Problem Solving

I like answering calls in way that dispatch can't figure out. One night while I was on mids I responding to a EDP (Emotionally Disturbed Person) who was yelling and creating a ruckus. I closed it out with a 'red tag' which is a solution to a parking problem. In the call log dispatch noted that they would ask me to clarify that one.

So last night I respond with another officer to an area near the college for a report of some five people in a physical fight in the intersection. Just before we arrive they took off in cars. I get there and advise I'll be talking with the caller. He hands me a cell phone on the fighters dropped. So I responded to a physical fight and I close it by asking for case numbers for found property. Normally when I find cell phones I'll look home 'Home', 'Mom', 'Honey'... on this one the screen was broke.
In the brief two minute span I had the phone turned on it received three calls. Everyone asked for a dude by the name of 'Edge' (names changed to protect the guilty). I wanted to get this phone back to 'Edge', and I wanted to hear about this assault, so I told all of them that 'Edge' got into a fight, got scared and ran away dropping his cell phone. If 'Edge' wants his cell phone back he can pick it up from the police station.
Thirty minutes later dispatch is asking who told "Jamal Jackson" to pick up his cell phone from the police station. I piped up and head to the station. Dispatch tells me he'll be there in about 20 minutes and he wants to talk to me, and I know what its about *insert mean look here*. I laughed but I'm not stupid; I checked his guys record. He does have some history and he's on probation. I told a buddy when he frees up to head over to me 'cause this might be fun and then I call his P.O. P.O. said to have him check in by 9am.
'Edge' shows up with some friends. But I have a friend too that likes to hold his baton under his arm (out of his hands) in a very menacing way. With the cell phone obviously hanging out my pocket I ask him about his fight. He gives me some B.S. story. So I asked my usual question: "You do understand that this story makes no sense, right?" He gets a little huffy and tries to explain it again. I told him "What ever, here's you cell phone. Meet your P.O. by 9am." Ahhhh, the look of disappointment on the little banger wanna-be's.

Quote of the week

"I have these handcuffs on, and, you know, they make me feel like I have handcuffs on."
- Another citizen who would not follow instructions.


Another thing that has amazed me about this job: I grew up taking all of the politically correct classes that teach about how racist white people are and how we have wronged every other race of people. Every other race loves us and each other and white people are the racist ones. I've lost track of the number of times I've been called a 'fucking white man' by intoxicated native people. They rant about how I personally came to Alaska and raped the land and robbed them of their lifestyle. Normally at that point I apologize for interrupting their lifestyle of drinking in the alleys but I don't want them to freeze to death so I'm helping them so they can continue to live their lifestyle.

I should relabel this blog to "Fighting Darwin".

First

Finally I had my first eluding this week and I got to initiate it. Dispatched advised of a reckless vehicle on the other side of town from me but I figured since it was heading south and I could parallel it and then maybe it would cut in towards me. Then dispatch advised that it was stolen and that made the game more interesting. So I hurried south listening to other units closer to the locate not find it. They had covered that road really well so I guessed he got off at some point. So to get from His Street to My Street he would have to take a befuddled path and he could have done it much easier taking another route but hey, he stole a suburban so he's probably not the brightest anyways. Low and behold he made it from His St to My St and I called it out and got turned around. I followed behind him and a lane over not lighting him up because I wanted to get more units into the area. He made a sudden turn into a trailer park and when I followed from the second lane over he knew it was game on. He rear-ended the vehicle in front of him to push him up and then made a quick left in the trailer park running for the other entrance. I kept dispatch advised and we got a bunch of Officers on scene. After we bumped enough police cars into the Suburban we had it pinned. Of course the driver was drunk so he had five charges on him (two were felonies). This will be a few more on his rap-sheet that is already two pages long.

TIP V

Carry dog treats. It didn't work out so well yesterday but I learned carrying a few doggy treats can help.

And just to recap a Tip to the civilians. If the Police are behind you - MOVE OVER!!! If you can't move over do not go three miles an hour slower than the limit to prove to us what a good driver you are!

Swing shift is awesome... it was busy all night so it went by quickly. I just can't stand the traffic for the first four hours. My voice is hoarse now because I was yelling at all the other drivers.

Work

Sorry I haven't updated more... I got distracted by the internet porn... for the past two weeks.
Ok, really there hasn't been much to post about.
One interesting thing to note is how much you get to learn people's tone on the radio. The slightest change in their voice can tell you how the call is going a lot more than what they actually say. So four months of getting use to the tones of each of the officers on my shift and I'll be moving to a new shift. Today I start swing shift. A whole new crew to work with.

Last week I heard a coworker say he was heading to the magistrate's office with his arrestee; then he tacked on that he would need a cover unit. All this happened on another radio channel (different part of town) but since I was near the court house I started drifting that way. I get there and the guy is billigerantly drunk. I sit him down in the magistrate's office and he proceeds to cuss me out, cuss out the other officer and to top it off he cusses out the Magistrate. He now gets to sit outside for the bail hearing. So I'm babysitting him in the hallway and he continues to call me a 'fucking white man', tells me he can kick my ass and challenges me to a fight (Magistrate was able to hear it all from his office). In the end the guy got an additional Disorderly Conduct charge along with the original one. He also got one of the highest bails I've seen for an DV assault charge.

Another night I was working my usual area and I hear a drunk driver eluding coming my way on another channel (border between the two areas of town). Dispatch asks me on my channel if I hear them and I calmly advise yes I do. I ran up to the car I had already stopped, gave him his paperwork back and told him to get it fixed and get out of here. I start heading to where this drunk driver is coming from. I hear the description of the vehicle but the initiating officer hasn't been able to get close enough for a plate. I get the vehicle in site, flip around and get on the radio. I give all the information and he pulled over. Another officer blocks in the front and I make a normal DUI stop on him. Now I have my normal questions I work through and can often get a person to admit to the DUI before I even perform the field tests but the Sgt jumps in with his questions and sets things a little off whack. Luckily this guy is so blitzed he has no idea what is going on. At 18 he already had a felony drug charge and now he's got a DUI (and his mom's car impounded). Later another Sgt spoke with me and complimented me on how I keep calm and I'm very clear on the radio.

Finally, I'm getting a little tired of having to pick up so many drunks off of the street and take them to the drunk tank. So I had one loaded in my car and I pull up to the drunk tank. I open the back door, wake him and tell him to get out. He goes back to sleep so I stir him some more and tell him to get out again. He sits there trying to comprehend where he's at and what is happening. I reached in to grab him and assist him in getting out of my car when he reacted faster than a sober person could have... he lunged back deeper into my car. I realize this little guy has been beat once or twice while living on the street so I try to reason with him again; "Get out of my car or I'm charging you with trespassing". Alright, perhaps it wasn't reasoning with him... it was just to confuse him more because he took about 5 seconds to ponder that option before I interrupted him and dragged him out the car.

It's still a lot of fun and I can't wait to get back to work this afternoon. Hopefully there will be something interesting to post about.