Good Cop, Bad Cop

First off, let me say I LOVE cops. Before I was married I had even applied to the NYPD and did very well on the tests, it was a strong possibility that I would even have been in the first class after my test date — except New York City had a major financial crisis that year (1974) and not only disbanded that list of potential recruits, but I understand they let go of the then-current academy class. It was about one or two years later that I received a letter inviting me back, although I would have to pass another physical. By that time I was married and had moved away from the city, and I decided not to pursue it.

 

While I never regretted my decision, I have often thought of how things in life might have been different had I actually gone into the academy and got on the force… still, no regrets. I have always had an affinity for first responders. I met my husband while we were both volunteering for the Auxiliary Police at a local precinct. Nowadays I have family in all arms of first response and I admire and am so proud of each one. Each man and woman in uniform is out there with every intention of doing good for every member of the community that they are sworn to "serve and protect".

 

That being said, I am so disappointed when I hear of an abuse of power. Those FEW officers ruin it for everyone else. When I good and honest police officer is out on the street and has to deal with the distrust and criticisms directed at him/her because of actions of a few over-zealous members, it makes their already difficult job harder. One of my relatives, an officer in his department, actually told me that no one is angrier at an abusive cop than all of the other GOOD cops He hates it when, especially a child, someone is scared of him just because he has a uniform on.

 

It is so sad when the actions of many are judged because of the actions of a few because of their uniform, color, gender or age. Mistrust grows with each “nasty” encounter and people on both sides tend to over-react. Communities are scared of police and cop-families are scared that their loved ones might not return because they hesitated. And indeed, there are those with malicious intent on all sides, and more who react out of fear because of previous incidents — and it is always the FEW who make it worse for everyone else. And when you actually take a moment it’s clear that most people, cops and civilians, aren’t looking for violent encounters.

 

I heard an expression recently that just because you hate “police brutality” doesn’t mean you hate all police because that would be the same as saying just because you hate child abuse then you hate all parents. You can believe in the BLM movement and still support your police at the same time. These days it is tough to be a cop AND it is tough to be a young black man on the street. Somehow we have to find a way to work together, stealing an old song title, we have to find a way to “give peace a chance”.

How A Haunting Murder Led to a Romantic Suspense

It was 1985 and the little town I lived in was horrified at the murder that captured newspaper headlines. The site of the murder was just a few minutes from my home.

Using my EMT skills, I used to work in the infirmary of a local summer day camp in those years. Every day, as I drove to work, I went past the driveway leading to the smokehouse where the victim’s body had been burned beyond recognition. The police caught the murderer and the trial replaced the actual murder headlines.

But each time I passed the mailbox at the end of the crime scene driveway I was filled with an unease, there were nights when the horror at what had occurred there just wouldn’t leave my mind and I would lay awake staring at the ceiling.

When I wrote Final Sin I used a mental image of the crime scene that had haunted my town and I developed a different crime, a crime that included a body that had been set on fire. But that is where the similarity ended…

… Deputy Sheriff Commander Jake Carson has his hands full with the investigation of a brutal multiple homicide, a troubled son and a vindictive ex-wife when he meets young, free-spirited paramedic Julie Jennings. He is immediately drawn to her and finds himself unexpectedly falling in love. Julie finds herself just as drawn to him. When Julie becomes the subject of an obsession, it puts both of their lives in extreme danger… Romance…danger…adventure…suspense…another great Chelle Cordero novel sure to grab readers from many genre!

Final Sin was an Honorable Mention in the
Fiction Category of the 2010 NY Book Festival 

Buy Links

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

KOBO

iTunes

Scribd.

inktera

Final Sin is available in Print, E-book & Audio

Now Available in Spanish and German translations!

Book Discussion Packet

Fifteen Years to Think ~ #MondayBlogs

For me, like many others in America, yesterday, September 11, was a day of reflection, prayer, shudders, and probably some tears. Like many others in America I can recall almost exactly where I was, who I spoke to, the horror I felt as I watched (on TV) the buildings as one burnt, the other was attacked, and they both fell. There was added shock as we heard of the attack on the Pentagon and the plane crash in Pennsylvania. And like many other Americans I attended candlelight vigils, reached out to friends and relatives, and cried.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 I went back to bed after my son left for school for time to cuddle with my husband who had an unexpected day off. [He was working as an Audio Visual tech on a two-day event in NYC; due to a scheduling conflict the event was scheduled for the 10^th and the 12^th and was being held in the Marriot Hotel at the World Trade Center.]

