MAY 2023 - Blues Vol 39 No. 5

FROM THE SENIOR

FROM THE SENIOR EDITOR’S DESK TPCA Conference yrs. Under 65 Healthcare Options? We have you covered. Well, my friends, I just returned from the 2023 Texas Police Chief’s Conference, and I gotta say, it was something. This year’s conference was held in Ft. Worth at the Ft. Worth Convention Center. Even better was the host hotel, the Omni-Fort Worth, was where 90% of us stayed it was just across the street. Chief conferences are always a good place to see old friends, make a new one or two, and of course see the look in the eyes of every New Chief attending their first Chief’s Conference. All wide eyed, taking in everything. Listening to every word. Stopping by every Vendor’s booth. Trying to figure out what exactly it is they are supposed to be buying. The million-dollar question at most conferences, “What exactly are we gonna get outta this madness?” And, hey you gonna eat that? There is always SOMETHING to learn at EVERY conference I have attended in the nearly ten years as a Chief of Police. It could be policy related, liability reconfiguring, use of force issues, or communications. There’s always something, you just gotta look. This year’s Texas Police Chief’s Conference was no different and it didn’t disappointment. The “Keynote” speaker was the former Washington D.C. Capital Police Chief who had the misfortune of being the Chief on January 6th. Poor fella, by the time his presentation was over you were like “Yep. He was the fall guy. For BOTH sides of the fight!” Seriously, there was NO way that guy could’ve come out unscathed and ole Pelosi was determined from before the incident even began, he was going to be the one sacrificed by the Government and the entire Nation. Enough of that. What happened, happened. As for the vendors…well, I’ve seen lots of cool “toys” over the years. This year was no exception. My department is going to do complete overhaul of our Fleet and Body Camera systems. After meeting with a vendor on the exhibit floor, we sealed the deal and ordered some equipment. But there really wasn’t a lot of time allowed for walking the vendor floor. Note to ALL CON- FERENCES, you really need to schedule time for us to walk the floor and see all the vendors. That’s what they are paying for and one of the primary reasons we go to conventions. One day of exhibits doesn’t cut it. It was a bit of a disappointment for both the Chiefs as well as the vendors. The food, you ask. Well folks I’ve just got to say, IT WAS AWESOME! The folks at the Omni-Ft. Worth know how to feed a group of people from out of town and make them all feel welcome. And full. There was chicken fried steak. Loaded mashed potatoes. Gravy. Bacon and onion infused green beans…Lord have mercy, we ate good. Now, on the last day…Friend, the folks from either the TMPA or TML I think it was, put on an outside dinner that was like none other. There was everything from Texas BBQ to fresh Texas seafood. It was awesome. And for the grand finale of the food discussion… They served Dutch Oven Chocolate Brownies with vanilla ice cream. (told you…we ate!) Finally on a very serious note. There was the “Great Bomb Threat of the ’23 Conference” this year. FWPD and various other agencies all responded and did a good job doing what we all do. It was a funny moment during a serious issue though. We noticed all the servers immediately leaving the Hall while we were breaking for lunch. (Cops noticing the flow of food and drinks have stopped CHIEF REX EVANS was Clue No. 1) The second clue came when we looked towards the staged and noticed all the mucketty mucks who comprise the Board, huddled up together. I said to the 7 or 8 Chief’s at my table, “I was a Fireman long before I was a cop. I am going straight for desert now, gentlemen. We’re about to get toned out of this room! And we did. For about the next hour and a half, a large swath of Chiefs and their entourages stood outside (thank God it was a beautiful day) and talked shop. We laughed, cut up and carried on like old friends and colleagues do. Then the all-clear arrived and we strolled right back in like nothing ever happened. Last note- There is an alcohol related facility located on the first floor of the Omni-Ft. Worth. Designed in true western culture of course. Inside this area, there was an atmosphere of friendship, lighthearted fellowship and true, sincere human interaction. On the heels of that time frame called a Pandemic, it was so good to see people laughing again. Talking again. Living again. All in all, it was a good conference. Old friends, food and a nice place…We really couldn’t mess it up too bad, even if we tried! I mean Chiefs and all, I get it. But we pulled off having a pretty good 72 hours or so!!!! That’s all, folks! I’m 10-8 Nationwide Group Health Insurance for First Responders, Police, Fire and Emergency by Low BlueCross BlueShield. www.FirstRespondersUS.com ENROLL TODAY! (800)236-4782 — Individuals (832)541-8842 — Groups Deductibles Low Out of Pocket 10 The BLUES The BLUES 11