Don't run from the cops

This morning, I am writing at about 04:24 in the morning. You might ask “who in the world is up at that hour”, before you answer, just think about it!! LOL, cops and bad guys, right?

I was very sick when I woke up last evening and I hurried to get into my uniform and rush out the door. Just as I mentioned in my last email, I hate taking time off during the night shift, so I figured I’d suck it up and work through my “flu”. Just as I arrived, I sat down in ‘briefing” and listened to all of the happenings from the previous shifts.

Almost immediately someone looked at me and said, “you need to go home, you look sick”. I shrugged it off and headed out for patrol.

Just as I got into my car, a “shoplifting” call came out over the radio. The suspect was seen jumping into a vehicle and it was last seen in my general direction. Sadly I was several minutes from the area, but I still decided to head toward the scene. As I got close, dispatch gave a plate number and a description, the vehicle showed as “stolen”. By now, several officers saturated the area and I kept a keen eye out for him. I never did see the vehicle, so I turned and traveled toward the freeway, thinking that might be a good option.

About that time, another officer piped up on the radio, saying that he is following the vehicle and gave an updated location. They we just north of me and they were headed toward the freeway!!! Unfortunately for me, they were one exit north and also entering the freeway, northbound. Geez! The initial officer waited for back-up before initiating the stop, which I thought was a great tactic.

I stopped briefly to assist, but they had the suspects all out of the stolen vehicle, after a great looking “high-risk” traffic stop. Textbook!! The vehicle was full of suspicious property, so I assisted by driving the vehicle to our station into a “garage” so we could search and inventory the vehicle, out of the weather and more importantly, off the freeway (out of traffic).

I’d forgotten about how sick I was, until we got back to the station. Then quickly, a couple of the guys reminded me how bad I looked. Uggh, why does it always make you feel worse when people tell you how sick you look??? LOL. So, I hacked and coughed (no further description of what came out), until I finally agreed with them, “I’m sick”.

I was sad to have to walk away from that call, because it was a really good one! I must give huge kudos to those officers who made that stop happen. Of course, having a great witness makes our just so much easier!!

So, here I sit at 04:48 in the morning, wondering what else can keep me busy. I’ve got to stay on my sleep schedule, because I do plan to work tonight!

I still want to encourage everyone to take some time to visit my Ask-A-Cop message board at http://forums.ganon.net/ or access it through my website http://www.lifeonthebeat.com/

I didn’t have much to do with the above arrest, so I thought I’d pass on a story of my own. It was a couple months back, but definitely worth telling.

While working a dayshift and I was on patrol in the south end of the city, when I observed an adult male walking southbound. He wearing a white sweatshirt with the hoodie pulled over his head and face. As you’d expect, I was a little curious, because it was the middle of the day, and he was giving off that “vibe”. I stopped to make casual conversation with him, hoping I could find out if he was up to no good or if I was simply incorrect in my initial impression of him.

It was somewhat cold and wet outside, so it wasn’t that unusual for him to have his hoodie covering his face, I decided offer him a ride. He immediately declined my offer and stated that he was walking to an apartment complex several blocks away.

I offered a ride again, pointing out how far away the apartment complex is from here, but he again declined, then I asked his name. (For the sake of the story all names have been changed to protect the innocent------uhhh------well, forget the innocent part-----bear with me, the names have been changed. How’s that!!!??) He stated, "Jimmy", so asked "Jimmy what?" and he stated "Jimmy Winterhaven". We cordially parted ways, but knowing something was up, I immediately ran the name through the computer and located multiple warrants for "James Winterhaven", an adult male matching the description of "Jimmy".

I looked through my rear-view mirror as Jimmy walking away with his head slightly turned. I could tell that he was watching me out of the corner of his eye. I debated for a split second how to deal with my dilemma………so I touched the brake. As soon as that happened, he took off in a dead sprint!!! I turned my patrol car around and began to pursue him. As luck would have it, he first ran along the roadway, giving me a little bit of a chance to gain some ground on him, but then he changed directions and ran up the driveway of a nearby home.

I now intended to question Mr. Winterhaven about the warrants…………(wouldn’t you?). I figured the offer for a ride was now a demand……....(wouldn’t you?)

I saw him look back once to verify that I was in fact pursuing him on foot. I contacted dispatch to advise of the situation. I purposely tried to sound very calm, giving my direction of travel and other vital information. I’d gone over it all in my head, just as I train all of the young officers.

He ignored my demands to stop and continued to run from me. Smugly, I barked to him that he wouldn’t be able to get away, and then I ran as fast as I could. I was a little shocked as I looked down and my legs weren’t going as fast as I expected. Geez, I thought, either I am getting old, or maybe, I hoped, I am just out of shape! I concluded instantly that it must have been a little of both.

