photo gallery

Welcome to My Photo Gallery. There are not many photos here, I'm afraid. If you are a police officer visiting this site, you will know why. If you are not, its because, for various reasons, most police officers do not like having their pictures made. Some, for instance, work undercover and its not a wise idea to let the general public be aware of who they are and what they do.

The photos you see here are officers. or their families. who I have worked with in the past. Some have gone to The Station House above, some are simply retired now, and a few are still on the job. All remain my friends.

Since some of these folks are still on the job, I've chosen not to give their last names to respect their privacy.

The last photos on this page are children of these officers. I have no grandchildren and have "adopted" these officers' children as my grandchildren, just as I "adopted" some of these officers as my sons. Some of the officers are the children of close friends I grew up with. Such is life in a small town.

This is Wayne. Better known as the "Chief". He is an old high school friend of mine who was a Captain on the department when I first moved back to Bogalusa. I did some work with him when I wrote features and a column for the Daily News and by the time I joined the department, he had made Chief. Wayne retired about a year ahead of me. He now travels alot with his wife, Helen, in their new motor home.

This photo was taken at a department pool party on July 4th. Rocky is on the left and Dink on the right. Rocky was a PFC when I joined the department and he is now a Captain and head of the detective division. Dink was a Lt. back then and has since retired. He couldn't stand staying at home so he joined the Washington Parish Sheriff's Department and is head of their branch office in Bogalusa. Both men were sporting beards in this photo...against department policy...but an exception had been made. Bogalusa was celebrating its 75th birthday and all officers were allowed go grow beards if they desired. We wound up with a beard growing contest!

This is Jimmy. He's one of the few older officers I didn't know when I returned to Bogalusa. Jimmy was Assistant Chief and he retired shortly after I joined the department. Like Dink, Jimmy didn't stay home long. He's now a road deputy with the sheriff's department. He is shown here playing guitar with his band, American Empire. Several of our officers were musically talented and they formed this band. They were good enough to go to Nashville and record and even opened for the Oak Ridge Boys in New Orleans. They decided against going with their music full time versus having the steady income and careers that all of them had worked so hard for. I believe they still get together occasionally and play. A really talented bunch. Jimmy's son, Tim, became a very close friend to my son, Jimmy. Both were drummers...they had inherited the musical talent!

Another department member and leader of the band, American Empire, was Mike. Mike was a Sgt. on the Drug Task Force and he retired this past year from the department. Mike was also the lead singer of the band and wrote much of their music, both the lyrics and the music. So far, Mike is enjoying retirement and being with his wife, Sandee and his children and grandchildren.

This is Sgt. John enjoying the pool party at the 4th of July festivities mentioned above. John was our ID officer for a while. He is now an assistant to the Chief. Like others of us on the department, John was injured in a chemical spill we incurred here in 1995 and is now limited to light duty. He also sports the beard for the city's birthday celebration.

"Buckshot" as he is better known, is one of my "adopted" sons on the department. He is the son of a former high school classmate of mine and he is not much older than my son. Buckshot has worked the road as well as been a member of the detective squad. Since joining the department, he has been joined by an older brother on the department. Their dad is retired now from the Sheriff's Department. Its all in the family!

"Bull" is yet another of my "adopted" children. Bull was a member of the department when I joined it and his father was our Assistant Chief...we had two! His mom was a former classmate of mine and a very dear friend. Bull was only with the department about a year after I got there and then he joined the State Police where he remains today. He is now married and I have three "adopted" grandchildren now. Their photos come later.

These are two of my dearest friends. Bennie and Sue go all the way back through school and college with me. Their son, Scott, is a member of the department and a detective. I never could catch him to get his photo, so you get his parents. Scott looks very much like his dad.

Catherine is one of my adopted grandchildren. Her dad is now a Captain on the department. Paul is an old friend as are his parents.

Bull's step daughter, son and daughter are pictured here. Jana is the oldest, then Johnna and "Little Bull". They were posing for their Christmas Card photo here.

And, finally you get to see what I look like. I'm shown here in the radio room with one of my "adopted" grandchildren, little Michael. He's the son of one of our detectives, Joe. Joe is the son of old and dear friends, James and Lena. Don't worry Joe, I'll get a photo of you yet!