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THE DIARY
NOTE; ALL ENTRIES IN GREEN INDICATE AN ENTRY INTO THE DIARY ON DAYS THAT LAWMAN DID NOT WORK.
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January 1, 1999
New Years Day proved to be busy. Most of the calls involved people celebrating the New Years with alcohol and getting a little out of hand.
It was cold tonight, to cold for anyone to be out and about really, especially the homeless. Over the years I have gotten to know one of the homeless people in my area. This particular homeless person, named Ester, is an elderly woman with a sad story.
Years and years ago Ester taught school here. She was young at the time and just starting out with a husband and a child. Her child died around age 6 or 7 and things changed for Ester. Apparently, the death of her child was more than she could handle. She eventually lost her job and began living on the streets, suffering from mental illness. She kept her childs pink bicycle and rode it to get around town. Even today you always see her riding a pink bicyle around town, even though it is not the same one her child had.
I saw Ester this shift and stopped to talk to her. I asked her if she needed a place to stay tonight since it was cold. She declined my offer (I wanted to get her to a homeless shelter to keep warm).
When you talk with Ester, you know right away that she is mentally ill. We get calls on her from time to time from people who are frightened by her appearance and mannerisms. She uses bathrooms at local businesses to clean herself up from time to time. She always leaves a dime in the bathroom to pay for the use of the bathroom.
Many of the homeless people are mentally ill, and are alcoholics (Ester doesn't drink). I wonder about the other homeless people I deal with; 'what hardships did they encounter to bring them to the point of living on the streets.' I don't know the stories behind any of the other homeless people I see regularly. The other homeless people I deal with are usually drunk when I encounter them. Be it right or wrong I deal with the others as little as possible because of thier alcoholism. I may stop and ask other homeless people if they need a ride to a homeless shelter on a cold night, but that is about it. It is one of my faults that I need to work on I suppose. Perhaps it would make a good New Years resolution.
Until tomorrow...
January 2, 1999
A little snow and everyone freaks out and forgets how to drive! This shift was nothing but accidents and more accidents. When I got to work we were about 30 calls behind with no units available city wide. It always happens in inclement weather.
What I find irritating is the boldness of some motorists. When I am driving on one of the interstates I see people blow on by me going way to fast for the conditions. Those are the people who get involved in wrecks and usually cause them.
I also assisted with an involuntary commitment this shift. In this state you can get involuntary commitment papers issued on someone who is a danger to himself (or herself) or others because of mental illness. This particular fella was an alcoholic who gets violent when he drinks according to his family, so his family had the papers issued.
The fella initially refused to go with us. He changed his mind when he saw a couple more units arrive to help take him into custody. Following procedures, we took him to a psychiatrist. They seldom commit people to a psychiatric ward on an inpatient basis for situations like this (violent due to alcoholism). The fella was released angrier than ever at his family for obtaining the papers.
Stay tuned...
January 3, 1999
Today was a boring boring shift. Our Sergeant is computer illiterate, and I am not. I got drafted for the entire shift doing packages. Packages are various forms that describe an officers actions to various divisions of the city, including Medical Services, Professional Standards, and our chain of command. They all say about the same thing, and yet there are several forms in each package. I always found that a little silly. Type the same story over and over because someone dreamed up a new form to put the same story on.
I did listen to the radio while doing administrative stuff. One of our officers got assaulted, but she is fine and the bad guy is in jail. I talked with the officer at the end of the shift. She said that she was going to give the bad guy a ride home, but things went bad for no apparent reason and they ended up fighting in the streets. I like it when the only one who goes to the hospital is the bad guy, and that was the case in this instance.
I get angry when I hear of another officer assaulted. Law Enforcement is a family, if a person assaults one of us, we all feel that way. Unfortunately the courts here are to forgiving when an assault on an officer happens. Often times the suspects aren't sentenced to active time in prison.
Mabe tommorow will be a little more fascinating. Until then...
January 4, 1999
This shift began in juvenile court. I had three juvenile cases, two of the juveniles didn't show up. Thier parents were responsible for making sure the juveniles were present in court, however the parents didn't show up either. No wonder the kids were screwed up and involved in criminal activity (possession of stolen cars).
