Monthly Archives: February 2016

Daddy knows best

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Waiting  for the tooth fairy

This is mostly a blog about police stories, but this one was too good to pass up.

On Monday night, my daughter and I were watching a movie when she told me about her loose tooth. It had been loose for some time, but it started bleeding a little bit and seemed ready to come out.

Based on what she told me and what I saw I said, “It will probably come out tomorrow.”

The tooth bugged her the rest of the night, but it didn’t come out. The next day we hung out because she was on school break. Later on she went to gymnastics practice with no word about the tooth.

I picked her up at 8PM and was driving home when she said, “You lied to me. You said the tooth was coming out today.” She was frustrated with the tooth because it was bothering her.

“Well, I thought it would come out today.” What else can you say to an 11 year old when it comes to a loose tooth?

Right after that she offered me a cookie. I took the cookie and ate it. She took a bite from another cookie and started chewing.

She then leaned forward and put her hand up to her mouth. She turned toward me as she said, “My tooth just came out!” She held up her hand and showed it to me.

See, daddy does know best……

 

When the rules don’t apply to some people

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The other night I was at a crash where one of the drivers was unlicensed. Though translation, the woman told me she lived in California for 20 years and was never issued a driver’s license.

I asked her if she had ever been given a ticket before. She replied she had not. Part of me found that hard to believe. Not many people in their 40s can go that long without being stopped for a traffic violation.

I decided to use my Bluecheck fingerprint device to check her identify. I asked her if she had ever had ever been fingerprinted before. With some hesitation the woman replied she had. I asked why and she told me it was because of a DUI crash she was involved in years ago.

I guess getting a DUI was not a ticket to her.

I next ran the driver’s name on the computer and found her DMV record, which showed the DUI conviction from 2008. I also found a conviction for driving on a suspended license in 2011. Her license status showed “suspended or revoked.”

Didn’t I just ask if she had ever been given a ticket?

When I asked about the ticket on her driving record her daughter said her mom sometimes forgets things.

Like the truth?

“Most people remember when they get a ticket for driving on a suspended license,” I replied. I next asked, “Did your car impounded when you got your ticket?”

“Yes.”

After all of this, I told the woman her car was being impounded because her license was suspended. That’s when she asked for a chance to keep the car. Really?

When I said no she got upset.

I always find it funny how people get upset when I do my job after they make bad decisions. I guess the rules and laws are more like “guidelines” for some people.

 

Where did the time go?

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February 22, 1995 seems so long ago, but it really was just a blink of the eye. That’s the day “The Badge” was pinned onto my chest for the first time. It’s hard to believe 21 years have passed since that day. Where did the time go? And where did my hair go?

We started the academy on Augest 29, 1994. From that moment on we called cadence as a class anytime we marched. Every week we counted off how much time we had left as part of that cadence. In the first week we marched to, “26 weeks and we’ll be through. I’ll be glad, how about you?”

Then February 21st, 1995 came and we had one more day left. The cadence was the same as every day, but that day was the loudest ever as we said, “Hey Tac Staff, look out your window. The senior class is marching by. We are the best, our heads held high. We are the 1-1-9. We are the best you’ll find.”

The best part came when we said, “One more day and we’ll be through. I’ll be glad, how about you?” It was the loudest we had ever yelled while marching during the entire 26 week academy.

I remember the chills going through my body as my eyes watered up at hearing that. Our goal was finally reached and we had one day left. We were going to be police officers tomorrow.

The next night, Orange County Sheriff’s class 119 marched into an auditorium in Fullerton, CA as proud academy graduates. When my name was called, I went up the steps onto the stage as my parents came up from the other side.

We walked toward each other and met in the middle. With my mom at his side, my dad pinned Badge415 on my chest. They gave me a big hug and I walked off the stage  a real police officer.

When all of the badges were presented we were called to attention by our class sergeant as he yelled with a smile, “For the final time! Class 119 Dismissed!”

