I lived in Kodiak when Officer Gordon Bartel was shot and killed back around '83.

I personally knew the man as 'Gordy'. He was a decent human being and a good Kodiak cop. I had several interactions with this man and he was a real jewel.

Being a cop in Kodiak at the time required a special breed and Gordy Bartel was one of the better ones.

I was actually pretty much living on the streets at the time and as a result had interactions of some sort with just about all segments of Kodiak society.

The instant Officer Bartel's body hit the ground the relationship between the people of Kodiak and the police department changed. It took years for police/community relations to partially recover and I'd bet they never really did recover 100%.

What happened is understandable. The department turned inward and became very cold and became a lot harder to deal with. Officers I had a warm relationship with turned pretty cold.

Almost the entire town at one time or another stopped officers to express their condolences. This includes an awful lot of the street people which you might find odd but wasn't at the time as the KPD had excellent relations with just about everyone.

Personally, while I'm sure there were reasons, I feel the KPD was wrong in the direction they turned. They should have reached out to the public that was just as outraged as they were. It took years for them to recover, and truth is I don't think they ever recovered fully.

While the loss of a single officer in a small department creates  a HUGE hole, it should be carefully noted that the public was just as outraged as the department was. The US vs THEM relationship grew quite a bit over this.


There is no moral to this post. No lesson to be learned. It is simply an observation I thought I'd share here.


Pic


ETA. I wrote this post this morning and have been thinking about it all day.

I attribute the death of Gordy Bartel to being a real turning point in the spirit of the town. Three years later I moved. The town was entirely different than it was when I had moved there in '78.

While I'm not blaming the change in the town on Bartel's death, the shooting itself seemed to be the turning point.

Right after that some of the church people started hammering the city council who most likely pressured the police to make changes.

I did not write this to hammer the LE community in any way whatsoever. It is simply an observation.

I have had thirty one years to think about this event and as I age I see things in a different light. As i have aged I sometimes reflect on things that happened decades ago and realize that as an older man I see things a little clearer than I did when I was in the middle of things.

The detachment that comes over time allows me to look at things differently.

About a decade ago I met a Guadalcanal Marine and we discussed the battle. He marveled at how I knew so much about it and said that I knew more about it than he did and he was there.

I pointed out that as a rifleman most likely all he really saw was the pack of the man ahead of him and suggested he read up on it and couple that with his personal experiences. I met him almost a year later and he said his entire perspective on the battle had changed.

Same holds true here. I was in the middle of things while living on the streets and it hasn't been until recently I have been able to look at things in a different light. You have to realize that the department had literally been decimated by the loss of a single officer. It was one hell of a loss.

Still, I can't help but wonder what would have happened had leadership in the department had ordered the officers to continue on the old course and preserve the relationship they had enjoyed with the townspeople.

Maybe it was just the times were changing everywhere else, maybe not but I do know that after the death of Gordy Bartel police/citizen relations were never the same. It's truly sad.

What angers me as I sit here is that it has been thirty one years since the shooting and most likely the shooter has served his time and is out on the streets. Gordy Bartel is still in his grave. Somehow that doesn't seem right.

A slightly different perspective.  Everyone expresses their condolence when a cop gets killed in a small town.  However, does anyone do anything beyond a superficial or temporary level?  If there are underlying issues contributing to the officers death (equipment, training, staffing etc.), does the community help address them or do they just say sorry for your loss for a while and then it goes right back to fuck off you don't need xxx?

Based on my 20+ years experience in LE, it is the latter far more often than the former.

On a less tragic and dramatic scale, all the local churches do le appreciation dinners and the like.  The majority of folks say we support the cops etc.  Cop gets killed this public show of support increases.  But it is a superficial make yourself feel good for being a good person kind of support.  On the other hand, try to get a tenth of a cent or half a cent sales tax increase and it becomes fuck off you don't need that.  

To put some perspective on that, some of the equipment issues we were trying to address, being able to buy vests without using fed grants.  Having money to buy the guys in the jail vests that have both ballistic and stab ratings (Since we do court security and transports ballistic is needed.  Then again working in a jail the stab vest might be nice too.).  Not having a lowest mileage patrol vehicle with a 156,000 miles on it (a significant percentage of which was dirt roads which means it probably had the equivalent of over 200K of normal wear and tear.).  Qualifying more than once a year and maybe even doing some kind of training in addition to quals (The courts have ruled quals are not training.).  Maybe have more than four tazers for the whole department.  

