Post by TheShadow on Sept 14, 2008 19:41:50 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com
By Jerry McDonald
Contra Costa Times
It was an unlikely chance meeting of two former teammates on the streets of San Leandro.
Kenny Shedd spotted Napoleon Kaufman in his car, greeted him with a smile and a wave, and the two pulled over to catch up on old times.
Shedd, a police officer for the city for San Leandro, was on patrol. Kaufman is senior pastor for The Well Christian Community in Dublin.
Not exactly your stereotypical reunion of a couple of old Oakland Raiders renegades.
"It's funny," Shedd said, "I used to tell my teammates all the time I wanted to go into law enforcement, and I could tell they didn't quite believe me. I'm driving my patrol car and in my uniform, and Napoleon's got this look like he's thinking, 'Wow. You were serious.'"
Shedd, 37, has been a police officer for six years, longer than he played for the Raiders (1996 to 1999).
He prides himself on being calm, efficient, always under control — a stark contrast from his days as a reckless player racing downfield on special teams.
"It's an entirely different form of discipline," Shedd said. "You can't grab people and manhandle them like you do on a football field. You have to be on top of your game, making sure the right people are in jail, the needs of the victims are met, and that you get all the right information.
"It's like a new game every day, with all new players, new people."
Growing up in Davenport, Iowa, Shedd began thinking of a career as a police officer long before he dreamed of being a professional athlete.
"My dad was in law enforcement for 25 years, and he'd come home and tell the best stories I'd ever heard," Shedd said. "He'd be in the middle of one, get an emergency call and be out the door. I'd jump on my moped and try to be in that place where all the stories were, but I couldn't keep up."
Even while he played football for the University of Northern Iowa and, later, after he was chosen by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the NFL draft, Shedd kept law enforcement in the back of his mind.
He was cut by the Jets and signed by the Chicago Bears without playing in a game. Shedd spent the spring of 1996 playing for the Barcelona Dragons in NFL Europe before the Raiders called to invite him to camp.
It was in Oakland that Shedd found a home as a wide receiver and special teams player.
He played four seasons, catching 16 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown, scoring two more touchdowns on special teams — one on a 25-yard return with a recovered fumble and another on a 20-yard return of a blocked punt.
Shedd said he enjoyed the interaction with his teammates, traveling to different cities, and the competition on Sundays as well as every day of practice.
But even as a player, he sometimes found himself thinking like a police officer.
"Everywhere you went, you'd look around and people would pop up where you would immediately know their intentions were not the best for you," Shedd said. "Maybe they just wanted to hang around the team, or they were looking for a way to weasel money out of you.
"There isn't enough security to prevent it, and you just have to be able to smell a rat and move them out of the way in a gracious way."
Those instincts have carried over to his second career, and Shedd is mindful that any call can have more serious ramifications than throwing his 165-pound body against a 300-pound player on Sundays.
When San Leandro Officer Dan Niemi was shot and killed while responding to a call July 25, 2005, Shedd, who said he was in shock, drove to the hospital to see for himself.
"I probably shouldn't have done that because the vision is still in my head," Shedd said. "That's the thing about law enforcement. The moment you think you've got your stuff together and are handling your calls very well, you're reminded there are some really bad people out there who can change lives for the worse in a heartbeat.
"It brings you back to the reality that this is a dangerous job and you have to be sharp out there."
Biography
NAME: Kenny Shedd
AGE: 37
OCCUPATION: Police officer, San Leandro
CLAIM TO FAME: Played wide receiver and on special teams for Oakland Raiders, 1996 to 1999
By Jerry McDonald
Contra Costa Times
It was an unlikely chance meeting of two former teammates on the streets of San Leandro.
Kenny Shedd spotted Napoleon Kaufman in his car, greeted him with a smile and a wave, and the two pulled over to catch up on old times.
Shedd, a police officer for the city for San Leandro, was on patrol. Kaufman is senior pastor for The Well Christian Community in Dublin.
Not exactly your stereotypical reunion of a couple of old Oakland Raiders renegades.
"It's funny," Shedd said, "I used to tell my teammates all the time I wanted to go into law enforcement, and I could tell they didn't quite believe me. I'm driving my patrol car and in my uniform, and Napoleon's got this look like he's thinking, 'Wow. You were serious.'"
Shedd, 37, has been a police officer for six years, longer than he played for the Raiders (1996 to 1999).
He prides himself on being calm, efficient, always under control — a stark contrast from his days as a reckless player racing downfield on special teams.
"It's an entirely different form of discipline," Shedd said. "You can't grab people and manhandle them like you do on a football field. You have to be on top of your game, making sure the right people are in jail, the needs of the victims are met, and that you get all the right information.
"It's like a new game every day, with all new players, new people."
Growing up in Davenport, Iowa, Shedd began thinking of a career as a police officer long before he dreamed of being a professional athlete.
"My dad was in law enforcement for 25 years, and he'd come home and tell the best stories I'd ever heard," Shedd said. "He'd be in the middle of one, get an emergency call and be out the door. I'd jump on my moped and try to be in that place where all the stories were, but I couldn't keep up."
Even while he played football for the University of Northern Iowa and, later, after he was chosen by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the NFL draft, Shedd kept law enforcement in the back of his mind.
He was cut by the Jets and signed by the Chicago Bears without playing in a game. Shedd spent the spring of 1996 playing for the Barcelona Dragons in NFL Europe before the Raiders called to invite him to camp.
It was in Oakland that Shedd found a home as a wide receiver and special teams player.
He played four seasons, catching 16 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown, scoring two more touchdowns on special teams — one on a 25-yard return with a recovered fumble and another on a 20-yard return of a blocked punt.
Shedd said he enjoyed the interaction with his teammates, traveling to different cities, and the competition on Sundays as well as every day of practice.
But even as a player, he sometimes found himself thinking like a police officer.
"Everywhere you went, you'd look around and people would pop up where you would immediately know their intentions were not the best for you," Shedd said. "Maybe they just wanted to hang around the team, or they were looking for a way to weasel money out of you.
"There isn't enough security to prevent it, and you just have to be able to smell a rat and move them out of the way in a gracious way."
Those instincts have carried over to his second career, and Shedd is mindful that any call can have more serious ramifications than throwing his 165-pound body against a 300-pound player on Sundays.
When San Leandro Officer Dan Niemi was shot and killed while responding to a call July 25, 2005, Shedd, who said he was in shock, drove to the hospital to see for himself.
"I probably shouldn't have done that because the vision is still in my head," Shedd said. "That's the thing about law enforcement. The moment you think you've got your stuff together and are handling your calls very well, you're reminded there are some really bad people out there who can change lives for the worse in a heartbeat.
"It brings you back to the reality that this is a dangerous job and you have to be sharp out there."
Biography
NAME: Kenny Shedd
AGE: 37
OCCUPATION: Police officer, San Leandro
CLAIM TO FAME: Played wide receiver and on special teams for Oakland Raiders, 1996 to 1999