#76 From: "Russell" <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Sun Aug 5, 2001 11:54 pm

Subject: Tears shed for slain officer 08-05-2001 russ@lifeonthebeat.com

Now, I guess I will tell you about one of the most heartwrenching stories I have

ever told. Please understand that not all of the details of this story are known

100% to be accurate because the investigation is still ongoing.

For those of you that have been on the list for an extended period of time you

will remember that I wrote about my friend "Teach". He is a great person and an

awesome cop. Teach and I are on the same team (meaning we work a lot of shifts

together), so we have gotten along really well.

Teach is always proud to talk about his brothers who are all police officers in

the same county. One brother works for the city next to where I live. I had some

training classes with him and kept in contact frequently via in-car computers

whenever we worked the same hours. He did not talk a whole lot, part of it was

that he was always making a great arrest and part of it was his quiet

disposition.

The other night on a traffic stop he found drugs on a suspect and began to take

him into custody. The suspect pulled a small handgun from his waistband and shot

the Teach's brother in the neck. The bullet penetrated just above the

bullet-proof vest, hit a bone then traveled down, piercing his hear. The suspect

also shot him in the leg. Before falling to the ground the officer shot the

suspect several times in the abdomen.

At that time the officer fell to the ground and never got up.

There happened to be a passenger in the truck as all this took place. As the

driver got back into the truck to flee, the passenger, not knowing what had just

taken place, got out of the truck and laid face first on the ground with arms

and legs extended. The truck and wounded driver the sped away. The passenger

stayed on the ground but began looking around, it was then that he realized the

officer had been shot.

>From the story I heard, the passenger ran over to the officers position and

called out on his radio to dispatch that an officer was down.

Several units arrived and began to treat the officer but it was to late. He was

fatally wounded.

The suspect drove to a gas station mile away and asked for help. Customers at

the station refused to help when they saw the cuff on the bleeding suspect

wrist. Police did respond there and put together the match of the suspect from

the shooting. He is in the hospital in serious condition at this time.

I came home the other morning and began checking email. A friend of mine had

written me saying that she heard an officer in my area had been killed. I was

horrified to find that it was true. As I looked through the news clipping I saw

the name of the officer and I instantly was shocked. I did not know what to do.

Never before had an officer so close to me been killed, especially in the line

of duty.

The first thing I did was call Cuz and Big O. They too were shocked.

When my wife returned home, I told her too. We were both silent for a long time.

A while later she said that she no longer will tell people that she is not

worried about my line of work.

We had a family function to go to, so I decided to take a shower and get ready

to go. This was probably not the place I should go, because I did nothing but

ponder how close to home this tragedy hits. I began to think about how the

officer and his wife just had a baby. The more I thought about the situation the

more I began to break down. Then it hit. I lost it. I fell to my knees right

there in the shower and wept for about 20 minutes. The world is so brutal.

I began to wonder if its all worth it. Why do we put our lives on the line? Why

do we do it? Why do the good ones dies? Why did this happen? It's do tough. It

seems like we fight with the criminal element, the good taxpaying citizens, the

attorneys, the judges, and our administration. It seems that its not really

worth it.

In about 6 hours I am scheduled to work. I will definitely be thinking of my

fallen friend. I was scheduled to be working with TEACH also, but I doubt he

will be there. I hope that he is not.

I just hate the feelings that I have right now. I hate the sadness that

accompanies this job.

Russell

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#77 From: "Russell" <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Sat Aug 11, 2001 6:39 am

Subject: Public Support? 08-11-2001 russ@lifeonthebeat.com

In my last email I asked a lot of questions. I had a lot of wonders about this

job. Why do we put our lives on the line when we get so little in return? Why do

we put our bodies and our families through the stress when in the end no one

really cares?

Since the death of my friend. I have done a lot of thinking. ALOT! I have done

even more talking with my wife. I have told my kids that I love them so much

that they think I am a fruit cake or something. I just want things to be

understood if anything should ever happen to me.

My wife told me shortly after we heard the news of the fallen officer that she

used to tell people that she knew I was safe out on the streets. I could see it

in her eyes that for the first time in my career she knew the reality of my job.

I could see the fear she had letting me go out into a world that may kill me and

never thing twice about it.

It took me a few days to stop crying. I shed a lot of tears and I asked a lot of

questions to God. It did not take long to get an answer to my questions.

I now know that this is my calling in life. I know that I LOVE this job. I love

almost everything about it. I know that my duty is out on the streets. I know

that I am meant to be here and I will never quit. I know that I will never be

rich and famous. I know that I will never have a second house or a three car

garage, but I also know that I am extremely happy with what I do for a living.

I have worked a lot of overtime this week. Whenever the opportunity is available

I snatch it up. It has nothing to do with money right now, its all to do with

the good feeling I get when I put on that uniform.

Several times this week people have commented that they do not thank us

(officers) enough for the job we do. Countless times people have mentioned that

they love police officers and just want to make sure that we know that. The

public support at this time is something I have never seen. It would be a dream

come true of the public perception of police officers stay where it is right

now. But, again I know the reality of it all. I know that in a few weeks people

will start to forget the positive feelings they have for us. I know that the

media will begin to focus on the negative things that a single officer does. For

know though, I will soak it up. I won't change. I won't give up.

Last night I worked an overtime shift. The Sgt called me and explained that he

was down 4 guys. I laughed and said, "so your alone", he replied "just about,

can you come out and help take calls for a few hours". Immediately I jumped up,

showered and dressed for work.

I took a few minor calls and then a good traffic accident.

A female had stopped to make an illegal left turn when she was rear-ended. I

looked at it measured it out and decided that both had committed a violation.

She shouldn't have been turning and he should not have struck her. I did not say

outright who was at fault because that's not really what my job is. I simply

took the evidence, made a report and issued cites for the violations. I am not

big on writing citations because I don't like to rub salt in the wound, but in

this case I was compelled to do what I did because I don't feel like the guy

following was completely at fault.

Well, as soon as I explained how I was handling the situation all heck broke

loose. The female making the improper turn flipped out. She was screaming and

crying. Then her husband showed up and started yelling. (I asked another officer

to take a look at the scene, just to see how he would handle it. Not

surprisingly he said exactly what I had determined) So, after a little bit of

this guy yelling, ole Cuz rolls up. I am trying to be civil and explain the

situation to this guy. The guy just gets more and more mad. I explained that if

he had a problem that the judge would love to hear it. I said that I am not

going to argue. At that point the guy take a step at me says one word and Cuz (a

good officer friend of mine) steps in. "THAT'S IT!" he yells "I AM STEPPING IN

NOW, I have heard you yell and complain at this officer for about 10 minutes and

I am not going to listen to it anymore." So the guy looks at Cuz and steps up

into his face. Cuz gave him a friendly warning that if he does not back off, he

is going to jail for interfering with an investigation. With that promise, the

guy stands down and apologizes. I then explained IN DETAIL why I was doing what

I was doing. He seemed to understand. His wife was still a wreck and I felt bad

for her, but I issued the cite anyway.

