April 15, 2009

Well, I'm not sure anything real exciting has happened since my last blog. I haven't gotten kicked in the head lately. On March 26th Justin road with me. It was a pretty uneventful night.

On April 3rd, I helped other officers in the area of a hit and run. The run vehicle was abandoned in the neighborhood. When I came into the neighborhood, I saw someone walking along the sidewalk. That was pretty unusual for that neighborhood and that time of night. I turned to check him out and he ran from me. I couldn't call it out on the radio because other officers were involved in a foot chase on the south end of town and I wasn't entirely sure if this dude had anything to do with the hit and run. Later that morning, I spotted a guy walking at 13th and Rock that looked like the guy I saw in the neighborhood. I stopped him and he turned out to be the guy that was the registered owner of the run vehicle. He was drunk, which is what we figured.

On April 4th, I was sent to a suspicious character call in a really nice neighborhood across from Kapaun Mt. Carmel. We located 3 juveniles hiding in the bushes. They said they were making "Works" bombs. Basically, acid bombs. Plastic bottle, pressure, boom! We discussed the situation with the supervisor and we determined that these kids were going to be arrested for Felony Criminal Use of Explosives. I went over to where the "bomb" was exploded. I determined that I didn't want to touch this stuff. We had to call the bomb squad out to collect the evidence. Basically, I was on one call for 8 hours that night.

On April 5th, I got my first DUI for the month. It was 30 degrees and the wind was blowing like crazy. I had the guy out doing field sobriety testing for 6 minutes and my fingers were numb. Believe me, in weather like that, I wasn't looking for a drunk. They just always find me.

April 9th was a pretty crazy night. I was sent to 4 calls and got 4 cases. I started with a juvenile shoplift at the mall. Then a vicious dog. Then at around midnight it started pouring down the biggest snowflakes I've ever seen. I was sitting at the mall at Douglass and Rock doing paperwork when a auto theft just occurred came out at the apartments at Douglass and Rock. It happened to be a motorcycle. I think I would have noticed a motorcycle driving around in that weather. I don't remember seeing one so he must have gone the other way. Then about 15 min after I clear from that a robbery comes out at my Dillons at Central and Rock. They ended up finding the suspects and I got to book one, a 16 year old, for felony aggravated robbery. Most nights I don't have any calls on my beat. On this night I had 3 and 2 were major crimes.

On April 11th, I was cruising west on 13th from Greenwich. Usually I don't go up that far because I know my closest backup is pretty far off. As I was headed westbound, a truck going eastbound suddenly came into my lane. He swerved back into his lane right before hitting me. I immediately flipped my overhead lights and siren on and turned around to chase him down. He stopped on 13th at Greenwich. I was getting ready to get out of my car when he took off again. I was thinking "kick ass, a chase". However, he just turned south onto Greenwich then stopped about 100 yds from the intersection. However, when I got out of my car, I must have turned the wrong knob on my radio because I ended up on another channel. East side dispatch was checking on me and I wasn't responding. So, they put me out in trouble. So, all law enforcement officers in Sedgwick county were headed my way. I got up to the car and realized it was a drunk old guy. When I got on the radio to say I was 10-4, I realized I was on the wrong channel. I fumbled with my radio for a while before I was able to find my channel. Justin happened to be working at that time. He said he was headed my way from Oaklawn. That ended up being a pretty crazy night. The longest I went between any call was 30 minutes. Most of my calls were all back to back.

Justin and I have been planning a vacation for the end of August. It will be our 1 year anniversary by then. We are planning on going to Estes Park, CO. We have reserved a cute cabin with a hot tub. I am sure we will need the hot tub after all our activities. We are planning on white water rafting, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, and ATV riding. We are going to stay 5 days there. I am totally looking forward to it since I haven't had a vacation since I went to Cherie's wedding in FL in Aug 2006.

Baxter, the cat, AKA "Bastard", has been nothing but a headache. First with the ocular discharge. Now he has ring worm on his ear. He is a total attention whore and hollers when you pet him and when you don't pet him. He is always in my face. He loves to stand in front of the computer monitor and play with the cursor while I am trying to do stuff on the computer. It doesn't matter how many times you throw him off, he just comes back. He licks everything and chews on stuff. He's the weirdest animal I have ever owne. As for Samson, he's doing fine. He is about 5 lbs over weight, and he needs a haircut real bad.

