Ed Favre, "I Have Drunk Plenty Of Bad Koolaid"

Ed on patrol a week before retiring.
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During these past 37 years, Lakewood has seen Edward Favre become somewhat of a Renaissance Man, serving on the School Board, The Grow Lakewood Committee and other committees that looked at housing and economic development, as a member of many fine groups like Lakewood Kiwanis, Lakewood PTA, and American Legion to name a few, as well as being a champion for children, seniors and alternative lifestyles.

In this first of a multi-part series of Lakewood's civic leaders, we look at Ed as a retired police officer and his feelings for Lakewood, then and now.

I first met Sgt Ed Favre after starting the Lakewood Observer; we ran into each other at events, school meetings, Kiwanis, and even, on occasion, crime scenes. Over the years, I have forged what I would call a somewhat interesting relationship with Ed, as I come very much from the streets he patrolled. I have always enjoyed our conversations, as Ed is also a person who can easily understand that some people might not agree with you, and at that point, both parties should talk, and discuss the facts. After that, if there is no consensus, move on, but do not let differences close doors, or stop trains of thought. You must always be willing to keep the conversation alive. As long as the conversation is alive there is a possibility of learning, and maybe coming together for a common solution.

What I noticed most about Ed during our conversations were the same reoccurring themes that underline the paths he took in life: working with kids, seniors, and his commitment to a continued good life in Lakewood.

Please note I say "continued." Ed has served on the Lakewood Police force under 8 mayors and 5 police chiefs. During that time, he has acted on special assignment to the Mayor's Office, working alongside his longtime friend Mayor Tom George. His thorough knowledge of Lakewood landed him on the Grow Lakewood committee, which was put together in 2004 to study what would be needed in the city over the next couple years. With all of his years of experience, I believe he walked away with the same general thought that many of us share: Lakewood needs tinkering, not a major overhaul. What attracted him here, is keeping him here, as is the case with many of his friends. There is no huge shift in 1973 Lakewood, to 2011 Lakewood.

He is extremely proud of a couple things he certainly should be proud of. In his years both as a detective and a sergeant assigned to the detective bureau, he has made catching the criminals that prey on others his number one priority. Not that he ignored domestic violence, traffic, etc, but he really felt best chasing down the forger, the scam artists and uncovering corruption in city hall. He recounted one particular case to me saying, "On a quiet Saturday morning, May 11, 1991, myself and John Crane were the detectives on duty. We were called to City Hall on a report of a break-in at the Finance Director's Office. Viewing the scene, it did not take us long to realize that it was staged and we immediately suspected the Finance Director at the time, Mary Saunders, of setting it up." Their suspicions were confirmed, and that started an investigation of Lakewood City Hall that saw seven City Hall officials and many vendors charged and convicted of various crimes.

One woman in particular, Janice Dickerson, took years to capture. She would blow through town every couple of years, prey on a handful of elderly people, then hit the road. "There were scams, bank scams...," said Favre, "They always seem to prey on the elderly and those that can least afford it. There was this one, Janice Dickerson a.k.a. Pamela Berdard. I chased her for two years. I joined up with a detective from Euclid, Ted Shafer. He and I would chase her every time she hit town. We had warrants for her, finally some police department in Arkansas got her. We rounded up as many living victims as we could." He went on reminiscing, "At her trial, because of her mouth and her interesting uses of adjectives, Judge Patty Cleary had her mouth taped shut. She was found guilty and sent to jail." Ed smiles and adds, "You know that really made me feel good. I loved being an advocate for the elderly."

Another thing he is most proud of is something that was born out of a terrible crime. In 1979, a professional individual who was gay was, "Hacked up and castrated at the Edgewater Towers," in a crime that is still not solved. Ed realized the problem was that professionals in many walks of life could not live out of the closet in 1979.

"There was a group of people that preyed on gay men and women," he recalls. According to Favre, they would befriend them, beat them up and rob them or try to extort money. "These guys could not make reports, they were prominent bankers, lawyers, doctors. So I worked with a Cleveland policeman, to form a list of contacts for the LBGT (Lesbian Bisexual Gay Transgender) Community. At the time I took some heat for it, but it paid dividends. The main thing was that people that were victimized by crime, and I mean beaten, had a cop that would go about solving the crime without embarrassing them. We are talking some brutal crimes," he said, "I am particularly proud of the fact that we solved crimes and protected reputations."

Lakewood has been seen for decades as "cool" because we can accept others. I asked Ed quite seriously if he thought his actions helped to build Lakewood's wonderful history of being accepting of diversity. Ed's simple answer, "I would like to think it helped." When you get a chance, ask some of your diverse friends and neighbors why they are here.

