March 2003 to February 2005

Second District Homicide

Back to the Second (Again): Because Why Not?

In what can only be described as a festival of indecisiveness, the department decided—again—to decentralize Homicide. Yes, really. After swinging back to a centralized model that actually seemed to be working, someone apparently flipped a coin and yelled, “Second District!” before it hit the ground. So, back I went. Honestly, at this point I was just waiting for them to add a revolving door to the homicide office. Would’ve saved everyone time.

July 2003: Bridget Arrives

That summer, everything changed. In July 2003, my daughter Bridget was born—and nothing has been the same since. In the best possible way. I don’t have to explain the kind of blessing she’s been in my life. But I do remember—clearly—the day I brought her home from the hospital. My friends and fellow detectives, Shannon Reeves and Kevin Bell, came by the house to meet her. There’s a photo of it somewhere. That moment sticks with me like a Polaroid etched into the soul. In a job full of chaos, missed dinners, and emergency callouts, that was one of those rare days where everything felt just right.

Early 2005: Passing the Baton, Climbing the Ladder

By January 2005, Captain Hosli made the call to replace me in Homicide with Sgt. Joey Catalanotto—an absolute pro with years of homicide experience under his belt. It made sense. I was climbing the promotion list quickly and knew I wouldn’t be there much longer anyway. Sure enough, in February, I was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the Sixth District. Another new title. Another new district. Another uniform shirt to get dry-cleaned. Let the chaos continue.