Dear Joan, Alan,Tara,Susan, Tyler,Courtney and Emma: My heartfelt sympathy to all of you in the loss of your Husband, Dad and Grandfather. I had the distinct honour in serving directly under Fred when he was a Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Inspector and Superintendant at LPS. Fred had a direct impact not only on my career but also various units within the Force. Although I did not socialize much with Fred or Joan over the years I saw and was the subject of Fred's loyalty and compassion. I won't bore you with the details as I am sure you will hear many good stories about Fred and he would be embarassed at the show of endearment from his "troops". I will share a professional and a personal story that I have about Fred Early in my police career Fred was my Sergeant. He selected me to be one of his Training Officer on the Platoon. Our duties and responsibilities meant that I had to spend more than the normal duty time with Fred. Over the years he mentored me and chastised me when necessary. The one thing I knew was that Fred was loyal to the men and women serving London. When I messed up, he and nobody else, would help me correct my behaviour or poor decision making. Personal Story I was working on a Friday morning down on old 5 beat. Fred comes over the air wanting to know my 10-20. Immediately I started wondering what the heck did I do now? Fred and I met at Horton and William. He asked me how I was doing? I found that strange because Fred doesn't like small talk. I told him everything was fine (waiting for the hammer to fall). Fred asked me about my family? Where is Fred going with this? I told Fred that my 6 year old son Daryl was in St Joe's Hospital having his eyes operated on as we were speaking. Fred looked at me and said " Get yourself up to the hospital right now - I'll do your calls. Make sure your boy is okay before you come back." Retelling this story brings a lump to my throat and I could not tell it through the spoken word. Professionally, Fred selected me to be the Sergeant to establish the Emergency Response Unit. He called me into his office (he was Superintenant by then) and told me that we had an opportunity to start up a team and he wanted it done right. I took that as a compliment (which Fred seldom gave out to me). He told me to start the process, select another Sergeant to help me, establish a selection process, research and procure the right equipment. Fred then asked me how long he felt I needed to accomplish this? I told him I needed a year. He replied that was too long. He decided that I would work straight days and occupy an office within his suite of offices. I would report to him everyday on my progress. As I left Fred's office with my heads swirling Fred stated " I'm counting on you Sergeant, don't let me down" He shook my hand and told me to get to work. Fred's faith in my ability to pull this off drove me to not let Fred down. I will always remember Fred as the tough disciplinarian with a heart of gold. 10-7 Fred until we meet again. Emmet
