuhnTpr. Daniel Martin

2nd District HQ ........Tpr. Bradley ConnerGaming ............................Tpr. Marcus WiseSID ......................... Tpr. Darrin Grandison

Tpr. Raymond RolletNorthville Lab ....... S/Sgt. Kathleen LewisSterling Hts. Lab ................................Vacant

3rd District........ Tpr. Christopher TuckeyPost ..........................................Representative(s)Tri-City .........................Tpr. Justin Kemerer

Tpr. Donald PishaTpr. Don Reich

West Branch ......................Tpr. Jeff DevineTpr. Gregg Kopkau

Caro ............................Tpr. Andrew WarnerLapeer ........................Tpr. Stephen Cavner

Tpr. Aaron LockeFlint ............................Tpr. Troy Bonadurer

Tpr. Josh CoulterTpr. Jeremy Sloan

PresidentTpr. Nate Johnson

Vice PresidentD/Sgt. Duane Hickok

Secretary/TreasurerD/Sgt. Mitchell Stevens

Associate Membership(Retiree Committee)Diane Garrison (Ret.)*John Boggs (Ret.)Gordon Gotts (Ret.)Alan Shaw (Ret.)Roger Warner (Ret.)Matthew Wesaw (Ret.)Tpr. Adam StarkweatherD/Sgt. Mitchell Stevens Sgt. Mark TamlynMr. Larry Schneider, Esq.

Constitution & BylawsD/Sgt. Bill Eberhardt*Tpr. Jay MorningstarSgt. Mark Tamlyn

Discipline AdvocatesD/Sgt. Duane Hickok*Tpr. Eric Byerly Tpr. David CowenD/Sgt. Bill EberhardtTpr. Nate Johnson Tpr. Jay MorningstarTpr. Adam StarkweatherD/Sgt. Mitchell Stevens

Tpr. Paul Stone Sgt. Mark Tamlyn Tpr. Christopher Tuckey Sgt. Frank Williams

Drug & Alcohol TestingTpr. Eric Byerly*Tpr. Jim YeagerMr. Larry Schneider, Esq.

ElectionsSgt. Frank Williams*Tpr. Eric ByerlyTpr. Bert RichardsTpr. Adam StarkweatherTpr. Christopher Tuckey

Emergency Telephone Service Committee(State 911)Tpr. Adam Starkweather

FinanceD/Sgt. Mitchell Stevens*Tpr. David Cowen**Tpr. Mark TamlynD/Sgt. Bob TomassiSgt. Frank Williams

GrievanceD/Sgt. Duane Hickok*D/Sgt. Bill Eberhardt**S/Sgt. Allan AveryTpr. Herman Brown Tpr. Josh CoulterTpr. Rich Fell Tpr. Amy Hofmeister Tpr. Nate HoranTpr. Jay KurowskiTpr. Jim McRaeTpr. Jay MorningstarTpr. Trevor RadkeD/Sgt. Mitchell Stevens Tpr. Paul StoneTpr. Kellie SummerhaysD/Sgt. Bob TomassiD/Sgt. Sally WolterMr. Larry Schneider, Esq.

MCOLESTpr. Nate Johnson

MSTAFSgt. Rob Schwalm*Tpr. Rick DoehringTpr. Jay MorningstarTpr. Joe RowleyTpr. Wes Smith D/Sgt. Mitchell StevensSgt. Mark Tamlyn Tpr. Kat Wicker

PublicationsSgt. John Faccio* Editor in ChiefTpr. Eric ByerlyS/Sgt. Carissa Horan Tpr. Nate Horan Tpr. Lisa Lucio

MSP Retirement BoardD/Sgt. Mitchell Stevens

Out Of State FuneralsTpr. Craig MacDonald*D/Sgt. Mitchell Stevens

SafetyD/Sgt. Bill Eberhardt*Tpr. David CowenTpr. Adam Starkweather

Sergeants-At-ArmsTpr. Herman Brown Tpr. Rick Doehring

TrainingD/Sgt. Duane Hickok*Tpr. Eric Byerly Tpr. Josh Coulter Tpr. Joel KuhnTpr. Jay MorningstarD/Sgt. Bob TomassiTpr Jim Yeager

3rd District HQ .................................VacantBridgeport Lab ..................................Vacant

5th District .........Tpr. Adam StarkweatherPost ..........................................Representative(s)Paw Paw .........................Tpr. O.J. HamiltonWayland ................Tpr. Kellie Summerhays

VacantNiles ...................................Tpr. James Janes

Sgt. Ryan SchoonveldColdwater ...........................Tpr. Jim McRae

Tpr. Jereme Miller

6th District ........................Tpr. Jim YeagerPost ..........................................Representative(s)Rockford .........................Tpr. Eric Brogger

Tpr. Jacob CoxHart .................................Tpr. Dan ThomasMt. Pleasant .......................Tpr. Doug HuntLakeview ..........................Tpr. Rob Metivier

Tpr. Aaron McCormickGrand Rapids Lab ......S/Sgt. Shawn Baker

7th District .........................Tpr. Paul StonePost ..........................................Representative(s)Cadillac ............................Tpr. Rick Pearson

Tpr. Kat WickerHoughton Lake..............Tpr. Harold Terry

Tpr. John WalshGaylord .......................Tpr. Jason Nemecek

Tpr. Bob KrupaAlpena .............................Tpr. Jay Kurowski

Tpr. David JacksonGrayling Lab ......................................Vacant

8th District ...................Tpr. David CowenPost ..........................................Representative(s)Negaunee ...................Tpr. Jonah BonovetzSault Ste. Marie ...........Tpr. Adam LaningaSt. Ignace ..........................Sgt. Eric BannanGladstone .........................Tpr. Pat MaddenIron Mountain ................Tpr. Brad LammiWakefield ...........................Tpr. Joe RenaudCalumet ..........................Tpr. Steve LanctotMarquette Lab..............S/Sgt. Jay Peterson

Michigan Trooper • 1715 Abbey Road, Suite B • East Lansing, MI 48823 • (517) 336-7782 • Fax: (517) 336-8997 • Website: www.mspta.net

* Denotes Chair or Co-Chair ** Denotes Vice Chair

Know your rights . . .protect your rights!

2016 Committee Appointments

Transfer Review BoardTpr. Jay Morningstar*Tpr. Adam Starkweather Sgt. Frank Williams

Uniform EquipmentTpr. Eric Byerly*Tpr. Paul StoneTpr. Christopher Tuckey

LegalGeneral Counsel (In-House)Lawrence P. Schneider, Esq.Labor CounselMr. Timothy Dlugos, Esq.White, Schneider, Young & Chiodini, P.C.

Office StaffMarketing DirectorPat Strzalkowski

Region 1 Uniform Sergeant Sgt. Frank Williams

Region 2 Uniform Sergeant Sgt. Mark Tamlyn

Region 1 D/Sergeant D/Sgt. Bill Eberhardt

Region 2 D/Sergeant D/Sgt. Bob Tomassi

Published by the Michigan State Police Troopers Association

Editor in Chief ...........................................Sgt. John FaccioTypesetting/Layout & Design ................ Pat StrzalkowskiCover Design ......Cherie Morehouse/Morehouse MediaSubmission E-mail .................. [email protected]

From the President’s Desk ...............................................................2Vice President’s View ........................................................................3Counsel’s Corner ................................................................................6Sergeant Richard Hale Retires By: Sgt. John Faccio .........................................................................8Lansing Post Open House ...............................................................9Trooper Dances with the ‘Local’ Stars By: Tpr. Amy Belanger .................................................................. 10Campaign Hats and the Fire Investigation Unit By: S/Sgt. Dan Drew ....................................................................12Vacationing Michigan State Trooper Nabs Suspect During Vehicle Break-in From BeaufortPublicSafety.com ................................................. 14Final ‘Metro’ Post Meeting ............................................................ 15Honoring our Fallen Troopers in Washington, D.C. By: D/Tpr. Richard Lutz ............................................................. 16National Police Week May 15-21, 2016........................................ 17MSP’s Annual Fallen Trooper Memorial Ceremony................. 18Paying for Good Government Lessons from Wall Street By: Tpr. Steven D. Unruh ........................................................ 19MSPTA April Quarterly By: Tpr. Jay Morningstar ...............................................................22Requiem for a State Police Post By: Janet Hayes ........................................................................26

Editorial PolicyThe Michigan Trooper is the official publication of the Michigan State Police Troopers Association. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily

represent those of the MSPTA. Articles represent the opinions of the author. Any similarity between the people and places in the fiction and semi-fiction of articles printed, and real people and places is purely coincidental.

All rights in letters to the Michigan Trooper will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes; as subject to the Michigan Trooper’s unrestricted right to edit and to comment editorially. No responsibilities can be assumed for unsolicited materials.

Letters or articles must be accompanied by the writer’s true name and address. Due to legal requirements and the potential financial liability for libel imposed upon the Michigan State Police Troopers Association, the Editor of the Michigan Trooper reserves the absolute right to select, edit, and reject all articles for publication. When an article is selected for publication, writers are assured of freedom of expres-sion within necessary limits of good taste, available space, and legal requirements.

The Michigan Trooper is published quarterly by the Michigan State Police Troopers Association.

For information about securing permission to reprint Michigan Trooper articles, please address inquiries to the Editor. ■

Spring 2016MAGAZINE

On the Cover

In this Issue

The arrival of spring also brings National Police Week to Washington, D.C. Several Michigan State Police troopers travelled to honor the memory and service of fallen officers from across the nation, including MSP Tpr. Chad Wolf, EOW August 28, 2015. (Photo Credits: Kim Dowling, MSP Photo Lab and Tpr. Lisa Smith, Second District Special Enforcement Unit.)

Board of Awards ..............................................................................28

State Trooper, Auto Shop Owner Help Veteran in Need By: Lourin Springer ...................................................................... 31

Captain Robert H. Robertson Memorial Scholarship By: Sgt. David Robertson .........................................................32

Trooper Paul K. Butterfield II Memorial Scholarships Awarded ............................................. 33

In Memoriam – Bedell Given MSP Honor Service Was Retired Detective Sergeant, Police Chief By: Angie Birdsall ...................................................................34

U.S. 12 Section to be Named After Fallen Michigan Trooper By: Margaret Fosmoe ............................................................... 35

In Memory of Our Retirees ...........................................................36

35th MSP Retirees’ Banquet By: Phil Schertzing (Retiree’s Banquet Committee Chair) .............. 37

13th Annual MSTAF Golf Outing ..............................................38

MSTAF Raffles / Project ’57 / ACH Donation Form.......41-44

21st Annual MSP Fall Color 5K Run/Walk ...............................46

In Memoriam – Trooper Chad P. Dermyer By: D/Tpr. Brian Russell and Sgt. Steve Temelko ........................46

Final Call ...........................................................................................48

End of Watch.......................................................Inside Back Cover


Trooper Nate Johnson

From the President’s Desk

Welcome to the spring issue of the Michigan Trooper. It has already been a very busy year and as an election year promises to maintain pace and vigor through year end. I would like to take the opportunity to provide an update on several recent areas of interest and/or changes that have affected our members in the last quarter.

Michigan House of Representatives: Election 2016

Michigan is one of 23 state gov ern-ment Republican trifectas. A ballot-pedia analysis identifies the Michigan State House as one of 20 battle-ground chambers in the November 2016 election as republicans seek to maintain their 16-seat majority. This year 11 democrats and 27

republicans are ineligible to run due to term limits. A total of 40 incumbents out of the 110 seats will not be seek-ing reelection. Many of those leaving have been very supportive of the MSP and MSPTA and we seek to establish similar relationships and support with new members as we move into this year’s election. The primary election will be held August 2, 2016 with 14 house democrats and nine republi-cans facing primary opposition. The

MSPTA holds an executive seat on the Michigan Association of Police Organizations (MAPO) where exec u tive board members review all election candidates for MAPO endorse ment. MAPO is non-partisan and makes endorsements based on what is best for promoting and intro-ducing legislation that supports police officers, public safety or impacts the criminal justice system. The MAPO endorsement for the August primary will be available on the MSPTA website the end of July. All 110 seats in the chamber are up for election on November 8, 2016. A full list of candidate endorsements will be available on the MSPTA website in October. The 2016 election will be the first election in Michigan where straight-ticket voting will NOT be an option as a result of Senate Bill 13.

Activity Analysis

Activity analysis continues to be a concern of members in every dis-trict. Is the information collected fair, accurate, and reasonable to use as an evaluation tool? Is it equivalent to compare the activity of a day shift trooper to the activity of an afternoon trooper who is working four counties away? What happens if you compare a trooper working 50 hours of patrol with 50 contacts to a trooper who has worked overtime and has 200 hours of patrol with 200 contacts? It is easy to complain about activity analysis, but can we prove whether the process is accurate or flawed? A recent grievance filed by one of our members under Article 24, failure to publish and distribute, has been tabled by the grievance committee. When you look at the concerns presented above, our real question is whether activity analysis is an unreasonable or arbitrary work order or discrimination in application

falling under Article 9. So why not file another grievance? Because bad facts make a bad law. At this time there is no evidence to prove the data used is f lawed. Repeated discussions in our office surrounding data and statistics generated via activity analysis prompted Duane Hickok to seek consult from a Michigan State University professor who referred us to Insighta (statisticians or statistic experts). A conference call with Insighta’s cofounder ex-plain ing activity analysis and some of our concerns reinforced MSPTA’s decision to contract with Insighta to evaluate the data being collected and compared. The department has been supportive in this endeavor, pro-viding all requested data and open to suggested changes. Currently, Lt./Colonel Sands, Inspector Shaw, Corey Ames, Duane Hickok, and I are preliminarily working with In-sighta to review data collection and calculation methods used in activity analysis.

MSP Budget Update

You may recall earlier this year MSP budget highlights included pro-jections for the next fiscal year, FY17, to include an 85-member recruit school with support from Senator Nofs, pushing to increase recruits to 100. Unfortunately, April’s revenue estimating conference resulted in sig-nifi cantly lower numbers than Jan-u ary’s predictions. Conservatively, revenue is expected to be down $149 million in 2016 and $177 million in 2017. Our FY16 budget will be maintained through “lapse funds”, while FY17 revised budget high lights are outlined below.