About an hour later I was called by the Sgt. He explained that he had a guy who

was "jerkin' his chain". I knew that meant someone had made him mad. He

explained that a boyfriend took his girlfriends vehicle about a week ago and now

is refusing to return it. The vehicle is listed as stolen, but everyone seems to

know that the boyfriend has it. The Sgt. explains that when he called the guy it

took several attempts but when he got ahold of the suspect, the suspect was

lying to him about several things. The Sgt. asked me to take care of the

situation. He told me that he thinks a certain someone needs to go to jail.

The first thing I do is swear at myself for getting into a situation like this.

I call it a "can of worms", but most officers prefer to use the word

"clusterfu**". Sorry about that, but I thought I would let you know.

The first thing I do is read the stolen vehicle report. It seems that the gut

stole it from a lot where it had been left to be fixed. The attendant remembered

changing a tire for the suspect, JD. Then JD drove off the lot with it. That was

about 3 weeks ago. Since then JD has been avoiding investigators. When they

finally got a hold of him, he denied any knowledge of the vehicle.

I met with the victim and she played and audio tape of a telephone conversation

of JD admitting to taking the car.

To make a long story short, the girlfriend knew where JD was staying. I went

there with another officer and asked JD to step out and talk to me. I asked

politely where the vehicle was. He denied knowing what I was talking about. I

then explained the law. I explained that right now I have taped conversations

telling me otherwise. I said that theft of a motor vehicle is a 2nd degree

felony. "JD, if I were to book you on a felony charge, you would have NO way to

get out of jail till Monday morning---IF YOU ARE LUCKY." I then asked politely,

"where is the car?" He looked at me and said, without hesitation "I will show

you". Knowing the run around that all of the other officers had gotten from this

guy I was very happy to get this from him. My back-up officer just looked at me

and winked. I knew that it was for a job well done. Within ten minutes I had the

car back. I told JD from the beginning that he still may be charged. I told him

that lucky for him the case was not mine. I told him that I would be referring

all of the information back to the detective. The one he lied to the first time.

JD ducked his head in shame and said "ok".

I wish all stolen vehicle cases were that simple.

Russell

www.lifeonthebeat.com

Help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your colleagues,

friends and family! They can join this free service by writing to me at

russ@lifeonthebeat.com or 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]

#78 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Fri Sep 21, 2001 4:16 am

Subject: Recent tragic events russ@lifeonthebeat.com

In the recent days the World has been exposed to great evil. I know that you

have all read and heard so much about these events so I will only mention a few

words.

I simply want to give my condolences those who died in this tragedy. I also want

to thank the citizens who have taken the time to thank the their local firemen

and police officers for the job that they do. The public support means so much

to all of us.

Since the attacks in the USA, I have planned to write a Last Night’s Shift email

several times. I just have not felt that writing about a traffic stop or a

family fight seems to compare.

Now that some time has passed I have decided to begin writing again about my

“Life on the Beat”. Starting this week I plan to send two messages a week to the

list.

--

Russell

russ@lifeonthebeat.com

http://www.lifeonthebeat.com

--

#79 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Tue Sep 25, 2001 7:41 pm

Subject: The Thrill of the Chase 09-25-01 russ@lifeonthebeat.com

I want to extend a welcome to all of the new subscribers lately. This list is

just about 1600 strong now. I think that is great.

Recently I send out an email concerning a high school girl that had overdosed on

several different pills mixed with alcohol. I was in the hospital talking to her

and telling her that I felt she needed some help. I spent several hours after my

shift talking to her and her mother. Before I left she made me a promise that in

30 days she would seek some counseling and get some help for her problems.

I waited to hear from her, not having high expectations that she would make any

changes. I know that I did everything that I possibly could, so I left it at

that. I did wonder though how she did and what happened, so I began checking

around.

Last week I worked an overtime shift at the high school where she attends. I

kept my eyes open for her and asked a few of the students for information. I did

it let them know why I was asking about her, only that I wanted to talk to her

and she was not in trouble in any way. After talking to several of the teachers

and students I was about to give up because of the lack of information. When I

asked one kid if he knew her or where she was he paused and looked at me. I

could see the wheels spinning in his mind. Then he said “Oh, ya, I know where

she is. She checked herself into rehab and has been there ever since”. I must

say that I had a good feeling come over me knowing that she was getting some

help.

Several people asked me about her so I wanted to update you all on that one.

One exciting call I had was a few days was a high speed pursuit that we had.

It was about 6 am and I was finishing up my reports. Dispatch advised an officer

of a theft of a vehicle that had just occurred. Officers checked the area but

could not locate the stolen truck anywhere.

About 30 minutes later we got a call from a construction crew advising of a

suspicious vehicle in the area. They advised that the vehicle was running over

the orange construction barrels in the area. Several officers responded, not

knowing that this was actually the same vehicle that had just been reported

stolen. As the officers arrived in the area I listened on the radio as I sat at

the station, typing on the reports that I was so far behind on.

Just then someone yelled on the mike “She’s running”. Apparently as he arrived

in the area he noticed the vehicle coming back toward the city, the driver was a

female.

As per our policy, two officers began to pursue the vehicle. The headed back

toward my location. Another officer, (to be known from now on as Rockwell)

dashed out of the station. In a flash we had gotten into our patrol cars and

were squealing out of the station parking lot. Any radio traffic I heard from

that point had a distinct sound of stressed officers with a siren wail in the

background.

Luckily it was early on a Saturday morning so traffic was VERY light.

As we got onto the main road in town and headed North, we could see the suspect

vehicle turn and go northbound about 4 blocks ahead of me. I have road spikes in

the trunk of my car, but I knew they were no good if I was behind the pursuit,

so my goal was to figure out where the pursuit was headed and get there first.

I refuse to admit how fast my patrol car was going as I went to help stop the

suspect vehicle.

I knew that there were two entrances to the freeway and that was a distinct

possibility of the next move for the suspect. Just then the suspect turned west

from the main road and headed toward the freeway. I knew it.

As I raced to the area where she was headed I listened to the pursuit being

called over the radio to perfection. Speeds were high, but not extreme. Traffic

was very light and the roads were clear and dry. Our Sgt was right in the middle

of the chase so I figured he would terminate pursuit if it came to that.

The suspect vehicle had slowed somewhat so I was able to get to the nearest

freeway entrance. I prepared to throw my spikes as I listened to the chase. Just

then the vehicle went off the main road and into a parking lot. From that area

you can see the freeway and it gives the illusion that you might be able to

access it from there. The problem is that there is no way to get to the freeway

from the parking lot that she entered.

The Sgt was calling the events on the radio. He said, “Ok. She is trapped back

here.” At that point I decided to head that direction. By policy I need to be

very careful and obey the traffic laws, as I am not active in the pursuit. As I

traveled that direction I heard the Sgt. again on the mike. He yelled “She just

tried to run over one of the officers. NOW she is attempting to back over

another”. I then stepped on the gas and said to myself that policy could get in

the back seat of my patrol car. There was no way I was going to relax while

officers were in danger.

My mind raced as I raced that direction. I thought of a thousand scenarios. I

prayed that the officers had not been injured. My emotions boiled as I waited to

hear another word on the mike. I wanted to know what was going on. I am sure

that now it was only 4-5 seconds, but to me, at that time, it felt like an

eternity.

Just as I neared the parking lot, I saw the suspect vehicle. She was headed

directly to the exit of the parking lot. She exited just in front of me, putting

me just behind her stolen vehicle. The other officers were not in sight,

probably running back to their patrol cars if they had exited.

