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#140 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Mon Sep 5, 2005 8:22 am Subject: Katrina Police Stories russ@lifeonthebeat.com
Currently I have had a few officers who were in the area give accounts of thier time on the job during the event.
If anyone has a personal Katrina story that is police related, please send it to me so I can post them on my website for the readers.
I am certain that some of the people on this list have a personal story and I have at least one good story right now.
Russell
#141 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Sat Oct 1, 2005 10:25 pm Subject: Training 10-1-2005 russ@lifeonthebeat.com
I want to extend a personal thank-you to LOTB members that were able to give support to those effected by the recent natural disasters. I'll update you all soon on specific details on how my family was able to join in the aid of people who have been effected. There was a couple of members of this mailing list we were worried about, however I have information saying everyone has been accounted for. Presently two officers from my department are still in the disaster area, assisting with the clean-up process. ********************** UPDATE: I have a few more LIFE ON THE BEAT t-shirts left for sale. Check out my site at http://www.lifeonthebeat.com in order to check them out. ********************** If you have any police related questions or comments, please visit my "ASK-A-COP" message board. Tons of people are active on the board and will surely be able to answer any questions you might have. **********************
I guess things change and things progress all over the place. Ever since returning to patrol last July I have spent most of my time training as a Field Training Officer (FTO). It's a great position to hold because you get to mold and shape new officers. In many ways its much more difficult than I ever imagined. I have .always been very active, so it's hard to sit back and watch your "rookie" do all the work. There are so many times we go on a call that I just want to step up and take charge, but I know that's not going to teach any lessons. The newest guy just finished his FTO program and had his first night on his own. My duty last night was to "shadow" him as he went from call to call.
The first call we took was a report of a suicidal female. The reporting party, an ex-boyfriend, contacted us to say that he was worried because of some suicidal messages he just received on his cell phone.
We went to the females apartment to make contact. She answered the door and seemed absolutely fine. She didn't seem upset and didn't show any signs of problems. I listened to the "rookie" ask her questions and make certain that she didn't intend to harm herself. As he spoke to her I began to detect that there was some problems. I could tell that she wasn't being completely honest with him. Finally, I couldn't stay quiet so I asked a few key questions. I didn't want to leave any doubt of her mental stability before we left the house. Casually I began to pinpoint the problem. As things played out, she finally admitted past suicide attempts. It became more apparent that she had some serious issues. We were able to get a family member to come over and tend to her, so I felt better. She never did admit to making suicidal statements, but I believe she has some serious issues that easily could lead to future problems.
From there I followed him from call to call. It was very busy all night, so he got a good taste of what it's like to be hammered with calls. His only previous experience was with a tiny department where each officer averaged 1 call per day! By the end of the night he had taken 13 reports.
I can't wait until Tuesday, my next day of work, because I'll be on my own again. I can't wait to get out there and do my thing!
Next adventure!
Russell
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#142 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Thu Oct 6, 2005 12:11 pm Subject: Impossible circumstances 10-05-2005 russ@lifeonthebeat.com
Loose ends…
I have LIFE ON THE BEAT t-shirts for sale. Check out my site at http://www.lifeonthebeat.com in order to check them out.
Just after Katrina hit, my family wanted to be involved in the relief effort. We were able to donate dozens of t-shirts and bags of clothing to the people relocated from their homes to our State. We also went immediately and certified as volunteers for the Red Cross. I was shocked be the generosity of the people who showed up with us. So many people arrived that they opened extra training rooms at a convention center. I intended to take some pics to place on my website, however during the training they asked not to take photo’s because we don’t want the victims to feel as though they are on display. The Red Cross instructors suggested that we do our best to treat the people as “guests”. That’s a point of view that I hadn’t considered. As a result, I won’t be posting photos as I had planned.
Be sure to check out the new updates made to my site http://www.lifeonthebeat.com
Impossible Circumstances
One observable fact that I have come to appreciate while being a police officer is the reality that people depend on us to solve their problems. There are so many times that a parent will call because a child is misbehaving and the parent expects us to “scare” that child into excellence. The problem is that I don’t believe that police officers duty is to “scare” anyone. People have forgotten the phrase “law enforcement” and replaced it with “social worker”. Don’t get me wrong, because I am clear on the fact that we are there to “serve and protect” the people, but it seem that society has gone past that idea.
As a result of this changing mindset has spawned some interesting situation that seem almost impossible to resolve. The following story is an example of what I am discussing.
