I got to watch ignorance from a front row seat

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Badge415

Tonight I got to see ignorance in its purist form. Just when I thought I’d seen it all, something else comes up. I always joke around that I keep going back to work just to see what’s going to happen next. As usual, I wasn’t disappointed.

I was sent to a traffic collision involving two vehicles on the west side of the city. When we arrived, my partner spoke to both drivers while I helped out with the paperwork. The victim driver was a Korean male in his 70s, who spoke little English. The driver who rear ended him was a Caucasian female in her early 20s.

Through translation, the male told my partner he was making a right turn into the driveway when he was rear ended. The female driver said the vehicle in front of her was stopped and she never saw it slow down. I asked her what she was doing inside the car at the time to prevent her from seeing the vehicle slow down. She replied she was just driving down the street.

It didn’t take a first grader to know she wasn’t paying attention when the vehicle slowed down in front of her. The points of rest and damage supported the victim’s version of the story.

While I was filling out paperwork she kept telling someone that the vehicle was stopped in front of her. She said it over and over to a point where I wanted to say, “You just can’t go around crashing into people.” I just held my tongue as she whined and didn’t accept responsibility for what she had done.

That’s when the man, who I assumed was her father said, “Asian drivers.”

The woman replied, “Do I have permission to be slightly racist now?”

All I could say to myself was “wow” because I was only 7-10 feet away from them when they said this. It was as if I was invisible. Who would say that in front of a cop investigating their collision?

I couldn’t believe this ignorant knucklehead was actually mad at the old guy she had just crashed into. Never mind the 100 feet of pre-impact locked wheel skid marks her vehicle left before the crash. I just stood there and shook my head as I watched pure ignorance in action.

This was the perfect example of the common theme of the blog, which is, “You just can’t make this stuff up.”

Be safe out there.

How deep did I stick my foot in my mouth?

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Badge415

One night I responded to an injury collision at a freeway off ramp. When I got there, I saw two crashed cars in the intersection and the southbound lanes of the street were blocked.

There was something in the street I had never seen before. One of the drivers was sitting in a lawn chair. I’d seen a lot of things in my time as an officer, but never a chair in the street with an injured person sitting in it. I later found out the witness had taken a chair out of her trunk and gave it to the driver to sit in.

The woman looked to be about 60 years old. She had a frail look about her by the way she sat in the chair. She was leaning to the side and looked to be in lot of pain.

I asked her what happened while she was still sitting in the chair. She answered my questions in a way that made it look like she was older than she appeared. She was either very frail or had a pre-existing condition that was aggravated by the collision.

There was a man standing next to the woman the entire time. He looked to be in his mid-30s. When I was done with the interview I wrote the report number down on a card. I decided to hand the card to the male because I assumed he was the woman’s son.

I looked at the man and asked, “Are you her son?”

“She’s my wife,” he replied with a funny look.

“Oh, you look good for your age.” I said as I tried to turn a negative into a positive.

That’s when the woman in the chair said, “Are you saying I look old?”

Oops

The witness started laughing in the background as she put her hand up to her mouth. I turned toward the woman in the chair and said the first thing that popped into my head.

“Wow, that got awkward. Here’s the report number and call your insurance company.”

There wasn’t much left for me to do or say after that so I walked over to the officer who was helping me with the paperwork and asked, “How old is she?”

I found out the woman was only in her early-40s. I stood there and asked one of the firefighters how old he thought the woman was. He estimated she was about 60 years old. I then asked another firefighter and he gave the same answer. Now I didn’t feel so bad.

Of course, I told them what happened to me and they laughed at how I put my foot in my mouth.

You never know what’s going to happen out on the street.

Hitting the jackpot on September 11

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Badge415

Photo courtesy of Flickr

One of the fun parts of this job is the reactions that kids give when they see you walking around in uniform or sitting in the police car. Whenever I see a child waving at me, I make sure to wave back. The smile on their face and the wave back is always worth it.

On September 11, I was sitting in my car in a parking lot when a family walked by. The mother and father told their 5 year old son to wave at me, which he did. I said hi back at the same time I put my emergency lights on for him. He was surprised to see the lights come on and had the “wow” look on his face.

I got out of the car and said, “Do you want to sit in the police car?”

