Pension Office News | March 2017

Toric lens

The Pension Office has set a maximum of $2,500 per Toric lens, so make sure your eye surgeon provider checks your benefits with UMR. Their phone number is on the back of
your medical card. Also, the Pension Office needs an itemized bill in order to pay the  provider and/or reimburse you. The Office will not accept or pay a bundled invoice where the procedure costs are not listed and broken out by line item. It is your responsibility to know your benefits, so check with UMR or the Pension Office.

April COLA for LEOFF I Retirees (verified with DRS:)

Merger Rumors

No further word regarding pension consolidation with TRS I or LEOFF II

Reporting and Reimbursement Forms

Some pensioners still have not returned their Reporting Forms for 2017, nor their Reimbursement Requests for 2016’s Medicare Part B premiums.

Medical Equipment

Before purchasing any medical equipment, verify your benefit with UMR (this includes any kind of mattress recommended by your medical provider.) If you are wanting any out of the ordinary medical supply, including specialized mattresses, call Jan in the Pension Office first, at 206-386-1286, then follow the prompt to push #1.

Passing

Ann Rasmussen, wife of 68 years, to retired Seattle Police Lieutenant Al Rasmussen #1608, passed away on February 3, 2017 at the age of 87.

NEW SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT RETIREMENTS

There is one Plan II retirement, and two Plan I retirements to report this month.

Peter Ng’s #4738 parents lived in Canton, China. His father served in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s fight against the invading Japanese Army. After WWII, his father fought alongside Chang Kai-shek against the Communist Chinese, led by Mao Zedong. The Communists won the civil war in 1948. Chang Kai-Shek and his staff, with some of his army, fled to Taiwan. But Pete’s father returned to Canton to get his family, to escape the Communists who had put him and the family on a death list. It took two years of covert evasion to successfully escape into Kowloon City in Hong Kong.

One year later, Pete was born. The family lived in a tiny shed with a dirt floor on a hill side. A fire broke out and destroyed all the make-shift shelters on the hill. So, Pete and his family lived on the streets of the city with only one suitcase of clothes and a blanket for all of them. After a year, they landed in a British government-built refugee project shelter. This was better than the streets, but still miserable.

Pete’s aunt had escaped China years before the Communist takeover. She thought her brother was probably dead, but in 1960 she made contact. Then she sponsored Pete’s family of eight to come to the US. The family arrived in San Francisco in 1963. Pete was 12 years old, did not speak a word of English, and was immediately enrolled in a public school. He had been home-schooled by his parents, so he was soon able to catch up with his school mates. At age 19, he enrolled in San Francisco State College and earned a BA.

During his college years, Pete met Mary McEvoy in a judo training class. She told him, “If you can sweep me off my feet, I’m yours.” Pete thought Mary was speaking literally. She wasn’t. She swept him off his feet before he knew it and took him to the alter. Pete, now married, got a job in Juvenile Justice in San Mateo. This was the era of the gangs starting up in California. One of his favorite restaurants was the scene of a gang shooting – five dead. So, Pete moved his family to safer Seattle in 1979.

He went to work at Boeing. He was a buyer for the Roland anti-aircraft missile. While buying parts, he met Joe Lam #4767, who worked in quality control. They got talking about becoming police officers. They applied to the Department in late 1982. A few months later, in February 1983, the Wah Mee robbery occurred. Thirteen victims were murdered. This crime expedited both Joe’s and Pete’s hiring.

When Pete finished his Field Training, he was assigned to 2nd West, working with Mike Ciesynski #4749 in the Pioneer Square car. Three years later, Pete was assigned to the Gang Unit, working Asian crime. He and Dick Sanford #2524 solved a string of armed robberies. Their testimonies led to the conviction of several gang members. The arrests decimated the membership to the point that the gang was eliminated. Dick and Pete were commended by the King County Prosecutor for their work.

Shortly after this case, Pete was working plain clothes, off-duty at an Asian dance club. A dispute broke out between two gang bangers. One of them pulled a gun and pistol-whipped the other. The bleeding subject pulled his gun and cranked off three rounds, wounding two other people. Pete heard the shots, ran into the crowd, and physically subdued the resisting shooter while everyone else fled the club. Well, no good deed goes unpunished – Pete violated policy somewhere along the case investigation. So, he was transferred back to West Precinct Patrol. He teamed up with Fred Ibuki #3982, whose partner Joe Brower #3316 had just died. Fred and Pete walked the Pike Place Market beat, cleaning up the dopers. Pete became an FTO and a Negotiator under Liz Eddy #4204. One shift, he needed to talk to a bomb suspect out of his clothing because it appeared he was wearing a bomb vest under his tee shirt.