I called to dispatch that I was now in pursuit and gave my direction and speed.

The sgt then came over the radio and told me to “pit her” if speeds were slow

and traffic was clear. To PIT a person is a newer method of stopping a fleeing

suspect. It is only authorized in a case of deadly force. All of us at the scene

could see that she was headed toward a road carrying traffic that goes at a

constant high rate of speed. I knew that if she tried to cross that road there

would be high chances of a fatality.

I moved my patrol car up next to her left quarter panel. I then nosed my car

over and began to “PIT” her car. The result is supposed to make the suspect

vehicle spin out and kill the engine. It works great in training. Today though

the suspect saw what I was doing. Just as I began to spin her car out, she

swerved to the right, causing my front bumper to catch on the tail edge of her

rear bumper. I thought she was going to spin, however she was able to correct

the vehicle. I JUST MISSED!!!!

Just then I noticed that she slammed on the brakes. She stopped directly in the

middle of the road. I exited my vehicle and approached her door very quickly I

was not sure what she was doing. I could not believe that she stopped.

As I got the drivers door, she locked it. Instantly I used my ASP (new

retractable baton) and broke out the drivers side window. At that time she threw

her hands to the roof of the truck as if to surrender. I grabbed her hands,

making sure there was no weapon and pulled them out the window into my chest. I

knew that this would prevent her from going for a weapon or getting the truck

back into gear. About that time another officer arrived and reached through the

door and opened the vehicle.

We pulled her free of the vehicle and away from the glass. As I knelt on her

back and attached both handcuffs other officers were arriving. I looked down at

my right knee and noticed that it was visibly shaking. Just then Rockwell, who

was near me put his palm on my leg and whispered “It’s ok, Russell”. I helped

the female to her feet and asked if she needed medical attention. She said that

she did not, however, it appeared that she had wrecked the truck and hit her

face on the windshield prior to our dealings with her.

I called paramedics and turned her over to the officer who initiated the chase.

I then went to Rockwell and laughed at him for telling me it was alright. It is

strange what adrenaline will do to your body.

At that time we all checked out the other officers, just to make sure that we

were all unharmed. As soon as that was done, I began to think about what had

just happened. WOW.

Upon speaking to the two officers that she attempted to run over, they explained

the situation. Apparently she went directly at one and then another, they had

split up and were ready to fire at the vehicle. Luckily, both realized that they

were in a crossfire situation. Both held off the trigger, otherwise we may have

been dealing with a very serious situation.

Help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your

colleagues,friends and family! They can join this free service by writing to me

at russ@lifeonthebeat.com or by simply visiting my website

http://www.lifeonthebeat.com and clicking on SUBSCRIBE at the main page.

--

Russell

russ@lifeonthebeat.com

http://www.lifeonthebeat.com

--

#80 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Fri Sep 28, 2001 5:08 pm

Subject: Crazy world 9-28-2001 russ@lifeonthebeat.com

The other night I had the opportunity to take one of the City attorney’s out on

a ride along. I had been over in his office, bragging that we would get into

something good if he came out with me. I did not really expect him to show up,

but sure enough at my next shift briefing, there he was.

After getting caught up on the details from the previous shifts and officer

safety alerts in briefing, we went out to my patrol car. I took a few minutes to

move stuff off the passenger seat and into the trunk, so that he had a place to

sit. Then we loaded into the patrol car and went into my assigned area.

The first call we took was a small traffic accident, then we helped to open a

car door for a woman who had accidentally locked her baby inside. Through the

course of the night we raced from one “routine” call to the next. All that

bragging I did was coming back to haunt me.

I stopped several cars for miscellaneous violations, however nothing panned out.

It was as if all the cars I stopped were coming from a church party or a

“polite” convention. Every single person had a valid license, insurance, perfect

registration and the like. Every single person was extremely polite and showed

total respect. It was a nightmare! I pinched myself so that I could wake up

and be out of this crazy world.

Obviously, I am kidding about the nightmare. Sometimes I do wonder what it would

be like if everyone I dealt with was like the people I encountered on this

night.

When the city attorney got out of the car I promised more action if he rode

another night, but he rolled his eyes, smiled, and got into his personal vehicle

and drove off.

WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO??? ;)

Russell

__________________________________________________________

A friend of mine, Cassie, wanted to submit an article to the group. I am happy

to include it for her. She is a police explorer and wants to give people a

better understanding of what explorers do.

__________________________________________________________

Hi,

I know many of ya’ll wonder what the police explorers do, well this is Life on

the Beat ---explorer style!!

We start out at 1700hrs. We get their decked out into our awesome black

t-shirts and jeans (we don’t have our Uniforms yet). We set up our booth and get

our radios and flashlights off the chargers. We rotate out from working the

booth to walking the reezeway.

Working the booth is where we hand out info on different things such as drugs

and gangs to parents and older kids. From the smaller kids we have candy (if the

tri-county guys don’t steal it) and balloons and cute lil badges.

Walking the "Breeze-way" we look for lost children and things that shouldnt

be their. We watch out for fights and we get picked on by the "carnies".

Tuesday night my partern and I were walking the breeze way and the 2 officers

stopped said something on the radio and took off running. I looked at my

partner, he looked at me (no words exchanged) and we took off after them.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us get involved in the situation.

Thursday night right when I got there they were arresting one of the guys who

had a B.B.Q. booth out there. So much for any more free food!!

Tonight will be the busiest night and the only night I can’t work (go

figure). It's called midnight madness and it lasts till midnight. People try to

jump the fence to get in free-- so officers hide on the fence line and throw

them back over….it is soooooo much fun. But also if their is gonna be problem

with gangs it will be Friday night.

God bless, stay safe, don’t get dead

Cassie.

_________________________________________________________________

Thank you, Cassie for your story.

Help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your

colleagues,friends and family! They can join this free service by writing to me

at russ@lifeonthebeat.com or by simply visiting my

websitehttp://www.lifeonthebeat.com and clicking on SUBSCRIBE at the main page.

--

Russell

russ@lifeonthebeat.com

http://www.lifeonthebeat.com

--

#81 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Tue Oct 2, 2001 6:44 pm

Subject: Stop thief 10-2-2001 russ@lifeonthebeat.com

Please take a look at my main site for some new additions. I added several pages

to the archives. Most of it is old writings of mine. It's not real organized

back there yet, but the content is there.

Also, I added some good photo's from recent cases. One pic is the meat cleaver

used in the following story.

Leave it up to me to ask for a busy night…..and get one.

In the previous email I joked about how slow it was, the very next shift I end

up getting into one of the most memorable cases ever.

I started out the evening with several small calls, dog hit, gas theft, and the

like. Then it came out. Dispatch advised a robbery that had just occurred. They

gave the location and I was right on top of it.

As I listened intently to the radio, they advised that two males, one taller and

another in a red shirt and a shaved head, had just stolen beer from a grocery

store and then threatened the clerks with weapons when the clerks attempted to

apprehend them.

I was in front of the business as the call came out. I immediately looked into

the parking lot and could see the suspects walking northbound in front of the

store. Another officer was pulling into the west end of the parking lot, so I

raced over to the north side, thus pinning the suspects at that location.