Mr. Winterhaven crossed several different properties, climbing fences, and running
headlong in an obvious attempt to avoid apprehension. At one point, things were quite comical as we both ran. As we crossed through one guys yard and then his driveway, he was unloading the groceries from his vehicle. I saw him look at us for a moment, then he went back to his business, unloading the vehicle. I don’t know if he ever gave it a second thought, to be honest with you, I doubt it. Just imagine some dude sprinting through the snow and mud, then a police officer chugging along, taking up the rear. Ok, if it was my groceries, I wouldn’t give it a second thought either, J

The first fence Jimmy climbed was more than six feet tall and that’s when I thought I had him. Just before I could snatch him, he flung himself over the top of the chain links. His clothing snagged and ripped on the metal spikes at the top of the fence. His sweatshirt then tore and he dangled on the other side of the fence for a moment. Just in the nick of time he was able to free himself and fall to the ground. Without missing a beat, he was off again at full speed.

When I got to the fence, I grabbed the chain link and looked to the top obstacle. How he got over that fence, I’ll never know. I tried to hoist myself up, but it wasn’t happening. Was it the “age thing”? No, it’s the “outta shape thing”, right?

I looked to both ends of the fence, just for the off chance that there was a stool or a chair left behind, by some kind sole. With those hopes dashed, I thought about the promise I made to that kid, “you won’t get away”. I the jerked myself up to the top of the fence, seeing the spikes and jagged edges at the top really frustrated me!!! I leapt to the ground on the other side, snagging the thigh area of my pants. I hit the ground with a thud. Admittedly, I didn’t run nearly as fast as Jimmy did, I gained satisfaction that I DID get up and kept pursuing Jimmy through the snow.

As crazy as it sounds, my first thought was “OMG, these are brand new pants”. This is the first time I’ve worn these pants and their ruined! (Joyce will kill me------inside joke, sorry)

Then I keyed the mic and updated my location. I was shocked to find that I was very out of breath. My voice cracked and scratched across the airwaves, but I knew that I’d pursued this guy far enough to necessitate an update.

I saw Mr. Winterhaven then run around the edge of a property about 3 houses east of me. That was the first time I had lost sight of him, so I had a deflated feeling that he just might get away.

Just then, another officer smugly announced that he’d apprehended the suspect. I ran to their location and found the suspect sprawled out in the mud and muck at the edge of the roadway.

Jimmy’s bad luck never did improve. It seems that just as he got out of my sight, he was confronted by a 6’6, 250 lb, brick wall, known better as my “back-up”. The officer was in a marked patrol car, racing to my location when Jimmy popped out from behind the house and dropped to the ground, knowing he was caught.

When I got there, Jimmy was already in handcuffs and there was nothing left for me to do. I’ve always had pride in myself for not getting angry, but I do have to admit I really wanted to…………oh never mind. I was happy the man was safely taken into custody with only that much force that was necessary ---------how’s that!!!???

Adding insult to injury, Winterhaven was found to be in possession some drugs and drug paraphernalia. I laughed at him for not having the foresight to throw the dope. He pointed out to me that the container was chained to his belt-loop as part of a keychain!

About that time, I began to feel the burn in my lungs. UUUUUGhhhhh, I gasped quietly, where no one could hear me. That’s it, I concluded, I’ve got to get back into shape.

As things calmed down, I remembered the tear in my pants. Oh, man, these are new pants! Then I realized that I had a decent cut on my hand. It was bleeding and there was a one-inch rip across the palm. I figured that I must have gotten it when I climbed over that fence. I covered it up and hid it from the other officers, because it’s a huge aggravation for me to fill out all of the paperwork and jump through all the hoops as required by “policies and directives”. Some good peroxide and a band aide would avoid that headache.

Looking around, I could see quite a bit of blood in the snow and the surrounding area. It wasn’t mine, so I began to examine Jimmy. I found that he also had some pretty good gashes on his hand and arms. That’s what you get when climbing that darn fence, I thought.

Jimmy got some medical attention then the other officer transported Winterhaven to the County Jail and booked him on a series of charges.

Russell
(It’s 6:10 in the morning, so if I head to bed it won’t throw off my sleeping schedule too much).

P.S.
Please do me a favor and forward this email to your friends and family. My goal is to send the messages to the general public as well as law enforcement. It’s my hope that people read these stories and form a better understanding what REALLY goes on out there. Thank you in advance for assisting in helping my site and email list grow.

Email me at russ@lifeonthebeat.com because I love to hear feedback!

