Retired NYSP Breakfast Club honors oldest living state trooper

THE VILLAGES — When Howard Blanding first hit the road as a New York state trooper in 1936, he did it on a motorcycle.

It was only a few years earlier that Model T Fords or horses were the staples of the force’s transportation.

Blanding, 95, was recently honored by the Police Benevolent Association as the oldest of more than 2,500 retired New York state troopers. And on Wednesday, the Retired New York State Police Breakfast Club toasted him at El Santiago restaurant.

Blanding, who lives in Eustis, has been joining the retired troopers group for years. He enjoys swapping stories with them, as well as reminding them what it was like when he was on patrol from 1936 to 1946.

“Back in the old days, troopers made $900 a year. You’d get a $200 increase every five years, and you maxed out at $1,900,” he said. “Things were real tight; you’re talking about the days right after the Depression.”

The hours were extreme, as well, as Blanding and the other troopers worked

24 hours a day, 27 days a month.

“When you were young and single, it was great — you didn’t mind living out of a suitcase,” Blanding said.

But after serving in the Navy during World War II from 1942 to 1945, Blanding said he wanted a more comfortable life and started his own photography business.

People like Blanding make it easy to take pride in being a New York state trooper, Marty Hockey said. The Village of Glenbrook resident formed the group six years ago as a way to provide camaraderie for retired New York state troopers living in or near The Villages. There are now 32 members, 16 of them Villagers.

“We come from all different ranks from all different areas of (New York). We get together to tell old war stories,” said Hockey, who served 38 years as a New York state trooper. “There are no dues, just breakfast.”

Edward Brouse of the Village of Country Club Hills said the group is an easy sell.

“You say ‘coffee’ and you’ll get troopers from all over the world to come here,” he joked. Brouse, who comes from a law enforcement family, served 30 years as a New York state trooper.

“I couldn’t think of anything else I would have done in my life,” Brouse said. “There was no happy medium being a trooper; you were either in or you quickly discovered that you wanted to get out.”

Hockey agreed.

“I don’t think anyone here wouldn’t do it all over again,” he said.

In addition to the local organization of retired New York state troopers, there is a club on the state level.

Village of Winifred resident Fred Goldman is president of the Florida Association of Retired Troopers, which has 325 members and meets for a reunion every March in Maitland.

“We call ourselves old FARTs,” he laughed about the group’s acronym. But the connection the troopers have with one another is more serious.

“It’s something you can’t explain — it’s like your brothers, like your family,” Goldman said.

The retired New York State Police Breakfast Club meets at 8 a.m. the first Thursday of every month at El Santiago Club.

Parole denied for killer of State Police Investigator

Albany, New York - The New York State Troopers PBA has reports that Larry Comfort, who is in prison as an accomplice to the murder of New York State Police Investigator Robert L. VanHall, Jr., has been denied parole. He will not be eligible for another parole hearing until July 2011.

This sends a clear message that murdering a New York State Trooper, or other law enforcement officer, will not be tolerated and will not be taken lightly.

Investigator VanHall, who dedicated his life to serving and protecting the public, worked undercover in the war against drugs and was on duty on December 5, 1980 when he was murdered.  He was shot in the back with a sawed-off, double barreled shotgun, and his aorta was severed by a deer slug. Larry Comfort was an accomplice to his trigger-pulling brother in this unconscionable murder.

In an effort to help keep Comfort in prison, the PBA wrote a letter of opposition to the New York State Parole Board and posted it on our web site for members and their families to sign and send to the Parole Board. We are proud to say that hundreds of individuals took the time to send a letter to the Parole Board through the PBA web site.

PBA President Thomas H. Mungeer and National Troopers Coalition Chairman Michael Edes are among the union leaders who also mailed personalized letters to the Parole Board.

The dedication and efforts of you, your friends and family, as well as our active and retired brothers and sisters in law enforcement across the country demonstrated to the Parole Board that the release of this felon would be detrimental to society.

We never forget the ultimate sacrifice made by our members, and one of the ways we can continue to honor these brave and selfless members is through actions like this. Thank you for your support.   

For more information, please visit www.nystpba.org.

First female trooper from New York killed in motor vehicle accident

On January 20, 2010, at approximately 2:50 p.m., the New York State Police responded to a fatal motor vehicle accident which occurred on State Route 23 in the Town of Morris, (Otsego County), New York. She is the first female New York State Trooper to be killed in the line of duty.

Preliminary investigation at the scene revealed that Trooper Jill E. Mattice, age 31, assigned to SP Oneonta, was travelling eastbound on State Route 23 when she became involved in a collision with a westbound tractor trailer being operated by F.M. Saggese, age 33, of West Oneonta, New York.

