O.C. Police Team Takes Its Games Seriously

Buena Park patrolman Dave Martinez gets a kick out of the fact that he can still out-sprint criminals half his age.

With some amusement, he remembers dashing after a young man who attempted a burglary at a convenience store, catching up with the man and then matching him stride for stride until the suspect collapsed from exhaustion.

“How demoralizing can that be? He was leaving when I got there,” Martinez said.

The officer recalled that he ran alongside the suspect “for a good 150 yards. He just kept looking at me, thinking I was going to stop at some point. He was young, in his early 20s. I’m 40, and I can keep up with a young kid like that!”

Like a lot of police officers, Martinez puts a high priority on staying in top physical condition. And this summer, he and three fellow officers from Orange County will travel to Spain to try to prove they are in better shape than any other cop foursome in the world.

They will have plenty of competition. The 2003 World Police and Fire Games, the Olympics of law enforcement, are expected to draw about 10,000 to Barcelona, which would be the biggest turnout since the inaugural event in the Bay Area in 1985.

Held every two years, the games are open to active and retired police officers and firefighters around the globe. The event grew out of the California Police and Fire Games, a statewide event held every summer for the last 30 years by the California Police Athletic Federation, a nonprofit group based in San Diego. The goal is to promote physical fitness and foster camaraderie.

Martinez and the others are among the few officers from Southern California competing as a team in any of the events. Fifteen Los Angeles police officers and seven sheriff’s deputies have entered as individuals in a variety of events. For example, Dale Johnson, a 60-year-old grandmother and retired L.A. deputy, has signed up for the run-shoot-run competition, the police pistol combat and the 100-meter run.

Leah Raab, officer manager at the athletic foundation, said a lot of American teams have decided not to go because of the current political turmoil.

“They’re just too scared to travel,” she said.

Because this year’s games are the first since the Sept. 11 attacks, the New York City police and fire departments have been invited to open the ceremonies. Security will be extra tight because of the war in Iraq and other conflict in the Middle East.

Participants can compete in 65 sports, from traditional events such as archery, boxing and soccer, to events that test specialized police skills, including canine handling and tactical battles between SWAT teams.

Martinez and his teammates will compete as a team in the “toughest cop alive” competition, with each tackling two of the eight events.

Martinez, a 17-year veteran with the Buena Park department, will take care of the bench press and shot put. Damon Tucker, 33, who investigates white-collar crime for the Irvine Police Department, will handle the 5-kilometer run and 100-meter swim. Thomas Valentine, a gang investigator for Placentia police, will be responsible for the 20-foot rope climb and pull-ups. And Tyler Ray, a rookie patrolman who works with Martinez, will handle the 100-meter swim and obstacle course.

Martinez began competing in statewide games years ago as a way to motivate himself to stay in shape. He assembled his first world team in 1997, capturing a bronze medal that year in Calgary, Canada, and then again at the next games in Stockholm.

He has found a winning combination with Tucker and Valentine, teaming up with them for three state championships. They also were part of a foursome that took the silver medal at the 2001 World Games in Indianapolis, finishing just a few points behind the Provincial Police of Ontario, Canada, and ahead of the Austrian National Police.

Martinez said the international field was surprised by Orange County’s showing, especially because the 25 or so other American teams included such heavyweights as the New York City and Los Angeles police departments, which have larger pools of officers to draw from.

“We’re from tiny cities. And they didn’t realize who we were until the end of the competition,” Martinez said. “We’re on top, and they’re wondering, ‘Who is Buena Park? Who is this Orange County team?’ ”

Now that the word is out, expectations will be higher when they get to Barcelona. Martinez and the others not only welcome the challenge, they also like their chances for a gold medal. “You don’t fly halfway around the world unless you think you’re going to do well,” Tucker said.

The teammates rarely train together because their work schedules are so different and their workout regimens are tailored to different goals.

Martinez, who can bench press 450 pounds and put the shot 45 feet, says that each week he runs between 30 and 50 miles, spends six to eight hours at the gym lifting weights and as much as four more hours in a pool swimming laps. As a tuneup, he’s heading to Arizona next month for that state’s games, which are open to outsiders.

Between all the workouts, they have to recruit sponsors and sell T-shirts to pay for their trip. If they come up short, the money comes out of their own pockets.

Martinez, who preaches the benefits of physical fitness to younger officers in his department, says the time, energy and money he spends are well worth it.

“We spend hundreds and hundreds of hours training. All of us do. That’s why we do so well,” Martinez said. “In turn, it benefits our cities. Because they have police officers who are in shape and can do whatever needs to be done out there.”