Notes from Transcript: Career Path, DRE Program, and Key Anecdotes

Context and Opening Remarks

• Fragmented, informal introduction mentioning watching baseball games and discussions about drugs; question raised: “You can wear a vest anywhere?”
• Mentions riding something abbreviated as “the l” and a discussion about “11 of us.” (text appears garbled; likely refers to a class or group)
• Overall tone is a personal storytelling session with occasional humor and caution.

Personal and Family Background

• Grew up in the Old Bay on the coast (coastal upbringing).
• Family business: dad and uncle owned a bike shop and a tow truck/towing business.
• Home/office geography described: office underneath the freeway, under the 10 and the 110 freeways, within the city of Los Angeles.
• Strong positive view of LAPD: "I have nothing against them. I have nothing bad to say about LAPD. In fact, I have a lot of good things to say about them. They got their problems, but I got a lot good things to say about them." (emphasis on nuance and relationship with peers)

Career Path and Key Roles

• Early career: spent the first two years on graveyard shift in a car, working with highway patrol. (exact role phrasing is garbled in transcript)
• Initial emphasis on arrests related to drugs and motorcycles; expresses a strong motivation to pursue challenging assignments.
• Motivational philosophy (the “why”): many inspectors have a personal photo (kid/dog/cat), but his “why” is simply to be good at his job and to do whatever he thinks is good; this frames his drive.
• Motorcycle unit: went to motorcycle school; rode a motorcycle for six years as an officer; promoted to sergeant.
• West LA PHP (unclear wording in transcript): went to West LA PHP and was asked to take a spot; remained a classified motorcycle rider initially.
• Return to motorcycle leadership: accepted riding again as a sergeant for a few months.
• Governor/Lt. Governor protection period: job involved supervising the unit that drove the governor and lieutenant governor (back when the state police provided physical protection).
• Olympics connection: returned to Central LA for the 1984 Olympics; had to go back to motor school again to pursue motor sergeant role; was successful.
• September 1983 to July 1, 2002: served as a motor sergeant in Central LA for that period before transitioning to flying the airplane.
• Major career emphasis: most of the career involved riding a motorcycle; a total of 6.5 years of his career involved flying an airplane.

Pay, Benefits, and Pay-Scale References (Ambiguities in Transcript)

• Mentions a pay structure related to raises: “% extra that you get paid for being a pilot is not an incident. It’s actually a step. So all of the raises that you get to 5% for this after that is on 17% for salary.”
• Specific percentages referenced: 5\% and 17\% (context appears to be raises or salary adjustments; exact mechanism is unclear from transcript).
• Some phrases are garbled around this topic; interpreted as discussion of pay increases tied to certain roles or qualifications.

DRE Program and Identification

• Preview of upcoming discussion on the DRE program (Drug Recognition Expert): mentions that students will receive a DRE number.
• DRE numbers given (as part of the program): 42000600 and 92000. There is a note from the speaker that these are “40000 and something,” indicating possible transcription or memory inconsistency about exact digits.
• The speaker’s own DRE number stated: 447.
• Implication: DRE numbers are specific identifiers for graduates or participants in the program.

Class Size and Gordon Graham Connection

• Question posed about the size of the first class: “How many people were in that first class?”
• Speaker’s recollection vs. new information: initially believed there were 40 people, but clarified that there were actually 20 people in the class.
• Interaction with Gordon Graham: speaker says he and Gordon Graham are lifelong friends; they were roommates at one time in the past.
• Class size comparison and humor: speaker muses about being the worst in a class of 20 and what rank that would imply (jokingly suggesting he would be number 20 if ranked solely by academic achievement).

Key Anecdotes and Humorous/Controversial Remarks

• Light-hearted self-deprecating and provocative line: “Don’t bat an off motor cops to me because I do have a reputation for shooting people. Just so you know.” (delivered as a warning or joke; raises ethical considerations about use of force and reputation)
• Recurrent motif of blending personal history with professional milestones (mobility between motorcycle units and aviation).

