PAX Centurion - January / February 2013

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • January/February 2013 • Page 11 An unassuming hero By Mark A. Bruno O n December 21, 2012, most of us woke up and pinched ourselves, just happy to be alive. This day of course ended the Mayan calendar, which had people predicting doom and gloom, and the end of the world. All we need to do now is go out and buy new 2013 calendars which are probably half-price off by now. Much like Comet Hale-Bopp and the members of Heaven’s Gate who thought they were go- ing to be beamed up by aliens, we as police officers have come to expect the unexpected when these biblical and historical dates come to pass. As police officers we cringe at a full moon on a weekend because we know how crazy it gets. This historical day would be no different in terms of officers having their guard up for any kook that decided to come out of the woodwork and attempt to beam up without proper authorization. The day was a miserable one with cold-sideways-wind-driven-rain. It certainly seemed like biblical proportions if you were working near the Seaport or Channel area of Boston. For Officer Ed Norton and his colleagues, Robert Lucas, Steven Collette, Allison McHale and others, the day would get exciting in deed. A call came in for a female located in the Channel waters located near the Summer Street Bridge. The officers responded immediately and were met by citizens who pointed out the victim in the frigid waters, just barely able to stay afloat. She was holding on to a small floating dock in the harbor. Without time to think Officer Ed Norton removed his shoes and stripped off his gun-belt which he handed to a fellow officer. He hurtled the guard rail and plunged straight in to the icy waters, only thinking of saving this young lady. Officer Lucas had a life-saver-ring which was taken from the Tea Party Museum, which he tossed down to Officer Norton. Officer Norton with his protective body armor on and life-saver in one hand began swimming through the bone-chill- ing-water and wind driven rain towards the victim. Officer Norton was able to secure the victim while waiting for help to arrive. He and the victim were taken to local hospitals and treated for hypothermia. Officer Ed Norton was given a commendation award by Police Commissioner Ed Davis along with a proclamation fromMayor Thomas Menino. For those of us who work with Ed Norton in Dis- trict-six, most will tell you how nice a person he is to be around. He is never flamboyant but rather quiet and reserved. He is a gentleman always to those who know him. Recently married and father to a new baby, he took his fifteen minutes of fame as he does with everything else, humbly grateful that he was able save a life while performing his duties. I, along with all his co-workers am proud to call him a friend. To this unassuming hero who thought nothing of his own safety while saving the life of another, congratulations for a job well done! gaps where a contract is silent but cannot contradict the explicit terms of a contract. A minority of arbitrators believe, if a past practice is longstanding enough and has spanned repeated renegotiations of the contract, the past practice can actually amend clear and unambiguous contract terms.” Our grievance procedure timetable would be a good example of explicit language that has rigid time lines for compliance that are rou- tinely not enforced by either party. Most believe if either party noticed the other, that in the foreseeable future the letter of the language was to be complied with, that would be upheld if challenged. Both parties right to grieve would not have been diminished by either party’s fail- ure to have exercised that right. An update will be forthcoming when a hopefully, positive IOD arbitration decision comes back. Spending Issue? T reasury Secretary Tim Geithner in July of 2011 gave an over- view of our financial picture to leaders in our government: “Tax collections only cover about two thirds of what the federal govern- ment spent, given the $1.3 trillion annual deficit on a $3.8 trillion budget. That meant $25 billion a week had to be borrowed; refinanc- ing of the existing debt required another $100 billion a week for a total of $125 billion of new Treasury debt every week.” March of 2013 could have some serious repercussions with pending votes on an annual budget and debt override. From Vice President on page 5 Bargaining Update Hero cop Edward Norton receives congratulations from his fellow officers after he was presented a commendation fromPolice Commissioner Ed Davis. to 6.2%- about another $20 per week, $1,040 per year. Thanks, Uncle Sam! The government takes one-third of your paycheck before you even see it, to hand it over to….. (let me see how I can put this without offending anyone…) “the most vulnerable among us”. What we’re left with – after them taking a third of our pay – and then paying the mortgage, buying food, gas, heating the house, paying bills and tuition, is NOTHING. We’re slowly being strangled by a system that takes more and more from our paychecks and gives it to others who don’t/ won’t work. So when you’re sitting around your table ask- ing yourself “why are we broke”, don’t blame yourself: “the system is rigged against you”, to use the words of a certain Massachusetts poli- tician who made $350,000 for teaching one class a week at Harvard University while her husband also made $350,000 “teaching”.Yes, but they’re “concerned for the middle class”. RIGHT….. From Broke on page 3 Why we’re broke…