On 2002, Pete was promoted to sergeant and sent to the South Precinct for six years. He worked alongside Baron Bakiano #4436. In 2008, Pete moved back to the West Precinct to finish out his career of thirty-four years.
  
In retirement, Mary and Pete are splitting their time between their Maui condo and the mainland. He is staying active by competing in volleyball and softball leagues, when he is not babysitting his nine grandchildren.

Mark “Buzzy” Katzer #3159, was born in Grass Valley, California. The family moved to Oakland. Buzzy played football and baseball in the Oakland school district through his junior year. Then the family moved to Seattle. As he prepared for the upcoming football season at Kent-Meridian, he injured his ankle. He had to drop out of sports. So, he got a laborer’s job after school. He earned enough money to enroll at Green River Junior College in 1968. He took law enforcement classes. One day, an SPD recruiter (Jerry Taylor #2533) gave the class a presentation about the officer and cadet programs. Buzzy immediately applied to be a cadet. He was hired on May 20, 1969. His first assignment was the Hole Crew in the Central Precinct. Its function was prisoner transport for beat men, IPC, precinct security, and reports distribution (Ironically, Buzzy’s last assignment on the job as the SW Precinct’s clerk was very similar to his very first posting.) His last six months as a cadet, he was sent to Narcotics to be a UC agent, and make narcotics buys in and around the Seattle high schools. He missed several days of his BLET classes due to testifying in both Superior and Juvenile court.

In the summer of 1971, he graduated from the Academy and was assigned to work 3rd Watch Georgetown in a one-man car. After a couple of years, he partnered up with Jim Forbes #3420. On June 21, 1974, Forbes had the opportunity to be the passenger in the Department’s helicopter. It was on a call over South Beacon Hill while Buzzy was attempting to make a narcotics buy in the Valley. As the helicopter rose to get a better view of its assigned incident, it struck a private plane coming in to land at Boeing Field. It’s two passengers were killed. The pilot of the police helicopter was Jim St. Delore #____ (who had survived two tours in Vietnam) and Jim Forbes were also killed in the crash. Buzzy ended his narcotics buy and went to the scene. He was detailed to notify Jim’s family, including his young son – a heart wrenching task.

After this, he teamed up with Dick Niemiec #2991, who had worked the narcotics buys with Buzzy. About this time, his parents got a divorce and Dick asked Buzzy if it was okay to date his mother. He did not reply, but the two got together anyway and married. Soon Buzzy’s father began to call Dick Niemiec his husband-in-law.

Buzzy must have gotten tired of asking his step-father, Dick for an allowance increase because he switched districts to work with Mike Broyles #2865. He even convinced Buzzy to follow him into Vice to work street prostitution for a few months.

In 1975, he learned of a softball tournament in Brush Prairie, Washington. He quickly put an SPAA team together, called the “Seattle Red”. Buzzy ran this team for the next twenty-five years. In 1981, he was elected to the SPAA Board. Twenty years later, he was elected president, which he still is to this day. During these years, he not only ran the Seattle Red, but assisted Keith Stringfellow #2986, with the scheduling for the City Employees intramural basketball league. The league included not only other City departments, but also outside agencies such as WSP, Bellevue PD, King County Prosecutors, and Jailers. This league lasted twenty-three years. The closing of the PSB killed the league.

On June 4, 1994, Detective Antonio Terry #5492 was shot on I-5 by a gang banger. Antonio, wounded, drove himself to the South Precinct parking lot. Buzzy encountered Antonio there, called for a Medic I unit, while he comforted and held Antonio. He died hours later at Harborview. As seems to be the practice, the accused’s attorney tried to make out Antonio as the bad guy and even attacked Buzzy’s efforts to help Antonio survive his fatal wound.

Buzzy is retiring with a total of almost forty-six years of service to the citizens of Seattle. He is going to stay active in the Seattle Police Athletic Association. He is the longest serving SPAA president.

