So I was dispatched to a call for an intoxicated male refusing to leave the laundromat on my beat. I arrive on scene as the male is walking out. He immediately stops for me and tells me he has a warrant and that he was trying to leave the business but the lady was holding his bag with his beers inside of it. The male actually wasn't intoxicated....yet. I have him hand me his ID and I go to run it as another officer watches over him.
A hit came back for a warrant but it was definitely not for him and for his brother instead. I walk back to him and tell him that he's clean and to just not come back to the business tonight. He insists to me that he has a warrant and I insist back to him that it's not his warrant. He was so grateful and told me that he's actually been locked up twice by two different agencies (not mine), just to be released because the warrant was for his brother. He collects his belongings and then walks RIGHT back into the business. I grab him by the arm and walk him outside and explain to him that he wasn't going to jail but that if he goes back in the business the rest of the night he'd get a free place to stay (he was homeless and lives in the woods behind my discount mall.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Talking A Man Down
It's been a bit since I've written. I just got back from an amazing and much needed vacation with my girlfriend out of the country. I returned back to work on a very gloomy, rainy day-but that's life!
I received a suicidal male call from a 60 year old male who was threatening to kill himself. I arrived on scene and was alerted just before going in from the dispatcher that the male was planning to use his stove to commit suicide. I enter the apartment and observe the gas stove was on filling the air with gas. I talked to the man who said he was very depressed and wanted to talk to someone because he wanted to kill himself. I was more than happy to talk with the man but number one priority was making sure the stove was shut off and potentially dangerous and explosive gas wasn't seeping in.
He agreed to talk in the living room and we turned the gas off and he had a seat. He told me that he just moved to the apartment about six or so months prior and that people were coming to his door at all hours of the night looking to buy drugs and that they were very persistent and even wanting to come in and smoke crack in his living room. He told me he couldn't get a solid night's worth of sleep and that it was literally driving him insane and his apartment complex staff wouldn't do anything to help him. He flat out said the pressure was getting to much and he wanted to light himself on fire.
I asked him if he wanted to go to the hospital and he said he did so he could go and talk to someone about everything going on. Fire and paramedics arrived and found out the male had been prescribed an anti-depressant which the prescription had run out a long time ago. They managed to get him to the hospital and get the gas levels safe in the house. It could have been an explosive situation!
I received a suicidal male call from a 60 year old male who was threatening to kill himself. I arrived on scene and was alerted just before going in from the dispatcher that the male was planning to use his stove to commit suicide. I enter the apartment and observe the gas stove was on filling the air with gas. I talked to the man who said he was very depressed and wanted to talk to someone because he wanted to kill himself. I was more than happy to talk with the man but number one priority was making sure the stove was shut off and potentially dangerous and explosive gas wasn't seeping in.
He agreed to talk in the living room and we turned the gas off and he had a seat. He told me that he just moved to the apartment about six or so months prior and that people were coming to his door at all hours of the night looking to buy drugs and that they were very persistent and even wanting to come in and smoke crack in his living room. He told me he couldn't get a solid night's worth of sleep and that it was literally driving him insane and his apartment complex staff wouldn't do anything to help him. He flat out said the pressure was getting to much and he wanted to light himself on fire.
I asked him if he wanted to go to the hospital and he said he did so he could go and talk to someone about everything going on. Fire and paramedics arrived and found out the male had been prescribed an anti-depressant which the prescription had run out a long time ago. They managed to get him to the hospital and get the gas levels safe in the house. It could have been an explosive situation!
Monday, February 8, 2016
Gun On a Bus?
In my city, we have our own transit police. They (should) handle all the police related activities that occur on their property at the subway stations and on their buses. They usually don't or they try to pawn their crimes off on us to make the crime stats look great to ride the subway and bus transit.
Thursday, a member of my squad was sitting in his patrol car in a parking lot when a bus stopped right in front of him and people started screaming and running off the bus. This NEVER looks good as a cop. The people started yelling to him that someone had a gun on the bus. Immediately this turned into a help call and I rushed lights and sirens to back him up.
Myself and other units arrived just as the officer had a male detained. The guy was highly intoxicated and started yelling to people at the back of the bus that he had a gun and was going to pull it out. The bus driver stated the guy rode the bus all the way to the end of the line (which he found suspicious) but figured he just had fallen asleep, so he didn't bother him. We frisked him and checked the back of the bus where he was sitting, just in case he might have ditched the weapon. We didn't find anything but proceeded to wait around almost 20 minutes for the transit police to arrive. When it was all said and done, the man was charged for drunk in public by the transit officer-no joke.
Well you can't yell fire in a crowded theater, and you sure as hell can't say you're going to pull out a gun on a crowded bus either!
Thursday, a member of my squad was sitting in his patrol car in a parking lot when a bus stopped right in front of him and people started screaming and running off the bus. This NEVER looks good as a cop. The people started yelling to him that someone had a gun on the bus. Immediately this turned into a help call and I rushed lights and sirens to back him up.
Myself and other units arrived just as the officer had a male detained. The guy was highly intoxicated and started yelling to people at the back of the bus that he had a gun and was going to pull it out. The bus driver stated the guy rode the bus all the way to the end of the line (which he found suspicious) but figured he just had fallen asleep, so he didn't bother him. We frisked him and checked the back of the bus where he was sitting, just in case he might have ditched the weapon. We didn't find anything but proceeded to wait around almost 20 minutes for the transit police to arrive. When it was all said and done, the man was charged for drunk in public by the transit officer-no joke.
Well you can't yell fire in a crowded theater, and you sure as hell can't say you're going to pull out a gun on a crowded bus either!
Two Women, One Video
As a police officer, you answer a bunch of calls that sometimes you cannot even imagine you got called out for whatever type of situation you have. Wednesday was that type of call.
I responded to a domestic dispute after a very busy day. I was actually just wrapping up my dinner about an hour before I was supposed to get off. The call remarks said a female was assaulted by her sister's boyfriend.
I arrive and quickly find out both females (who are sisters and pregnant, 9-months and 4-months) were downstairs when the 4-month pregnant sister (who is pregnant by the male and has another kid with him) discovered his cell phone. The cell phone received a text from a girl who sent multiple videos to him. The videos turned out to be homemade porn videos between him and this other female.
Now according to the females they "calmly and without any aggression" went upstairs and confronted the male who then hit the 4-month old pregnant sister and slapped the 9-month pregnant old sister and shoved her to the ground.
When I went to talk to the male he was bandaging a bleeding wound to his head with a bandanna. I asked him what happened and he told me he was asleep when all of a sudden he was awoken to both females beating on him and then one of them took a vase and smashed it upside his head.
Everyone went to jail, but it doesn't end there. Both females were instantly crying and upset they were taking a ride. The 9-month pregnant female was worried about having her baby in jail. In fact just prior to this dispute, her doctor had told her to go to the gym to walk around the track to try and induce her labor. She was due at any moment! Now pregnant women normally have lots of ranging emotions but both women were going from anger to going to jail, to disbelief they were actually going to jail, blaming the male for all of this. It was a long emotional roller coaster ride to the precinct...
I never thought I would have two women fighting over a porn video, let alone two VERY pregnant woman fighting over one. Poor guy.
I responded to a domestic dispute after a very busy day. I was actually just wrapping up my dinner about an hour before I was supposed to get off. The call remarks said a female was assaulted by her sister's boyfriend.
I arrive and quickly find out both females (who are sisters and pregnant, 9-months and 4-months) were downstairs when the 4-month pregnant sister (who is pregnant by the male and has another kid with him) discovered his cell phone. The cell phone received a text from a girl who sent multiple videos to him. The videos turned out to be homemade porn videos between him and this other female.
Now according to the females they "calmly and without any aggression" went upstairs and confronted the male who then hit the 4-month old pregnant sister and slapped the 9-month pregnant old sister and shoved her to the ground.
When I went to talk to the male he was bandaging a bleeding wound to his head with a bandanna. I asked him what happened and he told me he was asleep when all of a sudden he was awoken to both females beating on him and then one of them took a vase and smashed it upside his head.