• Investment #1 – Troopers cut 20 new recruits from the

see VICE PRESIDENT, page 5see PRESIDENT, page 4

Vice President’s View

D/Sgt. Duane Hickok

EMAC is the first national dis-aster-relief compact since the Civil Defense and Disaster Compact of 1950 to be ratified by Congress. Since ratification and signing into law in 1996 (Public Law 104-321), all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have enacted legislation to become EMAC members.EMAC offers assistance during

governor-declared states of emer-gency through a responsive, straight-forward system that allows states to send personnel, equipment, and commodities to help disaster relief efforts in other states. Through EMAC states can also transfer ser-vices, such as shipping newborn blood from a disaster-impacted lab to a lab in another state.The strength of EMAC and the

quality that distinguishes it from other plans and compacts lie in its governance structure; its relationship with federal organizations, states, counties, territories, and regions; the willingness of states and response and recovery personnel to deploy; and the ability to move any resource one state wishes to utilize to assist another state.EMAC establishes a firm legal

foundation. Once the conditions for providing assistance to a requesting state have been set, the terms con-stitute a legally binding contractual agreement that makes affected states responsible for reimbursement. The EMAC legislation solves the problems of liability and responsibilities of cost and allows for credentials, licenses, and certifications to be honored across state lines. View the standard EMAC legislation passed by the EMAC Member States and the US Congress.Deploying resources through

EMAC leverages federal grant dol-

The Republican National Com-mit tee Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, is nearly upon us. With the announcement that the MSP will be sending a significant detail to assist Ohio with the event there have been questions from the membership ask-ing why Michigan has to go. In ci-dentally, there are troopers from as far away as Florida and California among others that will be present in Cleveland as well.As I began to prepare an article

for the Trooper magazine I received an excellent explanation from the President of the Wisconsin Troopers Association (WTA), Glen Jones. Rather than reinvent the wheel I asked him for permission to reprint his letter. President Jones has been a Wisconsin State Trooper since 1986. He is currently assigned to the metro Milwaukee area. Glen has been Pres-i dent of the Wisconsin Troopers Association since 2003, and prior to that he served as Vice-President and a WTA chapter director for eight years. Glen is also the Recording Secretary for the National Troopers Coalition.

Cleveland Police / Ohio State Patrol Assistance Request and EMAC

I received a question about why we were sending officers to Cleveland for the Republican Convention. Rather than respond individually, I decided to answer the question for everyone.EMAC stands for the Emergency

Management Assistance Compact. http://www.emacweb.orgQuoting from http://www.emac

web.org/index.php/learnaboutemac/what-is-emac, The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), established in 1996, has weath ered the storm when tested and stands today as the cornerstone of the nation’s mutual aid system.

lars (such as the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) & the Emergency Management Per-formance Grant (EMPG)) invested in state and local emergency man age-ment resource capabilities.Through EMAC, states are able

to join forces and help one another when they need it the most: whenever disaster strikes!EMAC has been invoked in the

past, but some of the requests do not reach as far as our state, and some requests have short turnaround times so we can’t mobilize quickly enough.An EMAC request is one that

governors have to take seriously, be-cause you don’t know if and when you might need to make an EMAC request yourself. You buy insurance hoping to never need it, and you are glad you bought it if you do. When you ignore EMAC requests from other jurisdictions but then find yourself needing assistance, you might get the same response you gave to others.As Governor of Ohio, John Kasich

made the request. Had he not done so, and the event experienced trouble, he would be roundly criticized for not taking enough advance action. If everyone goes and nothing happens,


from PRESIDENT, page 2

2017 recruit school, reducing numbers from 85 to 65. Adding new troopers is vital and the attrition facing us is concerning. We are still rebuilding historically low staffing levels and have had 84 troopers retire since August 2015 with an additional 208 retiring by 2019. Legislative support will be imperative to offset increasing pending vacancies with as many as 650 troopers eligible to retire over the next five years.

• Investment #2 – Secure Cities Partnership will expand, providing support staff and three dedicated squads to Muskegon Heights, Inkster, Hamtramck, Harper Woods, Highland Park, and Benton Harbor.

• Investment #3 – Statewide Drug Enforcement (budget reduced), hiring five narcotic analysts to assist in the deploy-ment of the MSP’s Statewide Drug Enforcement Strategy combating the illegal diversion and trafficking of prescription drugs and opiates.

• Investment #4 – Cyber Security and Digital Evidence (budget reduced), hiring seven digital forensic analysts to expand the MSP’s capacity to prevent, detect, and investigate cyber-crimes.

• Investment #5 – School Safety (budget reduced), to provide grants to school districts and local law enforcement agencies to further enhance school safety.

Pension Funding

The most recent actuary review of our retirement system shows

pension funding is up from 63% to 65%. One change that may help explain a slow increase in funding is that we are coming to the end of a five year smoothing process. This is a process used to spread losses ex perienced from a significant dip in the market out over a period of time rather than show the entire loss in one year. The MSPTA is also exploring hiring an external actuary to evaluate our discount rate and its impact on funding. The discount rate set is based on predictions in the market. The current discount rate is 8% which is a bit optimistic based on the recent market history. This discount rate establishes what the State’s contributions will be into the pension system. For every 1% reduction in the discount rate results in approximately a 10% increase in the State’s contribution per member. Based on the average market return, the national trend is to lower the discount rate to 7 or 7.5%.

C.O.P.S. Trust and Open Enrollment

Last year was the first year we of-fered three Healthcare plan designs through Cops Trust. At the last round of district meetings some members expressed interest in changing plans and questioned how switching plans would work with deductibles. For those interested in changing plans, open enrollment will begin in August 2016 and plan changes take effect in October 2016. If you change plans your deductible will reset in October of 2016, if you remain in the same plan your deductible will not reset until January of 2017. The reason I mention this is that C.O.P.S. Trust has agreed to allow 4th quarter rollover for mem bers who enroll in the PPO plan. This means members who change to the C.O.P.S. Trust PPO plan in October and start a new deductible, may carry anything applied to the deductible in October,

November and December through the 2017 calendar year. Members who decide to switch to the High De ductible Plan (zero premium shar-ing, HD Plan) should know that anything applied to the deductible or coinsurance in October, November and December will not rollover but reset January 1, 2017. The 4th quarter rollover is not an option with a HD plan due to federal restrictions. Also, open enrollment material was not clear but members who plan to enroll in the HD plan should only enroll in a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). This is not a contractual issue but an IRS rule. IRS only allows enrollment into a FSA or HSA. If you enroll in both (which the state’s open en-rollment system will allow) there will be penalties applied to the member by the IRS. Members will receive a more detailed correspondence prior to open enrollment that explains the rollover in more detail.

Michigan State Troopers Assistance Fund (MSTAF)

MSTAF has two primary funding sources, member donations through ACH withdrawals and an annual golf outing. For the last several years the outing was held in Gaylord during the month of August. Unfortunately, we were seeing participation dwindle each year and the funds raised by the event began to decrease as well. Last year it was decided that moving both the date and location of the event may increase interest and avail-ability for participation. After con-sidering several venues, Buck’s Run in Mount Pleasant was chosen for its central location and technical appeal. I’m pleased to announce that on May 23rd we held a nearly sold out event, generating $6,000 for MSTAF beneficiaries. I want to thank the MSTAF Board for volunteering their time and being dedicated to making the event a success. A big thank you

from VICE PRESIDENT, page 3

he may be criticized for over-re-acting, but from a law enforcement perspective, that is always the easier criticism to live with.Our involvement in this event

will be historic, because it will be the first time we have participated in an EMAC call-up of this level.The Republican Convention has

all the potential to be a repeat of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. If you are not aware of your history, this was a period of great political unrest. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis. Senator Robert Kennedy, a presidential candidate, was assassinated on June 6, 1968 in Los Angeles. After Kennedy was murdered, the Democratic Party was in chaos. Civil Rights legislation, the Vietnam War, and many other political triggers made it ripe for unrest and violence.http://www.history.com/topics/

1960s/videos/violence-batters-1968-democratic-convention

Today, we have similar influences and turmoil in place. A segment of the Republican Party is still trying to figure out how to block the nomination of Donald Trump. On the other side, Trump’s supporters expect him to be nominated. Ethnic groups are angry about statements from building a wall to anti-Islamic statements, and the Cleveland police department has had its own share of problems dealing with the African-American community.http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/

29/us/tamir-rice-police-shootiing-cleveland.html?_r=0.Any law enforcement or political

leader who did not take steps neces-sary to protect everyone would be inept. There is plenty of potential for this to be a dark moment in American History. We have all taken an oath to defend the Constitution, and in what you will see with increasing frequency, jurisdictional borders will become flexible as agency staffing continues

to drop while needs continue to rise. Committing inadequate law en forcement puts those officers at greater risk too.The period of the convention will

be another “All Hands on Deck” moment, not just for the officers who are staying in Ohio, but for the officers who are home as well. People who plan evil also take notice of staffing fluctuations, and there will be high potential for activities far away from Cleveland, either triggered by activities there, or based on an unrelated development.Eternal vigilance is the price of

liberty. ■

I want to thank President Glen Jones for allowing the reprint of his in-formational letter and I hope this answers any questions our mem-ber ship may have had about our involvement as well. Stay safe!

to all of our sponsors and participants and I hope to see everyone again next year.A note to members or retirees that

are enrolled in the biweekly or monthly ACH withdrawals to MSTAF. Please make sure your deductions are being taken from your checking account and not your savings account. Federal rules only allow six ACH de ductions annually from a savings account or it may result in a penalty fee being charged.In closing I want to encourage

everyone to attend their post and district meetings. It is this sharing of information that helps this office address members needs and con cerns. I look forward to seeing everyone at the July quarterly. Please be safe and have a great summer. ■

One to make you smile . . .


What I write below is liable to dis please some people, and upset others. I am a lawyer. I have practiced employment and labor law for nearly 40 years. From that experience, I have formed many opinions about “best employment practices.” In my opinion, performance ap-prais als of enlisted officers in the Michigan State Police should be abolished. Now. In 2016! They serve no positive, productive or use ful purpose. They do not create better troopers or sergeants. On the contrary, they can be caustic, demeaning and destructive. They destroy morale. As to the validity of my opinion on this topic, I will let my credentials speak for themselves. I have represented the MSPTA

since 1979. I have represented several other public sector unions during that time as well. During my career, however, I have represented far more employers than unions, including several local police departments. I have been employed by a community college teaching First Line Police Super vision. I have taught four terms of Employment Law for Managers

at the same college. I have lectured before lawyer groups, union groups and employer groups about various employment law topics. I worked with an Assistant Attorney General who holds an esteemed position in that office today to develop training on the Family and Medical Leave Act. I have mediated Civil Rights cases and other employment law suits for the circuit courts. I have received jury verdicts in employment lawsuits, both as a plaintiff’s attorney and as a defendant’s attorney. I have served as a Special Assistant Attorney Gen-eral under Frank Kelley, Jennifer Granholm, Mike Cox, and Bill Schuette.Best of all, I had the opportunity

to work together at the same law firm with one of the finest, most knowl-edgeable, and respected employment lawyers in Michigan, Tom Coens. In 2000, Tom published an insightful book with co-author Mary Jenkins, entitled “Abolishing Performance Ap-prais als: Why They Backfire and What to do Instead.” Tom and I often discussed the issues raised in the book because we shared mutual clients and legal philosophies. Tom became somewhat of a celebrity (he was even interviewed on CNN). His book currently has a 4.6 out of 5.0 star rating on Amazon.Cancer took Tom from us before

he ever got to see the immense suc-cess of his book. But I often reread chapters of the book and reflect upon the wisdom of Tom’s words. Tom did not just suggest abolishing performance appraisals. He offered practical solutions to appraisals that are much more effective than per-for mance appraisals in developing the best possible work force. Before examining the solutions, however, it

Lawrence P. SchneiderMSPTA General Counsel

is necessary to look at the status quo.All of the concerns that caused

Tom Coens and Mary Jenkins to talk about abolishing performance appraisals in 2000 run rampant today, sixteen years later, within the enlisted ranks of the Michigan State Police. In my opinion, Performance Appraisals in the MSP are as outdated as the S&W .38. Here are two recent, yet very typical, examples I have seen in my years of representing the Michigan State Police Troopers Association:Trooper A was shown the per-

formance appraisal which had been prepared by his sergeant before it was submitted to the Post Commander for approval. In each category, Trooper A had been rated as meeting or exceeding expectations. When Trooper A received the actual per-for mance appraisal, signed by a Post Commander who had just arrived at the Post and who had never observed Trooper A’s work, his ratings were all changed. Now, he had mostly “needs improvement” or “meets expectations.” His sergeant was as shocked as he was. The sergeant had not been consulted about the changes. Of course, he had no means of appeal.Trooper B received a performance

appraisal which was essentially “meets expectations.” But under a cate gory that referenced integrity and honesty, he received a “needs im-provement.” The example cited in the remarks involved a minor incident where Trooper B had inadvertently left something off of a daily at the very beginning of the rating period a full year earlier. He got chewed out at the time, and he vowed to himself that it would never happen again. He was meticulous on his dailies from

Counsel’s CornerPerformance Appraisals in the MSP:

Isn’t it Time to Move to the 21st Century?

that day forward. A full year later, the lone incident, never repeated in the following year, caused him to receive a “needs improvement” rating for the entire succeeding year. That humiliated him. Having represented the MSPTA

for longer than most of my readers have been alive, it should come as no surprise that I have seen many friends move up the enlisted ranks and eventually retire. The topic of per formance appraisals is something I always manage to sneak into our personal conversations! I have never had a friend at any higher rank within the MSP attempt to justify per formance appraisals to me. The fact that the appraisal can be manipulated is widely acknowledged (privately, not pub-licly). The fact that appraisals cannot be appealed insulates the drafter of the appraisal from ever being called upon to defend its validity. That is well known. Some would characterize performance ap praisals in the MSP as “perfect revenge” against a trooper who sees things just a little bit differently from his or her post commander.Are performance appraisals al-

ways manipulated, vindictive, or re tali atory? Of course not. Are a few manipulated, vindictive, or re taliatory? In my opinion, the answer is easy: “yes, a few.” Yet is seven or eight a year in that category an acceptable number to the Department of State Police? What about two or three? I would suggest that the Department’s stance should be “zero tolerance” on this issue. But how can those persons with the highest integrity within the MSP possibly monitor 1,500+ performance appraisals each year to catch the ones that are manipulated, vindictive or retaliatory? The answer is simple. They cannot. So manipulation happens.Unlike counseling and other mi-

nor disciplinary actions which are de stroyed if the affected trooper puts his or her act together, performance appraisals last forever. In addition, they are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Frankly, I am surprised that more defense attorneys do not “FOIA” performance ap-prais als. Picture this scenario in an important case where a conviction could turn on a trooper’s credibility:

Defense Attorney: Trooper B, I see that you received a per for mance appraisal last year that indi cates that your integrity and honesty as a trooper “needs improvement.” Here, let me show you the exhibit. Is that what it says?

Trooper B: Yes. That is what is says, but . . .

