Why are there always 10,000 Cops at Funerals ?

Other then when a head of state,  President or Gov dies we normally don't see hugh crowds at Funerals.

Here is the full story.

http://www.mercurynews.com/my-town/ci_28132932/should-taxpayers-foot-bill-send-cops-out-state

Should taxpayers foot bill to send cops to out-of-state funerals?

By Tom Lochner

Oakland Tribune

POSTED:   05/16/2015 08:30:38 PM PDT13 COMMENTS| UPDATED:   ABOUT 11 HOURS AGO

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Thousands of law enforcement officers from several cities salute the four slain Oakland Police officers as they leave the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., where they held the funeral services on Friday, March 27, 2009. Thousands of people and law enforcement officers from all over the nation and ...

Photos: Police officers travel, sometimes at public expense, to honor fallen colleagues

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Click photo to enlarge

Police officers from Concord, Calif., arrive at the funeral of New York... ( John Minchillo )

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BERKELEY -- Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, New York City police officers killed in the line of duty in December, were laid to rest before galleries of dignitaries and thousands-strong walls of police officers from across the nation -- including dozens from the Bay Area.

Such displays of unity and respect, on Dec. 27 for Ramos and Jan. 4 for Liu, are testimony to a tight fraternity of police that transcends jurisdictional boundaries. But sending officers to attend out-of-town funerals also is costly in time and money, and in more than half of the Bay Area police agencies queried by this newspaper, the taxpayer picked up all or some of the tab.

"The coldblooded assassination of peace officers is an attack on the foundation and rule of law upon which our country is based," said Berkeley police Chief Michael Meehan, whose department sent an honor guard member and another officer to Liu's funeral at public cost as "a show of support to the NYPD specifically and to demonstrate support for the safety of peace officers, including in Berkeley."

Meehan also said the trip was worth the cost because it meant much to his officers.

"Morale is important in all organizations to ensure the work continues to get done at the highest level and with the greatest effort," he said.

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But other local departments limit their officers to in-state funerals unless they pay their own way. And one nationally known expert on law enforcement said it is "never appropriate to use taxpayer dollars to send officers to the out-of-town funerals of police officers," especially out of state, unless the expense has been agreed to under a labor agreement.

"While it's entirely appropriate for police officers to use this time to travel to the funerals of police officers who have been killed in the line of duty, all travel-related expenses should be paid for by the police officers themselves or at the expense of their unions if the unions are willing to cover these costs," said Tom Nolan, an associate professor of criminology at Merrimack College, former Boston police lieutenant and policy analyst in the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Department of Homeland Security.

This newspaper surveyed local departments about the New York funerals to explore the different ways police handle such expenses at a time when there are many competing demands on strapped law enforcement budgets. It found wide disparities in practices.

Several Bay Area police unions paid for food, lodging and airfare in connection with the New York funerals. JetBlue flew some officers free of charge. On the other hand, some Bay Area police officers attended the funerals on their own time and dime; how many is hard to say, if only because the agencies queried do not systematically track what their officers do on their own time.

The two Berkeley officers who attended Liu's funeral between them clocked 40 paid work hours, according to department records; Berkeley also paid $850.60 for lodging and meals, and JetBlue provided free air transport, according to the Berkeley Police Department. The department did not provide an estimated cost for the paid work time.

Information provided by other Bay Area police agencies showed:

Oakland sent four officers to one or the other New York funerals, using a total of 85 work hours between them, calculated at $4,587.60. Oakland also paid $5,357.74 for airfare, lodging and meals.

"Years ago, when OPD experienced the loss of four officers during one tragic incident, the NYPD sent a group of officers to the funeral of our fallen officers," Oakland police Chief Sean Whent said, referring to the March 21, 2009, killing of four Oakland police officers by a wanted felon during a traffic stop and subsequent ambush. "The tragic circumstances of the murders of those two NYPD officers deserved a similar show of respect from our department."

San Jose provided a total of 100 hours paid release time for three officers, calculated at $4,629.68, to attend one or the other funeral, and additionally paid $6,078.30 for airfare, food, lodging and a luggage fee.

Twelve San Francisco officers, including a captain and an officer who each attended both funerals, used a total of 287 regular staff hours the department computed at $17,423.49. JetBlue provided free flights, and the San Francisco Police Officers Association and Asian Peace Officers Association helped pay expenses.

Two Richmond officers and one sergeant attended one or the other New York funeral at a total cost of $3,576.40 in staff time; the city additionally chipped in $400 for lodging, with the Richmond Police Officers Association picking up the rest of the tab for travel and hotel accommodations.