Everyone went to jail, but it doesn't end there. Both females were instantly crying and upset they were taking a ride. The 9-month pregnant female was worried about having her baby in jail. In fact just prior to this dispute, her doctor had told her to go to the gym to walk around the track to try and induce her labor. She was due at any moment! Now pregnant women normally have lots of ranging emotions but both women were going from anger to going to jail, to disbelief they were actually going to jail, blaming the male for all of this. It was a long emotional roller coaster ride to the precinct...
I never thought I would have two women fighting over a porn video, let alone two VERY pregnant woman fighting over one. Poor guy.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
"I'm Working On It!"
So the busy Sunday carried right into Monday. I never got a chance to eat at work sadly. I even had to respond to calls on the other sector because of the volume of calls. I was responding to a working drunken dispute at a corner store. I arrive on scene after the fight was over and all I had was an intoxicated guy bleeding from the mouth. He was having a VERY difficult time standing up. His son showed up out of nowhere and was so eager to take his dad home, practically dragging him (I guess he thought I was trying to take his dad to jail). I was watching them as they walked across the busy street. At one point his dad just laid down in the middle of the street before he eventually got him moving.
Apparently the fight occurred because he bumped up along someone in the store who did NOT take to being bumped by a drunk guy....
Tuesday was a little better. I didn't get out of work until 0100 hours though.....I ended up arresting three juveniles after a foot chase and juvenile paperwork SUCKS and takes FOREVER....just for them to be released to their parents... but that isn't my story.
I pulled over a vehicle because the driver had a suspended license for child support. I walk up to the car and ask to see his license. He tells me that he doesn't have it but he's working on a situation with his child support. I ask him if his license is suspended for child support and he tells me it is but he's working on it. I ask him why he's driving with a suspended license and he tells me that it's all good....I have him step out and I put him in cuffs and stick him in my car.
I take a closer look at his license and find out that it expired in 2001 and his license had been suspended since 2011. The guy then tries to ask if he can "work it out with me" and that I don't have to take him to jail or even write him a ticket. I tell him he's going to jail and he's walking a fine line with bribery....I really didn't want to tow his car, so I asked him if he knows anyone who could take his car. The guy has no phone and can't remember the number of anybody....So his brand new 2015 vehicle went to the impound lot....Have to pay that child support!
Apparently the fight occurred because he bumped up along someone in the store who did NOT take to being bumped by a drunk guy....
Tuesday was a little better. I didn't get out of work until 0100 hours though.....I ended up arresting three juveniles after a foot chase and juvenile paperwork SUCKS and takes FOREVER....just for them to be released to their parents... but that isn't my story.
I pulled over a vehicle because the driver had a suspended license for child support. I walk up to the car and ask to see his license. He tells me that he doesn't have it but he's working on a situation with his child support. I ask him if his license is suspended for child support and he tells me it is but he's working on it. I ask him why he's driving with a suspended license and he tells me that it's all good....I have him step out and I put him in cuffs and stick him in my car.
I take a closer look at his license and find out that it expired in 2001 and his license had been suspended since 2011. The guy then tries to ask if he can "work it out with me" and that I don't have to take him to jail or even write him a ticket. I tell him he's going to jail and he's walking a fine line with bribery....I really didn't want to tow his car, so I asked him if he knows anyone who could take his car. The guy has no phone and can't remember the number of anybody....So his brand new 2015 vehicle went to the impound lot....Have to pay that child support!
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Dealing With BS (Yes, I'm Dealing with You Instead)
There always comes a time in policing when you have to deal with a call that really did not warrant a 911 response. You're stuck dealing with that situation and something very important pops up. Sunday was this day.
Right out of the gate signing on, I was dispatched to a vehicle accident in the parking lot of my shopping mall. The parties had started getting into a heated argument about the accident according to security. I arrive on scene to this private property accident. One car was backing up and hit a car driving down the aisle (the backing up car's fault). I told both parties there was really nothing I could do being on private property and urged them to exchange information and handle it themselves. They asked me my "opinion" of who the fault was with and I told them-just to have that car argue again with me.
As I'm dealing with that, a high priority call from the department store at the mall comes up. A guy walked in and snatched almost $500 worth of Levi's jeans and ran from loss prevention. I made a point to ask security: "Hey, did you hear that call?" and then explained what happened. The driver who was arguing with me then goes: "Oh, wow, while you're here with us?" and I go "Yes, while I'm dealing with you instead."
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
This past week went by well all things considered. We had a state trooper shot in the line of duty twice by a male fleeing in a vehicle. Thankfully the trooper will be just fine.
Sunday, I responded to a call of a juvenile hit by a vehicle. Earlier in the day before I came to work, I had paid attention to the calls we had in the area where I work and I remembered seeing another juvenile hit by a car. It was a male in the roadway who was hit by a passing motorist when he darted into traffic. A report was completed and the male went along his way. A few hours later, the teen was at home with his mom when he passed out for no apparent reason. She naturally called 911 saying her son who had been hit by a car was not alert or conscious. We arrive on scene and the teen had come back to his normal self. The rookie officer who was primary on the call began to get his information for his report when I started to ask some questions and sensing this might be the same call that I saw earlier. It turned out I was correct and I ended up saving the rookie tons of paperwork! Mom and son then took an ambulance ride to the children's hospital to make sure things were ok.
Monday, I responded to a roommate dispute. Two roommates who had lived together for years finally had a falling out and one was moving on. The roommate who was staying locked the door and refused to let her come in the apartment to get her stuff. It's one thing when you want someone out but it's another when you don't want them to get their stuff to leave. I arrive on scene and the staying-put roommate was telling me how much she wanted her now ex-roommate to move on. I had to explain how crazy it sounded to want her to leave but then refuse....It took awhile but she finally realized the craziness too and we got the ball rolling.
Tuesday, I responded to a city park where some contractors had been doing some construction work. It had been raining recently and this was the first day they had managed to come back to work. When they arrived, they found their $50,000 compact loader-excavator missing. We reviewed the footage and found a white jaguar roll up and two men get out. They walk around and examine the machinery and then a wrecker arrives with two more men. It takes the men about two hours but they finally load up this expensive excavator onto the wrecker and drive off. We managed to get the company name and number off the wrecker so hopefully it'll become a good lead for the detective.
Wednesday, I was ALMOST done with my shift when a business robbery pops up at convenience store on a nearby beat. I'm the first unit on scene and my job is to make sure the business is safe, find witnesses, and lock the store down so nobody goes in or out. I find two patrons playing the video gambling machines in addition to the clerk. The second officer starts talking to the clerk while I'm gathering the information from the two guys. It's a pair of cousins who had their car break down in the parking lot and they were waiting on roadside assistance to come help them out. They saw the robber come in, heard his voice, saw his face, and could describe the gun. They were excellent witnesses. I got their information but one of the guys did not have his ID. I had him write the usual, his name and date of birth. He only wrote his name. I then had him again, write his DOB and he only writes the year. I was starting to get suspicious and after I got the rest of his birthday, had an officer watch him.
I ran to my car to run the guy and found out he had an active felony warrant for a probation on felony possession of marijuana (to add irony to it all, the guy was Jamaican.) I held the guy in the backseat of my car until the commercial robbery detective arrived on scene and he was still willing to talk to the detective. The guy was very appreciative of me for being nice to him and I even gave him a red bull from the store to drink. The warrant ended up being confirmed and I took him on down to the county jail. When it was all said and done, I got off work almost two hours late. Just another day in the police life.
Sunday, I responded to a call of a juvenile hit by a vehicle. Earlier in the day before I came to work, I had paid attention to the calls we had in the area where I work and I remembered seeing another juvenile hit by a car. It was a male in the roadway who was hit by a passing motorist when he darted into traffic. A report was completed and the male went along his way. A few hours later, the teen was at home with his mom when he passed out for no apparent reason. She naturally called 911 saying her son who had been hit by a car was not alert or conscious. We arrive on scene and the teen had come back to his normal self. The rookie officer who was primary on the call began to get his information for his report when I started to ask some questions and sensing this might be the same call that I saw earlier. It turned out I was correct and I ended up saving the rookie tons of paperwork! Mom and son then took an ambulance ride to the children's hospital to make sure things were ok.
