I respectfully submit this to the list. I hope that this will give you a sense of who Melissa was and how she lived.
CPS Sheila Rawski Minneapolis Police Department Fifth Precinct SAFE Unit-District 5B Serving the Neighborhoods of Stevens Square-Loring Heights & Whittier Officer Down I'd like to tell you about a friend of mine. She was my partner and my example. She taught me about being who I really am by accepting me unconditionally. She was the kind of person you admired. She had her faults. She was human. There were days we didn't like each other much. There were days we argued. But we were always friends. Now she's gone. My hero left me. Her name was Melissa Schmidt, and she was a Minneapolis Police Officer. Melissa and I didn't start off on the best terms. We went through the Police Academy together. She had been a cop before and spent time in the Marine Corps. She was proud of her history. She had a right to be. I wouldn't learn that until later. I spent too much time being annoyed with her for accepting the discipline of the academy. She had genuine respect for the chain of command and the rules. I was fresh out of college and hated the discipline. I had an attitude and no life experience. I had never guarded a US Embassy or a Federal Courthouse, never worked on an ambulance or put out a fire. And she had little time for someone with no respect for the rules. We didn't like each other. I was blessed with a second chance. When we finished field training, we were assigned to the same precinct. Our Sergeant didn't want to split up established partners, so he put Melissa and I in the same squad. Halfway through our shift, we looked at one another and said, "You know, you're not so bad." At the end of the shift, we decided to stay partners. For over four years we rode together. In those four years, we helped each other through hard times and celebrated the good times. We stuffed ourselves with sushi, golfed badly and cheered on the Green Bay Packers, despite being in Purple Country. We laughed, talked and cried together. When it came time to do something new, we transferred to the crime prevention unit. We dealt with the good citizens of Minneapolis instead of those ones who waved at us with one finger rather than their whole hand. One of the most rewarding things we did was work on a program called DeafSAFE. We worked with the deaf community, to learn from them and educate them. I remember one workshop we did about arrest procedures and handcuffing. Deaf people communicate with their hands. Naturally they have issues with being handcuffed. They were angry and distrustful. They are visual people, so we did role-plays to demonstrate our topic. We had already done some workshops, so many in the audience knew Melissa and me. That night, we acted out some real life scenarios in which police officers had been killed, to show why handcuffing was important. One of those scenarios involved a lost, elderly woman. Two officers offered her a ride home. She pulled a gun from her purse and killed them both. Seeing Melissa and I act out that scene helped the deaf community understand a little bit about why we handcuff people. It calmed their anger and increased their trust. We made a difference. Melissa made a difference. On August 1, 2002 someone took her life. It doesn't matter who or why. It only matters that she's gone. I lost my friend, my partner, my mentor, my hero. Melissa prided herself on treating everyone she met with respect and dignity. It didn't matter what they had done, what they believed in or what color their skin was. Melissa had only been with the Housing Unit for a few months, yet many of the residents knew her well, including two quoted in the Star Tribune. One Danda Khalif, said that Melissa had offered to give him rides when she saw him walking. Another, Mumin Mohamed, said "She was like family." He called Melissa his favorite officer. The next time you are tempted to judge the behavior of all police officers based on the behavior of one, think of Melissa. Use her as your example of who we are. I have been told by other cops that during your career, you will work with many people, but few true partners. I have found one in Melissa. I will always mourn her loss, but I am grateful for the time that we shared. She was my favorite officer too! written by Officer Catherine Johnson Minneapolis Police Department Fifth Precinct SAFE Unit - District 5B _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
