Washington Chapter
There was a good turnout of Washington Chapter Members at the July National Conference held in Phoenix. There were 22 attendees, plus our Training Tech Saskia Martin who was able to join the Honor Ceremony to see Chapter Member Tim Braniff move from the Section 1 Representative to Section 1 Vice President. In four more years, the National Conference will return to Section 1 and be held in Denver. At that point, Tim will be the Association President—the first time for our Chapter! As you can see from the picture, there was an amazing photo opportunity where we were able to include two of our members who were photographically represented. Members represented at the conference were Nelson Beazley, Michelle Bennett, Tim Braniff, Jay Cabezuela, Scott Child, Rod Cohnheim, Wes Deppa, Lisa Drake, Fred Fakkema, Denise Giuntoli, Christopher Guerrero, Myra Harmon, Gail Harris, Richard Hayes, Max James, Shane Nelson, Mike Painter, Bob Palmer, Cindy Reed, John Snaza, and Brad Watkins.
Promotions
Mike Harden, NA Session 273, was promoted to the Chief for Lake Forest Park PD. Previous Chief Steve Sutton, NA Session 239,is in the process of preparing for an RV trip across the US to visit all the National Parks to celebrate his retirement.
John Vincent, NA Session 226, became the assistant vice president for campus and community safety within UW Student Life in May. He previously served as the UWPD Chief.
Retirements
Dan Phillips, NA Session 195, retired as a military criminal investigator after 23 years of service. He joined the federal service right after 9/11 and served 16 years working in the security and counterintelligence fields. Today he works for a major defense contractor. Dan serves as the LEOSA program Chair for the Washington state Fra- ternal Order of Police.
Jeff Parks, NA Session 209, retired from Whatcom County Sheriff’s office as of June 1.
Kristi Wilson, NA Session 251, retired from Redmond Police as of June 7.
Dan Ritchie, NA Session 180, retired April 30th 2017 after 40 years and 5 months. He reported “I was retired for 7 months and got bored. BNSF Police were looking for a Canadian Special Agent so out of retirement I came and have been with them for the last 18 months.”
Dave Pimentel, NA Session 230, has retired from the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office.
Travis Adams, NA Session 267, is retiring from the US Navy. Future plans unknown at this time.
George Delgado, NA Session 227, retired after 29 years of public service on July 15th. George began his law enforcement career with California Highway Patrol in 1989 then joined Vancouver PD in 1995 rising to the rank of commander. He became Des
Moines PD Chief in 2012. In 2018, he became the Director of Emergency Manager for the City of Des Moines. George served as 2013 WA Chapter President and is Section 1 Rep & Secretary for the FBINAA Charitable Foundation.
Passings
David Renzelman, NA Session 97, (1974) passed away April 2016 at the age of 76. After graduating high school in Sheboygan, WI, Dave served in the Marine Corps from 1957 until 1981 retiring as a Captain. He then served in the US Air Force as a civil service Supervisor Special Agent until 1991. Dave had a BS degree from San Diego State University which is where he met his wife Kathy. In 1991 Dave was recruited by the Dept. of Energy, serving in their Safeguards and Security Program as the Program Manager, and in the Office of Counterintelligence where he served until his retirement in 2004. At that point, he was hired by Pasco PD to serve as their Crime Specialist and Evidence Technician. He was a Life Member of the American Association of Police Polygraph Examiners. He was also a Master Mason since 1975 and a Shriner since 1978. He is survived by his wife, a son and daughter and three brothers.