Monday, I responded to a roommate dispute. Two roommates who had lived together for years finally had a falling out and one was moving on. The roommate who was staying locked the door and refused to let her come in the apartment to get her stuff. It's one thing when you want someone out but it's another when you don't want them to get their stuff to leave. I arrive on scene and the staying-put roommate was telling me how much she wanted her now ex-roommate to move on. I had to explain how crazy it sounded to want her to leave but then refuse....It took awhile but she finally realized the craziness too and we got the ball rolling.
Tuesday, I responded to a city park where some contractors had been doing some construction work. It had been raining recently and this was the first day they had managed to come back to work. When they arrived, they found their $50,000 compact loader-excavator missing. We reviewed the footage and found a white jaguar roll up and two men get out. They walk around and examine the machinery and then a wrecker arrives with two more men. It takes the men about two hours but they finally load up this expensive excavator onto the wrecker and drive off. We managed to get the company name and number off the wrecker so hopefully it'll become a good lead for the detective.
Wednesday, I was ALMOST done with my shift when a business robbery pops up at convenience store on a nearby beat. I'm the first unit on scene and my job is to make sure the business is safe, find witnesses, and lock the store down so nobody goes in or out. I find two patrons playing the video gambling machines in addition to the clerk. The second officer starts talking to the clerk while I'm gathering the information from the two guys. It's a pair of cousins who had their car break down in the parking lot and they were waiting on roadside assistance to come help them out. They saw the robber come in, heard his voice, saw his face, and could describe the gun. They were excellent witnesses. I got their information but one of the guys did not have his ID. I had him write the usual, his name and date of birth. He only wrote his name. I then had him again, write his DOB and he only writes the year. I was starting to get suspicious and after I got the rest of his birthday, had an officer watch him.
I ran to my car to run the guy and found out he had an active felony warrant for a probation on felony possession of marijuana (to add irony to it all, the guy was Jamaican.) I held the guy in the backseat of my car until the commercial robbery detective arrived on scene and he was still willing to talk to the detective. The guy was very appreciative of me for being nice to him and I even gave him a red bull from the store to drink. The warrant ended up being confirmed and I took him on down to the county jail. When it was all said and done, I got off work almost two hours late. Just another day in the police life.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
"Professional" Driver
So the week ended up nicely. I took a trainee out Tuesday for his last day in the zone before he started his last rotation before going solo. Our first call out the gate was a vehicle accident which technically occurred on private property. I let the trainee handle it.
There was a exit row to the parking lot which technically is just for one vehicle. A commercial water truck was exiting and preparing to take a wide right turn when a small car came up alongside it thinking the truck was going to turn anywhere but right. The truck made its right turn and the driver heard a crunch as he ripped off the entire front of the (brand new) small car. The accident was technically the fault of the car driver for not yielding to the car turning which was in front of it. We couldn't write any tickets due to it being on private property but the man was upset he was being listed at fault. The poor water truck driver was just thankful his boss wasn't going to yell at him for not making his deliveries. The truck held up like a beast with no damage.
Wednesday, I handled a call for a car theft. When I arrived at the apartment the lady had no idea what her tag was or her VIN. She tried calling her insurance company but the policy she thought she had, didn't even include the car that was missing. Not to mention the car had been missing for three days before she decided to call 911. She was then surprised I couldn't take the report without the car information....
Thursday, I was sitting near the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant on my beat. It was near the end of the shift and I was running tags trying to kill some time. I saw a van that belonged to a private transportation company. The vehicle had a brake light that was out so I decided to pull it over and see what I could get out of the stop. The female driver (who drives for a living) did not have her driver's license on her when I stopped her. I decided not to give her a ticket for the brake light but wrote her for the license not being on her behind the wheel. She was surprised I would actually write a ticket for that and started to put up a fight but I told her how to take care of the ticket and she was extremely appreciative. Not to mention it's the cheapest ticket you can get in my state!
There was a exit row to the parking lot which technically is just for one vehicle. A commercial water truck was exiting and preparing to take a wide right turn when a small car came up alongside it thinking the truck was going to turn anywhere but right. The truck made its right turn and the driver heard a crunch as he ripped off the entire front of the (brand new) small car. The accident was technically the fault of the car driver for not yielding to the car turning which was in front of it. We couldn't write any tickets due to it being on private property but the man was upset he was being listed at fault. The poor water truck driver was just thankful his boss wasn't going to yell at him for not making his deliveries. The truck held up like a beast with no damage.
Wednesday, I handled a call for a car theft. When I arrived at the apartment the lady had no idea what her tag was or her VIN. She tried calling her insurance company but the policy she thought she had, didn't even include the car that was missing. Not to mention the car had been missing for three days before she decided to call 911. She was then surprised I couldn't take the report without the car information....
Thursday, I was sitting near the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant on my beat. It was near the end of the shift and I was running tags trying to kill some time. I saw a van that belonged to a private transportation company. The vehicle had a brake light that was out so I decided to pull it over and see what I could get out of the stop. The female driver (who drives for a living) did not have her driver's license on her when I stopped her. I decided not to give her a ticket for the brake light but wrote her for the license not being on her behind the wheel. She was surprised I would actually write a ticket for that and started to put up a fight but I told her how to take care of the ticket and she was extremely appreciative. Not to mention it's the cheapest ticket you can get in my state!
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Broken Homes and Broken Systems
Sunday this week ended with me getting off work late. I got a call about a found runaway juvenile. A mother reported her son a runaway the day before and received a phone call from her mother that the kid showed up at her place. This kid is 13 years old and on probation for stealing multiple cars. He wears an ankle monitor as well and when mom reported him missing-it violated his probation leading to a possible warrant.
I entered the apartment and found the kid sleeping wrapped up completely in blankets. I put him in cuffs and got him some clothes since it was freezing outside. It turned out he didn't have a warrant and was just taken off the system as a missing person and released to mom. I got a chance to talk to him without his mom though and he told me he didn't want to be at home for multiple reasons and was going to ask the court to be placed into a group home but he was deathly afraid of how his mom would feel when she was told his wishes. I tried to get the reason out of him but he refused to tell me why. It's a shame that a 13 year old in and out of the system already would be in a situation where he willingly wanted to move to a group home for delinquent kids...
Monday, ended with another kid call. I received a call about a 14 year old mentally unstable kid who was off his meds and being violent. I pulled up to the house as the kid was trying to run away from his mom. I grabbed him and pulled him into the house. He stormed to his room and said he was not going anywhere. He got mad at his mom because he ran away from home while under house arrest for calling in bomb threats to his middle school. As a result, mom cancelled his cell phone service and he went ballistic. When the paramedics arrived, he refused to be seen by them and I could see the signs of a fight brewing. I grabbed him and as soon as I touched him he tried fleeing out the house. I wrestled with him and got him into cuffs. We dragged him to the back of the ambulance where the paramedics had to deliver two medical sedation shots as he wrestled and fought best he could. Once both were administered we had to hold him down as he was strapped heavily to the stretcher for his own safety. This kid was diagnosed with three different mental disorders at 14.
I've always said the two systems in almost every state that need to be on their game are child services and mental health. Often both are lacking. These kids are the product of a failed system. If only more could be done.
I entered the apartment and found the kid sleeping wrapped up completely in blankets. I put him in cuffs and got him some clothes since it was freezing outside. It turned out he didn't have a warrant and was just taken off the system as a missing person and released to mom. I got a chance to talk to him without his mom though and he told me he didn't want to be at home for multiple reasons and was going to ask the court to be placed into a group home but he was deathly afraid of how his mom would feel when she was told his wishes. I tried to get the reason out of him but he refused to tell me why. It's a shame that a 13 year old in and out of the system already would be in a situation where he willingly wanted to move to a group home for delinquent kids...
Monday, ended with another kid call. I received a call about a 14 year old mentally unstable kid who was off his meds and being violent. I pulled up to the house as the kid was trying to run away from his mom. I grabbed him and pulled him into the house. He stormed to his room and said he was not going anywhere. He got mad at his mom because he ran away from home while under house arrest for calling in bomb threats to his middle school. As a result, mom cancelled his cell phone service and he went ballistic. When the paramedics arrived, he refused to be seen by them and I could see the signs of a fight brewing. I grabbed him and as soon as I touched him he tried fleeing out the house. I wrestled with him and got him into cuffs. We dragged him to the back of the ambulance where the paramedics had to deliver two medical sedation shots as he wrestled and fought best he could. Once both were administered we had to hold him down as he was strapped heavily to the stretcher for his own safety. This kid was diagnosed with three different mental disorders at 14.