The Sheriff at the time made sure the public was aware of the issues, and the risks and liabilities they presented.  Still no fucks given.  Which tells me all those dinners are being done to make people feel better about themselves in a look how awesome we are way, rather than as a show of support for the cops.  Because it is pretty obvious their extent of caring does not extend to a tenth of a cent on purchases made locally.  When shit like that results in a cop getting injured or killed, it is natural the cops are going to have some resentment at the folks saying how horrible sorry for your loss.  Because bottom line, we know exactly how many fucks you really give and saying sorry when you refused to help is, to put it politely, fucking annoying.

Now, I have no idea if any of those dynamics were in play in Kodiak in 83.  But those kind of dynamics are pretty common in my experience.

The Left has always used children, LEOs, and Fire Department as an excuse for more taxes. Then, they keep on funneling money into thier Progressive policies, and shorting the things the rest of us care about. Until those Leftists get voted out, I'm voting no on all tax raising.

How much of my money do you want?

Which is why the tax in question was specific as to what the monies raised could be spent on (equipment and training only for the SO.  So no funneling it to another department or giving out pay raises.) and fairly small (at the time the only retail businesses in the county were some auto parts stores, feed store, two groceries stores (tax did not apply to food.) some convenience stores and a few touristy shops and two used car lots.), so it would have had a minimal impact on most of the residents of the county as everyone went shopping in counties with higher sales tax rates.

As to how much of your money do I want?  Enough to effectively and safely (within reason it is not an inherently safe occupation) do the job you expect me to do.  I mean for fucks sake having pieces and parts NOT fall off of cars driving down the highway isn't too much to ask is it?  Seems reasonable doesn't it?

ETA:  I also understood the issue with taxes.  All I ask is if you think a tenth or half a percent of sales tax is too much for me to ask for equipment and training fine, I get it and can, will, do and have dealt with it for decades.  Just be consistent about your lack of giving a fuck.  So don't waste my time inviting me to your church for a potluck and when a cop gets killed don't blow smoke up my ass about how sorry you are or how much you support cops and tell me about how much you care.  Own your indifference and don't use me to try and make yourself feel better.

What were the circumstances surrounding his death (ie, domestic, traffic stop, EDP, etc)?

I don't know if it applies to this situation but a lot of the time people, especially cops,tend to only hear the negative. They know from experience that the guy thanking you one day will be bitching the next day when his lost wallet isn't suddenly the top priority or because you wrote him a ticket for only 27 over. They learn that there is only so much that non-cop can understand about the job and tend to turn to each other. I'm not saying it's right reaction just what tends to happen by human nature. A supportive public is a huge benefit to an agency, both in effectiveness and moral. It should be a priority but that's easier said than done sometimes.

He was evicting someone that had illegally camped in a downtown parking lot.

They generally used to let it slide for a week or so until a newcomer could get their bearings but the killer had overstayed his welcome and had not paid attention to the unwritten rules. (Don't make a mess, loud partying etc)

If I am not mistaken he wasn't evicting them per se. He was just giving them written notice ordering him to move within 24 or 48 hours.

He had overstayed his welcome and caused problems.

When I first arrived in town I stayed there and the LEOs were actually glad to have me because I'd invest about 10 minutes a day cleaning the parking lot up.

There was a serious shortage of affordable housing in town at the time.


ETA He WAS wearing a vest, and the round went in through the side, the part the vest didn't cover. I would imaging that in '83 the vests were not as good as they are today.

Thanks for the post Pic, it honors his memory. I found his name on the Officer Down memorial page and read all the comments. There are quite a few from his kids over the years. it appears that they were very young when he left us and that they appreciate his memory being shared.

I was high school age when he was killed and will have 19 years on the job as of tomorrow. I don't envy the kids starting their careers now, attitudes towards Police seem more hostile now, but danger can come from any situation as sadly illustrated in Gordy's death.

Thanks for the synopsis. Did the PD start cracking down on the homeless community only or everyone? I could see where they might have felt their kindness (overlooking minor stuff) was taken as weakness and they decided to to change their tactics.

I'm not  saying it's right or wrong, just trying to understand the  scenario.

Much of my time in Kodiak was a blur and time hasn't helped.  To be honest I had to look up the date Bartel was killed before I wrote the OP. While I certainly recall the events I have a hard time putting a lot of details in chronological order.

I don't believe there was a major crackdown so much as it was an obvious change in attitude among the officers, although you can bet your ass the parking lot got emptied out pretty fast, probably by the residents themselves in anticipation of a crackdown.

