Five of the Garland Police Department’s SWAT officers were invited to New York City to be interviewed on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America on Friday, September 26, 2003. Detective Aaron Radney (Cover photo), Officer Mark Sims (January), Officer Lanny Orman (April), Detective Dan Colasanto (July), and Officer Gary Steadman (September) were selected to go. Dorris Murdock (GCPAAA President) and Vickie Thompson (GCPAAA Vice President) accompanied the officers to represent the Alumni. We will never be able to forget how fantastic this trip was.

We arrived in NYC on Thursday, September 25th. After our flight we found out that we were going to be escorted around the city by a couple of New York City Police Officers; Officer Ron Savarese and Sgt. Pat Howard of the Mounted Unit. This was arranged by GPD Assistant Chief Cortez through an NYPD Captain that he had met when attending the FBI Academy. Officer Savarese and Sgt. Howard were wonderfully hospitable to us. They took us to Ground Zero, the former location of the World Trade Center complex, where we met with Officer Alvarado of the New York Port Authority. We were afforded VIP status and were escorted past the public fence and down into the interior of the Ground Zero area. All of the officers shared some of their experiences from September 11th, 2001 and we found out that Sgt. Howard had lost his brother in that tragedy. What a humbling time this was for all of us.

The next morning we had to be at the GMA studios at 7:00 a.m. to get prepared for the show. When we walked in, we saw a studio with five big posters made from the calendar images. It was an overwhelming feeling to realize that we were all really there and that it was really happening!

Next, we met with Claire Alpert, the GMA staffer who worked to coordinate the segment. She explained that they were going to “tease” our segment throughout the show before the interview. It sounded like fun to us and it worked out well on the air. The officers did a great job during the teasers and in the actual interview with Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer. They also had the opportunity to meet Jennifer Garner, an actress from the TV show Alias.

After the show, our Garland SWAT officers walked outside to meet some of the crowd that was waiting to see them. Later that day, as we were walking around Manhattan, I heard someone pass us and say, "Hey, there goes the SWAT guys!" I think our officers are celebrities now!

We have sold hundreds of calendars all over the United States and even a few overseas as a direct result of the publicity from being on network television. We are grateful to have had this opportunity to gain national attention on behalf of our Garland SWAT team!

_Vickie