The week on patrol, October 11-15, 2010

This was my last week with O. He was set free on Friday. I ran three burglary of a residence calls this week and watched a scooter take a tumble. 

O rode with me on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday night the desk sergeant called me into his office and asked me how O was doing. I told him that he was doing fine and that he was ready to be set free. O has a phone and if he has any questions, he can call me. I asked O if he was ready and he thought that he was. 

Our first call on Monday was a burglary of a residence. A woman got a call from her alarm company while she was out of town. The alarm company told her that the back door sensor had been activated. The woman asked her mother to check the residence and the mom came by but did not find anything wrong with the place. The woman returned home a few days later and quickly realized that some of her belongings had been stolen. The suspect had entered through the back door. No windows had been broken and there was not any damage to the back door. In fact, the back door was still locked. However, the back door was only secured by a little twist lock on the actual handle. The kind that you might normally see on a bathroom door. There was not a dead bolt or any other type of lock on the door. And the woman lives in this place by herself. After O gathered all of the information for the report, the woman told us that this was the second time that she had been burglarized. I did not want to alarm her, but the woman was lucky. I told her as gently as possible that she was essentially inviting people into her home with that kind of lock on the back door. In the part of town that she lives in, there are people that go around and check out homes to break into. They go house to house and look for easy access. I told her that her place was the poster child for easy access. The only thing that kept her from coming back to an empty apartment was her alarm. 

Tuesday turned out to be O’s last night with me. It was a slow night and all we did was check by on a few calls. Our first check by was at a disturbance that had been holding for over 90 minutes. A woman called saying that her boyfriend was destroying their residence. We arrived and the place was surrounded by a 10 foot tall fence with a locked gate. There was no getting over that fence. We banged on the gate and rang a door bell, but no one answered. Our dispatcher called the residence and a male answered the phone and said that the police were not needed. There was a supervisor on the scene, but there was really nothing that we could do. We did not have enough information to break down the gate and forcibly enter the residence. Even though it did not feel right, we all just had to leave.

Then we checked by on a major accident involving a scooter. We arrived at the address and there was nothing in the street. A man walked out of a nearby restaurant and told us that the man involved in the accident was inside. We went inside and found a very drunk male eating some pizza. He told us that he had been riding his scooter on a nearby street and was struck by a car. He crashed and the car kept going. He said that the scooter should still be in the road. He called some friends and they picked him up and brought him to the restaurant. We left and went in search of the scooter. We checked the area in which he said the accident took place and could not find anything. If a person is involved in an accident, let alone a scooter accident where he claims to be thrown from the scooter, you would expect him to be injured or at least have abrasions or torn clothing, correct? Not this guy. Now, he did not look like a yuppie lawyer, but rather like he had just left the local smoke shop and slammed a case of beer. In any case, he was not injured at all, not a scratch on him. I guess he just wanted some attention. 

Our last call was another burglary of a residence at some crack apartments. A crack head came home after being gone for three days. He could not get into his apartment. So, he did what any crack head would do and kicked in the door. He found two other crack heads sleeping on his bed. When we arrived, the crack heads were still asleep on his bed. We roused them from their slumber. One of them was a 19 year old female. The other was a 25 year old male who told us that he had permission to be there. The other male owed him $15 and told him that he could stay there until he came back home. Apparently the crack head that lives in the apartment forgot the deal. The primary unit took the two crack heads to some other crack apartments nearby where the male’s brother lived. While we were there the resident crack head gathered up all of his belongings (two backpacks) and said he was going to find a new place to live. Outstanding.

Wednesday night I was riding solo and we had a rookie dispatcher. It is always BRUTAL when a new dispatcher is training on our channel. We are so spoiled by our regular dispatcher. She is great and takes very good care of us. The rookie dispatcher was being trained to send any call to any available unit as soon as it hit the board without regard to beat or work history. So, if you got a call and just stayed on it, she left you alone. As soon as you cleared a call, she sent you another one. If you were the only one clearing calls, you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off. It makes for a long night. 

I checked by on a panic alarm at a residence. A panic alarm is supposed to be for a burglary, robbery, home invasion, or something like that in progress. For panic alarms, we run code 1, lights and sirens. We arrived and everything outside looked fine. I knocked on the door and a short time later a male wearing only a towel answered the door. He said that he hit the panic button by mistake on his remote. We impressed upon him that for panic alarms we come code 1 and are not too happy when it turns out to be dude in a towel that just hit the wrong button.  He went on to say that he tried to cancel the alarm, but the alarm company told him that panic alarms can not be cancelled. So, he knew we were coming. Which then begs the question, why did he not get dressed? I told him that the next time he hits the wrong button to feel free to mix in some pants and a shirt. 