Two Concord officers attended Ramos' funeral and 12 attended Liu's, but none used work time; the city spent $2,600 total on hotel and food for four officers.

Two Fremont police officers attended each of the two funerals on days off. Fremont paid $2,788.51 for airfare, hotel and ground transportation.

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office computed its expenses at $4,734.80, including work time of two deputies, in connection with Liu's funeral. Two other deputies attended on their own time. The total includes a per diem for food and lodging. JetBlue provided transport.

Many police agencies said they did not take on any expenses in connection with the New York funerals, including some of the area's largest: The California Highway Patrol, BART Police Department, the Alameda and Contra Costa sheriff's offices, and the Antioch and Hayward police departments. Several said that any of their members who may have gone to New York for the funerals did so on their own time and expense.

One Contra Costa sheriff's lieutenant "responded to New York to support his brothers and sisters in blue on his own dime," on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, his regular scheduled days off, said that agency's spokesman, Jimmy Lee.

"(He) packed up and left his wife and 9-year-old son late Christmas night and headed to New York to support the family and co-workers of Officer Ramos," Lee wrote. "He never submitted any claim or reimbursement forms from the county.

"He feels that the support of slain officers is more important than any compensation, and he would do it again on his own dime in a heartbeat."

Many departments that did not pay for officers to go to New York said the decision was driven primarily by budget concerns.

Antioch police Chief Allan Cantando said his department is rebuilding staff, and currently has mandatory overtime to cover shifts,

"I too factored in the cost of sending staff, and the loss of their services to the residents of our city," Cantando said. "I recognized there would be national attendance, and I felt it was best to keep our officers within the state."

Hayward's department also decided not to send officers to the New York funerals for budgetary reasons, said Records Administrator Adam Perez.

BART typically sends members of its honor guard detail to services held within the state for fallen public safety personnel, said Police Administrative Supervisor Justin Morgan, but there is no formal policy on out-of-state travel.

A spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol, Jaime Coffee, said out-of-state travel must be approved by the CHP commissioner and the state Department of Transportation.

"CHP policy allows a CHP officer, when practicable, to attend the funeral service of a fallen state police or highway patrol officer, and present a California state flag and letter of condolence from the commissioner," Coffee said. "This policy does not, however, provide for CHP officers to attend funerals for out-of-state local law enforcement."

Some outside observers also question whether taxpayers should foot the bill for such travel.

Ken Hambrick, chairman of the Alliance of Contra Costa Taxpayers and a Walnut Creek resident, said he is compassionate about the death of public servants who put their lives on the line, especially police officers. But, he said, that's not a justification to spend public money on funerals in other jurisdictions.

"Many others put themselves in the line of fire, like our military, and we do not recognize them when they die. Perhaps we should, but we don't."

Contact Tom Lochner at 510-262-2760. Follow him at Twitter.com/tomlochner.

Leak Testing RVs

Metallic Marble Epoxy in 1 Minute

Everything You wanted to know about Lithium LiFeP04 Batteries

Soon I will start this section but for now I will post some links here as I find them:

Lithium Batteries


CALB info


MSDS Report


Yes other cell chemistries have greater capacity fade at elevated temperatures compared to LiFePO4 but that doesn't mean LiFePO4 is immune.  From another paper:

"Excellent long-term cycling stability was demonstrated for C-
LiFePO4 /graphite prismatic cells with capacity loss of only 14% after
6000 charge–discharge cycles [21], where the cells were cycled at
20◦C and around 1C rate. However, high-temperature cycling sig-
nificantly accelerated capacity fading [22]. Amine et al. reported that there was little capacity fade at 25◦C, but approximately 70% capacity loss at 55◦C after 100 charge–discharge cycles at C/3 rate [22]. The fast fading at high temperatures was found to result from formation and growth of thick interfacial film and concomitant large impedance rise on the graphite anode which was catalyzed
by iron deposition on the graphite anode subsequent to iron disso-
lution from the LiFePO4 cathode."



