tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58298702011-04-21T20:27:57.065-07:00Will Beauty Weep?<i><b>Will Beauty weep when I am no more? <br />When the tide of my life ebbs from the shore?<br />Or will the sands remain...<br />
Unchanged...<br />
as before?<br />
Will Beauty weep when I am no more?</i></b>Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.comBlogger641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1125344313625048012005-08-29T12:32:00.000-07:002005-08-29T12:38:33.633-07:00After a couple of weeks of holding my breath, I have finally received a "Fully Qualified" stamp of approval from the Department of Vet Affairs Vocational Rehab office. They have told me they are planning on covering me through the completion of a bachelor degree!Good news has been hard to come by, so this is MOST refreshing!The fact that I will have my tuition, fees, books, supplies, and monthlyBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1124478670020384002005-08-19T12:09:00.000-07:002005-08-19T12:11:10.030-07:00"The King is Dead. Long Live the King!"The title, taken from an old community confession at the change of monarchs, always confused me as a young man. I now understand it.It was a confession designed to help the people transition from one face of monarch-dom to another. It was designed to help the people understand the previous face no longer existed, but the kingdom continues with a new face. Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1122745449749223872005-07-30T10:43:00.000-07:002005-07-30T10:44:09.756-07:00I had a meeting with my Veterans Affairs rep this week. He informed me I qualified for VA Vocational Rehabilitation. He said this meant I could get them to pay for college and pay ME while I went! He said they would cover the whole enchilada including fees, books, etc., as well as provide a tax free stipend based on full time attendance. As you can imagine, this has sparked near constant Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1122398086287312092005-07-26T09:45:00.000-07:002005-07-26T10:14:46.316-07:00I suppose another update is due, though I am not eager to delve into things again. First, the investigator in my last background actually called back. He said he would try to find some info for me, but I never really expected a call back since they usually have non disclosure requirements. He said he felt he owed that to me, however, and gave me some interesting information.Essentially, it allBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1121812863865337252005-07-19T15:37:00.000-07:002005-07-19T15:54:35.966-07:00Life Is SufferingThe title, Life is Suffering, is also one of the four major tenants of Buddhism. The truth of this was driven home today when I opened a letter from my local municipality which stated, based on information gathered during my background investigation, they were no longer considering me for a position as a police officer. This is the department which has been my very best hope. Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1119988030678469812005-06-28T12:24:00.000-07:002005-06-28T12:51:42.033-07:00I suppose an update is past due. I am just a little reluctant to continually post the same info over and over. Basically the update is this: I am still awaiting the final interview with county, I am in background with the city I live in (looks good though!), I have submitted a background packet with another local city (awaiting word), I have passed the written and physical tests with yet Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1118809865063494372005-06-14T21:30:00.000-07:002005-06-14T21:31:05.073-07:00Much media coverage was recently given to a couple of police officers who used a taser on a female violator who refused to comply with their commands. This coverage is consistent with past media reporting of taser use. For some unknown reason (did you catch the sarcasm there?), the media seems to be following the Amnesty International playbook, which calls for the suspension of virtually every Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1115681290952051952005-05-09T16:15:00.000-07:002005-05-09T16:43:40.090-07:00I would like to offer a note of much thanks to Jeff of Ponytailed Conservative (see a link to his site on my Blogroll since this program will not allow me to place a link via html) for his invaluable assistance in helping me set up a blogroll.There is so much more to blogging than the simple journal that I have been keeping. Even though this is so, I am likely going to keep this site as a journalBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1114459445057851272005-04-25T12:29:00.000-07:002005-04-25T13:04:05.060-07:00I went on another ride along Friday night with one of my prospective employers. What a different world it was.There was none of the normal PC requirements of larger departments. And there seemed to be little thought given to the "Community Policing" model so many departments are going to these days. Instead it was very much an Us vs. Them mindset, which is actually somewhat understandable Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1114103618335123172005-04-21T09:30:00.000-07:002005-04-21T10:13:38.336-07:00BOHICA!!!!I have decided that is my new battle cry. BOHICA is one of those oh-so-descriptive acronyms created by the grunts in the military. It stands for Bend Over, Here It Comes Again, and refers to the way grunts in the field often felt they were slipped the big green weenie.I am not going to quit yet. That is why it is a battle cry rather than a whimper of defeat. But, while I enter each Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1112466975630141792005-04-02T10:24:00.000-08:002005-04-06T14:17:02.206-07:00And Now, This:I called the county sheriff’s office and spoke with the Sgt who runs the hiring process. He told me I am past all their hurdles except the final interview, and am currently listed in the top ten candidates. The Sgt said he expects the final interview to happen in about a month. My friend, who works in the sheriff’s records