weissblog

Last Friday was graduation night at the local high school and there were several parties going on around town. The National Guard Armory had been rented out for a party as well. A friend of mine called to let me know about it and asked be to roll through every so often to keep an eye on things. As soon as he said there was a party I knew there would be trouble. I don’t know why, but I just had that feeling.

Well, I managed to get out there once before the end of my shift. Then, while my shift captain was debriefing another officer and I, I told them that I was going to ride back out to the armory because I had a bad feeling about the place. Not three minutes after my captain dismissed us, a call came out. Fight in progress at the armory. The next shift was already on the street, but I went ahead and rolled out as well.

The first officer on the scene had already broken up the fight by the time the rest of us arrived. It was a little after midnight and I didn’t feel like going home yet. So, when the rest of the officers left, I pulled my patrol car into a parking spot where I could what most of the parking lot and still see the door to the building. I patrolled the parking lot every so often and just tried to keep an eye on things.

Around 1:30 am I was getting tired and decided to patrol the lot one more time before going home. The guy working security at the party came out and was walking with me. As we neared the end of the lot we heard some screams an saw several people running out the door onto the parking lot. We paused and looked at each other, then yelled fight and took off toward the building.

By the time we got inside everything was calmed down and most of the people had already gone outside. So, we walked back outside and the security guy gave a speech about deciding to come in a party peacefully or leaving. I went back to my car and continued to watch the place. After about 15 minutes or so I spotted a fight in front of the building just off to the side of the doors. I ran to the crowd and started tossing people off the pile, working my way down to the two that were fighting.

When I get the fight broken up I realize that another had formed not three feet behind me. I turned and started tossing the people off that pile. While I was working my way into the pile I failed to watch where I was stepping and my right foot missed the edge of the side walk and slipped down to the asphalt. Just a couple inch drop, but it was enough to cause me to lose my balance. As I fell I threw the guy I had in my hands and then landed on my elbow.

As I scrambled to get back upright I heard gun shots going off. 5 I believe. When I heard the first shot my blood ran cold. I was on the ground next to about 15 fighting people and someone somewhere close was firing a gun. I felt helpless for just a split moment, then I got mad as hell. I got to my feet as fast as I could, grabbing my radio on my way up and started calling for some backup. By the time backup arrived, I had already cleared out about a third of the lot and was telling the rest of the people to leave.

It was an interesting experience to say the least. It took me nearly three hours to come down off the adrenalin high. I can’t say it was life changing or anything, but it definitely made me think about a few things. It made me realize that it only takes a split second to make a fatal mistake. It also made me realize that my kids are a major part of my motivation to come home each night.

This morning was an interesting shift. Since I’ve been on the midnight to 8am shift it’s been mostly dull. Very few calls, only a couple arrests. This morning was actually somewhat busy.

On one of the traffic stops I made (SUV with no tags) the driver was one of our ‘regulars’ who’s license was suspended. Well, as per our department policy the guy was placed under arrest. For the most part I don’t mind arresting folks, but something about this one guy causes me to just hate having to arrest him.

He’s in his early twenties, and in my talks with him (usually while transporting him to the county jail) he comes across as a very bright person with loads of potential. Unfortunately, it seems that he’ll never live up to his potential, and for some reason that bothers me… and I’m not sure why. It’s not like me to be ‘soft’ on crime…

The last 36 hours or so have been…. interesting, to say the least. New Years eve and New Years night the people in my town have been acting like absolute fools. We’ve had people firing off rounds to celebrate the new year then hide when the see us, then lie when we call ‘em on it. :angry: Come on folks! It’s a simple law. No discharging of weapons inside city limits. And if the guns weren’t enough, let’s throw in massive amounts of booze, weed, fighting, a rented RV (with a cute lil’ driver) with some wantabe rap group. Then let’s surround the few officers that are actually out and then act surprised when the K-9 Officer turns the dog loose on your @ss. :confused: I know every town has it’s stupid people, but I really think we’re over quota.

In my last entry I spoke of a couple incidents involving domestic abuse and how I wanted to do more. Well, I got to digging and found out that the guy who hit him girlfriend with the paddle has active warrants out of 3 other cities, one of whom is willing to come all the way over here and get him. Sooooo, he going to be handled. In the other case, I knew there had to be something more I could do so I started researching the laws on it and come across exactly what I was looking for. Now, if I come upon another similar case, I can make an arrest, even if my shift commander or fellow officers disagree because I now know the statues and can prove the legality of it.

Last night I was finishing up a report on an incident earlier this week. I was called out to the emergency room at a local hospital to take report on a lady whose boyfriend had beat the living s**t out of her with a cricket paddle. After taking all the information I urged the lady to go to the station and file an affidavit against this guy so we could arrest him, but she swore up and down that he was gone for good. In all actuallity he skipped town long enough for the 12 hours to pass (by law we’ve got 12 hours to do a warrentless arrest for domestic battery type calls). Now that guy is back and the lady is again stuck in her home afraid to leave and not allowed to have contact with family or friends.

While I was completing the paperwork on this, a young man of 14 runs into the police department saying that his stepdad was beating his mom. We hurried back to his house (about 3 miles from the station) and spoke with the parties involved. But, because of the factors invovled, we were unable to arrest this guy either.

In cases like this I wish the law permitted more officer discretion or something. I often pray for these people after I leave the scene, but I wish there was more I could do.