Trooper Mattice was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Trooper Mattice was a 6½ year veteran of the New York State Police. Trooper Mattice was last stationed at SP Oneonta where she was assigned as the School Resource Officer for the Unadilla Valley Central School and Franklin School Districts.

Trooper Mattice is survived by her husband, Troy Mattice, her parents, Jeffrey and Karen Farrar, her brother, Nathan Farrar and her maternal grandfather, George A. Wahl.

My Angels Wear Purple Ties

 

 

As publshed in the Daily Mail

January 8, 2010

To the editor:

On Nov. 4, 2009, my fiance, Trooper David J. Lane, was killed in an on-duty car accident. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the entire staff at Troop F of the New York State Police. All of these men and women deserve our respect and admiration; not only do they serve and protect us, but they go above and beyond.

They have all been a source of comfort to me and Dave would be so proud of the kindness and warmth shown to his family.

Dave enjoyed working with the officers of Troop F so much that he came back after transferring back home. It is easy to see why he would make such a decision. The sense of duty, brotherhood, and mutual understanding among these men and women is what made Dave return.

Even though they lost one of their own, they all continued to do their duty. They showed honor and integrity to their fallen brother and his families. To me they are all heroes.

I am so proud to be a part of the NYSP family. Thank you to all of your for your support, thoughts and prayers for Dave, myself and our families.

God Bless all of you and keep you safe.

Kelly Miller

P.S. If you would like to make a donation in honor of Trooper David J. Lane please go to www.signal30.org; go to donate online, then in the area that reads, Signal 30 Fund or Specific Family insert, Trooper David J. Lane Memorial Fund.

 

 

Trooper David Lane, 30 years of age, and a 4-year member of the State Police who worked out of the State Police Catskill station was killed in an automobile collision.

Trooper Lane was traveling northbound in his patrol vehicle on State Route 32 in the Town of Catskill, when he attempted to pass another northbound vehicle. The vehicles made contact and Trooper Lane’s vehicle drove off the roadway and struck a telephone pole.

 Trooper Lane is survived by his father Stephen R. Lane and his mother Cheryl D. Lane and his fiance Kelly Miller.

Trooper Paul G. Richey, Troop E, Franklin Station – Killed in Line of Duty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 13, 2010

Tpr. Paul G. Richey, 40, a 16-year-veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, died Jan. 13 as the result of a gunshot wound suffered during an incident in Cranberry Twp., Venango County.

Tpr. Richey was assigned to the Patrol Unit at Troop E, Franklin.

Richey and Tpr. Jason Whitman responded to a call at approximately 11:34 a.m. regarding a domestic incident in the 100 block of Bredinsburg Road, Cranberry Twp., Venango County.

The troopers arrived at the scene at approximately 11:45 a.m.  After getting out of their vehicles, Tpr. Richey was hit with a shot fired from the residence.  Additional troopers responded and Tpr. Richey was removed from the scene.

“Tpr. Richey sacrificed his life rather than swerve from the path of duty,” said State Police Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski.  “We will not forget his service or his sacrifice.

Tpr. Richey, of Franlkin, enlisted in the State Police on May 17, 1993.  He graduated from the State Police Academy in Hershey on Nov. 10, 1993, and was assigned to Troop F, Milton.  He transferred to Troop E, Corry, on Oct. 19, 1996, and to the Franklin station on May 17, 1997.

Among Tpr. Richey’s survivors are his widow, Carrie; a son, Connor, 9; and a daughter, Catherine, 6.

Tpr. Richey is the 93rd member of the department to die in the line of duty since the establishment of the State Police in 1905.  His death came slightly more than seven months after the shooting death of Tpr. Joshua D. Miller of Troop N, Swiftwater, who was killed during the rescue of a kidnapped child on June 7, 2009, in Monroe County.