Defense Attorney: Thank you, Trooper B, I have no further ques-tions.So let me put the MSP Perfor-

mance Appraisal in perspective. It is a docu ment that is totally subjective in nature. It lasts forever. It cannot be appealed. It can be used to forestall promotions or desired assignments.

The author of the appraisal is not necessarily the person who approves the appraisal. The author has rarely, if ever, personally watched the em-ployee’s interactions with the public, other police officers, or the court system. The person who ap proves the appraisal cannot be called upon to defend its accuracy or validity. A person with an actual performance deficiency might have to wait up to a year to find out about the deficiency. Is this a valid performance develop-ment tool? Not in my opinion.When I left private practice to

come in-house with the MSPTA in 2010, virtually all of my employer clients had abandoned the use of performance appraisals in favor of the types of suggestions that Tom Coens and Mary Jenkins offered in their book. Sadly, the MSP has never sought my advice on how it could be a more engaging and proactive employer, while improving the ser vice we provide to Michigan’s citizens.Let me be clear about one

thing. Although performance appraisals of ten create serious morale prob lems, this article is not about collective bargaining or union-management re la tion-ships. It is solely about want ing the Michigan Department of State Police to be a national leader in every facet of its operation. We are only as good as the troopers and sergeants we send out every day to protect our citizens. When the Breathalyzer became outdated and

was no longer considered as reliable as the DataMaster DMT, we moved to the latter device. Performance ap-praisals are out of date. Let’s move forward and find the best way to strive to make all of our troopers and sergeants the best in the nation. I think we are already ever so close. But performance appraisals are not helping us to get there. They are slowing us down. ■


The plaque above was presented to Sgt. Hale when he started ‘testing retirement’ and ended his many

years of service to the membership as an executive officer of the MSPTA.

Submitted By:Sgt. John Faccio

107th Recruit School Lansing Post

Sergeant Richard Hale Retires

Sgt. Richard Hale called it a career on April 30, 2016 after over 43 years of service with the Michigan State Police. On May 7th a retirement celebration was held in his honor. Current and retired members of the Department attended, along with family and friends. He was presented a veterans pin for having served in Vietnam War while in the Marine Corps.Many colorful stories and anec-

dotes were told. Some of the stories were more colorful than others! Lets just say it’s a good thing the statute of limitations has expired.When Dick spoke he talked of the

camaraderie he has shared over the years. He also described the adjust-ment he will need to make as he has worn a uniform since the age of 19.Dick was also a long term member

of the MSPTA Executive Board.

Presented to

Sgt. Richard Hale

Secretary/Treasurer

In recognition and appreciation of your outstanding leadership,

loyalty and dedication to the Executive Board and the membership of the MSPTA.

32 Years of Service:January 1977 – 1979

January 1983 – February 20, 2012

He held various offices during that tenure, including many years as trea-surer. He talked about the early days of the union. MSPTA president, Tpr. Nate Johnson, was on hand to pre sent Sgt. Hale with his retirement watch.It was a fitting celebration of a

career of service to the people of the state of Michigan and the United States. ■

Sgt. Hale’s wife, Susan, receives her MSP spouse’s pin. F/Lt. Joe Thomas

(Lansing Post)

presented Sgt. Hale’s

framed sleeve and

certificate of retirement.

It wouldn’t be a party without cake!

Lansing Post Open House

On April 16, 2016 the Lansing Post celebrated 42 years of existence. The East Lansing Post was moved to our current location in 1974. We had displays from our K9, Bomb Squad and Aviation Units. The hit of the day was our newest helicopter. The vintage State Police patrol cars were also very popular. Robert Wills provided a completely re-made 1968 Plymouth Fury that was once at the West Branch Post.The Open House was well attended, with many

former and current members showing up. The public was welcome and a decent crowd turned out to visit, enjoy, and learn about the Michigan State Police. ■


By: Tpr. Amy Belanger124th Recruit School

Flint Post

Trooper Dances with the ‘Local’ Stars

No one was more surprised than I, when I was asked to participate in this years’ “Dancing with the Local Stars” event hosted by the Grand Blanc Chamber of Commerce. While being the Community Service Trooper at the Flint Post, I have been asked to do a lot of interesting and fun things, but this by far took the cake. As a child growing up, I did a little

of this and a little of that. I parti ci-pated mostly in softball leagues and gymnastics, but I can assure you, dancing was definitely not on the list. I’ve never been one to have much rhythm and quite frankly, I may even be on the tone deaf side, too. Just ask my poor daughter who is usually the one that suffers because of that! But, I wasn’t going to let that stop me.I hesitantly accepted the op por-

tunity to participate; after all, it was for a good cause, the “Teddy Bear Patrol.” To top it off, the winner would also get $500 to donate to any charity of their choice. I, of course, chose the “Thin Blue Line.” To me, it was an obvious choice. It’s an organization near and dear to all of us and to the families of our fallen brothers and sisters. That is, without a doubt, who I wanted to dance for.

I was told that I would be partnered with a local professional dancer and that I would have roughly two and a half months to practice and master a dance routine before the big night. Upon meeting my pro, Rich Coburn, I was very nervous and didn’t know quite what to expect. I also had the pleasure of meeting his wife, Leigh, who I quickly realized was also my competition. Rich and Leigh have been competing together in ballroom style dancing for several years. They even have their own professional dance studio, Upbeat Dance, in the basement of their home and offer lessons. They broke the news to me that Leigh was going to be

the pro-dancing partner for NBC Meteorologist, Ahmad Bajjey. Luckily, both Leigh and Rich were rooting for the other to win, so I wasn’t worried too much about my competition being present for practices. Naturally, I began our first lesson

explaining all the areas of dance I lacked in, which were most, and wished my partner “good luck” when it came to my dancing ability. I explained that I have difficulty

“following” and that it’s hard for me to give up the control. I mean, I’m a cop for Pete’s sake; control is what we do best! Surprisingly enough though, after just a few short lessons, I learned how to follow and I, along with Rich, began to believe there was hope for me yet! The song my partner had chosen

for our dance was Big and Rich’s “Fake ID,” known mostly from the recent re-make of Footloose, and our style of dance was East-Coast Swing. By the way, this is a very fast-paced style of dancing. To say that I got my workout in every week would be an understatement! We also wanted to somehow incorporate my line

of work into the dance. So, for the storyline, I was an undercover officer attempting to buy a “fake ID” from him. Once he produced my ID, at the end, I would flip the switch and arrest him.The weeks of practicing began to

f ly by and before I knew it, I only had just a few short weeks until the event. I had most of the moves down, so at this point we had to concentrate on perfecting all the minor details. We

had attempted many different tricks and flips, but most of them usually ended with me falling on my head, back or legs. None of which stopped me. I was willing to do whatever it took to win. The big night arrived and I couldn’t

have been more nervous. I walked into the ballroom at Genesys Athletic Club and was amazed at all the teddy bears and beautiful decorations that

had been set out. Shortly after my arrival, they broke the news to me that I was going to be first up to dance. I thought I was nervous before, now it was really beginning to sink in! Luckily, I had the support of my family, my Post Commander, F/Lt. Tom Kish, as well as, the APC’s and a bunch of my fellow Flint Post comrades. I was pumped and ready to go!Once they introduced me and I

stepped foot onto the dance floor, all of my nerves went away. It actually calmed me to be out on the floor that I had been practicing on for months. I went out there and gave it my all! I had practiced the dance so many times, it was ingrained into my brain and we pulled it off, without missing a beat. There were a total of eight competitors, including myself, and they all followed suit. There were a lot of great performances and I have to say, there were a couple “star” dancers that appeared to out-dance their professional partner. It was so much fun to watch!

Unfortunately, I did not take home the Mirror Ball Trophy, but I would not trade this experience for the world. I made a lot of great friends, met a lot of great people, I helped raise money for a great cause and I had a blast while doing it. Even though I still wouldn’t consider myself a “dancer” by any stretch of the imagination, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again! ■


Campaign Hats and the Fire Investigation Unit

By: S/Sgt. Dan Drew116th Recruit School

SID Fire Investigation Unit

Now that I hopefully have your attention after that title, I’ll be honest and say the two have nothing to do with each other. Unless you compare the recently approved head gear with a big talking bear encouraging you to prevent forest fires. I just figured I would lose about half of the readers’ interest without a seemingly hot button topic like the new hats in the title. Because let’s face it – the mere mention of the words “fire investigation” likely evokes yawns and eye rolls from some of you reading this article. It’s no secret cops and firemen have long been worlds apart with their approach to life and who is more important in society, even if it’s good natured fun. It’s not too dissimilar from the different branches of service making claims to their level of contribution to man kind while belittling “lesser” branches. And that’s where we come in.

Your MSP Fire Unit bridges that gap between Firefighter and Trooper. With my transferring into the unit full time about a year ago, I’ve happily endured the wrath of my cop friends and former coworkers

who have mockingly wondered why I’m still issued handcuffs and a gun. So I think an introduction to who we are and what we can do for you is long overdue. Particularly since I repeatedly see the misconceptions and confusion that exists not only with local police and fire departments, but largely within our own department. Bear with me, but I think a very brief history lesson will clear the confusion and hopefully lay the groundwork as we move forward. In 1935, the State Police Fire

Marshal division was born when the MSP was charged with maintaining a State Fire Marshal by way of PA 59. In 1941, these duties were further established and a thorough description was provided in PA 207. These duties included inspections, building code enforcement, training, investigations, and much more. Then 2006 hap-pened. Through many political changes and maneuvers that are be-yond my salary, PA 190 transferred nearly all of the duties of the State Fire Marshal to the Department of Consumer and Industry Services, now LARA (Licensing and Regulatory Affairs). The State Fire Marshal (usually a Fire Chief) is appointed by the Governor, and is no longer under the direction of the Michigan State Police. Hence, to call us the Fire Marshal division is inaccurate since we are not associated with the State Fire Marshal. Despite this, the same Public Act and associated executive orders that transferred this authority specifically states, “it is in the best interest of Michigan citizens to have the Department of State Police con-centrate its efforts and functions on its primary role of criminal in ves-ti gations, arson investigations, and arson-related training activities.”

The MSP Fire Marshal Division that existed prior to 2006 had per-sonnel staffing ranging from 20-40 investigators depending on the year. They were proficient in not only fire investigations, but inspections, firework regulation, HAZ MAT oper-ations, training other agencies from local fire and police de part ments, and much more. Some of you may remember the drastic cuts which nearly eliminated the MSP Fire Unit just a few years ago. We were left with approximately one Fire Investigator, per district. As you can imagine, the Fire Investigation Unit, as it is now called, has a completely different mis-sion than pre 2006. As the legislature suggested, our focus and primary role is on arson investigations and arson-related training activities.I’m happy to report that we are

taking steps in the right direction as we are slowly trying to rebuild the unit to accomplish this goal even though we’ll never see pre 2006 staffing. Our mission continues to evolve while maintaining the core focus of criminal investigation and training. We now have nine investigators (including my-self) throughout the state. As part of the Special Investigation Division, we report to Captain Chris Stolicker and Inspector John Card through our unit Commanders, F/Lt. Jerry Carter and Lt. Frank Mraz. With the help of the Training

Division, we still provide annual train-ing for local fire and police agencies through our two-week BASIC Fire Investigation school, our one-week Fire Investigation II (advanced) school, two-day arson follow up schools, and more. Unit members are also required to attend annual refresher training, conferences, and con tinuing education courses related

to fire investigation. In addition to the training we

provide and attend, we assist you and other agencies with fire investigation. This remains a top priority within the unit as we are a resource similar to the lab or any other discipline where an expert opinion is needed. Depending on the case, we will typically do most of the dirty work so you don’t have to. This usually involves photographing, sketching, and documenting the fire scene before giving an opinion, if possible, as to the cause and origin of the fire. If needed, we will coordinate the fire scene exam with one of our three exceptional MSP accelerant canine handlers, as well as any other resource that is available. The MSP Aviation unit has also been extremely supportive, and have proven their value on several scenes. We can also obtain and package evidence, author search warrants, obtain insurance records, help conduct interviews, and

testify to our conclusions as an expert witness. You should be aware that as with any resource, we will NOT take over your investigation. Just like the Accident Reconstructionists, Canine Team, Dive Team, Lab Tech nicians, Aviation Unit, or Bomb Squad, we’re a specialized resource to assist your investigation. Follow up investigation, interviews, and case supervision re-sponsibility will remain with you and your local post. With the likely retirement of at

least four investigators in the next two to four years, we are hopeful there is interest in joining the unit. Troopers are encouraged to consider applying for our training programs and start the long but rewarding process of becoming a full time Fire Investigator. This process is still being developed, but there is a slight sense of urgency to start cultivating the next generation of Fire Investigators. Just know what to expect; as it is often a cold,

dark, and dirty job that unfortunately includes grisly and heart wrenching scenes that fires can produce. But it is also a rewarding and fulfilling job that will likely be my last in the department (unless I get appointed to Colonel). If you’re interested, contact one of us and we would be happy to work with you. While we try to loosely follow the

district boundaries, we are not assigned to a single district. I encourage you to visit the MSP intranet website and find our coverage map (by county) under the Field Services Bureau. Or you can call MSP Operations anytime and the closest investigator will respond. If the fire involves serious injury or a fatality, you can expect an immediate response 24 hrs a day. Most other fires will be examined during normal business hours. Please feel free to call, and enjoy the new hats. ■

The results are in and it’s official! The enforcement members of the Michigan State Police will begin the department’s 100th Year wearing Campaign style hats! This uniform change will take effect on January 1, 2017.

The original enforcement members of the Michigan State Police until the early 1920s wore a Campaign style hat. The majority of state police agencies in the country wear Campaign hats; the MSP was one of only six police agencies that did not war this style hat.


Making the News ...Vacationing Michigan State Trooper

Nabs Suspect During Vehicle Break-in

BeaufortPublicSafety.com April 2, 2016

At approximately 5:00 a.m. Satur day morning, April 2, in the parking lot of Villamare in Palmetto Dunes, a Michigan State Trooper on vacation reportedly walked up on a male subject allegedly going through luggage in the back of his father-in-law’s vehicle.Andrew Sysko, an eight-year

veteran of the Michigan State Police, quickly approached the subject and asked what he was doing. The subject reportedly tried to lie to the Trooper by saying he was checking in. The Trooper then detained the subject and called Emergency Dispatch 911. Sheriff’s Office deputies re-

sponded and arrived a short time later. The subject, 17-year-old Wil-son Gardner of Palmetto Dunes, was interviewed by the responding

deputies. In the interview, Gardner reportedly admitted to unlawfully entering Trooper Sysko’s father-in-law’s vehicle and another un-identified vehicle from where he stole a backpack containing a laptop. It was also learned through Gardner’s interview that both vehicles he allegedly entered were unlocked and he had driven his own vehicle to commit the crimes.Gardner was arrested and

charged with one count of Break-ing into a Motor Vehicle. He was transported to the Beaufort County Detention Center and incarcerated. Gardner’s vehicle was located, impounded and will be searched by Sheriff’s Office investigators for additional stolen property. The vehicle from which Gardner stole the backpack and laptop was

already gone when deputies went back to look for it. Gardner will be charged in connection breaking into that vehicle when the owner is identified.Anyone with information re-

garding these incidents or any other criminal activities Wilson Gardner may have been involved in is urged to contact Sergeant John Adams at 843-255-3415. If wishing to provide information anonymously and for possible reward, please contact CrimeStoppers 1-888-CrimeSC.The Beaufort County Sheriff’s

Office would like to thank Michigan State Police Trooper Andrew Sysko for detaining Wilson Gardner and putting a stop to his early morning crime spree. ■

The Maryland Troopers Association is working toward hosting the 2016 NTC Picnic

in Annapolis, Maryland. They will post additional

information on their website as it becomes available.

