November 28, 2010

Letter of Reference for Al Blencoe
I have known Al Blencoe and had the pleasure of working closely with him for 25 years. I met him, when I was a patrol officer on the night shift for the La Crosse Police Department and he was one of the best 911 Dispatchers I ever had the pleasure of working with. He went the extra mile to insure officers were given accurate and timely information and kept us safer with a keen over watch. On many an occasion he did additional checks and digging to insure fugitives did not evade arrest through deception.
When the La Crosse Police Department and Sheriff’s Department began developing SWAT Teams in 1990 he joined the effort to form the team and became one of the team’s first crisis negotiators. He helped create a working relationship among the agencies and local resources to enhance the team’s emergency communication capability in crises.
I worked with Al and found him to be an incredible ally in providing professional training to my own agency as well as other agencies. Whenever new technology was introduced into the area Al was there to assist with the transition, not only for his own agency, but for every agency in the county.
Al has not only arranged for but helped coordinate a number of high quality conferences to the La Crosse area, to enable local agencies to train at home.
As a young man Al served his country, during the Viet Nam War and has spent his whole adult life continuing to find ways to serve. He has been a valuable asset to La Crosse and I have been honored to work beside him on many occasions and see him for the professional that he is.

Sincerely
Lt. Dan Marcou (Retired) La Crosse P.D.
PO Box 195
Holmen WI 54636
608-526-3946 or marcoudj@charter.net
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