I ended up the week on Thursday with a fresh relief. I pulled a traffic stop on a vehicle with a handwritten tag showing a purchase date (which is illegal in my state and technically not even a tag).
There were three black males in the vehicle and I asked for ID from all of them. The backseat passenger was extremely nervous and could not get the information on his ID right after I had ran the name and date of birth that he gave me.
I asked for another unit and I was watching the body language of everyone in the car when he pulled up. The two front seat occupants were fine but the guy in the back became even more nervous and began to run his hands through his hair. I walked to car and detained him and told him I was going to bring a fingerprint machine out and find out who he was. He told me he was being honest but was only nervous because of everything that was going on in the news. I put him in my backseat and told him I was only verifying who he was and as soon as I did so he would be going on his way.
I talked to the driver who asked me if he could step out. We ended up having a 20 minutes or so conversation as we waited for my lieutenant to show up with the fingerprint machine. He asked me how I felt with everything on the news and what had been going on around the country. We progressed to basketball and football and how he coaches kids in school and the community to keep them from straying off the path. We came to common ground about how we both wanted to make a change in the community.
Eventually his friend came back to who he said he was and everyone went on their way. It was a simple stop but it led to so much more. Nothing that can be counted on in a stat but that goes a long way to building trust and relationships between the police and the community.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Baby Mama Belt Beatdown
So I've been horribly exhausted for whatever reason this first week getting back to work after vacation but I'm so glad to be back.
Monday saw me assisting an officer on a domestic dispute. A baby daddy went to town on a baby mama with a belt and left her pretty beat up. The argument started over something ridiculously petty from what I was told. I've been single for a few years and I know when I finally DO get into a relationship again that I would really appreciate the one I'd be dating. Especially if they were the mother of my child. I wish more people out here actually felt the same way too....
Wednesday was a day that went smooth until right about the time I was supposed to get off shift. A call came in for a person down of a male lying down on a bridge. By the time I arrived on scene, the beat officer for the area where the call came in had a juvenile detained. When the officer first got there, the kid took a fighting stance before running to a telephone pole and attempting to hit his head repeatedly. The officer placed the kid in cuffs so he couldn't hurt himself anymore.
When the ambulance arrived on scene, the paramedics suggested we take the kid to the hospital but we would have to find the parents first to give consent. The kid stated he ran away from home because his mother is always drunk and her boyfriend constantly uses drugs. We hear stuff like that from kids all the time but when we arrived at the house it really looked like a dump. The front porch had nothing but trash and empty Bud Ice cans littered all over the place. Mom finally came out and when we brought her to the ambulance to talk to her son we found out the real issue.
The kid stated he was tired of living in the conditions in which he was. That he was upset at his mom for her choice in men and was actively job searching at 16 to help better the family and that his mom needed to do better. That was actually a very touching moment in policing to see a kid tired of his bad conditions and willing to work hard and do whatever it takes to better himself and his family.
Yesterday I got a call at a movie theater parking lot in reference to a Mercedes Benz that had the driver door damaged while the owner was inside of the movies. The caller waited a grand total 0f 12 minutes after first calling 911 to say she wasn't waiting around for police anymore. Ironically, I got the update JUST as I was pulling into the parking lot. One less report I had to do that day. With all the big problems in the city there are just a little more important things than a scratched door.
Monday saw me assisting an officer on a domestic dispute. A baby daddy went to town on a baby mama with a belt and left her pretty beat up. The argument started over something ridiculously petty from what I was told. I've been single for a few years and I know when I finally DO get into a relationship again that I would really appreciate the one I'd be dating. Especially if they were the mother of my child. I wish more people out here actually felt the same way too....
Wednesday was a day that went smooth until right about the time I was supposed to get off shift. A call came in for a person down of a male lying down on a bridge. By the time I arrived on scene, the beat officer for the area where the call came in had a juvenile detained. When the officer first got there, the kid took a fighting stance before running to a telephone pole and attempting to hit his head repeatedly. The officer placed the kid in cuffs so he couldn't hurt himself anymore.
