The Widows and Orphans Aid Association of the San Francisco Police Department met on Tuesday August 9, 2016 at 1:00pm. The meeting was held at 850 Bryant Street room #150 at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco, California. The meeting was called to order by President Foster.
Roll Call: President Sally Foster, Vice President John Centurioni, Secretary Mark J. McDonough, Treasurer Dean Taylor, and Trustees Leroy Lindo, Ray Kane, Jim O’Meara, Al Luenow. Trustee John Keane was excused.
Approval of the Minutes: Trustee Al Luenow made a motion to accept the July 2016 minutes. Trustee Ray Kane seconded the motion. The motion passed without objection.
Receiving Applications of New Members; Suspensions and Reinstatements: Trustee Ray Kane and I will be presenting the WOAA membership to the 251st Recruit Class. There are no further suspensions than the listed members from last month, however, there are two reinstatements of members who were suspended due to clerical errors on the part of the WOAA. At this time we apologize to, and fully reinstate the following members who were suspended last month and paid their dues in a timely manner: James Green and Stanley Lee.
Communications and Bills: Treasurer Taylor presented the regular monthly bills and paid out benefits of the following members: Stan Damas, William “Bill” White, and Manuel Williams Trustee Ray Kane made a motion to pay the bills. Trustee Jim O’Meara seconded the motion. The motion passed without objection. Thank you letters were sent to the following people who made donations to the WOAA: Peter A. Bagatelos, Christopher Herman, and Anna Foss.
Report of Visiting Committee: No report this month.
Report of Trustees: We received the sad news of the passing of our following members:
Richard Aceret, age 65: Richard Aceret was born on November 3, 1950 in San Francisco, California. Rich after a stint in the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office (July 1973) entered the San Francisco Police Department on June 28, 1978. Rich wore star #268. Rich graduated from the Police Academy on October 29, 1978 and completed his FTO segment at Mission Police Station on February 4, 1979. Rich worked the remainder of his career at Northern Police Station. And, if I am correct, Rich worked the midnight shift until his retirement on May 1, 2013. Rich received a Police Commission Commendation along with partner Dave Pollitt and Officers Paul Swiatko and Robert Link. The officers responded to the 500 block of Eddy Street on a shots fired call. Aceret and the officers spotted the suspect in an upper floor apartment window shooting a firearm in the air. The officers responded into the building and were able to locate and arrest the armed suspect, and responded to his apartment and seized a second firearm and the expended shell casings. Officer Rich Aceret, along with his partner Officer Jennifer Dudoroff and Officer Dave Maron were awarded a Gold Medal of Valor on March 25, 1999 (date of incident not provided). Aceret and Dudoroff responded to the area of Hayes and Buchanan on a report of a man shooting a gun at persons on the street. After 30 minutes of searching they observed the man walking towards their radio car approximately 75 feet away. The suspect was armed with a semi-automatic handgun and yelled at the officers to leave him alone and to go away. Before the officers could exit their vehicle the suspect shot at Officer Dudoroff several times hitting her front passenger door and front quarter panel. Dudoroff dove from her seat and onto the street crawling behind a pick-up truck and returned fire at the suspect. The suspect continued firing at her attempting to kill her. Officer Aceret exited the driver’s side and crawled on the street to another position of cover and radioed for help. Officer Aceret shot at the suspect as the suspect was walking the length of the pick-up truck and shooting at Dudoroff. Officer Dave Maron arrived and had his passenger side window shot out by the suspect. Maron exited the vehicle to assist Aceret and Dudoroff as the officers were returning fire at the suspect. The suspect eventually dropped his firearm and surrendered to the officers. However, as the officers were putting the suspect in custody, the suspect put up a struggle and attempted to get to his firearm which was positioned within arm’s length on the sidewalk. Officers were able to handcuff the suspect and observed at that time the suspect was wounded from the shootout. Officers were awarded the Gold Medal of Valor for performing their duties at the highest level in a life threatening situation.