Shortly before 9:00 AM my sister called, she had been watching TV, I remember her words, “A plane just hit one of the World Trade Center buildings… Go turn on your TV.” I ran to the living room incoherently repeating what I couldn’t yet believe, my husband followed. We turned the set on and saw flames from one of the buildings and it was just minutes later that we watched a plane hit building 2. I remember hearing someone, myself, repeating “Oh my G-d, oh my G-d.”

A friend of mine, a paramedic, called, the siren screaming behind her, asking me to cancel our ambulance youth squad meeting that night and telling me that her rig was heading to lower Manhattan. I remember the distress in her voice. I made phone calls and left voice messages cancelling the meeting.

My sister and I were on the phone again. She was calling relatives who worked in Manhattan to make sure they were all alright and we were running down the list.

Almost an hour after the first plane struck, building 2 crumbled with everyone watching TV witnessing it. My husband was getting dressed to head to our local ambulance corps building 40 minutes north of the devastation.

The phone rang again, this time it was our son, he was hiding in a school alcove using a cell phone from his backpack that was supposed to remain off while at school. “Mom, where is Dad?” I can still hear the terror in his words even now 15 years later. I was able to reassure him that his dad was safe.

About an hour and a half after I turned my television on, building 1 collapsed demolishing the Marriot Hotel and setting 7 WTC on fire. After another phone call, this time from my daughter (upstate at college) checking on our safety and telling me she was heading back home, I got dressed and followed my husband to the local ambulance corps where we both volunteered as EMTs.

People congregated at the building offering help answering phones, comforting and treating distraught walk-ins, and setting up rehab for any of the wounded transported here because the NYC hospitals were both overflowing and too close to an area in danger. I sat with two young men who were desperate to hear about family, one cousin and one father – the father made it home, the cousin perished in the rubble. We began to hear of other community members who were never going to come home again.

Most of the youth squad members showed up at the building despite receiving the messages. My daughter made the trek home and helped with all the phone calls, oversaw the youth members, and assisted walk-ins. At one point we received the directive from our county’s EMS control that most of the corps, including ours, were sending crews to the city. A few of our youth squad members helped outfit the truck with the specified equipment. My son was one of the teenagers assigned to readying the truck.

My husband was one of four EMTs who went to the city. Our rig was one of a long line of ambulances sent to the disaster from all over the tristate area. They stood by through the night and many went home the next morning frustrated by the lack of injured — too many deaths and too few still alive to receive treatment and transport, too few to save.

Fifteen years since this horror… the Freedom Tower now stands in lower Manhattan, and reflecting pools mark the footprint of the original buildings. The National 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center and many memorials throughout the tristate area have helped to document the events of the day. Families and friends who lost loved ones have learned somehow to survive with the loss and pain.

Those of us who lived the day will never forget.

Unsung Heroes in Public Safety - #MondayBlogs

I rode as an Emergency Medical Technician for nearly 30 years and responded to various calls for medical help — while enroute to the location we tried to prepare for what waited for us on scene. Of course since most, IF ANY (lol), of us are not soothsayers, we had to rely on the dispatch information we received from the 911 operator.

Sometimes the results were hilarious like the time we were sent to a "bleeding aneurysm" [an abnormal widening or ballooning of a portion of an artery due to weakness in the wall of the blood vessel.]; depending on the site and severity, this can be a life-threatening situation. Without going into gross details, the medic summed the nature of the call up while he wrote up his report, "First time I ever rode in on a diaper rash!"

Once in a while the dispatch info was, well, rather understated. There was the night we were sent to a woman complaining of a stomach ache, by the time we arrived at the hospital I had delivered an eight-and-a-half pound baby boy.

Most times the dispatch info was pretty close if not exact and included more than just the nature of the call such as road closures, hazardous conditions, directions, and the occasional need for a police presence. 911 operators have the heavy task of answering the phone and literally deciphering information from frantic, stressed, sometimes crying callers whose own message may be horribly skewed and far from reality.

I remember as a child in the Bronx, well before the inception of 911, when emergency phone calls were answered by your local police precinct, there was no caller ID, and the day a rebellious squirrel crawled through our third floor kitchen window. My mom, terrified of the "giant rodent" (her description) was shrieking as she made the phone call for help. While I don't remember the exact words anymore, I remember her message included something about an evil squirrel, a kitchen sink, and protecting her children... and then she hung up, gathered my sister and me and ran to a neighbor's apartment to wait for the police to rescue us. She never gave her name or our address! A second phone call from the neighbor's apartment did finally bring the much needed rescue.

