Events of the past year, perhaps unlike any other in recent history, has given us all cause to reflect on promises. We have seen a nation fulfill its promise to bring justice to a terrorist. and we will witness promises constantly kept by the brave police officers and firefighters who can be seen running toward the explosions, smoke, gunfire, screams, cries and destruction as others run away. People who work in public safety take an oath - they make a promise - to serve and protect. This promise is universal. It is the same oath, the same promise, made and kept every day in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Springfield, Cairo and in your hometown.

In Boston, it's now official. A scandal associated with hiring practices at the Probation Department has prompted the age-old debate about the Civil Service System. It seems like every year, our union, the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, is in court or in the legislature fighting to stop the erosion or even abolishment of the time tested civil service merit based standards and procedures. In 1883, Massachusetts became one of the first states in the nation to adopt a "merit hiring" or "civil service" law to stop the rampant practices of favoritism, cronyism, patronage and other forms of corrupt hiring and promotion practices.

As customers scurried from the store, Jack observed a suspicious suspect, ordered him to stop, and a foot chase ensued. The suspect engaged in a shootout with Officer Maguire, who returned fire and killed the suspect with several direct hits to the chest. However, during the shoot-out Officer Maguire was also severely wounded, and was rushed to Lahey Clinic hospital, where he died as a result of his gunshot wounds.

He was a 34-year veteran and was married to his wife, Desiree, for over 23 years.

There isn't a solitary soul that could make a reasonable argument that police officers should be on the lookout for suspicious individuals and activities that might indicate the possibility of a terrorist attack. That being said, the so-called "intelligence" that local law enforcement agencies are receiving from data warehouses known as "fusion centers" recently is raising all kinds of serious questions that demand answers. When you manage to put conservative Republicans and the ACLU on the same side you must have done something truly outrageous.

President Barack Obama is going to have a lot on his plate when he takes the oath of office on January 20 – the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, terrorism, and health care reform, just for starters. I’d like to talk about two more issues that I hope will receive serious consideration in an Obama administration: disenfranchisement of felons, and sentencing disparities for crack and powder cocaine.

Here at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept., we are currently experiencing what we consider to be a problem in that the agency is placing negative comments in the personnel files of employees who retire while an internal investigation is being conducted. The agency completes the investigation, and then places a copy of the “findings” along with an Adjudication of Complaint outlining what disciplinary action would have been imposed.

At some point in everyone’s life an inevitable truth becomes a reality. In my case, it was the recent realization that I have celebrated most of my birthdays, and probably don’t have all that many left to come. The many years I’ve spent doing athletic activities and police work have taken a toll on my body – my lower back is racked with arthritis and it takes me at least two hours every morning to reach the point where I can stand up straight; my rotator cuff is shot; two knee operations, and the subsequent arthritis, has made running an impossibility; and a torn Achilles tendon has further limited my mobility.

As a police officer, I was slightly heartened to learn that the recent march in our city, Omaha, Nebraska, organized by the Omahans for Justice Alliance, focused on their disagreements not only with the Omaha Police Department, but also on their concern for the rising tide of gang violence in our community. It would appear that certain activists have come to the realization that one tends to lose credibility with the rest of the community when the police are depicted as an even greater threat to the community than the droves of armed thugs who prey on our city and citizens daily.