Police World Edition 2 2014

Article Californiyay! WhenDonnaPowell, fromSussexbranch, learnt theNational DelegatesConference for SectionUSAwas going tobe inSacramento, California, shehad togo! Donna tellswhy. R eaders of PoliceWorldwouldhave read that in2013 I visitedWashingtonDC for the friendshipevent celebrating the

50thanniversary of SectionUSA. I had suchan amazingweekendmeetingpeople fromall over theworld. Sowhen I discovered that therewas a conference inCalifornia I had toattend. The problemwas that Sacramentowas a longway to go just for aweekend so I needed to comeup witha longer travel plan! People I hadmet on recent travelshad suggested Imust takea road trip from LosAngeles along Highway1, PacificCoastal Highway (PCH), to SanFrancisco, so this gotme thinking... InDC last year Imet IPAmember RichDuran. Rich had givenmehisbusiness cardand said if I was ever in LAhewouldhappily hostme. So I looked at flights andemailedRich to seewhether he couldhostme for a longweekend. He confirmed he couldandevenoffered topickmeup from theairport. I then lookedat accommodation alongHighway1anddiscovered therewere many hostels alongmy route. I then checked with IPA friendsCalvinandDianaChow from SanFrancisco, who Imet in2010, whether I could staywith themat theendofmy road trip. Thiswas also confirmed. FromSanFrancisco I would thenheadanhour in-land toSacramento, soaplanwas formedand I started the travel countdown! Before flying to LA I completed some research andemailedRicha list of places I wanted to visit whilst in LA. I didnot thinkmy list was too exhaustive for a longweekendbut the reply fromRichwas that wewere ‘going tobebusy’ with lots of exclamationmarks. I discovered very quickly uponarriving that LA is amassive city andhas immense traffic jams! Richwas a superb ambassador to the spirit of friendshipashe took meall over LAand its outer suburbs.Wehad long daysbut theywere somuch fun. Ononeof thesedays, Rich toldmehehada surprise.Well what a surprise it waswhenwe pulledupat theAir Support Unit of the LAPD! They haveabout 19helicopters in their fleet with three in theair at any one time24hours aday. I was lucky to spendover twohoursup in theair seeing LA likemany peopledon’t get to see - it was amazing! The followingday an IPA friend inSussex branch hadarranged, before I left home, forme to spend some timeafloat withhis contact with the LA Port Police. It was another fineCalifornianday with clear blue skies and I got to spendover two hours out onpatrol inwhat couldbe thebest department in theworld tobeapoliceofficer!

IPA friends fromUSA, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Poland, FranceandSweden

memberswhohavediedwas readout byRichard Nevarez, SecretaryGeneral of SectionUSA. After the service the local K-9 teamput onadisplay beforewe spent the remainder of theday at the academy for theCaliforniaHighway Patrol (CHP). Wewere givena tour of the campusbefore riders, drivers andapilot of theCHP showed us their skills. We then returned to thehotel for theevening’s final banquet. Anopportunity to get dressedup andhave final catchupswith fellow guests. I had already decided that I wanted tobepart of theUS NDC&FriendshipWeek for 2014which is going tobea cruise fromNewYorkCity up toCanada andbackdown from the4 - 11October. As a result before I wasboarding theplane to return home I hadalready paidand reservedmy place on this event!

After fivenightsRich tookme to collectmy hire car andafter takinghis life inhis ownhands whilst I got used todrivingon the left hand sideof the road the cordwas cut and I started my one-girl road tripalong thePCH. I spent 10 days seeing somebreathtaking scenery. On this part ofmy trip I hadnodirect involvement with IPAmembers althoughmy travel plan sat withmembers of SectionUSAwhowouldhave known roughlywhere I was at any time. As a single female traveller it was very reassuring toknow that the IPAwaswatchingmy back. If anyone is thinkingof completing this road trip I would strongly urge them todo it as the scenery, particularly aroundBigSur ismindblowing! I arrived inSanFranciscoandwasmet in the Castrodistrict byDianaChow. Dianakeptme entertained for twodayswhilst Calvinwas at theofficialmeetings inSacramento. Among the highlightswas a lovely day in theNapa valley trying someCalifornianwine. I alsomet upwith the IPA group inSanFrancisco for ameal ina lovely Chinese restaurant. I was soexcited to re-connect with friends fromSection USAwho I hadnot seen ina year, aswell as friends fromSectionFranceandSectionSweden. I alsomademany new friends.. I travelledon toSacramentowhere the following daywithofficers from theUSA, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Poland, FranceandSwedenwewore our uniforms onamemorial parade for Fallen Officers. Awreathwas placedat theMemorial for PoliceOfficers that havebeenkilled in the line of duty in the stateof California. It was ahighly emotional serviceas thenames of all the IPA

Theparadeheading for thememorial of FallenOfficers

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POLICEWORLD Vol 59No. 2, 2014