I've always said the two systems in almost every state that need to be on their game are child services and mental health. Often both are lacking. These kids are the product of a failed system. If only more could be done.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Twin Games
It's starting to get a bit colder in my city. I think this winter finally caught up to us.
Sunday, I did a traffic stop on a car that was registered to a female with a suspended license. I pulled the vehicle over and it appeared the driver was not the one I was looking for but instead was the twin sister of who I was looking for. Now as a police officer, we're often skeptical of things. So I had to try and find a way to figure out if this was the right twin or the wrong twin. I looked up the suspended twin on the department database and found a time she was a victim of a crime. I had the driver tell me about the incident and she was able to perfectly without hesitation. A minor incident in which only the one sister would know from a few years back. It turned out ok and she went on her way!
Monday, I actually took a much needed day off to spend with the girlfriend and her daughter. It's always good to still have that good personal time to yourself in this job.
Tuesday, I responded to a domestic dispute at a residence. The female stated her live-in boyfriend threw an air freshener can at her and then grabbed her and shook her. It all started because the boyfriend is a pastor of a church and had a church member coming over for relationship advice (ironic huh?) when he told her to put on some clothes that weren't "hoe-ish". She got upset and he threw the can at her. He admitted to letting the anger get the best of him but denied grabbing and shaking her. I was taking the pastor out of his house in handcuffs as the church member arrived to get him from him about issues with his wife....
Wednesday, I was coming back from the jail when I ran a temporary tag that appeared to be expired. I ran it but my computer was slow and I didn't get the hit back that it was expired until after the car had turned into a gas station. I did a U-turn and went to look for the vehicle that had just circled the lot and come right back out. I did the traffic stop and approached the vehicle. It was occupied four times and everyone had an ID except for one of the rear passengers. I had him write down his information and he wrote down his name and his birthday (coincidentally he wrote down the current date). I ran everybody but I ran him first. Nothing came back with the information he gave me but a warrant hit came back with the information he gave as an alias for an armed and dangerous fugitive known to be on drugs. I immediately detained him and asked him why he lied to me. He told me he was sorry and then I told him he had two warrants from two different counties. He knew about one of the warrants and he told me that's why he lied. He ended up taking the ride for lying to me and then the two warrants (one being a felony warrant). Luckily his actual birthday was the day before. That's all he was grateful for was that he got to go to a steakhouse instead of have a baloney sandwich at the jail for a birthday meal.
Thursday, I had a trainee and we responded right out of the gate to a working fight on the other sector during shift change. By the time we got there, the mom of the household managed to calm her daughter and her female partner down and separate the two parties. She told me that the kids were crying and a mess as a result of the fight. I quickly went to my trunk and pulled out some stuffed animals for the kids to help get their mind off of watching their mom fight. They immediately lit up and the family wanted to take pictures of me with the kids and said I was "nice 12" for helping out the kids. Gotta love helping out some kids caught in the middle of a situation!
Sunday, I did a traffic stop on a car that was registered to a female with a suspended license. I pulled the vehicle over and it appeared the driver was not the one I was looking for but instead was the twin sister of who I was looking for. Now as a police officer, we're often skeptical of things. So I had to try and find a way to figure out if this was the right twin or the wrong twin. I looked up the suspended twin on the department database and found a time she was a victim of a crime. I had the driver tell me about the incident and she was able to perfectly without hesitation. A minor incident in which only the one sister would know from a few years back. It turned out ok and she went on her way!
Monday, I actually took a much needed day off to spend with the girlfriend and her daughter. It's always good to still have that good personal time to yourself in this job.
Tuesday, I responded to a domestic dispute at a residence. The female stated her live-in boyfriend threw an air freshener can at her and then grabbed her and shook her. It all started because the boyfriend is a pastor of a church and had a church member coming over for relationship advice (ironic huh?) when he told her to put on some clothes that weren't "hoe-ish". She got upset and he threw the can at her. He admitted to letting the anger get the best of him but denied grabbing and shaking her. I was taking the pastor out of his house in handcuffs as the church member arrived to get him from him about issues with his wife....
Wednesday, I was coming back from the jail when I ran a temporary tag that appeared to be expired. I ran it but my computer was slow and I didn't get the hit back that it was expired until after the car had turned into a gas station. I did a U-turn and went to look for the vehicle that had just circled the lot and come right back out. I did the traffic stop and approached the vehicle. It was occupied four times and everyone had an ID except for one of the rear passengers. I had him write down his information and he wrote down his name and his birthday (coincidentally he wrote down the current date). I ran everybody but I ran him first. Nothing came back with the information he gave me but a warrant hit came back with the information he gave as an alias for an armed and dangerous fugitive known to be on drugs. I immediately detained him and asked him why he lied to me. He told me he was sorry and then I told him he had two warrants from two different counties. He knew about one of the warrants and he told me that's why he lied. He ended up taking the ride for lying to me and then the two warrants (one being a felony warrant). Luckily his actual birthday was the day before. That's all he was grateful for was that he got to go to a steakhouse instead of have a baloney sandwich at the jail for a birthday meal.
Thursday, I had a trainee and we responded right out of the gate to a working fight on the other sector during shift change. By the time we got there, the mom of the household managed to calm her daughter and her female partner down and separate the two parties. She told me that the kids were crying and a mess as a result of the fight. I quickly went to my trunk and pulled out some stuffed animals for the kids to help get their mind off of watching their mom fight. They immediately lit up and the family wanted to take pictures of me with the kids and said I was "nice 12" for helping out the kids. Gotta love helping out some kids caught in the middle of a situation!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
The Last Week of 2015
So the final week of 2015. Everyone is coming back from vacation from the Christmas holiday and getting ready for a night of partying with family or out to ring in the new year.
My last call of the day on Sunday was one of these such people. It was an airman who just came back from vacation and found his trailer for his motorcycle had been stolen from the parking lot. Thankfully his motorcycles were inside of his garage and he didn't lose those. He had a really good insurance company through the military and really just needed a report to cover the loss. He had taken every step to even install an anti-theft device onto the hitch so nobody could just come and hook up the trailer. I guess where there is a will, there's a way.
Monday, I responded to the mall on my beat for a trespasser who was detained. I get there and it was a guy who was caught shoplifting on the property at a department store (for perfume no less) and issued a trespass warning. He was caught back on the property selling bootleg DVDs in the food court. When I arrived to place him under arrest he flat out told me he didn't "give a fuck about the trespass warning". So needless to say he went to jail. He was smart about the DVDs though. He had the cases for movies still in the theaters but the DVDs were in a bag and blank so it was hard to make the correlation and he caught a pass on the felony (which he had previously been convicted for).
Tuesday, I responded to what came in as a working dispute with a gun. Two males were going at it in a driveway and one of them was known to have a pistol on him. I get there and the whole family is yelling and going at it. I call for more units to help calm down the situation and find out these facts. Male #1 was bringing over his baby momma to her family's house. They arrive but the girl's brother does not like male #1 because he supposedly beats on her and he owes her $15.....So he's arguing and supposedly threatened to shoot him and beat him up.
I pull aside the brother who admitted to saying he was going to beat up male #1 but vehemently denied the gun part. I noticed the uncle of male #1 quiet and standing away from the loud family. I go up to him and he finally agrees to tell me what happened after some persuasion. He stated the brother DID in fact mention the gun and how he was going to shoot him. The brother was then arrested for terroristic threats. Sometimes you have to pay attention to the whole scene to find your clues and real witnesses.
Wednesday, I had to respond to a business alarm at a closed daycare. I get there and this daycare has what looks like an impenetrable, very tall fence all the way around the entire property and then barbed wire along the back. This was like baby Fort Knox. There was no way I could enter in and check the exterior of the building. I'll tell you one thing, if I had kids, I would definitely want them going there.
Thursday (New Year's Eve), I was working 12 hour shifts as a detail car. My job was to take people to jail. I helped back up the other detail car on a traffic stop. I pull up and he has a male and female out of a car. He tells me he was riding behind the car when the smell of weed started flooding through his AC in the patrol car. He pulled the stop and before the car came to a stop the male tossed something out of the window. We had another unit come to watch the couple as we searched the car and found the weed in the cup holder. It was a VERY small amount and so the officer decided to just write a citation to the male (who was driving) for the weed as it was in his cup holder. The male was dumbstruck and did not/could not believe the weed smell would float through the AC. It happens more times than you can imagine.