If you would like to subscribe to receive email updates as plans progress, visit their website and click on the

Email Updates icon.

On April 26th, Post Commander Lt. Ken Dilg of the Metro Post had a final post

meeting before the splitting of the posts returning back to Metro North and

Metro South which took place on May 8th. During the meeting, awards and year pins

were presented to many of the troops.(Photos courtesy of Tpr. Lisa Smith,

Second District Special Enforcement Unit)

Final ‘Metro Post’ Meeting


Honoring our Fallen Troopers in Washington, D.C.

“Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream.”

– President George H.W. Bush

By: D/Tpr. Richard Lutz125th Recruit School

2nd District Headquarters Homicide Task Force

This past May another Michigan State Police (MSP) brother’s name was carved into the National Police Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Trooper Chad Wolf and the fallen troopers that have come before him, prompt ed Sgt. Mark Opra (Flint Post) to go above and beyond to cre ate a unique statue to honor all fallen troopers for their service and dedication. Sgt. Opra acquired a door from a

goose that had been damaged in a car accident. He made arrangements to have the door completely repainted and a fresh shield attached. A custom kick stand was fabricated to hold the door up on its own and a plaque was created and riveted to the top of the door. The gold plaque states, “In memory of those who made the Ultimate Sacrifice”.Sgt. Opra rented a U-haul and

personally drove the door to Wash-ing ton D.C. The door was set up at the wall and proudly displayed for all

during Police Week.I was able to make contact with

an employee from the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. I was advised that once the National Law Enforcement Museum is com pleted the door can be donated to the mu se-um for permanent display.If you haven’t been to Police Week

in Washington, D.C., I highly suggest that you add it to your bucket list. This is an opportunity to spend a week, or even a couple of days, with your law enforcement family from

across the United States. During this week we honor our brothers and sis-ters who have fallen. We hold up and embrace the survivors. With the con-stant negativity that shadows our pro-fession, Police Week reminds us there is a national support system of men and women that exist and stand be-hind the “thin blue line.” ■

Special thanks to MSP Sgt. Rob Schwalm, Louie’s Towing, Mt. Morris, Michigan and Auto Pride Collision, also from Mt. Morris, Michigan.

National Police Week May 15-21, 2016

History of National Police Week

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 designating May 15 as Peace Officers’ Memorial Day, and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. The law was amended by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322, signed by President Bill Clinton, directing that the flag of the United States be displayed at half-staff on all government buildings on May 15 each year. While the actual dates change from year to year, National Police Week is always the calendar week, beginning on Sunday, which includes May 15. ■

Tpr. Chad Wolf ’s brother and parents (below, left) and wife, Erin, (below, right), are escorted to their seats prior to the National Police Week candlelight vigil. Over 20,000 candles shone in the darkness at the vigil, representing the memories and stories that burn brightly for each of f icer that has fallen in the line of duty. Other photos depict events that took place during Police Week. Several members of the MSP travelled to Washington, D.C. to honor the fallen and support their survivors.


MSP’s AnnualFallen TrooperMemorial CeremonyMay 2, 2016

We shall never forget.(Photos courtesy of Tpr. Lisa Smith,

Second District Special Enforcement Unit)

Paying for Good GovernmentLessons from Wall Street

Tpr. Steven D. Unruh117th Recruit School

Metro North Post

The industrial revolution gave birth to worker efficiency and in-creased production rates from an assembly line. This allows workers to be assigned a numerical worth as a comparator against co-workers for managerial analysis. This process is entirely predictable for temporal measurement when production rates are the true goal – where production rates can increase infinitely when quality assurance is either neglected or removed from the equation. After all, in business, the return on investment (ROI) is all that matters for financial survivability (Eq. 1) For the worker, this basic equation has little, if any, room for quality in workmanship that leads to satisfaction. Product in = product out.

ROI = Net Income/Investment

Eq. 1

The mechanical assembly line is very predictable; therefore, the expectations of the worker is mea-sure able. For the employer, the benefit of the assembly line is its

predictability and efficiency to pro-duce the desired product. The entire system can be manipulated for the temporal rates of production, hours of operation, and quality assurance. In business, the worker’s performance is a temporal variance that must be contended with as part of the line’s processing rate. A team of engineers use a multitude of calculations that give a numerical expectation for rates of production, over an assigned time period, with the desired goal of increasing profit margins. It is the desire of the employer to reduce the cost of labor – without question – to increase the profitability of the company. This conflict created the labor union.

Quota? Who said that?

The current Activity Analysis has been re-constituted to satisfy the desires of a select few socio-political groups that desire to break government unions. It is their desire to create an assessment for a single division at the lowest rank – the trooper. Similarly, these same types of groups attacked other government unions with success by instituting a numerical scale that gives the lowest rank a sense of worth. Several years ago, the Michigan Education Association, a collective bargaining union, was broken. The teachers, not the administrators, were attacked and the sense of job security was ripped from them. Simultaneously, an assessment on educational effi-ciency was implemented based upon an end product – the student’s grades. It is important to note that a teacher cannot control what type of student walks through the door. Each student is equipped with their own individuality that has

an effect on their academic per-formance. While unbiased tests will indicate that most classrooms follow a normative distribution for per formance, it is the expectation of those concerned to make each student a Harvard candidate. While academic success does not guarantee professional success, it is an anchor of performance realization based upon the Stanford-Binet test for intellect. Regardless, it is preposterous to think that each person has the ability to be considered a viable candidate to an Ivy League school. This same ideological expectation is being implemented into the entry-level uniform position for performance analysis.The regular beat cop cannot

create crime. Just like the teacher, the trooper cannot control the activity of a criminal. Even the most careless criminal will try to avoid detection. Thus, the creation of the undercover police officer. The availability of activity is dependent on the criminal and their actions. It is important to note, the current analysis has little to do with the overall evaluation of a trooper as it relates to job performance; instead, it evaluates targeted performance (Eq. 2).

MSP Assessment = Raw Data/ X

Eq. 2

The aforementioned equations are similar in design, and concept, for purposes of evaluating worker efficiency. It is from a managerial perspective to have the numerator much greater than the denominator. The discrepancies between either

see LESSONS, page 20


the process. The evaluation allows the infiltration of an otherwise pre-ventable issue of skewness (Insert 1). It is clear that the data is not being transformed (e.g. Outcome = log (model) + time) for proper analysis. Regardless, it is the desire to numerically assign a fixed number to the trooper that will impress “someone”, the department’s equa-tion was implemented to give veri-similitude to a poor evaluation sys-tem. This same evaluation system is the impetus utilized by MICR to “predict” crime. (Did I just write that?) Tom Cruise starred in a movie called Minority Report that arrested people prior to the crime being committed.Data ascertained from patrol-

generated activity is required to be reviewed by a supervisor before it is sent further for analysis. The discrepancy of analysis begins as the standard varies from each individual and each district. In police work,

there are a multitude of intangibles that require attention; yet, no mea-sure ment. As an individual, these tasks take the trooper out of Equa-tion 2 for assessment while time does not pause for any intangible task that requires attention (e.g. car assist). It is this variance that begins an impro-per assessment that is considered to be more critical than a genuine quota system. A quota sets a specific standard that shall be reached. In the current process, the bottom floor of efficiency is moving based upon the highest performer. While many managers will proudly support the categorical performance standard that has been pre-set at 70% of the mean, or average, of the summarized data. Clearly, the average can easily fall victim to skewness that moves the standard that is required to maintain acceptable performance in an annual rating system. Therefore, the trooper cannot know what the acceptable requirement is needed to

from LESSONS, page 19

Insert 1

mathematical assess-ment is that Equation 1 can de fine the datum be fore it is allowed to be entered into the system; whereas, the department’s system should be exploratory. The department’s eval uation sys tem cleverly manipulates the de nom i na tor and denigrates the trooper’s categorical worth through mis-rep re sen tation of the true facts. The fluc tuation of the district’s population creates a unique problem that has not been considered properly as the mean population (X), over the time period of six months, is cal cu lated. The RAW DATA is the sum of all categorical data retrieved from any activity whether it was during a regularly schedule shift or an additional overtime shift. In other words, the equation may only consider a specified number of troopers working over a six month time period. In reality, an average is just the peak of the district’s population (sum) divided by an un-specified count. The direct issue is how long during the related time period was the district’s population at its peak. In addition, the iYetek program cannot differentiate be-tween various overtime shifts that isolate directed patrols. This allows for select individuals, representing the same population, to improperly add data, not accessible to others, during the same time period. These outliers will race ahead dragging the mean out much quicker without any negative integers present to reverse

successfully gain the manager’s level of expectation for the six month rating. Of course, all of this is moot if the lowest paid employee does not volunteer multiple times annually. Failure to volunteer will result in a mediocre performance rating – de-spite having high numbers!!!

Predictive Policing

The explosion of technology has created Big Data for top management to mull over and become victims of data dredging. Data dredging is a statistical term used to describe making something out of nothing. An increase of literature and sta tis-tical programs have sprung up over the past several years to victimize the policing industry. The idea that a statistical program can evaluate data, retrieved from various programs, that predicts crime is marketing genius. The ability to converge the majority of the police force onto a specific location at a specified time is amazing! Statistics can make aver-age people appear very smart. Please take note that the author does not consider this a good idea. In fact, I am beyond skeptical.In recent history, statisticians cre-

ated an elegant model for the finan-cial world that nearly destroyed the global economy (2008). By using a Value at Risk model, an indicator (a single numerical identifier much like a trooper) and the power of a probability model that predicted the outcome of each firm’s investment. Each increment had a variable of $13 million that was an acceptable margin of error for the industry standard. Obviously, the model did not work, despite the financial stakes involved, because it created a false sense of security. In fact, many consider the Value at Risk model a fraud. Be mindful, the probability model did not destroy the global economy, people using

the model did. For any predictive model to be

properly implemented the input must be assigned without bias or discrimination. The desire to predict crime can be overreaching when several probability-related errors are not considered:

1. Assuming events are related (Dependent variable)

2. Assuming events are not related (Independent variable)

3. Successive incidents do happen without reason

4. Statistical discrimination

5. Spikes in activity

The predictive analysis is going to place an increased amount of of-fi cers in an area based upon the previously competitive data driven evaluation process. The predictive model, utilized by MICR for Crime Mapping, may wrongfully identify an individual(s) occupying a particular space at a particular time of day, because it is predicted he is there to commit a crime. If the data is not interpreted properly, then the data has little purpose.

Who pays for it?

Who pays for all of this gov ern-ment data dredging? The common man, mostly forgotten, always pays. He/she comes to work, pays taxes, sometimes complains about the traffic, and gets the job done. He can never say it is not his job – he is at the bottom. In most organizations, the orders form at the top and trickle downward until the last guy gets it. He is the general worker that cannot say, “I am specialized.” The entry-level government employee, whether it is the teacher or the trooper, are required to perform at increased levels. It is with definitive purpose that each government employee is

given a numerical assessment to identify their sense of worth. In a service industry where no

real products are produced it is very difficult to numerically categorize each employee. In fact, it is so dif-fi cult that only the entry-level em-ployee, the one who is paid the least, is being currently assessed. In most incidents, the entry-level employee may have two or three supervisors “equally” offering sub-jective input that re-defines their position into a separate opposing directions. By implementing models that enforce behavior that re quires a desired outcome, under spe ci -fied parameters, in hopes of satis-fy ing future expectations, tra gedy in the form of failure will surely be produced. Individually, the per-formance metrics have little regard for better policing. Instead, it is a metric that can enhance those that receive a financial benefit – pay for performance – for the desired increased activity.Many MSPTA members will not

be concerned over this type of as-sess ment. They would be wrong. At this time, a grievance was filed to battle this poorly conceptualized process that will surely fail. The blame will fall squarely on those directly involved and many will fall victim to its poor design. The association may be required to lo-cate, and hire, a statistician that can support the claims in the grievance. It is ironic that those at the bottom, the trooper, are required to find a solution to a problem created by management that will receive the most financial benefit. Remember, it is the common man, the taxpayer and union member, who pays for poor solutions to a make-believe problem. That is why unions came into existence. ■

Normal distribution model, or Bell Curve, is a desired result from data collected that indicate most of the scores fall close to the center. A Bell Curve will guarantee a certain percentage will be acceptable. It will also guarantee that a certain percentage will be a failure. This is like having your professor grade you on a curve. Just by walking into the classroom a certain percentage WILL fail the course. A normal distribution is highly unlikely to happen when considering the variances in demographics within each district and a review process that has little guidance. For those that categorically manipulate the data (C ), the mean will be aggressively moved to the right; therefore, an increased population will categorically fail.


MSPTA April QuarterlySubmitted By:

Tpr. Jay Morningstar118th Recruit School

Metro North Post

I hope this article finds you well. I am sitting at the training academy preparing for the 130th recruit school as members of the 129th recruit school are marching by.Oddly enough, about 100 senior

department personnel are attending a retirement seminar. I wonder how it feels to be visualizing your retirement after a long career, with classmates you maybe haven’t seen in decades, as dozens of recruits are marching around staring ahead in hopes of making it to where you currently stand.

in times of crisis and we are always seeking help to stay funded.At this quarterly raffle prizes

in cluded ipods, gift certificates, a Micro soft tablet, bocci ball set, Tiger baseball tickets, and a large gas grill as the grand prize! In the end we were able to raise nearly $2000 from these generous donations – not to mention the fun we had drawing the winning tickets.All said, quarterly meetings are

fun and informative and the last great way to get in touch with your fellow MSP family. When someone says MSP is a family they are right, and it starts with you. Stay safe and see you at the July

quarterly in Kalamazoo! ■

Retired Captain Harold Love started off the training session speaking

about stress and ethics experienced by law enforcement officers.