My last call on Wednesday was a robbery. I arrived at the location and found a man in his late 20’s just absolutely weeping like a little school girl. I asked him what had happened, and in between sobs, he said that he had been at a local bar buying drinks. Two males walked up and wanted him to buy them drinks. He refused and then decided to leave the bar. The males followed him, grabbed him, punched him in the stomach, and then took his money. After getting robbed, he walked through 4 crowded blocks to the place where I found him, a 24 hour restaurant. He weeped that he wanted an ambulance to check out his stomach because they punched him where he had recently had surgery. At that point, he lifted up his shirt to reveal what looked like a 5 year old one inch long scar. At that point I wanted to ask him is he was menstruating, but that would have been insulting to all women. The ambulance arrived and the man demanded to be transported to a nearby hospital. My guess is that he was out of pain medication, and wanted to try to get a new script. 

Thursday started off with another burglary of a residence. The door had been kicked in and the apartment had been ransacked, but nothing had been taken. The resident told me that two other apartments in that same complex had also been burglarized that day. 

A short time later I was dispatched to another panic alarm at the same residence as the night before. This time, I was not in such a hurry, since I figured it was another “wrong button” on the alarm remote. I arrived and sure enough, that was the case. This time it was the roommate that hit the wrong button, and thankfully, he was fully clothed. They really need to get the buttons on their remotes figured out. 

I was the print unit on Friday night. I did not run any print or picture calls. But, I did check by on other calls. I checked by with A on a loud noise in the ward. I was following her toward the call when I noticed a big SUV in the left lane begin to slow down rapidly. The SUV was being followed by a male on a scooter. The male was wearing a helmet and was carrying a green purse. Apparently the male was not paying attention. He looked up a little late and was startled to see the SUV stopping. The male panicked. But instead of squeezing the brake for the back tire, he grabbed the one for the front. This caused the scooter to stand up on its nose, and then flip over. I turned on my lights and stopped next to the carnage. As I pulled up, the guy was picking himself up off of the ground. I was doing everything in my power not to laugh, but was not successful. I got out of the car laughing. I could not help it. The male turned out to be ok and he was able to get his chick magnet scooter fired up and running again. The male nor the scooter ever hit the SUV. He took off and I continued on to the loud noise call.

That concludes another week on patrol.                

Posted via email from will7079's posterous

The week on patrol, October 4-8, 2010

This was a short week for me. I had an in-service class one day and was off for my birthday later in the week. 

The week started off with a car chase. Early in the shift, O and I heard over our radio that a car chase from another district was about to come into our area. We began heading towards the general area of our district that the chase would pass through. The chase came into our area on a freeway. They exited the freeway, drove around a little, and then got back onto the freeway heading in the opposite direction. It is a challenge to catch up to a chase. They change directions frequently, run lights, and when you think you are about to cut them off, they will turn . When we finally caught up to this one, they immediately turned south, and away from our area. We did not follow, but continued to listen to the chase over the radio. About 15 minutes later, after losing the rubber on both front tires, the car crashed and the driver got out and ran. He ran into a back yard and then started jumping fences. He was caught two blocks away from the crash and had jumped at least 10 fences. 

A short time later we checked by with a unit on a traffic stop. The officer had stopped a car for making an illegal left turn. When she ran the plate on the vehicle, it came back stolen. We arrived quickly and got the driver and passenger into custody without incident. The driver said that his cousin had loaned him the vehicle. That is not what the stolen vehicle report in our system stated. The report said that the owner of the vehicle allowed two homeless people to come into his house. Generous, maybe, but definitely crazy. When the man woke up from a nap, the two people and his vehicle were gone. Shocker. The district attorney took unauthorized use of a motor vehicle charges on the driver. The passenger had just been released from county jail. When he came out of the jail, the driver, who had been sitting outside the jail, asked him if he needed a ride. They agreed on a price and left. The passenger was not involved in the auto theft, so he was released. The driver said that he was going to return the vehicle when he was finished with it. Unfortunately for him, that is not the way that the law works. 

I left work on Tuesday morning and drove out to the academy for another in-service class. This class was the divisional update. A few divisions will come in and talk about what they do and how they can help us. The narcotics division occupied the first two hours. They discussed the Mexican drug cartels and how they affect our city. They went on to discuss interdiction, human trafficking, and asset forfeiture. They showed us some pictures from some very imaginative traffickers. It was amazing the places where they had hidden living people in vehicles. The spots included inside the dashboard, underneath the seats, and one was disguised as a seat. 

