Thursday, October 30, 2008

The day started quick enough. I was loading my patrol car when a call dropped. I jumped on it and headed that way. Well before I could get there three other officers had already arrived. Then, another call comes out. About 2 miles away there is a major accident involving a school bus unknown if there are children aboard. Well, dispatch is looking for a unit in our 'elite' division. Well the 'elite' division is the pride and joy of the department. There are some really good people in that division and there are some total morons. I wait to see if an 'elite' unit answers. Nothing. Chief gets on the radio as does an 'elite' sergeant. Still nothing. So, I answer up "give it to me until you find someone." I get impatient when I run emergency lights and siren. People freeze up, don't know what to do. I've been known to get on my PA system and say things like "get the hell out of my ***dammit!" One of my more famous (or infamous) lines I said on a PA where everyone could hear me "do I look like the mutha f**** ice cream man to you, move that piece of sh**!" Did I mention I'm impatient when I run emergency traffic? Well hopefully when they called to complain I went by so fast they didn't see me and told the supervisor "I didn't see him that well, he looked like Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds!" Anyway, I arrive, thankfully no kids on the bus. All is well. I got to thinking and realized I may have made the 'elite' division look bad.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I came back to work today. I took some time off and gave myself a four day weekend. Problem is that I was bored to death. My wife was either out shopping most of the day or at work herself. So I was thrilled to be back at work. Made me felt like I wasn't wasting time and going something constructive with myself.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

A lot of calls today, but most are juvenile party calls. I hate those, always have. When I worked night shift on Saturday nights one could expect a party call or two. Those in far west district got them for the first half of the night. I have a low patience meter with teenagers anyway, however I aim not to be that "d***head cop" that everyone knows and hates by reputation. Basically, I use the golden rule, if you're cool with me, I'm cool with you. You act stupid then I'm gonna layeth the smack down.

One time, I got called to a teenage party. Now, when I arrived I didn't see any alcohol, but I knew it was there. So I called the kid who lived there and made a deal. They stay inside and stay quiet we wouldn't have any problems. He was happy with this agreement. As we were talking I hear someone run up to the fence and climb it. Some fool leaps over the fence and lands right next to me. I told him "hey spiderman, no need to run!" He laughed and we were cool. I had no problems the rest of the night. The very next night, same call, same house. Okay, now I'm annoyed. I felt they were taking advantage of the break I gave them the previous night. Well, as I arrive my buddy is in the front yard with spiderman shouting at him. Spiderman is shouting back. I can tell he's drunk and I know he isn't 21. With everyone watching I decide to make an example of him. I tell him to come to me, he backs into the house. I grab his arm and he punches me in the chin. Oh hell no! Now it's on like chitlins! I run after him and we to fighting. Now, keep in mind, this isn't his house. While we're fighting we're tearing up furniture, lamps, and other things. My buddy is behind me. Spiderman grabs my neck and before I can even think to get him off me my buddy whacks him with the baton so hard it goes flying from his hand. My buddy wound up spraining his hand. I manage to get a lock on spiderman as we fall onto a window sill where I make him submit. As I'm cuffing him, one of his moron friends tries to interfere. We get spiderman cuffed and we walk him to the car. I'm pretty pissed off by now and I'm shouting at him. I failed to see the flowerbed in front of me and tripped and fell flat on my face in front of everyone. Now, I'm really, really pissed off (and embarrassed). He goes in the car and his moron friend comes up. He gets cuffed and stuffed too. While I'm working on the jail forms, moron friend's mother walks up to me (someone called her) and tries to open the door to get her kid out of the car. I stop her and explain she can't do that. She doesn't believe me. I tell her to get off my scene, she refuses, mommy gets arrested, and the bi*** wants to fight too. Another wants to spray her, but I stopped him. I didn't feel right using pepper spray on a 50 year old woman if even she was an idiot. So I used a gentle wrist lock and gently guided her into the car. So, all three went to jail.

