San Diego’s Finest Flaunt Their Stuff to Benefit Fund

Al Lutzi, a six-year veteran detective for the San Diego Police Department, took the calendar from one of the many gushing women who requested his autograph.

“What month are you?” Lutzi asked the woman. “I mean, what’s your name? I’m the one that’s the month,” said Lutzi, otherwise known as Mr. October in “San Diego’s Finest: SDPD Off Duty” 1986 calendar.

On Wednesday night, the 13 finest of San Diego’s Finest, whose pictures appear in the calendar, gathered at a downtown eatery to sign autographs and promote the venture, which is dedicated to San Diego police officers killed in the line of duty.

About 200 people, most of them women, crammed into the Jelly Bean Express Restaurant on Front Street to seek out their favorite officer in the calendar. Mary Basler, the owner, held the two-hour party to benefit the Thomas Riggs Memorial Fund. Donations were accepted at the party in honor of the officer slain March 31.

A contingent of top brass from the force was there--Chief Bill Kolender was scheduled to show--as well as the proud wives of many of the models that posed for the calendar. Coleen Riggs, the officer’s widow, also attended the benefit party.

But the true celebrity at Wednesday’s event was Donovan J. Jacobs, the officer seriously injured in the March 31 scuffle with Sagon Penn, which resulted in Riggs’ death and heated already tense relations between police and San Diego’s black community.

Jacobs, who conceived the idea for the beefcake pinup long before the shootings in Encanto, would rather not think of himself as a celebrity. He had the first 10,000 of the calendars printed with $18,000 of his own money. After he recoups his cost, the remaining money will be donated to the Riggs memorial fund.

“Until my incident I thought this was just a good idea but, yes, now it’s something special,” said Jacobs, whose arm is still in a sling from injuries suffered that night.

The calendar sports 13 officers in poses that range from beach and sporty shots to a seductive pose in front of a fireplace. Jacobs had the department’s blessing for the venture--as long as “it was done in good taste,” said Bill Robinson, the department’s spokesman.

As the producer of the calendar, Jacobs will be on the Dave Dawson show on KSDO radio today and has already been interviewed by NBC radio. In addition, “Sun-Up San Diego,” a morning talk show, has requested that Jacobs and his 13 models appear on the show. On Wednesday, he was busy being interviewed by many television and print journalists.

During the first hour of Wednesday’s benefit, nearly 200 of the calendars, at $7.95 plus tax, had been sold. To date, about 2,000 have been sold, according to Jacobs.

Laurie Curran-Hubbs, a police officer and the wife of Mr. January, Kenneth Hubbs, admitted that her husband is “a good-looking man.”

“My mom’s a nurse. And all the nurses voted him the best-looking even before they knew he was my husband,” Curran-Hubbs said.

Theresa Lopez, wife of Mr. June, Gabe Lopez, was no less proud. “I like to show the other women what I got.”