section, said top ten was excellent placement, so there are Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1112386865959673782005-04-01T12:12:00.000-08:002005-05-04T10:52:46.533-07:00I didn't sleep much last night. I considered going down to the department and seeking a face to face meeting, but decided that might appear too aggressive. So instead I have written the following letter:April 1, 2005Sir,I very much appreciate your call personally informing me of the decision by Chief M and the City Manager regarding my prospective employment by the MPD. But I feel it is necessaryBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1112345502325424072005-04-01T00:30:00.000-08:002005-04-01T01:01:19.146-08:00Have you ever had the feeling life was a cosmic arcade and your particular part to play was to perpetually be the Whack-a-Mole for the some sadistic reveler?I just received a call from the city I THOUGHT was a done deal, saying they decided I wouldn't be a good fit for their smaller agency. They said the background investigation revealed that I was extremely dependable and reliable, and that I Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1111185879651902162005-03-18T14:22:00.000-08:002005-03-18T14:44:39.796-08:00At last some good news!This has been a rough week. First I received a declination from a local city to which I had applied, no explanation offered. Next, the major department in the area (which just opened up 70 positions) told me my two years of college did not qualify because they were not regionally accredited. It didn't matter that the school has transfer agreements with all the major localBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1110671650775784212005-03-12T15:53:00.000-08:002005-03-12T15:54:10.780-08:00I recently went on a ride-along with a friend (V) with whom I attended the academy. He works for a local department, and I wanted to stay in touch with the job. I love the guy to pieces, but OHMYGOD he is a statistic waiting to happen!I was first struck by how low his activity level seemed. He doesn’t stop to talk to suspicious characters, doesn’t make traffic stops and pretty much just drivesBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1110396802520793312005-03-09T11:32:00.000-08:002005-03-09T11:33:22.523-08:00Justice is a funny thing. It is something that is sought after, and even demanded, by millions. But justice is in serious lack in this world of ours. If we spend our lives expecting justice, I fear we spend our lives in constant frustration, because true justice doesn’t exist in this physical universe.If you ask ten different people what their idea of justice is and you will likely get ten Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1109988645996082222005-03-04T18:09:00.000-08:002005-03-04T18:10:45.996-08:00Alright. I haven’t had a good venting yet, but after running into an acquaintance from the PD at the store today, I feel the need to purge.Here’s the thing: I graduated in first place academically, won an award for marksmanship after firing almost 150 rounds without a single miss during pistol qualifications, and I was a squad leader at the police academy. I recently won an award for writing Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1109964210860003322005-03-04T11:20:00.000-08:002005-03-04T11:23:30.863-08:00I have realized that up to this point I have presented myself as some kind of super hero. I seem to have highlighted my successes, but failed to mention my failures. I guess that is human nature to emphasize the good. But, lest I give the impression I think I am some kind of savant, I will highlight a screw up which occurred on my last weekend and which, most probably, contributed to my Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1109806874856972682005-03-02T15:40:00.000-08:002005-03-02T15:41:14.863-08:00Another event which occurred during my last weekend with the department very nearly ended quite ugly.I was sent out on a call involving possible drug activity. My cover officer, however, was familiar with the address and recognized it as the apartment of a male Hispanic drug dealer/gang banger who happened to have a couple of felony warrants for his arrest! Since the subject was a known gang Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1109722193561760052005-03-01T15:02:00.000-08:002005-03-01T16:09:53.566-08:00The last weekend I worked there were a couple of significant events. The first involved a call for a welfare check on a possible suicidal subject. The call had come in from the county crisis line asking us to check on a young man who had said he was going to jump off a bridge. When I arrived I found my cover officer had beaten me to the call. As I approached the condo the young man, Chris, Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1109622577332726762005-02-28T11:46:00.000-08:002005-02-28T12:29:37.336-08:00Had to go to court last Tuesday for a trial on a DUII I arrested last Aug. Because I am the witness for the state it doesn’t matter whether I am currently employed as a police officer. I still get subpoenaed. The kid (24 years old) seemed like a decent enough sort, like he was trying to do right, working hard, etc. He was never combative or offensive, but he was definitely driving under the Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1109376829309504422005-02-25T16:11:00.000-08:002005-02-25T16:13:49.316-08:00As any who have been reading this blog now know, I am no longer with the city PD I was with previously. I am still rather confused by how this all came about. As far as I knew I was doing great. I was finding good spots and making significant arrests, I had just received an award for writing more seatbelt tickets than anyone else in the department, I regularly received written compliments fromBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1097808103133874322004-10-13T17:02:00.000-07:002004-10-14T19:41:43.133-07:00I went on a call about two weeks ago, where the person calling 911 reported hearing a man yelling, the sound of loud whacks, and a little girl screaming.