When the ambulance arrived on scene, the paramedics suggested we take the kid to the hospital but we would have to find the parents first to give consent. The kid stated he ran away from home because his mother is always drunk and her boyfriend constantly uses drugs. We hear stuff like that from kids all the time but when we arrived at the house it really looked like a dump. The front porch had nothing but trash and empty Bud Ice cans littered all over the place. Mom finally came out and when we brought her to the ambulance to talk to her son we found out the real issue.
The kid stated he was tired of living in the conditions in which he was. That he was upset at his mom for her choice in men and was actively job searching at 16 to help better the family and that his mom needed to do better. That was actually a very touching moment in policing to see a kid tired of his bad conditions and willing to work hard and do whatever it takes to better himself and his family.
Yesterday I got a call at a movie theater parking lot in reference to a Mercedes Benz that had the driver door damaged while the owner was inside of the movies. The caller waited a grand total 0f 12 minutes after first calling 911 to say she wasn't waiting around for police anymore. Ironically, I got the update JUST as I was pulling into the parking lot. One less report I had to do that day. With all the big problems in the city there are just a little more important things than a scratched door.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Flash Mob Mayhem
So yesterday was my first day back after a nice and well deserved 30 day vacation. I was gone so long that I couldn't even remember the password to sign into a city computer and had to get it reset. I guess that means it was a long vacation right?
The day went pretty smooth to say the least. Actually being slow for a Sunday. I guess that helps when school is back in session-to a point at least. Now that's where this story comes in.
I answered a 911 call at a dollar type store at the mall on my beat to a group of teens attempting to shoplift. I arrive on scene and security is following a group of about ten teens as they run away from the store. The kids apparently walked in and after they realized they were being watched by store employees-started to cause a huge disturbance. The kids started knocking down all the displays in the store all over the floors before running out.
Even if I had caught the teens it only would have been a slap on the wrist and they would not have even gone to jail. You have to love juvenile justice systems across the country.
The day went pretty smooth to say the least. Actually being slow for a Sunday. I guess that helps when school is back in session-to a point at least. Now that's where this story comes in.
I answered a 911 call at a dollar type store at the mall on my beat to a group of teens attempting to shoplift. I arrive on scene and security is following a group of about ten teens as they run away from the store. The kids apparently walked in and after they realized they were being watched by store employees-started to cause a huge disturbance. The kids started knocking down all the displays in the store all over the floors before running out.
Even if I had caught the teens it only would have been a slap on the wrist and they would not have even gone to jail. You have to love juvenile justice systems across the country.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Back On the Grind After a C.O.P.S Hiatus
Hey everyone, it's been 8 weeks since I last wrote but I have a good reason. The popular police television show COPS was riding with me and I figured I would let the show explain some of the wild moments we experienced. It'll air sometime in the Fall and I'll be sure to let you know when it does.
This week was something else. It was a four day week for me as I took Sunday off to enjoy time with some coworkers (especially after one was involved in an officer-involved shooting during a car chase just two days prior). It's always good to get out and enjoy non-cop stuff to free up your mind from all that we see.
Monday was a day of thin patience. My first call of the day came up as a dispute with a weapon call (my backup a little further away from me on this call). The call remarks said that a mother and daughter were in a dispute and the daughter pulled a knife on the mother. I get there and quickly find out that of course no weapon was involved. People often call 911 and say there's a weapon just to get us there faster (don't even start me on that). Apparently this whole argument started because the adult daughter ate the mother's can of beans.....Mother wanted daughter out of the house and I quickly established that daughter didn't live there so she had to go. Of course daughter wanted a supervisor to come out because I was making her leave. I had let the daughter tell me her entire side of the story without interruption and now I was listening to mom. Daughter kept interrupting and I warned her that if she kept interrupting her mom who let her tell her own side of the story that I would arrest her for disorderly conduct. Her response: a very sarcastic "oh wowwwwwwww". I walked over and grabbed her arm and ordered her to stand. She refused and I had to pull her to her feet and use a little force to get her into cuffs. Of course then mom (who originally called because daughter allegedly threatened her with a knife", wanted a supervisor too because she never wanted her daughter arrested. Some things you can't make up. Now this woman I arrested had very small wrists and I put the cuffs as tight as I could go but I could still move them all the way up to the woman's elbow. Her complaint: they were too tight. That was not the way I wanted to start off my work week....