The auditorium echoed as we yelled out our class motto, “Putting it on the line, class 1-1-9” for the final time as we threw our hats into the air.

It seems like yesterday.

The day I saved Teddy (not really)

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Not the actual Teddy bear.  This guy was from another crash.

On Valentine’s Day weekend, I responded to an injury traffic collision where a guy and his girlfriend slammed into a parked car after he claimed a dog ran out in front of him. He injured his foot and refused medical aid, but his girlfriend was transported to the hospital by ambulance.

He wasn’t a particularly nice guy , but of course, that changed when he needed something. After the car was up on the flatbed tow truck the driver asked, “Can I get my backpack from the car?”

I looked at the tow truck driver and asked, “Can you get his backpack for him.”

The tow driver climbed up onto the flatbed truck and opened the car door. He reached inside and grabbed a backpack. I then handed it to the driver. As I turned to walk away the driver said, “Can you get the teddy bear too?”

With a raised eyebrow I asked, “A teddy bear?”

“Yeah.”

With a funny look on my face I turned toward the tow driver and asked, “Can you get his teddy bear?”

The tow truck guy returned the funny look and dug into the car to retrieve Teddy which he handed to me. Once Teddy was safe I handed it to the driver, who said, “And the flowers too?”

“The flowers?” The driver nodded at me. This guy was getting needy.

I turned toward the tow guy one more time and asked him to get the flowers also. He gave me the same funny look and went back inside the car.

It’s not every day  someone asks for a teddy bear from a crashed car, but it was Valentine’s weekend after all. I’m sure there were lots of cars driving around with teddy bears and flowers that night. The only difference was this particular teddy bear got the ride of his life.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

“He ran me over!”

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Just when I thought I’d seen it all.

The other night I went to a crash involving a pedestrian and a vehicle, which normally isn’t that big of a deal, except this one had a twist.

When I got to the call, the victim was being put inside the ambulance. I jumped inside and asked, “What happened?”

The man, who was homeless, was about 40 years old. He had an unkempt looking beard and smelled like he hadn’t had a bath in weeks. He also smelled like he’d been drinking beer all day long.

He told me about lying down in the parking lot and putting his head on the curb like it was a concrete pillow.

There was car parked parallel to the curb just south of where he was resting. A guy got into the driver seat and started the engine. At this point, it would’ve been a good idea to move, but he didn’t.

That’s when he said, “He ran me over!”

Now, it’s not every day you hear someone say that, so I tried to keep a straight face as I asked, “Where did the car run you over at?”

“Look at my leg. It doesn’t look like the other one.”

He was wearing pants but one leg was definitely bigger than the other. The victim said, “The guy was drinking.”

“How do you know?”

“We’re street people. We know these things.”

You just can’t make this stuff up.

The way a pursuit is supposed to sound

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What does the DJ of a classical music station sound like? Cool, calm, controlled and soothing are just a few things that come to mind.

Now, picture the voice on the radio of some cops during a pursuit……If you’re a cop, you know what I’m talking about. If you’re not, then you have to take my word on this one. The two don’t sound the same.

The other night I heard the best radio traffic ever in a pursuit. My friend Sean came on the radio and broadcasted every turn with the calmness of a classical music radio station DJ. His voice was so relaxed he sounded bored. He was even calm when he requested paramedics after the motorcycle crashed into a parked car.

I told him it seemed like this was his 500th pursuit. Another officer told Sean, ‘It was like you were watching the pursuit on TV and you were calling it from your couch.’

That was the best way to describe it.

We never pat our partners on the back when they do a good job. I’m here to say it. Good job Sean.

A great one-liner

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Courtesy of Flickr

My friend Matt is the master of the quick-witted one-liner. In fact, if you’re not paying attention, he can zap you and walk away before you even know what hit you.

Yesterday he went to a crash where a psychic’s building was struck.

He walked up to the psychic and said, “I know you already know my name, but can I get yours?”

