SWAT Officers funeral - An observation

I wanted to pass along some observations for people that weren't able to make it to Randy's funeral yesterday. I don't think I ever met Randy, but had heard of him from others following his death. I think like a lot of officers, we wanted to show up to pay our respects. I figured out some years ago that a lot of the funerals are really for the families, since we are really writing the last "chapter" of our officer's professional life, from the perspective of their family. I figured that if a lot officers show up, and we're friendly and supportive and say nice things about their loved one, that this confirms the belief in their mind that their loved one was known, respected and will be deeply missed. The loss of our officer and their family member has meaning, as did their life. This gives them at least a final pleasant memory.

The services were set to start at 1100 hours, but the Department had asked that we get there sooner. When I rolled through Southeast that morning at 0600 hours, they were already leaving on a chartered bus going straight to the site. Seemed like every blue-suiter in the Station was piling out, and the two guys that shine shoes and leather gear will probably have to put in "greenies", since they were working overtime, putting the finishing touches on what looked like at least a dozen pairs of boots and Sam Brownes.

The Department shut down all N/B traffic on Vermont Avenue from south of around 65th, all the way down into the 70's or 80's blocks. I parked on Vermont Avenue around 66th Street. Our cars were parked blocking N/B #1, #2 and #3 lanes, for blocks. I walked down Vermont Avenue to the Church. I was struck by how quiet it was out on Vermont Avenue. I've been out on Vermont during the day and night and it's usually just as busy and loud as any other major LA boulevard. But this morning, it was almost eerily quiet. The only sound was the distant thump of rotor blades on news helicopters in a high orbit, filming the scene. Some of the local residents came out, and were sitting quietly as we passed by. A few said hello, including small children that said hello to us. Everybody was respectful and quiet, occasionally saying respectful or nice things to us or giving us a sympathetic or polite smile. If you said hello or good morning, you'd get it right back. People knew what we were there for.

The Church address was 7901 South Vermont and according to Captain Eric Davis, the site of the church was the original Pepperdine University. I worked the area for about ten years and probably drove by it 1,000 times, but never realized how deep the site went, west of Vermont Avenue since we never had a call there. Must have gone like 1/4 to 1/2 mile west of Vermont.

It was really beautiful inside, with lots of lush green trees and plants, and the buildings were mostly all in the streamlined design, a personal favorite and painted gleaming white. We got into the service, and the inside of the Church was so large and vast, it reminded me of the dome built to house the Spruce Goose some years ago down in Long Beach. Seating for 10,000. All filled. There were separate sections for the family, in-state or out of state law enforcement and then further subdivided by LAPD divisions or units. I wound up sitting in the captains section, but I didn't realize it until I sat down what it was, I thought it was general seating and one of the captains sitting there welcomed me and some traffic officers. Early on, Jim Veenstra walk in and there was thunderous applause, and a standing ovation for him. We did the same thing when the Pastor initially got up and asked us to applaud Randy for his life and what he did with it.

There was a moment, that I picked up, that some of the local media did later on also that I think was noteworthy. Early on in the services, our current chief, Bratton, got up and was making introductions of the dignitaries that were there. The chief was speaking in hushed tones, almost a whisper. He noted the presence of the governor, the mayor, board of police commissioners, etc. It was very quiet. He made his way down the list and said "...former chief Bernard Parks, former Chief Daryl Gates..." at that moment, there were four huge jumbotron TV's spread around the dome, and Daryl's face showed up on the screen. It was like an explosion. People (me included) literally jumped out of their seats applauding Daryl. This went on for about a full minute, cheering and applauding him. It's interesting to note, that in today's LAPD, literally 50% of the officers have less than five years on the job. So most of them were probably all too young, or some may have literally been in diapers or not even born some 16 years ago now when he was still Chief.

Continuing on, during the ceremony, there were some really stirring and beautiful tributes to Randy. I honestly felt really torn sitting there, because part of me wanted to cheer for him for the things that he did for others, but part of me wanted to cry for his loss to his family, the Department and all of us. This was about him, so I'll say little here, but after looking over the things he did in his life, though I've felt like I've done some positive things with mine, I realized I needed to make some changes.

There were a couple of video tributes with music, the first showing him with his family, a couple minutes long, and it was obvious he was a really big family guy and his family really mattered to him. This was broken by a brief video of Randy actually preaching the word of God, it looked like to people with drug and alcohol problems by what he was saying, and about making positive changes in life. The next video tribute was for his work life, interspersed with some photos of his football days. I've seen a few of these kinds of events, and I wondered to myself early on if any references to the 1970's SWAT television show I remembered would come up. Sure enough, this was it. They played the theme to SWAT, with photos of Randy and other members of SWAT doing their thing.