Another party call. I walk up and as others are running every which way some teen girl walks up with a beer and cigarette in her hand. I ask how old she was, she was 17. Talk about stupid. I demand to speak with the resident. Turns out, she bailed with half of the party (from what the teens who stayed behind told me). Oh, so we have a bunch of people in a house and we have no resident. So, with that as my justification, I walk in and find people hiding. I checked one closet and it was locked. Now, who the hell locks a closet? I peek under the door and see jeans kneeling. Someone is hiding in there. I use my pocket knife to walk the lock and find two teenagers hiding. I handcuffed both of them and marched them outside. I find a bedroom door locked. After bluffing my way in, the two girls and one guy get handcuffed and marched outside. I make all the handcuffed people sit down, in front of those who didn't run. I issue citations to the underage people. The resident finally comes back, she plays ignorant. I consider arresting her for evading arrest (when word spread that the cops were here they ran), but decided it wouldn't stick. All she has to say is she wasn't there to start with and I couldn't prove otherwise.

Anyway, I hate party calls. Always have, always will.

Video of Rafer Alston's Arrest

You can look at the stop leading up to the DWI arrest of Houston Rocket player Rafer Alston. Looks to me like Alston knows he is in trouble and resorting to "the attitude" trying to stall. I've met this officer. He knows what he is doing. He's a good man. I find it amusing how he turns around "take me in!" He knows a prosecution is much more difficult if he doesn't do any of the sobriety tests so he refuses. He already knows he is going to trial and play the "he was harassing me" or "he was going to take me in anyway" card. If Alston thought he was sober he would have performed the tests. Celebrities are usually told from the beginning by lawyers, do nothing. So, they play innocent, yet when they have their chance to show they are not impaired they refuse to perform the sobriety tests. In my mind, he's guilty.

Reflections

I spent a few hours at a training class. I ran into my supervisor who graduated from here back in 1978. I found him talking with one of the old instructors who instructed him 30 years ago. Yeah, they go way back. I found his old graduation photo and with the exception of the hair, he doesn't look any different. He showed me pictures of his mentor and old partner. Both of whom are long dead. I can only imagine what it is like to look at a picture of yourself 30 years ago with your old partners, friends, fellow cadets etc. Then to ponder 30 years worth of stories. Some of these people are still in law enforcement. Others are retired or working in the private sector. Some wound up on the wrong side of the law. Others are dead. I am working on my 10th year in law enforcement. I wonder where I'll be in 20 years. I get a little sad to think many of the people I look up to will be gone. Some of my mentors will be dead as I fight back a reflective tear. I'll be looking at old photographs of people I know now. I probably won't remember their names, but I'll remember my time with them. I'll wonder what happened to some. I wonder how many will still be around for me and them to have a "remember the time" discussion while new, young faces walk by starting out on their journeys.

Meet Heidi Hazrati

Dear Readers,

I would like for you to meet Heidi Hazrati and the April Five Foundation. On April 05, 2006, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Kayvan Hazrati was shot in the head while trying to serve a warrant. The shooter having been to prison stated he was not going back and shot at officers who were trying to apprehend them. Sine then, the Hazrati's have had to deal with the nightmare of rehabilitation treatments, sever pain (physical and emotional), the criminal trial, and the weasels that usually work for HR/Risk Management agencies. I invite you to read Mrs. Hazrati's blog about their life since the shooting. I went to the beginning of her blog and read from post one. Her writing leaves nothing to the imagination. I can feel her pain and anger from her words and it's like I'm standing right there with her. I give a "kudos" and a "God bless" to Heidi and Kayvan. Their journey is one that only strong people can endure and very few people could.

Yes, I blushed

"Hey officer!" I heard as I exited the coffee shop. I turned to see what the blonde and her brunette wanted. They asked about all the lights up the road, they thought it was an accident. It was actually the fire department helping a semi whose brakes caught on fire. No big deal but sometimes to civilians anytime where there are a lot of flashing lights is a big deal. The blonde woman asks about a ride a long. I explain the process and she stops me;

"I mean what if we just hopped in your car now?"

"Uh, how would I explain to my boss (and my wife) why I have two women in my patrol car?"

"They wouldn't have to know!"

Oh my! Uh, are these girls flirting with me? It doesn't happen that often. Then the blonde asks;

"Does your wife have a badge?"

"She has a necklace I bought her."

"Would she sell it?"

Uh oh! If she knew about this conversation she'd probably throw it into the streets. I make a light joke about getting in the doghouse when the brunette says;

"If that happens I'd cuddle you to sleep!"