I finally got to hit the streets after four hours into the shift. One of our officers had called in sick, which put us a little short handed (other officers were already out sick or on vacation). So this shift I basically went from call to call. None of the calls this shift were particularly interesting. For example, calls included a violation of leash law, and a barking dog call. I had to write complaint reports on both calls. The complaint reports consist of several forms depending on the type of call and if the number of people involved.
In law enforcement you definately have a lot of paperwork. A great deal of the job is paperwork, most of which in my opinion is not necessary.
One of my readers wrote to me about the increased number of suicides during the holidays. This holiday season I didn't work any suicides. They are rare enough that you don't see it but mabe 5 or 6 times a year. The holiday season does have an increased number of suicides, but somehow I have avoided such a call for the past few months. The last one I actually witnessed. I should tell you about that one sometime. It was such a needless act. In short, the fella thought I was going to take him to jail, when in fact it wasn't my intention. More on that another day.
Thanks for listening....
January 7, 1999
I am working a part time job right now, and typing this on my laptop. I thought this would be a good chance to talk about a couple of things.
I have loved law enforcement over the years, but sometimes wonder what the heck I am doing in it. Let me explain. Put yourself in my, or any other law enforcement officers position; you work holidays, rotate shifts, do so much paperwork you get writers cramp, and have to put up with people calling your job saying you are a bad person. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to work bankers hours, Monday thru Friday, 9-5. I could watch my daughter grow up, see my wife every evening, and make more money. Hmmm.
For now, and probably until retirement, I will stay in law enforcement. Why? I am not completely sure myself. Perhaps it is because there is no other job like it. The job gets into your blood. You get to ride the streets, looking for trouble, or you are sent to the trouble. Either way, there is a certain fascination society holds with emergency services. Just look at a fire scene or an incident where police show up at, there are always spectators who share that same curiousity; 'what's goin on.' I think most of us (officers) would like to think that we are different from the spectators, but in reality we have the same curiousity.
I have been going to school learining computer programming, a profession which I could make a lot more money, be home in the evenings, and have holidays off. Yet, I love this job, and don't think I will leave it. I also love computers, and if I ever do leave law enforcement it will because the job gets in the way of my family life.
January 8, 1999
The first day on dayshift is rough for me. There is something about getting up at 5:00 am that just doesn't set right with me. I have never been much of a morning person. Midnight shift is my favorite shift, and dayshift my least favorite.
Not much to report this shift. Things were a little slow as far as excitement goes. I did a few traffic stops, wrote a couple tickets, and answered a few calls. The first call was a suspicious vehicle which turned out to be nothing more than an accident that was invesitgated by the previous shift. The vehicle was left in front of a mans house during the night and he had become concerned about it.
Another call was about a 'dog running loose in the neighborhood.' Why in the world we get dispatched to these calls I will never understand. If you see a dog that disturbs you, call animal control, NOT the police. The police aren't equipped with catch poles, doggie truck, and the like. There is little I can do about a dog roaming in the neighborhood, but we still get dispatched to calls like that.
One of my last calls was an accident. One car backed up into another car at a local gas station. Both drivers were ready to have a knock down all out brawl when I got there over the accident. Basically, I treated both of the drivers like kids fueding. It seemed to work, sending one driver inside the store til I finished talking with the other driver.
Thanks for listening, and keep the email coming!
January 9, 1999
I spent most of the shift on a Hit and Run accident involving serious injuries. I got off 4 hours late this shift. That's the way it goes sometimes.
This case was a little unusual. The accident occurred when a driver failed to stop (or even slow down ) for a stop sign. He was talking on a cellular phone while he was driving. When he ran the stop sign he hit another car at an intersection. The impact caused the cell phone to leave the drivers hands and fly out the window. The driver was able to drive away without anyone getting the license plate of his vehicle.
What was unusal is how I solved the case. I found the cell phone and took it to a cellular telephone company. The people at the company removed a chip from the cell phone and from that, told me who the cell phone was listed to. From the name and address, I was able to find the parents of a passenger of the suspect vehicle (apparently the passenger who owned the phone let the driver use the cell phone). The parents told me the passenger lived with his girlfriend. I went to the girlfriends house only to find that the passenger moved out due to a lovers quarrel "last night." The girlfriend was very helpful and called around to find out where the passenger was staying (a mad girlfriend, perfect timing!).