Tuesday saw me welcome a new trainee who had recently been sworn in. This new officer had come Florida after being a track coach in high school. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and she already is showing signs that she'll do well. We responded to suspicious behavior call at an apartment complex. A lady called saying that her front door was opened while she was asleep and someone had tried to enter her home but maintenance said it wasn't them. We arrive and there's no answer to the door. I had the dispatcher call them back and they told them they were coming to the door. We waited another five minutes when a car pulled up in the parking lot. I quickly told my trainee that this had to be the caller and that she probably didn't think we would show up so fast. The lady exits the car and immediately says "hey officer, I'm sorry, I didn't think you would show up this fast..." There was nothing we could really do in this situation and the caller herself said she left the door unlocked. I quickly gathered she was tired of living at the complex and was just looking for a police report to say she felt unsafe at the complex and wanted to break her lease. She wasn't getting that from me.
Wednesday saw me with a civilian ride along. Let's just say I think this individual walked away with a new found sense of what we go through on the job. Our first two calls were related to mentally ill people. My state in my opinion does not have a system in place to adequately deal with mental health. It's a long work in progress. The second call involved a man who walked to his friend's house and told him he wanted to kill himself. I talked with him and he was all for going to the hospital but then he thought I was going to take him in my police car and that meant he was going to jail. A mental health team from the local hospital system came out but he insisted nothing was wrong. They offered to set him up with an appointment he could go to on his own (his friend even offered to drive him) and he quickly agreed to go that route again.
Here is when things changed that day. It was time to head back to the precinct when a traffic stop came through from a traffic unit. Someone took off running from the stop and the officer requested help. I immediately said I was en route and we took off to help an officer in need. While en route I was explaining driving safety to my ride along. Whenever an officer needs help we typically drive faster than normal, I explained, but we have to do so safely. Not arriving at all is not helping anyone. Not even ten seconds later, an officer yells over the radio "I'm hit" followed by another officer saying there was an officer involved accident and they needed an ambulance for an officer who was trapped in the vehicle and not looking good. We re-directed to the accident and proceeded to block off highway on ramps to prepare for the escort of the ambulance.We typically do this for officers shot in the line of duty. I've done it before for an officer who didn't make it and it's always nervewracking when it happens. Thankfully three officers involved in the accident will go on to make a full recovery. The ride along definitely saw a night in which we as a police family bonded together.
Friday saw the end of my week rescuing a poor little dog. An off duty officer working as courtesy officer at a complex on my beat called stating that someone had recently been evicted from the complex and left a dog behind. I arrived and quickly found the apartment to be that of the gentleman I mentioned in a previous blog entry who impersonated a police officer. We draw our weapons just in case the dog decided to be unfriendly and clear the apartment. We found a brown pitbull cowering in a corner with its ribs clearly showing. The poor dog had been in the apartment alone for three days. It was so scared. Animal control showed up to the take the dog. Hopefully we can go after the guy who left it that way.
Well it was good to write again! Hope the weekend treats everyone well.
This week was something else. It was a four day week for me as I took Sunday off to enjoy time with some coworkers (especially after one was involved in an officer-involved shooting during a car chase just two days prior). It's always good to get out and enjoy non-cop stuff to free up your mind from all that we see.
