PAX Centurion - Winter 2016 - 2017

Page 18 • PAX CENTURION • Winter 2016-2017 617-989-BPPA (2772) 281 Neponset Ave. Dorchester 617-265-2665 Full Day Preschool – $45.00 Secure Play Area 4,000 sq. ft. 3 Classrooms 2 yrs. 9 mo. to 6 yrs. Massachusetts Early Education License #291031 • Daughter of a BPPA Retiree Neponset Preschool www.NeponsetPreschool.com F irst let me say thank you for allowing me to go to NewYork to work the BPPA food truck for the funeral of Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo. Between the members of the BPPAand the DBS there were approximately 15-20 of us working the food trucks. We served thousands of Officers and civilians from all over the country. It helped bring a little good into a terrible day. Without a doubt I got thanked more on that one day than I have in my 21+ year career. It was my honor to be there. It was especially honoring to be there for the members of the NYPD. These men and women were here in Boston back onApril 15, 2013 just a few hours after the bombs went off to make sure we were not hungry or thirsty. We have built a true brotherhood/sisterhood with these fine men and women. With these funerals becoming way too frequent in the past couple of years, you get to recognize the faces of many Officers of every rank in attendance. It seems like the same people are at each and every funeral. This has become quite obvious within the ranks of the Boston Police Dept. The BPPAalways arranges transportation to the different cities. Funeral for NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo By Jimmy Doiron, C-11 Last Half Representative To get us to NewYork, it used to be buses. On November 10, 2016 the BPPAhad one bus with what I was told had 12 members of the BPD on it. I also understand that some Officers drove down to NewYork on their own. For those Officers that did represent us and attended the service I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly hate to sound preachy but this trend of a small showing from the BPD is completely unacceptable. We need to stick together, we need to show each other that we have each other’s backs, regardless of what department we work for. We should have been fighting for a spot on that bus to show our support for Sgt Tuozzolo, his family, the NYPD, the BPD and our fellow brother and sister Officers from around the country. I understand life is busy. With residency and the price of houses in Boston there is a need to perform details and overtime. There is the ever growing number of Officers being ordered for overtime. We all have children who play soccer, football or lacrosse with games and practices. We have boyfriends/girlfriends and husbands/wives who want our time. Some of us may be attending school ourselves. I can go on and on. It is sometimes not easy to take a full day away from all of our other priorities. It can seem like we are being pulled in a million different directions. Another reason why we could be having such a low showing at these funerals is the fact that the average time on the job of a BPPA member is just seven years. I hope that I am 100% wrong in this but could it be that with such a high number of young Officers in the BPD there is an overwhelming way of thinking of “It will never happen to me” or “It can’t happen here”? It can happen here, it has happened here, as recently as 2014 when Officer Dennis Simmonds passed due to injuries suffered while chasing down terrorists in 2013, and it will happen here again. To think different is dangerous. Hell, if it wasn’t for the truly heroic actions of some of our Officers, members of our H+H and the great Doctors at our hospitals it could have happened here several more times over the last few years. We could all sit around and come up with a millions reasons why our numbers at these funerals have been consistently dwindling. But to put it bluntly, they are all just excuses. How would we all feel if only 12 members of a department of 1,500-2,000 members got off the bus to show their respects to a member of the BPD killed in the Line of Duty? I know I would notice and it wouldn’t sit well with me. We all took a job that builds a true brotherhood and sisterhood. There is that unspoken bond that I have talked about in the past. I am not saying that we all should be at every funeral but those priorities that I listed above should understand that for one day, a day that a fellow Officer is being buried, you have to be pulled in the direction of your brother and sister Officers. Thank you for reading this and letting me rant. I am not one to apologize for my words. If I offended you, angered you or hurt your feelings then please just make a better effort to attend the next funeral.