Where in the World is Ron Levine?
Where in the World is Ron Levine?
Link to my Police Car Trading Page
Link to my page of Santa Clara Co. S/O Insignia
Link to Santa Clara County Public Safety Frequencies
Link to my High Tech "NewsBits" Page
Here I am in Hong Kong in 1995. I'm standing next to Wah-chiu "John" Wong, the Warden of Stanley Prison (on the southern side of Hong Kong Island). I was on a law enforcement tour of Hong Kong, before the territory was returned to China in 1997.
While on the tour of Hong Kong, we crossed into mainland China. It was a "very interesting" experience, to say the least. We were told what we could photograph and what we couldn't. Somehow, I was able to get this photo taken with a security officer at the Guangzhou (Canton) Zoological Garden.
In the Summer of 1999, I met up with some friends at the Solomon Islands Military Resort, on the Patuxant River, for some much needed R&R. The US Navy had some "boats" available, so we spent some time navigating the Pax, while watching flight ops at Pax River NAS.
This photo was taken at the FBI Academy (Quantico, VA) in August of 2001. For you movie buffs, this is the same running trail that is featured in the beginning of "Silence of the Lambs", with Jodie Foster.
After the sad events of September 11, 2001, I found myself in Washington DC, less than one month after the attack. I toured the crash site at the Pentagon and saw the devastation first hand.
I made the trek down to Ground Zero on the same trip. While I was there, I made a pilgrimage to the permanent NYPD Memorial, and paid my respects to all those police officers and firefighters who lost their lives at the World Trade Center. The Memorial was filled with cards, flowers, hand drawn pictures and notes to dads, moms, husbands and wives that were killed in the line of duty. It was gut wrenching to read the letters from the children who had lost a parent. I left a Sheriff's Office patch and pin at the memorial, as a tribute to those who "gave all" on that terrible day.. The sights and smells I experienced at "Ground Zero" and the Pentagon, will always be with me.
While in Washington DC in the Fall of 2001, one of my military heros, Brigader General Charles "Chuck" Yeager, was making a personal appearance at the Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum. I attended his presentation and then had him autograph his book, "Yeager, An Autobiography" (soon to be a major motion picture). I have met the General on several occasions, but it's always an honor to speak with him.
In April of 2002, I was sent to Buenos Aries, Argentina on a major fraud investigation. Here I am in front of a local police precinct, known as a "comisaria" in Spanish. To my left is the Precinct Comisario (Commander) and on my right is Alberto Gustavo Desmul, Subcomisario Secretario (Secretary), of the Buenos Aries Provincial Police, La Plata Region.
While in Argentina, I also was able to tour the Buenos Aries Provincial Police School (Academy) in La Plata. It is very similar to our military academies here in the US. Commissioned officers attend a two year program, while non-commissioned officers only attend for four months. Something quite different at the Academy was the "Police High School". It is similar to a JROTC program here in the US, but this is full-time program for the students.
Here I am in San Juan, Puerto Rico in May of 2002. I always thought there was only one PD on the island, but I quickly learned that was no longer the case. Each city has their own department now, but this agency still has jurisdiction in the cities too. It's VERY confusing!
On the same trip, I happened to spend a few hours on St. Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands. The Police Department covers all three of the islands in the chain and has approx. 450 officers.