As I drove up to where the girlfriend told me the passenger was staying, I saw a Chevrolet in the street in front of the house where the passenger was suppose to be. Ironically, both the passenger and the driver where in the Chevrolet ready to leave town, and the suspect vehicle with all its damage was behind the residence. The driver was still bleeding from his ear and the passenger was bleeding from above his left eye.
The passenger had a little dope on him and come to find out, they were brothers. I made it a family thing and put both of them in jail.
One of the victims in this case was released from the hospital just before I got off duty. She isn't able to get around yet, and cant get out of bed because of her injuries. She is a mother of three, and was lucky to be alive from the looks of the vehicle. Someone above was looking out after her, and I was glad to be a part of helping ease her pain by catching the bad guys. The job has its rewards, and the joy I felt from catching the two was my reward...
January 10, 1999
The day started off kinda rotten. I had to answer a few questions about my investigation yesterday. In Law Enforcement, the least little procedure you screw up can loose a case in court for you. I varied from a procedure a little. It dealt with 'In Field Show Ups.' In Field Show Ups in short is when an officer brings a witness or victim to the suspect to identify a person as the suspect. If you are detaining a person and not arresting them, you only have a "reasonable period of time," which is generally no longer than 30 minutes. 30 minutes wasn't enough time in this case to get my witnesses to the location I had my suspects at in the field. So, I had a witness go to the magistrates office (I had already arrested the two for another charge). The witness identified the driver and he was appropriately charged with Felony Hit and Run. I really should have did a photographic line up instead but felt I had a strong enough case without it.
I make very few mistakes in my job. An officer can't afford to make many mistakes. You can't avoid making mistakes from time to time in this job, but you can learn from them and move on.
I have other witnesses to the accident which hopefully will be able to identify the suspect from a photographic line up. In reality, the driver of the suspect vehicle will probably plead guilty to a lesser offense.
Stay tuned...
January 11, 1999
I got the photographic line up but couldn't find my witness. I will have to wait until Saturday when I return to patrol to show the photographic line up to the witness. My supervisors didn't say anything else about the case to me, so I guess that is the end of it as far as trouble for me goes.
One of the calls I answered today was a domestic assault between a mother and daughter. The mother was mad because her daughter, age 19, wouldn't help pay a bill. The mother went overboard and choked her daughter. The assault caused hand marks around the daughters neck and an abrasion on her neck from the mothers fingernails. The daughter didn't want to prosecute. It is within my power to arrest in such cases, and I was going to if one of them hadn't of left the residence. People never cease to amaze me.
Another call was a Larceny of Auto, or so the owner of the vehicle claimed. I asked him if it could have been repossessed, and the owner claimed that he had the vehicle paid off. He told me twice that there was no lien against the vehicle. I guess he didn't know that lien information shows up on the computer along with vehicle registration information. When I ran his tag I learned that the vehicle was financed and had a lien. I called the lien holder at which time I learned that the car had been repossessed because the owner failed to make payments on the car. I will be arresting the owner for filing a false police report soon, I couldn't find him again today.
Tommorow I will be at the gun range for qualification. We have to shoot better than an 85 out of 100 to keep our job. Sounds rough, but the qualification course is easy. I also carry a sniper rifle and have to qualify on that as well. That course is a little tougher but I haven't had any problems qualifying yet. Wish me luck.....
January 14, 1999
School started again today for me (back from Christmas vacation). I have to go in uniform sometimes. Every time I go in uniform anywhere, people flock to me and want to know various things. Some questions are intelligent, and some, well, you get the idea. Usually I don't mind, afterall, one of the reasons I got into Law Enforcement was to help others. As I got more years in Law Enforcement, attention this uniform attracts became less desireable. I began to realize that it was the uniform people saw, not the person inside the uniform. People still come all the time and ask, "do you know officer...." or "what should I do about...." It does get old. I would much rather people come to me and at least begin a conversation with something like, "my name is.. , how are you.." Basically, making new friends is always welcome with me, if people are talking to me and not the uniform.
