Micheal Stark, an Honorary Rotary Club of Redondo Beach members, spoke before our Club today. “I always wanted to be a police officer. I always will be a police officer,” Micheal stressed, “I will be until they won’t let me into a black-and-white anymore!” Miichael’s dedication to law enforcement is most evident in his duties as Commander of the Redondo Beach Police Reserves.

 

On first glance, a reserve officer is difficult to distinguish from a full-time sworn peace keeping officer. And on second and third glance, as well: Reserve officers wear the uniform, are trained in law enforcement, are issued a badge and gun, respond to radio calls, investigate crimes and ride in black-and-whites. Very often, it is a reserve officer, who is most visible to the public at large. Redondo Beach police reserve officers are the ones who patrol special events such as the Super Bowl Sunday 10K Run or cover the beaches on busy summer days, thereby freeing up full-time officers to maintain their regular beats.

 

The difference is--and this difference is very important--is that a reserve police officer in Redondo Beach is an unpaid volunteer. It takes a special kind of individual to want to give back to their community in this way: Often, they risk putting themselves in harm’s way and are required to interact and deal with unpleasant and often heartbreaking realities. They do the things most of us would rather not even think about, and they do it only for the love of the community. The police reserves do not supplant the duties and obligations of the full-time sworn officer staff. In an era of budget cuts, mounting pension obligations and the unpredictability of when, how and how much criminal activity is occurring, however, the police force can count on these volunteers to back up regular officers if need be. As priorities pile on for the full-time staff, retired police officers now in the reserves--individuals with decades of law enforcement experience under the belt--will take on, for example, on the arduous and often thankless task of cold case investigation.

 

Not only are the reserve officers unpaid, but many of their expenses, including their training, is not covered by the police department. Were it not for the Reserve Corps Fund these unpaid police reserve candidates would be on the hook for their police academy training, as well as any additional training, such as keeping up to date in the ever-evolving field of crime scene investigation. And this is where the Rotary Club of Redondo Beach plays our part.

As a long-standing partner of the police reserves, for the past 23 years--and counting!--The Rotary Club of Redondo Beach has hosted an annual fundraising dinner to benefit the Reserve Corps Fund. Our next Police Reserve Banquet will be held at thePortofino Hotel on October 9, 2015 from 6 - 9 pm. All are invited to attend this special event honoring our reserve officers, their families and our friend, Micheal Stark. Tickets are $50 each. You may sign up on the Club website, under Events.