Last few weeks

Well, the last few weeks have been pretty interesting. I've been keeping copies of my daily activity reports so I can look back and see what I did.

On the 12th, I got my first DUI on my own. That was pretty exciting. Then later I helped another one of the rookies on a DUI. They were just falling in our laps that day. On the 13th I rode with a senior officer. It wasn't too exciting until the end of the night when we responded to a walk-in at St. Joe. He had an arterial bleed on his wrist. He was squirting blood everywhere. I immediately grabbed the camera and started taking pictures of the outside. Then I walk in the ER and they said "follow the blood trail". It was pretty nasty, but I held up much better than I thought I would. On the 14th I worked an injury accident and a hit and run. Luckily I sat BOF (badge on the floor) at the station that night so I was able to get all that paperwork done. On the 15th, I assisted SCAT at 11:30 p.m. with a female patdown and was there till 7 a.m. while they executed a search warrant. That is what we call a day killer.

I don't have a copy from the 19th, but I am pretty sure it was uneventful. On the 20th, I didn't do a whole lot. Then around 2:30 a.m. I assisted with an assault case. I was with that until 7 a.m. Another day killer. The 21st was pretty exciting. The night was very slow until I picked up a wanted person out of Pottawatomie county and took them to the jail. While there, one of the other guys in my class had a drunk chick. They were trying to get her back in cuffs to get her into booking when she resisted. I helped wrestler her to the ground where she began kicking. I was trying to control her legs when she kicked me in the face. I didn't notice it, but my arrestee said "she just kicked you in the face". It took a little while to get her in cuffs. People are crazy when they are drunk. We ended up booking also booking her for Battery-LEO. The next day my head hurt pretty good and I had a nice bruise on my right arm. Guess she kicked me there too. When your adrenaline is pumping, you don't feel anything. The 22nd was another crazy night. We got tons of disturbance weapons calls. I got to run hot down Central to an officer in trouble call. Then at about 4:55 a.m a shooting came out just down the street from the station, where I was doing paperwork. I got there and got to talk to a witness. Then I was asked to take him to the 6th floor for detectives to interview. Sounds like they ended up catching the guy that shot the lady in that house.

Baxter has been a bit of a pain and I don't know if I like him yet. He tends to holler alot while I'm sleeping. Usually it's inches from my face. He got declawed Monday. I pick him up today. Justin is going to ride with me tonight. He has spend most of this week getting certified on the M-4. He has training today from 8a.m. to 5 pm, then he has tomorrow off. So we thought this was a good night for him to ride. I'm hoping to learn a lot from him. Monday night Justin and I hung out with some people from our class. We had a good time and it was fun hearing every ones cop stories.

On my own

As of March 7th, I have been out of training and on my own. My final week of FTO wasn't too crazy. I only road with my training officer 2 days. My official end of phase was Thursday March 5. On Friday, I road with a traffic officer and got Lydar certified.

Saturday, March 7th I was on my own. Just a reminder I am working 4th (9pm - 7 am) with Mon, Tues, Wed off. My first night they wanted both us rookies to ride on our own. However, when Marks and I went out to find a car we had a little trouble. The car I got in, an Impala, had to be jumped. The car Marks got in, the computer didn't work. Those were the only cars left on the lot. Marks was headed to CMF to find a car that might have had repairs completed, when someone who was already there told the Sgt. there weren't any. So, Sgt. decided to pair Marks and I up. However, when I went to log us on the computer, it wouldn't work. "Help Desk" was useless. We took another computer from a downed vehicle and were on our way. It was a pretty slow night. Most of the calls were pretty routine. The only thing that sucked was when they sent us on 2 officer calls, we were the only ones there. There were no senior officers to ask questions to.

Then, Sunday I was finally on my own. It was another slow night. I did a club check with a couple other officers and they ended up finding a crap load of cocaine on some people. I helped transport to jail. That was the most exciting thing all night. I got so desperate for entertainment that I wrote a parking ticket. Don't park left wheels to curb on my beat.

Then, I had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off. As a reward for finishing my training I got a cat. He's a cute little pain in the butt. He pretty much lies around all the time. He is very affectionate and talks...alot. We named him Baxter.