The boy’s face lit up as he turned toward his parents. His mom and dad told him to go ahead. He started to climb into the car when he spotted a penny that was near the seat. He grabbed the penny and tried to give it to me. I waved my hand at him as I said, “Keep it. It’s yours.”

With a surprised look he shoved the penny into his shorts pocket as fast as he could. He then sat down in the driver seat with a satisfied look on his face as I closed the door for him.

His mother took out her phone and told him to smile so she could take a picture. After the photo was taken I opened the door so he could get out. As he started to get out of the car I pointed to the area on the door where I put spare change as I said, “What’s in there?”

The little boy peeked at the door handle and saw nickels, dimes and a quarter. He looked at me as I said, “Go ahead. You can have them.”

His eyes got huge and then looked back at the coins because he had just hit the lottery. His huge jackpot eyes then looked back at me to be sure.

“Go ahead.”

He grabbed at the change like his hands were miniature Pac Mans gobbling up everything he could find. He had the biggest smile as he put the change into his pockets as deep as he could to make sure none would come out. His parents then told him, “What do you say?”

With a quick turn of the head he said, “Thank you.”

Before the boy left, I said, “Keep the coins so you will always remember that today was September 11th.”

When two DUI drivers crash into each other

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Badge415

A photo I took at one of our DUI check points.

A common theme of the blog is, “You just can’t make this stuff up.” The other night we had such a call. In fact, the cops on the call were still talking about it tonight.

The story starts out with two friends. We’ll call them Tom and Frank to make it easier. Tom went to visit Frank at his house. Tom and Frank decided to get drunk at the house, which was fine. But rather than stay at Frank’s house where they were safe, they decided to leave and drive in separate cars. You can probably see where this is going already.

Of course, it didn’t matter that they didn’t have driver’s licenses even though they have lived in California for over 10 years.

As they left the house, Frank was in front of Tom. Frank approached a stop sign at a major cross street and stopped. Unfortunately for Tom, he was drunk and his driving ability was about as good as a snake trying to play a piano.

Disaster was moments away for Tom as he was about to achieve Badge415 blog status. He rear ended Frank and rolled over onto his roof, sending glass all over the street. But wait, there’s more……

After the collision, Frank made a U-turn and stopped at Tom’s car. Tom crawled out and jumped into Frank’s car so they could get out of there before the cops showed up.

Frank drove 100 yards down the street to his house and pulled into the driveway. He made a clean get away except for one thing. Frank somehow felt the need to achieve Badge415 blog status also. As he pulled into his driveway he sideswiped his roommate’s truck. Frank was now at fault for the second collision after being the “victim” of the first. Tom was the suspect of the first collision and a passenger in the second.

DUI investigations were conducted on both drivers and they were arrested for driving while under the influence. They went from one house to the Big House all because they chose poorly.

You couldn’t make this story up even if you tried. It was a lot of extra work, but it was worth it. It wouldn’t be a “normal” police shift without some type of craziness to shake things up.

Thank you for your support

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Badge415

Tonight, I went to Starbucks to get a drink and do some much needed report writing. I went to my usual table and put my computer down as I hoped for some peace and quiet to catch up on my work.

I ordered my drink and then dove into my paperwork. While I sat there, I scanned the crowed as people came and went. Every so often a person would smile and say hi as they walked past my table toward the bathroom.

I continued to fill out report forms and type as the Starbucks crowd went about their business.

The time finally came for me to leave when a collision call went out over the radio. I was gathering my stuff when a man walked by and said, “Thank you for your service.”

He was about 50 years old and smiled as he said it. His blue eyes were warm, sincere and friendly.

I smiled back and said, “Thank you.” I hoped he could see I meant and appreciated his kind words. The moment was brief and then he walked away.

“Thank you for you service” were just five words. But they weren’t just any five words. They were five words that he didn’t have to say. The man didn’t have to take the time to walk over and say anything. I was a just a stranger, who was wearing a uniform and a badge.

I don’t think people realize how much we, as officers, appreciate it when they come up and offer encouragement like that. Those moments mean something.

With all of the negativity out there, the world forgets about the people who support the police. We know you’re out there. We see you when you smile at us. We see you when you wave at us at stop lights. We see and hear your kids when they yell out, “Hi police!”

We know there are good people out there, just like you know there are good cops doing their best to make you safe. Keep the faith because the cops haven’t forgotten about you.