Most of the time these calls turn out to be nothing. This was not one of those times.
I was providing cover to the officer who was primary. When we arrived the person who called 911 met us and pointed out the apartment from which the Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1095807713804900452004-09-21T15:31:00.000-07:002004-09-21T16:01:53.803-07:00Relief shift has been a great change. The down side is I work Fri-Mon, so I have much less time to spend with my daughter. Essentially, I get after school Tue-Thur. But working 11 am -9 pm makes life a whole lot easier. No longer do I have to dread court time. Since circuit court is a minimum 4 hours of overtime, regardless of how long you are actually there, it is a nice boost to the paycheck. Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1093229171580436312004-08-22T19:44:00.000-07:002004-08-23T01:50:04.193-07:00Friday night I went out on a welfare check/911 hang up. Apparently a gentleman named Gordon called 911 from the transit center to say he needed help. He was mostly incoherent, except to say he needed police help. It was 0400.
I found him on the lightrail platform. He was immediately verbally hostile, accusing me of "doing dirt" to him. He couldn't believe that this was how I treated him. And Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1092781364967334142004-08-17T14:50:00.000-07:002004-08-17T15:22:44.966-07:00Another recent occurrance, which I found quite amusing, involved a noise complaint at an apartment complex which is one of the local cesspools.
Seems the complainants were upset with the apartment below because he would bang on the ceiling from time to time. The insisted they didn't have any idea as to what he was complaining about.
This particular couple were clearly both female, though Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1092618864568269952004-08-15T17:02:00.000-07:002004-08-15T18:14:24.566-07:00As predicted, graveyard shift is kicking my ass. Seems all I have time for is sleeping or just trying to catch up with the family. The good news is I will almost certainly be off graves as of Sep. 1.
Though the shift is hard physically and hard on the family, there are many MANY good things about it. I can understand why some of the officers with the most seniority wouldn't have any other shift. Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1089571589115368472004-07-11T11:06:00.000-07:002004-07-11T11:46:29.116-07:00I have finally been released to patrol solo. And what a long strange trip it has been, to borrow a phrase from Jerry Garcia.
The last couple of weeks have been busy, but with no real "major" occurrences. But, since I am going to graveyard shift starting next Wednesday, I thought I better post an update.
The laser surgery went well...very well. I have had some expected difficulty with the Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1086839882512822312004-06-09T20:45:00.000-07:002004-06-09T20:58:02.513-07:00Had a very interesting event today.
The call was an accident on a major local freeway. One of the participants possibly having a seizure. At least one lane (of the two lanes) of traffic was completely blocked and traffic was backing up.
When I arrived I saw two cars, a Kia sandwiched against the median barrier by a new BMW. The guy in the BMW looked right at me, then slowly began to drive off. Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1086753588933706992004-06-08T20:50:00.000-07:002004-06-08T20:59:48.933-07:00I forgot to mention the events of last Friday. About 0900 things started really getting crazy.
First a Burglary Occurring Now call came out. I ran code (lights and siren, blowing intersections, etc.) all the way across town. Found the location without much difficulty. Turned out to be nothing.
Next came a call where a man was shot with a shotgun. Again, code all the way across town. I Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1086748893828492992004-06-08T19:27:00.000-07:002005-05-04T10:55:12.583-07:00Okay, a couple of quick stories.Last week I was with another officer, returning to the barn. We rounded a corner and, about 2 blocks from the station, was an assault occurring right in front of us. The other officer called it out, I jumped from the car and ran to where the aggressor was being held down by passers-by. A female in her 20s stood a little way off, with blood running from her face andBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1086233431774307422004-06-02T20:17:00.000-07:002004-06-02T20:30:31.776-07:00Today was not my best performance. Nothing major, just a bunch of little things. And as the little things pile up, I tend to back off from aggressively pursuing opportunities.
Funny thing is my arrest last week of the forger only happened because I aggressively pursued the slightest of observations.