After narcotics finished, the academy staff told us that they had a video to show us and that we were the first group to see it. The video began by showing a photo of each officer that has been killed in the line of duty in our department. Following the photos, the video switched to news coverage from various stations reporting about an officer that had been shot in the face while serving a warrant 18 months ago. The video then cut to interviews of that officer, R, and his wife, P. They each talked about the incident and how it had changed their lives. As a result of the shooting, R had a stroke and lost some of the function of the left side of his body. He has had numerous operations and medically retired from the department 6 months ago. P has quit her job and now takes care of R full time. They have two kids in college. It was a very moving and emotional interview. After the interviews, the video ended with various members of the community (the Mayor, NFL players and coaches, members of the media) thanking the department and it officers for the job that we do. Immediately following the video, the back door of the small auditorium opened, and R and his wife P were escorted in. 

They were greeted with a standing ovation. One of three that they received that day. They each talked to us and answered questions. They really tried to emphasize to us to appreciate what you have, because you never know when it will be gone. R said that he had thought about dying in the line of duty, but had never thought about being disabled and the burden that it places on your family. R kept saying over and over again how awesome and amazing P has been throughout the ordeal. P talked about how little the family saw R while the kids were growing up. R was always at work. P raised the kids. Now P has given up everything to take care of R. Amazing. They did not sugar coat what they have been through and what they face in the coming years. But it was a great example of true love and what it means to be married. For better or worse, in sickness and in health, P is living out those vows. That was one in-service class that I will never forget. 

I was by myself on Wednesday night. A few hours into the shift, I checked by on a weapons disturbance. A female called and said that her boyfriend had a knife and had slashed all of the tires of her vehicle. A few units arrived and remarkably the male was still on the scene. He was taken into custody, but was not in possession of a knife. We checked her vehicle and one tire had been punctured and was flat. She told us that he had called her and wanted her to come over. She came over and he freaked out and cut her tire.  He is currently on probation for assaulting her a few months ago. We asked her why she keeps seeing him, and she said that she loves him and he loves her. He has an interesting way of showing his love. He went to jail, and we ended up changing her tire. To protect and serve.

At the end of the shift, I was dispatched to a burglar alarm at a sushi restaurant. When I arrived I found a shattered window and some chairs inside had been knocked over. After the owners arrived and unlocked the doors, we checked the business. The suspects were long gone, but they had not taken anything. There was cash still in the register and in the tip jars. They had been spooked by something, or they were after something besides cash. 

I was off on Thursday for my birthday and I took off on Friday to take care of Jen and her injured foot. 

That concludes another week on patrol.    

Posted via email from will7079's posterous

The week on patrol, September 27 - October 1, 2010

The week started out with an in-service class. I had a partner for two nights. I ran a few interesting calls, but overall the call volume is dropping along with the nighttime temperature. 

I attended my second in-service class of the year on Monday. The topic was the Criminal Intelligence Division (CID) and a Texas Crime Information Center (TCIC) update. A few people from the CID division came and told us a little about what they did and how they can help us and vice versa. The theme seemed to be Homeland security. A couple of the speakers kept my attention and a few others that just read the Powerpoint presentation did not. After lunch, the topic was network and computer security. He was a good speaker and while I am sure most in the room found the topic brutally boring, I enjoyed it. 

O was with me again on Tuesday night. I was told that it is basically up to me how long O rides with me before he is set free. He is getting close, but I think that he would benefit from a few more repetitions. The problem is that he is only with me three nights a week, and even less lately with my in-service classes. The other officer that he has been riding with works at a very fast pace. He worked fast when I evaluated him. He has a hard time slowing down enough to explain to O what he is doing or allow O to help, so O typically is just an observer. This night was very slow. The cooler temperatures really do decrease the amount of calls for service. We checked by and helped out on a few scenes, but that was about it. 

Wednesday night we were a little short handed. Unfortunately, the crooks did not cooperate and it was a busy night. I checked by on a disturbance with a CIT patient. The call slip said that a man was in crisis. We had been at the same apartment a few weeks earlier. The same man had gone into crisis and destroyed a friend’s apartment. Once he got out of jail (earlier today), he returned to the apartment. The friend did not want him there, imagine that. He was not actually in crisis at the time, the friend just wanted him to leave. We gave him a trespass warning and took him to the bus station. He said that he had a ticket to go to Dallas.