Short entry today. I come back on Midnight shift Saturday. I am looking forward to it. Then my wife goes in for surgery on the 21st. It is to correct a 'female' problem, and not serious. It does have me a little worried though. Anytime doctors put someone asleep and start cuttin, there is some cause for concern. Keep the email coming.
January 16, 1999
Tonight was the first of five night of my favorite shift; Midnight shift. Midnight shift is when most of the DWI suspects are out and about driving drunk on our streets. I arrested one DWI suspect last night. He refused the Breathylizer Test.
The funniest call was a drunk patron at a local nightclub that was causing a disturbance, or at least up to a point. Another officer and myself got there at the same time. When we made contact with the manager of the nightclub, he told us the drunk lady was around back with the bouncer. We went behind the business and found this huge bouncer holding up this tiny drunk lady. When we came into view, the bouncer let go and THUD, there went the drunk lady. We picked her up off the ground but then she put her arms around the other officer and began dancing with him (he will NEVER live that one down).
We eventually got her address out of her and eventually got her into the patrol car to take her home. When we got to the drunk lady's apartment we opened the car door to let her out; she wouldn't get out. I reached in to extract her from the police car and WHAM, she kicked me where it hurts; the groin area. Now all the humor had left the scene. She now resides in Jail until February 25th.
At my department we get memos and written directives every day. One such memo came down yesterday that had a few of us a little mad. It addressed our assigned patrol vehicle program. Each of us has an assigned patrol vehicle. If you live in the city you take the patrol vehicle home, and if you live in the county you park the patrol vehicle somewhere inside the city limits. The idea is that the police cars parked throughout the city give the impression of greater police presence within the city. The memo threatened to take away the assigned vehicle program from us due to patrol vehicles getting damaged by people who apparently don't like the police. Someone spray painted some of the patrol vehicles while they were parked at the assigned vehicle locations. The memo came down from one of the upper brass people and said, "I am tired of patrol vehicles getting damaged..." It sounded like we as officers were to blame for the damage. The brass that wrote the memo hasn't been on the streets for years and years. We didn't appreciate hearing the things he had to say in his memo. I guess people like that exist in a lot of jobs though. I don't understand why brass has to be hateful towards officers of lower rank, but it seems to be a commonality amoung the upper eschelon of our department.
I haven't been getting much email lately. Drop me a line folks!
Stay tuned, more tonight!
January 17, 1999
This shift was steady, but I had some time to play. The highlight of the shift was a hit and run accident. The victims vehicle was parked unoccupied and had minor damage. I was able to figure out from the damage that the suspect vehicle probably came from a private driveway directly accross from where the suspect vehicle was parked. I also learned from paint transfer to the damaged area of the victims vehicle that the vehicle I was looking for was blue in color.
I went to the residence accoss from where the victims vehicle was parked and learned that a blue vehicle, a Camero, had left earlier. That was my suspect vehicle. Case solved.
Other than that the shift wasn't very exciting. I did put one person in jail for traffic charges, but that was my only visit to the jail.
Perhaps tonight will be a little more exciting.
Stay tuned...
January 18, 1999
Stolen vehicles was the thing tonight. The bad guys were stealing three for every one that we found. Foot pursuits galore made for an interesting night. We caught one of the bad guys, and the rest got away. Remember though we are carrying an extra 20 or more pounds around our waist. Many of our officers are great runners, but the extra weight slows them down a bit.
It just wasn't our night for catching the bad guys. We tried dogs, thermal imaging equipment, and saturating the areas with numerous police units. All but one got away. That is unusual, but you can't win them all and there will be another day.
I thought I might take a little time to let readers know what being an officer means as far as family life. Most departments, mine included, have rotating shifts. Our particular department has a 'rapid rotating' shift, meaning for us that we rotate shifts once a week. I would rather be on one schedule longer as opposed to the way it is now, going from day shift one week, then to midnight the next week, and then going to evening shift. Because of school and the midnight shift, I won't see my wife or daughter again for a couple more days.
My wife worries about me sometimes, even though she tries not to show it. At night, when I work evening or Midnight shift, my wife and daughter are home alone on a quiet street in the county. My daughter is to young to really understand what kind of work I am doing.