I was actually respected by all of the cops but one or two. I generally ran a clean camp, so to speak, and had helped keep an officer from being blindsided in a brawl. Yet OTOH I sat there and watched the department jerk get beat up and didn't lift a finger. When asked why I told them that the officer in question wasn't worth my effort. They actually understood this and respected it, believe it or not. They knew my respect was an individual thing that was earned and once earned I'd watch someone's back. I was considered somewhat of an odd duck, but not harmful and a potential asset.

They became a little quicker to get serious.

I think I can put it this way.

I had a parking ticket that went to warrant as I had left my pickup downtown and went fishing for a few weeks.

Normally I'd go straight to the station and post $20 and that would end it. They'd keep the $20 and I'd forfeit it because I didn't show up and the warrant would go away. It was pretty much SOP and it was actually a tacit win/win as I'd have my pickup parked where it could be seen and was less liable to be vandalized.

When we came back into port none of us had any cash so I went to a friend's place that needed something fixed on their roof. It was a fast $50.

When I was done and paid I called the department and asked for a specific officer to show up and pick me up. Then I went back up on the roof to gather my tools.

The officer I requested showed but had the department idiot with him. The idiot got kind of pushy so I grinned at the older officer and started doing a James Cagney imitation from White Heat,(Made it, Ma! Top of the world!) using my index fingers as pistols. It was simply a sarcastic gesture.

The younger cop looked embarrassed but the older one said, "That's pretty good, Pic."

I tossed down my tool bag, climbed down and the older one helped me lower the ladder and park it beside the house. I threw my tool bag into the back seat and climbed in next to it.

When the two officers got in the car, the old lion looked at me and laughed. "Next time use a gas ball and blow yourself up so we don't have to drive your sorry ass to the station!"

Another time I was asked to run someone's relative up to the station to get a 'liquor handler's permit'. IIRC she was a bar owners sister that needed a job. I took her to the station dressed in a double breasted pin stripe suit, black shirt, white tie, spats, topped off with a big fedora. Complete with a violin case.($5 from the Mission store for the entire outfit.).

The CLEO stuck his head around the corner and laughed.

Prior to the shooting this kind of stuff happened fairly often in town. After the shooting I wouldn't even THINK of pulling a stunt like either of those except to MAYBE a couple of officers and even then very. very privately.



Incidentally there was a huge 'homeless' population there and they ranged from complete dirtball to gentleman of the road. I was pretty much considered one of the latter. I was considered a local. I was registered to vote, had my vehicle registered there and had an interesting address.

My camper-trailer was tiny and was referred to as the 'Stay Free Mini Pad' because I paid no rent and it was a small place. Some babe made a sign for it out of the feminine hygiene product of the same name. Because the DMV required a physical address as well as a mailing address my truck title. My mailing address was a POB and it actually listed my physical address as 'Stay Free Mini Pad, Kodiak, AK, 99615'.

A common question asked me constantly (by cop and non cop) was, "Where's the Mini Pad parked these days?"

The city fathers griped constantly about the so-called homeless but really never did much to alleviate the affordable housing headache. Monday they'd gripe and Tuesday they''d raise rents on their rentals. A halfway decent place ran about a grand a month. This was in 1980 and that was a LOT of money back then.

Incidentally when I arrived in '78 bacon and eggs ran $5. So did a cheeseburger. A month earlier stateside I was paying a buck.

Between '78 to '85 you will never see my name on a rent receipt of any kind. In '85 I bought a sailboat and lived aboard and paid slip space for my final year there.

Looking back on it as I write this I realize that it was a very strange place. I try and put myself in the shoes of a cop then and realize it took a special breed. Bartel was one of those.

What is interesting to note is that I saw a couple stateside city cops get hired by the department and get eaten alive. One was a Detroit officer that thought he was tougher than a Bering Sea crab fisherman. Big mistake.

The most interesting bust I ever saw was when a kind of Barney Fife officer walked into the bar and sat down next to the arrestee. He was a monster and was quite a fighter. "Finish your beer. The go take a piss and make damned good and sure you empty your pockets. We don't want a stupid drug bust added to this. The sooner you're in ths sooner you're out."  

It was really a strange place and several cops over the years told me it was either you loved it or hated it and left. There was a core group of officers and they loved it. There was also a segment of officers that stayed a short time and left.

This comment actually holds a lot of water when you look at the way things actually run.

Remember the Clinton request to put 100K more cops on the street?