Dispatch advised of a caller asking for an officer to “stand-by-to-keep-the-peace” (SBKTP in police jargon). This is a very common assignment for officers. Usually, just by being present, we can help situations from getting out of control. As I pulled up to the house I quickly checked my laptop to refresh my memory on all the details. The synopsis said that the reporting party “requests ex-employee be removed from house”. Immediately I was confused, but it’s difficult to get all the details of certain situations with the simple synopsis they provided.
Three adults, who had been sitting in a nearby vehicle, then approached me. They explained that their mother, an elderly woman, had an in-house caregiver and was refusing to leave. Since their mother died yesterday, they wanted the caregiver out of the house today! One of the men explained, “if your job ended tomorrow, you would be asked to leave the job site”.
So here I am, standing there, facing what I know is about to be an impossible situation. In my minds-eye I can see myself scratching my head and squinting my eyes shut in frustration. I figured there must be more to the story, so I made contact with the caregiver. She gave a very friendly account of how she has cared for this elderly female for over 12 years. She described how she was very good friends with the woman and she had lived in the house the entire time. The family had never really been over to visit in that entire time, even though they live within a few minutes of here. She understood the fact that she would need to move from the house, but since it had been less than 24 hours, there was no practical way for her to be out of the house already.
Thinking to myself, I could see the family’s point of view. Mom had passed away and they want to secure the property. Sounds almost reasonable.
On the other hand, I could certainly sympathize with the caregiver. She’s lived in this house for 12 years and up to this point the family didn’t have a problem with the situation. Now that mom is dead, the family wants the property and wants to kick her out.
This is one of those impossible situations I had mentioned before. It’s tough because as a police officer you need to make a decision on fact and not on emotion. As much as I detested the family for having no compassion for the caregiver, I couldn’t react without considering the legal possibility that they now own this property and have the right to tell anyone inside to leave.
Finally I decided that the best way to proceed was to refer each party to their own legal council. Yes, I told them to call a lawyer. I explained that in my view, the caregiver has been a tenant of the house for 12 years. Even if there is not a signed contract, it must have been at least a verbal commitment made by the mother to allow the caregiver to live here. Based on this conclusion, I told them that legally they would likely have to proceed with an eviction process. I then told them that when I spoke to the caregiver, she did agree to move out, however she needs a reasonable amount of time to do so.
All three family members were immediately upset with my decision. They then became belligerent and uncooperative. They made several comments that made it obvious that they were self-serving and heartless in regards to the caregiver. Before things got out of control, I asked them to leave and suggested again that they contact a lawyer.
I then explained my decision to the caregiver. Her main concern at this time is that the family may attempt to ban her from the funeral. While I had never considered such a possibility I could see the family moving down that path. I wished her good luck and hoped that the family wouldn’t cause such a problem, but I told her I could not speculate on anything the family may do in relation to the funeral.
Ultimately, I guess I accomplished the goal…I stood by and kept the peace. The difficult part is that I had to walk away knowing that the problem was only temporarily resolved. As I mentioned before, it seems as though people expect the police to resolve their problems, but usually we are nothing more than a “band-aid” for the overall problem.
Next adventure.
Russell
The LAST NIGHTS SHIFT email list is currently over 4400 members. I need your help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your colleagues, friends, and family! They can join this free service by simply visiting my website http://www.lifeonthebeat.com and clicking on SUBSCRIBE at the main page.
If you have any police related questions or comments, please visit my "ASK-A-COP" message board. Tons of people are active on the board and will surely be able to answer any questions you might have. You can find a link from my site http://www.lifeonthebeat.com <http://www.lifeonthebeat.com/>
#143 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Wed Oct 12, 2005 7:21 pm Subject: Katrina inside the recovery effort 10-12-2005 russ@lifeonthebeat.com
I have something VERY exciting to announce. Sit tight, I am not ready to announce it quite yet. In the next few days, I will make a huge addition to the http://www.lifeonthebeat.com website! I'll be contacting you soon with the details. _______________________________________________________________________
Cdt. Sgt. Andrew H,
As mentioned previously, I asked members of the list to provide their own stories to privide an inside account of the happenings over the last few weeks after Katrina and Rita. The stories that follow are written by members of this list.
I am a police cadet in a city in coastal alabama. It makes me feel good to know that other people are aware of this disaster that affected so many, including myself.