The two men matched the brief description given over the radio. I was thrilled

that I was so close and had a chance to catch these guys. As I flew into the

parking lot I could see several clerks by the front door of the store. My patrol

car jumped and bucked as I went through the dip created where the parking lot

meets the roadway. My focus was perfect though. I could see the suspects

perfectly. I placed my car in a position that they were not in my line of fire.

The tires squealed as I stopped and popped open the drivers side door. I double

checked and could see that one male was taller than the next. The other had a

shaved head and a bright red shirt.

“GET ON THE GROUND, GET ON THE GROUND”, I yelled to the two suspects. Both

hesitated for a split second, but then fell into their stomachs. Both had items

in their hands, so I ordered to see their hands too.

“DO NOT MOVE!”, I yelled. Again, I was very focused on the situation. My back-up

officer was just to my left, in perfect position. I stood behind the open door

of the patrol car and barked out clear concise orders to the suspects. Luckily,

they obeyed perfectly.

Just then I could hear the clerks yelling, “That’s not the guys, that’s not

them”.

“Oh crap” I said to my self. Are you kidding me?

Both males stayed in perfect stillness. Neither budged.

The clerks spoke to my back-up officer for a minute. He then relayed to me that

these are not the correct suspects.

Still using officer safety I approached the two men and spoke with them. They

were able to explain the situation. Both were simply in the wrong place at the

wrong time. Both completely understood, because they had witnessed what

happened.

At that point, several other officers were arriving in the area. I gave them the

best direction’s possible as to where the suspects had ran.

I then spoke to the clerks and got an idea of where the suspects ran and jumped

a fence to the south. The suspects then disappeared into the darkness of a

trailer park.

I thought that the suspects had gotten away with no chance to catch them, until

one of the four clerks casually stated, “We got this all on tape, ya know?”.

“Well lets go watch it then” I blurted out.

Upon watching the tape I got a great idea of what the suspects looked like. The

picture was color and perfect in resolution. It showed both suspects enter the

store, look around suspiciously and then look directly at the camera. (Thank

you!) Both suspects had physical features that, if located, would give them

away.

After looking at the tape, I took a copy and placed it in my car. I then got all

of the clerks signing written statements.

None of the officers in the area were able to locate the suspects in or around

the trailer park.

I was frustrated that the suspects got away, so I decided to retrace their steps

to see if I could think of anything. I went into the beer aisle and then out the

front door. I traveled south across the parking lot and then slightly west to

where there was a low spot on the fence line. The clerks all stated that both

men went over at that point.

Another officer joined up with me as I climbed over the fence and dropped to the

other side.

As soon as I landed I looked down for footprints. To my surprise I found a large

meat cleaver type knife. I looked at it and could see that it was recently

dropped. There had been a light rainstorm only a few hours ago, followed by

strong winds. There was no way that the stainless steel weapon could be this

clean. I used rubber gloves to pick it up. Again, I was surprised at what I saw.

On the blade was a perfect thumbprint. I placed it into an evidence bag.

The other officer pointed out two trailers that had lights on when he arrived

originally. I told him that there was no harm in asking a few questions. I

winked, knowing that this was a shot in the dark.

On the first trailer, I made contact with a 17-year-old baby sitter. I could see

right away that she was quite scared. She then explained in great detail that

she had heard the entire situation take place.

Some of the things that the baby sitter said to me did not sit well. As I left

her trailer I knew that the suspects were still in the trailer park. I just knew

it.

At that point the officer showed me another trailer with the lights on. He said

that there seemed to be a lot of activity when he arrived, but he did not see

the suspects.

When I knocked, a male in a red shirt, with a shaved head answered the door. I

casually asked if I could step inside to talk with him. He hesitated and said

“no”. I then asked for the homeowner. He yelled and was able to get another

subject to come to the door. Again I was denied access to the trailer.

I then asked to speak to the first gentleman that answered the door, I called

for additional units to help contain this trailer. There was something about

this place.

Upon speaking to this guy, he denied being involved. I told him that he matched

the description of the suspects. He answered several questions and did not seem

to be deceptive at all. I could tell that the red shirt he was wearing was

definitely not the same shirt worn by the suspect.

Upon talking to the homeowner one more time, I saw two men sitting inside the

trailer, just out of my view. I asked to speak with those men and the homeowner

got real jumpy. He said that I was not entering without a warrant and protested

that he knows his rights.

Another officer peered through the window and explained that this was our

suspects inside the house. Still the suspects refused to exit and the homeowner

refused to allow us to enter. I then explained that this house would be sealed

to all entering and leaving until I got a warrant. I then left and began writing

a warrant for the two men, beer, weapons and other items.

About an hour into that process one of the suspects decided to try and talk his

way out of the situation. He came out onto the porch. I raced back down and

spoke with him. This was one of the males. I placed him under arrest. He was

yelling and telling me that he would sue me. I have heard it all before and I

knew that I had the correct guy so I had another officer take him to jail.

At that point the homeowner allowed us entry and we identified suspect #2. He

was also taken into custody.

Both men were charged with robbery. In this state it’s a simple theft of beer

until a person uses force or fear to steal something. As soon as the knifes were

displayed it escalated from a minor violation to a felony.

Both went to jail that night.

Help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your

colleagues,friends and family! They can join this free service by writing to me

at russ@lifeonthebeat.com or by simply visiting my

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--

Russell

russ@lifeonthebeat.com

http://www.lifeonthebeat.com

--

#82 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Wed Oct 10, 2001 4:15 pm

Subject: The Dream 10-10-2001 russ@lifeonthebeat.com

I want to tell you about a dream I had.

You are probably rolling your eyes and thinking how ridiculous it sounds. Stick

with me for a minute and I am sure you’ll understand why I am writing about it.

I fell asleep on the couch while watching the nightly news. I began to dream

about being out on duty. I was in my patrol car in the city where I work. The

dream seemed so real that it was as if I was really in my patrol car. You know

that kind of dream, the sounds, the colors, and the actions around you.

As I am driving down the road I pull behind a car at a red light. The driver

quickly looks into the rear view mirror and catches eye contact with me. That

look means something. He is nervous about me presence. WHAT IS IT?

I hurry and open my laptop computer and run the license plate through the state

computer. It’s dark outside, so I know the light from the computer makes the

inside of my car glow. The glow outlines my silhouette dangerously. The

brightness also causes my eyes to be night-blind for a split second.

With the laptop still open I see the lights of a second vehicle. I casually

look over the top of the lid to see the second car pull up on my passenger side.

It took a second to be able to make eye contact with the driver.

Just then my heart sunk. I could now see the driver next to me. His face had no

expression. Then I saw it. He was pointing a gun directly at me. Before I could

react I saw the flash. I did not feel anything. I was sure that if the gun had

gone off, but luckily it missed. It had to, right? I did not feel anything, but

by entire body jolted.

Immediately I tried to get out of the situation. The first thing I could think

of was to get out of the car. I opened the door and leaned out in an effort to

exit.

What was wrong?

Was I hit?

I was!!! Damn!! How did this happen? WHY? WHY ME!!?? WHY NOW?

I leaned to get out, my body slumped toward the ground. My lower half was still

on the seat and my torso was hanging out toward the ground. There was no pain,

but I knew it was bad.

