"318, 810."

That would be Officer Paul Aksamit (318), calling out of service (810) at the end of his shift in Lincoln police radio code, circa 1974. After 34 years, Paul turned in his gear yesterday, as he retires and begins his next career. Paul has taught several hundred young police officers the ins and outs of working third shift: feathering your emergency brake to slow your already-slow patrol car without the brake lights coming on; flashing doors to find the glint of fresh tool marks, or the missing cross bolt; rolling your windows down so you can hear what's going on. Parking on the high ground, and just listening.

Cory Mateson, a reporter at the Lincoln Journal Star did a nice story about Paul in this morning's newspaper. It's a nice profile of a good police officer who has dedicated his entire adult life thusfar to this City. Paul and I worked together for a good long time. We were in plenty of tight spots and scrapes, pulled innumerable practical jokes on one another, and had a good deal of fun off duty. There are few places more pleasant then Paul & Butch's dining room table after a long shift. I'm going to miss him, but it's a good thing he will still be around the building.

Paul's 34 years have almost exclusively been on night shifts, and predominantly on deep nights: the 1100 to 0700 shift. He's had the seniority to pull any shift he wanted (he has socks older then his coworkers), but he's worked nights by choice. There is nothing like the smile on Paul's face when he's headed out the door in a white t-shirt, portable radio in hand, on his way home after snagging a couple of people overnight from a larceny in progress, or chasing down a guy one third his age in a foot pursuit.

Everyone admires Paul. He's easy with a joke, can dish it out and take it, has an incredible knack for being in the right place at the right time, and never backs away from work or trouble. He's the golden retriever of police officers--loyal, friendly, always at your side. But Paul's primary accomplishment has nothing to do with his 34 years as a police officer. Rather, it's his 34 years as a husband to his lovely wife, and 33 years as a great dad to four great kids. Now that is an accomplishment. What a family!

Paul stopped by my office yesterday morning, and returned something I loaned him 25 years ago. Here it is:


That's a box of templates and stamps that I used for accident report diagrams. Paul was forever borrowing my collection, and when I was headed for administration, I gave him my gear. The flexible curve is missing, but it is otherwise intact. The plastic hinge on that cheap blue pencil box has miraculously held together and the original Sanford ink pad is actually still functional after a few thousand accident reports. It's just like Paul: well-used, worn-in, and ready for the next crash.

If you're looking for a nice set of stamps, come see me.

Oh, by the way--that bottle of white-out was not part of the original kit, Paul.