Fred “The Godfather” Ibuki’s #3982 father was in the US Army during WWII. After the war, he moved his family from southern California’s farm country, to northern California. In 1948, the family, both parents and two older brothers, moved to Japan. There, the father had a job with Northwest Airlines. Fred was born in 1951.

In 1957, the airline transferred him to Seattle International Airport. The family lived in an apartment near the Georgetown Precinct. So, Fred attended Georgetown Elementary School. Then he attended Asa Mercer Middle School. During his junior high years, he worked at Julius Rosso Garden and Nursery next to Boeing Field. His dad moved the family to Angle Lake to be closer to SeaTac where he worked. Then Fred went to Tyee High. After school, he worked in a convalescent home until 11:00 p.m. He continued to work there on the same schedule while attending the U of W. After earning a degree in Business Administration and Accounting, he went to work at Uwajimaya, then Washington Wholesalers.

In the spring of 1975, an old high school friend, now a Bellevue Police Officer, took Fred on a ride-a-long. He immediately realized the job was more fun and challenging than doing accounting procedures for someone else’s business. So, he applied to the SPD. Emett Kelsie #2794 called Fred in October 1975 and told him to start the Academy in less than two weeks. He said, “I can’t. I have to give two weeks’ notice.” Emett replied, “It’s obvious you don’t need a police job.” Emett relented, and called Fred in November, three weeks before Academy Class #79 started. Fred attended this class after giving his two-week notice. He finished the Academy in April 1976. He was posted to the Public Safety Building where the East and West Precincts were co-located.

His first temporary assignment was walking a beat with Larry Miller #3128. This was Fred’s early encounter with one of the “cowboys”. Next, he was assigned to the East Precinct in Augie Zampardo’s #2200 squad to work with Leighton Ash #3433 – another “cowboy”. Eventually, when Phil Hurd #2210 took over the squad, Fred teamed up with Joe Brower #3316 – a “cowboy”. In 1979, they began doing “See Pop” in the Capitol Hill area. Their efforts were so successful that Joe Sanford #1896 gave them narcotics buy money and funding to work CIs. This was a big change in SPD procedures to provide Patrol with buy money, and also allowing Patrol officers to recruit and run confidential informants. DEA even joined them on an inter-state transportation case. During one of these operations, they encountered a prostitute who had just escaped out of an aggressive john’s car. Joe and Fred took the prostitute to Homicide and talked to Al Lima #2898. This lead led to the arrest of the aggressive customer later that day. And he turned out to be a serial killer of females, mostly prostitutes.

In 1981, Joe and Fred moved to Chuck Pillon’s Charlie Squad. There, they did the “See Pops” and moved into doing stash houses that the Oakland gang bangers started when they moved here to sell drugs and do robberies.

In 1982, the two moved to David Sector to work for Bernie Miller #2454, walking a beat. Their job was to clean up the marijuana and meth dealers. They got the King County Prosecutor to go along with their idea to do a SODA order at sentencing on dope dealers like SOAP orders on prostitutes. The KCP and the courts went for the idea.

In 1984, Joe went to K-9 to develop a bloodhound tracking capability for the Department. So, Fred teamed up with Fred Kilmer #2575, who had been gone from the Department for five years, thus had to go through the Academy again at age 41. He was told that his partner “Ibuki” would get him up to speed on modern policing. Well, the cowboy taught the young Fred how to clean up the beat in a more traditional manner, including taking care of the new criminal group from Cuba – the Marielitos.

In 1986, Fred was promoted to Sergeant and assigned to IIS where he investigated several of his old precinct mates. Two years later, Don Marquart #2442 sprung Fred out of IIS to the new South Precinct. There, he was posted to Second Watch to work on drugs throughout the precinct, whether in a rock house or in an open-air market.

In 1990, Fred transferred to David Sector to work again with the cowboys. Having worked alongside of them and having to investigate them, he could get them to do anything he suggested. He had their number, and their back. Eleven years later, Fred moved to the Mary Sector Bike Squad downtown. His crew moved with him. He retired from this position after 41 years and five months of serving the citizens of Seattle.

In retirement, he’ll be taking care of his granddaughter Chanel. When he has time, he’ll still bowl, ski – both snow and water, and make the yearly pilgrimage to Reno with the cowboys. But this year, those fun-loving guys left without him while he tried to solve his roof’s gutter leak problem. They wouldn’t wait for their ex-boss – such is being retired!