On the says following the storm, I spent time on the streets and time repairing my house. The storm left a lot of roof damage and yard work! The first and second day following the storm, I spent the morning getting my house back in ship shape and the evenings dispatching in the radio room. I had never heard the type of calls I heard during the storm. Many callers were hysterical--trapped in their homes.
This weekend, I worked two 12 hour days, a 16 hours day, and a 6 hour day. All without pay. I do it because its me--what I am dedicated to. During those days, each minute of every hour was used to help my community. I rotated duties between the radio room, gas station security, hospital security, evacuee camp security, and street patrol. Life is a little closer to normal now, and tomorrow I go back to school. But at the end of each school day, I will be at the evacuee shelter doing what I do best--protecting and serving.
Cdt. Sgt. Andrew H. (A member of the Last Nights Shift email group) _________________________________________________________________________
Sergeant Robert S,
I just returned from 5 days in Gulfport, Ms. Whatever you can imagine or have seen on the news,,,it's WORSE. My unit arrived the day after the storm hit land (Monday 8/29). As we rode into town it looked like a war zone. There were cars, boats, and even some houses scattered along the edges of the roadway. There was a blanket of blackish gray mud that covered the shoulders and some of the roadway. Our first encounter with the magnitude of this monster was the next day as we assembled at our staging area, the parking lot of a Super Wal-Mart. We went inside the store (because there was no front entrance doors there). The stinch from the mixture of salt water, food, and mud was almost overpowering. After the third day there was a cloud of odor the hung in the air, something similar to that of a landfill site on a hot day. On the second day we attempted to enter a housing area to locate subjects that were shooting flares at emergency vehicles. We never located them, but did find a man, probably in his mid thirties, and a group of his friends. When we stopped to question him about the flare report he said he hadn't seen anyone, that he was out walking through the area looking for his son. His face showed the desperation of the moment. While in the "neighborhood" we heard a dog barking that sounded in distress. When we located the source of the barking it was a very scared dog on the roof of a house that had been washed off it's foundation. We were able to rescue the animal and give it some water, which it gratefully lapped up. This is just a fraction of the MASSIVE devastation we witnessed. My heart really went out to those people, especially when you see an entire family, Father, Mother, kids, and pets living on the sidewalk.
Sergeant Robert S
______________________________ Thank you for your stories, Andrew and Robert. I know that all the readers are pleased to hear the "positive" stories from resulting from the devistation of the recent natural disasters. Good luck,
Next adventure.
Russell
The LAST NIGHTS SHIFT email list is currently over 4400 members. I need
your help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your
colleagues, friends, and family! They can join this free service by
simply visiting my website http://www.lifeonthebeat.com and clicking on
SUBSCRIBE at the main page.
If you have any police related questions or comments, please visit my
"ASK-A-COP" message board. Tons of people are active on the board and
will surely be able to answer any questions you might have. You can find
a link from my site http://www.lifeonthebeat.com
<http://www.lifeonthebeat.com/>
#144 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Fri Oct 14, 2005 4:12 pm Subject: The choking baby call.......10-14-2005 russ@lifeonthebeat.com
Announcing an EXCITING NEW ADDITION to the http://www.lifeonthebeat.com <http://www.lifeonthebeat.com/> website. You must see the large assortment of *POLICE and FIRE collectible pins *I have for sale. This is something you just have to see! Get them before their gone.................
Last Nights Shift is a tough one.
Dispatch advised of a caller reporting a baby, not breathing. When that happens the radio traffic goes silent. Everyone stops to listen for dispatch's next words. Finally..........they give the address and continue with the details that the baby is not conscious and not breathing.
Click, click....snap...........on go my lights, wig-wags and siren. I am sure its loud and intimidating, but I can't hear it. It's called tunnel vision and it's a bad thing for a cop, but for the most part its unavoidable.
As I near the address of the 911 call I relax slightly because another patrol car swings around the corner ahead of me. At least I can follow the other guy to the address. Just then dispatch updates the address, saying there is a language barrier, but now its 2 blocks west of our current location. Immediately I gripped the steering wheel and swing a hard (I mean HARD) left.
I pull up in front of the house and I can see a group of people near the sidewalk. All of the people are frantic and they are waving me down. At this time the tunnel vision became more focused. I could see a person holding a baby in her arms. She was doing chest compressions on a lifeless body of a little baby. Some man, a neighbor I guess, had his mouth over the baby's mouth and nose, to give breaths.
The first thing that goes through my mind is that I wish "someone better than me" was there to help these people.