Monday was a day of thin patience. My first call of the day came up as a dispute with a weapon call (my backup a little further away from me on this call). The call remarks said that a mother and daughter were in a dispute and the daughter pulled a knife on the mother. I get there and quickly find out that of course no weapon was involved. People often call 911 and say there's a weapon just to get us there faster (don't even start me on that). Apparently this whole argument started because the adult daughter ate the mother's can of beans.....Mother wanted daughter out of the house and I quickly established that daughter didn't live there so she had to go. Of course daughter wanted a supervisor to come out because I was making her leave. I had let the daughter tell me her entire side of the story without interruption and now I was listening to mom. Daughter kept interrupting and I warned her that if she kept interrupting her mom who let her tell her own side of the story that I would arrest her for disorderly conduct. Her response: a very sarcastic "oh wowwwwwwww". I walked over and grabbed her arm and ordered her to stand. She refused and I had to pull her to her feet and use a little force to get her into cuffs. Of course then mom (who originally called because daughter allegedly threatened her with a knife", wanted a supervisor too because she never wanted her daughter arrested. Some things you can't make up. Now this woman I arrested had very small wrists and I put the cuffs as tight as I could go but I could still move them all the way up to the woman's elbow. Her complaint: they were too tight. That was not the way I wanted to start off my work week....
Tuesday saw me welcome a new trainee who had recently been sworn in. This new officer had come Florida after being a track coach in high school. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and she already is showing signs that she'll do well. We responded to suspicious behavior call at an apartment complex. A lady called saying that her front door was opened while she was asleep and someone had tried to enter her home but maintenance said it wasn't them. We arrive and there's no answer to the door. I had the dispatcher call them back and they told them they were coming to the door. We waited another five minutes when a car pulled up in the parking lot. I quickly told my trainee that this had to be the caller and that she probably didn't think we would show up so fast. The lady exits the car and immediately says "hey officer, I'm sorry, I didn't think you would show up this fast..." There was nothing we could really do in this situation and the caller herself said she left the door unlocked. I quickly gathered she was tired of living at the complex and was just looking for a police report to say she felt unsafe at the complex and wanted to break her lease. She wasn't getting that from me.
Wednesday saw me with a civilian ride along. Let's just say I think this individual walked away with a new found sense of what we go through on the job. Our first two calls were related to mentally ill people. My state in my opinion does not have a system in place to adequately deal with mental health. It's a long work in progress. The second call involved a man who walked to his friend's house and told him he wanted to kill himself. I talked with him and he was all for going to the hospital but then he thought I was going to take him in my police car and that meant he was going to jail. A mental health team from the local hospital system came out but he insisted nothing was wrong. They offered to set him up with an appointment he could go to on his own (his friend even offered to drive him) and he quickly agreed to go that route again.
Here is when things changed that day. It was time to head back to the precinct when a traffic stop came through from a traffic unit. Someone took off running from the stop and the officer requested help. I immediately said I was en route and we took off to help an officer in need. While en route I was explaining driving safety to my ride along. Whenever an officer needs help we typically drive faster than normal, I explained, but we have to do so safely. Not arriving at all is not helping anyone. Not even ten seconds later, an officer yells over the radio "I'm hit" followed by another officer saying there was an officer involved accident and they needed an ambulance for an officer who was trapped in the vehicle and not looking good. We re-directed to the accident and proceeded to block off highway on ramps to prepare for the escort of the ambulance.We typically do this for officers shot in the line of duty. I've done it before for an officer who didn't make it and it's always nervewracking when it happens. Thankfully three officers involved in the accident will go on to make a full recovery. The ride along definitely saw a night in which we as a police family bonded together.
Friday saw the end of my week rescuing a poor little dog. An off duty officer working as courtesy officer at a complex on my beat called stating that someone had recently been evicted from the complex and left a dog behind. I arrived and quickly found the apartment to be that of the gentleman I mentioned in a previous blog entry who impersonated a police officer. We draw our weapons just in case the dog decided to be unfriendly and clear the apartment. We found a brown pitbull cowering in a corner with its ribs clearly showing. The poor dog had been in the apartment alone for three days. It was so scared. Animal control showed up to the take the dog. Hopefully we can go after the guy who left it that way.
Well it was good to write again! Hope the weekend treats everyone well.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Encounters with "Sarge"
Yesterday was another decent day. I ended up with a felony arrest for a female that felt she could fight a police officer. While I was busy doing paperwork for the District Attorney's Office, an officer requested another unit to give him a criminal trespass warning. I told radio I was on the way to help him out.