My last call of the day on Sunday was one of these such people. It was an airman who just came back from vacation and found his trailer for his motorcycle had been stolen from the parking lot. Thankfully his motorcycles were inside of his garage and he didn't lose those. He had a really good insurance company through the military and really just needed a report to cover the loss. He had taken every step to even install an anti-theft device onto the hitch so nobody could just come and hook up the trailer. I guess where there is a will, there's a way.
Monday, I responded to the mall on my beat for a trespasser who was detained. I get there and it was a guy who was caught shoplifting on the property at a department store (for perfume no less) and issued a trespass warning. He was caught back on the property selling bootleg DVDs in the food court. When I arrived to place him under arrest he flat out told me he didn't "give a fuck about the trespass warning". So needless to say he went to jail. He was smart about the DVDs though. He had the cases for movies still in the theaters but the DVDs were in a bag and blank so it was hard to make the correlation and he caught a pass on the felony (which he had previously been convicted for).
Tuesday, I responded to what came in as a working dispute with a gun. Two males were going at it in a driveway and one of them was known to have a pistol on him. I get there and the whole family is yelling and going at it. I call for more units to help calm down the situation and find out these facts. Male #1 was bringing over his baby momma to her family's house. They arrive but the girl's brother does not like male #1 because he supposedly beats on her and he owes her $15.....So he's arguing and supposedly threatened to shoot him and beat him up.
I pull aside the brother who admitted to saying he was going to beat up male #1 but vehemently denied the gun part. I noticed the uncle of male #1 quiet and standing away from the loud family. I go up to him and he finally agrees to tell me what happened after some persuasion. He stated the brother DID in fact mention the gun and how he was going to shoot him. The brother was then arrested for terroristic threats. Sometimes you have to pay attention to the whole scene to find your clues and real witnesses.
Wednesday, I had to respond to a business alarm at a closed daycare. I get there and this daycare has what looks like an impenetrable, very tall fence all the way around the entire property and then barbed wire along the back. This was like baby Fort Knox. There was no way I could enter in and check the exterior of the building. I'll tell you one thing, if I had kids, I would definitely want them going there.
Thursday (New Year's Eve), I was working 12 hour shifts as a detail car. My job was to take people to jail. I helped back up the other detail car on a traffic stop. I pull up and he has a male and female out of a car. He tells me he was riding behind the car when the smell of weed started flooding through his AC in the patrol car. He pulled the stop and before the car came to a stop the male tossed something out of the window. We had another unit come to watch the couple as we searched the car and found the weed in the cup holder. It was a VERY small amount and so the officer decided to just write a citation to the male (who was driving) for the weed as it was in his cup holder. The male was dumbstruck and did not/could not believe the weed smell would float through the AC. It happens more times than you can imagine.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Christmas In the Streets 2015
Since creating this blog, this is Christmas in the Streets Volume II. The craziness continues on as people got ready for the holidays.
Sunday, I was dropping off someone with a warrant at City Jail when an inmate got into a dispute with the jail doctor. The inmate was being medically evaluated by the doctor when he yelled at the doctor to release him. the doctor told the guy he was only responsible medically for him and could not help him legally. The guy got upset and spit on the doctor. Our city corrections officers aren't like deputies that work in county jails, so they need us to place charges on people. Guess who was the lucky officer who got stuck to help since I was the only one there? I guess there's always a first time to arrest someone inside of a jail.
Monday, I was on a traffic stop where I arrested a guy for a suspended license. While I was on my traffic stop, we had a our regular "Bike Life" crew (a combination of illegal dirt bike and ATV riders who just ride around recklessly on city streets doing stunts), drive past me. They know our hands our tied by our city council and we can't chase them. That being said they love to ride past us on traffic stops basically doing whatever the hell they want to. I and every one of my coworkers hate it. We pretty much have to catch them when they crash, run out of gas, or break down...
Tuesday, I helped back up an officer from our traffic unit on a stop where the tag was not coming back to the vehicle. I came up along the passenger side and saw the driver had a handgun just lying on the passenger seat. In my state that's perfectly legal however still a potential threat. I called out to the officer with our signal for weapon and he acknowledged he had no idea it was there. The power of an extra set of eyes on a traffic stop is invaluable. Especially if the guy wanted to be a threat. I easily would have seen it and have been able to react way before he would have.
Wednesday, I responded to an open door call. A lady was coming home with her toddler and pulled into her driveway to notice her garage door was open and the door to inside of her house from the garage was unlocked. She was worried somebody might still be in the home. I rushed lights and sirens to the house and waited for my backup unit before we made entry. We proceeded to clear this awfully big house room by room. We had just finished training for active shooter so we got to use some of the room clearing skills we added to our arsenal. Thankfully, as soon as we made entry I noticed the homeowner's laptop on the kitchen table. That would have been the first thing taken. Sure enough, no burglary occurred and the family could sleep in peace coming up on Christmas Eve the next day.
Thursday (Christmas Eve), it just POURED. Accidents left and right. However, on a day where most people were settling down with their families, I got a call for a suicidal male armed with a knife. I got to the apartment complex where he was located and he came towards my direction hands visible telling me he wanted to go to the hospital. He already had a cut to his right arm where he tried to cut himself. The paramedics arrived on scene and he was a willing patient. I just had to pat him down first and make sure he didn't have the knife before I put him in the back of the ambulance with them. It's always sad when someone is so depressed on what is typically a great and joyous day.
Sunday, I was dropping off someone with a warrant at City Jail when an inmate got into a dispute with the jail doctor. The inmate was being medically evaluated by the doctor when he yelled at the doctor to release him. the doctor told the guy he was only responsible medically for him and could not help him legally. The guy got upset and spit on the doctor. Our city corrections officers aren't like deputies that work in county jails, so they need us to place charges on people. Guess who was the lucky officer who got stuck to help since I was the only one there? I guess there's always a first time to arrest someone inside of a jail.
Monday, I was on a traffic stop where I arrested a guy for a suspended license. While I was on my traffic stop, we had a our regular "Bike Life" crew (a combination of illegal dirt bike and ATV riders who just ride around recklessly on city streets doing stunts), drive past me. They know our hands our tied by our city council and we can't chase them. That being said they love to ride past us on traffic stops basically doing whatever the hell they want to. I and every one of my coworkers hate it. We pretty much have to catch them when they crash, run out of gas, or break down...
Tuesday, I helped back up an officer from our traffic unit on a stop where the tag was not coming back to the vehicle. I came up along the passenger side and saw the driver had a handgun just lying on the passenger seat. In my state that's perfectly legal however still a potential threat. I called out to the officer with our signal for weapon and he acknowledged he had no idea it was there. The power of an extra set of eyes on a traffic stop is invaluable. Especially if the guy wanted to be a threat. I easily would have seen it and have been able to react way before he would have.
Wednesday, I responded to an open door call. A lady was coming home with her toddler and pulled into her driveway to notice her garage door was open and the door to inside of her house from the garage was unlocked. She was worried somebody might still be in the home. I rushed lights and sirens to the house and waited for my backup unit before we made entry. We proceeded to clear this awfully big house room by room. We had just finished training for active shooter so we got to use some of the room clearing skills we added to our arsenal. Thankfully, as soon as we made entry I noticed the homeowner's laptop on the kitchen table. That would have been the first thing taken. Sure enough, no burglary occurred and the family could sleep in peace coming up on Christmas Eve the next day.
Thursday (Christmas Eve), it just POURED. Accidents left and right. However, on a day where most people were settling down with their families, I got a call for a suicidal male armed with a knife. I got to the apartment complex where he was located and he came towards my direction hands visible telling me he wanted to go to the hospital. He already had a cut to his right arm where he tried to cut himself. The paramedics arrived on scene and he was a willing patient. I just had to pat him down first and make sure he didn't have the knife before I put him in the back of the ambulance with them. It's always sad when someone is so depressed on what is typically a great and joyous day.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
The Week Before Christmas
So the week before Christmas is always hectic. People rushing to get ready for the holiday and scrambling to get gifts together for loved ones. Sometimes when you're getting ready for a holiday, you lose track of other basic things-and that's how this week's entry get its theme.
