Stoplight Conversation

Posted by: Blue

Today, we stopped at a red light next to an SUV full of a family.  I locked eyes with the driver; the mother. She smiled. I smiled. Then she laughed. I laughed. She waved. I waved. She kept laughing, turning to her passenger. 

I rolled down my window. She rolled down her window. 

"What are you laughing at?" I asked. 

"You guys!" She replied. "I was just saying how we have a nice escort with us now."

"Well, very good then. You guys have a very nice day! Merry Christmas!"

"Are you working Christmas?" She asked.

"No! We're off this year! We work New Year's Eve. On Evenings. It should be interesting."

"Well, Merry Christmas!"

"You too!"

A short time later, a message came across our terminal. It said that a gentleman had called the comm centre on the non-emergency line just to say "Thank-you" to the police for doing what we do, "especially in light of what happened in New York".

I am always very, very encouraged to have an uncharacteristically positive interaction with a citizen. It's a bright spot on a day typically filled with people's misery, complaints and dissatisfaction.  

A very merry Christmas to the majority of the citizens in my city who I do not typically encounter on one of their good days. 

Bitten

Posted by: Blue

Today was a first for me. I was bitten while wrestling with an impaired driver arrest. She locked onto my left thigh. Fortunately my badge wallet was in my cargo pocket and she got a mouthful of cloth, leather and tin instead of skin and muscle.

She told me she would be filing a complaint against me.

I must not have tasted as good as she thought I should have.

New Tasers

Posted by: Blue

The service will be switching from the X26 to the X2 Taser Conducted Electrical Weapon in the New Year. 

There is no way of sitting in the new Taurus Police Interceptor while wearing the mandatory drop-leg cross-draw holster. 

They have been ordered in banana yellow for everyone but Tac and K9. 

Cold Nights

It had never occurred to me, when I was a young bride, that there might come a day when Blue and I would spend a large amount of evenings apart. When we would text each other our good nights and sweet nothings instead of whispering them, because of distance and commitments and work and overtime. I figured once-in-awhile we'd be out with friends or have to work late, but not once did I think it would be normal for me to go about my night alone. 

We had plans to be lazy this evening. We were both having shit days and we wanted to cuddle-up and forget about the rest of the world. We wanted to forget about the people bringing us down, the stress of parenting, the city and its problems, the icy cold right outside our door. We were going to sit and enjoy each others company, joking and laughing and most-likely drooling while watching Anthony Bourdain eat some crazy street food in some far off place we'll never visit. 

Instead the city needed more time from him. And what can he say? He's a hard worker. I love that about him. I also hate that about him. 

So I got the text and my night was altered. I'm used to it by now. I'm used to getting the kids fed and bathed and off to bed by myself. Sometimes it goes well. I put on music and let them dance around the house like crazy monkeys so that when they're older they hopefully remember those times and forget how tired mommy always was. 

When the house is finally quiet and resting I take a big deep breath. I grab my glass of wine and run myself a bubble bath and go to bed early. Cold winter nights are usually the hardest. It's so dark and our bedroom is freezing. I tend to feel more alone than in the summer. 

One thing is for sure, I'm thankful for wine and bathtubs and heavy duvets and flannel pj's. 

Remembrance Day

Posted by: Blue

Today, I am wondering how much fighting it will take to bring peace to our own country.

All of my love, prayers and support to those overseas and those still at home waiting.

Shotgun

Posted by: Blue

I completed the Shotgun Operators' Course Friday, despite high winds, rain and bottomed-out mercury at the outdoor range. I had been trying to get onto the course since spring, but manpower on our shift wouldn't permit it until now.

For the new qualification of SGO, you must successfully utilize tactical "00" buckshot out to 25 yards and rifled slugs out to 50 yards with 100% accuracy.  You must also demonstrate an ability to transition to pistol upon failure of the shotgun, speed-load from behind cover, use the weapon-mounted light while shooting, and properly deploy from the cruiser car.

The slugs are accurate beyond 100 yards, but the iron sights diminish in accuracy at that distance. A scope would be necessary at that range, and a rifled barrel with sabots would increase accuracy as well. The guns are currently zeroed at 50 yards.

The old Remington 870s have been retro-fitted with new furniture:

• Magpul bantam stocks
• Magpul QD slings
• Magpul forends
• Streamlight TLR-1 weapon lights
• Mesa Tactical 6 round shell carriers
• Trijicon Ghost ring and front post sights

Duty ammunition currently consists of:

• Federal Premium Law Enforcement Tactical 2 3/4" 00 buckshot, low recoil, flight control wad, 9 pellet
• Federal Premium Law Enforcement Tactical 2 3/4" 1oz. rifled slug, low recoil, tru-ball

For the Fallen

Posted by: Blue

Today, my first day of duty since the shooting in Ottawa, we wore olive green under-shirts which peeked through the open collars of our blue uniform shirts; a tribute to the fallen soldier.