Then I think of something every one has in common with each other regardless of seniority. All are (or were) members of MSPTA. The de part ment is in a state of change and modernizing. This can leave people feeling left behind or lone wolfs in a large pack with whom they never see or socialize. Now more than ever, members need to attend quarterly meetings so we can familiarize ourselves with each other and integrate as we make and renew connections. Squad rooms where the old guys passed on war stories about the way things were and arrests they made are being replaced by mobile offices and bosses that are pushing us out the door and into the streets. This is understandable as times change,

but how do we move forward like this without losing the connection with the traditions of the past?I would offer that MSPTA quar-

ter lies are more important than ever as we come together for a greater good – our MSP.The April quarterly was recently

held at the Greektown Casino in Detroit – and what a quar terly it was. First we had ethics training from

Retired Captain Love who spoke about the rigors and stress of a career in law enforcement. The training explained the effects on a member, the department, and ultimately the community if you do not avoid the slippery slope of cynicism. It was effective and appropriate training in these trying times for law en force-

ment members nationwide. Second we had the opportunity

to watch an exclusive video speech by Marcus Luttrell (Lone Survivor) himself. This was an MSP exclusive video presentation that is not allowed to be shown outside our ranks. Suf-fice to say it was awe inspiring and motivational on a different level.After the training sessions we

entered into the general meeting. This agenda and information is available via your district representatives and at the district meetings. It is during this meeting when issues that are centered around our members were discussed and explained. From Sen-ate and House bills to national and state policy trends, all information

disseminated is directly related to our Michigan State Police.Additional information regarding

critical incidents, contractual is sues, and discipline matters were dis -cussed. Lastly, there was a call to the membership where any member in good standing can bring issues for ward to the executive board and presi dent.After the conclusion of the formal

meeting we adjourned to the banquet area where family members join their MSPTA member for the dinner and raffle. Did I mention a raffle? That’s right, MSTAF has a raffle at every quarterly with all proceeds going to this non-profit entity. MSTAF is used to assist members and their families

See more Quarterly photos on pages 24-25.

Quarterly attendees during the general session.

Tpr. Eric Byerly (left) and D/Sgt.

Mitch Stevens (right)

presenting their

respective committee

reports.

Just prior to his retirement from the MSP, Sgt. Bob Green (Houghton Lake Post), offered a short presentation on

Honor Flights for military veterans.

MSPTA President Nate Johnson, with MSP Chaplain Mike O’Mire (Metro North Post), who offered an invocation prior to the general session and before the evening meal.

President Nate Johnson swears in Tpr. Jim Yeager as the new 6th District Representative, and thanks outgoing Tpr. Kelly Linebaugh for his years of service on the Executive Board.

Tpr. Jay Morningstar poses with fiancée Becky (top left) and a

few other lucky winners of some awesome prizes at

the April Quarterly.The MSTAF raffle is always a big hit at the Quarterlies!


April 2016 QuarterlyGreektown Casino-Hotel • Detroit


Janet Hayes HP Correspondent May 8, 2016

NEW BUFFALO – A dusty lot now lingers in New Buffalo Township where since 1934 a Michigan State Police post stood.The building was among some

30 cookie-cutter posts built across Mich i gan by the Works Progress Ad-min is tra tion, a federal jobs program launched to meet the Great De pres-sion. Retired as a post in 1995, it was razed last week. There are no firm plans for the property.The building’s last brush with the

law came two winters ago when it was sideswiped by an errant driver. Most recently, the building at U.S. 12 and Red Arrow Highway housed the township’s water and building departments.But the two-story red-bricked

build ing had a colorful past.The original front door was

centered above exterior steps to the first level and a sandstone center section engraved with the state seal and the words “Michigan State Police.”A room was later added to house

a radio console, front desk and re-cep tion area. There were no cells in the building, so prisoners were handcuffed to a steel pipe while they were fingerprinted and photographed before transport to the Berrien County jail in St. Joseph. At its high point, there were as many as 28 officers assigned to New Buffalo.Throughout the state, the build-

ings served as command posts but also dormitories for the mostly single, male troopers. Township Trustee Pete Rahm recalled his early days as a state trooper assigned to the New Buffalo post.“You’d go upstairs to bed at night

Requiem for a State Police Postwith five blankets and in the morning you wake up thinking it was a sauna because the boiler had been fired up for the daytime shift,” said Rahm, who was 22 when he joined in the early ’70s.He said troopers were required to

live in the dorms during their nine-month probationary period, and some stayed on because almost all were single. At that time, troopers had to get written permission from the state police commander to marry.“It was a busy post,” said retired

post commander Lt. Jake Toering, who was on site last week to photo-graph the demolition. Before I-94

was completed, all traffic between Chicago and Detroit was routed through New Buffalo. Also adding to traffic, he said truckers would stop at the scales station adjoining the post and then continue on across the street to the former J&J Truck Stop.Toering started his career in

New Buffalo from 1965 to 1967. He returned later as commander from 1979 to 1992. When the post closed

in 1995 and moved to Bridgman, the state deeded it to the township for $1 for municipal use only.Although he was married, Toering

also spent his probationary period sleeping in the upstairs bunk beds. With no cooking equipment provided, all meals were eaten out at such places as J&J’s, the Sawyer truck stop and, on special occasions, at Redamak’s, which required written permission from the post commander because it served alcohol.Rahm recalled two events that

drew national attention to the post: One was a fight in the early 1990s involving Chicago Mayor Richard

M. Daley’s teenage son near the family compound in Grand Beach.The second was the 1971 shooting

deaths of Troopers Gary Rampy and Charles Stark in Union Pier. The sus-pect died in a subsequent shootout with police. He was an escaped Kentucky convict who had been stopped for a missing turn signal. Rahm said he would have liked to

have saved the old post but “it was

built for people who lived 80 years ago.” Rahm said the cost to make it safe and functional was prohibitive due to major leaks in the basement, encapsulated asbestos in floor tiles and pipes and a malfunctioning heater.Toering, who saved a brick, said it

was sad to see such an icon go, but he realized the 12-inch concrete walls were just one reason the building couldn’t effectively meet modern wiring and accessibility requirements.When the township took the build-

ing over in the mid-1990s, it be came the first home of the water depart-ment until its move across the street with the township fire department.The other occupant was the town-

ship’s building department. But a

broken boiler and bee infestation forced the staff to flee to temporary quarters until the newly renovated Town ship Hall on Red Arrow High-way opened last month.Used by the Berrien County

Sheriff’s Department for a period, Under sheriff Chuck Heit, a township resident, recalled the post fondly as “a good place to stop with a telephone and a computer.”Zoning Administrator Estelle

Brink man, among the building’s last occupants, said the location provided a great view of area traffic and a chance to get to know some of the other temporary occupants, like the sheriff deputies and medic workers.However, Brinkman said it also

attracted more than its share of

stray and strange visitors, many who remembered it as being a police station.“We love our new home, though.

There’s no mold, no asbestos and we have clear running water and a safe environment,” Brinkman said.The building was demolished

by Burk hold Excavating at a cost of $40,000, with asbestos removal delaying the process by several days and accounting for $11,000, which will be covered by insurance.Township Supervisor Rosann Du-

diak said there are no immediate plans for the triangular-shaped site, though several uses have been suggested, including a commuter parking lot and a memorial to the township’s World War II veterans. ■


Board of AwardsThe following citations were approved by the department’s District and Division Review Panels and the Board of Awards Committee. The ranks of the officers are those held at the time of the request for citation.

MSP Official Bulletin: May 31, 2016

Bravery and Lifesaving Award

Tpr. Robert Lee (West Branch Post) is receiving the Bravery and Lifesaving awards for his heroic actions in saving the life of a woman. On January 29, 2016, Trooper Lee responded to a burning resi-dence after overhearing radio traffic dis-patching deputies from the Gladwin County Sheriff’s Office to the residence.

Before emergency personnel arrived, a civilian attempted to enter the residence but was pushed back by the heat and smoke. Trooper Lee and Sgt. Chad Smith from the Gladwin County Sheriff’s Office were the first emergency personnel to arrive. Unable to determine if anyone was inside the residence, Trooper Lee and Sergeant Smith utilized their flashlights to illuminate inside the home. Trooper Lee faintly observed something resembling hair and began to crawl into the residence to determine if it was an unconscious person. Upon closer inspection, the object was determined to be a deceased cat. Shortly past the cat, an oxygen tank was observed tipped over on its side; however, Trooper Lee was quickly overcome by the heat and smoke and was forced to back out of the residence. Trooper Lee and Ofcr. Rodney Foster from the Gladwin

Police Department searched the outside of the residence for another entry point and located a large sliding door leading to the living room. Unable to open the door, Trooper Lee used his baton to shatter the glass causing the smoke to clear enough to observe an elderly female unconscious on the coach. Trooper Lee and Officer Foster entered the residence and removed the unresponsive female from the residence, just as oxygen tanks began to ignite inside. Trooper Lee performed rescue breathing on the woman

until she was breathing on her own. She was transported to a local hospital and then later transported by MedFlight to Flint Hurley Hospital for further treatment. She survived for five days before succumbing to injuries sustained in the fire. In awarding both of the department’s Bravery and Lifesaving awards to Trooper Lee, the Board of Awards recognizes that the incredible courage and heroic actions he demonstrated saved the woman’s life that day providing the family with an opportunity to say goodbye.

Bravery Award

Tpr. Jared Grigg and Tpr. John Sholtz (Lapeer Post) are receiving the Bravery Award for their heroic actions in saving the life of a child. On January 4, 2016, Troopers Grigg and Sholtz responded to a residential fire in the city of Lapeer. Upon arrival, troopers observed the home was fully engulfed in flames and the front door was unapproachable due to flames. A bystander told the troopers they had heard children screaming from inside the home. Troopers Grigg and Sholtz ran to the back door of the home and were able to gain entry. They searched the first floor of the home, which was already engulfed in fire and full of thick

smoke. Trooper Sholtz located an unresponsive six-year-old boy lying on the floor of the garage that is attached to the home and carried him out to Trooper Grigg. Trooper Sholtz went back into the home to search for additional children. After a short period of time, dispatch informed Trooper Sholtz that there were no other children inside the home. The young boy was treated by emergency medical personnel and later released. In awarding the department’s Bravery Award to Troopers Grigg and Sholtz, the Board of Awards recognizes the courage and heroic actions demonstrated by these troopers undoubtedly saved the boy’s life.

Lifesaving Award

Tpr. Stephen Kingsley and Tpr. Kyle Michael ( Jackson Post) are receiving the Life saving Award for saving the life of another. On January 26, 2016, Troopers Kingsley and Michael were dispatched to a report of a subject attempting to commit suicide. Upon arrival to the scene, troopers discovered an unresponsive male hanging from a tree by a cord tied around his neck and two individuals struggling to hold him up. Trooper Michael replaced the two individuals and held the victim up while Trooper Kingsley climbed the tree and cut the cord. The subject was lowered to the ground where first aid was administered

until the subject regained consciousness. Thanks to Troopers Kingsley and Michael’s prompt response, the subject survived.

Tpr. Casey Allison (Metro Post) is re-ceiving the Lifesaving Award for saving the life of another. On December 28, 2015, Trooper Allison responded to a call of a subject suffering from heavy blood loss. Upon arrival to the scene, Trooper Allison found a man on the bathroom floor bleeding profusely with blood covering the

walls and puddled on the floor and in the tub. The man was able to show Trooper Allison a wound on his arm where he had inadvertently removed his catheter. After retrieving his first aid kit, Trooper Allison applied a tourniquet to the man’s arm to stop the bleeding. Once the bleeding ceased, Trooper Allison applied a blood-stopper bandage over the wound. Emergency medical personnel arrived on scene and transported the man to the hospital for further treatment. Thanks to Trooper Allison’s quick use of first aid equipment, the man survived.

Tpr. Shane Noble and Tpr. Jacquelyn Sasse (West Branch Post) are receiving the Lifesaving Award for saving the life of another. On November 9, 2015, Troopers Noble and Sasse were dispatched to a report of a suicidal subject who locked himself inside his garage by screwing the steel door shut and had his truck and ATV running inside. Troopers Noble and Sasse utilized a fire axe to cut into the door until they could see inside. They called out to the subject, but received no response. They continued to cut into the door until the fire axe broke and then used a long metal pole to pry and kick the bottom half of

the door open enough to gain entry. Troopers Noble and Sasse crawled into the dark, smoke-filled garage where the subject was found unconscious inside the truck. They pulled the subject from the garage and outside to fresh air. Troopers Noble and Sasse checked the subject’s vital signs and began attempts to wake him. The subject took several gasps of air and regained consciousness. Emergency medical personnel arrived on scene and transported the subject to the hospital. Thanks to the determination and quick response shown by Troopers Noble and Sasse, the subject survived.

Tpr. Thomas Pinkerton ( Jackson Post) is receiving the Lifesaving Award for saving the life of another. On December 30, 2015, Trooper Pinkerton responded to the scene of a critical shooting. Trooper Pinkerton observed a male victim on the ground with a gunshot wound to his left side. The

victim was not breathing and was unresponsive. Trooper Pinkerton repositioned the victim and worked to establish an airway by performing the head tilt/chin lift, at which time the victim began heavily labored breathing. Trooper Pinkerton advised his partner to retrieve an emergency blanket, which was utilized to maintain the victim’s core temperature in the frigid weather. Emergency medical personnel arrived and transported the critically injured victim to the hospital. If not for the actions of Trooper Pinkerton, the victim would not have survived.

Tpr. Elizabeth Bourgeois (Marshall Post) is receiving the Lifesaving Award for saving the life of another. On August 9, 2015, Trooper Bourgeois responded to the scene of a subject in full cardiac arrest. Trooper Bourgeois checked the subject for a pulse and breathing, but was unable to detect either. Trooper Bourgeois administered

CPR until relieved by emergency medical personnel. The subject was transported to the hospital, where he later went into a coma and passed away. The actions of Trooper Bourgeois extended the subject’s life, providing the family with an opportunity to say goodbye.