SUMMARY of The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) of 2004

On July 22, 2004, the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) of 2004, also commonly called “HR 218,” became law. (18 U.S.C. §§, 926B, 926C.) This federal law allows “a qualified law enforcement officer” or “a qualified retired law enforcement officer” with identification that meets specified criteria to carry a concealed firearm anywhere in the nation, notwithstanding most other state and local laws which restrict the possession of concealed weapons.
In order to be “a qualified law enforcement officer” under the LEOSA, a person must meet the following requirements:
1.
Be an employee of a governmental agency who is authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for any violation of law;
2.
Have the statutory powers of arrest;
3.
Be authorized by the agency to carry a firearm;
4.
Not be the subject of any disciplinary action by the agency;
5.
Meet the standards, if any, established by the agency that require employees to regularly qualify in the use of a firearm;
6.
Not be under the influence of alcohol or any intoxicating or hallucinatory drug;
7.
Not be prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms;
8.
Be carrying photographic identification issued by the governmental agency identifying the individual as a law enforcement officer.
Regarding the requirement that the individual have the statutory power of arrest to be a “qualified law enforcement officer,” California law allows “a peace officer” to make an arrest. (Pen. Code, § 834.) Penal Code sections 830.1 through 832.6 specify the persons who are peace officers and when and where they may use their authority. No one else is considered a peace officer under California law. (Pen. Code, § 830.)
In order to be “a qualified retired law enforcement officer” under the LEOSA, a person must meet the following criteria:
1.
Be retired in good standing from service with a public agency as a law enforcement officer for reasons other than mental instability;
2.
Prior to retirement, was authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for any violation of law;
3.
Prior to retirement, had the statutory powers of arrest;
4.
Prior to retirement, was either
(1)
regularly employed as a law enforcement officer for an aggregate of 15 years or more; or
(2)
retired from service after completing any applicable probationary period of such service, due to a service-connected disability, as determined by the agency;
5.
Has a nonforfeitable right to benefits under the retirement plan of the agency;
6.
Has met, within the past 12 months, the state’s standards for training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry firearms;
7.
Not be prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms;
8.
Be carrying identification that meets specified criteria (see below).
In order to qualify as “identification” under the LEOSA, a credential that is carried by a retired law enforcement officer must meet one of the following criteria:
1.
A photographic identification issued by the agency from which the law enforcement officer retired that indicates the retired law enforcement officer has, not less recently than one year prior, been tested or otherwise found by the agency to meet the standards established by the agency for training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry a firearm;
OR
2.
A photographic identification issued by the agency from which the law enforcement officer retired;
AND
A “certification issued by the State in which the individual resides that indicates that the individual has, not less than one year [prior] . . . been tested or otherwise found by the State to meet the standards established by the State for training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.”
Both “qualified law enforcement officers” and “qualified retired law enforcement officers” are required to meet the state’s standards for the “training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry firearms” under the LEOSA. Penal Code Section 832.3 sets forth the initial and continuing training and testing requirements for peace officers in California. The specific curriculum for the training of peace officers is established by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.). However, current California law does not set a statewide standard for the training and qualification of active law enforcement officers after graduation from the academy. Standards are established by individual law enforcement agencies for both active and retired officers in those agencies.
The LEOSA has limits and exceptions. It does not apply to all firearms and weapons. For example, it does not authorize either qualified law enforcement officers, or qualified retired law enforcement officers, to carry any of the following: machineguns, silencers, or destructive
devices. Likewise, the LEOSA does not supercede all state laws regarding the possession of concealed firearms. The LEOSA states that it “shall not be construed to supercede or limit the laws of any State that (1) allow private persons . . . to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base or park.”
An individual who would like to know whether he or she qualifies as either a “qualified law enforcement officer,” or a “qualified retired law enforcement officer,” should consult with his or her employing agency and its legal counsel and may wish to obtain legal advice from an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of California.
_

State police sgt. kept hope, sense of humor until the end

By Jill King Greenwood, TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Right up until the end, Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Tom O’Connor stayed positive.

Although he was dying from an aggressive cancer, he welcomed visitors, eager to hear about goings-on in the Greensburg barracks.

O’Connor, 42, of Monroeville died Wednesday at Magee-Womens Hospital in Oakland with his family by his side.

“He was in terrible pain the last few days, and now the pain is gone,” said state police Cpl. Ronald Zona, his friend for more than 15 years.

“Tom was one of the nicest, kindest people you’d ever want to meet. Even in the worst times, he was making jokes. Family was number one to Tom, but friends were a close second.”

O’Connor, nicknamed “Oak,” is survived by his wife, Jennifer; son, Ryan, 8; daughter, Delaney, 6; and his parents, John and Barbara O’Connor, who live in Brookline. He was preceded in death by his brother, Patrick O’Connor.

O’Connor, stationed at Troop A in Greensburg for 17 years, was conductor and trustee of the state police Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 62 in Greensburg. He retired on medical disability last year.

Doctors in early 2007 discovered several tumors at the base of his spine and diagnosed a rare bone cancer. Complications from surgery that April left O’Connor blind. Several rounds of radiation later, doctors declared his cancer was in remission.

In June 2008, the cancer returned and began to spread. Friends, relatives and law enforcement officers from across the state held fundraisers to help the family.

Jennifer O’Connor works part-time as a nurse in the labor and delivery unit of Magee-Womens Hospital but couldn’t fit in additional shifts while caring for her husband and children.

State police Sgt. Joe Ruggery, a friend of O’Connor’s for more than 13 years, spent 24 hours on a mountain bike in the Subaru 24-Hour Champion Challenge to raise money in August 2008. He called his mission “Twenty-Four Hours for Tom.”

“Tom impressed everyone around him with his strength and the dignity with which he carried himself in the midst of such an intense burden,” Ruggery said. “I don’t know that I would have stood as tall as he did under the same circumstances.”