In the mid to late 60s, based on recommendations from President Johnson's Task Force on Law Enforcement and Justice, development was started on installing a simple emergency number throughout the U.S. Eventually 911 became Enhanced-911 and today's calls are answered by highly trained, patient and quick thinking Emergency Dispatchers. Incoming calls are displayed on computer screens and most landline (wired phone systems) calls display return phone numbers and locations. Even if a caller is unable to speak, assistance can be dispatched. Knowing the nature of the call helps the operator to determine which, or how many, emergency services need to be sent (fire, police or EMS). Plans are being worked on to make cell phone calls as identifiable.

911 Emergency Dispatchers need great communication skills, knowledge and understanding of emergency situations, as well as the ability to calm frantic callers and get pertinent information from them. Their minimum education is a High School diploma AND intensive emergency training and/or certification depending on the local state requirements. EMDs (Emergency Medical Dispatch) are also trained to coach people through emergency life-saving procedures Basic First Aid until responding crews are on scene. There is a lot of stress being the beginning link in our emergency response system.

Many of us have heard the stories of heroic 911-dispatchers who have gone above and beyond their required scope of duties. On September 11, 2001, Illinois call center supervisor Lisa Jefferson spoke with Todd Beamer on the ill-fated Flight 93. She offered him comfort, encouragement, took messages for his family, and even said the Lord's Prayer with him. Her actions helped record the events of the day and brought comfort to a grieving family. Police dispatchers have also been known to save police officers; one Milwaukee operator realized that a police officer hadn't checked back in after clearing a call scene and she alerted other units, they found him having a medical emergency of his own. 

The following Public Service Announcement aired during the 2015 SuperBowl, its message was to combat domestic violence and sexual abuse. The call was based on an actual 911 call. The 911 operator was able to correctly decipher the caller's cryptic call for help and send the help that was needed; this is a terrific example of the listening skills, and quick thinking that makes the 911 emergency operator such an invaluable component of our emergency response system.

Let's send out a big Thank You to our 911 Emergency Dispatchers and let them know we appreciate all that they do.

Mandy knows ~ Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 01/18/15

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior round. Every week writers post 8 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

I'm introducing snippets from More Than a Friend, a part of The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero, a short-story collection which exemplifies (I hope) the diversity of my writing.

More Than a Friend is a short story based on a manuscript of the same name (which has never been published) This manuscript was co-authored by my sister, Barbara Cordero Du-Bois, and me. I re-wrote it as a short story because I wanted my characters to LIVE.

Everyone was left upset by Loretta's angry outburst. Mandy was so distraught she locked herself in the bathroom; Janis convinces her to let her in and the two women have a private but emotional chat. Next week I'll skip ahead a little in the story, but for now ...the 8 sentences:

“I am so sorry for what my mom said,” Mandy reached for Janis’ hand when she tried to shrug it off. “No, you’ve had to put up with entirely too much crap, I love my brother and I miss him so much… but Janis, I know who he was.”

“Of course you miss him, he was your brother.”

“No Janis. I know about the… argument, Billy called me that night. He had a while to sober up and he felt terrible, he was worried that you would never forgive him.”

She was breathless. “What did Billy tell you?” She felt her throat tightening and fought to hold back tears.

 For more WeWriWa snippets, go to www.wewriwa.com

More Than a Friend

Can best friends become lovers
and share a lifetime together?

 AUDIO 

PRINT 

Kindle 

 AllRomance Ebooks 

 iBooks 

 Smashwords 

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.

The Results of the 2014 Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll are in!

and I feel like bragging, so please forgive my lack of modesty

Non-fiction Article ~ Can We Talk?
…an article inspired by the late Joan Rivers

Promotional Site ~ The Potpourri Parlor…featuring book promos, interviews, profiles & more

Writers’ Workshop ~ Living, Breathing, Writing…an Amazon Kindle blog all about writing & being a writer

And I am especially proud to be a part of Team VHP!so many nominations for 
Vanilla Heart Publishing
Authors, Books & Publisher,ALL had impressive results!

The argument - Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 01/11/15

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior round. Every week writers post 8 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

I'm introducing snippets from More Than a Friend, a part of The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero, a short-story collection which exemplifies (I hope) the diversity of my writing.