A little later, I checked by on an assault in progress at a club in the area. This particular club is where most of our problems seem to be happening lately. There are probably upwards of 25 clubs in the area, but this is the one club causing us the most grief. As I neared the club, I saw two males running away from the area. The call slip did not have a description of the suspects, so I continued on to the club. When I arrived, the primary unit gave me a description of the suspects and I told her that I have just seem them running away from the area. I returned to the area in which I had seen them, and was told by a bouncer at another club that they had gotten into a vehicle and turned south. I took off and found the vehicle a few block away. I did a traffic stop, and took the males into custody. I then returned them to the club so that we could figure out what had happened.  

There had been a fight inside the club. Beer bottles had been used as weapons, and each group said that the other was the aggressor. There were not any impartial third party witnesses. No one wanted to press charges and no one had any open warrants. We took everyone’s information and I wrote a report. On a positive note, the club cleared out after we had been in the parking lot for a few minutes. At least we would not have any more drama there tonight. 

After leaving the club, a suicide in progress call dropped. A suicidal male was standing at a pay phone in the parking lot of a gas station according to the call slip. Six units responded, and a male was at the pay phone. He was holding a knife to his throat and was talking on the phone. These situations always have the possibility to go bad in a hurry. A person with a knife can cover 21 feet of distance before an officer can shoot them. Even if the officer already has their gun out of their holster. Three of us spaced apart had our guns out on and pointed at the man. Another officer was trying to talk with him. As that officer was engaging him, another officer circled around behind us and behind the man. That officer took out his taser, walked up behind the man, and tasered him while he was still distracted. As soon as the taser fired, the man went rigid, and we rushed up to get the knife away and to take him into custody. Luckily, the man did not fall on the knife and we took him into custody without anyone getting injured. It was a fantastic resolution to a bad scene. As the man was sitting there talking to an officer, he would periodically say, “damn, that hurt.” 

The night ended with a disturbance involving a cab driver. The driver picked up a male at a club and drove him home his apartment complex. For some reason, during the drive, some racial taunts were exchanged between the driver and passenger. Upon arriving at the complex, the passenger exited the cab and went inside without paying. The cab driver followed him to his apartment and then called the police. The cab driver told me that the passenger just got out and refused to pay. He did not mention the racial taunts. After a few knocks on the apartment door, the passenger answered and I got the whole story. The cab driver then admitted to his part in the racial taunting. However, just because you are rude to the cab driver and he is rude back, you still have to pay the fare. The passenger got out his credit card and paid the fare. 

Thursday night I rode solo again. It was a night much like Tuesday, with very little happening. Towards the end of the shift, I was dispatched to check by with a narcotics officer who was going to run a search warrant. I was less than thrilled. I do not like checking by with narcotics officers. There is never much of a plan going in, and what happens is never part of the plan. Things always seem to get a little out of control. I arrived at the meet location, and found an officer from another agency. He told me that the others would show up in about 30 minutes. Once everyone arrived (6 officers from another agency, and 1 from my department) the lead officer went over the plan. We were there to execute a search warrant on the upper floor of a two story townhouse. They had reason to believe that inside that location was a marijuana grow house. A few days earlier, after establishing reasonable suspicion, they took a drug dog to the back door and he went crazy. They got the search warrant, and here we were. The plan was to wait for the person to arrive who was tending to the plants, and once he unlocked the back door, take him into custody. They had other officers watching his house and the grow house. To me, this sounded like it was going to take awhile and we were not going to be doing anything anytime soon. When it was time for me to go off duty, I told the narcotics guys to call for another unit when they needed one. 

I ended up seeing the narcotics officer a few days later, and he told me that they ended up running the warrant about three hours after I left. The male arrived who was tending to the plants and they took him into custody after he opened the back door. Inside they found a very well developed hydroponic marijuana grow farm. He told me that there were 2.4 million dollars worth of plants in the house. It was a good bust.

I was the print unit on Friday and O was my partner. We were dispatched to an apartment that had been burglarized to attempt to lift fingerprints. The primary unit walked us through the apartment pointing out where he thought there might be prints. The apartment was a complete disaster. It looked like a tornado had hit the place. Not a single piece of furniture had been left undisturbed. All of the food had been taken out of the kitchen and opened. The air conditioner vents had been opened. All of the drawers had been emptied and removed. All of the pictures had been removed from the wall. It was a mess. To me it looked like the suspects were looking for something in particular, like drugs or money. I tried to lift prints from a few places where there should have been prints, but came up with nothing. Not even prints from the homeowners. It lead me to believe that the suspects were wearing gloves and had even wiped down a few surfaces for some reason. 

After leaving that apartment, a major accident dropped. It was a head on collision and we were close. We checked by to control and divert traffic off of the road. I used the patrol vehicle to close the street and O directed traffic for 90 minutes. He seemed to enjoy it, for some reason. I think that he is just happy being back at work. 

That concludes another week on patrol. 

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