Okay, on that note, and my cheeks burning red I politely excuse myself from the conversation and get in my car and haul ass out of there. Last thing I need is the wrong impression and rumors to get started.

A Bad Call

Well since nothing exciting happened yesterday I'll tell of one of my worst calls. A man and woman live together, both disabled. Well, the man sitting on the pot taking a dump and gets stuck. He can't stand up. His wife can't get up so she calls us. We get there and find a naked man sitting on the pot. I'm pretty much annoyed now. This is a medical call, not a police call. Plus, this guy has been sitting here for about half an hour and can't flush the damn toilet knowing we're coming! So I flush the toilet, grab some thick gloves and pick this damn fool up and practically throw him on his bed. How's that for public service?

Obama's Baggage

Image Courtesy of Police Link

From left to right, Sgt. Brian V. McDonnell, Officer Waverly L. Brown, and Sgt. Edward J. O'Grady Jr.

Obama makes me sick! His mentor was one William Ayers, a co-founder of the terrorist group weather underground. These wackos are responsible for the murder of these three police officers. Sgt. McDonnell was killed by a bomb set outside his station in San Francisco back in 1970. Officer Brown and Sgt. O'Grady Jr. were manning a road block after a bank robbery in New York in 1981. A female in the vehicle got the officers to lower their weapons, and their guard while her cohorts jumped out and gunned both officers down. It sickens me that Obama, and the media try to convince us to ignore this troubling connection. I for one will not forget these officers. Since the media can't be bothered to research this, hopefully I can help spread the news and help keep terrorist sympathizer Obama out of the White House.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Should have been a day I called in sick, but didn't. I hate to call in sick, I rarely do it. Right now my sick time is maxed out and I cannot accrue anymore. I felt my nose was in a vice grip. Every 20 minutes I had to blow my nose like a geyser (I'm sorry that is a pretty sick image isn't it). I don't understand officers who burn time once they get it. Then, when they need to take off they have no time to use. Pretty damn stupid if you ask me.

Another damn stupid thing to do is to drive under the influence. I don't mean on alcohol, I mean other medications. Some guy, built like a wrestler, using ambien, drove across two counties with one of his tires gone. I mean totally gone, the rubber, the rim, the actual wheel was gone. All that was left was the brake disk. Someone finally found him and stopped him.

Huh?

I've heard of this happening, but never actually saw it. An officer gets called to take a report where her under age son met a man online. When the officer gets there, the kid's lawyer meets him at the door. If the kid is the victim what does he need a lawyer for? On top of that, the lawyer knew of the alleged sexual assault a month ago, long before anyone called the police. I wonder which law that attorney violated. I also wonder if they are going to push the issue.

A Tip

This came up in discussion the other day. So, I felt the need to post it.

Bad News At the Start

I sign on and get a phone call. One of our guys was in a serious crash way out of town. He had to be life flighted. My usual reaction to bad news is "awww damn!" This kid is a good guy. He's really nice, professional, and eager to keep learning. I can't think of anyone who doesn't like this kid and now he's laid up in a hospital. Fortunately later in the day we heard he is expected to pull through.

My supervisor and I ate at an old Mexican restaurant in an old part of town. I used to eat here when I was brand new and didn't know what the hell I was doing. On Saturday nights, another officer and I would come in, exchange pleasantries with an old security guard with a balding head and really bad teeth. I did a quick take on how far I've come along since those days. Wow, it has been a bumpy ride.

Irony....

My supervisor is retiring this year. I can't imagine anyone in the department replacing him. In the several years I've been here, and going through three shifts, he's been my immediate supervisor practically the whole time. I am always fascinated by his stories from policing in rural Texas. To me, the man is a mentor. I hate to see him upset. He came into the office and told me someone close to him is dying. I new the name from his previous stories. He is only person I've ever seen who can hold a conversation and shed tears simultaneously without breaking down. It takes a lot of steel nerves to do that. When he leaves, doesn't matter who they promote in his place, our shift will never be the same without him.