I have a growing fondness for the Zen concept of "No Mind." I first discovered it some Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1086053634482801162004-05-31T18:21:00.000-07:002004-05-31T18:33:54.483-07:00I have slacked off in a major way over the last couple of months. I do have a few good stories to share, but will have to intersperse them with the real time posts.
The major event of last week shows that you never ever know what is going to happen. Even the most minor of observations can have significant impact.
I had ut myself out on a security check at a local mall. I drove into the Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1081740423549019012004-04-11T20:27:00.000-07:002004-04-11T20:31:17.013-07:00I know, Pam. I suck. I have dropped the ball on the blogging.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I have much for which to atone.
Okay, enough groveling.
For a while there, I wondered if the career was going to continue. The stress of working graves, combined with the new FTO, definitely took its toll on my abilities to write. I was more than a little stressed. And, for some reason,Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1075001163916130232004-01-24T19:26:00.000-08:002004-01-24T19:27:34.216-08:00Well, we have a new recipient of the Golden Hemorrhoid award!
We received a call on 20 or more people brawling, with possible knives involved. 5 cars and a Sergeant responded. We were coming from a good ways out, so arrived about 5 or 6 minutes after receiving the dispatch. As we pulled up, a couple of officers were already out with one of the subjects, who was bleeding profusely from a cutBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1074894890348137472004-01-23T13:54:00.000-08:002004-01-24T19:28:03.013-08:00What started as a simple traffic stop on my last day on "days," became much more when the violator refused to stop!
N and I were driving the car to the shops with the intent of getting the studded tires changed back, when we passed through a major intersection. As we passed through, one particular car in the intersecting street's turn lane caught my attention. I can't even tell you WHAT Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1074318622997401852004-01-16T21:50:00.000-08:002004-01-16T21:57:16.123-08:00Yet another milestone this week. My first Murder.
This call was chaos from the start. Apparently a new dispatcher, who was still in training, began the call. They failed to sound "tones," even though the call was for an Assault Now with Shots Fired. The dispatcher kept adding "possible" throughout the call, even though they were receiving the report from eye witnesses, including one who had Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1073774022042074962004-01-10T14:33:00.000-08:002004-01-10T14:42:14.920-08:00Yesterday I took my first Dead Body call.
We were just heading to our morning bagel and coffee when the call came through. The death had just happened, so it wasn't too bad. The DB calls you dread are the ones where the death occurred days prior, where the body is "ripe." Some of the officers carry a jar of Vick's Mentholatum Rub just for such calls. The menthol helps block out the dead Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1073626092975138262004-01-08T21:28:00.000-08:002004-01-10T13:18:31.153-08:00Had another milestone today. For the first time in my career, I drew down on a suspect and advanced while shouting the command, "Lie on the ground!"
The day began boring enough. In fact, the last 3 days have been boring. The weather is such that no one has been out during the day. Calls have been few and far between. The most exciting call of the last 3 days had been a man complaining aboutBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1073338040247515352004-01-05T13:27:00.000-08:002004-01-05T19:41:07.890-08:00The other events of the last few weeks are minor in comparison to the Glenna's investigation. But I should probably mention a few anyway. There were a rash of shopliftings leading up to Christmas. These became so regular, in fact, that I began joking with, "Well, you know, there are only 2 shoplifting days left until Christmas."
One shoplifting incident involved a female named Terri. Terri Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1073325637396449202004-01-05T10:00:00.000-08:002004-01-05T10:01:48.860-08:00I have been remiss in keeping my journal up to date. No excuses. Just lazy. So much has happened in the last two weeks that I cannot share it all. So I will try to pick a couple of key incidents to expound upon.
The main event involved a successful conclusion to a two week investigation.
About the middle of last month we received a call regarding a shoplifting which occurred at a seasonalBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1071976737989440372003-12-20T19:18:00.000-08:002003-12-20T19:24:26.966-08:00I switched to days last week. This means I have to get up at 4:15 a.m. I don't get home until about 6:00 p.m. If I am going to get a decent amount of sleep, I need to be in bed by 9:15. This only gives me about 3 hours to wind down, eat dinner and have family time. Doesn't leave any time for journaling during the work week.
Soooo.......The weekend is really the only time I can journal Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1070918777739294772003-12-08T13:26:00.000-08:002003-12-09T03:35:23.670-08:00What a magnificent week! I needed to focus on my family for a while, so I wasn't able to post any entries, but it was truly a magnificent week!