I was third in line at a traffic light as it began to turn yellow. The first truck went clearly through the light and then the light turned solid red. A good two seconds after the light turned red, the pickup truck in front of me decided to go through the light also. Now most people paying attention would never try and do that with a cop right behind them. I stopped the guy and he told me he was just trying to follow his friend in front of him and didn't even realize the light was red or the fact that I was right behind him. In my Christmas spirit, I decided to give him a break and sent him on his way. I did tell him that using GSP to coordinate with his friend probably would be the smarter and safer decision and he obliged!
I was out tag running, looking for a vehicle to stop when I came across a tag that had been suspended for about three months. Tags in my state are usually suspended when the vehicle has a lapse in insurance. I pulled the car over and noticed the driver was about 18 years and proudly flaunting that he had JUST come home from basic training. I normally give breaks on moving violations to teachers, military, medical personnel, etc. However for something like this (which is fixable and usually gets the fine dropped), I write the ticket. If the vehicle gets into an accident (when it really shouldn't have been on the roadway), I could be liable for not taking any action. I wrote the guy a ticket and when I went to the window he was incredibly upset I was writing him a ticket. I even broke it down to him and explained EXACTLY how to get the ticket thrown out and he still wasn't having any of it. I even told him what to do to avoid getting another one before his courtdate. Hopefully he listened to me.
I responded to an apartment complex on a call of shots fired and about 30 people gathered around in the back. I was ready for a large crowd as I expected this type of situation in the complex and I got there relatively really quick. However, when I got there, there was nothing going on anywhere. Not even a cat running around.
To close out the week, I had to go to an assisted living home where all the residents have these medical alarms in their room where they can call for help if they need it. They're constantly going off, even in unoccupied rooms (which is really creepy actually), We got two calls simultaneously and both were false alarms. At least the week ended on an easy note!
I was third in line at a traffic light as it began to turn yellow. The first truck went clearly through the light and then the light turned solid red. A good two seconds after the light turned red, the pickup truck in front of me decided to go through the light also. Now most people paying attention would never try and do that with a cop right behind them. I stopped the guy and he told me he was just trying to follow his friend in front of him and didn't even realize the light was red or the fact that I was right behind him. In my Christmas spirit, I decided to give him a break and sent him on his way. I did tell him that using GSP to coordinate with his friend probably would be the smarter and safer decision and he obliged!
I was out tag running, looking for a vehicle to stop when I came across a tag that had been suspended for about three months. Tags in my state are usually suspended when the vehicle has a lapse in insurance. I pulled the car over and noticed the driver was about 18 years and proudly flaunting that he had JUST come home from basic training. I normally give breaks on moving violations to teachers, military, medical personnel, etc. However for something like this (which is fixable and usually gets the fine dropped), I write the ticket. If the vehicle gets into an accident (when it really shouldn't have been on the roadway), I could be liable for not taking any action. I wrote the guy a ticket and when I went to the window he was incredibly upset I was writing him a ticket. I even broke it down to him and explained EXACTLY how to get the ticket thrown out and he still wasn't having any of it. I even told him what to do to avoid getting another one before his courtdate. Hopefully he listened to me.
I responded to an apartment complex on a call of shots fired and about 30 people gathered around in the back. I was ready for a large crowd as I expected this type of situation in the complex and I got there relatively really quick. However, when I got there, there was nothing going on anywhere. Not even a cat running around.
To close out the week, I had to go to an assisted living home where all the residents have these medical alarms in their room where they can call for help if they need it. They're constantly going off, even in unoccupied rooms (which is really creepy actually), We got two calls simultaneously and both were false alarms. At least the week ended on an easy note!
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Stolen or Not Stolen?
I was stopped at a light and saw this car in front of me. I ran the tag and the tag came back to a trailblazer and this was a small black sedan. I pulled the car over and an older female was driving.
I asked her what the situation was with the tag and she said she didn't know because the car wasn't hers. I asked her who the car belonged to and she told me it was Mr. John's car. I asked her if she had any registration paperwork and she came up empty handed. I asked her if she had a phone number for this "Mr. John" and she said no. I had her place her hands on the steering wheel while I went to look and write down the VIN from the dash. I realized the VIN was missing and I immediately went to place her in handcuffs. I ran the VIN from another location and found out that the car actually belonged to her! I asked her why she lied to me and she said she didn't want to get in trouble. The car actually had canceled registration so she slapped on a tag from another car that she owned. What could have just been an impound of her car turned into her car getting impounded and her going to jail!
While I ended up staying late with that arrest, I was on my way back to the precinct to go home when I hopped on the highway and saw this pickup truck weaving ALL over two lanes. I knew this was something I couldn't ignore and pulled it over. The car couldn't decide where it was going to pull over but finally did. It turns out the car didn't even have a valid tag on it. The driver told me he bought the car from a family in a neighboring state, whose grandfather died (it was his old truck). The grandfather's title was missing and he needed it to get it registered. The truck needed a TON of work and it had a very strong pull to it (which explained the weaving). Thankfully he wasn't intoxicated and I didn't have to have an even later night. The guy got a ticket for not having his vehicle registered past the allowed time from the state.
I asked her what the situation was with the tag and she said she didn't know because the car wasn't hers. I asked her who the car belonged to and she told me it was Mr. John's car. I asked her if she had any registration paperwork and she came up empty handed. I asked her if she had a phone number for this "Mr. John" and she said no. I had her place her hands on the steering wheel while I went to look and write down the VIN from the dash. I realized the VIN was missing and I immediately went to place her in handcuffs. I ran the VIN from another location and found out that the car actually belonged to her! I asked her why she lied to me and she said she didn't want to get in trouble. The car actually had canceled registration so she slapped on a tag from another car that she owned. What could have just been an impound of her car turned into her car getting impounded and her going to jail!
While I ended up staying late with that arrest, I was on my way back to the precinct to go home when I hopped on the highway and saw this pickup truck weaving ALL over two lanes. I knew this was something I couldn't ignore and pulled it over. The car couldn't decide where it was going to pull over but finally did. It turns out the car didn't even have a valid tag on it. The driver told me he bought the car from a family in a neighboring state, whose grandfather died (it was his old truck). The grandfather's title was missing and he needed it to get it registered. The truck needed a TON of work and it had a very strong pull to it (which explained the weaving). Thankfully he wasn't intoxicated and I didn't have to have an even later night. The guy got a ticket for not having his vehicle registered past the allowed time from the state.
Breaking For Change
So I've fallen behind a bit because it just has been SO busy lately. So the next few posts will be snippets of what happened in December thus far.
There's this pink house in the zone that's huge, with broken windows that have never been fixed, vines growing all over it....you get the picture. Take your typical haunted creepy house and this is it. To top it off, the person who lives there is a Voodoo priestess. She's constantly getting into trances and then calling 911 and just mumbling on the phone. I've been there plenty of times, even when I had the TV show COPS with me. Every time I go there she answers the door with her eyes spaced out and tells me everything is ok. The inside of the house has creepy figurines and always smells like incense burning. It's crazy!
I answered a call for a vehicle break in at the mall on my beat. There's an office there for the power company. This employee drives a Dodge Charger and her vehicle has been broken into twice in the last few months. The first time, a firearm was stolen from her vehicle. The lady did what she needed to do and never left anything in plain sight in her car to prevent future thefts...Then a guy broke into her car and stole maybe $5 worth of coins in the cup holder...and she's left with hundreds in damages to her door lock.
There's this pink house in the zone that's huge, with broken windows that have never been fixed, vines growing all over it....you get the picture. Take your typical haunted creepy house and this is it. To top it off, the person who lives there is a Voodoo priestess. She's constantly getting into trances and then calling 911 and just mumbling on the phone. I've been there plenty of times, even when I had the TV show COPS with me. Every time I go there she answers the door with her eyes spaced out and tells me everything is ok. The inside of the house has creepy figurines and always smells like incense burning. It's crazy!
