Friday March 6th

I have kept this pretty close to the vest but for those of you who don't know, about a year ago the Office of Community Policing in Washington DC (COPS Office) , Dept of Justice put out a call for a newly created position of "Law Enforcement Fellow" , which is to be a serving police officer who is assigned to the office. I applied for this position and was chosen several months ago as the first ever fellow. I leave in the morning for DC where I will be spending 2 weeks a month until the end of Sept. working for the COPS office as a subject matter expert dealing with critical response, emerging issues in law enforcement and collaborative reform. I will truly have the ability to work on serious issues that affect US Law Enforcement and hopefully come up with some ideas that really make a difference in community and re establish public trust. This is without a doubt, the most important job I have ever had in my life. So, I will do my best to continue to make a difference in our community and now our nation. I would not be able to do this without the support of the command staff at Hawthorne Police and I thank them.

We have lot's of work to do as a nation and as a profession, it's time to get to work....

Saturday March 7th

Man that's a long plane ride! I made it to DC and as a bonus got an AMAZING photo out the window of the Lincoln memorial looking toward the Washington monument. I made it to my little hotel and didn't realize that where I am staying in Crystal City is all UNDERGROUND! Like all the stores and places are under the streets, it's pretty strange. I managed to get settled and had dinner, I ended up having a nice view from my room, and if I look hard enough I can see the Pentagon. I am gonna try and learn how to take the subway tomorrow , I am such an L.A.. guy, I have no idea how to take a subway of bus...as they say, nobody walks in L.A.!

Sunday March 8th.

What is up with that time change...I lost 4 hours! Man it's just my luck I would come to the east coast on the day of the "spring ahead". So I tried valiantly to figure out how to take the trains...red line, orange line, silver, green, and every other color under the sun. I got frustrated and just got on a train and didn't care where it went. So eventually I pretty much figured it out.

I walked around DC reflecting on things, why I have come to this place, what it means to be a police officer and the issues that are in the forefront of our profession right now. I went to the police memorial and saw my two friends and colleagues names on the memorial wall. It was sobering to watch, I could see other people , many of whom I figured where Cops. Looking for names of loved ones who were lost.

Officer Garton and Sergeant Luna.  Reminder of why we do what we do. — Officer Garton and Sergeant Luna. Reminder of why we do what we do.

I decided to walk and think, I ended up at the Smithsonian American history museum which was really neat. They have Julia Child's kitchen as an exhibit, so I checked that stuff out and took some neat photos.

Tomorrow , I have to get up bright and early and take the train into DC to the Dept of Justice building where this adventure awaits. I am excited to start and excited that our little city, will get to help make a positive impact on our nation. I already miss my family, but they understand that this is something that must be done. I start early in the morning, so wish me luck folks , and I will try to blog as much as I can...including food and sightseeing stuff and lots of photos.