Luckily, the ambulance arrived just behind me. I took over chest compressions and tried to follow the lead of the paramedics. We all loaded into the ambulance and began "working" this poor kid. I'm sitting there pumping her little chest, thinking to myself, "
Why don't I feel any emotion? Why don't I feel sorry for this little baby? Aren't kids supposed to be the worst?" Confused a little with my lack of feelings I continued what I was doing. The paramedic in charge had scissors and was cutting fabric to expose her little body, making it available for him to perform his job. He seemed to cut a million layers. I remember him saying in frustration, "Can anyone put a kid in more clothing?"
Before I knew it, we were at the hospital. We checked again for heartbeats and still we had nothing. Little tubes and medical patches began to clutter her skin. Needles were stuck into her arms and legs. Still no breaths. Nothing. Her eyes were half open, but obviously lifeless. I grabbed her hand and held it. She was so small that I only needed a couple fingers to compress her chest. They were sucking chunks of food out of her throat. Every time they tried for more, they filled the tube with white soggy food.
By now, we're walking through the wide-open area of the emergency room. Every nurse, patient, and doctor stopped to look and it was so silent in there. The silence spoke for itself.
I have never been so happy to be at a hospital.
By the time we reached her room, people were moving with authority. I wouldn't compare it to the emergency rooms on TV, there was no yelling, no desperate orders to the nurses from overpowering doctors. It was very orderly and professional.
I continued to give chest compressions and I didn't stop. Finally, I could feel the airbag pushing air into her chest. She was finally getting some air.
After all the machines were hooked up and all the monitors were flashing lights and tones, I turned my position over to a staff of nurses. The first thing I did was check the screens for a pulse. Still nothing.
In the background of the hospital noise I could hear the mother of the baby arrive. I could hear her, in the hallway, giving the name and other information for her baby. She said that the baby would be two next month. All the sudden my body went cold and numb. My youngest son will be two next month. About the time I began to feel sorry for myself for being in this situation .I noticed something. I did a double-take and then I confirmed with a nearby nurse. SHE HAD A HEARTBEAT! It said 176. Are you kidding me? It's been forever since she had a heartbeat.
I went into the hallway and whispered in the ear of another officer that she had a heartbeat. I didn't want to say anything out loud because I didn't want to extend false hope to the family.
Finally, upon returning to the room, I noticed her chest rise in sudden, almost violent manner. A minute later---exactly a minute, I saw it again. I checked the heartbeat and it was still going like mad. This time there were two breath attempts in a minute. The next minute was five and then ten.
In my right ear I could hear dispatch for calling officers to a traffic accident. It was blocking an intersection and paramedics were called to assist with injuries. Elsewhere, there was another call pending. I left the hospital and responded to a family fight.
Even though it makes a person wonder, I don't know if the baby lived or died. I just don't. Pilots from a rescue helicopter were walking through the doors as I was walking out. They must have landed on the pad outside. Normally that means that they are transporting her to a larger hospital with a pediatric center with more specialized personnel and equipment.
Believe it or not, then next call resulted in the arrest of a woman who left her 2-month-old infant in the lobby of a title loan store for over 30 minutes. She was upset with her boyfriend, who wouldn't sign documents to allow her to get a loan. When he walked out to the loan store, she left the baby, sitting there in a car seat, right there on the floor. I talked to her about the dangers of the world. She honestly seemed to not understand that there was a problem. She compared it to daycare, saying that you never know the person caring for the baby when you drop 'em off there. Long story short, she'll be talking to the judge.
Now I come home to a quiet house. All my kids and family are at the library. I guess this is just another day in the life of "Life on the Beat".
Next adventure.
Russell
DON'T FORGET TO VISIT MY SITE TO SEE THE NEW POLICE AND FIRE COLLECTOR PINS! http://www.lifeonthebeat.com
The LAST NIGHTS SHIFT email list is currently over 4400 members. I need your help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your
colleagues, friends, and family! They can join this free service by simply visiting my website http://www.lifeonthebeat.com and clicking on
SUBSCRIBE at the main page.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#145 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Tue Nov 22, 2005 2:57 am Subject: 11-22-05 Night games....... russ@lifeonthebeat.com
Take a look at the police pins that I have for sale on my web site. I am sure you’ll find them very well done. So far those people that have ordered the pins are very happy. At 2 bucks for a cool police pin, I am sure you could afford that. Get your fellow officer buddies a cool pin that they haven’t seen before.
