You never know what subject is going to come up

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Badge415

This job always has the oddest things that come up during investigations. On Wednesday night my friend and I were standing in front of our favorite 7-Eleven, which is affectionately referred to as the NSUB (North Sub Station). We were minding our own business when a motorist drove by honking her horn at us. She yelled out her window and said there was a fight down the street.

I hadn’t been there that long and I reluctantly put my cup of coffee away as I headed down the street to find out what the woman was yelling about. When I got to the next intersection, there was a car parked at the corner in an odd spot with is head lights off.

There was a male standing next to the car and he saw me pull up. He then started running away as the car drove away with its head lights still off. I decided to stop the car to see what was going on.

As the car started to leave I noticed it was jerking forward like it stalled. The car pulled into the parking lot as I activated my lights. When it stopped, four people jumped out at the same time as a Budweiser beer can fell out. We detained everyone while we tried to figure out who did what.

Of course, the driver was 16 years old and was unlicensed. I wouldn’t expect anything else because that’s how we roll in the city I work at. The driver said he was the only person in the car who knew how to drive a stick shift.

The owner of the car then contacted us and said they had taken his keys from him while at a motel room. Now I knew my cup of coffee was going to get cold because of all this drama.

While another officer took a statement from the victim, I engaged in small talk with the driver and his 20 year old cousin. I asked the driver, “Have you ever been arrested before?”

“Once, but it was a long time ago.”

“You’re only 16 years old. It couldn’t have been that long ago,” I replied. “What did you do?”

“Vandalism.”

“What did you vandalize?”

“Well, they also called it breaking and entering.”

“What did you break into? How old were you?”

“I was twelve. It was a school, but the door was left open. I didn’t break in.”

I asked the driver what they used to call him or what his moniker was. He told me he didn’t have a nickname. I asked him what he used to write when he left his mark. He only said he wrote “stuff.”

His cousin then said, “He used to worship the illuminati,” as she laughed.

I wasn’t sure what she was talking about and asked, “What did he worship?”

“The illuminati. It’s like worshiping the devil.” She looked over at him and pushed his shoulder as she said, “He’s better now. We took him to church.”

I wasn’t sure what she was talking about so I pulled out my phone. She started laughing and asked if I was going to look it up. I told her I was going to Google it. That’s when I saw that it was the triangle with the eye from the back of the one dollar bill. I turned my phone around and showed her the picture.

“Oh, don’t stare at it. If you stare at it, your body is going to start shaking.” She said that as she started shaking like her body was taken over by a voodoo spell. She also had a worried look on her face. She again told me it was evil like the devil. She was totally serious too.

I looked over at the driver and asked, “Is that what you used to mark stuff up with?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“What a minute. You used to draw a triangle with an eyeball on stuff?”

With an embarrassed look he said, “Yeah.”

All I could do was shake my head. I never thought my car stop would turn into a lesson about superstition and the devil worshiping. It’s also amazing how someone would think I could start shaking if I stared at the illuminati.

You never know what you’re going to hear on this job. That’s what keeps me coming back for more.

“You Can’t Make This Stuff Up”

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Badge415

“You can make this stuff up.”

That’s a saying in police work that everyone can relate to. It’s a simple sentence that describes so much of what we see and hear during our “normal” shift.

The other night my friend Sean and I were talking about some old stories related to that subject.

I told him a story about a crash I took on Wednesday night involving a guy with an ignition interlock device installed on his car. The driver was heading to our jail to stay the night as part of his drunk driving sentence.

He was talking on the phone and trying to blow into the machine while driving at the same time. He was too busy blowing into the machine and ended up crashing into the car in front of him. He described it to me as trying to multitask.

Sean said, “That guy can’t get a break.”
“No, he can’t. He said he lost his job that same day too.”

See, you can’t make this stuff up.

Sean then asked me, “Do you remember The Chief?”
“I took the crash when he was killed.”

The Chief was a famous transient because he was a mean drunk who liked to fight with the police. I never met him, but I was there for The Chief’s final call for service.

On that night The Chief got hit by a car while riding his bike. The car took off and left him lying in the street. That’s when another car ran him over while driving in the opposite direction. The second driver stopped and said she thought she hit him. I looked under her front bumper and saw a bunch of blood. I said, “Yeah, you hit him too.”

After I cleared the scene I drove to the hospital that was down the street. I walked in and a nurse asked me if I had been at the crash.

I said, “Yes.”
“Was that The Chief?”
“Yeah.”
“Was he killed?
Yeah.”
“Good. That means he won’t come in here again.”

