Second leg of cover story about a police ride along in Saratoga TODAY's March 11, 2016 edition.

1. Park, MN.
RelativesandfriendsgatheredtorememberheronThursday,
March 10, 2016 at the William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing &
Cunniff Funeral Homes, 628 North Broadway in Saratoga
Springs.
Donations may be made in Lori’s memory to the Metastatic
Breast Cancer Network (to aid in research), c/o Ginny
Knackmuhs, Treasurer, 477 Ackerson Ave., Wyckoff, NJ 07481.
Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneral-
home.com
Michael G. Quinn
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Michael G. Quinn died at his
home on March 4, 2016 of complications from Alzheimer
Disease. Born on October 12, 1944 in Jersey City, New Jersey,
Michael was the son of the late Michael J. and Adele (Eyre)
Quinn. He is survived by his loving wife Brenda; his daugh-
ter Hannah, whom he adored and was truly proud of; a sister
Margot (Boylan) and niece and nephew Laura and Greg.
Raised in Ridgewood, NJ, Michael graduated from high
school in 1962. He enlisted in the Army and was stationed in
Turkey and Germany in the Army Security Agency. After his
service, Michael pursued his education obtaining his BA in
Medieval History from Rutgers University, a certificate from
The Post Graduate Center for Mental Health in NYC, and his
Master’s degree in Social Work from Fordham University.
Michael met his wife Brenda at Fordham in 1978, the two
became best friends and were inseparable from that point
until his death. In 1986, after living and working in NYC for
10 years, the couple moved to Saratoga Springs.
Michael was a clinical therapist, a job he loved, for 34 years.
HepracticedfirstattheCounselingandHumanDevelopment
Center on Wall Street and then for the Samaritan Counseling
Center of the Capital Region until his retirement in 2011.
Michael was a dedicated therapist who never met a client that
he didn’t like and find interesting. He was an avid bicyclist
and kayaker, loved to read, work on cars, tell stories and have
“adventures.”
The family would like to thank Community Hospice of
Saratoga for their compassionate care of Michael and the
kindness and sensitivity they showed us during his final week.
A funeral home service with military honors will be con-
ducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 12, 2016 at the William J.
Burke & Sons/Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Homes, 628 North
Broadway in Saratoga Springs.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer
Association, Northeastern New York Chapter, 4 Pine West
Plaza, Suite 405, Albany, NY 12205.
Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuner-
alhome.com
Week of March 11 – March 17, 2016 OBITUARIES 7
someone twice his age. “I love it here,”
he told me. “It’s a great department to
work for – very much community-based
policing.”
We started in the dispatch office,
where I met Aaron Deuel and Aneisha
Liska, who field the calls as they come in.
The room was softly lit, with most of the
glowcomingfromthemultiplemonitors
at each desk. One wall was lined with a
glass partition between the front of the
office and dispatch, and Sergeant Robert
Dennis leaned in through the win-
dow to sing the praises of the dispatch
department.
“There aren’t that many cities left
that still have local dispatchers,” he said.
“The 911 calls are routed through the
county sheriff’s office directly to the offi-
cers, but our calls are routed here.”
Dennis explained that local dis-
patchers are supreme multitaskers. They
not only dispatch the call quickly, but
they simultaneously research the call
and keep the officers updated with their
findings, such as whether there might
be a gun registered to the homeowner
on a domestic dispute call. According to
Dennis, county dispatchers don’t have
time to provide that level of background,
and that work provided by local dispatch
has saved time, money, and lives.
The station was bigger than it
appeared, and tours are commonly held
for schools and other groups. I was taken
to the interview rooms where suspects
and victims were questioned. We then
visited the initial intake area where the
personal belongings of suspects were
inventoried and their photos taken.
Hanging on the wall were sturdy shack-
les that made me immediately think of
every prison movie I’d ever seen. I saw
the digital fingerprinting station, the
breathalyzer that was set and ready to go,
the roll-call room that doubles for train-
ing, and the storage area for firearms. We
also visited the room where the body
cameras were recharged and down-
loaded for future review or to be deleted,
as the case may be.
VanWie drove a marked police
vehicle that was equipped with the
standard dashboard camera, com-
puter monitor and printer for checking
license plates and inputting traffic tick-
ets, and secure places for firearms. As
we drove along, he demonstrated how
he could flip a switch to see the speeds
of all the cars coming toward us or going
away from us, easily distinguishable at a
glance.
We drove through different areas
of the city as a standard check, pull-
ing through the train station, down
Broadway and through different neigh-
borhoods.Wespokeabouthistrainingat
the police academy, and the regular fire-
arm training all officers receive through-
out the year, even though state law does
not require additional training for offi-
cers beyond initial firearm certification.
VanWie’s training has prepared him
for everything from domestic disputes
to active shooter situations, and even
to notice, in the few seconds that a car
drove past us, that its inspection sticker
was out of date.
Around 11:30 p.m., after a few
routine calls, I was handed over to the
care of Sergeant Mark Leffler, well-
known for his numerous DWI arrests
and named 2014 Officer of the Year by
the Saratoga Springs Police Lieutenant’s
Police Benevolent Association. He had
a hand in the background checks and
training of some of the young officers
working that night, and in his capacity as
patrol supervisor on the midnight shift,
we took his unmarked vehicle to back up
some of the traffic stops of other officers.
Just as VanWie did, we took a tour
of various neighborhoods and busi-
nesses, checking that all is normal. By
1 a.m., Caroline Street had a strolling
crowd of laughing people enjoying a
relaxing Friday night with friends and
coworkers. I couldn’t help but smile as
we slowly pulled past the wave of people
out having a good time.
Some, however, were having too
good of a time. Leffler and I pulled in
behind one DWI stop, watching while
Officer Joe Hughes put a driver through
a sobriety field test. The sergeant
explained each step to me as the driver
walked a line, balanced on one foot, and
finally turned and put his hands behind
his back to be handcuffed with a rueful
smile, knowing he’d been caught fair and
Behind the Thin Blue LineContinued from front page.
See Blue Line page. 10
Officer VanWie and all Saratoga Springs Police Officers wear body cameras which are stored
in this charging and download station. Photo courtesy of Saratoga Springs Police Department.