More Than a Friend is a short story based on a manuscript of the same name (which has never been published) This manuscript was co-authored by my sister, Barbara Cordero Du-Bois, and me. I re-wrote it as a short story because I wanted my characters to LIVE.

Newly widowed and numb, Janice went back to work and is trying to move on with her life when she is summoned to her mother-in-law's place for dinner. Emotions went awry and the scene got ugly. Despite Loretta's animosity to her, Janice understands that Loretta is in deep mourning for her son ...the 8 sentences:

Janis stood to try to comfort her, but her mother-in-law’s cold stare literally stopped her. “Billy told me that you and he had an argument the night before he was killed and you threw him out.”

“Billy walked out, he said he needed space.” Janis remembered the door slamming behind him as she sat on the floor crying.

“You never tried to stop him,” Loretta screeched at Janis.

“Momma, please calm down,” Mandy seemed at a loss of what to say.

Loretta looked at Mandy and cried even harder, “They argued about her damn friendship with Jerry — Jerry this and Jerry that. I wish that boy had never come into our lives.” 

 For more WeWriWa snippets, go to www.wewriwa.com

More Than a Friend

Can best friends become lovers
and share a lifetime together?

 AUDIO 

PRINT 

Kindle 

 AllRomance Ebooks 

 iBooks 

 Smashwords 

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.

Remembering the victims of
the Charlie Hebdo massacre

Frédéric Boisseau, 42

Franck Brinsolaro, 49

Cabu (Jean Cabut), 76

Elsa Cayat, 54

Charb (Stéphane Charbonnier), 47

Philippe Honoré, 74

Bernard Maris, 68

Ahmed Merabet, 42

Moustapha Ourrad

Michel Renaud, 69

Tignous (Bernard Verlhac), 57

Georges Wolinski, 80

We can never be sure that the opinion
we are endeavoring to stifle
 is a false opinion; and if we were sure,
stifling it would be an evil still. 

  ~John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859

A Matter of Respect ~ #MondayBlogs

The New York City Police Department had to bury two of their own who were ambushed and killed while innocently eating their lunch while seated in their parked patrol car. The perpetrator claimed, in anti-police rants posted on social media, that he was going to kill police officers as retribution for recent fatalities of alleged police brutality.

Despite personal sentiments regarding the lack of convictions in two separate cases (Michael Brown in Missouri and Eric Garner in New York), public opinion overwhelmingly condemned the actions of Ismaaiyl Brinsley who committed suicide after ambushing NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu on December 20. There has been a growing memorial at the site of the ambush in memory of the fallen officers both of whom had exemplary records and no involvement in any police brutality charges. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from all over the nation came to New York City to pay respects at the memorial and attend the funerals.

The NYPD had earlier expressed discontent with the New York City Mayor Bill DiBlasio after his remarks about protests over the Grand Jury decisions on the Brown and Garner cases. Their claim was that he did not support the police officers and questioned his apparent friendship with vocal critics of law enforcement. At the hospital on December 20 NYPD Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch said "blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall." When the mayor showed up at the hospital the line of police officers turned their backs on him in protest.

DiBlasio asked New Yorkers to postpone protests over the court rulings until after the executed officers were buried in order to focus on the grieving families. Many residents complied; however several also ignored and added cries of dissent. Ironically some of the more vocal objections and criticisms about the mayor’s plea for understanding came from the Reverend Al Sharpton and The Answer Coalition who labeled the request as an "outrageous attempt to chill free speech. DiBlasio’s assumed friendship with Sharpton is one of the NYPD gripes about City Hall’s lack of police department support. Fox News reported one protester as stating "We will not let recent tragic moments derail this movement. This is the revolution and we will not be repressed."

On December 27 when Mayor DiBlasio showed up to honor and pay respect at Officer Ramos’ funeral, hundreds of uniformed police officers turned their backs to him in a show of disrespect for his policies. Police Commissioner William Bratton chastised the officers’ action for taking place at the funeral and asked them not to display the same disrespect for the mayor at Liu’s funeral reminding them that the funerals were a time for “grieving, not grievance.” On Sunday, January 4, although there were a few officers who desisted, uniformed officers once again turned their backs on the mayor citing his perceived lack of respect for the department.

