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December 18,2019, two and a half years ago... a day I will never forget, or should I say a day I will never remember! That was the day I got to work and there were police officers everywhere, but surprisingly not for me! Well, kind of for me actually. They were there to get me drunk on live radio! I started taking shots of whiskey at 6:00 a.m. and continued taking shots every twenty minutes or so until I was BLITZED!

That was all the master plan! The Washington State Patrol, Pasco police Department and the Kennewick Police Department were there conducting a DUI awareness experiment and I was their subject. I met many officers that day and I am pretty certain I insulted each and every officer in some fashion.

But there was one officer who stood out, he definitely took the most heat from me, hands down! As I drank, my brain refused to filter what was coming out of my mouth! I poked, I teased, I insulted, I made it impossible for him perform a field sobriety test and I even challenged him to a fight.

I have replayed my actions time and time again over the past few years and it really brought things into perspective for me. This was a planned experiment, in a controlled environment and at the end of the day we all had a good laugh about it. It gave me just a glimpse of what these men and women in blue endure in their daily job, but with the UNEXPECTED and less than ideal circumstances. The patience this officer displayed was tremendous, the restraint to not strangle me and the great sense of humor was a reflection of his professionalism.

As I reflect on the activities of that day, I realize all of those qualities are a big part of what made Officer Brian Banner such an exceptional police officer for the past twenty seven years!  Twenty seven years of serving our community and it has now come to an end. He has retired his badge and can now be found poolside, probably sipping a frosty beverage in sunny Arizona.

In that twenty seven years Officer Banner spent nineteen of those years in the traffic unit, two of those years were in motors, he was an EVOC Instructor (emergency vehicle operations course) and a DUI expert (explains his patients with me that day!)

Officer Banner was also a liaison for the Tri-city Americans for over thirteen years and have helped the young men adapt to our area. He loves the Tri-Cities and the community it holds, he will miss the people and the job but he is onto the next chapter of his life. As much as he will miss us, I know he will equally be missed. I formed a lifetime friendship that blurry day and I am proud to call him my friend. Thank you BANNER for your service and enjoy your retirement in the sun with your lovely wife!

Myself, along with everyone at Townsquare Media wish you nothing but absolute happiness, cheers my friend and thank you for your service sir!

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Janis Clardy
Janis Clardy
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