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by–R.J. Latronico
Bruce McDermott, a native Visalian, joined the Police
Department in 1973. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1980,
Lieutenant in 1984 and Captain in 1989. He became Police Chief
in 1992. His commitment to the department and to the community
has resulted in the first Citizen’s Police Academy, the DARE
Golf Classic, the establishment of a Field Impact Team and
Gang Suppression Unit, increased DUI enforcement, parking
enforcement, a graffiti eradication program, a chaplains
program, and new city ordinances to address curfew and
skateboarding. He resigned after 24 years on the force because
of health problems.
Influentials publisher R.J. Latronico
talked with Bruce McDermott about his career and asked some
tough questions about his fight against Parkinson’s disease.
Bruce, how did you become involved in law
enforcement? Your dad was a judge, right?
Yes, my dad was a judge. He wanted one of us to go into
legal work. But none of us did. I never gave it a thought. I
studied to be a history instructor.
I was home for the
summer when a friend came by and asked if I wanted to take a
test to be a cop. He said, “I’ll buy you lunch if you do.” So
I did. But there was one small problem -- I didn’t pass the
I.Q. test, so I had to go back and take it again. Afterwards
this Lieutenant came out and asked me, “Who tied your shoes
this morning?” “I did,” I said. He then said, “Not with an
I.Q. of 75!”
I just had to prove to myself that I could do
better so I went back and took the test again. This time I did
all right. Since then I’ve found that working in law
enforcement has been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done
in my life.
You retired due to health reasons. Was that
when you discovered you had Parkinson’s?
I discovered that I had something wrong. My penmanship was
becoming illegible and my right arm would have uncontrollable
tremors. So it was apparent. I remember swearing in an officer
at College of the Sequoias. The whole back row thought I was
waving to them, but I was just trying to put my hand on the
Bible. I realized that I had to do something about it. I did
some research on Parkinson’s, and I learned they were trying
to make a connection between genetics and the environment.
Before leaving the Visalia Police Department I wanted to put
together a plan that would maximize the transition to the new
Chief.
Does anyone else in your family have
Parkinson’s?
No, I have a sister with M.S., but nobody else has
Parkinson’s.
Your disease is incurable, correct?
Yes, incurable. My primary concern had to be the transition
of authority within the police department. I worked with the
city manager to plan my retirement and to prepare for my
replacement, to get all the ducks in a row, so to speak.
Were you treated locally for your condition?
Was treatment basically medications?
I was in for one or two visits locally, and then I went to
UCLA. The treatment was strictly medication.
Does medication take care of the symptoms?
I take a chemical and a medicine called Sedament and
Mirapax, a combination of the two. It seemed to work for a
while. And then I had to increase the dosage. I’m at a point
now, where I’ve increased dosages about six times. Still, on a
good day, I can function fairly well.
And on a bad day?
I try to find
things to do that don’t require a lot of mobility. We all have
our limitations.
While on the police force you actively golfed
and did a lot of things, right?
Right.
And now?
Oh, I’ve cut way back on golf. I don’t make the full 18. I
generally make it nine, if I’m lucky. And I’m very happy with
that.
What about your civic involvements?
I haven’t cut back much there. That’s one of the things
that I really appreciate about this town –they’ve always got
room for Bruce. I do some things … probably because nobody
else wants to do them.
Looking at
some of your activities, one would make the assumption that
you are more active now than you were when you did not have
Parkinson’s. You were Rotary President and then a member of
the President’s Club. You helped raised money for the Visalia
Chamber of Commerce. What else have you been involved
with?
The Boys and Girls Club and the Visalia Christian
Ministries…I’ve been on their Boards. And the Visalia
Emergency Aid Board also. I always do the Trolley Transit; we
raised about $20,000 for the Christmas giveaway. So there are
a lot of things I’ve been involved with. They’re not all high
profile, but they provide a certain amount of personal
satisfaction for me.
Well, it’s good. I’m thinking most people would look at
this and say, “You know it’s time to pull back. It’s time to
do less.” And you’ve just done the opposite. You’ve done
more.
I think it boils down to support of family. So long as the
pluses outweigh the negatives, I’m going to stay in there and
do what I can. I’ve had a large number of people seek me out
and talk to me about what they should do because they’ve been
diagnosed. And their observations of me are rewarding and
stimulating for them.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this disease
usually affects the older generation versus the younger …
Right. Yeah.
Is your condition considered the early onset
of Parkinson’s?
Yeah, mine is young. In the 40’s it’s typically considered
young.
Does that mean it’s more treatable?
Not necessarily. In fact, there’s some suggestion that it
might be more aggressive because your metabolism and the
processing of the body is so much faster during these younger
years. But there’s no empirical proof.
None at all?
It’s still
kind of a grab bag. If you have a certain number of symptoms,
then it’s presumed to be Parkinson’s. There’s no test that
tells you specifically what it is. I’ve read that if you were
a risk-taker, then the likelihood of getting Parkinson’s is
lessened. Some of the stuff is just silly.
I’m thinking
they don’t know what causes it. And they don’t have a
definitive cure. They’ve got everything going from deep brain
stimulation to … chemicals, to biofeedback and hypnosis.
So there are quite a variety of hopeful cures.
It runs the gamut. They even have pressurized bags for your
legs. These things could increase your circulation. And to
some degree it’s had success. These various maverick ideas
have had success with different candidates. But it’s a
prescription kind of disease. Because you have two or three
symptoms doesn’t mean you have all of them. You know, it’s
just an individual kind of thing.
