LAPD Wife

Understanding the hidden danger of stress in police work

There is a good post on the LAPPL Blog titled "Understanding the hidden danger of stress in police work" that's worth a read. We all know that stress isn't good - and that police suffer stress we don't even think about. There is a new study about the correlations between police work, stress and it's effects on health. Check it out.

Routine Challenges

Marriage to a police officer brings many challenges, but one that I think we all deal with continually is learning to adjust to the shift work, overtime, on-call duty and other work-related scheduling hassles. We learn quickly that the only thing reliable about their work schedules is that they are not reliable. When we make plans, there is always the possibility that Jake may not be availalbe, so I aways have a Plan A (no Jake) and a Plan B (with Jake) in place.

Well, almost always. Even I, after 15 years, still make rookie mistakes. Like last week. I had scheduled a lunch date with a  good friend of mine in the Valley. We were to meet at noon. It's summer, the kids are out of school, so I always have to think about child care. Being the smart girl that I am, I asked my friend if she wouldn't mind the kids tagging along. No problem, we're all set.

I told Jake about my plans and he informed me that he would be able to watch the kids that day, if I would like to have a quiet lunch with my friend. Excellent! Jake was working, but was leaving early to go to a work-mandated physical therapy session (for problems that pop up now and then from past injuries on the job). He assured me that he would definitely be home in time.

I then made the rookie decision to wait and leave the kids with him. He did promise me that he would be home in time. What, oh what was I thinking? Big surprise, he ended up having to stay late for work, so therefore had to go to physical therapy late, so therefore arrived home late. Instead of just leaving and taking the kids with me, as I so smartly had planned on in the first place, I was going with Plan B and waiting at home for him to switch off with the kids, frantically texting my friend and pushing our lunch date back... and back.... and back.

Arriving at my lunch date an hour late, I was mad. Not mad at Jake, but mad at myself. I know better. It's not his fault, it's just the way the job is. I've been married to him long enough that I shouldn't let myself get caught up in this. The only person not mad at the table was my girlfriend. She's married to a cop - she gets it.

Roll With It

Officer Jake is pretty good about packing his lunch for work. After 20 years on the job, his stomach can't handle quite as many In-N-Out burgers and he's learned the value of maintaining a healthier diet. I've been working with him over the past several years to develop tasty and nutritious ideas that leave boring old turkey sandwiches and carrot sticks a thing of the past. Here is one of his recent favorites, a chicken-salad rollup, that incorporates protein, veggies, fruit and whole grain all in one. Sound "too-healthy-to-be-tasty?" Not so! Once I got him to try this (it took a little convincing - he thought it looked a little too "girly") he loved it and requests it often.    

Chicken Salad Rollups

> Whole wheat lavash bread (I get mine at Trader Joe's. If you can't get lavash, go for whole grain tortillas or any sort of flat bread.)
> Fresh spinach leaves (or lettuce if you can't get spinach)
> Golden raisins
> Chicken Salad (my recipe follows. Or buy prepared chicken salad at your local deli. The only problem with ready-made is you can't control how much mayo or other fats they put in the salad.)

Homemade Chicken Salad

Four cups finely chopped cooked chicken (I like to use either grilled or roasted, more flavor)
2 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 stalks of celery - finely diced
salt and pepper to taste

Assembly

Lay out the lavash bread on a cutting board. Spread the chicken salad in a thin, even layer over the entire lavash, all the way to the sides. Sprinkle golden raisins over the chicken salad. Arrange spinach (or lettuce) leaves over top. Tightly roll up the lavash and fillings into a tight roll. Cut roll into sections about 2 inches wide. Store in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. It's best to make this right before packing the lunch - store too long and it gets soggy or the rolls come unrolled and you've got a grumpy police officer trying to figure out what-in-the-heck you put in his lunchbox.

Remember - real men DO eat rollups.

American Heroes Air Show

The American Heroes Air Show is returning again to Los Angeles this weekend on July 11, as high-tech helicopter, aerial demonstrations and a Code3 Careere Fair come to Lake View Terrace for a fun day full of excitement for the whole family.

All day Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be live entertainment, aerial demonstrations, emergency preparedness exhibits and a public safety career fair highlighting the event honoring the men and women in uniform and civilian volunteers who save lives and safeguard Southern California communities every day.

“It’s a personal privilege to work with the City of Los Angeles to host such an exciting display of the very best of rotary-wing aviation,” said Jim Paules, the event’s founder and volunteer executive producer. “Since our first event in 1993 the American Heroes Air Show has presented Southern California residents with a unique opportunity to learn about these amazing aircraft and pay tribute to those who maintain and fly them in service to our city, our state and our nation.”

