I once went to a house, on the way in we noticed all the cats were outside, and the front door was open. Soon as we stepped in, we realized why -- they didn't want to be in that stank.

The call was for an older man, not quite bedbound but close, who I suspect had had a stroke. I wasn't the lead medic on that call, I was just standing there holding the jump bag and monitor so nothing would touch anything.

I was looking around to see why it stunk so bad -- seriously, it was worse than just sewer smell, though it didn't quite smell like corpse. I looked down and the carpeting was actually oozing something. I don't mean there were pee stains, I mean there was like a stank slime layer that came up around the sole of my boots.

I wiped my boots on the grass out front before getting in the truck. Rinsed them in antiseptic and water at the hospital. Scrubbed and hosed them with soap, 409, peroxide at the fire station. Those boots stunk literally for months, I had to get another pair.

Keep in mind that it is you, the citizens, who hold all the cards. The mayor does not care how many police officers, firefighters or paramedics he destroys. He does care, however, how many citizens show up at city hall or town hall meetings irate and demanding reinstatement for all affected officers.

The citizens have ALL the power here. Please get all of your friends to call City Hall and demand reinstatement/making whole for all affected officers. The mayor is running uncontested, his term ends 12/31/11. Never been a better time than right now.

Thanks
XO

"Do I care about the internal conflicts of a department? No.. I care if a cop or a group of cops are running around robbing people, murdering people (by definition) planting evidence, raping people etc. THAT'S corruption, and frankly, we don't have a widespread corruption problem here in Washington, no matter how you twist it, the numbers don't lie. "

And you're pretty sure you get accurate numbers, eh? Have you been to my partner's site at www.pbsotalk.com? Do you think the citizens of that county know all that stuff is going on? Bet you dollars to peanuts they don't.

Xavier Onassis, EMT-P

We're working on that! Spread the word.

Xavier Onassis, EMT-P

There are two things to keep in mind: civilians generally (incorrectly) believe that they know as much about public safety as insiders do, and that what they don't know doesn't matter.

The thing is, in my experience it's extremely stressful to work a public safety job, not so much because of the horrifying things you see at work, but because of the low pay, long hours, bad weather, sleep deprivation, emotional rollercoaster, and on top of it all, the intense drama and politics among co-workers. To cap it all off, there are very severe consequences for trying to speak about genuine issues - reference Deputy Chief Marsalisi and Sergeant Judd.

Unfortunately very often cliques form of the worst people, and they help each other get to the top, creating a dysfunctional system like what you see in Renton at the moment. Good people, people who are in it to serve the community and who want to hold high standards, get forced out. That's the reality.

The net result is corruption, poor performance, and departments where thuggery is permitted because of acceptance within the good ol' boy system. That's the reality. That's why it's important to let us speak out without fear of retribution.

Put it this way: if there were no skeletons in the closet, they wouldn't have this much of a problem with letting you folks take a peek.

FF Xavier Onassis, EMT-P