I trained three nights this week and had to work Thanksgiving
night for the first time in a few years.
Monday night started off with a hospital check. A hospital check
generally involves going to the emergency room of a local hospital and
speaking with an assault victim that wishes to make a report.
Sometimes the hospital staff will call us and other times the victim.
At the hospital, we were directed to an exam room containing two
hispanic females. Luckily for us, one of them spoke English. She told
us that yesterday, her friend, the victim, had been raped and that she
knew her attacker. The victim and the suspect work together at a
supermarket. They went out on a date. He took her to dinner and then
to a club. She became intoxicated and wanted to go home. He told her
that he would take her home. Instead, he took her to a nearby hotel
and raped her. She had no idea where the hotel was located.
Afterwards, he drove her home. He threatened her with violence if she
reported it to the police. Her roommate convinced her to report the
incident. She brought the clothes that she was wearing during the rape
with her to the hospital in a plastic bag. A forensic nurse was there
to do a rape kit looking for possible evidence. It was D's, my rookie,
first sexual assault call and he did a good job of getting the
pertinent information from the victim. There are some very
uncomfortable questions that have to be asked, and D asked them in a
professional and gentle manner.
A few hours into the shift on Tuesday, D and I were dispatched to
another hospital check. This time for an assault that took place at a
nearby bar. The assault was between a bar owner and a vendor, both
females. The vendor went to the bar to collect the money from her
machines. She emptied the machines and went to settle with the owner.
The owner told her that she no longer wanted machines in the bar. The
vendor went to grab all of the money off of the bar and the bar owner
hit her in the head with a glass vase. The vendor grabbed a nearby
glass tumbler and hit the owner with it. The vendor then went to the
hospital and called us. We got her information and then went to the
bar to get the owner's side of the story. The stories were similar,
but differed on who started the violence. D called the DA's office and
they refused to take any charges on either female. Can't we all just
get along?
Wednesday night started with a few traffic stops. One of the drivers
had warrants from a nearby city for unpaid traffic tickets. D called
that city, but they were unable to confirm the warrants. So, D wrote
him another ticket and told him that it was his lucky night.
At bar closing time we were dispatched to a fight in progress. The
victim flagged us down in a nearby parking lot. She told us that
herself, her husband, her cousin, and his wife had all gone out to the
bar that night. They were all dancing, but she danced with her cousin
a few times. This upset her husband. While they were walking back to
their car after leaving, the husband started yelling at her. The
yelling escalated into punching. He hit her numerous times in the face
while the cousin and his wife tried to separate them. The husband
left, and then came back a minute later and kicked her a few more
times before leaving again. The victim thinks that her husband's "baby
mama" probably came and picked him up. She said that this was not the
first time that he had hit her. She told that she has a job and is
self sufficient. So, why does she put up with it? Not only does he hit
her, but he fathers children with other women. Dysfunction.
Thursday was the Thanksgiving holiday. On holidays, we have minimum
staffing which for our shift at my station is 20 officers. Even though
I am in the top third in seniority on the shift, I was officer #20 for
the minimum staffing. We have a lot of officers that have either
Wed-Thurs or Thurs-Fri as their regular nights off. That left me
working the holiday. I spent the first hour of the shift getting to
know our new dispatcher a little better. It is always helpful to be on
good terms with the dispatcher.
After our typed conversation, she dispatched me to a burglary of a
motor vehicle report. A female had left her wallet underneath the
passenger side front seat and went into a nearby bar. When she
returned to her vehicle, a window was smashed and the wallet was
missing. It seemed a little strange to me, almost like she had been
observed putting the wallet underneath the seat. Nothing else had been
taken and there was nothing worth stealing in plain view. Odd. I spent
the second half of the shift working the front desk at the station.
The front desk officer is responsible for walk in reports. Luckily, no
one walked in during my stay at the desk.
I was off Friday night to observe the second half of the Thanksgiving holiday.