First week of final phase

Well, I've had 10 weeks of pretty much routine stuff. Nothing too crazy. I think I was saving it up for this week. I know it's hard to believe but I can't actually remember what I did the first few days. I know it was very nice out. I worked a couple of crazy accidents. It seems like nothing I roll up on can be routine. Then, Thurs night at approximately 2:30 a.m. (I get off at 3 am.) I was headed out out east because the Sgt. said he had a car going eastbound in the westbound lanes. I was northbound on Woodlawn coming up to Kellogg when I saw a car at a high rate of speed make the u-turn from WB Kellogg to EB Kellogg. So, I started to follow it. It ran the stop sign on Kellogg drive. Then I got behind it at Rock road where it ran the light there. The whole time I'm praying that this guy is not drunk. So, I lit him up and he kept going. It wasn't some crazy high speed chase. Our speeds were less than 25mph. He took the road that curves around behind the shopping center there. Then he pulled over a bailed.

My FTO got out first and started chasing him. Then after I got our car parked I jumped out. As I was taking off to help my FTO, I saw back up lights on the other car. Then I heard a crunch. So, I went back to where my FTO was and he had him tazered. I jumped the fence faster than I ever though I could. I jumped on him and put him in cuffs.

Then I found out that he might be the vehicle in another Hit and Run that other officers were working. So, a good night. We got a bad guy. I didn't get out of the station till 7 a.m.

I have 3 more days of FTO. My FTO has Friday off so my end of phase will be Thursday. Not sure what they are gong to do with me Friday. I'll probably ride as a 2 officer unit. Then, Saturday I'm on my own. I was given 4th shift (9pm-7am) with Mon-Tues-Wed off. I've been told I have 37 beat which goes from Oliver to Webb, Kellogg to Central. It shouldn't bee too bad on 4th shift since the stores at the mall will be closed down.

Justin and I are still doing really well. We just had our 6 month anniversary. He filled out some paperwork to be put on the lease here. He's letting me get a cat once I get out of FTO and have a regular schedule. Since Justin doesn't want the kitty litter in his bathroom, we are fixing up the spare bedroom for the kitty. Since Samson seems to like to eat kitty litter and its contents I have decided to elevate the kitty's litter box. So, I am gonna go to the DAV and try to find a table.

That's all for now. I'll blog more after my final phase and after my first few days on my own. This week I'll work Tues-Fri on 3rd for final phase. Since our pay period starts on Saturday, that is my first day of my new schedule. So, I'll also work Sat and Sun. on 4th shift. So, six days in a row. That should be fun.

3 more weeks

I know, it's been a long time since my last blog. It has just been hard to get motivated to do much on my days off. I did 4 weeks on 4th shift (9pm-7am) and was just getting used to that schedule when I moved to 1st (7am-5pm). I am just starting to get used to 1st shift. I have gotten out of the apartment more this weekend. I had this Saturday off for President's day. I go back on Wed. for the last week of phase 3.

My phase 3 FTO is pretty hard on me. He knows a lot of stuff, especially about gangs and Plainview. I'm getting a wake up call to the fact that 13 year old boys are as violent as adults. It's been hard adjusting to thinking the world is a good place to not trusting anyone and thinking any person you could stop might want to kill you.

I still haven't done anything too exciting yet. I was riding with another officer the other day when he noticed a car in the driveway of someone wanted for murder, but he was supposedly out of the state. We called detectives and they got info from a CI that the guy was there. We were sent to secure the house until SWAT showed up. We were to make sure no one came or went. I grabbed my shotgun and went to the front of the house. Me and my FTO for the day had the front door. Eventually SWAT showed up and moved us back. I was about 50 ft from the front door when the suspect walked out the front door. He was taken into custody without incident. Then we got to sit on the house for the rest of the day while the narcotics unit secured a search warrant. I got to be there when narcs showed up to execute the search warrant. I saw all kinds of drugs and paraphernalia that I had never seen before. The guy was Albert Thomas. He was accused of killing a girl in Plainview last summer.

That's about as exciting as it has gotten. Justin has been assigned to 2nd shift (2:30pm - 11 pm) with Tues. Wed. off. I'm hoping my schedule will work with that. I know I will definitely have Tues and Wed. off so that will be nice. He also gets his own car since he graduated first in his class.

