Ramon Espinosa

September, 2010

This month, the League made an important change to one of its annual functions. What would have been the LAPPL 28th Annual Golf Tournament we chose to rename the “Chief Daryl F. Gates Memorial Tournament.”

It’s not often that a police union that represents lieutenants and below chooses to memorialize a chief of police through one of its own sponsored annual events; however, this union did and proudly so.

Chief Gates was known as a “cop’s cop.” He revolutionized policing tactics and changed law enforcement thinking. Case in point: Known as the father of SWAT, he developed the SWAT concept, which is now commonplace in police departments. He created the DARE program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), placing police officers in public schools to teach the dangers of using drugs. The chief also chose to aggressively combat gang violence by creating specialized units known as CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums).

Finally, Chief Gates was largely responsible for the formation of the Family Support Group, which supports the survivors and families of LAPD officers killed in the line of duty, which in turn led to the formation of many other support groups. The LAPD support groups consist of the Family Support Group, Children’s Support Group, Cancer Support Group, Peer Support Group and L.A. Autism Group, all of which this union is proud to support. These groups were formed to provide education, assistance and support in order to help our own to get through difficult times.

The chief never gave up on his troops and was very supportive and available to the surviving families of his Department personnel, right up until the time he became ill. The Los Angeles Police Protective League is also there for its membership and their families — thus the formation of this golf tournament some 28 years ago to help provide financial assistance for the Family Support Group and LAPD families in need. The League will continue to do so for years to come; however, it will do so in the name of a most-respected man in law enforcement: Chief Daryl F. Gates.

For more information on the inaugural Chief Daryl F. Gates Memorial Golf Tournament, to be held on September 13 at the Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge, see page 15.

Contact me at ramonespinosa@lappl.org with your questions and comments.