Visitors are encouraged to arrive early for the “Rollin’ to the Rescue” caravan of vintage fire, police and emergency service vehicles scheduled to arrive at 9:30 a.m. Nearly 40 rare and beautifully restored vehicles will arrive along Foothill Boulevard in a blaze of CODE 3 lights and sirens and remain on static display throughout the day.

The event’s high-flying opening ceremony commences at 11 a.m. honoring the many heroes of public service in attendance. The Golden Stars Skydiving Team, an official goodwill representative of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, will launch the day’s aerial demonstrations at 11:30 a.m. Soaring above the crowd, the Golden Stars team will fill the sky with smoke, spinning canopies and streamers as they perform precision maneuvers. As the skydivers spiral down, they will display U.S. and POW / MIA flags overhead.

The L.A. City Fire Department’s Air Operations Unit also will welcome guests with their traditional red, white and blue heritage water drop, followed by a helicopter formation flyover. More than 25 military and civilian helicopters are expected for static display, including the U.S. Air Force Pavehawk, a heavily-armed, high-tech version of the Blackhawk helicopter used by combat search and rescue teams to recover U.S. military personnel who have gone down behind enemy lines and inside denied areas of operation.

Other featured aircraft include the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sikorsky H-3 Sea King used for high altitude and swift water rescue, emergency medivac and tactical resources movement operations; the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrives in their Sikorsky S-70 Firehawk, the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station San Diego will attend in their HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter used for search and rescue, drug interdiction in addition to a wide variety of other helicopters used by fire protection, law enforcement, homeland security, national defense and news reporting agencies.

The day will also include the CODE3 Career Fair with recruiting teams on hand from many of the premier local, Federal and state law enforcement organizations to offer information on entry criteria, hiring practices and job opportunities in the growing field of criminal justice and law enforcement.

Local colleges and universities will also be on-scene with information on their criminal justice and emergency preparedness curriculum so guests can learn more about training options and classes that will put them on the path to reliable careers in public safety.

The American Heroes Air Show’s main entrance is located at 11480 Foothill Blvd. in Lake View Terrace near the intersection of the 210 and 118 Freeways. Event admission and parking are free For additional event information, visit www.heroes-airshow.com.

New Blog for LAPD

There's a new blog for keeping up to date with news and goings-ons with the LAPD and in Southern California - the LAPPL Official Blog. LAPPL Directors and other public safety experts will be regularly posting items at the blog.

"The goal of the blog is to provide insight into law enforcement from a police officer's perspective," said Paul M. Weber, LAPPL President, in a recent email to Protective League members. "As officers, we want Los Angeles residents to know the challenges we face in policing the city. At the same time, we want residents to share their perspective on public safety issues with us, hopefully resulting in a lively and constructive forum."

So far they are off to a good start. I've been impressed with the League's efforts recently to improve communications betwee both them and their constituents, the rank and file of the LAPD, and between them and the general public. I follow their Twitter account, receive their email updates and have now bookmarked this blog. I know, I know, we are all so busy that it's hard to put one more item  on our daily checklist. This is true for me, which is why I find the email updates invaluable. Information is power - plus it's nice to be already up to speed when my husband comes home talking about the latest tactical-alert or a comment Chief Bratton made in the press.   

Happy Fourth of July!

Hope that you are all having a wonderful holiday today. Jake is actually home and we've been having a great time all week planning the perfect day off with Daddy. At least this year I don't have to worry about Jake getting hit by bullets fired by people celebrating in their own insanely dangerous way during public fireworks celebrations.

Enjoy your day, have fun and be safe. And for those whose spouses or parents are on duty for Independence Day, save the sparklers for another day and bring out the red, white and blue for them with a day-after celebration. After all, it's not about a date on the calendar, it's about celebrating and honoring our country, past and present, and the wonders around us here in the United States.

LAPD Deployment for Michael Jackson funeral

KFI NEWS has confirmed the LAPD is planning a massive deployment of officers for Michael Jackson's funeral and memorial set for next Tuesday that -- according to some department insiders -- will hamper daily police work and stretch staffing to dangerously low levels.

More than 1,400 officers -- two shifts of at least 30 officers plus 3 supervisors from each of the department's 25 patrol stations -- have been asked to volunteer for Jacko duty on Monday and Tuesday, according to officers at several stations and a senior department official. All of them will be on overtime. No one has figured out exactly what that will cost taxpayers.

** Jake is not planning on volunteering at this point. Talk about a crazy detail to work...