Cycling degradation



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUg9W4CbZUQ&list=PLwuOmXF4g0NL0JrB-ouTlkr_o6ZtUEf8b&index=4

Inside a Lithium Ion Electric Car Battery Cut Open by EV West

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x8soJCDJg0&index=13&list=PLwuOmXF4g0NL0JrB-ouTlkr_o6ZtUEf8b

Electric car upgrade part 2 - Batteries and Busbars

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_mTnXq1qOA&list=PLwuOmXF4g0NL0JrB-ouTlkr_o6ZtUEf8b&index=25

Evolution of electric vehicle battery technology | TÜV SÜD
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLrCFStQQUU&index=97&list=PLwuOmXF4g0NL0JrB-ouTlkr_o6ZtUEf8b

EV Basics Calculating Battery Pack Size

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How To Easily Join Together Aluminum Plates & Repair Aluminum Parts

Make Copper 12V Battery Cable Lugs For Pennies!

The Psychedelic Customized Big Rigs of India

Click here for story

The cargo trucks criss-crossing India are brash, psychedelic folk art. They’re covered from bumper to bumper in religious iconography, talismans, and all manner of elaborate motifs, prompting the men behind their wheels to affectionately call them their “painted ladies.”

Photographer Dan Eckstein traveled some 10,000 kilometers through the country and trained his camera on this slice of Indian life for his book, Horn Please, to be released in December.

“India is beautiful and colorful and a wonderful place to make photographs, but I think it’s a hard place to make unique photographs—something that’s not an exotic cliché,” said Eckstein.

He explored the region for six weeks accompanied by a driver and translator, spending much of his time in truck stops, mechanic depots, and places you won’t find in the Lonely Planet.

“With a lot of the truck drivers there’s a little bit of machismo,” said Eckstein. “They’re smoking cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and listening to their music. There’s a feeling of adventure and the open road.”

The drivers had a bit of swagger and were quite serious when he made their portraits, but that melted away as soon as they saw their photos on the back of his camera. Then they were all smiles.

The trucks are drivers’ homes for weeks at a time while they haul goods all over the country. They work in teams of two or three, driving in shifts, taking turns sleeping in bunks, and having meals at simple truck stops along the way.

Horn Please: The Decorated Trucks of India, powerHouse Books 2014.

Whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, or Christian—there’s usually ample evidence by the illustrations on the tailgate, sides, and the shrines installed in the cabs. If a driver is from the north, his good luck garlands may include chiles and limes. If he’s from the south, conch shells replace the chiles. Talismans against the evil eye include devilish faces or the image of a shoe, all carefully hand-painted.

Spend any time on Indian roads and you see why so many drivers seek the protection of good luck symbols.

“It’s a little hectic,” Eckstein said. “There’s every kind of vehicle—ox-drawn carts, shepherds bringing flocks through the highway, and cows wandering around. People don’t stick to one lane or another.”

The trucks are bold expressions of individuality and repositories of masculine, laboring pride. Drivers treat their rigs as evolving works of art, periodically commissioning a new illustration from roadside artists like one might collect tattoos.

The title Horn Please was inspired by the ubiquitous request painted in stylized lettering on the back of nearly every cargo vehicle. The many variations of the phrase encourage car drivers to sound their horn in alert when they plan to pass a truck, though Eckstein claims no encouragement is necessary.

“In India, the horn is going constantly to let everyone know where you are and where you’re going,” he says. “It’s an essential tool for navigating the road.”

Truma Mover Range 2013

I might have to look into getting one of these to move the trailer in and out of tight spots

if the video wont load try this link 

Or try this link

or this link 

Who can trust the cops while driving down the road ?

        Its been a little while since I had time to update about my trailer progress, (more is coming soon) but when it comes to these kinds of stories I just can't help myself reposting them - as this stuff happened while your driving down the road just minding your own business - the old days of the highway robbers are now the cops who are just plain bored with their job & have tons of extra time, while complaining how overworked & understaffed they are.

Full story found at:

Warrant: CHP officer says stealing nude photos from female arrestees 'game' for cops

By Matthias Gafni and Malaika Fraley

Contra Costa Times

POSTED:   10/24/2014 01:58:27 PM PDT60 COMMENTS| UPDATED:   ABOUT 4 HOURS AGO

RELATED STORIES

• Oct 24:
• CHP Nude Photos Case: Excerpts of text messages between officers discussing explicit suspect photos
• Oct 22:
• Dublin CHP officer accused of forwarding nude photos of suspect

MARTINEZ -- The California Highway Patrol officer accused of stealing nude photos from a DUI suspect's phone told investigators that he and his fellow officers have been trading such images for years, in a practice that stretches from its Los Angeles office to his own Dublin station, according to court documents obtained by this newspaper Friday.