Monday began with the contempt hearing for the RO Violation. All went smoothly, and the defendant admitted the violation, so I didn't even need to testify. He was sentence to two years probation, anger management classes, parenting classes, and Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1070233927430786652003-11-30T15:12:00.000-08:002003-11-30T15:12:43.403-08:00Tomorrow I have my first court appearance. It is a contempt hearing for a Restraint Order violation. A very easy case.
But, I do sympathize with the defendant. What happened was this:
We received a call for a restraint order violation with the information the violator was sitting on the doorstep of the protected party. Restraint Orders (usually) specifically state there is to be no phone Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1069995728256053742003-11-27T21:02:00.000-08:002003-11-28T12:04:31.060-08:00This week was a turning point. Last night was my best night since beginning the Field Training and Evaluation Program (FTEP). I felt more relaxed, more at ease, more like a cop, than ever before. Last night, I finally began thinking, "I can DO this!"
The week began with EVOC. It was as fun as I imagined. We used the Academy's course, which is set up on an abandoned airfield. Lots of Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1069649271271163922003-11-23T20:47:00.000-08:002003-11-23T20:48:20.186-08:00I begin EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operation Course, i.e. Cop driving school) training tomorrow. Would probably be looking forward to it a bit more if it were being taught by someone other than T. I am really struggling with his training style. I leave each shift feeling less confident of my abilities than the shift before. To be fair, he puts some of the good things I do on my DORs, and over Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1069363302025918022003-11-20T13:21:00.000-08:002003-11-30T15:21:29.966-08:00Last night was a much needed break. I have held off from entries over the last two shifts because they were quite difficult. So much so, I was beginning to question myself and whether or not I should be doing this job. But, T was sick, so I had a limbo night. I rode with another officer and was able to enjoy the job again. It also helped me gain some much needed perspective on common Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1068970417005806932003-11-16T00:13:00.000-08:002003-11-16T00:13:58.483-08:00Thursday's shift began with a couple of hours of book work. The FTOs had a meeting, so I studied while T swapped horror stories with the other FTOs.
When T came back we went to get something to eat. He shared with me some of the things which had been discussed at the meeting, which included getting ribbed for my "Low Speed Pursuit" from the previous night. What had happened was this:
I Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1068946254123275662003-11-15T17:30:00.000-08:002003-11-15T17:42:42.123-08:00I spent most of the next day contemplating the mistakes of the prior shift. By the time my next shift came around I had thoroughly digested what had happened and why. And I was ready to begin putting into effect the lessons I had learned.
Our evening started out with a warrant service request from county. The warrant was for Rape/Sex Abuse/Sodomy. I parked about 2 blocks from the address Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1068761695390315192003-11-13T14:14:00.000-08:002003-11-15T12:42:37.326-08:00Last night (shift beginning 11/11) was a big night. We made two warrant arrests. Both were through "Self Initiated" action. And both were excellent learning experiences, with the first being fraught with mistakes.
To set the stage, yesterday's DOR mentioned T seeing several suspicious individuals which I did not initiate contact with. So I planned on being very proactive this shift. I askedBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1068585862516561222003-11-11T13:24:00.000-08:002003-11-11T13:24:19.993-08:00My first full night of driving. I seemed to get around the city okay. The department provides a guide which has every street listed with directions from one of the major artery/intersections. Makes the job of getting places much easier once you know the major arterials.
The department uses the Ford Interceptor, which is a police-ized version of the Crown Victoria. This vehicle is quite a Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1068325165748985432003-11-08T12:59:00.000-08:002003-11-08T12:59:23.893-08:00Wednesday I went into work knowing I was seriously off my game. I just felt out of sorts. I feel my performance showed it. I garbled radio transmissions, missed calls, missed traffic violations, and scraped the patrol car tires against a corner curb. The biggest mistake came late in the evening. We pulled over a gal who T paced at almost 90 miles an hour. She had no registration, no proof Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1068064768963876592003-11-05T12:39:00.000-08:002003-11-05T12:39:27.116-08:00Very quiet night. We made a couple of traffic stops, all for equipment related issues, and all as excuses to talk to the driver. Each one came back clean so we gave them warnings and moved on.