That concludes another week on patrol.
night for the first time in a few years.
Monday night started off with a hospital check. A hospital check
generally involves going to the emergency room of a local hospital and
speaking with an assault victim that wishes to make a report.
Sometimes the hospital staff will call us and other times the victim.
At the hospital, we were directed to an exam room containing two
hispanic females. Luckily for us, one of them spoke English. She told
us that yesterday, her friend, the victim, had been raped and that she
knew her attacker. The victim and the suspect work together at a
supermarket. They went out on a date. He took her to dinner and then
to a club. She became intoxicated and wanted to go home. He told her
that he would take her home. Instead, he took her to a nearby hotel
and raped her. She had no idea where the hotel was located.
Afterwards, he drove her home. He threatened her with violence if she
reported it to the police. Her roommate convinced her to report the
incident. She brought the clothes that she was wearing during the rape
with her to the hospital in a plastic bag. A forensic nurse was there
to do a rape kit looking for possible evidence. It was D's, my rookie,
first sexual assault call and he did a good job of getting the
pertinent information from the victim. There are some very
uncomfortable questions that have to be asked, and D asked them in a
professional and gentle manner.
A few hours into the shift on Tuesday, D and I were dispatched to
another hospital check. This time for an assault that took place at a
nearby bar. The assault was between a bar owner and a vendor, both
females. The vendor went to the bar to collect the money from her
machines. She emptied the machines and went to settle with the owner.
The owner told her that she no longer wanted machines in the bar. The
vendor went to grab all of the money off of the bar and the bar owner
hit her in the head with a glass vase. The vendor grabbed a nearby
glass tumbler and hit the owner with it. The vendor then went to the
hospital and called us. We got her information and then went to the
bar to get the owner's side of the story. The stories were similar,
but differed on who started the violence. D called the DA's office and
they refused to take any charges on either female. Can't we all just
get along?
Wednesday night started with a few traffic stops. One of the drivers
had warrants from a nearby city for unpaid traffic tickets. D called
that city, but they were unable to confirm the warrants. So, D wrote
him another ticket and told him that it was his lucky night.
At bar closing time we were dispatched to a fight in progress. The
victim flagged us down in a nearby parking lot. She told us that
herself, her husband, her cousin, and his wife had all gone out to the
bar that night. They were all dancing, but she danced with her cousin
a few times. This upset her husband. While they were walking back to
their car after leaving, the husband started yelling at her. The
yelling escalated into punching. He hit her numerous times in the face
while the cousin and his wife tried to separate them. The husband
left, and then came back a minute later and kicked her a few more
times before leaving again. The victim thinks that her husband's "baby
mama" probably came and picked him up. She said that this was not the
first time that he had hit her. She told that she has a job and is
self sufficient. So, why does she put up with it? Not only does he hit
her, but he fathers children with other women. Dysfunction.
Thursday was the Thanksgiving holiday. On holidays, we have minimum
staffing which for our shift at my station is 20 officers. Even though
I am in the top third in seniority on the shift, I was officer #20 for
the minimum staffing. We have a lot of officers that have either
Wed-Thurs or Thurs-Fri as their regular nights off. That left me
working the holiday. I spent the first hour of the shift getting to
know our new dispatcher a little better. It is always helpful to be on
good terms with the dispatcher.
After our typed conversation, she dispatched me to a burglary of a
motor vehicle report. A female had left her wallet underneath the
passenger side front seat and went into a nearby bar. When she
returned to her vehicle, a window was smashed and the wallet was
missing. It seemed a little strange to me, almost like she had been
observed putting the wallet underneath the seat. Nothing else had been
taken and there was nothing worth stealing in plain view. Odd. I spent
the second half of the shift working the front desk at the station.
The front desk officer is responsible for walk in reports. Luckily, no
one walked in during my stay at the desk.
I was off Friday night to observe the second half of the Thanksgiving holiday.
That concludes another week on patrol.
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