I answered a call for a vehicle break in at the mall on my beat. There's an office there for the power company. This employee drives a Dodge Charger and her vehicle has been broken into twice in the last few months. The first time, a firearm was stolen from her vehicle. The lady did what she needed to do and never left anything in plain sight in her car to prevent future thefts...Then a guy broke into her car and stole maybe $5 worth of coins in the cup holder...and she's left with hundreds in damages to her door lock.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
As the Weather Cools, The Streets Get Hotter
So this has been a crazy week just in the last three days. We've had two officer-involved shootings, one of which had a fatal result. Not to mention, the days have been pretty crazy.
Sunday I responded to a call of shots being fired at a city park within a residential neighborhood. The caller stated he could see people hanging out in the park and the gunshots sounded like they were coming from two different guns. I was the first one on scene. I couldn't hear any gunshots by the time I got in the area but started to creep very slowly in my patrol car as I rolled up the scene. The park was empty but there was an SUV parked just on the side of the park with someone inside. I quickly gave the tag number to my dispatcher who ran it as I approached. A black female hopped out of the SUV with a cigarette in her hand. I asked her if she had heard anything recently and she said she did hear the shooting coming from the park but didn't see anyone. I asked her why she was just hanging out on the road in the dark and she told me she lives just down the street but didn't like smoking in front of her kids. The tag confirmed she lived right down the street. She went along on her way but my heart was pounding not knowing what was going on when she jumped out like that .
Monday was an insane day. As soon as I got my keys, I got a hot call on the other sector since I was the only car in service at the time. It was an all brawl in the parking lot of a state labor office. I responded code to the scene as I kept getting updates that the brawl was just getting more intense. I pulled up and paramedics were treating a woman and a male who was bleeding from his mouth. Everyone was trying to tell me at once what was going on. Apparently, the male bleeding from his mouth was the passenger in a parked vehicle who opened the door and banged his door on the parked vehicle the woman was sitting in. The male began to walk away and the female said he couldn't leave because he hit her car. The male didn't want to deal with the female so he hopped back in the car and told his friend to drive away. The male couldn't back out because the female was behind the car so he started to maneuver in sort of a three-point turn style. The female went to approach the driver and was inadvertently hit. This caused a huge scene in the parking lot. The male passenger stepped out and yelled at the female and then shoved her. The crowd didn't like this and began to beat the male in force. The female's daughter came outside of the labor office and slugged the guy who punched her in the jaw. I placed both males under arrest (the driver ended up having two warrants for failing to appear on tickets of expired tag and a handicap parking ticket from four years ago...). I ended up giving the female's daughter a copy of charges for the disorderly conduct because to be honest, I would have done the same if I saw my own mother get hit. The driver had a jack russell terrier named Roscoe and I really didn't want to put the dog in the pound so I waited about 2 hours for someone to come pick up the little guy. Real cute dog that I walked around the patrol car for a bit to stretch it's legs.
Later Monday night, I responded to a burglar in a residence call. A person called 911 to state they saw someone breaking into the vacant house next door and when they realized they had been spotted they brandished what appeared to be a firearm in the guy's direction. The guy fearing for the safety of himself and his family fired a single shot in the direction of the perp. He didn't hit anything but that was sure a hair raising moment as we responded to a burglary in progress-shots fired. Hell of a last call for the day.
Sunday I responded to a call of shots being fired at a city park within a residential neighborhood. The caller stated he could see people hanging out in the park and the gunshots sounded like they were coming from two different guns. I was the first one on scene. I couldn't hear any gunshots by the time I got in the area but started to creep very slowly in my patrol car as I rolled up the scene. The park was empty but there was an SUV parked just on the side of the park with someone inside. I quickly gave the tag number to my dispatcher who ran it as I approached. A black female hopped out of the SUV with a cigarette in her hand. I asked her if she had heard anything recently and she said she did hear the shooting coming from the park but didn't see anyone. I asked her why she was just hanging out on the road in the dark and she told me she lives just down the street but didn't like smoking in front of her kids. The tag confirmed she lived right down the street. She went along on her way but my heart was pounding not knowing what was going on when she jumped out like that .
Monday was an insane day. As soon as I got my keys, I got a hot call on the other sector since I was the only car in service at the time. It was an all brawl in the parking lot of a state labor office. I responded code to the scene as I kept getting updates that the brawl was just getting more intense. I pulled up and paramedics were treating a woman and a male who was bleeding from his mouth. Everyone was trying to tell me at once what was going on. Apparently, the male bleeding from his mouth was the passenger in a parked vehicle who opened the door and banged his door on the parked vehicle the woman was sitting in. The male began to walk away and the female said he couldn't leave because he hit her car. The male didn't want to deal with the female so he hopped back in the car and told his friend to drive away. The male couldn't back out because the female was behind the car so he started to maneuver in sort of a three-point turn style. The female went to approach the driver and was inadvertently hit. This caused a huge scene in the parking lot. The male passenger stepped out and yelled at the female and then shoved her. The crowd didn't like this and began to beat the male in force. The female's daughter came outside of the labor office and slugged the guy who punched her in the jaw. I placed both males under arrest (the driver ended up having two warrants for failing to appear on tickets of expired tag and a handicap parking ticket from four years ago...). I ended up giving the female's daughter a copy of charges for the disorderly conduct because to be honest, I would have done the same if I saw my own mother get hit. The driver had a jack russell terrier named Roscoe and I really didn't want to put the dog in the pound so I waited about 2 hours for someone to come pick up the little guy. Real cute dog that I walked around the patrol car for a bit to stretch it's legs.
Later Monday night, I responded to a burglar in a residence call. A person called 911 to state they saw someone breaking into the vacant house next door and when they realized they had been spotted they brandished what appeared to be a firearm in the guy's direction. The guy fearing for the safety of himself and his family fired a single shot in the direction of the perp. He didn't hit anything but that was sure a hair raising moment as we responded to a burglary in progress-shots fired. Hell of a last call for the day.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Hoverboard Robberies
So lately the new craze are these little movable balance boards that you can stand on and just move around with. They have a whole bunch of different names: hoverboard, skywalkers, etc. They're such a new craze that people are robbing folks for them and over them.
I met with two friends, both around 19, who were in the mall on my beat and saw a guy riding around on one of these hoverboards. They went up to ask him where he got his and he told them he actually sold them. They exchanged numbers and he told them to hang around the mall and he'd call when he came back with a board. They agreed on a price of $200 (they normally sell for $499). The guy called them about 20 minutes later and said he was outside. It was pouring rain so the pair ran up to the jeep where the guy was in the backseat.
The victim started to count out his money when the guy said "you're good". The victim looked up and the guy had a gun pointed right at him. The guy snatched the money and the driver took off. What the dumb perp didn't know was that he was caught on camera in plain view multiple times throughout the mall and the robbery himself. Hopefully we'll get him identified soon.
Later on in the day I responded to a dispute with a weapon involving pepper spray and roommates. Apparently the girl who rents the apartment took in a friend who was down on her luck. The friend is in a lesbian relationship and brings her girlfriend over quite a bit. The main renter was upset that her friend kept bringing people over, however the lesbian friend had been staying with her for about four months and was paying rent and essentially living there as well. I told her there was nothing I could do. The renter was furious but that's how it goes. The renter was the one who actually threatened the lesbian's friend and the friend said not to threaten her because she had pepper spray. It's amazing how things get twisted between what actually happens and what we get on the 911 call.
I met with two friends, both around 19, who were in the mall on my beat and saw a guy riding around on one of these hoverboards. They went up to ask him where he got his and he told them he actually sold them. They exchanged numbers and he told them to hang around the mall and he'd call when he came back with a board. They agreed on a price of $200 (they normally sell for $499). The guy called them about 20 minutes later and said he was outside. It was pouring rain so the pair ran up to the jeep where the guy was in the backseat.
The victim started to count out his money when the guy said "you're good". The victim looked up and the guy had a gun pointed right at him. The guy snatched the money and the driver took off. What the dumb perp didn't know was that he was caught on camera in plain view multiple times throughout the mall and the robbery himself. Hopefully we'll get him identified soon.
Later on in the day I responded to a dispute with a weapon involving pepper spray and roommates. Apparently the girl who rents the apartment took in a friend who was down on her luck. The friend is in a lesbian relationship and brings her girlfriend over quite a bit. The main renter was upset that her friend kept bringing people over, however the lesbian friend had been staying with her for about four months and was paying rent and essentially living there as well. I told her there was nothing I could do. The renter was furious but that's how it goes. The renter was the one who actually threatened the lesbian's friend and the friend said not to threaten her because she had pepper spray. It's amazing how things get twisted between what actually happens and what we get on the 911 call.