Again, take a moment to visit my site and message board at http://www.lifeonthebeat.com/

Please take the time to visit my message board. Also, it's a great place to ask police related questions and to exchange stories and questions. http://forums.ganon.net is the newest link you can go directly through the link, however you can still access the site from http://www.lifeonthebeat.com/ then click on "ASK A COP" message board.

The last few nights have produced several very interesting cases. Last night I spent several hours working a case involving a counterfeit $100 bill that was passed at a local gas station. What a pain that turned into!

Within the last couple weeks, my team rotated back to the night shift. I love every minute of the night shift so much, I try not to miss one night of the action, even for sick time.

Probably the best case I have had recently is a good old fashion traffic stop. I was sitting with another officer, typing reports, when he pointed at a nearby vehicle and commented that if he was not so busy it would make for a good stop. His tone suggested to me that he was issuing me a challenge.

Up for the task, I immediately saw several violations. I pulled the vehicle over and began to speak to the driver, "Can I see your license, registration, and proof of insurance please?" He was so nervous that he had beads of sweat on his forehead. He said he'd forgotten his wallet and license at home and explained that the owner
of the car is the female in the passenger seat. I explained that I would still need to see the paperwork for the vehicle. Just then the passenger gave me her ID card, which seemed a little strange, because I hadn't asked about it. Together the driver and the passenger began shuffling around the interior of the vehicle for the registration and insurance, but they were unable to find anything of interest to me.

I asked the passenger about the vehicle, hoping to verify the information. All of the sudden, she began screaming and bent over at the waist. She claimed to be having some sort of abdominal pain. She yelled and cried, saying that they were on the way to the hospital when I stopped them. I immediately pointed out the fact that they had just passed a hospital and were now going the wrong way. She replied that they were going to a "clinic" in a town north of here. I then explained that I was unaware of any clinic open at 4 in the morning. Now she screamed louder. I asked if she needed an ambulance and she agreed that might be best. Although, I was quite sure it was all a ploy, I did as she asked.

As we waited, I asked the driver to step out and stand with another officer. I then checked his information and found a photo on the State database. Although I wasn't positive, I didn't think the photo matched our guy.

The information on the female showed an NCIC hit out of California. She is wanted for felony possession of a stolen vehicle. Everything was going in my favor until I saw a small notation saying that California would not extradite. UGGHHHH.

I then put my attention on the driver. I asked again for his date of birth. He recited it perfectly. I then asked his age and noticed him pause and begin counting in his head. That was my first clue. I knew that he could recite the date of birth of anyone, but it was more difficult to know the age of that person because the age changes every year. I knew that he'd know his own age without counting it in his head. Then I asked for his social security number, but he stated that he's never learned that number. That's it I told him. EVERYONE in America over 18 knows their social security number.

A back-up officer then popped out of his patrol car and shouted "you're not Patrick, your Christopher! And you have warrants for your arrest!" The man lowered his head in defeat. I arrested him and helped him into the patrol car.

By now the ambulance arrived and I explained to the guys that the lady appeared to be fine until the questions got thick. They understood and agreed to have an officer stay close and assist them to the hospital.

Inside the vehicle I found piles of receipts from local stores. All of them showed returned merchandise. Some showed several hundred dollars each. Also, I found the man's wallet, shoved between the cushions of the seats. Inside the wallet was three different drivers licenses. All had this mans photo, but different names and different numbers on the front. Each of the licenses appeared, at first glance, to be perfectly authentic. At a closer look, I could see some flaws.

I ran all of the licenses by name and then number, then found that none were valid.

On the way to the jail, the man admitted to a crime spree that he'd been doing with the fake Id's. The scheme was impressive, but obviously not perfect. After I booked him into the jail, I contacted each of the stores. With all of the evidence I gathered, we've forwarded several felony counts of theft by deception. Luckily, to help our case, each of the stores have great video cameras, and each had footage of this man and the lady in the act of thefts.

The case pointed us toward several other local bad guys that will likely solve some more crimes in the area.

Oh, by the way. Just in case you've been worried. The lady was immediately released from the hospital after no problems were found. It was an amazingly fast recovery to what seemed to be a life threatening illness. She didn't admit to faking the pains, but it was quite obvious that she was attempting to cause a distraction when she realized her boyfriend was caught in the act.

After all was said and done, I looked at my back up officer and said "challenge me again!" He was so mad that he demanded me to never use that phrase again.

I love hearing from the members of the list, so please email your thoughts, comments or praise to russ@lifeonthebeat.com Please feel free to pass on my messages to your friends or family. My website is http://www.lifeonthebeat.com

Click on http://forums.ganon.net to find my "Ask a cop" message board where dozens of officers, future officers and "those in the know" will gather and discuss law enforcement issues.