Tpr. Ryan Giroux and Tpr. Joshua Nasser (Negaunee Post) are receiving the Lifesaving Award for saving the life of another. On November 3, 2015, a “be on the lookout” was aired for a 17-year-old suicidal subject. After locating the teen’s bicycle, Troopers Giroux and Nasser began searching a wooded area adjacent to the bike path. Troopers Giroux and Nasser found the teen hanging from a tree with a rope around his neck and a plastic bag over his head. Trooper Nasser cut the rope while Trooper Giroux lowered the teen’s lifeless body to the ground where he checked for vital signs and called for emergency medical

services. Unable to find a pulse or breathing, the troopers attached an automated external defibrillator (AED), which advised to begin CPR. Troopers Giroux and Nasser began two-person CPR, and after multiple sets of chest compressions and rescue breaths, a pulse was obtained. Trooper Nasser continued rescue breathing until the teen took a gasp of air. Emergency medical personnel arrived on scene and transported the teen to the hospital. If not for the actions of Troopers Giroux and Nasser, the victim would not have survived.

see AWARDS, page 30

Tpr. Jared Grigg

Tpr. John Sholtz

Tpr. Thomas Pinkerton

Tpr. Robert Lee

Tpr. Kyle Michael

Tpr. Stephen Kingsley

Tpr. Casey Allison

Tpr. Shane Noble

Tpr. JacquelynSasse

Tpr. Elizabeth Bourgeois

Tpr. Ryan Giroux

Tpr. Joshua Nasser


Attention Retirees: Annual Membership Renewal

from AWARDS, page 29

Tpr. Jeffrey Rogers and Tpr. Anthony Vanluchene (Sault Ste. Marie Post) are re-ceiving the Lifesaving Award for saving the life of another. On October 7, 2015, Troopers Rogers and Van luchene observed a vehicle make a turn without signaling and then turn around in the roadway. A traffic stop was initiated and the male driver exited the vehicle and approached the troopers. The subject then stumbled backwards, collapsed to the ground, and gasped for breath. Troopers Rogers and Vanluchene quickly surveyed the subject and found he was not breathing and did not have a pulse. They applied the AED which indicated “no

shock,” so they began CPR. Trooper Vanluchene delivered

PhotoNot

Available

Tpr. Jeffrey Rogers

Tpr. Anthony Vanluchene

several chest compressions and the subject began breathing, but then stopped and started breathing again several times. Troopers Rogers and Vanluchene monitored the subject until medical personnel arrived and transported the subject to the hospital. Thanks to the quick thinking and response of Troopers Rogers and Vanluchene, the subject survived.

Tpr. Tyler Vargo (Gladstone Post) is re-ceiving the Lifesaving Award for saving the life of another. On August 10, 2015, Trooper Vargo was eating dinner with his family, when he observed his step-brother choking. Trooper Vargo immediately per-formed multiple abdominal thrusts to clear his airway, at which time he began breathing

again. Trooper Vargo’s expert actions saved his step-brother’s life. ■

Tpr. Tyler Vargo

A man who views the world the same at f ifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

– Muhammad Ali

Making the News ...State Trooper, Auto Shop Owner Help Veteran in Need

By: Lourin Springer WWMT April 22, 2016

A local Vietnam veteran says he has plenty to be thankful for Friday night.Every week, he drives about 100

miles from Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor, for medical treatment. But earlier this month, his car broke down in Battle Creek.That’s when a few strangers

stepped in to help him get back on the road.It’s not every day that a stranger

stops to help another, but this stranger not only saved the day, but this veteran will tell you he also saved his life.Sometimes bad news, or bad

days, only get worse.“For some reason the back tire,

the right back tire van just fell off,” said Vietnam veteran Earl Shotwell. “I kinda gave up.”But sometimes, at just the right

time, you catch a break.“I found the tire about 300

yards back,” said Michigan State Police Trooper Jim Richardson. “It was one of those things, someone needed help, I was in the position and had the ability to help him, so I did.”“He wouldn’t let me pay the

wrecker bill, he paid the wrecker bill for me,” Shotwell said.“If I can help you work on the

car I will; that’s Jim,” said Bob Wills, owner of Wills Auto Service.The shop did one better.“You cut it to 100 bucks, it’s

done; I would have gone all the way if necessary,” Wills said.“I actually got to go to my

treatment because of what they did for me,” Shotwell said.“I had the opportunity to do

that, I was drawn to do that with Earl,” Richardson said. “I believe I have a new friend.”“I’ve never had a stranger give

me that kind of help before in my

life, all I could do to thank him was sit there and cry,” Shotwell said.“It’s OK to step out of your

comfort zone and help someone that is in need, regardless of that you know them or don’t know them, that’s what makes this whole thing go around,” said Richardson.“They lifted my spirits enough

that I’m not giving up, they saved my life ... they saved my live,” Shotwell said.Earl said a few weeks ago, before

all this happened, he’d say he was an overall unlucky guy. Now, he feels just the opposite.In fact, he damaged his car when

he hit the curb pulling into the shop for the interview.Willis fixed it for him on the

spot, free of charge. ■

V IDEO: ht t p://wwmt .com/news/local/state-trooper-auto-shop-owner-help-veteran-in-need

Trooper Eric Byerly (Brighton Post) being sized for his new Campaign hat.

You will be receiving your renewal notice shortly.Membership year runs July 1 - June 30.Renewals are due upon receipt of your notice.

Please return your renewal application with any

changes to your contact information as soon as possible. Prompt return of your

Associate Membership Application with the MSPTA is greatly appreciated. Thank you!


Captain Robert H. RobertsonMemorial Scholarship

By: Sgt. David Robertson100th Recruit School

Metro North Post

This year marks the ninth year of the Captain Robert H. Robertson Memorial Scholarship, which was created in 2007 to honor a graduating senior from my father’s alma mater, Cedar Springs High School. Once we decided which student would win the award this year, I was honored to make the presentation at the 2016 Cedar Springs High School Seniors’ Honors Convocation.At the honors convocation, ap-

proximately 50 dif ferent awards are presented from many different institutions and organizations. For our award, the recipient this year is Alexander Tanis. Alex is planning to at tend Baker College, where he hopes to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Safety/Criminal Justice, before pursuing a career in Law Enforcement. Alex was on the honor roll all four years of high school, played football and baseball, and was a member of the Athletic Leadership Council. When I met Alex’s parents

at the honors convocation, I discovered his father is currently a Deputy with the Kent County Sheriff ’s Department, and that his grandfather and great-grandfather were also members of that same department. If Alex joins them, he would be the fourth generation in that department. Alex is also considering the State Police which, of course, I was encouraging!Alex has three siblings: Dylan,

16, Kenzie, 13, and Eric, nine. His parents, Mike and Linda, have been together for almost 20 years, and are both very proud of Alex and all he has accomplished. Just like any other members of a Law Enforcement family, they have all learned to accept the issues of Law Enforcement in these trying times.

My family has been honored to create and present this scholarship after our father passed away in 2006. My mother, who passed away in 2012, used to have the final and deciding vote on which graduating senior should receive the award each year. Now it’s up to myself and my three brothers to agree on a recipient.Anyone wishing to donate finan-

cially to the scholarship may contact Natalie Kieda, the accountant at Cedar Springs High School, at [email protected] or 616-696-1204, ext 1007. For more in for ma tion and to keep up-to-date on the scholarship, check out www.Facebook.com/RobertsonScholarship. As always, be safe. ■

Trooper Paul K. Butterfield IIMemorial Scholarships Awarded

Congratulations!Mrs. Pat Butterfield proudly announces the 2016 recipients of the Trooper Paul K. Butterfield II Memorial Scholarship. This scholar ship is open to college bound members of the MSP family, both enlisted and civilian.

The scholarship is administered by the Frankenmuth Community Foundation. Follow the link below, go to Scholarships, and then scroll down to the Tpr Paul K. Butterfield application. Application deadline for next year’s scholarships is March 31, 2017. http://www.frankenmuthfoundation.org

Rachel Welch, daughter of Spl/Sgt. Todd Welch of the Bridgeport Lab.

Natalie Nitschmann, daughter of Tpr. Rudi Nitschmann of the Tri-City Post.

Sierra King, daughter of F/Lt. Natalie King of the St. Ignace Post and D/Lt. Daniel King

of Seventh District Headquarters.Michael A. Glasgow, son of D/Sgt. Michele Darling

of the Special Investigation Division.

▪ Spring 2016 ▪ 3534 ▪ Michigan Trooper ▪

By: Angie BirdsallThree Rivers News May 28, 2016

The Michigan State Police, and police representatives from Centre-ville, Colon, Constantine, Mendon, Portage, and other surrounding areas, joined lawyers, judges and other public officials in paying homage to retired Detective Sergeant Jim Bedell (1943-2016) at a Michigan State Police Honor Service on Thursday, May 26 at Trinity Missionary Church in Constantine.Rev. Dennis Smith, who pastors

Messiah Lutheran Church, officiated at the service, which had more than 250 people in attendance. In honor of Bedell, the DPW, village and police offices were closed Thursday, and flags were flown at half mast at the schools. All students at River-side Elementary School and the Middle School were given small American flags, and dismissed to line S. Washington Street to watch an honorary police procession travel down the street.St. Joseph County District Court

Judge Jeff Middleton called Bedell “one of the finest officers I’ve ever worked with in over 35 years.”Fellow Michigan State Police

officer John Shuler, who is the presi-dent of the Constantine school board, eulogized Bedell. He talked about several chapters in Bedell’s life.“Jim served with distinction. He

was the consummate police officer, old school, very patriotic. He helped by example and led by force, and knew when to apply each. He died the

Bedell Given MSP Honor ServiceWas Retired Detective Sergeant, Police Chief

In Memoriam ...

way he lived, with dignity and with class,” Shuler said.“Jim was 17 years old when he went

into the navy, and served on aircraft control on the USS Enterprise (1961-2012) a 85,600-ton aircraft carrier – the first nuclear-powered carrier. He went on duty on the first war mission – a blockade during the Cuban missile crisis. He joined the Michigan State Police in 1974, serving at the White Pigeon, Battle Creek and Owosso Posts, retiring in 1999 with the rank of Detective Sergeant.”“Jim earned three meritorious

awards during his career. In addition he earned an award for bravery for pulling two people out of a building. He risked his life. Chief Wolgamood thought Jim would die during the attempt.”Shuler said Bedell came out of

retire ment to became chief of the Constantine police department in 2009.“His focus was to solve the Jodi

Parrack murder. Though he retired in 2014 before the case was solved, he mentored officers who would solve the case.”

Bedell’s brother-in-law Larry O’Dea also spoke, calling Bedell a “true hero.”“My sister Midge won the lottery

by marrying Jim. His heroic acts, his acts of kindness set a good example. He touched many lives, an extraordinary person. He never took an easy out, never took a shortcut,” he said. “We all have to be good and get to heaven, because he’s up there waiting.”Rev. Dennis Smith said Bedell

had “passion for his job and the community he served.”“Death does not separate us from

the love of God, and may God in His infinite mercy receive your servant Jim Bedell in His everlasting care,” Smith said.American Legion Post 223 held

a dinner for guests following a an honorary police funeral procession through the village ■

Display of respect – Constantine Middle School teacher Wade Wald rup and students Jared Spen-cer and Hannah Outlaw display respect for Detective Sergeant Jim Bedell at a police funeral proces-sion on Thursday. (Photo provid-ed by Angie Birdsall.)

Making the News ...U.S. 12 Section to be Named After Fallen Michigan Trooper

By: Margaret Fosmoe South Bend Tribune May 19, 2016 Reprinted with permission.

It was a brutal crime that horrified area residents.Michigan State Police Trooper

Steven B. DeVries, 32, a husband and father of two young sons, was shot down in cold blood on Oct. 12, 1972, near Niles after he stopped a car driven by a suspected bank robber.DeVries was the 28th Michigan

state police officer to die in the line of duty.The loss has never been forgotten.Now, nearly 44 years after DeVries’

death, part of U.S. 12 will be renamed in his honor. At a ceremony today in Niles, U.S. 12 from Michigan 60 west to U.S. 31 will be renamed the Trooper Steven B. DeVries Memorial Highway.“You don’t ever really get over it,”

his widow, Dena Enders, of Granger, said Wednesday.She was 28 years old when her

husband was killed. She was left with their two young children, Steven, 5, and Lance, who was not quite a year old.Steven lives in Granger and Lance

lives in Middleville, Michigan. Both sons will speak at today’s ceremony.Enders, 71, said she got through

the tragedy of her husband’s death “moment by moment” with tremendous support from state police troopers and friends at her church, Fulkerson Park Baptist Church in Niles.Here’s what happened: On Oct.

12, 1972, a gunman robbed the West Branch of First National Bank of Southwestern Michigan in Niles, getting away with $38,700, according to Tribune archives.

A short time later, DeVries stopped the robber’s car on M-60, a half mile east of Portage Road.While at the traffic stop, DeVries

was shot four times from behind. He was declared dead a short time later at Pawating Hospital in Niles.The words “Kenneth Oliver,

5-11, 235 pounds” were scrawled by DeVries on a clipboard he dropped after being shot, The Tribune reported at the time.A manhunt began. Michigan State

Police found the car believed to have been driven by the gunman at the former Bertrand Township dump.“Niles slayer evades dragnet” read

a large headline in The Tribune.But Oliver was arrested the next

day at a tavern on South Michigan Street in South Bend. At the time of DeVries’ murder, Oliver, 32, of Detroit, was free on bond and awaiting trial on a bank robbery charge in Buffalo, N.Y.Oliver was convicted of first-

degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. He also was convicted of the 1972 bank robbery in Buffalo and of a 1971 robbery and kidnapping of

a bank employee in Springfield, Mass.On July 4, 1987, Oliver escaped

from the state prison in Jackson, Mich. On Dec. 3, 1987, he was killed in a gun battle with sheriff’s deputies in Mississippi while fleeing from another bank robbery.In 1973, DeVries was posthumously

awarded the Michigan State Police award for valor, the department’s highest honor for sacrificing his life in the line of duty. His name also is included on the Berrien County Law Enforcement Memorial in Benton Harbor.His widow remarried in 1974 to

David Enders, who had two children of his own. The couple have a total of 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.The memorial highway renaming

was approved in a bill adopted by the Michigan Legislature. The bill’s primary sponsor was state Rep. Dave Pagel, R-District 78.Enders and her family were at the

Michigan Capitol last fall when the bill was passed. And they were in the governor’s office when the bill was signed into law. ■

The police cruiser of Michigan State Police Trooper Steven B. DeVries parked on Michigan 60 a half mile east of Portage Road shortly after

it was found Oct. 12, 1972, with its motor running and turn light

blinking. Tribune Archives Photo


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In Memory of Our RetireesLt. Daniel E. Ostrom (Ret.)

69th Recruit School 3/15/1946 – 4/20/2016

D/Lt. Herbert F. Olney (Ret.) 36th Recruit School

11/23/1929 – 4/26/2016

Lt. Leonard L. Anthos (Ret.) 63rd Recruit School

9/25/1942 – 4/27/2016

Lt. Clifford C. Adcock (Ret.) 38th Recruit School

5/28/1930 – 4/29/2016

D/Sgt. James Bedell (Ret.) 88th Recruit School

10/9/1943 – 5/20/2016

Sgt. Robert L. “Thunder” Thornton (Ret.)