My only goal at that time was to advise dispatch. This son of a bi*** is not

gonna get me that easily.

As I hung there I could see the mic from my radio hanging next to my face. All I

needed to do was grab it and speak. I took a deep breath and reached for it.

Before my hand was able to grasp the mic, I saw a pair of shoes. I looked up

from to see the face on this figure. It was the same guy from the car next to

me. He raised his gun and fired again.

BANG!

Just then I woke up. My entire body jolted. I sat up from the couch and looked

around. I was in pain, literally. Every inch of my skin was tingling as if I had

been struck with a bolt of lightening. My ears were ringing. My mind was racing.

I swung my legs off the couch and sat there with the TV on in the background.

WOW! I began to realize that I was alright and it was all a dream. I could not

believe how intense it was. Every second of that dream was so real.

It has been a long time since I had a dream like that. I call it a COP dream. I

have had similar dreams in the past, however I think most were in the academy

and new on the street.

Later in the evening I got ready for work. I kept thinking about that dream. I

kept thinking how intense it was.

All night at work I avoided pulling next to other vehicles at red lights. I was

jumpy about every person on the street and every call I went on.

It was a long night.

Help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your

colleagues,friends and family! They can join this free service by writing to me

at russ@lifeonthebeat.com or by simply visiting my

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--

Russell

russ@lifeonthebeat.com

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--

#83 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Thu Oct 25, 2001 6:47 pm

Subject: Rollin' Stolen 10-25-2001 russ@lifeonthebeat.com

I have added some new additions and pics to the police photo's page, besure to

check it out at www.lifeonthebeat.com the click on Police Photos.

The last few weeks have been extremely busy. It’s too bad too because I am

falling behind on some great stories to share with you all.

My latest adventure was a fun one though. Scary too, and I will explain why.

Our city has been getting killed lately with auto-burglaries and vehicle thefts.

I would estimate we normally take one true vehicle theft call per week, recently

its one per night. Needless to say, many of the officers are frustrated because

we all take pride in preventing these types of crimes.

One new officer to our department, I will call him Rockwell, has given me a few

tips. He worked for several years with a smaller agency, but had the opportunity

to work undercover with our counties “Major Crimes Task Force”. I love listening

to his philosophies of police work. I feel that I have learned a lot from him in

just the last few weeks of working together.

With all of the recent adventures we have gotten into lately, I began calling

him my “lucky charm”.

One of the suggestions he gave me was to get out and walk a lot more on certain

calls. For example, on a barking dog call, walk into the area from a block out

and then hang out in the shadows for a while. That suggestion has paid off

considerably on big arrests. The biggest case occurred last Monday.

I was dispatched to a barking dog call in the southwest part of the city, my

area for that night. This area has been one of the hardest hit with the crimes

that I mentioned. Normally a barking dog call would get minimal attention, but

that’s not true considering the recent crime spree.

The Sgt. on duty heard dispatch announce the barking dog, so he said he would

also be on his way to the area. Both of us parked about a block out and walked

into the area. We surveyed the area, spoke to the reporting party and began

walking back to our patrol cars. About halfway back, we stopped and stood in the

shadows. (Thus, following the direct suggestion of Officer Rockwell).

As we stood there in the darkness we listened for anything out of place. The

dogs had quieted and nothing else seemed to be happening. After about ten

minutes of quiet conversation, we watched as two vehicles raced into the area.

At first it seemed quite normal, however, something seemed wrong when they

turned down a dead end street, still traveling at a high rate of speed. When

they passed we could easily see that there was only one person in each vehicle.

I then heard both vehicles immediately coming back out of the dead end street,

again at a high rate of speed. I knew that they did not have time to pick up

another passenger or drop anything off, so my suspicions grew.

I jogged back to my patrol car and traveled to the area where the two cars were

about to exit from the residential area. Both vehicles then popped out onto the

street in front of me, both running the stop signs and failing to signal. I

followed slowly as I waited for the Sgt. to have time to get to his car and

assist.

Just then it appeared that they noticed me and both turned into another

residential area in a quick manner. I activated my overhead lights and fully

expected both vehicles to pull to the right side of the road. But, that’s not

what happened.

The trailing car stopped and pulled into a driveway, but the first vehicle, a

brown Ford Bronco, accelerated away from me. I said over the radio that one of

the vehicles appeared to be running from me. Several officers asked me to repeat

my location.

Knowing that things were about to get hairy, I took a deep breath, gathered my

thoughts and began giving out information. Using the police 10 code, I announced

that a pursuit had begun. I looked up at the street signs, just to make sure,

and gave my location and direction of travel. I popped on the siren and all of

the other emergency lights. As the vehicle came to the first corner I still sort

of expected that he would pull over. That was not the case. I could hear his

tires squeal as he made the turn and his engine rev as he accelerated.

I have been in several pursuits, however it seems to be more common the last few

months than in the past.

As I called out our route, the suspect constantly turned and twisted through

miscellaneous residential areas. Several units called out their locations. Most

carry spikes, to flatten the tires of the fleeing vehicle. One officer had set

up nearby and it seemed that the suspect was headed that direction.

We popped out onto a main roadway and the speeds picked up. I followed him

northbound through the city, my lights and sirens breaking the silence of the

night.

I backed of a bit as he neared an intersection with a red light. He blew the

light and I announced over the radio that the suspect nearly caused an accident

with a single vehicle traveling westbound.

The closest officer with spikes had set up just a head of us. I explained that

we were headed right for that location. Just then, the suspect turned west into

a residential area. We circled around a few blocks then back out onto the

roadway. Again we headed directly at the spike car. Unfortunately for us, he

turned off again into a residential area, around the spike car and then toward

the freeway.

When we got on the freeway I was actually relieved. I felt that up there he had

less of a chance of killing someone at on intersection or losing us if he got

out on foot. My main concern at that time was how much fuel I had. When I looked

down and saw ¾ of a tank, I was quite happy.

At this time I the chase I had a chance to relax, collect my thoughts and plan

ahead. I called out to dispatch to get in touch with the registered owner of the

vehicle. They explained a short time later that the vehicle had just been stolen

out of our city.

After a few miles on the interstate, the suspect went down into the median, then

back up on the other side. I just hoped that he would not attempt to go the

wrong way when he made it through the median.

Luckily, he decided to head back toward our city. That’s where the tide turned.

By this time several patrol units set up in strategic locations with road

spikes. It was not long before someone called over the radio for me and the

trailing units to back off, because spikes were being deployed.

I pulled to the left lane and moved my spot light up and down on the suspect

vehicle. I wanted the spike car to know exactly what vehicle was the suspect.

Traffic was light, but this was one time I wanted no miscommunication. A younger

officer keyed the mike and began yelling. I smiled, because I could hear the

adrenaline in his voice. Just then I saw the spike strip pop from under the car

and land on the side of the roadway. I again pulled behind the suspect, looking

to see if his tires were losing air. I announced on the radio that it appeared

one tired had been spiked, but I was not sure. The air comes out slowly as a

safety measure so that the driver does not lose control of his vehicle.

At the next exit, the suspect drove down the off ramp, crossed the road and then

began to re-enter the freeway. As he headed up the ramp, I could see that there

were patrol cars at the top.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, the suspect veered from the roadway and went out

across the dirt. I saw the drivers side door fling open and then close. I knew

he was preparing to run. I stopped my car and saw his feet hit the ground.