CHP Officer Sean Harrington, 35, of Martinez, also confessed to stealing explicit photos from the cellphone of a second Contra Costa County DUI suspect in August and forwarding those images to at least two CHP colleagues. The five-year CHP veteran called it a "game" among officers, according to an Oct. 14 search warrant affidavit.

Harrington told investigators he had done the same thing to female arrestees a "half dozen times in the last several years," according to the court records, which included leering text messages between Harrington and his Dublin CHP colleague, Officer Robert Hazelwood.

Contra Costa County prosecutors are investigating and say the conduct of the officers -- none of whom has been charged so far -- could compromise any criminal cases in which they are witnesses. CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said in a statement that his agency too has "active and open investigations" and cited a similar case several years ago in Los Angeles involving a pair of officers.

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"The allegations anger and disgust me," Farrow said. "We expect the highest levels of integrity and moral strength from everyone in the California Highway Patrol, and there is no place in our organization for such behavior."

Rick Madsen, the Danville attorney for the 23-year-old San Ramon woman who was the first to report Harrington, said the implications of the case are "far-reaching and very damaging."

"The callousness and depravity with which these officers communicated about my client is dehumanizing, horribly offensive and degrading to all women," he said. "It's going to lead to another level of mistrust and skepticism to the motive of law enforcement in general."

The San Ramon woman's DUI case has already been dismissed because of the investigation into Harrington's conduct, and the CHP confirmed that one of its officers, a 5-year veteran, has been placed on "administrative duties" and is not on patrol, although they did not mention Harrington by name. Deputy district attorney Barry Grove said he expects a decision about charges against officers in the CHP probe to be made next week.

In the search warrant affidavit, senior Contra Costa district attorney inspector Darryl Holcombe wrote that he found probable cause to show both CHP officers Harrington and Hazelwood and others engaged in a "scheme to unlawfully access the cell phone of female arrestees by intentionally gaining access to their cell phone and without their knowledge, stealing and retaining nude or partially clothed photographs of them." That behavior constitutes felony computer theft, the affidavit said.

As this newspaper first reported earlier this week, the investigation began with a single incident: Harrington's conduct during the Aug. 29 arrest of the San Ramon woman. The woman discovered that photos had been stolen from her phone five days after her release, when she noticed on her iPad that the photos had been sent to an unknown number. A record of the messages had been deleted from her iPhone, but the phone had been synced to the iPad.

In his investigation, Holcombe compared video surveillance and time-stamped text messages from the woman's phone and determined Harrington was in possession of the woman's phone at the moment the photos were forwarded. The woman -- who registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.29 percent, more than three times the legal limit -- was being processed in the Martinez County Jail when the photos were stolen, according to court records.

During questioning, Harrington admitted to stealing five photographs from the woman and said he forwarded at least one to Hazelwood, according to court records.

Reached by phone by this newspaper on Friday, Hazelwood declined to comment. Messages to the other two officers were not returned.

"Harrington said he first learned of this scheme when he was working in the Los Angeles office," Holcombe wrote in the affidavit. "Harrington said when he was assigned to the Dublin office, he learned from other officers that they would access the cell phones of female arrestees and look for nude photographs of them. Harrington said if photographs were located, the officers would then text the photographs to other sworn members of the office, and, to non-CHP individuals. Harrington described this scheme as a game."

The new court documents describe a second incident involving a 19-year-old woman who was in a DUI crash in Livermore on Aug. 7. On Harrington's phone, Holcombe located two photos of that DUI suspect in a bikini accompanied by a text message from the day of the arrest from Harrington to Hazelwood: "Taken from the phone of my 10-15x while she's in X-rays. Enjoy buddy!!!"

A "10-15x" is CHP code for a woman in custody. The woman may have been at a hospital to have X-rays taken after the crash.

Hazelwood replies: "No f------ nudes?"

A short time later, the affidavit says, Harrington sent another Dublin CHP officer, Dion Simmons, the bikini photos with the same message indicating they were of a female arrestee. Simmons texted back "Nice" and "Hahahaaaa" and Harrington replies: "Just rerun a favor down the road buddy. :)"

Holcombe also detailed Aug. 29 text messages between Harrington and Hazelwood discussing the photos of the first woman in various states of undress.

Hazelwood asked to see her "dl," possibly referring to her driver's license photo, and Harrington texted back: "When we get back to office. And we'll have MDF (county jail) mug shot too."

The pair continued the text back-and-forth, commenting on her "rocking" body and breasts.

Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026 or mgafni@bayareanewsgroup.com and Malaika Fraley at 925-234-1684 or mfraley@bayareanewsgroup.com.