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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2010 9:22:26 GMT -5
You're quite right Bluepride. The design on the early award is beautiful. To receive one of these highly coveted awards is truly an honor and a privilege. Only those of us, in the LGBT community, who work in law enforcement, can really appreciate what it means to hold this award in in our hands. To keep the historic significance of this award in tact, the people who receive it should always be selected carefully. The look of the award has changed down through the years, but it's powerful meaning always stays the same to me.
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Post by bluepride on Apr 14, 2012 15:32:36 GMT -5
PO Peter Guardino and Dick Walters holding the first Charles Cochrane Award. Dick was the first recipient of the award.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 9:34:05 GMT -5
Oh what a GREAT photo. I love it. They were both such nice guys. I truly miss them.
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Post by bluepride on Sept 16, 2013 8:11:52 GMT -5
Gay NYPD cops seek honor for hero sergeant who came out three decades ago
A group of gay cops wants a street renamed in honor of the NYPD sergeant who more than 30 years ago came out of the closet in dramatic City Council testimony.
Sgt. Charles Cochrane stunned the establishment in 1981 when he testified in support of New York City's gay rights bill.
"I am very proud of being a New York City policeman,” Cochrane said. “And I’m equally proud of being gay."
A 14-year veteran assigned to the Manhattan South Task Force, Cochrane testified that gays were “not cruel, wicked, cursed, sick or possessed by demons.”
Minutes earlier, Pat Burns, then the first vice president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, had argued against the bill and said he knew of no gay cops.
Within a year, Cochrane helped form the Gay Officers Action League, or GOAL, paving the way for scores of similar groups in other cities and states.
“It was a moment that changed the country,’’ says Det. Carl Locke, the current GOAL president. “This meant something. It’s a moment that should be remembered and it should be memorialized.”
On Tuesday, Community Board 2 will address a proposal to rename a small block in Greenwich Village — Washington Place, between Grove St. and 6th Ave. — Sgt. Charles H. Cochrane Way.
The block was picked because it’s the home of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, where Cochrane and about a dozen gay members of the NYPD met to discuss forming GOAL.
Dr. Patrick Suraci, then a NYPD psychologist, said Cochrane got a call at home from someone threatening to “come and bomb the f*****s.”
“I couldn’t believe he had a listed number but Charlie said ‘I’m not going to change it,’ Suraci remembers. “And at the meeting he said if any of us felt we had to leave then we could go.
“No one left.”
And no one bombed the church — cops from the 6th Precinct were told to watch the house of worship.
Cochrane was 64 when he died of cancer in 2008. In an interview before his death, he said he was thrilled other gays and lesbians were able to come out of the closet.
“The bigots had to retreat to the closet — and that was very satisfying,’’ he said.
If enough signatures are gathered in support of the street renaming, the City Council will vote.
Locke said he expected no opposition, and Cochrane’s sister, Mary Anne Sundresh, 63, said she would travel from Illinois for the ceremony.
“Charlie had to do what he had to do,’’ she said. “And I supported him all the way.”
READ ARTICLE: Gay NYPD cops seek honor for hero sergeant who came out three decades ago
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Post by bluepride on Sept 16, 2013 11:12:39 GMT -5
I'm really hoping that this happens. Even though I have major problems with some of those running what was once a great organization, this is something I would show up for. Charlie was a great guy, mentor, friend and teacher to me. I'm sure I've posted this before but I was a nervous wreck when I showed up for my first GOAL meeting in January 1983. Charlie made me feel comfortable as did some of the other members. By the end of the night, I felt like I was with old friends. My first few meetings were still a bit nerve wracking for me but I got through them. By about July I was fully at ease and Charlie had even made me Assistant Treasurer. It wasn't long after that, that he would remind me (time and time again!) that I was, in fact, comfortable at the meetings. He'd always tell me, "I knew you were comfortable at the meetings when you'd fall asleep in the middle of them"!
In an age where in New York City, avowed criminals are getting streets named after them, it's good that someone who actually deserves it may be getting an honor like this. Let's hope it happens. Of course, we'll keep you posted.
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Post by blu06 on Sept 18, 2013 21:08:09 GMT -5
I was a mere 21yrs, still in college, still thinking one day, I'd meet the girl of my dreams but sneaking to the gay clubs after hours in 1981. How Sgt. Cochrane knew that his actions would influence someone half a country away, twenty years later. I hope the powers that be in NYC make this a reality. I hope one day, I'll be able to walk down the street, look up, and see his name on the street sign.
Mac aka Blutex06
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Post by bluepride on Aug 12, 2016 12:16:59 GMT -5
Better late than never! The street re-naming for Sgt. Charles Cochrane took place on June 17th! It was great to see old friends and members from the old GOAL who actually knew and were friends with him! The newer members who've only heard about him were there in good numbers as well. THE NYPD did a fine job in coordinating the ceremonies and it was a nice day of respect, tribute and memories. Well deserved and overdue, it was a great and lasting tribute to one of the finest Police Officers and human beings that I've ever had the honor of knowing and calling my friend. I'm unable to properly upload my video of the event but I took a few nice photos.
Thanks, Charlie, for all you've done for all of us!READ ARTICLE HERE: SGT. COCHRANE STREET RE-NAMING
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Post by hcsodale on Aug 15, 2016 20:37:36 GMT -5
Good article attached at the end of that last post. It gives more detail about who Sgt. Cochrane was a person through examples of his deeds.
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Post by bluepride on Apr 19, 2017 12:00:52 GMT -5
Today marks the 35th Anniversary of the founding of the Gay Officers Action League by Sergeant Charles Cochrane. As he used to say, "I had a dream". He changed so many lives of law enforcement professionals by what he did. Things are so much better now that newcomers have no idea what we dealt with before GOAL came along and changed things. I'll always be indebted to Charlie for being a mentor and most of all, a good friend. Thank you Charlie.
** This is a photo of the very first Charles Cochrane Award from approximately 1984 or 1985 (or thereabouts!). I have to go back and check my notes from way back when. It was awarded to the late Dick Walters, a wonderful man and friend. Thank you Charlie, for everything.
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