End of Week 2 in Phase 2

Sorry it has been so long since I blogged. Switching to 4th shift (9 p.m. - 7 a.m.) has been pretty hard to get used to. I get home at dawn and get up when it's dusk. I'm outside mostly during the night time. I feel like a vampire. I went outside one day when it was sunny to walk Samson I my eyes hurt from the bright light. By the time I get used to this schedule, I go to first shift. That transition is really going to suck.

Anyway, I really don't feel like I have gotten into much during the past 3 weeks. I had my first disturbance with a weapon in week 2 of phase 1. I got to draw my gun and point it at people. I am pretty sure we were put out as "officer in trouble" because every law enforcement officer in the county showed up. I was one of the first officers on a shooting call. No victims at the residence, but there was lots of people to deal with. There was also lots of dried blood in the garage. I got to babysit shell casings for 3 hours till the lab came and collected them.

I had my first DUI last week. It was a pretty easy one because he was hammered and kept telling me he was. I wasn't even able to complete fields on him. Then I got him to the jail and he started getting mouthy. I went to grab his arm and he pulled away from me. At that point all the officers in the vicinity were on the guy. I got to grab and twist his arm back and then put him in cuffs. Somehow (well, I know now but I didn't know then) my cuffs got locked up. So, as I was trying to slap them on him they weren't working. He'll probably feel that in the morning. The jail deputies drug him into the jail and put him in a holding cell.

Right now I have a really good FTO and an awesome Sgt. They have realized I have good instincts and make good decisions but I have some confidence issues. So, they have kind of decided to jump start me into a phase 3 and 4 mode and pretty much let me run my own show. The first day they did that, I actually felt like I was having fun. They said they noticed a huge increase in my confidence. I even got an E (excellent) for my self-initiated activity. I also got an E for the day I got my DUI for self-initiated activity because I decided on my own to sit off a problem bar. I wasn't even looking for a DUI. This bar has a huge gang clientele. I was really just looking for someone with a warrant. And, there are always disturbances in the parking lot of this place.

Anyway, I start week 3 of phase 2 tomorrow night. This last week Justin has also been on their 3rd shift (10:30 p.m. to 7 a.m.). However, we don't have a single night off together. We do both work Saturdays and Tuesdays. I am not sure what shift he will be on or what his schedule will be after this Saturday. Hopefully he won't be in FTD much longer and he will be on his own regular schedule.

Week 1 FTO

Well, I graduated. Now I have 12 weeks of field training (FTO). I started last Tuesday. I am working 3rd shift (5 p.m. - 3 a.m.). My FTO (field training officer) is pretty cool. He is very laid back and doesn't yell. Our first call of my first day was to a suspicious character. When we pulled up we found a car with 3 occupants sitting along side the road. The front passenger got out of the car and began to run from the other officer on scene. The car then began to leave. We blocked the road and the car stopped. My FTO said "go check on the other officer". So I took off running in the fresh snow. By the time I got to the other officer, she had the guy in custody. Then I went back to check on my FTO. He had the driver out of the car. I got to take the back passenger into custody since she was a female. We found marijuana on the driver and in the car. We ended up arresting the driver because he also had a warrant. The rest of the calls were babysitting the people down in Plainview. I was sent to a shots fired call because they had 3 females that needed searched. There doesn't seem to be many females out east so I will probably become a professional at searching. One day last week I also got to search a CI (confidential informant). This is an actual strip search. Believe me, it wasn't the funnest thing to do. I worked a juvenile shoplift, quite a few domestic violence reports, a runaway, and have done a few traffic stops. This week I work Tuesday and Wednesday and get Thursday and Friday off. Then, Saturday I start phase 2. I'll be working 4th shift (9pm - 7 a.m.) with Wed, Thurs, Fri. off. I'll be in this phase for 4 weeks.

I have uploaded all the photos from graduation to my Picasa online photo album. You can get to them by clicking My Photos under my Favorite Links to the right. If anyone has any good photos please e-mail them to me at tgrimes@cox.net. I really don't think I have one good photo of Justin and I where we are both looking in the same direction. I'd like to get a good one to frame.