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Useless people drive me up a wall.
Female unit: Dispatch I’ve got a vehicle refusing to stop. We’re on ‘street’ and ‘avenue’.
Thats what I turned my hand-held radio on to today as I was going to check into service from my station.
From the sounds of it, they were in the residential area of that grid and probably heading to the main avenue.
Female unit: We’re now west bound on ‘street’ from ‘avenue’.
I didn’t bother checking in but instead ran downstairs to my vehicle and started heading towards the next largest avenue that the chase was heading towards.
Female unit: Okay, we’re going south, no west again..
Within a minute I was 11 blocks from my station and heading south bound on the main avenue so I could at least cut them off or parallel if they bailed from the vehicle.
Female unit: We’re coming up to the ‘main avenue’… are there any units responding to back me up?
As she finished her sentence I saw her making a left hand turn and start heading south behind a slow moving 2D Monte Carlo.
I activated my car mike, “I’m right behind her, start having some more units respond in case they bail”.
I got behind her as they blew a red light and then I proceeded to follow the cars into another residential area. This girl wasn’t planning on stopping the car and time soon… so I took the initiative and when we got onto a 2 lane road I drove past her and closed in on the vehicle not stopping.
I pulled up next to them as they approached a stop sign. I then drove my car in front of theirs at an angle as to stop them from leaving, but didn’t get a wedge in good enough as they driver of the fleeing vehicle was easily able to turn his car out of my path and continue south bound on the street..
Oh hell no.
This time, I pulled directly up to the drivers side door so I could see the driver and he could see me.
I think I caught his attention as I pointed the barrel of my Sig Sauer P226 at him while yelling “PULL OVER”.
He slammed on his brakes and put his hands in the air so hard I thought they were going to go through the roof of his car.
Our cars were at most, 2 feet apart, my passenger door mirroring his drivers side door.
I jumped out of my car and ran around the front of my car. At gun point I ordered the driver to exit the vehicle and close his door behind him. I then ordered him to lay on the ground. He did and as I came between both cars I holstered my gun and pulled out my first pair of Hinged Cuffs. Slapping them on his wrists in satisfaction.
That’s when I noticed the female unit that failed to stop the vehicle pointing her gun at me, while looking at the subject.
“Hey, watch where you’re pointing your weapon. Why don’t you ask the passenger to get out.”
I dragged Subject number one to the rear of the car and drew out my firearm again. I counted 2 more bodies in the car. She was just standing there, pointing her gun at the passenger side door now.
“PASSENGER, OPEN THE DOOR SLOWLY AND STEP OUT OF THE VEHICLE”, I yelled.
He did and his buddy decided he was going to get out as well. Alright, two Officers and 2 subjects not in custody, that might work.
I holstered up and pulled one subject towards me, taking him to the ground I started to pull out my cuffs when subject number 3 looked at the obviously non-experienced Officer still pointing her gun at me and booked.
I first looked up at her with tired eyes and told her to cuff the guy I had on the floor, then I stood up and started chasing subject number 3.
I got about 30 yards when I heard the sound of sweet engine roaring in my ears. A squad car flew by me and stopped about 10 feet in front of the guy I was chasing.
The contact my body made tackling the guy just prior to the marked police unit connected quite well. The guy flew forward into and over the hood of the squad car, landing on his stomach, both hands laying straight out. The Officer in the car opened his door and jumped onto the subjects left side as I took control of the right side.
I swiftly latched my 2nd pair of cuffs onto the subject and started walking him back towards my car.
That’s when I noticed the other 4 units that were arriving at the original stop point.
20 seconds later I got back to my car and threw prisoner number 2 inside. I went back around the subjects car and noticed the guy I told her to cuff was still sitting there face down, very much so uncuffed.
I started to give her a dirty look just about the same time as the LT stepped out of his car screaming at her about not cuffing the guy and items along those lines.
After that little situation was under control we learned that the car had just stolen several items from a construction site and that they were all gang members in one of our local gangs.
Excellent.
The Female Officer then walked up to me, “Hey, I only need to write them tickets right?”…
I gave her a blank stare.
Me: “Did you call out a chase on the air?”
Female Officer: “Yea”, she said sarcastically.
Me: “Did they steal from a Commercial construction site?”
Female Officer: “Yea”, she responded even more sarcastically…
Me: “So you think 2 felonies (fleeing and eluding / Commercial Burglary) might warrant a report and some arrest affidavits. right?”
Female Officer: Very seriously she said “I’m not writing a report on this.. I only stopped them”.
And this is where my issue comes up with absolutely useless Officers. Luckily a detective that arrived shortly prior heard the entire conversation and decided he was going to write the report and charge these guys. I normally would do all the paper work and take credit for the arrests but being that a detective from Burglary was already here and willing to write the report I figured his report and arrest forms would hold up better in court then mine would.
My Sergeant came up to me and asked where the rest of our squad was. I told him I didn’t know and then he told me I did a good job.
When you have a supervisor that notices your hard work it is truly motivating.
After getting the 2 apprehensions I later went out and got 2 more arrests for warrants and stopped a lot of bodies (15), getting pictures of them and filling out FI (Field Interview) cards on the bodies I stopped.
FI cards help us later on find people that committed crimes in the area.
Lets say someone committed a robbery yesterday and I happened to have stopped the guy prior to him committing the crime and I just so happened to FI him. I can look back through my FI’s and see if I have anyone fitting the description of that robbery subject and then show the corresponding picture I have on file matching the FI in my folder to the victim of the robbery, making a positive ID.
Bottom line for this post: You don’t have to like every single one of the people you work with, they don’t have to be invited to the family barbecue but when they need backup you better be there because when its your turn on the wheel and you need backup, you’d want them to do the same for you.
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