On the eve of his retirement, looking to sum up his 25 years of service to the City of Leawood and more than 30 years in law enforcement, Sgt. Tom Hogard summed up what he felt was both is greatest strength and his weakness. "I have a low tolerance for mediocrity," said Hogard, whose last day was Friday, March 27,2009. "Anything new, whether a technology or skill, to improve ourselves I was willing to look at it."

True to his own words, Sgt. Hogard brought a number of innovations to the police department during his tenure. First hired in January of 1984, he was the first to broach the idea of computerized reports for the department in 1985. Using a pair of Tandy 8088 processors he borrowed from the manager of a local Radio Shack, he showed police administrators how the department could join the age of computers.

Several years later, Sgt. Hogard was chosen to supervise the department's new traffic enforcement unit. Starting with himself and another officer in 1994, he built the unit which today includes three traffic officers in patrol cars and three police motorcyclists. Along the way, he was the first in the Kansas City area to introduce digital photography into crash documentation. The use of TOTAL stations to map crash scenes was another innovation that he was among the first to bring locally into the process of crash documentation.

"I've always been a technology guy and it just made so much sense," said Hogard, who has also seen lasers and other technology enter the profession.

Hogard's passion for traffic safety, and in particular DUI enforcement, reached outside the department as well. He first began teaching DUI enforcement at the Regional Police Academy in 1991 and in 1995 became a field sobriety test instructor. Sgt. Hogard has also served on the several state-wide groups regarding the issue of breath alcohol detection.

Retirement leads to Promotions

With Tom Hogard's retirement, Chief John Meier announced the promotion of three officers. Kirt Yoder was promoted to Sergeant, filling Sgt. Hogard's spot. Shane Chambers was promoted to Corporal and Tony Woollen was promoted to Master Patrol Officer.

Sgt. Yoder first joined the department in 1999. He has worked in both the Patrol Division and the Traffic Management Unit as a motorcycle officer. Sgt. Yoder will also supervise the department's field training program for new officers.

Cpl. Chambers joined the department in 2001 after several years with the Paola, KS, Police Department. He too has served in both the Patrol Division and Traffic Management Unit.

Since joining the department in 1992, MPO Woollen has worked as a DARE/School Resource Officer and as a Juvenile Detective in the Investigations Unit before rotating back to Patrol in 2008. As a Master Patrol Officer, Woollen will begin learning the responsibilities of a supervisor in the Leawood Police Department.

Leawood officers Anne Wagoner and Kirt Yoder show off the championship belts they earned at the 2008 Guns N' Hoses boxing event.

Leawood officers grab boxing belts

Making their formal boxing debuts, Anne Wagoner and Kirt Yoder both came away with championship belts at the Guns N' Hoses boxing event on Nov. 15, 2008.

Looking for a challenge, Wagoner and Yoder were two of many local police officers, fire fighters and emergency service personnel who volunteered to compete in annual Guns N' Hoses charity boxing event. Guns N' Hoses benefits S.A.F.E./Surviving Spouse and Family Endowment Fund, a Kansas City-metro area program that provides financial and emotional support to the families of emergency services personnel who have died while protecting our community and our citizens. The event also benefits area juvenile boxing programs.

Their championship journey started more than two months earlier when they began training for the event. To be considered for one of the slots on the final night, volunteers had to participate in a minimum number of conditioning and training sessions. Guiding the volunteer's development were trained fighters and coaches, who are also volunteers for the event.

On the big night, Wagoner was pitted against Johnson County Sheriff's Deputy Heather Weese. Yoder battled Overland Park Fire Fighter Danny Meeker, who had competed in several past Guns N' Hoses events. The fights consisted of three one-minute rounds following national amateur boxing regulations.

Officer published in U.S. Government Newsletter

Randy J. Wiler, DARE Officer and Community Policing Specialist, has again been published in a national publication regarding his fight against bullying. You can find this article under "Ask the Expert" section of the U.S. Government—Health Resource Services Administration (H.R.S.A.) Stop Bullying Now website.

Wiler is one of the first 20 people in the United States selected by Dr. Dan Olweus to become a national trainer for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Group. Wiler first began collecting information concerning bullying behaviors in 1992 and began developing his presentation in December 1993. He was first featured in Good Housekeeping magazine in an article entitled "Kids Who Terrorize Kids" and is the author of several bullying prevention publications, some of which are featured in the national Stop Bullying Now! outreach by H.R.S.A. He also wrote the bullying prevention curriculum in use world-wide by the D.A.R.E. program and was named as the 2006 D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year.

Bars and Stripes

Chief John Meier and the Leawood Police Department announced two promotions, effective July 7, 2008 and a third effective July 26, 2008.

Kevin Cauley was promoted to Lieutenant on July 7th and assigned as Operations Commander, overseeing the Patrol Division. Lt. Cauley joined the Leawood Police Department in 1992. Before pinning on the single bar of a lieutenant, he served as a Field Training Officer before being promoted to Sergeant in January of 2005.

Tim Anderson was promoted to Sergeant on the same day and replaced Cauley as the supervisor of one of the department's three patrol crews. Sgt. Anderson joined the Leawood Police Department as an Animal Control Officer in 1989 and advanced to a police officer position in 1991.

Kirt Yoder was promoted to Corporal in the Patrol Division, filling Anderson's position, on July 26th. Yoder joined the department in 1999 after four years as a deputy with the Johnson County Sheriff's Department.

Officer awarded department's Purple Heart

Officer Randy Rausch's patrol car after it was struck by another motorist on I-435.

Officer Randy Rausch was awarded the Leawood Police Department's Purple Heart Award at the June 2, 2008, Leawood City Council meeting.

On the morning of December 8, 2007, Officer Rausch stopped on the shoulder of eastbound I-435 at State Line to assist a motorist that had slid off the icy highway. As he started to exit his patrol car, a second motorist lost control of his car and struck Officer Rausch's car, briefly knocking him unconscious. Officer Rausch spent a week in the hospital and more than four months away from work healing from the injuries he sustained. Officer Rausch is the second officer to receive the Purple Heart Award, designed to recognize employees who are seriously injured while performing their duties.

Officers receive awards for valor

Four Leawood Police Officers were recognized at the KMBC-TV9/Metropolitan Chiefs and Sheriffs Awards for Valor ceremony on November 14, 2007.

Officers Greg Turney and Ron Hulsey received the bronze award for valor. The two were involved in the pursuit and capture of three armed subjects who had been involved in several armed robberies in the area. Part of the chase took place in the storm drainage tunnels near the Grandview Triangle. Both officers, as well as Turney's K9 partner Rocco, were recognized with bronze awards for valor by the Kansas Peace Officers' Association earlier in 2007. Rocco was the first police canine to ever receive an award from the organization.

Sergeant Brad Robbins and Officer David Winders also received the bronze award for valor for their response to an armed disturbance in March 2007. In this incident, a subject was waving a gun in front of two innocent people. The officers forced their way into a home after the suspect fired a shot that just missed one of the people before he was taken into custody.

"Copsicles" take a plunge