nypd

If you would like to talk about your experiences with ted send them to johnsica@gmail.com

I had told the following story to Ted in 2013 and he was unaware of it but I could tell by his reaction that he was surprised and very happy to hear it.

In 2013 a detective that I knew ( Phil) was being promoted to Detective 2nd grade and I called to congratulate him. During the conversation I gave him an update on Ted's situation. He then said to me, "Teddy saved my career and job". This is the story:

Phil was a young 71 cop in the mid 1990's and he was looking to do a good job and make good arrests. Being a young cop he was impressionable and gravitated to a group of 3 or 4 Seven-One cops who had a few more years on job and were active in making collars. This group though were "cowboys" and were not doing it the right way. On this particular day, Phil was up in the Squad/RIP office with a gun collar. Teddy called him into his office and told him, "Your doing a good job and your going to be a very good cop but you have to distance yourself from those guys your running around with, they are going to get you jammed up". This young cop was aware of Teds reputation and aspired to one day work in the RIP. He distanced himself from the group and he is now a 2nd Grade Detective. Of the group he distanced himself from, three were eventually fired from the job.

This speaks to the character of Ted. Although he was "upstairs" not involved with the patrol cops, he quietly observed, and knew what was going on. He saw a young cop being led down the wrong path and he corrected it with only a few words. It was Teds repuation and work ethic that spoke louder than his words.

In the 71 RIP we were dealing with voilent criminals on a daily basis, yet he never lost his humanity or sense of fairness (or quirky sense of humor). Ted used to say, " We take care of our complainants" and would never have a problem with you driving a crime victim to work or home and actually encouraged it.

If you were going to put handcuffs on a perp while working for Ted, you had to have "him good". He used to say," I don't care if he he got away with it 20 times, if we're locking him up we have to him "him good", meaning of course a solid case.

I believe that the uniquely postive work environment Ted created in the 71 RIP is directly connected to his love of sports.The 71 RIP under the leadership of Ted thrived and was productive because he fostered a TEAM concept. To work with Ted, you had to be a Team player. If you did something good on the 71 softball team, or on a robbery case, you heard the same postive acknowledgement, " GOOD JOB BUDDY BOY!!!". Oh , how I would love to hear that again!!!!!

I'm into my 33rd year on the job, I joined the 71 Softball team in 1984 and was brought into the 71 RIP in 1987. To say I worked "with" Teddy is more accurate than to say I worked "for" Teddy, and I am sure many others would say the same. I look back at the years in the 71 with Teddy as the most rewarding of my career. To this day I am passing on Teds wisdom and job knowledge to a new generation of cops. When a young cop does a good job or does right by a victim because of something I might have told them , its an extension of Teddy.