18 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: AUGUST 2017 Stolle, 27, asked his part- ner, “Can you swim?” Weeks can indeed swim, and the two cops jumped into the freezing waters and pulled the unrespon- sive man to safety back on shore. How cold was the water? The victim’s temperature was just 80 degrees when paramedics arrived and he’ll probably never know how close he came to dy- ing. Not only does it feel re- ally, really good to save a life, Ross now had a story of his own to tell. Reporters with The Pilot asked the younger Stolle if he’s ever heard about the similar save his Dad made 30 years back. “Oh God. Yes,” Stolle said. But it’s not like Sheriff Stole was always telling his save story and annoying people. It’s just part of a long career as a peace of- ficer that gets talked about and usually has an impact on impressionable young people. “I’ve heard most of his stories. It’s probably why I became a police officer.” Sheriff Stolle and an- other officer were off-duty Jan. 15, 1979, when some- one knocked on the door. There had been an acci- dent. A car with two passen- gers had crashed into a light pole before overturn- ing and winding up in a ditch filled with icy water. Stolle had the flu but his adrenaline was racing. He managed to get into the vehicle where he found one man conscious and the other one lying facedown in the water. He cleared the guy’s airway of mud and debris while his partner held the man’s head out of the water. Rescue units arrived a short time later but it was the cops first on scene that made the difference. Now Ross Stolle works in the Second Precinct, just like his dad. “He tells stories all the time,” Ken Stolle said. Like father, like son. Apple didn’t fall far from tree Continued from page one Fathers and sons that wind up working the same job at the same time are pretty rare. But law enforcement has many, including the Stolles. They’re like the police version of Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. E verything’s about leaks and leak- ers these days, it seems. In Arizona, South Tucson Police Chief Michael Ford has been fired after Mayor Ildefonso Green fingered Ford as the source in a slew of negative media reports. Green attacked members of the local media at a re- cent city council meeting. He complained that recent newspaper articles were too focused on proposed cuts to police and fire staff- ing levels and that report- ers were out to get him. Green accused Chief Ford and other city em- ployees of leaking infor- mation to the media after the city’s budget problems became public. “All of sudden we had individuals running to the media,” Green said at the meeting. “They were say- ing to the media that we are going to lose our Fire Department, we are going to lose our Police Depart- ment.” Chief Ford was at the meeting and shook his head as Green made his accusations. Then Green asked Ford to speak about the so-called leaks. “That is not true,” Ford said. “The only informa- tion we had to communi- cate to the public came at these meetings, and that is the same information that went out to the media.” Then the mayor and the chief yelled at each other for a few minutes before Ford walked out. Ford told reporters with the Arizona Daily Star that shortly after the meeting, City Manager Sixto Mo- lina told Ford he was be- ing fired for poor work performance and that all this rancor might be for nothing. Officials say without new tax revenue the one- square-mile town will be forced to declare bank- ruptcy anyway. No new taxes! And we’re out! (801) 475-6000 www.symbolarts.com customerservice@symbolarts.com Contact us today to get started on your custom products BADGES PATCHES MEDALS THE LEADER IN PUBLIC SAFETY INSIGNIA FOR OVER 30 YEARS COINS APPAREL PINS