You can’t make this stuff up…..

Last week another friend named Timi told me a story that had me laughing for days. About 18 years ago a man called the police because his poodle was taken by another man.

Timi went to the suspect’s location and knocked on the door. A man answered and Timi asked him if he had a dog. The man replied he did. Timi told him she was there because someone called about a stolen dog.

That’s when a recently painted purple poodle appeared. The man told the officers that his poodle was purple and the other dog was white so it couldn’t be the same dog. Nice try, but the purple dog gave it away.

Another reason to say, “You can’t make this stuff up.”

And then who can ever forget the drunk driver who crashed the other night? She was DUI and six months pregnant. After crashing into a pole, she pulled her pants down and left a number two right there on the sidewalk.

I’m still shaking my head at that one.

Once again. You can’t make this stuff up.

Just Call Her Poopy Pants

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Badge415

There’s one thing for sure about this job. We see people at their worst. At their lowest of lows. At rock bottom. We see them at their Poopy Pants worst.

Some of this is self-inflicted. Some of it is just bad luck. The self-inflicted stuff is where the comedy of this profession comes out. It’s where some of the best stories come from. It’s where you stand there and say, “I can’t believe I just saw that.” Last Friday night will go down in history as one of the most unusual stories from a collision scene I have ever witnessed.

An injury traffic collision went out at about 2:15AM involving a vehicle that struck a pole. This is a pretty typical call for that time of the night so I didn’t think anything of it.

I drove down the street and saw a pole imbedded into the front of a car. An ambulance just arrived and there was another patrol car there. I got out of my car and walked up to an officer. He pointed to the crashed car and said, “She’s taking a dump on the sidewalk.”

Now, that’s not something you hear every day.

I looked over to the car and saw the passenger door open with a woman squatting down on the edge of the vehicle next to the seat. She was partially blocked by ambulance personnel.

I walked up and saw her pajama pants pulled down to her knees and there was a pile of you know what right underneath her. There was a strong odor of a person who had been drinking and who had just left a “number two” on the sidewalk. I have seen many people pee and vomit themselves while drunk, but this took it to an entirely new level.

Did I mention she was six months pregnant and unlicensed?

You just can’t make this stuff up.

When the tow truck driver arrived I pointed out the mess because I didn’t want him to step in it. The tow driver looked at it and said he didn’t want poop on the bed of his truck. I found it funny he was worried about that. Never mind all of the cars that have leaked hazardous fluids onto his flatbed tow truck in the past? Now he was worried about a little number two.

The tow truck driver then did his best to maneuver the front of the vehicle around the pile of poop with the skill of an artist painting a masterpiece. Instead of paint and brushes, he tugged and pulled with the cable and used a shim under one of the tires as the vehicle turned. Once the right front tire cleared the pile he completed the job and I left.

As I drove away I couldn’t help laughing and thinking how this woman was SOL (shit out of luck). I also remembered what a shitty job this was. And most of all, you also can’t make this shit up (I couldn’t resist).

Protest away, but you never know when you’re going to need a cop

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Badge415

By now most people have heard about the Subway employee and her comments about the two police officers who were killed while on duty in Mississippi.

I was disgusted by this, but not surprised that someone would say something like that. It’s just the way it is in the world we live in.

Her comments were not just about two murdered police officers. They were about all of us and what she thinks of law enforcement in general. That’s fine. She can believe whatever she wants, but who is she going to call when she needs help? Who is she going to call if she’s ever raped? Who is she going to call if one of her children ever got hit by a car?

She’s going to call a police officer.

Three years ago our city experienced civil unrest after a couple of officer involved shootings. There was one particular neighborhood that was a boiling point and officers had to stand by while the district attorney investigators conducted their investigation. The crowd become more violent and additional officers had to be called. This all occurred before I started my shift.

Eventually more officers were needed at the scene and I was sent. When I arrived, I stood in a line alongside other officers while the crowd was acting crazy. I stood there disgusted with the way some of these people were acting.

There was one particular woman who decided I was going to be her civil unrest project. She was upset about something, but I had no idea because I wasn’t even at work when the mess started.

She stood there and yelled at me. She spit on the ground toward my direction. She went on and on as I seemed to be the only one who drew her rage.

I stood there while she raged her personal little war against me, but her protest, anger and free speech fell on deaf ears because I had no idea what she was saying. All I could think of was, “Whatever lady.”

I never forgot what that woman looked like because we spent so much quality time together. I even saw her complaining on the news about the police that night.