After all is said and done on the T-Shirts, it appears supplies are very low. When a new shirt is done it will be a new design scheme. (long story), so if you’ve wanted a LOTB t-shirt but were afraid to ask, now is the time. Tell her its your Christmas present.
The last few weeks have been so busy that I really have not had the chance to write ya’ll.
I have been asked to give a little good thought for the day/training tidbit at the beginning of each shift. We do this partly as a team building objective and partly as an educational refresher on some of the small things.
Interestingly, police agencies perform and operate just as a normal organization does. In our department the workers are the men on the street. The cops on patrol, running from call to call, are being the first line of defense for the city.
The Sgt’s and Lt’s are pretty much middle management. They are buffer zones that relay all the important information back and forth from above and below. This likely the toughest job in the department. Not only are you worrying about you own rear end, you gotta worry about a dozen other guys too.
So anyway, the general quest of an officer is that he puts in his time and builds the skills necessary to become a leader.
Ok, all that stuff sounds really good, but there is no doubt in my mind that leadership and management skills, for me, are learned only. I don’t pick up hints from the other Sgt’s real well, in fact if its not spelled out, then I won’t see it. So it’s been that time for me to sit and read some of these books that contain theory and scientific data on how to manage and what management styles work and don’t. Uughh, I didn’t know little ole cops had to be sophisticated learned people too.
So, my task is to give these little shift trainings.
Today I passed out the law enforcement code of ethics. I had the guys each read a paragraph aloud. He was interesting to see the mood of the group slowing change. As they continued to read, the room became more silent. You could hear it in their voices that this is an oath, a promise and a commitment they must live with and abide by 24 hours a day. It was great to see that it touched some of the guys emotions because that proves they are wearing the badge for the correct reasons.
After that, I took a call of a 14 year old female who found herself being followed home by a man driving a van. She stated that it really scared her. She didn’t get a good description of the van but was able to make it clear that we would know it if we saw it. I offered her several safety tips and gave advise even to her parents. Hopefully the man following her was nothing more than a person looking for directions or something silly.
The next was a traffic stop on a vehicle for an equipment violation. Upon speaking to the driver, it became immediately apparent that she was somewhat impaired. She had thick slow speech and she seemed confused when she was looking for her registration and insurance information. She failed field sobriety tests. She admitted that she regularly takes xanax and trazedone. Both cause impairments capable for getting you arrested if you drive with them in your system. We finished that investigation up and immediately got called to another “adventure’. Luckily it was an easy, lazy officers like myself love an easy call more than the rest. Just kidding.
I opened the ladies car door for her, She was happy because weather has turned cold.
After taking a breath, we stopped for a quick sodi. Drinking that refreshing beverage was haulted in a big hurry. Dispatch put out the alert tones indicating that a code three emergency call would be coming on.
After the tones, we were advised “Two car traffic accident, multiple injuries” . Then to top it off, it was to the busiest intersection within 20 feet. (Joke)
I took the report and gathered all the necessary information. Accident reports are likely the most time consuming part of our job. There is so much information on an accident report. First we fill out exchange of information reports for the two people. The A report is generated in a different program that helps be tracking stats and such. You have to diagram the incident, I am a cop not an artist, so I am not the best diagram dude.
After that there is a screen in our normal reporting system, where we virtually retype the same information for the third time. But, everyone wants their information, and we provide it. Ugghhh
Later we took two calls of forced entry home burglaries. A suspect went to a home that appeared to be unoccupied, kicked the door and rummaged through different items.
It was really sad because the case I was assigned, the victim of the burglary is a 80 year old grandmother, who lives at home alone with no kids nearby. She was very shaken up. I offered her several safety tips and gave as many safety tips as possible. Her son arrived as I was leaving, so hopefully he make her more at ease.
After that it was pretty slow. I am sliding out ouf consciousness as I continue to write. So, I’ll wrap it up for you.
Next Adventure
Russell
This list is currently at 4466 members. I think we need to have a goal of 5000 before new years eve. So, let you family and friends know. It’s not spam, its educational, interesting emails that can at times even have a tiny bit of humor. http://www.lifeonthebeat.com
#146 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:56 am Subject: LNS 12-12-05 Dinner time russ@lifeonthebeat.com
Over the last few months, I have been very busy training new officers. I am on the road, but we have so many new officers that I haven't had much chance to be on my own. I get so busy that by the time I get home I'm worn down too much to write y'all.
