Sunrise Rotary; Officer Involved Shootings, March 2, 2017

 

Sunrise Rotary March 2, 2017  

 

President Tony called the meeting to order;

Gloria Leffler led the Pledge to the Flag

Jack Anderson offered an invocation

 

Guest and Visitors:

 

Dick Seymour was introduced as a guest of Past President John Boyce

 

Kaleih Ornelas of the Boys and Girls Club was introduced as a guest and prospective member

 

Anniversaries and Birthdays:

 

Birthdays:

March        1:        Gloria Leffler

        3:        Brian Murphy

        4:        Past President, Mike O’Malley

 

Anniversaries:

March        3:        Chris and Susie Miller, 27 years; Congratulations!

 

Rotary Anniversaries:

                Past President, Constance Larson

 

 

Photos of the Week:

 

Past President, Mike O’Malley shared a video of a ‘good ‘ol boy’ in Alabama landing a 16.3 oz. bass by hand…

 

Dates to Remember:

 

March        23:        Fisher House delivery; bring items to Club meetings or                     George’s business

 

April        7-9:        RYLA; Facilitators still needed, see the website or speak                     with Jim Ponder

        

        8:        Mexicali Project “pre-build”; preparing footings and posts for                     playground equipment construction  

 

        20-23:        Mexicali project

        

October    7:        Grape Day 5K; only 219 days till the big event!

 

 

High Fives and Announcements:

 

Past President, Jeff Johnson shared some challenging news that he and Kathy just received; Kathy has been diagnosed with breast cancer and they are on a path together to battle the disease. Prayers of support are welcome!!

 

Past President, Jim Lund requested help with moving a golf cart from San Pasqual HS; any trailer support is welcomed; please contact Jim.

 

Past President Mike O’Malley visited Daytona Beach and enjoyed a race. He brought President Tony a piggy bank… Apparently he forgot to fill the bank before presenting it to our esteemed leader…

 

Program:

 

Brian Murphy introduced today’s program; Retired Police LT Jim Byler speaking on the topic of Officer Involved Shootings. Jim introduced his wife Cynthia, commenting that she was a key support of his law enforcement career. Jim also commented that their two sons, Brandon and Brett are officers with the Escondido Police Department.

 

Retired Police LT Jim Byler sharing with our Club members:

 

 

Jim shared statistics about Officer Involved Shootings (the title of his book, “O.I.S. After the Trigger’s Pulled) and discussed the technology that officers now use in the form of body cameras and their impact on law enforcement and officers’ actions and reactions in situations where deadly force is use. He also showed a footage of a on-the-scene newscast in Baltimore where an ‘eye witness’ recounted a story involving an officer and a suspect that was completely untrue based on the facts of the situation.

 

Jim also shared the amazing coincidental fact that he and both his sons had been involved in shootings; Jim while serving in Carlsbad, Brandon while serving in Escondido, and Brett while a member of the San Diego PD. Jim also showed a surveillance camera image of the incident during which Brett was required to use lethal force.

 

Jim shared from all three of their experiences about the emotional demands on an officer in making split-second decisions regarding use of lethal force; and then the emotional aftermath of those incidents while officers await findings of the District Attorney, and in certain cases, then face legal action by suspects and their surviving family members. 

 

Many questions were discussed after his presentation, and Club members expressed their appreciation for and support for the challenges faced by our community’s law enforcement professionals.

 

Next Week’s Program:

 

Tom Griffin, Cruising the San Juan Islands…

 

Opportunity Drawing:

 

Lunch Money:    $19;    Susan Maney

 

Big Pot:        $242;    Gloria Leffler, sorry…