Baretta (tv series) - the real-life cop David Toma: the councellor profile

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: Baretta (tv series) - the real-life cop David Toma: the councellor profile : Case text: : SUPERCOP David Toma - who inspired the hit TV shows "Baretta" and "Toma" - is still slugging it out in the streets ...to SAVE YOUNGSTERS FROM THE HORRORS OF DRUGS. As an officer and detective, Toma became a legend - using wacky disguises and street smarts to make 7,000 arrests without ever firing his gun. But after he was immortalized by Hollywood in the '70s, he dropped out of the headlines. : Far from retiring, he discovered a new GIFT -an ability to CHANGE LIVES with the force of his words. "There was life after Hollywood," Toma told in an exclusive interview. "I'm doing something more important now. I'm SAVING THE LIVES of millions of CHILDREN worldwide." The 67-year-old crusader can IDENTIFY WITH THE PAIN OF SOCIETY'S LOSERS AND THOSE STRUGGLING to remain on the straight and narrow. Toma told that he himself slipped into prescription drug abuse following the most tragic event of his life back in 1961 - the sudden death of his beloved 5-year-old son. "I see my son all the time when I'm speaking, in front of me (here is a strong parallel with Nicolas Cage playing a similar character in the movie Bringing out the Dead; jdb)," he divulges. "That's been my inspiration." The remarkable HUMANITARIAN speaks to more than two million youngsters and parents a year and he's given more than 15,000 speeches trying to RESCUE them from substance abuse. He's even been called in by some of Hollywood's biggest celebrities to discreetly help them with their drug addictions. "I always wanted to be a cop. I thought it was a way I could HELP PEOPLE," he says. But while he was a cop in Newark, N.J., he was devastated by the cruelest twist of fate. "I had been called in on a case where a 3-year-old boy was choking to death on a piece of charcoal," he recalled. "I dislodged it, gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and rushed him to the hospital. "A half hour later, I went home and explained the event to my family. My 5-year-old son David asked I me, 'Daddy, how did y ou do it?' ! "Suddenly, he started to gag on the food he was eating. I shook him and turned him upside down but he was getting worse. "I was screaming, my wife and kids were screaming. The people next door heard us and called an ambulance. "My house was only a block and a half from the hospital. They got him into the pediatric ward and they worked and worked - but he died. "Within 45 minutes, I had SAVED a 3-year-old boy from choking to death and my 5-year-old son died. I screamed, 'God, why me? Why me?' "I had a nervous breakdown and was put on all kinds of tranquilizers. I started to double up, triple up, until I was doing 60 or 70 a day. I didn't want to face reality." Fortunately, Toma's nephew, a recovering drug addict he'd locked up many times, slowly helped him get back on his feet and stop abusing the pills. The legendary cop confided: "I'd give up everything I've got just to see my son one more time but I know I can't. Now I want to make sure you don't lose your son or your daughter. This is my gift. This is what I have to do." : +++ Jan's analysis : What a strong resemblance this character's life story has with the character Nicolas Cage played in Bringing out the Dead, the savior of people suffering from burnout and delusional images of the dead because of feelings of guilt and strong empathic talents. Very much a Self-Sacrificing character style: : - he feels the best about himself when he is giving advice or handling a crisis situation; good at helping others : - so focussed on the needs of one person, that he can only think about that needy person; even when the person has died already : - problems in handling his own needs and receiving help himself : - drawn to creatures in pain and need : - their efforts will allways be for someone else : - feelings of guilt and feeling undeserving inside (withdrawing from public attention at the moment which was most favorable for him to make money) : - working themselves to exhaustion for others sake : - unselfish, suggesting solutions for other's problems : A few days ago I had a Co-Dependent/Histrionic person in my councelling practice; she insisted on getting the exact amount of money for the session and went standing in line for 20 minutes at a teller machine in order to save me the effort of changing money! : Jan

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