It kind of makes a person wonder, 'why in the world are you in this business.' In short, it's in my blood, and other men and women in blue are my extended family. We look out after one another on the streets, and off the job as well.
The job has many rewards for those interested in becoming a Law Enforcement Officer, but beware.... the drawbacks are substantial as well.
Thanks for listening, until tonight....
January 19, 1999
Tonnight I had to do some computer work for our Acting Sergeant. I really wish he would take the time to learn the computer. He is from the 'Old School' so to speak and I doubt if he will ever learn.
The other officers on my squad seem to resent me doing computer work. It ties me up in the officer, meanwhile the other officers are answering calls on the streets. They have to pull my load on the streets when I am doing things on the computer for the Acting Sergeant.
I did eventually make it to the streets. The highlight of the shift was helping another officer with a burglary. I located the suspect (who was an aquintance of the victim) in my area of the city. I interviewed him at the police station, and of course he denied burglarizing any home. The victim was an elderly lady whom the bad guy scared half to death.
The bad guy should have been on Americas Dumbest Criminals TV show. You would think that a person wouldn't break into a home of a person he is familiar with, show his face to the victim, and expect to get away with it. People amaze me sometimes in what they do.
One of our Canine Officers was involved in a hit and run accident during the shift. Another car blew through a stoplight causing the accident. The bad guy kept on going and unfortunately we didn't find him. There are no investigative leads and it looks like this one will get away with it. The officer and canine are both doing fine. The officer told me he was sore, but no serious injuries. Both the canine and officer are resting at home.
My wife goes in for surgery today so I took the 20th off. I doubt if I will be able to make an entry into the diary, but will the night of the 21st.
Thanks to all who visit my page. Wish us luck in the hospital.
January 22, 1999
First, my wife is slowly getting better from her surgery. She is in a lot of pain, but doctors tell me that she will be much better in a couple days. I hope so. She is sleeping restfully as I write.
The following poem was sent to me, I thought it carries a meaningful message:
The Policeman
I have been where you fear to be.
I have seen what you fear to see.
I have done what you fear to do.
All these things I've done for you.I am the one you lean upon.
The one you cast your cast your scorn upon.
The one you bring your troubles to.
All these people I've been for you.The one you ask to stand apart.
The one you feel should have no heart.
The one you call the officer in blue,
But I am human, just like you.And through the years I've come to see
that I am not what you ask of me.
So take this badge and take this gun.
Will you take it? Will anyone?And when you watch a person die,
And hear a battered baby cry,
Then do you think that you can be
All these things that you ask of me??Author Unknown
This poem touches so much of what I feel sometimes. Many people who call us for help expect me to be everything from a taxi cab to a social worker. I am glad to help, but it does get frustrating at times. For example, one fella calls us constantly complaining that his ex wife did this or did that. He offers no evidence of his allegations. His demented outlook says that if something goes wrong, his wife must have done it, and therefore he rudely demands assistance with taking out a warrant on his ex wife. In reality, his ex wife wants nothing to do with him, and he responds by calling police to exact his vengence. It never works, but he persistently tries it.
There are many such examples, each story with its own uniqueness, and each needlessly wasting time needed by others.
People like that do get on my nerves from time to time. Under our procedures, we have to investigate what he tells us each time and assist him each time he calls. Each time his warrantless allegations go nowhere, except to waste our time.
One of the 'sayings' I hear so often on the street from people I deal with is, "I pay your salary, now ..." I would love to pull a dime out of my pocket and reply, "Here is the portion of my salary that you paid, now..."
I am not a mean or sarcastic officer. If you met me on the steets (who knows, you may have ) you would think me kind. I am always nice even to those who are rude to me, and business like with those who are violent towards me. Keep in mind that this entry, like some others, are feelings that never show in my job. In this business you can't afford to be ruled by emotions.
Thanks for listening, and keep the email coming!
January 25, 1999
This was the first day of evening shift. A lot was going on, both on the streets and in the department. From time to time our department makes massive transfers for no apparent reason. It has never made sense to me, but then again, thier promotional process never made sense either (that's another story).