Tonight's story comes from a very good friend of mine that works for a large city. After hearing his stories, I wonder why I get so tired and worn down. I am sure I'd have nightmares if I saw what he does on a daily basis.
Several years ago I wrote about an officer that I worked with. I called him "G". If you've been a member of the list for a while, you'll remember him. If not, go back on YahooGroups and read about him. It must have been 5 years ago when I wrote a story of the night he was literally ran over and almost killed by a crazy man in a stolen vehicle.
Thank you G for your story. Hope to see you soon bro! *****************************************************************
Here is one for you....
Friday afternoon, we were at lunch with the squad, over at a place called McQuins on the water. It was the last day one of our squad mates, we'll call him Tuff, was in the squad because he is transfering to the training division as an RTO ( Recruit Training Officer). RTO is a great position, as you are directly effecting the future officers we'll be working with.
So we had JUST gotten our food, and as usual, a call comes over the radio, " 4T45, I need assistance with a family fight...RIGHT NOW!!!". This was a Tow Unit, out towing cars. The unit is not a police officer, and has no police powers or training. They simply tow abandoned cars. No body answers up for cover.....as usual everyone is busy, somewhere. I just happened to hear the request out the 'corner of my ear' as it were. No other that, we were on the other side of the city, and our unit does not generally respond to patrol calls. We are a specialized unit concentrating on problems, and on street level crime.
Soon I heard a motor unit advise he was going to assist, and then moments later the tow unit came over the air " SEND ME HELP NOW!!". You could also hear screaming in the back ground.
What had happened was the tow unit was there on the street when a woman ran up to him screaming for help. The womans boyfriend ran after her, and started beating her there on the sidewalk, and was said to be threatening her with a handgun.
As there was screaming heard when the tow unit got back on the air, the dispatcher asked for other officers to break their calls and respond code 3, when one did.
Then we heard over the radio....'' SHOTS FIRED, SHOTS FIRED.... CODE THREE COVER HE IS RUNNING NORTHBOUND".
So of course we ran out of the restaraunt, knocking over chairs and table, and flew to the scene.
What happened was as the officers arrived on scene, the boyfriend turned towards the motor officer and other patrol car, drew a gun from his pocket, and started to fire at the officers.
A bullet from the turd went through the windshield of the patrol car, at eye level of the passenger seat of the passenger officer, then the bullet fell between the officers feet on the floor board. Talk about dumb luck.
They got out of the car and ran after the guy, firing a him. Eventually he ran behind another house, and a perimeter was set up. A few minutes later a shot was heard. After a crowd of officers was put together, they went into the rear of the building and found the guy with a gun shot to the head.
Not sure if it was self inflicted or from the other officers, either way...he's dead, and no other officers are hurt. As it should be!!!
Anyhow, use the story if you like.....
Take care buddy, see you soon
G **************************************************************** Thank you again G for your contribution to Last Nights Shift.
If any readers would like to hear more stories from G, please let me know. I'll forward your replies and comments to him.
Next adventure,
Russell DON'T FORGET TO VISIT MY SITE TO SEE THE NEW POLICE AND FIRE COLLECTOR PINS! http://www.lifeonthebeat.com
The LAST NIGHTS SHIFT email list is currently over 4500 members. I need your help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your colleagues, friends, and family! They can join this free service by simply visiting my website http://www.lifeonthebeat.com and clicking on JOIN at the main page.
#147 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Mon Dec 12, 2005 2:02 pm Subject: Liar, liar russ@lifeonthebeat.com
Thank you all for the quick replies. I am sure that G will appreciate your thoughts and comments. I would also bet that G will be sending some more stories.
Two quick things. I have been selling out of the police pins on my site. Once they are gone, that's it! At $2 for a police pin, you're getting a sweet deal. But, place your order soon so you can get them shipped in time for Christmas. I have about 7 or 8 T-shirts left too.
Now, I have been inspired. I can't let G win! LOL
********************************************* Last night, I was training a new officer. He was a paramedic with our city, but his dream was always to become a police officer. (poor guy). We all tease him for ever wanting to leave a "cush" job and come to a place where you "work" for a living. That's an ongoing joke between divisions. Though, the truth is, I would never want to do their job. I gotta learn to be nice though, I'll be beggin for them if I am ever hurt. (And, I know they will be there). Hopefully I don't tease them too much. I'd hate to have them sew some rocks up in my wounds when no one else is looking.