(I'm no fan of the Feds getting involved in local matters but let's put that aside)

We didn't really need 100K more cops, we needed the ones we already have trained and equipped properly. Now it would have been one thing to spend this on departmental needs but how much of it got skimmed off for social bullshit programs like Moonlight basketball?

Now we have an inner city basketball game where you can go to buy crack at cut rates and meanwhile some poor bastard is trying to make his rounds in a police car with 350K miles on it and is wondering if the baloney skin tires on it will hod out until the end of his shift.

It's one thing to send tax money where is supposed to go and another thing to see it pissed away on bullshit.

Thanks for making me aware of this. I added a simple comment.

He listed some items in his post
Adequate staffing, adequate equipping. Figure out what that entails and either pay the bill or dissolve the agency and contract out and hope you get the LE coverage that works the best for you

The days of "getting by" by staffing a small dept with a few part timers, a few pads of reports, print cards, an old cruiser, a handgun that gets handed down from shift to shift unless the officer buys their own...those days are gone and rightfully so

Really not the governments job
We've been building 'affordable housing" here for 40 years at an ever increasing clip
All you see are Downstate people coming up for the free stuff and the trailer parks emptying out to move into the welfare complexes

It really WASN'T the job of the city fathers to alleviate the housing shortage. It's the job of the private sector.

Still, they could have at least recognized it and admitted it instead of doing what they did and dumped it on the police department.

It was a real Catch-22. They needed people to man the canneries yet they didn't like the transients that manned them and put a lot of money in the city coffers.

I have seen that done.

It works only when  you have a good citizenry to begin with.

Actually the case that comes to mind is when the department seems to cause more problems than it solves. Apparently the department upset a few apple carts and the locals complained and the selectman abolished the department and use the state police for their LE needs.

FWIW this is small town shit.

Pic, I always enjoy reading your post/

Wow! You guys are pretty good!

When I started this thread I had to do some digging myself.

I remembered "Officer Gordy" and had to find his last name. I also had to look up the  actual year as they all seem to have run together as thirty some odd years have passed. Wow! Thirty-two years already! Time flies!

When this happened I was pretty much a street person and there were not a lot of last names used. I used to simply call Officer Bartel "Gordy" and probably never knew his last name. It may be hard for you guys to understand but there were guys "d have fought and died for and I only knew them by a nickname or alias. I will say I do remember Gordy because he was a really cool guy.

Back in the day there used to e a saying. "You'll get more time for shooting an elk out of season than you will for killing a man in a bar fight." There was more than a kernel of truth to this.

I didn't know they gave McCormick 99 years.

My comment of him most likely being out of the can and Gordy still being dead is based on another experience.

Robert 'Bob-a-lu' Bendickson (sp?) was murdered in his own bed by a jealous boyfriend. (NOT husband!) The killer sneaked into his house and shot him as he slept.

A couple of years later a local contractor tried to get the killer released because he was 'a good guy'. What bullshit!

When I heard that I went straight the bar and said something to the bartender. He told me to stay put a minute and I did. A couple minutes later I was called into the owner's office and handed a pen and invited to sign a petition-type letter to the correctional people requesting they keep the killer until his sentence was served. I CHEERFULLY signed.  I also went a couple of doors down and told the contractor to kiss my ass.


Not remembering the guy had a 99 year sentence and figuring that Gordy was a cop I figured he'd have gotten a much stiffer sentence than Bob-a-lu's killer. Still, I have little respect for the system I figured that McCormick would be out by now. I had figured he'd be out by now based on what happened to Bob-a-lu's killer.

By the way, I will kiss your collective asses if they hold him until 2050. He's what? 73 now? My guess is they'll parole him within the next ten years or so. Still, I was pretty close, I suppose. I'm surprised.

Incidentally I can see releasing him in about 12 years.

Before you guys go WTF, let me tell you that maybe something's wrong with me.

When I was a young man I thought a lot of my enemies deserved to die. As I got older I got meaner. I figure they ought to have gotten hacked up, disabled, paralyzed and forced to live.

Let the bastard out when he turns 85 and let him live scared he'll have his parole lifted and scared of the world around him because he'll be unable to adapt. Make his life TRULY miserable. Right now he's someone in jail. Cop killers have a lot of status. Release him, put him on the streets and he's a nobody at best.

Incidentally this thread has been good for me. It has forced me to dig up a lot of interesting memories. Some good,some bad, some funny and some sad.

Thanks for filling me in on a lot of lost details, guys. Tango7, thanks for the picture. I do remember him as being a shaggy faced cop.

Pic