Our Acting Sergeant was caught up in the transfer and will be leaving our squad on February 1. Our Acting Sergeant is also a close friend of mine and I hate to see him go. We aren't getting a Sergeant to replace him, instead we are getting a corpral.
The effects of a Sergeant (or Acting Sergeant) has a substantial impact on the squad. Before our Acting Sergeant was a Sergeant who didn't take control of the squad and wasn't a very good leader. A good Sergeant, in my opinion, will go to bat for the squad, not afraid of the brass above him/her. For example, By the time our former Sergeant left about 2 years ago, we were 5 men short while the rest of the squads were near full capacity. The only difference was other squad Sergeants kept the pressure up on the Captains to keep a full squad.
New Squad leaders have new rules. They could fight me going to school during evening shift (I use vacation time to go to school), dump more paperwork on us, write an officer up for silly stuff, etc. When I say silly stuff I mean it can get almost funny. For example, a Sergeant came down on one officer for not having a 'care bear' in the trunk of his patrol vehicle! Care Bears are little stuffed animals that are given out to children during traumatic events in thier lives. I figure, 'so the officer gave his out, why give the officer grief'. But, I suppose a Sergeant can get noticed for the next promotion if he shows he can write up other officers.
If you are a Sergeant reading this, I am sorry, but on our department that is how things work. It happens on other departments (I would like to think not all departments of our size). The brass forgets where they came from (the streets) on this department and what it is like to be an officer on the 'front lines.'
The calls I worked this shift weren't very exciting overall; vehicle accidents and people selling drugs that were gone by the time I got there. The highlite was a runaway we eventually found. She had been taunting her mother by calling her and not saying where she was calling from. Through call tracing we were able to locate the runaway and return her home.
Til tonight...
January 26, 1999
We were short handed tonight, and me going to school in the middle of the shift didn't help win me any popularity with my co-workers. I still go to school three days per week, 3 1/2 hours each day. School has been very important to me. I have a degree in Criminal Justice, but if I had it to do over again Criminal Justice would NOT have been my first choice for a degree. Let me explain, especially for any readers that are going to college and thinking of getting into Law Enforcement....
During my years in Law Enforcement I have discovered that many agencies don't care what degree you have, only that you have a degree. When in Law Enforcement you must consider that things can go wrong, and you may find yourself unable to work in Law Enforcement due to illness, injury, or a mistake that gets you fired (incidentally, if you get fired here, your state certification can get pulled, thus barring you from law enforcement in this state). What can you do with a Criminal Justice degree under those circumstances? Not much.
In the civilian world, if you get fired from a particular job, it is possible to gain employment in the same field. Often, you can't do that in Law Enforcement. Having another degree, such as computer programming (my current field of study in college), will give you something to fall back on. I wish I would have thought of that when I first started college. Hind sight is 20/20.
One of the calls I answered this shift I would have handled a little differently if we would have had the manpower. It involved a '911 hang up.' A person called police communications and then hung up without saying anything (a common occurrance, I think people use it as a kind of threat during arguments; "if you don't shut up I will get the police here" kind of thing) When I got there a fella answered the door and said nothing was going on. When I came inside his home I called out, "is anyone else here?" A female came out of the bathroom crying. Investigation revealed that the fella became upset because the female (his wife) wanted to watch TV, he wanted to listen to music. He hit her with his fist on the top of her head. It didn't cause any visible injury (if it had I would have arrested him). The lady didn't want to prosecute nor go anywhere. She wanted to stay with her husband and argue in front of the children.
I searched a house (consent search) this shift but didn't find any drugs, and assisted another officer in a domestic violence case. In that case the wife's eye was about closed from the husband punching her, and she had a nosebleed. He did go to jail and will be there at least two days until his first appearance in court, and then probably well beyond that.
Thanks for tuning in, and send me some email if you get the time.
Until tonight...
January 27, 1999
I overslept for court this morning (oops!). I got home the last night at about 12:30 am, then was suppose to be in court at 8:30 am. The court laison woke me up by telephone when I didn't show up. What a rude awakening. I made it to court a couple hours late, and nothing was dismissed or lost. Some of my cases got continued til next court date.
