New York’s finest.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Everyone has to deal with losers. On an everyday basis we deal with bad drivers, selfish customers, annoying coworkers and abusive bosses. What keeps us going is the one nice guy we encounter every so often. That guy is the key to our sanity. He or she can be among your friends, coworkers or in your family. Without them you would just be dealing with a litany of assholes all your life.

My teenage life was littered with memories I want to forget. Mostly because I’ve had to deal with too many losers and far too little nice guys. So whenever I met a kind soul, I would remember, because memorizing a few faces was easy.

That’s why I remember Russell Timoshenko, because it always came as a surprise to me when someone never wanted to insult me. Humanity doesn’t make many people like him, and if it does, it has been hiding them from me. My father introduced me to him because we grew up from the same small town. Our parents were good friends, so I saw him when I was dragged around everywhere my parents went because I wasn’t old enough to stay home by myself.

I remember my dad telling me Russell joined the NYPD. He was upset because he did not want a young kid taking a risky job like that for so little pay. Russell had options, but he chose to be a police officer because I knew he wanted to help people.

Early Monday morning officer Russell Timoshenko was shot twice, once in the neck and once in the face, after he approached a stolen vehicle. He was in a coma for a few days and died yesterday afternoon. Every time I see his familiar face on the news, what I can only describe as a deep pain goes into my stomach. He was one of the nice ones, why did he, out of all the NYPD, have to be the one to get shot? Fucking unbelievable is what I keep thinking.

The Post had snap shots of the fatal traffic stop. I could see a picture of him approaching the vehicle. His posture projected an image of bravery and confidence, like I always remembered him. I can imagine his whole trip to the car, right before someone decided to end his life as he leaned into the driver side window. The shooter faced a life sentence if he was arrested for another crime. He figured that shooting a cop would gain him the same sentence as stealing a car would.

I am a little removed from the tragedy as I haven’t seen Russell for five years. I did not go to the hospital were hundreds of his friends and relatives prayed for a miracle. Prayed for him to come out of his coma.

Every time I think about how nice he was the pain comes back.

We lost, in every sense of the word, New York’s finest.

R.I.P. Officer Timoshenko

2

So many things one could say after reading this.

The only appropriate thing, though, is to tell you how sorry I am for your loss, and the loss to the community at large. He does sound like he was one of the good guys.

3

I didn’t know the officer, but I’ve been following the story. The two jerks involved in the shooting had a friend drive them to Pennsylvania after they did it and attempted to get lost there. Fortunately the driver was caught and the two cowards were found. All three will be charged with first degree murder and hopefully will spend the rest of their worthless miserable lives in prison.

4

The two who fled to the Poconos in PA were turned in by the guy who drove them there. The driver to PA didn’t know they were fleeing the shooting, but did the right thing when he found out.

Last I heard, all 3 assholes are pointing fingers at one another. Don’t think any of them will see another day outside of prison.

5

Ditto. :frowning:

6

As a New Yorker, I was horrified by the apparently senseless nature of the attack. Officer Timoshenko’s seemed quite severe, and I was gravely disappointed when I learned of his death, though I take some comfort from the fact that that his partner will likely recover fully due to his bulletproof vest.

It’s a shame when its the good ones who get on the wrong side of the fates.