82nd Recruit School 5/21/1946 – 5/24/2016

Former Tpr. Arthur T. Kelsey 72nd Recruit School

1/3/1944 – 5/26/2016

Lt. Robert Ruohonen (Ret.) 41st Recruit School

11/6/1929 – 5/27/2016

Tpr. Donald D. Beck (Ret.) 57th Recruit School

2/7/1943 – 5/29/2016

Sgt. Alfred T. Biland (Ret.) 42nd Recruit School

10/3/1927 – 6/9/2016

Tpr. Jack D. Franklin (Ret.) 62nd Recruit School

10/4/1927 – 6/9/2016

Sgt. Robert G. Ballingall (Ret.) 39th Recruit School 2/17/1930 – 7/4/2016

35th MSP Retirees’ BanquetSave the Date: Friday, August 12, 2016

Save the date: The 35th MSP Retirees’ Banquet for all retired and active MSP employees – civilian and enlisted – will be Friday evening, August 12, 2016. Yes, active members are welcome and encouraged to join us. The banquet will be at the same location as it has been for a number of years:

Crowne Plaza Lansing West Hotel ( formerly known as the Sheraton and then the Lexington)

925 South Creyts Road Lansing, Michigan 48917

If we have your correct address, you should soon receive a packet in the mail with an official invitation letter from the Director along with the banquet registration flyer and reservation form, and a nomination form for the MSP Retiree of the Year Award. If you do not receive the invitation packet, please contact Dana Wolverton, who will be handling registrations for the Banquet Committee. She can be reached at 517-927-3450, or [email protected].

The price for the dinner will be $30 per person. To help make the food service more efficient and allow more time for socializing, we will be served plated dinners with a choice of either roast turkey or pork loin.

Social time will begin at 5:00 p.m., and dinner will begin at 6:00 p.m. Lt. Jim Burdick will emcee the program. There will be exhibits of current MSP services and technologies, and a special presentation by the Director with an update on the Department. There will also be a room available before the banquet with a video booth for taping brief stories from retirees about their careers and advice for current or future members of the MSP.

We will also give special recognition to MSP civilian and enlisted members who joined the department 50 years ago (1966) and 60 years ago (1956). This is a great opportunity for 50th or 60th anniversary reunions for the five recruit schools that started in 1966, and the three recruit schools that started in 1956. The list of schools and enlistment dates follows:

50th Anniversary (1966):• 61st Trooper Recruit School (began January 31, 1966)• 62nd Trooper Recruit School (began March 28, 1966)• 63rd Trooper Recruit School (began May 30, 1966)• 64th Trooper Recruit School (began September 19, 1966)• 65th Trooper recruit School (began December 12, 1966)

60th Anniversary (1956):• 41st Trooper Recruit School (began February 27, 1956)• 42nd Trooper Recruit School (began April 9, 1956)• 43rd Trooper Recruit School (began October 22, 1956)

Also, it is traditional that we give away door prizes through a drawing held after the dinner. Most of the gifts are donated by our MSP Canteen, the MSPTA, the MSPCOA, and others with close ties to the MSP. However, we also welcome any craft items or other items produced by our retired members themselves who would like to donate these to be given away as door prizes. This might include paintings, quilts, books, wood or ceramic craft items, etc. If you have something you wish to donate, please contact our Gift Committee Chairs, Lloyd and JoAnn Stoner, at (517) 882-4089, or [email protected].

The deadline for making lodging arrangements with the Crowne Plaza Lansing West Hotel is Wednesday, July 13. Banquet reservations and payments should be sent to Dana Wolverton by Monday, August 1. Her mailing address is: 7603 Blue Spruce Lane, Lansing, MI 48917.

Nominations for the Retiree of the Year Award should be submitted by July 15. You are encouraged to resubmit nominations for candidates who had been nominated in prior years so long as they still meet the criteria described in the nomination form. A fillable, electronic copy of the updated TD-085 nomination form for the Retiree of the Year Award may be downloaded at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/td-085_454900_7.doc.

The winner of the 2016 award will be announced at the Retiree Banquet. Past winners include:• 2008: Capt. Roger Warner • 2009: Tpr. Wayne Precord• 2010: Capt. Alan Shaw• 2011: Insp. Al Denton• 2012: Sgt. Dan Inglis• 2013: D/Sgt. Lyle Schroeder• 2014: D/Sgt. Tom Westgate• 2015: Lt. Jim BurdickOur MSP Retirees’ Banquet Committee looks forward to seeing you in Lansing on August 12! ■

– Phil Schertzing Retirees’ Banquet Committee Chairperson

Contribute to the Michigan Trooper Magazine!

Submitting material for publication in the

Michigan Trooper magazine?Send all files to: troopereditor@

gmail.comPlease provide captions for images including

name(s) of those pictured, and name/details of

the event.

Deadline is 8/1/2016 for the

Summer 2016 issue.~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THIS IS YOUR MAGAZINE!

Do you like to write? Do you have a f lair for

journalism? If you are interested in being on the

Publications Committee, contact the editor, Sgt. John Faccio,

[email protected] or Pat Strzalkowski at the MSPTA office,[email protected]

Commonly referred to as the $5 Plan

VBP Questions:Ms. Nonda Beebe

DSD-Admin. Section Dept. of State Police

7150 Harris Drive Dimondale, MI 48821

[email protected]

This is new information for Ms. Nonda Beebe since Headquarters moved to Dimondale. Please make this change in your

MSPTA pocket calendar.

Voluntary Benefit

Plan (VBP)

“Intention without action

is an insult to those who

expect the best from you.”


Thank you Golf Teams . . .Nate JohnsonHeather FrenchPaul StoneStacey Stone

Duane HickokLisa DuncanBen JohnsonShane Esch

Rick DoehringMark TamlynGary MeggeTim Cook

Matt WesawMark HooverKevin VanDykeFrank Sierawski

Pat WymanTodd WoodsDarby DarrowPerry Terrian

Joe RoneyMatt RogersDave CardenasJoe Bozek

Ron PalmquistPat BaidelCatherine FarrellStuart Main

Dustin HurtDale GirkeBrad RossKeith Sparks

Marc MooreEric SumpterTyler HarrellDick Moore

Don BoomershinePete MunozJeff SteffellVic Latimore

Dave FisherDennis LaddTom DenewithDon Thomas

Nate EllisJason CoonSteven FisherNate Ellis Jr.

Scott ReinacherWayne KiserStephen ToiaBill Troste

Jim SwainSteve SwalesTim BlakeMark Swales

Kathleen WickerChris WickerPat PennoniHolly Pennoni

Dave StoppaRick HerrenPat DarrowFred Funston

Rhonda KhabirCindy BowenFrank WilliamsEric Wimbley

Kevin DunawayTeresa KiefferLisa FroningTom O’Hare

Harvey HillDiane VanEckLaura DancsokJohn Franciosi

Greg KilbournJerry GunthorpeJake HaynesJim Dikos

Jim HolevasMike McCollomJohn TersigniJoe Duncan

Jeff AnthonyTom NellettChris MausolfKevin Nickel

Dawn DeShanoTrudy LehmanKaren RamosDan Ramos

Tom GreeneEd CollerHarold RandolphPeter Hupcik

Greg MellorRick BinkowskiBill FlemingMike Kahn

Del ZimmermanJeff MarkleLarry BlymerSteve Johnson

Jeff KeisterWilliam FatePat RichardMike Nasser

Jay RiderJason DavenportDerrick LibstaffBrian Gustaw

Divisha KapurRuben FowlkesDevin BuvueshMike Martell

Scott BatesPhil AckleyKevin AckleyDavid “Ponch” Stauffer

Scott WilberJake CoxTim Dlugos

Matt KurtaJim CurranMitchell StevensBob Tomassi

Adam LaningaChris LaningaJason TropfJake Donahue

The 13th Annual MSTAF golf outing was held on Monday, May 23, 2016, at Buck’s Run Golf Club in Mt. Pleasant. This year we saw both a change in venue and a change in the time of the year; both changes proved to be a good thing for the MSTAF outing. Golfers filled the

course, the weather could not have been better, the staff at Buck’s Run did an awesome job, and all enjoyed a great day!Once again, US Health and Life,

COPS Trust, and the MSP Re tirees Committee stepped up as our major sponsors. With the annual golf outing

being MSTAF’s biggest fundraising event each year, their support helped us raise ap proximately $6,000.THANK YOU to all who par ti ci-

pated, es pe cially our golfers, and to all who sponsored tee signs or donated prizes to help this great cause. We hope you join us again next year! ■

see GOLF OUTING, page 40


60th Anniversary 1911 Colt .45 Caliber PistolDrawing was held on July 12, 2016 at the Quarterly meeting.

Congratulations to Tpr. Tony Weldy of the Jackson Post! (Photos will be included in the Summer issue of the Michigan Trooper.)

Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets!

Your support of the Michigan State Troopers Assistance Fund is greatly appreciated.

100th Anniversary MSP Henry Rifle

Raffle: July 2016 - January 2017

For those that missed the chance to purchase one of the 100th Anniversary MSP Henry rifles,

you will have the opportunity to win one. MSTAF has purchased three rif les to be raff led off. Ticket sales for the first rif le will begin in July and will run through the January 2017 quarterly.

(Additional details will be forthcoming.)

from GOLF OUTING, page 39

First Place Team: Scott Bates, Phil Ackley, Kevin Ackley, David Stauffer.

Second Place Team: Greg Kilbourn, Jerry Gunthorpe, Jake Haynes and Jim Dikos.

Third Place Team: MSTAF President Sgt. Rob Schwalm poses with Derrick Libstaff, Jason Davenport, Jay Rider and Brian Sizick.

Congratulations to the winning teams ...


MSP PROJECT ’57100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Platinum Sponsor Level Donation / $1000• Includes business/person name displayed on trailer and show board, vehicle parked in front of business (5 days), framed picture of vehicle, letter of thanks from 100th Anniversary Committee.

Gold Sponsor Level Donation / $500• Includes business/person name displayed on trailer and show board, vehicle parked in front of business (3 days), framed picture of vehicle, letter of thanks from 100th Anniversary Committee.

Silver Sponsor Level Donation / $250• Includes business/person name displayed on trailer and show board, vehicle parked in front of business (1 day), framed picture of vehicle, letter of thanks from 100th Anniversary Committee.

SPONSORSHIP FORM(Donations can be made on-line at: www.mspta.net)

The Michigan Department of State Police will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2017 (1917- 2017).Retired and active members are in the process of refurbishing a 1957 Ford Custom 300 as a MSP patrol vehicle replica. A trailer will also be purchased to transport the vehicle to special events. Sponsorship donations offer many opportunities for businesses and private individuals to be a part of the MSP 100th Anniversary celebration.

Bronze Sponsor Level Donation / $125• Includes business/person name displayed on trailer and show board, letter of thanks from 100th Anniversary Committee.

Private Collection Level Donation / $25• Includes name listed on show board, letter of thanks from 100th Anniversary Committee.

In-Kind Donation• Depends on the amount/value of contribution, includes name listed on show board, letter of thanks from 100th Anniversary Committee.

All donations to Project ’57 will beused specifically for this project

and donations are tax deductible.

Please print your business information below.

Business/Individual Name:

Contact Name:

Address:

City / State / Zip:

Phone: Email:

Make checks payable to: MSTAF/PROJECT ’57

Mail form with payment to: MSTAF/PROJECT ’57, 1715 Abbey Road, Suite B, East Lansing, MI 48823

In a short time 2017 will be upon us and the 100th year celebration of our department will begin. The Michigan State Police have built a tradition of exceptional police work for the citizens of Michigan. I was one of many that has worked for this department that has had such an outstanding reputation in law enforcement. The Department’s repu tation was built by troopers that gave their best effort everyday to gain the respect and admiration of Michigan’s citizens. Some of our colleagues gave more, their lives, to uphold the oath that they took the first day. Sixteen years after retiring I still receive thanks from Michigan citizens for my decision to become a Michigan State Police Trooper. It’s hard to believe that two and a

half years ago I started Project ’57, working with the MSPTA to present a gift for the Michigan State Police’s 100th year celebration. I wanted to take this opportunity to catch

Submitted By:Sgt. Del Zimmerman (Ret.)

everyone up on how far we have progressed with Project ’57.The pro ject has come a long way

since September 2013, from the dismantling of the car, to this month putting in the engine and transmission. It is nearing completion. Work on the car has continued even though fundraising has not caught up. If you had planned on making a donation, we still need your help. Please see the form opposite this story in the Michigan Trooper magazine to make your donation.

The car has been a great experience for me. I have received phone calls from retirees that have given me information on the car that they once drove on patrol. Chip Ward even had the correct radio for the car, tubes and all.If you have a chance, go to www.

you tube.com, type in “Michigan State Police 1957 Ford,” and check out this great video made by the Ford Motor Company for the Michigan State Police in 1957. ■

MSP Project ’57 Update


The Michigan State Troopers Assistance Fund is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization

governed and operated by volunteers from the Michigan State Police Troopers Association, Inc.

1715 Abbey Road, Suite B East Lansing, MI 48823 (517) 336-7782 http://mspta.net/mstaf/about-mstaf East Lansing, MI 48823

The Michigan State Troopers Assistance Fund (MSTAF) was formed by the Michigan State Police Troopers Association in 1993 as a non-profit charitable organization under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. MSTAF provides assistance to families affected by law enforcement tragedies and supports other 501(c)(3) charities and charitable causes throughout Michigan. Donations to MSTAF are tax deductible charitable contributions. I would like to donate to the Michigan State Troopers Assistance Fund in the following manner:

ANNUAL LUMP SUM $500 $250 $100 $75 OTHER $ ______________

OR

BI-WEEKLY CONTRIBUTION $20 $15 $10 $5 OTHER $ _____________

OR

ONE-TIME GIFT $500 $250 $100 $75 OTHER $ ______________

Annual lump sum and bi-weekly contributions are recurring donations.