After court I hit the streets for another fun day of evening shift. We were call to call the whole shift. Surprisingly, I didn't take anyone to jail this shift. I did take one to the psychiatric ward for examination. He was depressed, not crazy, and I was glad to see the fella seek help (he requested to go to the pshyciatric ward).
Other calls I went on included things like a found property call, disturbance, assist a homeless fella get into a homeless shelter, assist another officer with a fight, etc.
I am going to cut it a little short tonight. I am very tired, and have a headache. Hurry back tommorrow!
January 28, 1999
This was a facinating shift. First we had an accident involving a fatality. It began as a domestic violence call. The wife or girlfriend (not sure which) wanted to prosecute the boyfriend or husband. Both consented to riding in a police car to the magistrates office, the lady to obtain a warrant on the fella and the fella to give his side of the story. While en route to the magistrates office the fella withdrew consent and wanted out of the patrol vehicle. The officer of course complied (the man was not under arrest) and let the fella out of the patrol vehicle. The fella then walked off into the night.
A few minutes later the fatality accident was dispatched. The officers that responded learned that the fella had been struck by a vehicle killing him instantly (He was REALLY messed up). What isn't clear is why he walked in front of car; suicide or accident. We may never know.
Then I went to class, where the professor consulted me about a friend. The friend is a lady who the Professor has known for years. She said that during the years she has known this woman, the woman has been beaten numerous times by the womans husband. Over a period of 20 years this woman has lived a nightmare, being extemely frightened of her husband. She has had to protect herself with hammers, and yet has never involved the police. I told her of domestic violence programs (the Professor) to relay to her friend and offered to help in any way I could. What was puzzling to me is that the Professor has always known about the violent relationship, and yet she as well has never told the police. I will continue to follow up on the friend through the Professor. No one deserves to live a life of fear.
After returning to the streets I decided to work a little traffic. The first car I stopped finished out my tour of duty. I stopped the car for a minor infraction, and then learned that NOTHING was right about the vehicle, including its driver. The car had no insurance, wrong tags, expired inspection, and its driver was suspended (her drivers license) as well as wanted for outstanding warrants.
She was cooperative and cordial. It has always been my policy to be somewhat easy on those who make my job easier, and tough as nails on those who don't. It's not a matter of vengence, I simply want to make the next officers encounter with that person easier. Plus, if a person cooperates, I see no need to pile up every charge I can on them. I am perhaps one of the more lenient officers, but my belief is that some people deserve a pile of charges, and some don't.
That's it for now. Thanks for dropping by!
Until tonight...
January 29, 1999
Today was steady as far as calls go, but really not to bad for an evening shift on a Friday night. The first call I got was from a lady who left her purse in a cab. Of course when she called the cab company, her purse was gone. I didn't have any luck finding it either.
Most of the calls I went on this shift were about the same caliber, kind of boring. The second call was about skateboarders damaging a stucco wall. No leads in that case either.
Most of the time in police work calls are not action packed excitement like you see in the movies. Typically, you arrive, take a report, and leave. That sounds a little cold, but if we have no investigative leads or a victim doesn't want to prosecute, there is little else you can do other than document an incident on a complaint report. I think sometimes people expect magic from the police. Kind of like they see on television where the police come, take a fingerprint, and identify and catch the bad guy all in 30 minutes. It just doesn't work that way.
We do our best, but sometimes that isn't enough to get the 'bad guys.'
I did have time to play a little this shift. One of the cars I stopped was a little strange. I tried to stop a car for a minor traffic infraction, but the car wouldn't stop. I followed behind this vehicle for a couple miles with sirens blaring and blue lights flashing, but the motorist wouldn't stop until an army of police cars arrived to help me. In the end the driver was discovered to be a woman in her 50's from New York. She said that she was new at driving, and thought that she didn't have to stop until an officer said "stop" on the public address system. I think she watches to many movies! Nothing else was wrong, she had a valid license, insurance, all of it. I got the impression that her elevator didn't exactly go to the top floor, so I didn't give her any additional charges or arrest her for failing to stop for lights and siren. The world has some strange characters.
I am off until Tuesday, and probably won't make any entries until then. I have a lot of homework to catch up on for school. I will be replying to any emails sent.
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