I know it might sound hokey, since we look at a lot of 70's era things today as kind of campy, but it really wasn't. It was really one of those moments when I was proud to be part of the LAPD. Not the "federal consent decree LAPD", but the "world-leader in law enforcement/ uniform and badge recognizable anywhere on the globe/ "go to guys" for all other police on the planet LAPD." Randy was one of those guys that made the LAPD legends a living and breathing reality, and not just some fake thing Hollywood dreamed up. He was the real deal.

I think probably my favorite speaker was Randy's partner, James Hart. Now, I didn't know James, but I remember hearing about him in the past, because I had worked for his sister, Janice (who's a sergeant with LAPD). He got up in front of everybody, and spoke eloquently for about five minutes in a tribute to Randy. He related some funny stories. My personal favorite was one time, when he and Randy were looking for parking space at Central Division. For our retirees, after we opened today's Central Division, we moved Metro out of old Georgia Street and into Central. The place is really packed with Metro in it. Anyway, Randy and Jim were looking for a parking spot, and Randy was still a PIII at the time. The only available spot was the C/O's, and Randy pulled their car in. When Jim asked him if they'd get in trouble, Randy's only reply was "D Team baby!" No worries there! A couple years later, after Randy made PIII+I, Jim was driving one day, and did the same thing. Randy protested this time, and said "Jim, we're going to get in trouble for this." So they didn't park there! Jim was good speaker, you'd think he spent a lifetime going to Toastmaster's he was that good.

There were other speakers, including Randy's son Matt. Standing ovations again for all. It was really something else.

What came next though, astounded me. When the services were over, we piled out of the Church, and slowly made our way back to our cars. Took a little while, since there were so many of us. I remember walking out on to Vermont Avenue, and as I looked north, all I could see was a sea of blue uniforms, thousands of us, stretching from one curb to the other, and going up the road for blocks. I haven't seen this many LAPD officers in one place, at one time, since the DNC, almost ten years ago now. It was incredible. We had police officers there from all over America and even international. From locally, I saw San Francisco PD, lot of LA and surrounding counties police and sheriff's, out of state police and sheriff's departments, including guys wearing the gray uniforms with the old-style "bull harness" cross-straps on their brown sam brownes, I think from like Vermont or other back east states. Canadian police. The Israeli's sent a SWAT team if you can believe it. Every kind of color combination of uniforms. Too numerous to list. It was just amazing. LAFD came out, and had a couple of full-length engines with the ladders in the up position, with a huge American flag.

We loaded into the cars, and after some time went by, we slowly peeled off, going N/B on Vermont, all the way up to Slauson, then W/B on Slauson. People came out of their homes and businesses, THOUSANDS OF THEM as we went by. There were dozens at every single intersection, usually standing near LAFD engines and crews that put on their Sunday's best for us. Some had cameras or videocameras. But this wasn't lookie-loo crap at the scene of a bloody T/C. These people waved to us. They carried signs supporting us and supporting Randy. They brought out AMERICAN FLAGS and held them up. AMERICAN FLAGS!!! Every size, ranging from a small paper flag decoration I saw one grandmother holding up towards us, to full-size garrison flags you'd see in front of a military base. They held them up and waved them at us. I saw men, looked like they had been veterans, that came out in civilian clothes and saluted us as we went by. I have been in dozens of other police processions over the last twenty years, in OC and LA and the only time I ever saw anything like this was in OC. I have never seen anything like this in LA on this scale. Ever. It was simply amazing.

As I drove along, by myself, I was thinking about Randy. I was trying to find some kind of meaning in his loss. Something good that somehow could come out of this. Perhaps what I was seeing was just a momentary thing, and next week things will be back the way they were. But somehow, I felt like seeing this support from our community, it made me feel like maybe Randy's loss, might have helped in a larger sense, for us as a police department, to get a little closer to the people we serve. I've felt the disconnection sometimes over the years myself, and always wished things could be better, that we could have a better relationship with segments of our community. The whole "us vs. them" thing always seemed like a big waste of time and effort to me and I wished it could be different.

I think there are layers to Randy's loss. Randy's physical appearance was similiar to that of some people in our city that have felt disenfranchised because of race for some years, and I think this loss may have helped them to feel more connected to us. The fact that Randy could be on the SWAT team, one of many units long and falsely depicted as a hyper-masculinized militarized unit, devoid of intellect, emotion or empathy, while still taking care of kids and being an ordained minister, I think would look odd to outsiders, who might start to question a lot of assumptions people have had about SWAT and the LAPD. I think it adds layers of complexity to the LAPD, as viewed by outsiders ("...maybe there's more to these LAPD cops than I first thought...").