Larry Hively, NA Session 97, (1974) died on Dec. 25, 2018 in Wenatchee. Larry was born in Missouri and grew up in the Wenatchee area. He served in the U. S. Army, returning to Wenatchee at the completion of his enlistment. He tried several jobs before becoming a Chelan County deputy sheriff. During his 16 years with the county, he rose to the rank of captain. In 1982, he was appointed Undersheriff of Grant County. He retired in 1999 and went on to work as a fraud investi- gator for DSHS. He left DSHS to become an investigator for the WA State Department of Labor and Industries. He proudly graduated from the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA in 1974 and served as the president of the Washington Chapter FBINAA in 1980. He taught law enforcement classes and was active in the American Legion and many law enforcement organizations. Larry loved Wenatchee and enjoyed boating, fishing, building and motorcycle trips to Vegas. He loved talking about the “cop shop”. He is survived by his wife Linda, two daughters, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Jerry Burk, NA Session 98, (1974) and 1981 past president of the WA chapter FBINAA died on June 17 ,2019. He grew up in Roswell, New Mexico during WWll and joined the Navy in 1956. He was air crew in an anti-submarine squadron on several aircraft carriers traveling all over the world. Following the Navy, he worked at Boeing. He soon discovered his dream job was to be a cop and he joined the King County Sheriff's Reserve. In 1963, he became a full- time deputy, rising through the ranks by exams to Captain. He was appointed Major and then Chief, a position he held until his retirement in 1988. He was either responsible for or participated in the development of the 911 system, the K- 9 unit and the promotion of minorities and women in police work. He did his best to mentor good officers and was often referred to as "a cop's cop". Jerry was humbled by the affection shown for his involvement and leadership. After retirement, he was in charge of security for the Goodwill Games. After receiving two B.A. degrees from CWU in El- lensburg he was accepted to Law School at UPS/Seattle University where he graduated with honors. He became a prosecutor in King County under Norm Maleng. Jeff Sullivan in Yakima offered him a position and he ultimately became the supervisor of the District Court Unit. He went on to become a Judge Pro-Tem for Yakima County. Jerry loved cruising. With a condo in Ha- waii, a camper that always headed to the Southwest and many cruises, he truly enjoyed the diversity of this world. He leaves behind his wife of 51 years Sharon, son Gregory and two grandchildren.
Jerry Gardner, NA Session 103, (1975) passed away peacefully in his sleep in July 2019 at the age of 78. Jerry was born in Asheville, NC, moved with his family to Los Angeles, joined the Army in 1960 and served in Korea. He trained to be a security police officer where became a man of deep convictions about right and wrong and with a passion for upholding the law. After the Army, Jerry joined the Pasadena Police Department where he spent 12 years. While there, he met his wife Pat. In 1974 they decided to give up the dangers of big city policing to raise their children in a small town. They moved to Cheney, WA where he accepted the position of Chief, serving in that position for 25 years. When he was hired, he was the youngest chief in the state and upon retirement in 1999, was the long- est tenured. Jerry’s retirement card read: “Police Chief Career Arrested by Retirement. Now Doing Life.” Jerry and Pat retired to their dream lakeside home in Newman Lake . Continuing with his service ethic, he became actively involved with Guide Dogs for the Blind raising a variety of puppies for the organization. The family re- quest that donations be made in his name to the Spokane Chapter of Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Robert Torgerson, NA Session 232, passed away April 20th, 2019 in Tucson, AZ where he had moved after his retirement in July 2017 after 13 years as the Chief of Aberdeen PD. He was in the hospital initially to deal with a blood-related infec-
tion but sadly the condition became fatal. Robert grew up in Minnesota. He served in the Air Force and earned a Purple Heart in the Vietnam War. His first police officer job was in Nichols, IA working as a detective and then a captain. Bob created one of Iowa’s first Domestic Assault Response Team (DART). His daughter Rose fondly re- membered her dad’s big heart. He often opened up his spare bedroom for any friend who might be struggling or homeless. In one case, he took in a woman for six months before hiring her as the police department as a dispatch- er. He was also a significant volunteer for the United Way of Grays Harbor, Coastal Community Action Program and nationally for the Red Cross. In addition to teaching first aid and CPR, he helped after disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. In a nod to his National Academy experience, he established the Yellow Brick Road system for tsunamis by placing signs around Aberdeen to lead people on foot to safe zones. He thought it would be easy for the citizens to remember to “Follow the Yellow Brick Road.” Torgerson was married for nearly 40 years and had two daughters and one son.