I did get a bit of good news. A few months ago an officer drove up on a burglary in progress. The crook fled through the back yard, leaving his car there. The homeowners were out of town on vacation. So we worked it. We tossed the car and found some paperwork with a name on it. I ran the name and found he had a criminal record. I also found out that someone had broken into his house. How ironic, first time I've known of a burglar to also be a "victim of a burglary." I find a telephone number for his mother and call her. I don't tell her the whole story at first (because I felt she would lie to cover for her son and I was right). I then told her that her son's car was left at a burglary. She exploded. She accused me of "scaring" her and she didn't know who I was even though I told her from the beginning who I was. Anyway, later on in the day the son (aka suspected burglar) shows up at a substation wanting to report that he was carjacked several hours earlier. The officer who took that report calls me. According to suspected burglar, he was car jacked by a fat, white male at a particular intersection in a bad part of town about 6 hours previously. He said he had to walk from that intersection to his house (roughly 10 miles) before he could report (trying to account for the time lapse in reporting). I point out two obvious flaws in his story. First, at that particular intersection, no white person would be there car jacking people. That's like going to a redneck bar and claiming you drank wine and ate cheese with a transvestite philosophy major at Rice University. Second, you get carjacked, and cannot find a phone in the 10 miles you claimed to walk? Anyhow, I find out that the detectives did a great job, busted through his story and filed on him for burglary. I was relieved.

Awww Dammit!

It was mostly a slow night until the jogger got hit. She was running down a dark street when a vehicle hit her and took off. Fortunately she will be okay. However while we were working that scene an 18-year old girl tries to go around all the emergency vehicles and when she can't, she backs up and hits my car. I didn't even see it. This is my 4th police car wreck in the nearly 10 years I've been here. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, it wasn't much damage, and I wasn't in the car so ha ha it doesn't go on my driving record! At first I'm thinking she's going to get a ticket, but the more I talked to her I felt a ticket wasn't warranted. I even told the officer who worked the accident. She's a young girl who just wasn't paying attention. I wonder what her parents will say when they find out.

"Was he talking sh**?"

I'm waiting at a traffic light in rush hour traffic just like everyone else when a truck comes barrelling, half on the edge of the road half on the grass. He was trying to get to the right turn lane (same as I) which was a few car lengths ahead. As he goes by I remember scenes from the show Martin where he says "hold up! Hold up! Oh no you did not just...." That, and people are watching this probably thinking "well here's a cop is he going to do anything?" So I drive half into the grass to catch him. I probably would have written him a warning but he didn't have insurance. Steadfast rule, no insurance, no break. So I write him two tickets. Since cars are flying (they are supposed to slow down by law, but people are such in a hurry to get to their destination they can't be bothered to slow down for us) I can't hear his rant. All I can get is "...you're just a..." and "I can't believe..." and "this is..." I chose to believe he was saying "Sir, I understand you're just a man doing his job and I can't believe I was so stupid as to do what I did in front of such a fine policeman such as yourself. This is a lesson I'll never forget!" Yeah, that's what he was saying!

This night was the national night out that got rescheduled because August was just too damn hot. To an extent, PR is necessary. That's part of why I do this blog because I want people to see things from our point of view. However it does get old after the 10th block party, forcing a smile saying the same old tired 'small talk' lines.

As I'm heading in, I stop a vehicle driving up a busy highway with no lights on. I pull him over and can tell off the bat he has no license and no identification on him. So I go about my usual routine in these cases to separate the driver and passenger and see if I get the same name and same story. Well, I get a slightly different name, but with Hispanics they usually have 4 names and the criminal element will use several variations to avoid getting caught with warrants. After over an hour I'm convinced the woman is telling the truth. Since the driver can't prove who he is, he goes to jail. I was kind of hoping he was lying to me. I got real good at the name game back in the day. Once, I had a convict with a parole warrant in my car for two hours while playing the name game. He knew that I knew he was lying, but he also knew I had to prove it before I could arrest him. He got away from another officer by sticking to his guns, but I was determined to beat him at his own game.

"You have no right!"

A young woman was passed out in her car. The engine was running and her 4-year-old daughter was in the back seat. The people at the restaurant saw her and banged on her window but she wouldn't wake up. So they call the police. We get there. We manage to wake her up and she tries to grab her baby and dart off. We have to yank her out of the car and handcuff her because she clearly isn't in her right mind. She winds up going to the hospital where she wants to give the staff a hard time. She won't say what is wrong. All she says is "my lawyer says I don't have to do anything" and "you have no right to be here leave me alone." We end up filing charges on her. Once she got out of the hospital her sorry behind is going to jail. What parent would do that to their child? In case you're wondering the child is okay.