I’m still laughing…………

She was dumb

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Tonight, this woman had been stopped on a side street and wanted to make a left turn onto a busy street with a 40 mph speed limit. She started to turn and then stopped in the middle of the intersection when she saw cars coming from one direction. That’s when she got hit by a car coming from the opposite direction.

After I was done with the interviews she asked me who was at fault. I told her she had caused the accident by failing to yield to the other vehicle. Her face got serious as she clenched her jaw and squinted her eyes. Oh boy. 

She said, “He saw me. He should’ve stopped.”

I pointed out that she was the one who got in the way when she pulled out in front of the car.I tried explaining it to her, but she didn’t want to hear it. All she could say was, “He should’ve been driving defensively.”

I almost laughed when I heard that. I surely would’ve choked if I had been drinking something at that moment. 

Was this woman for real? I knew this was probably the dumbest thing I had heard all week. In fact, I think my IQ score dropped a few points just from hearing that. 

At this point, all she wanted to do was argue. She had already made up her mind and there was nothing I could do to change it. That’s when I told her we were done talking about it.

The woman turned toward her damaged and uninsured vehicle as she walked away like a pouting child. She looked at her male passenger and said, “I don’t know why I’m a citizen of this country.”

Really? No one is keeping you here……

Now that was really the dumbest thing I had heard all week. I didn’t think it was possible she could top her previous comment, but she did. 

I turned toward my friend Miguel and said, “She’s definitely going to make the blog.”

Badge415 hit 200 posts

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Last night I clicked the “publish” button after finishing another blog post and a notification popped up from WordPress. It said this was Badge415’s 200th post.

I looked at the screen for a moment and wondered if this was correct. I had no idea there were 199 posts before yesterday. Where did the time go?

For blog post # 201, I just wanted to say thank you to all of the readers who follow Badge415. I appreciate all of the compliments, Retweets, comments and Facebook shares.

Keep reading and sharing Badge415 with friends and family……We’ll get to 300 in no time.

She was a train wreck

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It’s always entertaining to see a person make a complete fool of themselves after drinking too much. The other night, I pulled up to a single vehicle collision on a residential street. The driver, who had been drinking, was speaking with officers. His girlfriend was standing off to the side with another officer.

As I walked up, there was one thing that stood out about them. Their emotions were like night and day. He was calm and respectful. She on the other hand, was a bloody hot mess that reminded me of a train wreck.

I’m not talking about a regular train wreck. I’m talking about a multi-casualty train wreck with hazardous materials and farm animals on board.

The woman was wearing a dress and had dried blood covering her left leg from her toes all the way up the thigh. It wasn’t just a little bit of blood. It was a lot of blood.

Her right leg was also covered in blood, but not as bad as the “Friday the 13th” thing that she had going on with her left leg. She looked straight out of a 1980s horror movie.

She had blood smeared across her neck with a small flap of skin peeled back and hanging just under her chin. She had a ton of snot running out of her nose onto her upper lip. This look was completed by 20 minutes of non-stop crying as she asked to stand next to her boyfriend.

At first she claimed she had fallen, but she later admitted to being in a fight with her sister. That explained the flap of skin on her neck where she must’ve been clawed during the fight. She also told us she wasn’t in the vehicle when the crash occurred, but we learned that was a lie too.

Just in case, I asked the woman if her boyfriend had done this to her. Her face turned serious as she looked over at him and said, “I’d tell you if that motherfucker did this to me.” I almost laughed at the way she said it.

She then went back to crying and sobbing as she said, “I want to stand next to him.” Talk about a mood swing. At one point, she told an officer she needed a hug. She looked like Frankenstein with her arms sticking straight out as she walked toward the cop for her hug.

I wondered if her boyfriend secretly hoped he’d get arrested just to get a night away from her. Later on she said, “I’m not drunk.”

There’s one thing for sure about this particular call. You just can’t beat watching a drunk and bloody woman trying to get a hug from a cop at 2:30AM. It was priceless.

By the way, she refused help from the fire department.