I arrive on scene to see the officer with Sarge. If you remember from previous posts, sarge is a regular "homeless" ( I say homeless in quotes because he has a home but choose to stay at an intersection for the majority of his waking hours) and habitual drunk. Sarge has been issued a criminal trespass warning from every business in the area of the intersection which he frequents. He always causes disturbances and we try to avoid arresting him for sanitary reasons but we're not always lucky.
On this day, Sarge found himself the furthest east anyone had ever seen him. He was harassing the clerk of a gas station and....surprise!- the clerk wanted him issued a trespass warning. This officer I was assisting is actually preparing to move back home to another state. I was joking around that he'll definitely miss moments with Sarge and his oh-so familiar stench.
I arrive on scene to see the officer with Sarge. If you remember from previous posts, sarge is a regular "homeless" ( I say homeless in quotes because he has a home but choose to stay at an intersection for the majority of his waking hours) and habitual drunk. Sarge has been issued a criminal trespass warning from every business in the area of the intersection which he frequents. He always causes disturbances and we try to avoid arresting him for sanitary reasons but we're not always lucky.
On this day, Sarge found himself the furthest east anyone had ever seen him. He was harassing the clerk of a gas station and....surprise!- the clerk wanted him issued a trespass warning. This officer I was assisting is actually preparing to move back home to another state. I was joking around that he'll definitely miss moments with Sarge and his oh-so familiar stench.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Staying Late--Never Fails
So yesterday was a pretty good Sunday. All signs pointed to getting off on time to start my week.....then at a little short of 30 minutes before I'm supposed to head back in I get a call for a vehicle accident involving a fire truck.
I arrive on scene and see the fire truck blocking about two lanes with debris in the road. Apparently Fire was heading to a call lights and sirens when they came up on two vehicles ( a car and a white SUV). The car moved to the right (as you're SUPPOSED to do), while the SUV froze up and stopped. The fire truck went to move into the opposite lanes of traffic to go around the SUV when all of a sudden the SUV crossed the double yellow lines and ran right into the fire truck.
The SUV sustained heavy damage to the driver side and the fire captain even said it looked like the front axle was broken from the way it wasn't really turning around. For whatever reason, the SUV took off at a high rate (or as high a rate as it could) speed and fled the scene. We searched nearby areas for the SUV as it couldn't have gotten to far, but were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Fire's Internal Affairs and a battalion chief came out to the scene to conduct their investigation. I had to wait forever for our crime scene technician to come out and take photographs of the city damage to the truck.
If you ever see an emergency vehicle coming up on you remember this: SLOW DOWN AND MOVE TO THE RIGHT. This really is the safest way for us to navigate to important calls.
I ended up getting off work at midnight as opposed to 1030pm...
I arrive on scene and see the fire truck blocking about two lanes with debris in the road. Apparently Fire was heading to a call lights and sirens when they came up on two vehicles ( a car and a white SUV). The car moved to the right (as you're SUPPOSED to do), while the SUV froze up and stopped. The fire truck went to move into the opposite lanes of traffic to go around the SUV when all of a sudden the SUV crossed the double yellow lines and ran right into the fire truck.
The SUV sustained heavy damage to the driver side and the fire captain even said it looked like the front axle was broken from the way it wasn't really turning around. For whatever reason, the SUV took off at a high rate (or as high a rate as it could) speed and fled the scene. We searched nearby areas for the SUV as it couldn't have gotten to far, but were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Fire's Internal Affairs and a battalion chief came out to the scene to conduct their investigation. I had to wait forever for our crime scene technician to come out and take photographs of the city damage to the truck.
If you ever see an emergency vehicle coming up on you remember this: SLOW DOWN AND MOVE TO THE RIGHT. This really is the safest way for us to navigate to important calls.
I ended up getting off work at midnight as opposed to 1030pm...
Sunday, May 24, 2015
"That's a Big Boy!"
Hey all, sorry I haven't written in awhile. I had a trainee during a very busy week and then went on vacation for a bit to the beach. The beach getaway was nice and I got a chance to see two of my friends get married in a beautiful ceremony.