As the conversation wandered we hit on many interesting stories and I asked how he got so involved with kids, which ultimately led to his work on the School Board. He traces it back to when the oldest of his four kids were 7 and 5, and he had been working as a Juvenile Detective. He could see first-hand that an educated, active child was a child he would probably not have to put through the legal system later.

His children benefited from a great family life with his wife Gladys. Both living and working in Lakewood caused him to be a firm believer in structured family and community activities. He could see first-hand at home, and outside of his house, that every child did not have the same advantages, and has worked to even out some of those inequalities in the police and on the School Board.

One of the most serious moments of the afternoon of the interview occurred when he was speaking of the cycle of abuse, and how he has seen it here in Lakewood. "I have been here long enough that I have seen three generations of men abusing the women in the family. I knew Dad abused Mom in front of the sons. The sons went on to be abusive to their wives, and their grandsons are now abusive to their wives." He admits those are the moments that really are tough and make for some unhappy days on the force.

But he remembers the teenagers that were bound and determined to see a dead body and Daniel's Funeral Home with a smile. "The Funeral Home was upset," he said, "But I just had to chuckle, these kids really wanted to see a dead body embalmed! They thought it would be cool."

When we breezed through some of our typical topics, like how Lakewood has changed, Ed indicated that Lakewood is really in more of a constant state than people realize. Certainly there is more domestic abuse reported, he said, but that's because of lower tolerance than in the past. He said that with so many victims' rights groups there is better awareness and more of a network to help. So while domestic violence, and DUI's seem up, they were merely unreported in the past or did not make the headlines.

He remembers a time when Birdtown was much rougher than it is today. He sees that it has had ups and downs like all of the housing in Lakewood today. But Ed sees Lakewood and Birdtown as being in better shape now than in the past. According to him, there was real gang activity in Lakwood in the past. When I asked the kind of gang trouble he had in mind, he started talking about the Hell's Angels and biker bars, also a guy that was "muscle" for Danny Greene. I clarify, mentioning new gangs, and he says that Lakewood is still good at working together to keep serious crimes down--that block watches, citizen awareness and an engaged community have helped to spare us, with a couple of exceptions.

I asked about his days working Vice and he mentioned some things including "hookers." I know this is naive, but I said, "Hookers?" Growing up I only had heard of one, that lived off of Detroit Avenue. She was a legend while I was in school, like a mythical thing to young boys. I had never thought, "HOOKERS." He said, "Oh yeah, we used to have flea bag hotels in town, the Yorktown, and Lakewood Manor," where the Jose Mesa case started- another case he was in on.

When I said, "Blue Fox type hookers?" I was hoping to hear, Yes. (The Blue Fox was an interesting "classy" nightclub on on W 117th and Clifton, where CVS is now, on par with the Theatrical on Short Vincent Downtown, and like that club it had many "high rollers" and mobsters). But he said, "No, they were not high class hookers!" The Blue Fox was another legendary spot where gangsters-- not gangstas-- hung out. Real live mobsters. Which prompted another interesting story from Ed. "One night on patrol at Detroit and Highland Avenue (W. 117th's real name) this car goes flying past going southbound just hauling. I floorboarded that police car to try to catch this guy... He caught the light at W.117 and Berea, and it took me by the incinerator to catch him. So I call in the plate, and we do not have the technology we do today. So I walk up to the window and this guy starts to pull out piles of FOP cards and I notice it is Kevin McTaggert," (Danny Greene's hit-man). I could tell he was drunk and asked him to get out and he was reaching for the glove box, I pulled my gun, just as my backup arrived and the box opened which had a gun in it. We booked him on weapons and drunk driving."

As we ended this first session, he said that while he sees room for improvement in Lakewood, he also sees that we are better today than we were yesterday and he has some ideas about where we can look in the future for answers. He understands the connection from police, to community, to City Hall to schools. This is a person who really loves this community and its assets.

When talking of his earliest days on the beat, he spoke of how it was his duty to check in on every store, know the streets and reach out and interact with everyone from children to business owners. He expressed regret that with the exception of DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), most students have very little interaction with the police anymore.

While I knew the names of many police officers I have interacted with, and pondered if that was a good or bad thing, Ed said, "I felt it was my duty to stop at children's Koolaid stands, and buy some Koolaid. And I was a big tipper... that way I had a chance to meet the children on friendly terms, and I could teach them safety tips like, never walk the Koolaid over to the car. You stay in front of your house. This is something I continued through my entire career... Let me assure you, I have drunk plenty of bad Koolaid!"

It is nearly impossible to summarize a 37-year career in a single article, especially one from someone like Ed. We did not even touch on his School Board career, committee work, City Hall work, family life, and his other real passion, boating!

So as this is not a eulogy, I will be having ongoing discussions with Ed Favre and other civic leaders. Look for Ed's continuing conversation with me about Lakewood, then and now, and about how we all can do better.