I hopped out of my car and began to run as quickly as possible toward the

suspect. He scaled a fence and was instantly on the other side. When I came to

the fence I paused, looking at the sharp barbs on the top. Without another

moment wasted, I climbed over and was off and running. By this time two other

patrol cars were already in the area.

One officer, who is very fast, outran the suspect and tackled him straight to

the ground.

Several of us were there at the same time and threw on the cuffs. I patted him

down, and then had him sit in Woody’s patrol car.

At that time I took a deep breath and thanked God that no innocent people were

injured.

Upon talking to the suspect, he lied about everything. He gave his brothers name

and was found to already be on felony probation. He had several warrants and had

been arrested for many property and drug related crimes.

It was a good chase. Everything went well. I have said it before and I will say

it again. If I am never in another chase, I will be just fine. It’s so dangerous

when someone runs from you. They only want to get away and many times innocent

people get killed as a result. This time everything worked out well.

It appears that this kid could very well be involved in many of the recent

vehicle thefts and auto burglaries in our city. Hopefully we are able to do more

than just recover this particular vehicle with this arrest.

The vehicle owner could not stop thanking us. He kept saying how good we were

and how happy he was to get his car back. I just smiled and said “No Problem”.

Help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your

colleagues,friends and family! They can join this free service by writing to me

at russ@lifeonthebeat.com or by simply visiting my

websitehttp://www.lifeonthebeat.com and clicking on SUBSCRIBE at the main page.

--

Russell

russ@lifeonthebeat.com

http://www.lifeonthebeat.com

--

#84 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Sat Nov 10, 2001 6:29 pm

Subject: 11-10-2001 The woman who cried "Rape" russ@lifeonthebeat.com

Last night was a strange night. For a Friday night things definitely started out

slowly. My first call was a car with the keys locked inside. Then I assisted on

a family fight. I did end up taking vandalism to a vehicle call, but aside from

that things were cold, wet and slow.

Few good calls makes for a long night on patrol. The rain and soggy weather did

not help things.

About 45 minutes before it was time to get off duty I was parked next to officer

Logan and officer Tot. I was chattin’ at Logan while he was finishing up is

reports on the in-car laptop. It was so slow that every time a minute clicked on

the clock I looked over and gave an update. The conversation went like this:

Russell: “43 minutes left”

Logan: “Hey my clock says 41 minutes”

Russell: “Ok, lets go by your clock”

Logan: “Sounds good, now shut up so I can do my reports”

Sgt (over the radio) “Logan when are you going to finish report number 432 and

442.

Logan looks over at me with that lowered brow, “hush”…”Sgt, I am doing them

right now”

Russell: “41 minutes left”

At that time Logan puts his car in gear and announces his plans to go to the

station where he can type faster…. without interruption.

Russell: “Maybe I will follow you in and sneak into the locker room 5 minutes

before 7.

After that I sat there for just a second. Dispatch then came on the air and

announced a call for Officer Logan. As soon as he answered I looked in the

screen at the pending call. I just said “Oh Oh” as I noticed the call was

delayed rape by force.

A call of that magnitude is definitely one that will take several hours (at a

minimum) to investigate.

I grabbed the radio and told Logan to go finish his reports. I knew that he

needed to be off on time to be able to make it to a local college football game

in which he has season tickets. I said “Dispatch, assign that call to me. I will

be in route.”

Tot looked at me and said “He owes you big!”. I ducked my head and said “yup”.

In reading the pending screen it said, “5 hour delayed forcible rape. Suspect

used a gun and handcuffs. Also stole personal property from the victim.” Then

dispatch sent me additional information saying that the victim had just showered

then decided to call.

After reading the screen Tot looked at me and said, “There is no way. Something

is wrong here.” I looked back and said, I agree. I have a feeling that something

is messed up. It just seemed a little extreme. Although, I have handled similar

cases so it was quite possible that its legit.

Tot and I responded to the location where the victim wanted to meet. Initially

she was not there so dispatch called her back and advised her that we had

arrived.

A short time later the victim came jogging out of a motel, across the parking

lot to the restaurant where she asked us to be. When she got to my location, she

said “You know what happened right?” I said “ya”. She said, “so can you call him

and get my stuff back”.

I was a little puzzled. I looked at her. She was dressed nicely and her hair was

not wet at all. She did not appear at all to be upset at all and did not appear

to have been crying.

Just then the rain began to come down very hard. We were both standing there

outside, so I asked if another officer and I meet inside somewhere to get the

details and discuss what we were going to do next. She said that she was

embarrassed to be seen with the police so she asked us to wait 2 minutes then go

to room 310 of the motel. She then ran off.

I looked at Tot and scratched my head. “This seems weird”. He agreed.

When we arrived in her room she offered me a place to sit but I elected to

stand. She sat down and began to tell the story. She started, however, 4-5

months back. When it was obvious that she was not getting to the details of last

night, I stopped her and tried to get her back on track. She would begin to

talk, but was very vague on the details.

Finally I stopped and asked direct questions. “Where did this happen?”.

“Outside in the parking lot of the motel.” She said.

“What time?”

“About 5 hours ago”

“Ok, tell me how you got into the parking lot and then what happened next”

“On September 20th, I was ……” She rambled.

“Ma’am, I need to know what happened in the parking lot”

This exchange went on for a while. I know that its tough and I was not looking

for intimate details of the case, but I did need a place to start.

I then explained that we would likely need her to go to the hospital for an

exam. I asked if she would be willing to do that. She repeated that she had

already showered. I explained that does not matter, because there still may be

some evidence. She then protested that she has a flight to catch in 2 hours. I

stopped and consoled her. I explained how I understood that she was frightened

and confused. I attempted to console her because I did not want to seem cold or

hardened.

After a few minutes she stopped and said, “Did I tell you that this happened

last night, I meant to say that it was 5 hours and one day ago”.

At that point I looked over at Tot and he looked at me. It seemed as though her

story was falling apart.

With every detail she gave, she left something out. When we asked about it she

had some wild answer or she changed the entire story completely.

Now I understand that if a woman gets rapped it’s a horrible experience. Trust

me, at that time I want nothing more than to stick the scumbag in jail and let

the judge have a piece of him. But, in this case it just seemed as though she

was being very deceptive. Ok, I’ll just say it. I knew that she was lying, but I

did not know why.

I asked her point blank “What do you want me to do?”

“Just get my stuff back and I will not worry about it” She said.

This just did not seem like a reasonable answer.

Finally I called her on all of the lies. She sat down and said, “Ok, I was

lying, but I will tell the truth.”

Again, the story began about 5 months ago. I listened as she explained that she

was at a friend’s house and left some property. About a month ago she went to

get it and they would not give it to her. She said that she reported that

information to the police agency in that city, but they told her it was a civil

problem and did not help her.

Tot looked at her and exclaimed, “So you lied about being raped so we would go

get your property?”

She then confessed that she lied in order to make it a criminal matter so that

the police would help her. I explained to her the finer points of making a false

police report. I also explained that its people like her that make it hard on a

legitimate victim of rape to be believed. I told her that was a shame.

