| Tribute to a Weed and Seed Icon: Tim Laun
By Pete Laun, Former LECC, Northern District of New York
Captain Timothy T. Laun of the Syracuse Police Department.
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Captain Timothy T. Laun, a long-time advocate of the Weed and Seed strategy, died on April 30. He was posthumously awarded the rank of Deputy Chief of Police of Syracuse, NY, after serving as Commander of the Syracuse Police Department's Special Investigations Division (SID) for more than 4 years.
Since 1996, when Syracuse began its Northside site (the first to achieve "Official Recognition" in New York State), Laun was known and respected by people involved with Weed and Seed. More recently, as the Commander of SID, Laun was responsible for the design, operation, and reporting of the frequent Weed and Seed law enforcement details. These included drug "buy-bust" details, prostitution sweeps and stings, and special arrest and search warrant details. These programs became models of how to design, run, and report Weed and Seed special operations. They were productive, safely run, and included federal, state, county, and local police.
Laun teamed with the law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York to present workshops on how to design and report Weed and Seed Task Force operations to meet the needs of any community. He became a regular speaker at CCDO's national conferences, meeting with Weed and Seed members at Buffalo's Law Enforcement Conference, at CCDO's National Conference in Los Angeles last year, and at the strategy conference in Birmingham this past March.
The only son of a now-retired Syracuse deputy chief of fire, Laun began his law enforcement career as a police dispatcher while still a teenager. He went on to become a highly decorated police officer, winning more than 20 departmental medals, including 5 medals for heroism and courage. In 2003, he received an award from the Ontario Provincial Police for saving a woman's life while on vacation there.
But Laun was no stranger to activities that filled up his "off-duty" time. He was an active member of a local volunteer fire department and a shift supervisor at the local 911 center. He also became involved in counter-terrorism investigations and operations. In true Weed and Seed tradition, Laun connected with the citizens in neighborhoods, often giving them his cellular phone number so they could call him with problems, whether he was on duty or not.
As outstanding as Laun was at his public service career, he was even more outstanding as a father; his life revolved around his love for his 4-year-old son, Billy. At one time, Laun had even turned down a promotion to deputy chief because of his commitment to his son, according to Syracuse Police Chief Gary Miguel.
Miguel promoted Laun to this rank on May 1, 2006, after Laun suffered an unexpected and lethal heart attack while at home with his son the evening before. Laun's love for his son was foremost to the very end. Even after the onset of his heart attack symptoms, he called his family to come and care for his son. His last instructions to his sister when she arrived were to go and take care of Billy.
At Laun's funeral, many neighbors joined the hundreds of mourners representing several law enforcement agencies and fire departments, as well as family and friends who came to pay their last respects. Community members told stories of calling Laun with problems or of working with him, and of his timely and appropriate service. The mayor of Syracuse and chiefs of the Police and Fire Departments, along with the U.S. Attorney, county executive, legislators, local prosecutors, and judges waited hours to say goodbye in a line that extended more than a block outside the funeral home. The Weed and Seed network that Laun built and worked with was very evident that day.
Laun was very special to all who knew him and will be remembered for his "cool under fire" good humor and his drive to make life better. Of all of his accomplishments, however, he would be most proud to be remembered as the devoted "Father of Billy." The Weed and Seed community is richer for having known him.
Editor's note: Pete Laun is Tim Laun's uncle. He worked very closely with him, teaching the Weed and Seed strategy. CCDO created the Nicholas Sloan Award of Valor to recognize those law enforcement officers in Weed and Seed sites who lost their lives in the line of duty; awards will be presented at the Law Enforcement Conference in Phoenix, August 14-17, 2006. Because Tim Laun did not die in the line of duty, he is not eligible for the award, but his work was so central to the success of Weed and Seed that his story is told here.
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