Cops' brat fry featured in 9/11 film
Cops' brat fry featured in 9/11 film
By Belia Ortega Sheboygan Press staff
They call them the "Brat Cops" on the East Coast and in Oliver Stone's new film "World Trade Center," which opened nationwide Wednesday.
We know them as members of the Sheboygan Police Department.
Five years ago, Sgt. Bob Gottowski, Detective Dwain Jordan, Officer Jeff Kloet and the now- retired Sgt. Tim Tarkow-ski, Officer Rick Hlavka, and Officer Fred Zittel went to Ground Zero six months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center to lend moral support to those working at the clean-up site.
And the officers brought with them all the ingredients for a Sheboygan-style brat fry, which Stone re-enacts in the movie.
"I was tickled pink that somebody with Oliver Stone's reputation actually thought highly of what we did," said Tarkowski, who helped organize the 938-mile drive to New York City.
It all began the day after the attacks during their morning roll call, Tarkowski said, when members of the police department decided that because so many emergency personnel were attacked, they wanted to do something for them and their families. In the movie they are portrayed planning the brat fry in a Sheboygan diner as customers watched news coverage of the attacks.
They held several brat frys across the city and placed donation cans in businesses. The response was overwhelming, Tarkowski said. They collected a total of $147,000, which was well beyond their goal of $50,000, he said.
Hlavka flew to New York City with his wife, Sandra, to deliver checks to some of the families who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks. Hlavka said an officer from the Port Authority New York and New Jersey told him that those checks were the first donations folks had received.
But the officers didn't think their generosity should end there.
With the help of local businesses, the six men packed two Weber grills, 100 pounds of Miesfeld's Triangle Market brats, about 400 City Bakery hard rolls and plenty of condiments into a van six months after the September 11 attacks. Three men drove and three flew to New York City to grill brats for a weekend for all the workers at Ground Zero, Tarkowski said.
And now they are being recognized for it.
"I think it's an honor and if Mr. Stone is as historically accurate as he can be … I think it shows a lot of thought in the movie," Hlavka said.
Jordan said accolades should go to Tarkowski for planning the brat frys and the trip to Ground Zero.
"I'm really surprised that this (movie) is coming about now," Jordan said. "It's just a wonderful experience. Something I'll never forget."
Gottowski said he was surprised they were featured in the movie because he didn't realize that it meant so much to them.
"They never heard of us. I guess, apparently, we did make an impression," Gottowski said.
Some of the officers have formed close friendships with members of the Port Authority and continue to visit the World Trade Center site.
Several members of the Sheboygan Police Department watched the movie at Marc Cinema in Sheboygan on Wednesday night. The six men plan to watch movie together sometime in the near future.
"I think it's more of a testimonial to the generosity of our community," said Tarkowski, who retired last September. "For the officers that had to deal with this day-to-day, they know where Sheboygan is now."
Reach Belia Ortega at bortega@sheboygan-press.com and 453-5169.
By Belia Ortega Sheboygan Press staff
They call them the "Brat Cops" on the East Coast and in Oliver Stone's new film "World Trade Center," which opened nationwide Wednesday.
We know them as members of the Sheboygan Police Department.
Five years ago, Sgt. Bob Gottowski, Detective Dwain Jordan, Officer Jeff Kloet and the now- retired Sgt. Tim Tarkow-ski, Officer Rick Hlavka, and Officer Fred Zittel went to Ground Zero six months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center to lend moral support to those working at the clean-up site.
And the officers brought with them all the ingredients for a Sheboygan-style brat fry, which Stone re-enacts in the movie.
"I was tickled pink that somebody with Oliver Stone's reputation actually thought highly of what we did," said Tarkowski, who helped organize the 938-mile drive to New York City.
It all began the day after the attacks during their morning roll call, Tarkowski said, when members of the police department decided that because so many emergency personnel were attacked, they wanted to do something for them and their families. In the movie they are portrayed planning the brat fry in a Sheboygan diner as customers watched news coverage of the attacks.
They held several brat frys across the city and placed donation cans in businesses. The response was overwhelming, Tarkowski said. They collected a total of $147,000, which was well beyond their goal of $50,000, he said.
Hlavka flew to New York City with his wife, Sandra, to deliver checks to some of the families who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks. Hlavka said an officer from the Port Authority New York and New Jersey told him that those checks were the first donations folks had received.
But the officers didn't think their generosity should end there.
With the help of local businesses, the six men packed two Weber grills, 100 pounds of Miesfeld's Triangle Market brats, about 400 City Bakery hard rolls and plenty of condiments into a van six months after the September 11 attacks. Three men drove and three flew to New York City to grill brats for a weekend for all the workers at Ground Zero, Tarkowski said.
And now they are being recognized for it.
"I think it's an honor and if Mr. Stone is as historically accurate as he can be … I think it shows a lot of thought in the movie," Hlavka said.
Jordan said accolades should go to Tarkowski for planning the brat frys and the trip to Ground Zero.
"I'm really surprised that this (movie) is coming about now," Jordan said. "It's just a wonderful experience. Something I'll never forget."
Gottowski said he was surprised they were featured in the movie because he didn't realize that it meant so much to them.
"They never heard of us. I guess, apparently, we did make an impression," Gottowski said.
Some of the officers have formed close friendships with members of the Port Authority and continue to visit the World Trade Center site.
Several members of the Sheboygan Police Department watched the movie at Marc Cinema in Sheboygan on Wednesday night. The six men plan to watch movie together sometime in the near future.
"I think it's more of a testimonial to the generosity of our community," said Tarkowski, who retired last September. "For the officers that had to deal with this day-to-day, they know where Sheboygan is now."
Reach Belia Ortega at bortega@sheboygan-press.com and 453-5169.
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