All The New
Spring

before overtime. Furthermore,
quirements for city-employees.
-"Here I am in shul one day
the entire department is facing
"You go to work in the morn-
and I had my earphone on, and
a possible 10 percent pay-cut
ing and you hope your house is
down the street was a Cun-
this year as part of a new cost-
still there when you come
ningham's, and an officer was
cutting proposal from the city.
home," said Eugene Shaffer,
calling for help — there was a
"We have the highest risk
who leaves the city to run many
fight. So I threw on my helmet,
and the lowest pay. Go figure,"
of his own personal errands.
got on my motorcycle, and rode
said Marshall Shaffer, 48, who
Mr. Shaffer said the regula-
down there, and sure enough
serves as a police scuba-diver
tion is particularly hard on Jew-
there was an officer trying to ar-
and an investigator in the city's
ish officers because the majority
rest somebody. I was the first
7th Precinct. His brother, Eu-
of the Jewish community, as
one there, and I helped the of-
gene, works as a graphic artist
well as much of metropolitan
ficer handcuff the prisoner and
in the department's public in-
Detroit's white population, has
then started taking names and
formation section. Between
packed up and left town.
witnesses. I had taken off my
them, the Shaffers have a total
"I don't know of any syna-
helmet to wipe the shvitz off,
of 47 years' experience on the
gogues active in my neighbor-
and I forgot I still had my
Detroit police force. They say it
hood," said Marshall Shaffer,
yarmulke on. Then we went
wasn't the romance of scream-
who lives on the east side of De-
back to the station to book the
ing sirens but a combination of
troit.
prisoner, and here I am walk-
relatively good benefits, stable
Nevertheless, Jewish officers
ing around in full uniform, still
job security and the variety of
have a unique religious and cul-
with my yarmulke on."
work that drew them to the de-
tural background that may give
Mr. Gaynor came to blows
partment — despite the con-
them an advantage in a job that
with another officer several
cerns of their parents — and
places them in daily contact
years ago after the man made
kept them there.
with large populations of mi-
a comment that Hitler "didn't
"I had just gotten married
norities.
do a good job," and he once
and I needed a job, any type of
"I feel I didn't grow up with
asked the Anti-Defamation
job. It didn't look good for a nice
racial animosity. I can deal with
League to intervene on his be-
Jewish boy to be sup-
ported by his wife," said
Eugene Shaffer, 51,
whose responsibilities in
drawing character
sketches of crime sus-
pects from eyewitness ac-
counts. Recently, Mr.
Shaffer helped identify
figure skater Nancy Ker-
rigan's attacker by
sketching likenesses of
the suspect for the news
media.
The Shaffers, who
once walked a beat to-
gether for several
months, can tell their
own share of battle sto-
ries from Detroit's de-
caying streets. Marshall
Shaffer said he pulled 30
guns, four bodies, and
numerous cars out of the Gene Shaffer is among a minority of Jews on the Detroit police force.
Detroit River last year
alone and has been in two gun-
people more objectively," Mr.
half after his promotion cere-
fights in his career — one in-
Gaynor said. "I've always got-
monies included an invocation
volving the death of a black
ten along with the Arabic com-
of Christ.
teen-ager caught burglarizing
munity real well, for example.
"Basically, I was being pro-
a house.
I come right out and tell them
moted in the name of Jesus
"At that time departmental
I'm a yehudi (Jew). They like
Christ, and I kind of took ex-
policy was that you could use
that."
ception to that."
fatal force to stop or apprehend
Jewish officers even have the
When a similar incident oc-
a fleeing felon, and we did. Un-
chance to mix their faith with
curred at a commendation cer-
fortunately, he turned out to be
their work sometimes. On the
emony a few months later, Mr.
High Holy Days, Mr. Pearl
Gaynor phoned the ADL, which
16 years old."
Mr. Gaynor was cited two
would attend services and pro-
lodged a protest with then-Chief
years ago for sneaking up be-
vide security for Fort Laud-
of Police Stanley Knox.
hind an armed hostage taker
erdale's older, poorer Jewish
"I was very surprised. Chief
and knocking the gun out of his
inhabitants.
Knox responded and the de-
hand. T ,ast year, he was the tar-
"It benefited me, it benefited
partment extended an apology
them, and it made my grandma
get of an attempted carjacking
to me and I didn't get any neg-
at Schaeffer and Fenkel in
happy that I was in synagogue,"
ative feedback, and at the next
which he chased the armed per-
he said.
one they gave what I considered
Mr. Gaynor remembers rid-
petrator down on foot and ar-
to be a very secular speech."
ing his Detroit police motorcy-
Overcoming anti-Semitism
rested him.
cle to the Downtown Synagogue
is only a small part of the chal-
"You don't lose sleep over it.
lenge for Jewish police officers.
It's not like television where of-
on Griswold in the early 1980s
to help the congregants make
Many have put aside a cultur-
ficers have nightmares and so
an afternoon minyan. In an in-
al ,suspicion of police authority
on," he said.
that dates back to the shtetl to
However, police officers in
cident he recounted for Ze'ev
forge a new career path.
places like Detroit say one of the
Chafet's book, Members of the
According to Mr. Pearl, it's
Tribe, Mr. Gaynor was once
most difficult things about their
about trying "to do a little bit of
called from the service to an
job isn't the violence, but the
emergency.
good each day." II
strictly enforced residency re-

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