Officers still go out to protect people no matter what

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Badge415

“Nine officers murdered in 10 days. No national outrage…and you know what? Our men & women in blue KEEP holding that line. *salute*”

– Chief Jeffery Katz of the Boynton Beach Police Dept (Florida).

I read this quote today on Twitter and I instantly clicked “favorite.” I then clicked on Chief Katz’s profile and scanned his Tweets. I clicked “follow” because I liked what he had to say. Chief Katz followed me back, which I appreciated.

I liked his Tweet because it was true. Officers still do the job they have sworn to do no matter which way the political winds are blowing. They continue to protect people no matter which group is spewing hatred toward them. They still report to work because it’s the job they have sworn to do.

Chief Katz’s statement was short and to the point, but as an officer, I appreciated it. As a citizen, I appreciated it also. I think officers and citizens want to see their police chiefs out in front leading to reassure them that police officers are there no matter what. People expect officers to be there, but it’s still an important message to put out there for them to hear.

This is our chosen profession and we put our uniforms and badges on despite what’s going on in the world. This career is a calling that very few answer.

Thousands of men and women will go to work tomorrow and do their very best to protect people they have never met. Police officers will do this knowing the dangers they face as they charge toward the unknown.

We, as a profession, need to make some noise about the good work officers do every day to help people and impact them in a positive way. We need to get our stories out there for people to see and hear.

Remember, officers are out there holding the line between good and evil, but you just don’t hear about it.

Be safe out there.

His name was Deputy Goforth

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Badge415

His name was Darren Goforth. He was a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff Department in Texas and he was murdered on August 28, 2015 at 8:25PM.

He wasn’t bothering anyone. He was only pumping gas into his patrol car. The news account say he was shot from behind and fell to the ground. The suspect then stood over him and shot Deputy Goforth a couple of more times.

The suspect drove away like a coward and left him to die.

Just reading this made me angry. Every law-abiding citizen should be angry at such a senseless killing of a man and a symbol of law and order. This wasn’t just an attack on a police officer. It was an attack against what we stand for as a society.

Deputy Goforth wasn’t involved in a high risk warrant service. He wasn’t on a car stop or on a domestic violence call. He was putting gas in his patrol car at a gas station. The senselessness is beyond words to me. The evil shown by the suspect is beyond comprehension.

This all happened because of the uniform and badge he was wearing. He was on-duty tonight, just like I was. He was serving his community just like thousands of other officers.

During my 30 minute drive home, I thought about how this could’ve happened to me or one of my friends. It could’ve happened to an officer in a neighboring city. As the minutes ticked away on my drive, I got angrier as I thought about what happened.

I didn’t know him, but he wore a badge just like I do. He wore a badge just like over 800,000 other officers in the United States. That badge might not be the same, but we all grieve for him and his family.

Take a moment today and reflect on what you have and think about Deputy Goforth’s family. They didn’t deserve this. No one does.

His name was Deputy Goforth and he was a police officer. His life mattered.

I thought my patrol car was haunted

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Badge415

Have you ever heard voices in the dark? Well, let me tell you a story…..

One night, I was parked behind a building while I was doing paper work in my police car. The night was quiet and there was no one around. The only noise was from my idling engine, the air conditioner and the occasional radio traffic from the dispatcher. I was backed into my spot and I had a clear view if anyone approached from the front.

I was looking down and filling out a report when I heard a whispering raspy sounding voice. I instantly looked up as I wondered what it was. I scanned left and right as I looked for someone, but there was nothing. It was just me in the dark. After a while I decided I must have imagined it and went back to work.

A little while later I heard it again. I looked around, but there was nothing.

This went on for almost two weeks. The voice was random and I could never figure out what it was saying. Other times it sounded like a noise. It was always so low I could barely hear it. I never heard it while I was driving. It was only when I was parked and sitting in the car.

As funny as it sounds, I started to wonder if my car was haunted. I have been driving the same car since 2010 and it never made sounds before. You just shouldn’t hear a strange voice when you’re sitting in the dark.

After the first week I wondered if I should tell someone about it. But how do you bring that up in a conversation? What do you say? “Hey, I’m hearing voices.” Not.

I had three days off and then it was back to work and driving my car again. I worked Wednesday night and it happened again. I started wondering if someone left a cell phone in the car, but there was nothing when I looked in the doors and under the seats. This was starting to creep me out.