The rookie is now taking the calls and I stand back in the shadows, allowing him to gain experience. Our first call was from a "regular" customer. This lady calls in about 3 times a night, then calls to complain to the Sgt. if she doesn't like the officer responding. We're all so used to her abuse that we just deal with her. My rookie had never met this woman before. By the time we left her house, I could see the frustration on his face. I let him in on the history, so he understood our delima and he relaxed a little. The biggest problem is the fact that you need to articulate a report on her ramblings and complaints. She is so difficult that it'll make you pull your hair out.
The next call was a "rape" that just occurred. The victim was at the emergency room of a local hospital. The call was assigned to someone else, however I told him to take the call so we could have that experience while in training.
So as we get to the ER, I allowed him to interview the victim. She gave an overview of the assault while he wrote details in his notebook. After about 30 minutes of an initial interview my rookie had dozens of pages of notes. She named a suspect and pointed us in the right direction. As he concluded the interview, I had several specific questions, but I waited for him to ask for my help. He finally turned and asked if I had any questions.
I explained to the female that I would be doing a very detailed investigation. I promised to leave no stone unturned and I would not give up on the case until it is solved.
At that time I asked her to fill in a few of the areas where I had questions. Her answers were plausable, however for some reason, she made some comments that caught my attention. Because it's a rape investigation, I won't go into details.
So, I explained that before we call out a "team' of investigators I would need to verify a few things. As I asked more questions, about the time, place, witnesses, and other details, she paused and seemed to "plan" her answer. I pressed her on some of the things she'd left out. Just then she contradicted part of her initial report. I called her attention to the problem. She hesitated and began thinking deeply about her answers. I told her that her story would need to be 100% truthful, otherwise any defense attorney will tear this case apart. She stopped and admitted that she lied about one "little" thing.
The rookie looked at me with a shocked expression. I sat down and allowed the victim to speak openly for about 10 minutes. Again, she contradicted her story and some of the details. Finally she paused and said "Ok, do you really want to hear the truth". Knowing that there was more to the story than I had guessed, I demanded the truth.
She then came clean, telling us that she has such a rage and hate for her ex-boyfriend that she is willing to do anything to get him arrested. She admitted that she had fabricated this story. She even detailed how she stalked him, waiting for him to be alone, so that he didn't have an alibi. It was quite shocking to hear how methodical she was about the report. She had gone to quite some pain to make everything work out.
I explained to her how serious a rape accusation was taken. I explained that I don't believe a rape could be faked or fabricated. There are too many clues and signs from a "real" case that she would never be able to fabricate.
As I earned her trust, she admitted that she hates this man so much, she's even planned his murder. She detailed the articles she had read, giving her the means to carry out the murder without getting caught. It was quite amazing to hear a person lay it all out on the line.
By the time we left the hospital, we had solve the case and she is facing some serious charges. We immediately contacted the man said to be involved in the case. We interviewed him as though he was an actual suspect, just to cover our bases and verify the truth. It was very complex case, but luckily we asked the right questions and saw the deception in the females story.
When it was over, we were able to prove, beyond a doubt, that the man did not commit an act of assault against the reporting party.
This is one of the rare cases we take that turns out in this manner. It sure does make it more difficult when a "real" victim makes a similar report.
I'll consider it a wonderful learning experience for the rookie in training. He's a lot more open to the fact that "regular" people lie to the police and use the police to fight their battles.
Next adventure.
Russell
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#148 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:38 am Subject: Last Nights 2-28-2006 russ@lifeonthebeat.com
Don't worry, I'm still here. Still on the beat----sorta. Still hookin up bad guys and keeping my town safe. I still read all of your emails and love to open the mail box to see them streaming in. So if you have a cool police experience, please share. I love reading your stories as much as ya'll like to read mine.
Update for ya. One year ago I tested (for the first time) to become a Sgt., I was promoted to Corporal. At that point I left my spot in the Neighborhood Preservaton Unit and came back to patrol, my first love! I got off to a rocky start as a supervisor, mainly because its a learned trait for me. Others seem to pick it up easy enough, but for me its all about the bumbs and bruises, no pain no gain theory I guess. In the last 6 months I have been the primary FTO for two new officers (both very green), so that's occupied much of my time. I put a lot of effort into training these guys. I take it very serious. The result is a little unwanted stress in other areas of my life.
Working as a Corporal I was the right hand man for the Sgt on our crew. That was fine and dandy until he got called up in December to go to the War. So now he's gone and I am the "acting" Sgt. It's great. I have a good team of guys who all seem to work well with each other. All seem to motivate each other into highly productive officers.