You’re still capable of driving, aren’t you?
Right.
You also seem to be doing a lot of things that someone with
a more severe case or another type of illness couldn’t.
Right. I’m very fortunate. You know, I’d like to encourage
people who have Parkinson’s to keep trying because you would
be amazed at what you can do if you put your mind to it.
I would imagine that your state of mind now has a lot to do
with combating this disease.
Yes, in fact, Parkinson’s disease directly
impacts the endorphins that are responsible for mood and
attitude. It’s a complicated body we live in. But if you work
out all the quirks, you’d be surprised how efficient you can
be in certain areas.
Such as?
Such as it doesn’t mess up your processing of thoughts. So
you’ve got a good clean mind.
It’s not like Alzheimer’s, where you forget
things?
No. It affects the connection between your motor skills and
your brain. As you indicated earlier, it’s considered an old
man’s disease. So when a person got Parkinson’s it was rated
low on research priorities because, after all, you’re 70 or 80
when you get it. And what’s your likelihood in return for
investment in experimentation then?
But when Michael Fox
and a few other famous people got Parkinson’s it became a
priority case. They are now discovering that a lot of people
get Parkinson’s at an earlier age. Luckily, there’s still hope
for the future.
I’ve been reading about stem cell research for
the treatment of Parkinson’s. How do you feel about that?
It’s kind of hard for a person to make a comment that’s
unbiased, especially when they may benefit substantially from
brain cell research. But this is how I look at it. If they use
the stem cell material that’s used for anything other than
medical reasons … well, it would be a waste to not let that
material be used in research.
Right.
For improvement.
Right.
Another thing, Richard … the system does not encourage you
to be productive. Say you get on a disability. Then if you
make “X” amount of money, they’ll take your disability check
away from you. So you could get this mindset that you have to
stay disabled.
Which is not good for anyone. Right?
Exactly! It’s not a good thing because it discourages
people from ever climbing up to the next rung of the
ladder.
Are you familiar with “Guided Imagery”?
No.
It’s another treatment that uses focused
relaxation. They say it’s clear that stress and depression can
worsen the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Do you have problems with
depression and sleeping?
I have a real problem with sleeping. I don’t have to be
around negative people anymore. I did that for years. But now
I control my environment the best I possibly can. It isn’t
that I hide under rocks … I am able to be honest and open.
Understand, that stress can do you in. They told me that if I
stayed in this police chief job, I’d be in a wheelchair in two
years because of the stress. So now my life is in a
constructive mode.
That’s good.
I think that humor and light-heartedness encourages your
participation in whatever you do.
I agree! Can you give me an idea of a typical
day in the life of Bruce McDermott?
I get up at about 5:30 am and I take my medication. The
first go-round takes about two hours before I can really start
to function. So I just read the newspaper and bother my wife
while she gets ready for work. And then I try to make my
appointments by 9 o’clock.
Today, I have an appointment
with you. Then I will do some work for Congressman Nunes’
office. At noon today I have the Parks and Recreation
Foundation meeting. I then have a meeting with several
different people who are going to contribute substantial
amounts of money to Parks and Recreation. Our foundation has
raised a million and a half this past year.
That’s incredible!
I’m also helping to start a group home in Exeter … doing
some fund raising for them. In addition, I‘m helping a young
lady put together a Mended Hearts program for Valley
Children’s Hospital. And it’s a kick. I enjoy that. She’s
ready sent off thousand dollars in care packages.
There are
people with children that need certain kinds of surgery. It
goes on and on. I’m trying to get a Cal Poly campus here.
We’re doing some stuff with Fresno State–you know, Emergency
Aid. I try to give as much assistance as I can. I’ve got a
full calendar.
This is mostly all volunteer work?
Mostly all volunteer. I do have a contract relationship
with the City of Visalia for the Parks and Recreation
Foundation, but not this other stuff. It is very rewarding to
be involved with quality people in all those operations. That
makes it very, very rewarding.
You seem to know the people out there with
very generous hearts.
Right! A sense of accomplishment is in the air on every
project you take, no matter what the possibilities seem to be.
Look at Michael Phillips’ granddaughter. She was having
special treatments in Michigan. She needed a jet to fly her
back and forth, so I made three or four phone calls. I got the
jet. And I also got Rotary to sponsor it. Everything was taken
care of.
That’s great! There are a few people around
who can make things like that happen. You’re definitely one of
them.
Oh, I don’t know about that. I know there are a lot of
generous people out there, and that’s part of the success
story for any philanthropic adventure.
It would have been a lot easier for you to
say, “I’m slowing down. I’m not going to get involved anymore
because I’ve got this debilitating disease.”
I commend you
for taking a proactive role instead. I like the fact that you
are out there telling people, “Look, it’s not the end of the
world. This is what to expect with Parkinson’s and this is how
you take care of it all.”
Right. If I could get one message out to people who have
Parkinson’s, I’d say keep a positive attitude and stay
encouraged.
There’s a whole range of infliction with this
disease, as in any disease. There’s one part where your life
will be mildly complicated … and then there’s another part
that’s more serious. In between those two parts, there’s a lot
of opportunity to make this a better world.
I hope I’ve
been an inspiration for some people.
Bruce, I believe you have been, more than you
will ever know. Thank you for your inspirational story!
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