Fast forward six months and guess who I got to meet again? You got it. My long lost Spanish speaking spitting protester. She called the police because she needed help. How ironic is that?

What a small world. I was the follow up officer and stood by while he handled the call. I listened as a translator told us why the woman needed the police. Of course, it was for something trivial, but that didn’t stop her from calling 911 when she needed a cop.

I put on a professional face and just stood there. There was nothing for me to say. Her protest that day was more about being mad at the uniform than me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get to have an opinion about her. Let’s just say, “#@##$!,” might be close to what I wanted to say.

I wondered if she recognized me. She gave me a few looks like she did, but it didn’t matter. I just wanted to get done with the call so I could move on to the next one. When it was time to leave, I silently walked and bit my tongue.

In the end I have a message for people who want to protest.

Protest all you want. On my days off I have better things to do with my time than stand on the sidewalk yelling at people I don’t know. If that’s what you want to do knock yourself out. It’s America.

Just remember this. Who are you going to call the next time you need help? Not the Ghostbusters. You’re going to call a police officer. You have no choice so let’s work together. It’s easier that way.

Don’t forget the names of those killed while wearing the badge

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Badge415

I think of my family every time I hear about a police officer being killed in the line of duty. I also think how I hope it never happens to me. I never want my family to be the ones sitting in the front row at the grave site being presented with the American flag by my chief. I never want them to hear the bagpipes being played for me.

Whenever I hear an officer was killed in the line of duty I reflect on some of the close calls I’ve had. I think of a few times when I or someone I knew, could’ve been the next name on the wall in our police department hallway.

Whenever I hear of an officer’s death, I think of how grateful I am for what I have and how I’m still able to do the job I love.

And finally, I also think about two officers who were killed over twenty years ago.

I started the academy on August 29, 1994 and graduated February 22, 1995. During that time there were two officers from the area who were killed in the line of duty. I never forgot their names because I attended their funerals with my academy classmates.

Those two funerals helped shape how I saw things from the time I was a young recruit to now, as a veteran officer with new gray hairs that seem to appear every day.

It was one of the best things the academy staff ever did because it made everything real. This wasn’t classroom stuff. It was up close and personal. It showed just how serious this job really was.

Officer Charles Heim was killed on October 21, 1994. Officer Michael Osorio was killed on October 31, 1994.

Officer Heim was an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. Officer Osorio was with the La Habra Police Department. They were killed less than two weeks apart and I can still remember seeing their pictures on TV.

Officer Heim was shot by a suspect and Officer Osorio was killed by a drunk driver on Halloween night. Officer Osorio’s department was not far away from mine so it really hit close to home.

I remember standing in the cemetery at Officer Heim’s funeral and being amazed at the sight of all the officers who were there. It showed me I was part of something much bigger than I thought.

When the bagpipes started playing I could sense the emotion around me as people fought back tears. Then the helicopters could be heard in the background. I looked up to the sky as they flew overhead. The rotors were loud and added something to the moment that is hard to describe. Then one helicopter broke off from the group and started flying in a different direction in the “Missing Man” formation. I remember saying to myself, “I never want my family to go through this.”

It was such a powerful moment and it stayed with me for the rest of my life.

Two weeks later I was at another officer’s funeral. I can still remember the heartfelt eulogy that Officer Osorio’s chief gave as I looked across the sea of uniforms that were there to pay their respects. That too, was another moment that stayed with me.

These funerals showed me that nothing can be taken for granted while doing this job. It showed the unspoken bond that officers have because they all potentially share the same fate while wearing the badge.

There’s nothing that compares to a police officer’s funeral. It’s different from any other funeral you’ve ever attended. It’s amazing to see how many officers are there for someone they might not have known.

A regular person sees it as a sad moment. A police officer sees it as a sad moment too, but there’s one big difference.

A police officer knows it could’ve been them. They also know it could’ve been their family sitting up front and being presented with the flag.

The officers in attendance also know this won’t be the last one who dies while wearing the badge. That’s what makes the funeral personal.

That’s also why we can’t forget the names of those who died while in the line of duty.

Be safe.

More About The Body Worn Camera

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Badge415

The other night I responded to a neighboring city to contact the suspect in a hit and run collision. An officer from the neighboring department was also there. When I was done with the interview, I walked up to the suspect vehicle so the damage would show up in the video from my body worn camera. It was easy. I didn’t even have to get a regular camera out.