In an interview last year, O’Connor said he struggled most with losing his sight.

“The blindness is awful,” he said. “It’s so much more than losing your vision. It transcends so much deeper. It’s the worst thing that could happen to someone. To not be able to see the faces of my wife and children anymore. … I can’t explain it. It’s terrible.”

Yet, O’Connor’s ability to stay positive remained until the end, Ruggery said, mostly because he was more concerned about his family’s peace than his suffering.

“I have bad days,” O’Connor said last year. “But we try to laugh every day, and we try to have fun. We can’t change the situation; we just have to try to find a way to fight through it.”

Thomas J. O’Connor – State Police Sergeant Worked Tirelessly at Flight 93 Crash Site

Nov. 27, 1966 – Sept. 16, 2009
By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, state police Sgt. Thomas J. O’Connor was one of the first troopers to arrive in Shanksville, Somerset County, after United Airlines Flight 93 slammed into a field.

For nine consecutive days, he worked 12-hour shifts there, securing the site for federal investigators. Many state troopers chose to sleep in nearby hotels, but Sgt. O’Connor drove home to Monroeville each day to be with his wife, Jennifer, and their infant son.

“He was the all-American dad,” said Plum police Chief Frank Monaco, a retired state police major who was Sgt. O’Connor’s commander in Greensburg on Sept. 11.

At the same time, the chief said, “you cut Tom, and he would bleed state police gray.”

Sgt. O’Connor died early Wednesday at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC after a two-year battle with chondrosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer. He was 42.

Sgt. O’Connor came from a family of police officers.

His grandmother, Eileen O’Connor, joined Pittsburgh police in 1944 and eventually became a detective in the missing persons unit. During her time with the city, she was one of just 26 female officers. Her brother, Gerald Mahoney, was a patrolman in the Hill District.

Sgt. O’Connor’s father, John, also became a city officer, reaching the rank of sergeant.

Born on Nov. 27, 1966, Sgt. O’Connor grew up in Brookline.

After a stint as a University of Pittsburgh police officer, Sgt. O’Connor graduated from the state police academy in March 1992.

Over the next decade and a half, he worked as a patrolman and a criminal investigator in the Greensburg station, and, after being promoted to corporal, he was a supervisor in Chambersburg. He also worked in Harrisburg, conducting financial investigations.

“He just absolutely loved to do what he did,” said his wife, Jennifer O’Connor. “I don’t think he ever saw himself doing anything other than that.”

The pair met in 1993, when Mrs. O’Connor was a nurse at Westmoreland Hospital and Sgt. O’Connor was a young patrolman bringing in suspected drunk drivers for blood tests.

In July 2001, Sgt. O’Connor won attention in the media after he helped rescue Trooper Isaac Lanham with a portable defibrillator. At the time, Sgt. O’Connor had just learned how to use the device, and he grabbed it within moments of Trooper Lanham suffering a heart attack and collapsing in the Greensburg station.

“It was pretty tense. I know I died there a couple of times,” Trooper Lanham later told the Post-Gazette from the hospital. “There’s no doubt in my mind that those men and that equipment saved my life.”

Two months later, Sgt. O’Connor was at the Flight 93 crash site. For the first several hours, he and Cpl. Ronald Zona kept souvenir hunters from coming near the downed plane. They made several arrests.

Sgt. O’Connor would always make time for his children, Ryan, 8, and Delaney, 6.

He decided to leave the Harrisburg post to be closer to home. An avid hockey fan, he regularly took Ryan to Penguins games and helped his son learn to play the sport.

In 2007, he reached the rank of sergeant. Several days after the promotion ceremony, he was diagnosed with cancer. Sgt. O’Connor then underwent extensive surgery to remove a tumor from his tailbone. But a complication left him blind.

His perseverance amazed fellow troopers.

“He never complained. He was so brave,” Chief Monaco said. “It was never, ‘Woe is me.’ “

Still, the illness took its toll. Mrs. O’Connor quit her job to care for her husband, and he ran out of sick time and had to take leave from the state police without pay.

Dozens of friends and colleagues tried to help, hosting at least five fundraisers, including the “24 Hours for Tom” mountain bike race at Seven Springs last year.

“The state police is a big family,” said Sgt. Joe Ruggery, who rode alone for 24 hours to raise money for Sgt. O’Connor. “Everyone looked at him as one of their brothers.”

In addition to his wife and children, Sgt. O’Connor is survived by his parents, John and Barbara O’Connor, of Brookline.

Visitation is tomorrow and Sunday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Jobe Funeral Home in Monroeville. A Mass will be celebrated 10 a.m. Monday at the North American Martyrs Parish. Interment will follow at Good Shepherd Cemetery.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09261/998922-122.stm#ixzz0T7jTt6Lk

Trooper Joshua Miller Tribute