AUTHORIZATION AGREEMENT FOR DIRECT PAYMENTS (ACH DEBITS)

I hereby authorize the Michigan State Police Troopers Association, Inc., hereinafter called COMPANY to initiate debit entries to my account indicated below at the depository financial institution named below, hereafter called DEPOSITORY, and to debit the same to such account. I acknowledge that the origination of ACH transactions to my account must comply with the provisions of U.S. law. Depository Name __________________________ Branch____________________________________ City _____________________________________ State ___________________ Zip ______________ Routing Number ___________________________ Account Number ____________________________ Checking Account Savings Account (Select One) This authorization is to remain in full force and effect until COMPANY has received a signed, written notification by mail or electronic facsimile from me (or my estate) of its termination in such time and in such manner as to afford COMPANY and DEPOSITORY a reasonable opportunity to act on it. Name ________________________________________ SSN Last Four Digits XXX-XX- ____________ (Please Print)

Date ________________________ Signature __________________________________________________

~PLEASE ATTACH A VOIDED CHECK OR DEPOSIT SLIP FOR ACCURATE PROCESSING~ NOTE: DEBIT AUTHORIZATIONS MUST PROVIDE THAT THE RECEIVER MAY REVOKE THE AUTHORIZATION ONLY BY NOTIFYING THE ORIGINATOR IN THE MANNER SPECIFIED IN THE AUTHORIZATION. Please provide the following information to receive a tax year-end receipt of charitable MSTAF donations. One-time donors will receive a receipt shortly after funds are transferred. Email __________________________________________________ Mailing Address:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016

21ST ANNUALPROUDLY HOSTS THE

LOCATION ENTRY FEE TIME

AWARDS

Maybury State Park49575 8 Mile

Northville, MI 48167

Please use the Main Entrance off of8 Mile Road (West of Beck

approximately 5 miles west of I-275)

NEW SHELTER: The event will nowbe held at the Trailhead Shelter to

facilitate the new course.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Awards for overall runners and top age finishers (9 & under, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, up to 70 and over)! - Or participate in

non-competitive walk! - Awards for top male & female law enforcement runners! - Raffle held afterwards for all!

Includes choice of T-shirt, refreshments.Michigan Recreation Passport Required!

State Park permit required for vehicle entry.

$25.00 Pre-registration recievedon or before 9/1/16.

$30.00 Late-registration after 9/1/16and no guarantee of T-shirt.

7:30 A.M. - 8:45 A.M.Registration & Package Pickup

8:45 A.M.Opening Ceremony

9:00 A.M.Race BeginsRain or Shine

PLEASE PRINT (Entry may be photocopied and cost can be claimed as a tax deduction). Make checks payable to:Thin Blue Line of Michigan. Return entries to TBL of MI, P.O. Box 415, Howell, MI 48844-0415. For further info,contact Tpr. Brenda Hoffmann at (313) 720-5249 or e-mail at: [email protected] or contact TBL events at(517) 540-6571 or e-mail [email protected]. Participants may also register online at www.tblofmi.comor fax registration and credit card information to (517) 540-6573.

Name_________________________________ Age on 10/1/16_______

Address__________________________________ City_______________ State_____ Zip____________

Email______________________________ Phone (______) _________________

Are you a certified police officer? If yes, what department? __________________________

How did you hear about our event?

Credit Card Number_________________________ Amount Authorized $________ Expiration Date______

Zip Code of Billing Address____________ Shirt Size/Style

I am not able to attend this event, but I would like to make a donation! $_______________

Male Female

Runner Walker

Yes No

Friend runmichigan.com website Flyer Other___________

Small Medium Large X-Large 2XL 3XL

Long Sleeve Short Sleeve

BENEFITTING THE THIN BLUE LINE OF MICHIGAN AND THEMICHIGAN STATE POLICE FALLEN TROOPER MEMORIAL


On April 5, 2016, Sgt. Steve Temelko and D/Tpr. Brian Russell were both honored and humbled to represent the Michigan State Police and Michigan State Police Troopers Association at the funeral services of Virginia State Trooper Chad P. Dermyer. Trooper Dermyer was shot and killed while conducting a field contact with a suspicious person in-side the Grey hound bus terminal in Richmond, Virginia, at approximately 2:45 pm on March 31, 2016.Trooper Dermyer and other of-

ficers were participating in an inter-diction training course from which they had just finished the classroom portion. They then moved into the field where they began conducting contacts. Trooper Dermyer spoke to the suspect briefly before the man suddenly produced a handgun and opened fire, hitting him. Other officers who were on scene shot and killed the suspect after the man opened fire on them during a short foot pursuit inside the bus terminal.Trooper Dermyer was transported

to Virginia Commonwealth Uni ver-sity Medical Center where he suc-cumbed to his wounds.Trooper Dermyer was a native

of Jackson, Michigan. He attended Columbia Central High School in Brooklyn, Michigan. Upon gradua-tion he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After an honorable discharge he worked for the Newport News Police Department in Virginia, before accepting an officer position with the Jackson Police Department in Michigan. While in Jackson he earned his Bachelor’s Degree from

By: D/Tpr. Brian Russell | 124th Recruit School | 1st District Fugitive TeamIn Memoriam ... By: Sgt. Steve Temelko | 118th Recruit School | Lansing Post

Trooper Chad P. DermyerVirginia State Police • EOW March 31, 2016

Spring Arbor University. After a few years, due to budget cuts, Trooper Dermyer moved to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Po-lice Department. In 2013 Trooper Derymer and his family moved back to Virginia and he enlisted in the Virginia State Police graduating as Vice President of his recruit class in 2014. He had served with the Virginia State Police for 17 months. He is survived by his wife,

Michelle, two children, Phillip and Paige, parents, brother, and sister.Arriving in Virginia, Sgt. Temelko

and I were immediately greeted by Virginia State Police, Sergeant Steve Vick. Upon our arrival and throughout our stay, we were amazed at how well we were treated. The members of the Virginia State Police took the time to make sure we were well taken care of, even during their time of grief. The repeated theme that we heard

during our time in Virginia was, “if you ever met Tpr. Dermyer you

would remember his smile.” Well, we can both attest to this statement. As mentioned earlier, Tpr. Dermyer brief ly worked for the Jackson City Police Department before budget cuts caused a reduction in officers. During my time assigned to JNET, I was able to work with Tpr. Dermyer on a handful of occasions. He had a smile that lit up a room and you could not help but smile yourself. As I had a working relationship with Tpr. Dermyer, D/Tpr. Russell called him a friend. The two attended high school together, graduating just a few years apart. They stayed in touch throughout their careers and discussed their chosen profession and families. At one point, D/Tpr. Russell made a valiant effort to recruit Tpr. Dermyer for the ranks of the MSP. He instead chose to return to Virgina, where his wife was from, and joined the Virginia State Police. There was no doubt they were honored to have him as a trooper, even though for a short time. The respect and honor for Troop-

er Dermyer, with over 3500 law enforcement officers in attendance and a 200 motor unit escort to his gravesite, was amazing! Twenty-two state agencies were represented at the visitation and funeral services. The pride of being a trooper and visible bond between those of us in attendance was clearly evident. We were able to listen to some amazing stories on how positively he affected people’s lives. As I stated earlier, the entire ex-

perience was humbling. Countless members of the Virginia State

Police approached and thanked us for attending. We were advised the Dermyer family and the VSP hoped for us to play a role in the events leading up to the funeral and after. Due to our past connections with Tpr. Dermyer and being from Michigan they felt it was fitting that we help. We were asked to take an active role during the visitation and funeral proceedings and served as honor guard at the casket detail. Upon arrival at the visitation, we began practicing with the VSP Honor Guard

members. Troopers are troopers no matter where you go and we were treated like family. Along with the Virginia State Police, in addition to performing casket guard during the visitation, we were requested to present the State of Michigan flag to Mrs. Michelle Dermyer. During the funeral, we were again assigned to the Honor Guard and assisted with the pallbearer detail. Following the funeral, several members of the VSP upper command approached and thanked us. Several complemented

the MSP uniform and our famous blue goose. Colonel W. Steven Flaherty of the VSP took the time during a busy day to personally speak with us in depth about our time in Virginia and extended his gratitude. We would especially like to thank

the members of the Dermyer family, the VSP Honor Guard, Sgt. Steve Vick, First Sgt. Frank Pyanoe, Sgt. Michelle Anaya, and the entire Vir-ginia State Police for their hospi tality and kindness during a most diffi cult time. ■

The repeated theme that we heard during our time in Virginia

was, “if you ever met Tpr. Dermyer you would remember

his smile.”

~ ~ ~

There was no doubt they were honored

to have him as a trooper.

~ ~ ~

The respect and honor for Troop er Dermyer, with over 3500 law enforce ment off icers in attend ance and a 200 motor unit escort to his gravesite, was amazing!

48 ▪ Michigan Trooper ▪

Tpr. Harold E. Anderson March 12, 1921Sgt. Milan Pratt April 15, 1922Tpr. John P. Clinton January 8, 1923Sgt. Harvey Bolen May 4, 1923Tpr. William F. Martz March 12, 1925Tpr. Howard H. Funk July 8, 1926Cpl. Sam Mapes May 1, 1927Tpr. Delos A. Williams July 30, 1929Tpr. John S. Burke October 13, 1930Tpr. Richard F. Hammond January 20, 1937Tpr. Irvine F. Wurm January 26, 1941Tpr. John W. Cain November 26, 1941Tpr. Charles T. Wood April 14, 1942Tpr. Ralph L. Broullire March 16, 1943Tpr. John D. Ryan March 3, 1950Tpr. George R. Branny April 12, 1950Sgt. Perry L. Critchell March 20, 1954Tpr. Calvin R. Jones February 10, 1956Tpr. George E. Lappi November 19, 1956Tpr. Bert A. Pozza November 19, 1956Tpr. Dugald A. Pellot September 30, 1957Tpr. Albert W. Souden September 3, 1959Det. Robert R. Gonser August 8, 1968Tpr. Carl P. Lindberg May 26, 1969Tpr. Roger M. Adams May 14, 1971Tpr. Gary T. Rampy December 31, 1971Tpr. Charles B. Stark December 31, 1971Tpr. Steven B. DeVries October 12, 1972Tpr. Darryl M. Rantanen May 27, 1974Tpr. Larry L. Forreider December 5, 1974Tpr. Norman R. Killough October 7, 1978D/Sgt. Harry Sorenson December 5, 1978D/Sgt. David Hubbard September 16, 1980Tpr. Allan Peterson August 29, 1981Tpr. Craig A. Scott February 9, 1982Tpr. Vicki Moreau-DeVries July 22, 1982Tpr. Tony Thames June 12, 1983Tpr. Robert Mihalik September 9, 1984Tpr. Paul L. Hutchins August 29, 1985Tpr. James E. Boland July 26, 1987Tpr. Kermit Fitzpatrick July 7, 1991Tpr. James R. DeLoach February 1, 1992Tpr. Steven J. Niewiek February 2, 1992Tpr. Byron J. Erickson July 31, 1993Tpr. Bryon S. Egelski July 11, 1994Tpr. Manuel H. Fields August 27, 1994Tpr. Frederick A. Hardy November 6, 1999Tpr. Rick L. Johnson May 6, 2000Tpr. Kevin M. Marshall July 7, 2003Tpr. Jeffrey J. Werda April 6, 2011Tpr. Paul K. Butterfield II September 9, 2013Tpr. Chad H. Wolf August 28, 2015

Final Call

Trooper Thomas Clardy

Massachusetts State Police

Trooper Jeffrey Nichols

Texas Department of Public Safety – Texas Highway Patrol

End of Watch: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Age: 44 Tour of Duty: 10 years Badge Number: 3090 Cause of Death: Automobile AccidentDate of Incident: March 16, 2016

End of Watch: Saturday, March 26, 2016 Age: 27 Tour of Duty: 5 years Badge Number: N/A Cause of Death: Automobile AccidentDate of Incident: March 26, 2016

Trooper Thomas Clardy died from injuries he sustained in a vehicle collision on I-90, near mile marker 80 in Charlton, at approximately 12:00 pm. He was working an overtime assignment conducting accident reduction enforcement when he made a traffic stop of another vehicle. He had returned to his patrol car when another vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed crossed three travel lanes and struck him from behind. Trooper Clardy was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries. The driver of the vehicle who struck the patrol car was charged criminally with negligent operation of a motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation. Trooper Clardy served with the Massachusetts State Police for 10 years and was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He is survived by his wife and six children. ■

Trooper Jeffrey Nichols was killed in a single vehicle crash while on patrol in Lamar County, Texas, at approximately 11:00 pm. His patrol car left the roadway and struck a tree on FM 38, approximately one half mile north of County Road 35450, in Tigertown. Trooper Nichols served with the Texas Highway Patrol for five years. Nichols is survived by his parents. ■

Trooper Chad Dermyer

Virginia State Police

End of Watch: Thursday, March 31, 2016 Age: 37 Tour of Duty: 1 year, 5 months Badge Number: N/A Cause of Death: Gunfire Weapon: HandgunDate of Incident: March 31, 2016

Trooper Chad Dermyer was shot and killed while speaking to a suspicious person inside the Greyhound bus terminal in Richmond, Virginia, at approximately 2:45 pm. He and other officers were participating in an interdiction training course and were conducting stops of suspects. He spoke to the man brief ly before the man suddenly produced a handgun and opened fire, striking Trooper Dermyer. Other officers who were on scene shot and killed the subject when the man opened fire on them following a short foot pursuit inside the bus terminal. Trooper Dermyer was transported to VCU Medical Center where he succumbed to his wounds. Trooper Dermyer was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He served with the Virginia State Police for 17 months and had previously served with the Newport News Police Department. He is survived by his wife and two children. ■

Non Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDLansing, MIPermit #515

MICHIGAN TROOPERMichigan State PoliceTroopers Association

1715 Abbey Road Suite BEast Lansing MI 48823

The badge number on the cover of the Michigan Trooper honors Trooper Chad H. Wolf. Trooper Wolf died as a result of injuries sustained while patrolling on a motorcycle in Oakland County on Friday, August 28, 2015. At approximately 6:30 a.m., Trooper Wolf was on patrol with his department-issued motorcycle driving on northbound Dixie Highway near southbound I-75 when a passenger vehicle towing a trailer collided with Trooper Wolf ’s motorcycle. Trooper Wolf was dragged by the trailer on I-75 for several miles until the driver pulled over at the Holly Road rest area. Trooper Wolf was taken to Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc where he later passed away as a result of his injuries. Trooper Wolf joined the Michigan State Police in 2008, graduating as a member of the 121st Trooper Recruit School. He served at the Jackson, Flint, and Metro posts and became a member of the Motor Unit in September 2013. Trooper Chad H. Wolf was the 52nd Michigan State Police officer to die in the line of duty.

Sine

Pari

Next Quarterly MeetingSaturday, October 1, 2016

(Lodging Friday, September 30 & Saturday, October 1)

Mission Point Resort – Mackinac Island, MichiganRegistration Deadline is Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Call Group Reservations: (800) 833-7711 and mention you are with the MSPTA. An advance deposit of one night’s room and tax is required to confirm your reservation. Reservations must be canceled at least 14 days prior to arrival to receive a full refund.

Website: www.missionpoint.com

Documents

President Vice President - MSPTA · 2016-08-29 · MSP Budget Update You may recall earlier this year MSP budget highlights included pro-jections for the next fiscal year, FY17, to