We spent a couple of hours recovering stolen vehicle parts in conjunction with an investigation into a local chop shop. The guy who was arrested for possession of the stolen parts is cooperating fully Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1067979914478740452003-11-04T13:05:00.000-08:002003-11-04T13:07:57.856-08:00My day began with an "Oh, Shit!" moment. I arrived at the station about an hour before briefing in order to touch bases with the training department and to pick up my uniform coat which supposedly had finally arrived. It has been in the upper 20s (Fahrenheit), so a coat is a good thing to have at night! Turns out the supplier sewed on the wrong patches, so it has to be sent back. Fortunately Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1067718360082806032003-11-01T12:26:00.000-08:002003-11-01T14:53:41.750-08:00The 30 Oct. shift was fairly uneventful. Another limbo day since my FTO was still out for riot control training.
This gave me an opportunity to ride with another officer who came to the department about 9 months ago after working in a nearby sparsely populated county for about 6 years. He was far more aggressive in his patrol style than any officer I had yet ridden with and it was an Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1067548561009174682003-10-30T13:16:00.000-08:002003-10-30T13:16:00.100-08:00Last night was a bit of a patchwork. My FTO spent the day on MRT (Mobile Reaction Team, i.e. riot control) training, so he did not arrive at the station until almost 6:00. I used the time to finish out a last bit of computer training I had left, then rode with him until 9:00 p.m. when he went home. The day was officially a "limbo day." That is one where there is not enough time with the fieldBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1067465073987254892003-10-29T14:04:00.000-08:002003-11-01T14:26:08.253-08:00The last entry was started yesterday, but completed this morning so this entry will have the same date, though it will be dealing with the Oct 28-29 shift.
Last nights was relatively quite and began with a prisoner transport to the county jail. The prisoner had an outstanding warrant for Failure To Appear (FTA) on a Possession of Controlled Substance (PCS) charge (meth). He was stopped by the Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1067463000509092092003-10-29T13:30:00.000-08:002003-11-01T18:20:57.200-08:00The first day on the road was everything I could have hoped.
The main event of the night occurred about half way through my shift. We had discussed, during briefing, a man who had been exhibiting signs of paranoid schizophrenia. He had been claiming his home was bugged, intruders were frequently on his roof, one of the neighbors was beaming radio waves into his home (which he had tracked Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1067277300234961032003-10-27T09:55:00.000-08:002003-10-27T09:54:59.180-08:00The last two weeks have been more than a little draining. I am certainly feeling my age. I come home with bruises and strains, which don't heal as fast as they used to, and have enough energy to eat dinner, then fall asleep on the couch. I have felt like that old poster of the wrinkled puppies asleep in a pile which was captioned "Too Bushed to Boogie!"
While the last two weeks have been Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1065976914186782402003-10-12T09:41:00.000-07:002003-10-12T12:57:48.463-07:00End of the second week and still going strong. We had classes on Criminal Law, Use of Force, Verbal Judo, and several other classroom oriented items.
The last two days were Control Holds, Handcuffing, Pepper Spray (including taking a shot of OC), the ASP Extendable Baton and Confrontation Simulation. The pepper spray class included taking a face shot of spray, after which we had to negotiateBearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1065145632771626902003-10-02T18:47:00.000-07:002003-10-02T18:47:12.450-07:00Fourth day into the Orientation Academy and I haven't had nearly the time to journal here that I hoped. I wanted to keep a day by day log, but family has taken precedence upon returning home each night.
It has certainly been a full four days thus far, with classes in civil liability, general orders, gang enforcement, amber alert procedures, K9 procedures (including field work), CPR and AED Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1064187483689649782003-09-21T16:38:00.000-07:002003-09-21T16:38:03.296-07:00The course to becoming a rookie was long and arduous, though not as arduous as some must endure. I was fortunate enough to wind up being hired by the first agency to which I applied. Though over the 5 month process I applied with 7 agencies, took 5 written tests, two physical agility tests, two psychological tests, filled out two background investigation packets, had two hours of background Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1064017288955792702003-09-19T17:21:00.000-07:002003-09-20T09:07:02.120-07:00The primary driving desire of my life has been to make a difference. I am fulfilled when I am doing something which makes a difference. But when I am not, I am not. This is true whether a real difference is being made, or even if it is only my perception. Though, in truth, the simple perception has never fooled me for long and I soon find myself aimlessly floating through life unless some Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5829870.post-1063902840422891392003-09-18T09:34:00.000-07:002003-09-18T09:34:00.213-07:00Will Beauty weep when I am no more?
When the tide of my life ebbs from the shore?
Or will the sands remain,
Unchanged,
as before?
Will Beauty weep when I am no more?
Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008435333686041091noreply@blogger.com0