My Thanksgiving Week In The Streets
Well Thanksgiving went amazingly well for me. I was lucky enough to have the holiday off and then my regular days off of Friday and Saturday-not to mention I took Tuesday off to enjoy an NBA game (sadly my team lost). Here's my uneventful week
Sunday I was dispatched to a hot call as soon as I signed on. I was sent to a business silent alarm at a location where I had bee previously hit by burglars. I raced to load my vehicle and rush to the scene but before I could get there, the alarm was canceled. Such a rush to start the day for nothing and then nothing else happened all day.
Monday I had to make a prisoner transport. The previous Thursday, we had a domestic dispute in which a boyfriend and girlfriend were drunk and got to fighting. Somehow both parties were cut up severely all over their bodies. The male was so cut up he ended up at the hospital and passed out. I went to pick him up to take him to jail since he had been discharged. The male asked me what he had been charged with because he honestly didn't remember a thing. He told me he had been drinking vodka straight all day and then he woke up with a tube down his throat and an IV in his arm in the hospital and was stuck on a liquid diet for three days. He swore up and down that he was done with alcohol-and his girl. He was actually a pretty cool guy and joked around all the way to jail about a multitude of things and the fact that he lost all his clothes because they had to cut them all (he wore a hospital gown into jail).
Wednesday we were extremely busy. I got out of work about an hour late due to a late DUI (and I still hit the road for a 7-hour drive out of state for the holiday). I ran call to call to call and got a vehicle break in at a suit store on my beat. The call held for about an hour (due to its low priority) and by the time I got there, the caller was gone. We tried to call him back but it went straight to voicemail on consecutive call backs. We live and work in a major city. Some crimes and calls just aren't as high on the list although they are still important. It's amazing that some people can't understand that after dealing with people on a regular basis though that wind up in the same situation.
Sunday I was dispatched to a hot call as soon as I signed on. I was sent to a business silent alarm at a location where I had bee previously hit by burglars. I raced to load my vehicle and rush to the scene but before I could get there, the alarm was canceled. Such a rush to start the day for nothing and then nothing else happened all day.
Monday I had to make a prisoner transport. The previous Thursday, we had a domestic dispute in which a boyfriend and girlfriend were drunk and got to fighting. Somehow both parties were cut up severely all over their bodies. The male was so cut up he ended up at the hospital and passed out. I went to pick him up to take him to jail since he had been discharged. The male asked me what he had been charged with because he honestly didn't remember a thing. He told me he had been drinking vodka straight all day and then he woke up with a tube down his throat and an IV in his arm in the hospital and was stuck on a liquid diet for three days. He swore up and down that he was done with alcohol-and his girl. He was actually a pretty cool guy and joked around all the way to jail about a multitude of things and the fact that he lost all his clothes because they had to cut them all (he wore a hospital gown into jail).
Wednesday we were extremely busy. I got out of work about an hour late due to a late DUI (and I still hit the road for a 7-hour drive out of state for the holiday). I ran call to call to call and got a vehicle break in at a suit store on my beat. The call held for about an hour (due to its low priority) and by the time I got there, the caller was gone. We tried to call him back but it went straight to voicemail on consecutive call backs. We live and work in a major city. Some crimes and calls just aren't as high on the list although they are still important. It's amazing that some people can't understand that after dealing with people on a regular basis though that wind up in the same situation.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
"Just Don't Shoot Me"
So Monday and Tuesday were pretty easy going days. Monday I had a trainee on his last day in the Zone before he moved on to his next rotation of field training. It was slow so we decided to do a little traffic. We were fishing and saw a car with a broken brake light. We stopped it and the trainee felt confident so I let him handle the stop on his own.
The driver ended up being a young black female. My trainee (who is also black) asked her for her driver's license. She went to reach for it and immediately said to him that she was only reaching for ID. My trainee laughed and shrugged it off but she continued to say "Just don't shoot me, I've seen all that happens on tv.". It's a real shame that that's the impression people have of encounters with us. My trainee just let the female know her light was out with a warning and we continued on with our uneventful day.
Tuesday saw me head to a major department store at the mall on my beat. Loss Prevention had detained a female employee for making fraudulent returns to pocket money. This employee was a supervisor and would take un-purchased clothes off the floor and use the UPC on them to return them as if they were purchased. She did this all the way back from June while Loss Prevention kept investigating to try and find where the losses were coming from. This employee racked up $2,728.87 in 5 months. They pressed charges for the theft and I asked her if she had ever been arrested before and she told me she had....for exactly the same thing. It's amazing she was hired with the previous arrest to work in retail. Even Loss Prevention was surprised by her past. The lady said her son was recently diagnosed with cancer and she had no other way to come up with the money for treatment which cost around $500-1,000 a month. The store was nice in the sense that even though she was going to lose her job, they were organizing support groups for her to try and help her through the medical crisis.
The driver ended up being a young black female. My trainee (who is also black) asked her for her driver's license. She went to reach for it and immediately said to him that she was only reaching for ID. My trainee laughed and shrugged it off but she continued to say "Just don't shoot me, I've seen all that happens on tv.". It's a real shame that that's the impression people have of encounters with us. My trainee just let the female know her light was out with a warning and we continued on with our uneventful day.
Tuesday saw me head to a major department store at the mall on my beat. Loss Prevention had detained a female employee for making fraudulent returns to pocket money. This employee was a supervisor and would take un-purchased clothes off the floor and use the UPC on them to return them as if they were purchased. She did this all the way back from June while Loss Prevention kept investigating to try and find where the losses were coming from. This employee racked up $2,728.87 in 5 months. They pressed charges for the theft and I asked her if she had ever been arrested before and she told me she had....for exactly the same thing. It's amazing she was hired with the previous arrest to work in retail. Even Loss Prevention was surprised by her past. The lady said her son was recently diagnosed with cancer and she had no other way to come up with the money for treatment which cost around $500-1,000 a month. The store was nice in the sense that even though she was going to lose her job, they were organizing support groups for her to try and help her through the medical crisis.
Sunday Driving
Last Sunday I responded to a call about a male passed out in a car in the middle of the street in a subdivision. An anonymous caller called it in. This vehicle was stopped way back where the subdivision was still under development. So it wasn't exactly in an area where people normally go to.
I rolled up and saw a soft top convertible with a male passed out. I knocked on the window and he didn't respond. I knocked harder on the driver's window with my flashlight and he finally woke up. He was definitely intoxicated. He immediately turned the car back on (the keys had still been in the ignition) and I told him to shut it down. The male then opened the door and started talking to me with slurred speech and glassy eyes. I asked him where he was coming from and he told me ( I live at ______). I asked him again since that's not what I asked him and he just repeated himself. I slowed down even more when talking to him and he told me he was watching football at his friend's house at 1pm. I asked him if he had anything to drink and he told me 1 beer. Clearly it was way more than that. I asked him to tell me what time it was without looking at his clock and he just stared at me, finally saying it would make him look bad if he tried. I asked him to do a field sobriety test and he was all for it.
After standing him outside of my car on the dash cam, I asked him if he had any injuries or ailments which I should know about and he said no. I started to give the directions on the walk and turn test and he immediately told me he couldn't do it because both of his knees were bad....I told him I would note that but it would definitely help him to at least give it a try. He flat out he couldn't because he would look horrible on camera. I placed him under arrest and he agreed to blow on a breathalyzer. I took him to a precinct and had an officer certified on the machine to come meet me with him. It turns out this same guy was arrested just two months prior for another DUI-this time with an accident involved on the highway. The officer who did the breathalyzer for him last time was the same one who came out THIS time. She had never had that happen before. We get all set for the test and then the man refuses to take it, wanting to know why he needed the test. His refusal ended up in him automatically losing his license for a year and he was furious because he drove 18-wheelers for a living and had to be at work at 3am. He then told me the only reason he was back there in the neighborhood was because he was meeting his girl and he didn't want his wife to know or her husband to find out. Just call it karma.....Meanwhile, the whole ride to the jail he told me I never should have arrested him because he wasn't actually driving and that I should have given him a ride home....
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