I looked over at the officer from the other department and said, “I love this thing.” With a raised eyebrow he looked at me like I was kidding. That’s when I said, “No, really. This thing is great.” He still looked like he didn’t believe me as he said, “Really?”

I then told him the advantages I have seen in a short time. Another officer from our department also told him the same thing.

He still didn’t look convinced and told me his department was testing them out. He said it would be hard to get used to. I told him it was easier to use than the audio recorder and it showed so much more. He still didn’t seem convinced.

He then said something lame. He said it would be easier for the younger officers to use because they were more technologically savvy. I could tell he was resistant to change.

Lately I’ve been asking random officers at my department what they thought about the BWC. Every person has instantly said they like it. Every one of them has also told me a story where the BWC was better than audio because it showed so much more.

A lot of officers also brought up stories where they wished they had the BWC when someone complained.

One motor officer told me a unique way how he uses his BWC on car stops. While on the stop he’ll hold the license up to the BWC so it will be part of the video in case something happened to him. I never thought of that.

The other night someone showed me a picture they took on their phone of a hit and run license plate. I held the phone up to my BWC so there was proof the witness actually took the pic. This way there was no doubt we had the correct license plate number.

I’m here to say this thing has been great. It’s not perfect, but I’m glad my department spent the money for the BWC sooner, rather than later. It will make our jobs easier in this crazy environment.

There’s nothing like having the video show how some of these people act on calls. It’s unfortunate that it has come to that, but that’s the world we live in.

It cracks me up on calls where people pull out their phones to record us. That’s fine. I’m recording you too.

More importantly, I have more gigabyte space to do it.

Thank you to the officers in Baltimore

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Badge415

I sat in front of my TV and watched the Baltimore riots and felt pissed. I felt anger for what they were doing and I felt sorry for the cops standing in the skirmish line.

How can anyone set fires like that and think it’s OK? How can someone go into the street and destroy property like that? How can someone cut a fire hose or throw rocks at a fire truck?

As the rioters threw rocks and bottles it reminded me of a scene from the Middle East in the 1980s.

But it wasn’t the Middle East. It was about 40 miles from the White House in the United States of America. That’s not supposed to happen here.

As I watched, I also felt anger for what the cops were going through. I watched them in the skirmish line with their helmets, shields and batons and I sympathized with them. That easily could’ve been me and my friends working the line.

They didn’t ask to be there. They didn’t have anything to do with what the protest was about. They were just stuck there doing a job that anyone of us could’ve been stuck doing.

I watched as rocks and other objects were thrown at them and I was pissed. I was even more pissed when a guy walked up to the skirmish line with a trash can that was on fire and threw it at them.

It made me more frustrated to watch as the skirmish line stood there and didn’t advance to take the rock throwers into custody.

From the news reports, it appeared the officers had their hands tied behind their backs by the higher ups. Shame on the command staff for letting that happen.

Tonight was my first day back to work since my days off. Thankfully everything was normal in my city. Citizens waved and said hi. People said thank you when I was finished with my calls. One guy on a bicycle even told me he was sorry I had to come out after he was hit by a car. That was far different from what was going on 3,000 miles away.

Tonight’s shift made me feel grateful for where I worked. It also made me think of the men and women in Baltimore that weren’t so lucky the last few nights. My helmet was in the truck of my patrol car while other cops had all of their gear on in a hostile environment.

The last few night most people watched TV and only saw officers in helmets. I bet most never thought of the face, behind the plastic shield.

Under each helmet was a person. A real human being with feelings and emotions. They were husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who just happened to be cops.

Try to imagine what it was like to be in their shoes during the last few days. Hopefully you can sympathize with what they went through. It’s not an easy job, but someone has to do it.

Thank you to all the officers in Baltimore.

A lot of us prayed for you while you were working in hell. Stay safe out there and keep those shields up.

Body Worn Camera

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Badge415

Say Cheese

This weekend was the first time I ever used my Taser body worn camera (BWC). It was an easy transition from the Puma audio recorder we were issued a few years ago. Like anything new, you just have to get used to turning it on and off.

I don’t see the BWC as a bad thing. It’s a good thing that was needed in today’s volatile climate. If the BWC shows a suspect is guilty and keeps me out of court then it’s a good thing. If a person lies about something and the camera was running, then it did its job.

Is the BWC the end all when it comes to investigations?

The BWC shows a lot, but it can’t replace the good old human eye, head and neck. The head can turn to look. The BWC can’t. Its field of view is dependent on where the officer wears it.