Chronology: Timeline of Major Milestones (condensed)

• Early life and local upbringing near the coast and freeway alignment in Los Angeles.
• Family business involvement in bikes and towing.
• LAPD interactions and career start in highway patrol (graveyard shift).
• Transition to motorcycle unit; six years as an officer.
• Promotion to sergeant; assignment to West LA PHP (details unclear).
• Reassignment to supervise governor/lt. governor transport; protection duties by state police.
• 1984 Olympics involvement; return to motor school to pursue motor sergeant role.
• August 1983: becomes motor sergeant in Central LA.
• 2002-07-01: transitions from motorcycle duties to flying airplanes; total about 6.5 years flying during his career.
• Post-transition: ongoing discussions of DRE program and class sizes.

The DRE Program: Significance and Practical Implications (in-context)

• DRE stands for Drug Recognition Expert (implied by context; not explicitly defined in transcript but commonly known in law enforcement).
• The program assigns individual DRE numbers to personnel (e.g., speaker’s number 447).
• The numbers referenced (42000600 and 92000) suggest multiple identifiers or a format used in the program; the speaker notes they could be interpreted as 40000-range identifiers, indicating potential transcription ambiguity.
• The DRE program is positioned as a topic to be discussed in more detail later in the session.

Connections to Foundational Principles and Real-World Relevance

• Emphasis on purpose-driven work (the ‘why’) mirrors motivational psychology in professional development and performance.
• Career path demonstrates mobility across units (motorcycle, leadership, aviation) and cross-functional roles (transport for high-ranking officials, Olympics security).
• Interaction with law enforcement agencies (LAPD, CHP/state police) highlights collaboration across departments and jurisdictions.
• Ethical considerations emerge from the candid remark about “a reputation for shooting people,” underscoring the importance of professional conduct, accountability, and community trust.

Ambiguities and Points for Clarification (for exam readiness)

• Several lines are garbled or paraphrased, making precise interpretation difficult (e.g., “We rode the l,” “the l,” “West LA PHP,” “overstate”). Consider seeking context to fill gaps.
• Pay-structure details are unclear in terms of what triggers the 5% vs 17% increases and whether these apply to pilots, sergeants, or other roles.
• The exact meaning of the DRE number formats and their generation rules would benefit from clarification in course materials.

Quick Reference: Key Numbers and Dates (in LaTeX)

• Group size mentioned: 11 (early in the talk) and later corrected to 20 for the first DRE class.
• Pay raise references: 5\% and 17\%.
• Time on motorcycle: 6.5 years.
• Timeframe transition to flight: 2002-07-01 as a transition date; Olympics involvement in 1984.
• Years between events: August 1983 to 2002-07-01 (approx.)
• DRE identifiers: 42000600 and 92000; speaker’s own DRE number: 447.
• Class size and anecdotal ranking: 20 students in the first class, speaker quips about being “number 20.”

Summary Takeaways

• The speaker outlines a long and varied law enforcement career rooted in motorcycle work, leadership roles, and aviation, framed by a personal philosophy of competence and service.
• There are recurring themes of inter-agency collaboration, mission-focused motivation, and candid discussion of the realities and tensions within policing.
• A forthcoming discussion on the DRE program is anticipated, with identifiers (DRE numbers) used to track participants.
• Several parts of the transcript are unclear or garbled, which may require cross-referencing with official course materials or slides for precise interpretation.

Possible Exam Prompts to Prepare For

• Explain the career trajectory described (motorcycle unit, sergeant, governor/lieutenant governor protection, Olympics involvement, transition to aviation) and discuss how these roles illustrate mobility within a law enforcement career.
• Discuss the motivational concept of “the why” as presented in the transcript and its relevance to performance and training in public safety roles.
• Define the DRE program and explain the significance of DRE numbers, based on the transcript and typical program structure.
• Reflect on the ethical considerations raised by the speaker’s comment about a reputation for shooting people and how this intersects with professional accountability and community trust.