With that Tot and I turned and walked to the door. She began yelling at us and

calling us names, but we just left.

As it turned out, no crime occurred and the civil problem occurred in another

county.

Needless to say, I was about an hour and a half late getting home all because

some lady wanted to cry “Rape”.

Russell

Help this email list to grow. Please forward these emails to your

colleagues, friends and family! They can join this free service by writing to me

at russ@lifeonthebeat.com or by simply visiting my

website http://www.lifeonthebeat.com and clicking on SUBSCRIBE at the main page.

--

Russell

russ@lifeonthebeat.com

http://www.lifeonthebeat.com

--

#85 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Sun Nov 25, 2001 10:45 am

Subject: My last night on Team 2b 11-25-2001 russ@lifeonthebeat.com

Last night I thought a lot about what I could write about. It was cold, wet, and

slow- all night long. Even the most exciting call of the night, a huge fight in

progress, did not provoke much more thought than the simple traffic stop I had

made minutes before.

What I felt the most compelled to talk about is something a little new. I want

to talk about the team of guys I worked with this last month. No, its not a

gossip session….no real dirt here….I just simply want to give an idea of the

“behind the scenes of our police department. In reality it’s a showcase of my

admiration to the guys I work with.

I was thinking that this email would be quite short, however, my thoughts are

running wild. (I like that feeling when I sit down to write to you all) Stick

with me.

To give a little detail I will fill you in on the basics. Our department is on a

new system the administration has called the “team system”. On the team system,

patrol officers were divided into 3 groups, and then simply labeled teams one,

two, and three. (Simple, ehh?) Within each team is a crew. So team one has A and

B crew and so does teams 2 and 3. Team 1a, 2a, and 3a have virtually the same

days off, but each team is on a different shift, i.e. day, swings, graves. Team

1b, 2b and 3b, also have the same days off, but again are all on differing

shifts.

This all started approximately 6 months back. When I hired on, we were on what

they called a bid system. In the bid system the patrol officer with the most

seniority chose his shift and his days off, then the next guy on seniority, and

then the next. It went down until the newest rookie was stuck with the

leftovers.

As most of you know I am very close with two officers in particular…. Cuz and

Big O. We worked well together and played off each other. Every shift was an

adventure. I loved it and definitely miss the old times.

On the team system it worked out that Big O was put onto Team 1a, Cuz = 2a, and

I went to 3b. It works out we all were on different shift and I had opposite

days off as they do.

For a long time it was depressing to be without my good friends, however I have

given it my all to make the best of an apparent bad situation.

While on team 3b, I have worked closely with the same officers for 6 months

straight. We are a good crew and we have a good mix of experience and knowledge.

Last month 3b rotated from graves 9pm-7am over to Swings 3pm-1am. (ya, 4-10 hour

shifts is nice) About the time we rotated, team 2b lost some officers. One due

to a Sgt. retiring and thus a promotion, and then another officer lost for an

unknown amount time when he was called to active duty. Also, two new officers

were still on FTO. Meaning two experienced officers were somewhat tied up with

two rookie officers.

When it was realized how shorthanded team 2b was going to be, I was asked to

switch over for a period of a month. I liked the idea for several reasons. First

of all I had a chance to team up with Cuz again for one day a week. The other

good thing was I had the chance to work graves for another month. Essentially,

it was a great move. I love graves and I liked the idea of working closely with

several guys that I had the chance to do so in a while.

Now that the month is over and I go back to my regular shift, I am again excited

for the newness.

I know that given the choice I would pick the bid system over the team system. I

also know that I need to make the best out of a tough situation. I personally

feel that I have grown as an officer because there was a lot that I depended on

from Cuz and Big O.

My thoughts of this email initially to describe, in detail, some of the guys I

worked with over the last month on team 2b.

I mentioned the first guy just the other day. I call him TOT on this list,

because as a joke one night we teased that he and his training officer got along

so well that the FTO was TATER and the rookie was TOT.

Tot and I have always gotten along well. I think its his personality. He is the

type of guy that does not let anything bother him. In police work we all make

mistakes. Any error he has made seems so minor. I guess its because of his laid

back personality. He has a joking personality and can find fun in anything.

Many cops acquire this talent, but Tot is a natural. The one thing he always

does when were together is point out my mistakes to large gatherings of other

officers. Its great comedy as he makes sure everyone remembers the time I

clipped a tree with my patrol car, breaking a taillight and creasing the fender.

But, when he backs into a chain link fence or gets high centered on a cement

barrier, it was just part of the job. Over the last month I think that I gained

the most respect for Tot out of all the officers on team 2b.

The next guy on my mind is Officer Logan. He started about the same time as I

did; however he’s younger and was single at the time. When he was dating his

girlfriend he had a lot of fears about marriage. I remember talking to him quite

a bit. I had been married about over 6 years at that time. Logan is one of these

guys that grew up wanting to be a police officer. He also had aspirations (still

does) of being an Air Force pilot, but being a cop won out. Working with him

this month was a lot of fun because I could see the growth he has made in many

ways. He and his wife now have a baby together and his police skills are top

notch. He seems to make a lot of great arrests. The difference between Logan and

Tot is the fact that Logan does not want to raise eyebrows with the “brass”. He

does his job by the books and hates to make those mistakes that I mentioned were

so frequent in this profession.

Ole’ Rock is a friend of mine. We knew each other before I got hired and I am

happy that our friendship has continued. He is about the hardest working officer

on the department, despite the fact that he is twice our age. His hustle makes

him stand out above anyone else. The neat thing about Rock is that he never

complains about taking more calls than the next guy. Every year the records

always show that he took the most calls for the entire year, in that aspect I

think that Rock “walks on water”. The one thing we all know about Rock is that

he will speak his mind. Again, I think this is a trait many officers pick up,

but Rock is a pro. If he’s on your side of the discussion your better off, trust

me. Over the last month, though he was training a new officer so I did not get

to spend much time with him.

The last officer I will mention is Duke. I guess that’s a good name for him

cause I never mentioned him before on the list. Like Rock, he was training a

rookie, so contact over the last month was minimal. Duke is the most happy,

go-lucky officer in our department. I have never heard him say a mean word and

he seems to handle every call with poise. He has the personality for a police

officer that we all like and admire. The kind that kids look up to and other

young officers pattern themselves after. The best thing Duke can do is calm down

a drunk. I am telling you that every drunk he has ever arrested felt that Duke

was his best friend. NEVER has he been in a fight with a drunk, I wish I could

say the same.

If you are still reading this email I thank you. Please understand too that this

is not just a ploy, I really mean those things. None of those officers, to my

knowledge are aware I write on this list. It was one of those few times that I

felt the need to mention some of the guys I work with. I guess that I just

wanted to give a look at what goes on in my mind when there is not some huge

case that I had just finished.

I know the reason my mind is not on police work and I guess I will confess to

you. Later this week I have a huge Jury trial set on a case of mine. It’s a

felony child sexual abuse situation. Probably the case that bothers me the most

and one that I will never forget. A young boy confided in me that his father had

been abusing he and his brothers. The father confessed to me a criminal episode

that may get him a mandatory 30 years in prison.

I guess things weigh heavy on a cops mind sometimes.

