San Leandro – Two days after his 104th anniversary, the retired Oakland police officer, Toft Jessen, was celebrated Thursday by dozens of Oakland police officers who have passed and present, as well as many others who praised him as “an impressive individual” whose achievements are inspiring.
Jesen, a veteran of the Second World War who, during his career of the Oakland police nearly 37, survived an ambush where he and another officer were injured, was honored at Harry’s Hofbrau during a weekly rally of Oakland officers retired and in service and other people known under the name of Thursday club.
Jessen, who lives in the south of the county of Alameda, uses a walker and looks younger than his age. He sat down at the head of a long lunch table where many people present took a few minutes to talk to him.
Jessen said he didn’t really have a formula to live so long, except that he had not drank alcohol in abundance and that only smoked cigars. He said that being honored was “a big surprise” which seemed “very good”, especially because he considers himself “as another person”.
The people present, who included inspectors from the Alameda county prosecutor’s office, deputies of the Alameda County Sheriff and other law enforcement organizations, believe the opposite.
Oakland police chief Floyd Mitchell said that lunch “is an incredible testimony to the strength of men and women from the Oakland police service so that one of our own retirees is always celebrated and loved by the people with whom he worked.”
“It’s absolutely an inspiration,” said Mitchell.
Juan Gonzalez, the mayor of San Leandro, where Jessen was born and grew up, said he had benefited from the opportunity “to honor one of our inhabitants”.
“When the community meets to celebrate, it’s really a great thing,” said Gonzalez. He said that when a person is recognized “for a well -lived life and that they did it in the right way, it’s impressive.”
Jesen, who is perhaps the oldest retirement agent for retirement of life across the country, was born in San Leandro on April 15, 1921. A talented baseball player, he played a year as aerobatic for the New York Yankees Minor League team in Denver in 1941 before being written in the American army on April 21, 1943.
During his military service, he participated in the landings of D -Day on June 6, 1944. He was 23 years old and was part of the Glider of the US army squadron performing advanced missions for the Allied troops landing on the Normandy coast. He survived what became known as “the longest day” and continued his service throughout the war.
In recognition of his heroism, Jessen received the highest distinction of France, the Legion of Honor, by the consul general Frédéric Jung on September 18, 2023, before the 80th anniversary of day D. The prestigious price honors people who made an exceptional contribution to France, including those who risked their lives to help to release the country during the Second World War.
After his military service, he became an Oakland police officer in October 1947 and retired in August 1984 in the service of his entire career in the patrol division where he helped train and supervise many officers. Some of the participants Thursday were Oakland retired officers in the 80s and 90s who worked with him.
In April 1970, Jessen and another officer were killed several times when they were caught in the EDES and Cary Avenues area in East Oakland while he was in a prisoner transport vehicle marked by certain men linked to a radical group. After a period of recovery of several months, he returned to full service, a sign of his bravery and his dedication, said officers.
Oakland’s retired police officer Tim Sanchez, a celebration lunch organizer, said Jeesn “is definitively an inspiration since he was shot in service, persevered and returned. It’s pretty great. ” He said he believed that Jesen’s inheritance will be that he “he devoted his life to the public service. You hold this in high esteem and high esteem and hope that you can reproduce. ” While young officers “have discovered who he was, they also hold it in high esteem and ultimate respect,” said Sanchez.
In addition to the praise of those present, the Thursday club presented Jesen a commemorative baseball bat with its name engraved on it. The New York Yankees Front Office also sent him a letter of congratulations, and the Yankees manager Aaron Boone produced a brief video with him declaring that in his knowledge, Jessen is the oldest player living to sign a contract with the Yankees.
California Daily Newspapers