Old Timer Story 1

In my profession we have a few old timers. These guys were cops going back to the 1950s. I'm always interested in hearing stories from way back when. Of course police work was a lot different then than it is now. Plus, to be honest, there were a lot more shenanigans going on then than there are now. I've told them when they retire (and the statute of limitations run out) they should write them down. Otherwise many interesting stories are lost to time. Of course over the years, the retelling of a story gets exaggerated, so don't count on these posts to be 100% accurate. All I have are the words of the story teller.

In this story, a belligerent drunk gets arrested. He is talking trash all the way to the jail. When the officer brings him to jail, he finds the jailer. The jailer is a dinosaur (even back then, he probably had been policing since the 1940s). The drunk is cursing and the officer who brings him slams him against the wall. The old jailer berates the officer for slamming his prisoner. The old jailer sits the prisoner and dismisses the officer. As the officer walks out he hears the old jailer ask the drunk his name. The drunk replies "fu** you!" The old jailer clobbers the drunk out of the chair onto the floor. The old jailer then shouts at the officer "hey, what did you arrest him for?"

"You Again"

The day was passing by swimmingly when I hear that familiar address. The same fool from the previous night. This time his dad is tearing up his room. We get there and the kid comes out. He is saying he didn't do anything this time. I made him sit on the ground and he better not get up. He declares his innocence. I know he didn't do it this time, but given our history with him he's going to be sitting down and watched like a hawk. I don't trust him. Anyway, momma bailed the kid out of jail, daddy wanted to leave his butt there. Kid leaves the house goes back to the same two he was with when he got arrested. Dad tears up the kid's stereo and X-box. Okay, nobody really sees a problem except the kid and momma. The kid demands charges against his dad, obviously trying to pay him back. I tell him "it ain't happening!" The dad gets some clothes and leaves for the night. Momma makes a comment that her family is imploding. Yep it is. Mainly because she keeps trying to protect her spoiled son and ignoring the rest of the family.

"I'm a mental patient!"

Who knows why some kids turn out the way they do. The parents of a 21 year old man called wanting us to check his room for drugs. Okay, fine, we get that call a lot. However 21 is the oldest I've seen. If the parents have to call for that, it's time to kick his ass out and let him make his own way. Anyway, all we find is a pipe that reeks of marijuana. So, he gets a ticket. Well, as we're leaving, he picks up a license plate and whacks his dad upside the head for calling us to start with. What started as a ticket now winds up with junior in jail.

I feel stupid. I called to wish my father a happy birthday. When I called him he was on his way home from work. While I'm talking to him he gets involved in a crash. Fortunately he's okay, but I feel to blame. I apologized to him, but he kept telling me it wasn't my fault, he was looking straight ahead when the car suddenly stopped. First, I put a fellow officer in the hospital, and now this. You might say I have a dark cloud. I disagree, I seem to put the cloud over others.

Remember the kid who stuck a .22 rifle barrel in his mouth? Well, we dealt with him again. We get a call about two drunks fighting in the street. We get there and two of the drunks don't want charges. They are adults and a little drunk, but not sh** faced. I look at the third and recognize him. I know he isn't 21. I'm a little annoyed. After that time talking him out of eating a bullet and here he is drinking out in the street in front of his house. No, he's going to jail. So, he gets arrested for being drunk and underage. Shortly he starts banging his head and kicking the door. He's extracted and winds up kicking two officers. Now he has went from a C misdemeanor to two felonies. Now he's screaming "I'm a mental patient this will get dismissed! How can you do this to me! You're ruining my life!" His mother, again is upset and crying but this time my sympathy is lessened. He plays this game with her. She wants to protect him but I tell her (in a diplomatic way) cut the cord and let him go. He thinks he can get away with this behavior because he is bipolar. Remember, I said in a previous post that bipolar is becoming an acceptable excuse for criminal behavior by a lot of people, even some of our nit wit prosecutors are buying into this. Good grief!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Years ago I remember hearing that being a police officer is 99% boredom and 1% "awww sh**!" Well yesterday was the proof one needs. I drove roughly 20 miles through the district without hearing any radio traffic. I kept looking at my radio to make sure it was on the right channel.