It also, I think, shattered a lot of people's misperceptions about SWAT and the Department since you can't be a "blood thirsty killer" on-duty and a minister off-duty, that just doesn't make sense to people. People finally got a true look, uncensored, unfiltered, and without any media-fueled propaganda "spin", into what kind of people work at LAPD, and particularly those that are doing the heavy lifting in units like SWAT. Randy's quality as a man and as a policeman reflected on his peers in Metro, SWAT and by extension the whole LAPD. And the fact that we as an organization literally cleared out every station house, headquarters, and came from every corner of the City, this shows people that he mattered to all of us, the loss wasn't limited just to SWAT or his family. EVERYBODY came out for this. EVERYBODY felt the loss.

I don't know. I guess we'll have to see as time goes on. I told this to Jim McDonnell, and he saw it too. He said he thought it'd be good for our people to see this kind of support. Still, I can't help but feel like this moment in time, despite the pain of Randy's loss, that it was a turning point for the Department and the City, for the better. Even in death, Randy was still making a contribution.

We got to the cemetery, and parked the same way as on Vermont. We walked in, and there were thousands of us. Despite the fact we were going on seven to eleven hours (0700 for some, until the close at about 1800 hours) I didn't hear anyone, not a single person, whine, bitch or complain about anything, nor anyone looking at their watches. We finished the grave side services, in the same ways that are typical, Honor Guard, 21 gun salute, missing man formation, bagpipes from Emerald Society, twin buglers playing taps, etc. We did have something unique though, when they released approximately 70 white doves. Randy's daughter released the first, and then they released the rest. The Chief noted Ricardo Lizarraga (NEWT KIA approximately three years ago) was buried here in the same cemetary. The grave side services were touching and moving and most of us, at least around where I stood, were crying for Randy until the end.

When they were over, we slowly filed out, with only a little quiet conversation. By the time we got back to our cars, I think most of us were exhausted. I cracked open the door to my car, and stood there leaning against the car with my boot on the bottom of the door frame, facing west on Slauson, looking west towards one of the prettiest sunsets I could remember in recent memory. It was a fitting end to the day.

I believe there is a God, and there is a Heaven, and that after we've passed away, we go there. Maybe this sounds weird, but I've got this running list in the back of my mind, of people I'd like to talk to on the other side, maybe some day when we both have a moment. I added Randy's name to my list yesterday, but something tells me I'll probably have to stand in line, 'cause I'm sure there's a lot of other people that'll feel the same way.

Randy Simmons, 51, died in the early Feb. 7 in a gun battle with a man who killed three relatives inside a Winnetka home. He was the first Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officer killed in the line of duty.

_________________________________________________________

There are many good police officers out in the streets, and Randy Simmons was one of them.

I felt the support from the community and this Department should shared, and a good man remembered.

I’m not a fan of the police as the police exist today.

I am, however, a fan of heroes, police or otherwise. The police officer whose funeral is being written about in this piece sounds like a genuine hero cop, the kind of police officer who really believes the whole “protect and serve” hype. The world is poorer for the passing of such a man.

The author is right to note the separation that has developed between the police departments in our country and the people they are intended to serve. People today think of cops as the enemy, and with good reason; many (if not most) police departments are little more than street gangs themselves, these days, and stories of abuse at the hands of crooked cops are everywhere.

But people want to love and respect the police. Every civilized human craves law and order. When a police officer acts to preserve law and order, he is likely to receive respect from the public. When an officer shows no respect for the law and acts as an agent of chaos, he becomes the enemy. If police want the public to respect them, all they need do is perform their jobs in a professional, courteous, and lawful manner.

What happened to the “Joe Friday” LAPD? It vanished with Tiny Naylor’s. The LAPD of those days was respected because most of the police officers they encountered were respectable Joe Friday/Pete Malloy types. Today’s LAPD is seen by the public as a blue army of occupation, answerable to no one, capable of anything. If LA cops today want the public to think of them as Joe Fridays or Pete Malloys, all they need do is start acting like Joe Fridays and Pete Malloys again.

Condolences to the family of the slain officer.

Long since, in sore distress, I heard one
pray,
“Lord, who prevailest with resistless might,
Ever from war and strife keep me away,
My battles fight!”

I know not if I play the Pharisee,
And if my brother after all be right;
But mine shall be the warrior’s plea to thee—
Strength for the fight.

I do not ask that thou shalt front the fray,
And drive the warring foeman from my sight;
I only ask, O Lord, by night, by day,
Strength for the fight!

When foes upon me press, let me not quail
Nor think to turn me into coward flight.
I only ask, to make my arms prevail,
Strength for the fight!

Still let mine eyes look ever on the foe,
Still let mine armor case me strong and
bright;
And grant me, as I deal each righteous blow,
Strength for the fight!

And when, at eventide, the fray is done,
My soul to Death’s bedchamber do thou
light,
And give me, be the field lost or won,
Rest from the fight!

Paul Laurence Dunbar

I probably agree with the comments that were pulled.

Our militarized law enforcement agencies are the standing army our founders feared.

Which is not to say that there aren’t good and well-intentioned individuals serving for agencies doing wrong under principles that offend liberties.

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