As an officer, you’re trained to keep you gun side back. That means standing at an angle to a suspect with the gun away. Since my BWC is on my belt that means its field of view might be turned slightly away from the suspect.

I bring that up because a non-law enforcement person might wonder why the video didn’t show everything they expected to see. There’s just no perfect place to wear it.

When I entered the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy in 1994 I never imagined wearing a camera while working. It wasn’t something you thought about. As the years went by, new technology changed how we did things. Equipment got faster, smaller and smarter.

The BWC age is upon us, so you might as well embrace it because it’s not going away. If you don’t have a BWC yet, you will soon.

There’s an interesting feature about the camera when the power switch is on. It’s always recording the last 30 seconds with no audio. When you activate the camera to the record mode the audio then starts. The BWC retains the last 30 seconds of video prior to the record button being activated.

So, this brings me to an interesting thing about the BWC. I’m not worried the BWC is going to show me doing something wrong.

The main thing you have to worry about with the BWC is to make sure the power is off when you go to the rest room….

I didn’t think about it until the first time nature called and I had this new piece of technology attached to the front of my belt.

Let me say that again. “Attached to the front of my belt.”

It’s just a little something the newbies to the world of law enforcement cameras should think about. It brings new meaning to being caught with your pants down….

The age of the body worn camera is upon us. Say Cheese.

Stop Making Us Look Bad

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Badge415

Stop making us look bad.

Yesterday I watched a video that left me shocked and disgusted. I was at work and couldn’t give it my full attention. I decided to watch it again when I had more time. After watching it the second time I was mad.

I was mad at the officers for what they did. I was mad how they made us look bad. I was mad that anyone could be that stupid.

This isn’t the only video that has bothered me in the last week. This isn’t the only story that I have read that has bothered me either.

One particular story is from South Carolina. We all know that one. The other was from the Mid-West where some cops were arrested for drug sales. Who does that?

Then there was this Deputy Chief in California, who was arrested for federal drug charges last month. You just don’t become the subject of a year-long FBI and ATF investigation without some serious red flags pointing toward you.

How can someone, who earned the honor to wear the badge, be involved in drug sales?

How can someone cross the line in the sand we all swore to protect and guard? The line is clear and straight. There is no gray area. It’s either right or wrong dumbass. You’re either breaking the law or not.

There are over 320 million people in the United States and only 800,000 police officers. That’s a very small percentage of people that hold the line between good and evil. It’s also the line between right and wrong.

I have a message for you if you’re going to make us look bad. GET OUT. We don’t need you. The job is hard enough without you doing something stupid.

Go find another job. I worked too hard to have you tarnish my badge. Other people have worked too hard and gone through too much for you to make them look bad.

I’m proud to be an officer. It’s the greatest job in the world and there are a lot of us who feel the same way.

Every day and night officers go out and do the right thing. Every day and night there is temptation, but they walk past it because they have integrity. Every day and night they make the right decisions because that’s who they are.

They leave it all out on the playing field when their shift is over. They then come back tomorrow and do it all over again. They do their best because that’s what the badge requires. That’s what the public expects and that’s what we, as officers, expect.

If you’re that one bad apple, leave now. Leave before you dishonor the rest of us.

There’s this talk about a brotherhood and a family of officers. If you’re going to act like a thug, I don’t want you in my family. If you act like a criminal then you’re dead in my eyes. You don’t deserve the honor of wearing the badge.

The door is over there. Don’t let it hit you on the way out.

It all goes back to having integrity. Either you have it or you don’t. There’s no in between here. It’s like being pregnant. Either you’re pregnant or you’re not. There’s no such thing as being “kind of pregnant.”

You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.

Peer Support Quotes

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Badge415

When I started writing the Peer Support blog story, I had intentions of doing a follow up with quotes from other officers. The question I posed to them was, “What does peer support mean to you?”

Below are a few quotes from people who are part of Peer Support at my department.

“In law enforcement we sometimes put up emotional walls to deal with the stresses of our job. Peer support should make you realize you’re not alone behind those walls.”

“Peer support is a resource for emotional survival throughout your career in law enforcement. Someone that’s there to turn to for assistance with the difficulties we deal with at work and home.”

“Peer support to me is the equivalent to working out and eating right to keep a healthy body. We need to do the same and keep a healthy mind and soul.”

“Peer support is the one program specifically designed to take care of the emotional wellbeing of law enforcement. To me…it’s giving the strong and stoic permission to be human. Ultimately protecting our resilient warriors.”

Just a little something to think about in this crazy world we call police work.

Stay safe.