Russell

--

Russell

russ@lifeonthebeat.com

http://www.lifeonthebeat.com

--

#86 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Fri Nov 30, 2001 1:27 pm

Subject: Comp time 11-30-2001 russ@lifeonthebeat.com

I have been off work for the last several days, because of some “comp” time I

accrued throughout the year. It all needs to be gone before Dec. 31st. It’s

really too bad when they come to you and force you to take some time off!

It worked out well because this week was my 10th wedding anniversary. Congrats

to me, ehh?

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have been adding some photos to my

Police Photos page. Some of the stuff is really interesting.

Today, I also added a new poem to the Police Poems page. The title of the new

poem is “The Job”. The author of the poem sent it to me this morning. She wrote

it in honor of fallen officers in Chicago.

Because I have not been in for a few days I figured I would send out a story

that was sent to me from a friend of mine. She has a mailing list called

CopDevotionals. You can find additional information at the end of this message.

Stay in touch,

Russell

We've had last night's shift, Russell style; and last night's shift, Explorer

style; now it's time for last night's shift, Officer Denise style! hehe

Ok, so I'm not a cop. I live out my cop adventures through Russell ;) I do,

however, run a police ministry, and I am also beginning my pursuit of becoming a

police chaplain. I did a ride along recently with a police chaplain for a large

metropolitan police department.

Chaplains don't experience the same adventures that cops do, but they do witness

some of the same trauma that the officers see. That is the most likely time

they will be called in... during times of serious injury, death, or disaster.

My ride along started out quite benign. I got to wear a chaplain's jacket (cool

jacket!), which pretty much got me in anywhere. Everyone just assumed I was a

chaplain, hehe. We were getting ready to drive in for roll call when a call

came out over the radio for a "suicide in progress".... I'm thinking, how can

one be "in progress"???

We were very nearby the address, so we headed over. Right before we arrived on

scene, another call came out for the same address as "shots fired". I looked

over at the chaplain and said, "I guess it's a done deal." We were the first

car on scene, along with another patrol car that pulled up.

We got out of the car and the chaplain starts walking down the street looking

for the address. I'm getting a little nervous, and called after him, "Hey, they

haven't secured the area yet!" We waited across the street for about 10 minutes

until the officers could determine that it was safe to enter.

We followed the medics in and found out that the gentleman that shot himself

didn't succeed in killing himself. It was an elderly man, dying of cancer, and

he had shot himself in the stomach. I dared myself to look at him as I walked

in, and it really wasn't all that gruesome. Not a lot of blood.

The chaplain goes over to check on the status of the man, and sends me down the

hall to sit with the wife, who is crying hysterically. I'm thinking, "Oh yah,

sure, my first call, no experience, no training, send me in, Chap!" I sat with

her until the chaplain came in and I let him do most of the talking. There

really isn't too much you can say to a woman whose husband just tried to kill

himself. I really felt like I was more of a quiet source of comfort and

stability. We prayed with her and made sure she had what she needed to go to

the hospital.

We went on to the hospital to talk more with the family, as the adult children

were also showing up about now. We mostly spent time explaining to them why the

police were doing the things they were (some of the family members had been

angry and confused by police procedure) and provided some comfort and info

regarding their dad/husband. The family thanked me when I left, as did some of

the officers back at the department, so I must have done ok. I really felt like

I hadn't done anything, but I think that a calming presence went a long way with

the family.

I came home and was still wired. I was also very disturbed at the fact that

this suicide call didn't upset me. I went in, "did my job", and left. I had

absolutely no emotion, no upset. I found that odd. I got online and was very

thankful that Russell was there to talk with! He made a good point... I've been

around him for so long, that these things don't have the shock value that they

used to. Between him and some other officers I know, I've become accustomed to

the profession.

Still somewhat disturbed about the lack of emotion, I talked with one of my

pastors. She felt that it is also because God is equipping me to be able to do

the job of a police chaplain. I can go in, provide comfort and prayer, and

still be able to move on.

What a way to start... getting right in and getting my hands dirty, so to speak!

But it showed me that I can do what I gotta do. Thanks, Russell, for the

debriefing!!!!

Denise

P.S. Anyone wishing to receive Christian e-mail devotionals for LEOs and future

officers can go to my site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/copdevotionals or

write to me at CopDevotionals@aol.com.

#87 From: "Russell " <russ@lifeonthebeat.com>

Date: Thu Dec 20, 2001 5:34 am

Subject: 12-21-2001 Christmas Fraud lastnightsshift

Offline Offline

Sorry about the lack of emails lately. I have been working hard and have made

several recent updates the my site, http://www.lifeonthebeat.com

Please check out the Ask-a-cop message board if you have police related

questions or concerns. Feel free to also put your 2 cents in on any of the

topics or questions.

Also, take some time to sign the new guestbook I just added to the main page.

It’s always fun to see where people come to visit My Life on the Beat.

I love getting replies to these emails, so if you get a chance, let me know what

you think. If you have a police story please let me know and I will put it on

the site and forward it to the list. Everyone loves police stories.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It seems that every year, the closer you get to Christmas there is an increase

in certain crimes.

I did get a call last night that was a direct product of the season that is upon

us.

After briefing we all headed out of the squad room and made our way out to the

parking lot and got in our patrol cars.

It was cold and icy out so we expected several traffic accidents. I never look

forward to taking traffic accidents; most police officers feel the same way. As

soon as the call comes out, you’re guaranteed to be standing in the rain, snow

and/or wind, somewhere directing traffic. In almost any accident, someone was

speeding, following too close, or failing to yield to someone else, but when you

try to explain it to the person at fault…Watch out! If there is any question,

you know that a civil subpoena will end up in your box indicating your next

court date.

I guess that it could always be worse right…I could have been INVOLVED!

After a few traffic accidents and other miscellaneous calls, I got the whopper

of the night.

Dispatch advised of a delayed fraud at a restaurant in the mall. On the way to

every call I try to imagine all of the possibilities. I try to run all of the

good and bad scenarios through my head. I missed this one by a mile. I figured

I'd collect the pertinant information then refer it to a detective to follow up

on.

As I pulled into the mall parking lot, traffic was at a standstill. There is

only 364 Christmas shopping days in a year, but everyone waits there is only

five or six. The result is heavy traffic and hot tempers.

I finally pulled up to the curb and parked my patrol car. I turned on the

flashing “hazard lights”, just so that it looked like I was headed inside for a

call and not just doing my own personal shopping. (Which actually sounds like a

good idea).

As I went inside and began speaking to the manager. The suspect was gone and it

was a delayed report. (I won’t go into the specifics of the crime, because what

the guy did was so ingenious. It’s good that most people do not know how to do

it. I spoke to a manager of a bank later and he was surprised that someone

figured out how pull it off).

Upon talking to the manager he detailed how the suspect made off with $4000 in

food and gift certificates. It really made my head spin. All the numbers,

receipts, times, locations, and gift certificates were mind boggling. I had an

entire bag of papers and receipts to sort through and add up.

While the manager and I discussed everything and I wrote down names and

addresses of those involved. I wondered how we were ever going to find the

suspect. It was actually quite astonishing, because as the manager spoke, I

looked into the mall at the crowds of people walking by. Just then I looked up

and said “Is that him?” The manager gasped and exclaimed that it was! (To be