Behind the Badge
In the beginning, there were four.
The year was 1988, and the idea came from retired Chief Dave Michel, who got together with retired Sgt. Dwight Clark and Luther Mitchell to take retired Lt. Al Rogers, who was then battling cancer, to breakfast.
Word got out, and soon there were seven: Clark, Michel, Mitchell, Rogers, Jerry Sneegas, Marty Mitchell, and Dick Gray. After Rogers died in 1989, the men decided to make it a regular thing, and started meeting for breakfast every other week.
Anaheim PD Acting Chief Julian Harvey greets retired officers during a breakfast at Katella Grill.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Since then, more than 250 Anaheim Police Department retirees have attended the Over the Hill Breakfast, with an average of 21 any given week, said Gray, who is the only one of the seven still able to attend. Founding member Michel died this past December.
“I think people that work together in police work become attached and just like to stay together and see each other,” Gray said. Gray’s son, retired Lt. Dennis Gray, started a similar tradition since retiring from the Brea Police Department.
Retired Anaheim PD officers have a seat at Katella Grill in Orange for their traditional breakfast gathering.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
The Over the Hill Breakfast invites the current chief of police, officers, and their wives annually in December at their usual haunt, Katella Grill. Retirees (such as Idaho residents retired Lt. John Cross and his wife Angela) come from all over the country to share “war stories” and visit friends.
“I remember a lot of these guys and gals when I first started,” Acting Chief Julian Harvey said. “These guys made Anaheim PD great. We’re just trying to carry on that tradition, that legacy.”
Anaheim PD Capt. Mark Cyprien, left, and retired Anaheim PD Officer Ed Thaete talk to other retired APD officers gathered for a retirement breakfast.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Many of the retirees wore a uniform most of their lives, moving from the United States Armed Forces into police work. Once you retire, though, rank has no bearing, said former Police Chief Jimmie Kennedy, who retired in 1987.
“It’s a bunch of people that get together and talk,” said Ed Thaete, one of the group’s organizers.
Retired Sgt. Gordon McConnell was in the Navy and worked as a police officer in Illinois before joining Anaheim PD.
“We used to talk about girls, now we talk about our aches and pains,” jokes McConnell, who retired in 1990. “I love these guys. We went through a lot of stuff together.”
Anaheim PD Acting Chief Julian Harvey, left, talks to former Anaheim PD personnel during breakfast at Katella Grill.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
McConnell joined the Anaheim PD the same day as retired Sgt. Larry Kurtz, who shared a story about his friend:
“One night, we had a barricaded guy in a house with a knife,” Kurtz said. “(McConnell) runs up to the door and he kicks the door, and his leg goes clear through the door. It was stuck! It wouldn’t come out, and all the other policemen ran around him.”
“After we captured the guy, we go back and pull his leg out,” said Kurtz, who worked at Anaheim PD for 34 years and retired in 1998.
Ken Brott, left, who retired from the Anaheim PD as a sergeant in 1995, talks to current Anaheim PD Captains Steve Davis, from left, Steve Marcin, Jaret Young, and Mark Cyprien during an APD gathering at Katella Grill.
APD command staff traditionally pay a visit during the gathering.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Colleen Reeves, wife of the late Chris Reeves, has her own war story. Her husband was on the graveyard shift when she went into labor with their fourth child. When she called the station to reach Reeves, she was told he was in a barricade situation, but they’d pass along her message.
“He raced home,” she said. “The nurse was waiting. He dropped me off and he was gone. Then, when he was done with his shift, he came to the hospital.”
Seeing him with his wife and new baby, the nurse commented on how emotional Reeves looked.
“He didn’t have the heart to tell her it was because they had to mace the guy that he was tearing up,” she said. “It was funny. That was my most exciting birth.”
Ed Thaete, a retired Anaheim police officer, stops at a table where the wives of retired Anaheim police officers gathered to catch up with old friends.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Kurtz, who worked at Anaheim PD for 34 years and retired in 1998, delivered a baby while on duty.
“The ambulance was lost; he was running in circles. I was what they call ‘the catcher,’” Kurtz said. “I caught the baby… The kid came out crying, a healthy little boy.”
Gray, the group’s secretary, emails the meeting dates annually and keeps track of contact information for the retirees. Many say Gray is the glue that keeps the group together.
“If it wasn’t for him, this thing would fall apart,” Kurtz said.
Anaheim PD Acting Chief Julian Harvey, left, talks to Bob Whitehead, right, who retired as a detective sergeant from Anaheim PD in 1993.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Gray and the other Over the Hill Breakfasters are the foundation of the current Anaheim PD, said Edgar Hampton, president of the Anaheim Police Association.
“These are the guys that started it all,” Hampton said. “These are guys that had revolvers and no air conditioning in the cars. Police work is police work, but it’s fascinating to see the differences. One day, it’ll be me sitting on one of these chairs, talking about ‘back in my day.’”
“We love being here,” Harvey said. “It’s that connection to a part of their lives that was impactful. When you do this job long enough, it kind of becomes part of you and it always will be.”
The next breakfast will be held at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 16 at Katella Grill.