My trainee was really good to say the least. He has to work on his radio skills but he has a lot of potential. His father is a retired professional wrestler ( I thought that was pretty cool). He hadn't really done any traffic stops with his previous Field Training Officer, so we managed to get a lot done. I didn't want to focus so much on writing tickets but just dealing with people on stops. He handled himself very well.
One of the days that week, we responded to the parking lot of the shopping mall on my beat for a vehicle break-in. We arrive on scene and there's an elderly lady who stated her gun was stolen from her car. The lady normally carries her .40 pistol in her purse but had recently hurt her ankle and the extra weight was too much for her. She placed the gun in between her driver seat and the center console (it was left visible from outside the car). In a rush to get into the mall however, the lady left her car doors unlocked and the pistol was stolen. The lady was very appreciative of the things we do everyday and thanked us for doing our job in such hard times and even went one step further by thanking us for dealing with the crazy juveniles that are out causing the crimes. She shared the story of how she brought back her grandson from the streets and how he's a very productive member of society (he was in the car with her).
Toward the end of the week we ended up arresting a juvenile for shoplifting. I walked my trainee through the extensive and tedious juvenile process. We were at juvenile court dropping off the arrest paperwork when an officer asked for another unit to deal with a hostile male off his meds. We weren't exactly close to him but we started to head that way anyways. In the background we could hear the male going "Fuck you man!" on the radio. The backup officer arrived and keyed up going "This is a big boy! We need more units! This guy is HUGE!". After hearing that, I hit my lights and showed the trainee some first hand tips about driving safe and fast amid a tense blood pumping situation. We arrived on scene and I hopped out of the car (narrowly missing another officer arriving on scene---that could have been bad). We rush to help get the male under control as paramedics loaded him on a a stretcher and restrained him with physical restraints. I was curious walking back to the car about what the original call was. When I looked at my MDT I noticed the man was 15 years old. I was shocked. He was about 6'7 and easily 300lbs and he was 15 years old. Thankfully everything went safely and the kid was taken to the hospital for a much needed mental evaluation.
My trainee was really good to say the least. He has to work on his radio skills but he has a lot of potential. His father is a retired professional wrestler ( I thought that was pretty cool). He hadn't really done any traffic stops with his previous Field Training Officer, so we managed to get a lot done. I didn't want to focus so much on writing tickets but just dealing with people on stops. He handled himself very well.
One of the days that week, we responded to the parking lot of the shopping mall on my beat for a vehicle break-in. We arrive on scene and there's an elderly lady who stated her gun was stolen from her car. The lady normally carries her .40 pistol in her purse but had recently hurt her ankle and the extra weight was too much for her. She placed the gun in between her driver seat and the center console (it was left visible from outside the car). In a rush to get into the mall however, the lady left her car doors unlocked and the pistol was stolen. The lady was very appreciative of the things we do everyday and thanked us for doing our job in such hard times and even went one step further by thanking us for dealing with the crazy juveniles that are out causing the crimes. She shared the story of how she brought back her grandson from the streets and how he's a very productive member of society (he was in the car with her).
Toward the end of the week we ended up arresting a juvenile for shoplifting. I walked my trainee through the extensive and tedious juvenile process. We were at juvenile court dropping off the arrest paperwork when an officer asked for another unit to deal with a hostile male off his meds. We weren't exactly close to him but we started to head that way anyways. In the background we could hear the male going "Fuck you man!" on the radio. The backup officer arrived and keyed up going "This is a big boy! We need more units! This guy is HUGE!". After hearing that, I hit my lights and showed the trainee some first hand tips about driving safe and fast amid a tense blood pumping situation. We arrived on scene and I hopped out of the car (narrowly missing another officer arriving on scene---that could have been bad). We rush to help get the male under control as paramedics loaded him on a a stretcher and restrained him with physical restraints. I was curious walking back to the car about what the original call was. When I looked at my MDT I noticed the man was 15 years old. I was shocked. He was about 6'7 and easily 300lbs and he was 15 years old. Thankfully everything went safely and the kid was taken to the hospital for a much needed mental evaluation.
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