Sunday, May 5, 2024
John and I entered the Port Authority Of NY & NJ Police Academy on October 09, 1984.
John was one of the tallest guys, taller than myself and I'm 6'2". He was one of the most
pleasant human beings to be in the company of, that anyone could ever imagine. Never
did I hear of John, ever, having an unpleasant exchange with anyone "On The Job". His
disposition, his manner, his demeanor were so gentlemanly, composed and dignified,
while simultaneously being so "Regular Joe"... not a hint of aloofness, nor arrogance, nor
pompousness... a fine human being, inside and out. To have shared his strong character
traits would have been very much to my benefit. He taught me much and he likely never
knew it... or maybe he did, being as smart as he was.
John's judgement, and his ability:
(1) to size up a situation,
(2) and to construct a plan that would bring what's gone wrong to its conclusion,
(3) then to enact that plan, leading others by example, or by instruction, or both,
(4) ultimately to drive circumstances back to normal
were always of utmost value to everyone who had been impacted, to whatever level of sev-
erity, by whatever had gone awry . He was just straight out excellent at performing "The Job",
in each of the ranks that he attained.
Here's a semi-sidenote. I have a blurry memory of John engaging me in conversation when
he'd been offered the rank of captain in the P.A. Police. If I recall correctly I was a sergeant
in the detective unit at the time. John told me he wouldn't take the rank of captain and then
call it done. No; John stated clearly that he was going to emulate what his father had done,
to drive himself so as to attain a Chief Of Department level position, maybe within the PAPD
or maybe elsewhere! I told him that for a guy like him, that was a very appropriate endeavor,
and that I was 100% confident that he'd achieve his goal. Years later, when he told me that
he'd be retiring from the P.A. Police, and moving into a Chief Of Department position with a
college police force, the same path his father had taken, I was not a bit surprised. I'll enjoy
John's company again, I am quite sure of that, whenever it is, that I join him.
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