The Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriffs represents thousands of public safety officers and 96 local affiliates across the state. AZCOPS members are municipal police officers, deputy sheriffs, juvenile corrections officers, and probation officers who look to their union to further their interests through aggressive representation in the legal and political arenas.
Arizona Police & Fire Games
With the start of the New Year that means only one thing. The 2012 Arizona Police and Fire Games are just around the corner. Online registration is now available for everything except Golf and Bowling (we are still working on securing venues for each). Just go to the azpolicegames.com main page and click on the registration link on the left side. On-line hotel registration is also available on the main page. Click on the picture of the hotel and the reservation page will pop up. Go to “Groups” at the top of the page, type in APAF and pick your dates.
This year’s raffle is shaping to be one our best. The Grand prize is a Stag Arms Model 1 AR-15, 2nd place prize is a Ruger SR22 Auto loading rifle model 1226, and the 3rd place prize is a Ruger Sr22 Pistol. Tickets will be $10 each and will be available at the host hotel during check-in registration. The drawing will be Saturday, April 14th at our boxing event – winner need not be present. So bring your extra money to help us raise money for our charities and secure your chance and increase your armory.
Remember, all Law Enforcement/Fire/Military/Active Duty/Retired/Reserve/Sworn and Non- sworn/Civilian are eligible to compete, as well as Spouses/Parents/Offspring/Siblings (18yoa & up) of eligible participants. Also, don’t forget we’re offering two new events this year: Cross fit and Karate. So, make sure you put your leave requests in and make your reservations for the 33rd Annual Arizona Police and Fire Games “Is That All You Got?!!” - April 11-14, in Tucson, Arizona.
Please like us on Facebook (azpolicegame.com -home page) and we’ll see you at the games.
Be Safe Out There.
Sgt. David Fernandez
APAF President & AZCOPS/Tucson POA member
(520) 861-9527
Attorneys volunteer time to prepare wills for AZCOPS families
AZCOPS members and their families participated in The Wills for Heroes event July 30 in Tucson.
The Wills for Heroes Foundation, which started in April 2007, is a charitable non-profit organization based in Tucson dedicated to providing support and services to America's first responders and to assisting bar associations across the country with implementing new Wills for Heroes programs. Now in more than 20 states, Wills for Heroes programs nationwide have helped more than 25,000 first responders.
The estate planning service was provided to AZCOPS families at no cost by 10 local attorneys, including organizer Jeffrey Jacobson.
The Wills for Heroes Foundation was forged from the partnership of Anthony Hayes and Jeffrey Jacobson. Hayes created the Wills for Heroes program in November 2001 in response to the events of 9-11-01. The Wills for Heroes program expanded to Arizona in August 2004 where Jacobson implemented it locally.
For information about the Wills for Heroes program, please visit www.az.willsforheroes.org.
Pinal County Deputies Association reaches agreement with County
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(TOP) Kevin Keck, James Cool, Lorraine Bethka and Jennifer LaFortune. (ABOVE) David Hausman, Lorraine Bethka and Kevin Keck.
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The Pinal County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday approved the ratification of a Memo of Understanding (MOU) between Pinal County and the Pinal County Deputies Association (PCDA). PCDA is the first sheriff's association in the state of Arizona to achieve a contract of this nature.
"This is truly an historic day for Sheriff's Office employees,especially in light of the current economy where employees and especially public employees' rights have seen one set back after another. This achievement has been a very long time in coming," said Lorraine Bethka of PCDA. "Historically, from the inception of the PCDA, this was one of the organization's highest goals."
PCDA founders including S.G. Gillen, Aubrey Keck, Rob Ellis, Robert Monashefsky, to name a few, have worked tirelessly to gain an employee contract with Pinal County, she said. The final achievement of the MOU contract was built on the shoulders of individual members like former PCDA President Troit Stowe, who helped pave the way by getting the Meet and Confer Ordinance in place in 2009, and like all the employee representatives over the years, who fought each individual battle on behalf of PCDA members.
"This contract is the culmination of the efforts of all the courageous individuals who have had the foresight, self-sacrifice and intestinal fortitude to see that the PCDA goal of getting an employee contract in place was carried through," she said. "This contract happened because Sheriff Paul Babeu, Chief Steve Henry and Chief James Kimble worked closely with the PCDA negotiating team to arrive at language that was fair and equitable for all involved.
"This contract happened because AZCOPS attorneys James Cool and Jennifer LaFortune brought their contract negotiations expertise to the table. This contract happened because Pinal County Manager Fritz Behring and his staff brought a willingness to listen and negotiate in good faith to the table," she continued.
As Bethka recognized the contributions of others to the Association's success, Aubrey Keck credited her for her tenacity and commitment to the union.
"Lorraine Bethka should be congratulated and commended for her long term efforts to see this through," Keck said. "While it is true that she had help from members, legal, and AZCOPS, it was she that was the driving force, the continuity, and it was her foresight to see ahead for the members of PCDA and the employees of PCSO and their long term future that has culminated in this County / Employee contract. Thanks to her efforts, I believe PCDA is the first Sheriff's association in the state of Arizona to have achieved such a contract."
"This is only the beginning," Bethka said. "It is now up to the individual members to find it within themselves to carry this forward into the future. The ground work has been set in place."
AZCOPS joins NAPO
AZCOPS is proud to announce its membership in the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO). Since our separation from the last organization, our Board of Directors made it clear that AZCOPS should belong to a national law enforcement organization to continue getting our voice heard at the federal level. After careful review and research, AZCOPS selected NAPO. In July, NAPO approved our application and AZCOPS is now a full member.
NAPO is a coalition of police unions and associations from across the United States that serves to advance the interests of America's law enforcement officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education.Founded in 1978, NAPO is now the strongest unified voice supporting law enforcement officers in the United States. NAPO represents more than 2,000 police units and associations, 241,000 sworn law enforcement officers, 11,000 retired officers and more than 100,000 citizens who share a common dedication to fair and effective crime control and law enforcement.
NAPO also provides membership benefits through partnerships with organizations like Ford, Hertz, Apple products, and 1-800-flowers.com.
AZCOPS is looking forward to working with the leaders of NAPO and we are excited about belonging to a national law enforcement organization that will help further our cause at the national level. Please visit the NAPO website for more information.
At AZCOPS' Request, Governor Vetos HB 2650
Originally, HB 2650 was suppose to make administrators "at-will" employees, thus removing the investigative/due process parts of disciplining or terminating an employee. However, literally on the last day, at the last minute of the legislative session an amendment was attached to the bill that included all new hires, and those current County employees who accept a pay raise or promotion. Needless to say, this bill would have been catastrophic for our County members.
AZCOPS Executive Board and Staff immediately went into action contacting lawmakers, the Governor's office, and the media. Dealing with a small window of opportunity, we were successful in our endeavours; HB2650 was Vetoed by the Governor on April 29th.
NLEOMF's Recently Fallen Website
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has launched a new "Recently Fallen" website feature to report recent law enforcement fatalities.
You can now view the latest information about recently fallen officers and sign up to receive email alerts, to get timely notifications each time a law enforcement officer death is reported.
Each "Recently Fallen" officer page provides preliminary officer fatality data, and a snap shot of recent trends in law enforcement fatalities. This information is vital to improving officer safety in the hopes of reducing the total number of officer fatalities each year.