It’s obvious that the various factions involved in all the acts leading to these multiple deaths need to find some common ground, they need to find a way to smooth relations and move forward with mutual respect and positive growth. Yes I have my beliefs about the incidents and responding events as most people do – but it doesn’t matter if we agree or not. Continued violence, mass destruction, and the failure to show compassion and sympathy for mourners is contradictory to the best interests of communities, civil servants, families and human relations.

I think that funerals should be a time when parents, spouses, children, siblings and others should be allowed to grieve without protest. No matter what your opinions might be, and we are all entitled, anytime someone loses a loved family member the pain is immense and they are entitled to our compassion and understanding. Any life lost is a blow to humanity.

Loretta disapproves - Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 01/04/15

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior round. Every week writers post 8 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

I'm introducing snippets from More Than a Friend, a part of The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero, a short-story collection which exemplifies (I hope) the diversity of my writing.

More Than a Friend is a short story based on a manuscript of the same name (which has never been published) This manuscript was co-authored by my sister, Barbara Cordero Du-Bois, and me. I re-wrote it as a short story because I wanted my characters to LIVE.

Happy New Year! I hope all of your celebrations were great.

I’m skipping ahead since last week’s snippet. Janice has returned to work. We found out that she met her husband through Jerry and that he was upset he never made it clear how he felt about her. They’ve spent time together as friends. Janis was summoned to her mother-in-law’s (Loretta, Jerry’s aunt) for dinner and we learn that Loretta has never liked Jerry. Janice’s sister-in-law, Mandy, is also present for dinner. And now the 8 sentences:

Dinner was strained. If it hadn’t been for Mandy’s effervescence it probably would have been silent except for Loretta’s crying spells. Janis really did feel for Loretta and never faulted her emotions, but her anger over Janis’ return to work and her continued friendship with Jerry was inexcusable.

“You are a widow and you should act like one. You shouldn’t be so self-centered, everything doesn’t revolve around you.”

“Mom,” even Mandy was taken aback by Loretta’s hostility, “Billy would never have wanted Janis to stop living.”

“How do you know what Billy would have wanted? He’s… he’s dead.” 

 For more WeWriWa snippets, go to www.wewriwa.com

More Than a Friend

Can best friends become lovers
and share a lifetime together?

 AUDIO 

PRINT 

Kindle 

 AllRomance Ebooks 

 iBooks 

 Smashwords 

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.

This year's Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll is open until January 14, 2015.

I have a few entries in the poll and if your wouldn't mind, I would love your support.

You can vote one time in each category.

And Good Luck to everyone else who is entered!

Romance Short Stories ~ Holiday Happiness

Writer’s Workshop ~ Living, Breathing, Writing Promotional Sites ~ The Potpourri Parlor

Anthology ~ Your Game Plan for Seamless Holiday Decorating

...and here's a list of other Vanilla Heart Author entries

Positivity ~ #MondayBlogs

It seems like the world is "going to hell in a hand-basket"

It is frightening, mind-boggling, despairing and frustrating to hear of tragedy upon tragedy in our country and abroad. Just about every news report contains scenes of grieving families, funerals, anger,and so much more negativity.

Whatever feelings you have about alleged perpetrators or police officers - who is right or who is wrong - it cannot be denied that when ANY parent/family is left to mourn a loss, it is a tragedy.

When a local legislator receives a threatening picture where his head is superimposed over an ISIS beheading... it's unbelievable. And when we hear of journalists and aid workers being kidnapped and beheaded, it's appalling.

What kind of world are our children growing up in? They worry about terrorism, disturbed individuals with weapons (guns, knives,cars,etc.) causing massive damage. Of course there are the natural (and unnatural) disasters such as weather/storms,fires, floods, quakes and sinkholes to add more uncertainty to our daily existence.

Where is the innocence that a child should be able to enjoy?

Have we reached a point where we should just throw our hands up in surrender? I don't plan to.

Too often we've seen strangers pulling together in times of despair, Even young adults have formed organizations to offer help for worthy causes. Professional first responders, police, fire, and EMS (both paid and volunteer) are heroes who answer our calls for help. Medical science has made advances to treat many conditions that once were considered death sentences and research continues in other serious conditions.

I once heard someone say that every morning the sun rises is a sign of hope. It is. Every day we begin with a fresh start, and new chance to get something positive done. Make it your daily focus to offer a hand, make someone smile, feed a soul, pray or wish for something good to happen for those around you, to offer a compliment...

Make every day you have count - make your life a reason to do something good for our world.