Stanley Damas, age 83: Stanley Damas was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on July 2, 1932. Stan’s previous occupation is listed as “Barber”. Stanley J. Damas entered the San Francisco Police Department on October 22, 1958. Stan’s listed star number is #1017. Stan graduated from the Police Academy on March 9, 1959 and worked the following assignments: Central Police Station (March 9, 1959), Ingleside Police Station (December 14, 1959), Richmond Police Station (November 1, 1960), Taraval Police Station (promoted to Sergeant on November 20, 1969), Northern Police Station (February 27, 1970), C.P. & E. (November 5, 1978), Northern Police Station (September 5, 1979), Taraval Police Station (January 21, 1981), Northern Police Station (March 18, 1981), and finally to Investigations Property Crimes (May 11, 1981). Stan retired on August 26, 1983 at the rank of Lieutenant with a service pension. Stan was awarded a Meritorious Third Grade Medal of Valor for services rendered on April 27, 1968 when he and his partner Gordon Hendrickson pursued an attempted homicide suspect who had just shot his victim. Stan and Gordy cornered the man who turned and aimed his firearm at Stan and pulled the trigger. The suspect’s gun misfired and he eventually surrendered to the officers. Stan was awarded a Meritorious Second Grade Medal of Valor for services rendered on April 6, 1965. On this day, Stan, along with officers Paul Largent and William T. Wasley arrested three suspects who committed an armed robbery of a tavern. The officers conducted a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle for erratic driving. They subsequently received information of the armed robbery which matched the description of the stopped vehicle and its occupants. The officers ordered the occupants out of the vehicle. One occupant pulled an automatic firearm from his pocket and pointed it at the officers. The officers used physical force to knock the suspect off balance giving the officers enough time to draw their service weapons and take the suspects into custody. Stan received a Meritorious Second Grade Medal of Valor for services rendered on June 1, 1960 when he and his partner Ronald Haight when they effected the arrest of two armed suspects who were in the act of burglarizing an automobile agency.
Billye Morrow, age 77: Billye Morrow was born in Fort Towson, Oklahoma on January 29, 1939, and passed away August 2, 2016, peacefully at home. Billye grew up in Tacoma, Washington where he went to High School, and later enlisted in the Marine Corps. Billye lived the majority of his life in Pacifica, California where he completed a Bachelors and Masters from Golden Gate University in San Franciso, California. Billye’s previous occupation is listed as “Carpenter”. Billye entered the San Francisco Police Department on April 16, 1962, graduated from the Police Academy, and worked the following assignments: Potrero Police Station (March 30, 1964), Richmond Police Station (April 10, 1964), Narcotics Detail (September 16, 1966), promoted to Asst. Inspector on July 16, 1970, Juvenile Detail (March 13, 1973), Internal Affairs (March 7, 1977), Police Academy (December 17, 1979), Billye was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on February 5, 1980, Potrero Police Station (May 11, 1983), promoted to rank of Lieutenant on November 16, 1983, Police Academy (September 19, 1984), P&T DP (January 25, 1986), Fraud Detail (February 3, 1986), SOB Task Force (May 2, 1988), Ingleside Police Station (January 27, 1990), Potrero Police Station (January 5, 1991), and finally at Ingleside Police Station (December 30, 1992). Billye retired on November 23, 1993 with a service pension and over 31-years of service. Billye received a Bronze Medal of Valor for services rendered on July 12, 1972 when he, Inspector Marvin Dean, and Officer Gregory Corrales apprehended three narcotics suspects. One of the suspects was armed with a shotgun and had pointed it at the officers. The officers rushed the suspect and engaged in a brief and violent struggle resulting in disarming and placing the suspect in custody. On February 14, 1964, Billye received a Captain’s Commendation for the investigation and arrest of a suspect who was wanted for a series of hot prowls and rapes. While in the S.F.P.D. Billye was a member of the Officers for Justice (OFJ) who fought for equality and diversity within the police force. Billye is survived by former spouses Gloria Morrow and Crystal Blair; sister Thelma Jean Adenika; brothers Issac Lee Morrow Jr., Charles Morrow and James Morrow; sons Leonard Morrow (Zina) and William Morrow (Teresa); daughters Sonya Morrow and Sylvia Morrow; and numerous grand-children and great grand-children.
Unfinished Business: Trustee Jim O’Meara reported that he researched the cost of having our Constitutional rewrite reviewed by an attorney. Ed Willig of Carr-Maclellan and Associates gave an estimated cost of approximately $2800. Our board discussed the necessity issue of having it reviewed and concluded that our rewrite did not relate to any matters of money payout or any legal issues. Our rewritten sections (for approval of the membership) upgraded a few sections to assist our members.
New Business: No report this month.
For the Good of the Order: No report this month.
Adjournment: President Sally Foster led the WOAA in a moment of silence for our fallen members. President Foster adjourned the meeting and set our meting for September 13, 2016. The meeting will be at the Hall of Justice 850 Bryant Street room #150, in San Francisco, California at 1:00pm.
To All Members: Our continued thanks go out to retired S.F.P.D. Captain Paul Chignell of the POA who takes time away from his busy schedule to assist us in locating members. We thank David Ng of Personnel and Risa Tom of the Police Commission Office who assist us with information to support the obituary section of our column. We also thank retired S.F.P.D. Lieutenant and past WOAA President Rene Laprevotte who assists our efforts with communicating with members through his website. We thank Ray Shine for assisting me with our column. And finally I thank Traffic Company, specifically Lieutenants Joseph Engler and Julian Hill, for being gracious with their patience during our meetings, office space for our files and meetings.