The next night I was on a crash and a motor officer sat in my car to look something up on my computer.

He got out of the car and told me he heard something!!! You have no idea how good that made me feel to know it wasn’t just me. I then told him about the noises I was hearing in the car. He gave me the crazy look and said that was weird.

While I was still on the call, an officer named Mike got me on the radio and asked me if anything weird had been going on. He then told me to meet him.

This particular officer is a funny guy and I knew something was up now, so I raced over to see him. When I arrived at his location he asked me if I was hearing weird noises. I told him the story about the voices and the noises I was hearing. He started laughing so hard I knew he had done something.

He went to my car and reached underneath the police radio console and pulled out this round object that looked like a miniature speaker. He pushed something and the raspy male voice came on. OMG!

He then said, “I forgot I put it in there.”

We both started laughing as I told him the stories about my haunted car. I was so relieved to know I wasn’t hearing things. His little sound maker was set to make a noise every so often at random times.

Some people might ask why I didn’t just drive another car. Well, that particular car is the one I like to drive and we’ve been through a lot together. I couldn’t just discard it because of a few strange voices.

It was a once in a life time prank that I’ll never forget. I won’t lie, I was so happy the joke was over.

The Cucumber Story

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Badge415

The actual cucumber

One night, dispatch broadcasted an unknown trouble call over the radio with no other details except there was a man down on the sidewalk. I was close by and responded with other officers.

When I got there, there was a male in his mid to late 50s lying on the sidewalk. There was no one else around except for him. He was disoriented and was hard to understand. He didn’t look homeless and he had clean clothes on. I didn’t get close enough to see if he was drunk.

At first, it appeared the guy might have fallen and hit his head, but we weren’t sure. It clearly wasn’t a collision since the guy was on the sidewalk and there was no evidence of a car hitting him or anything else.

Other officers and fire personnel spoke with the guy to try and find out what happened. I stood by with another officer as we watched. While we stood there, we couldn’t help but notice that there was a large cucumber on the sidewalk next to the man.

It wasn’t a gun, a knife or any other type of weapon. It was a cucumber. And I’m not talking about any old cucumber. I’m talking the longest cucumber ever seen. It was the type of cucumber that would make other vegetables jealous.

There were so many questions now. Was the cucumber the weapon that took him down or was he carrying it? Even if he was carrying it, who walks around with a cucumber at night?

Someone else handled the call so there was really wasn’t anything to do except to make jokes about the cucumber. How could we not?

Good thing it wasn’t in his pocket. That would’ve been an awkward conversation for sure. “Is that a cucumber or are you happy to see me?”

The paramedics loaded him onto a gurney and started to wheel him toward the ambulance. The cop I was talking with picked up the cucumber and put it on the gurney next to the guy. Who knows, it might’ve been his.

I bet that was the first time a cucumber went for a ride in an ambulance. I’m sure the people at the hospital were going to have the same questions about the cucumber on steroids.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

What do you say to a driver with a blind person’s cane?

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Badge415

The other night I responded to an injury collision involving three cars. When I arrived, I saw the usual sight of crashed cars and a fire truck on scene. One of the vehicles was in the middle of the intersection. The other car was up against a traffic signal pole and a third car was parked off to the side.

The car in the middle of the intersection had two women in it. The driver was in her late 60s to early 70s and the passenger was at least ten years older. They both had a frail look. I stood at the door and spoke to the driver through the window as fire personnel worked on the passenger. After I was done I went to speak to the other drivers.

One of the other drivers told me how she had made a left turn when she was hit by a car. The collision caused her to spin around and hit a third car and then a pole.

After I was done speaking to all three drivers, I noticed the woman from the first car was still in the driver seat. I walked up to her and asked if she wanted a tow truck. She told me she was waiting for another ambulance to take her to the hospital. The firefighters were standing off to the side and I didn’t know they had called for another ambulance.

I was standing at the driver door when I noticed she was folding up a blind person’s cane. It’s not every day that you see a driver with a blind person’s cane. It kind of raised a red flag.

“Is that your cane,” I asked as I tried not to laugh.

“No. it’s hers,” as she pointed to the passenger seat. “Mine is the walker in the backseat.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I wasn’t expecting that answer.

It goes to show that you never know what you’re going to hear at a traffic collision. After all these years, that was the first time I ever asked a driver if they owned a blind person’s cane.