We have another Sgt test in a couple weeks. There are several possibilities that could result from the test. I could test well and become part of the top 5 that interviews with the administrators.
If I do extremely well, I have the oportunity to be promoted sometime this year. If I do ok, then I may have the opportunity to stay as a corporal. And lastly a poor result might mean that they take the Corporal duties away. (this position is a temporary slot and could vanish at any time.
Now you know the reason for my lack of mailing.
I do have several cool stories
Russell www.lifeonthebeat.com Don't forget your police pens, available on my site for $2, fast shipping sn
#149 From: Russell <russ@lifeonthebeat.com> Date: Tue May 9, 2006 3:29 am Subject: 5-9-2006 Time marches on russ@lifeonthebeat.com
It’s interesting how far things have come. I am exactly 9 years into my police career.
Back in 1997, when I started this profession, I had no idea where things would go. When I started writing my “life on the beat” stories, my job was different than it is now.
In the first few years I was working directly with “Big O” and “Cuz”. Those guys were my “brothers” and we were as close as men can get. In the realm of police work we worked as “one”. We were the tightest team and in many ways we were family.
As time goes on, things change. (stupid cliché, eh?) It’s so true. I wish I could tell you that things changed for the best, but they didn’t. At first we were able to choose our shifts and teammates, but after a few years the department went to a set schedule and set “teams”. Each of us ended up on a separate team and the truth is I have never had the same passion since as I did before.
I used to talk about the “salty old veterans” and wondered what made them that way. Now, I look at myself as one of them old dogs. (is that another cliché?)
Having that said, I am on a team with several young guys and it provides a different set of working experiences than the old days. Although in many ways I am alone in my endeavors, I know I am a leader and I know I have the ability to teach and lead because of my experiences.
It’s time to get back to the basics. That means get back to writing and sharing my thoughts.
One of the better cases I handled recently was a burglary call. You gotta hear the details!
It was dusk when dispatch advised of a caller on the 911 lines. Officers were advised of a burglary that just occurred. The reporting party stated that she returned home and observed two men in the process of stealing items from her garage. Luckily for her the men ran off into the darkness. Unfortunately for me, that makes it nearly impossible to catch them.
I arrived in the area with a brief description of two men dressed in dark clothing that were last seen running, eastbound from this address. I didn’t see anyone matching that description so I went to the woman’s house. She described how she left approximately 10 minutes earlier and was unable to close the garage because of problems in the garage door opener.
As is normal, I took down as many details as I possibly could. I asked as many questions as I could think. She was unable to give more than a vague description of the suspects, but she did notice that some items were missing from the garage. The suspects were able to steal several very expensive items. None of the items had any markings or serial numbers that would make the items easy to recover.
I gave the woman my best advice and began to walk to my patrol car. It was about that time she asked if her home security system would help me. I asked what she meant. She pointed at multiple cameras mounted on the edges of the roof.
I can only imagine the expression on my face. When a puppy looks at its new owner and leans it to the side, then closes one eye in a confused daze. I had that look. I kept that cocked head, squinted eye and wondered why she didn’t mention that about 2 seconds after I arrived.
She then began to give the details of the camera system. It’s totally digital and stores the images to a hard drive in the house. I wondered if the camera would ever be able to show the men in the darkness. She ended that thought abruptly. She added “we got the good ones too, they record images in the darkness”. I knew that the odds of catching the criminals just went from 1 percent to 75-80%.
Once I viewed the images, I knew we’d be able to identify the criminals. They looked as though they were 18-20 years of age and some of the clothing was very unique. The camera showed how the men had arrived just after she left. They carried out multiple items in multiple trips into the garage. I talked to the lady about my plans to advertise the images first within the law enforcement community and then “yadda, yadda, yadda”………….
The woman had asked her children to step out of her office as she showed me the images, but as I began to leave one of her oldest daughters peered through the door. In a split second she identified both suspects.
That night, I was able to contact the two suspects, one adult (18 years of age) and the other a juvenile (17 years of age). Both signed written confessions and I recovered approximately $5000 in stolen property.
I don’t think I would have been able to complete this entire case in such accuracy and in a comprehensive manner.
I put together a 17 page report in hopes that I would be able to make it easy for a prosecutor to convict both men. Any experienced cop knows the trial and conviction of a suspect is not quite as simple as it sounds. Luckily, that task is in their hands while I go out to fight crime again!
Next adventure.
Russell
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