A portion of now famous cartoon by Bruce MacKinnon, originally printed in the Chronicle Herald. If you would like a print, the proceeds will be donated to the family of the murdered soldier - Cpl. Nathan Cirillo. Please see here for details on ordering a print.

God bless his family.

The Princess and the Pee

Posted by: Blue

Our 17 year old arrestee had to wait for about five minutes for a female officer to search her. She remained handcuffed and wasn't permitted to use the washroom until she was searched. She kicked at the door for three minutes and then intentionally pissed herself, then rolled around and dragged her hair through the puddle, soaking her clothing and head. 

She ended up in a spit sock and RIPP hobble restraints after spitting at us when we walked through the cell door.  While we dragged her off to jail as an intoxicated and violent direct lock-up, she left a soggy trail of urine from the cell all the way to the cruiser car. 

At the hospital (a mandatory stop for all intoxicated youths), she asked the doctor to check if she was pregnant. She was not. 

Summer

Posted by: Blue

I've been wiling away the summer somewhat lazily. Blog included.

We've been out to the beach and camping and fishing and BBQing and enjoying the short, hot months of summer up North here.

I had a rough winter this past year. I'm hoping that this one is a little less trying, a little less cold and a whole lot shorter.

Hope you are all well.

Cheers.

Blue

Alterations

Posted by: Blue

The Quartermaster of Stores told me that my new uniforms should fit better than the last batch.

He was right. I only needed to take 4" off the width of the shirts, rather than the 7 or 8 inches from the last ones.

The pants are a better cut as well. Unfortunately, two of the three pairs are already coming apart at the seams.

Traffic Court

Posted by: Blue

I had three tickets on the docket today.

Three convictions. Two of note:

1. A guy who drove by us close enough to brush us with his mirror, while we were on a traffic stop and yelled out the window about where we had pulled the person over (she had pulled to the left of the street rather than to the right - not our decision). He received a ticket for failing to pull to the right. The original traffic stop driver received a warning. About three hours later, he was involved in a smash-up with a cabbie, fleeing the scene before exchanging particulars. He pled to both charges. Full fine.

2. In our city, there is a private contractor who runs photo-enforced speed traps in addition to officers running radar. The tickets are given without discretion or bias. I witnessed one run a stop sign at an intersection I was monitoring. When I pulled her over, she asked for a break. I asked if she had given any breaks that day. She said no, so I wrote her a tag. She fought it. The judge convicted. Full fine.

Love is Very Dumb

Posted by: Blue

Sunday morning at the end of our night, we arrested a guy for Domestic assault and utter threats. He had phoned dispatch during a spat (right after he pushed her out of bed, hitting head with the dresser on the way and then biting her finger at some point. He told dispatch that the police better show up soon or he was "going to fuckin' kill her".

We arrived. He was gone. Another unit nabbed him at the nearby McDonald's.

It was his first arrest, so he was released at 8:03 AM Sunday morning on a PTA with Undertaking including an NCC (no contact or communication) clause. I spent at least a half hour explaining to him that he would absolutely be arrested and go straight to lockup if I found him breaching. I had the feeling he wasn't going to abide by the condition. He told me I was wrong. I told him to prove it.

When we started shift again, about 14 hours later, the same date, we found him with her at home. I arrested him again right out of his bed.

After he was read his rights, and declined a lawyer, I asked him when he got back home. "Right after you released me." He said.

He went straight to jail.

Bar Fight

Posted by: Blue

Tonight on my way home after evening shift, I drove past a bar brawl that had spilled into the sidewalk.  I pulled a u-ball and watched from the opposite side of the street in case something went south. It took about 25 seconds before the first crew arrived. 4 more followed, including a Street Supervisor.

They turned on the lights and sirens a few blocks before arrival. The drunks scattered. So did I.

Holy Vegetables

Posted by: Blue

Our domestic arrest from last night was asked at jail if he practiced any particular religion.

He paused, thought for a few seconds, then answered.

"I'm a vegetarian".

JT and I and the two prison guards within earshot paused for a few a seconds while looking back and forth at one another to confirm we had all heard the same thing.

I was the first one to break. We laughed for a good solid minute before the guard was able to compose herself and carry-on with the entrance interview.

Meltdown

Posted by: Blue

Last night, the network server room in HQ overheated. All the police computers went down across the city except our car's CAD, which is on a separate server.

We could be dispatched to calls, but could not do anything once there. No record checks, no license plate running, no reporting, no fingerprinting, no e-mail.

We locked up our domestic arrest old school. Straight to jail with no reports.

I could get used to that.

Fisher-Price Police

Posted by: Blue

Last week, JT and I kicked loose a male we were spot-checking to respond to a baby abandoned and locked in a car.

When we pulled up and peered through the tinted window, we saw a child's plastic baby doll, sitting right where the child had dropped it, beside the car seat.

"What exactly did you see?" I asked.

"Some lady parked and got her stroller out of the trunk. Then she rummaged around in the backseat and left, pushing the stroller." Replied the concerned, furrowed-browed complainant.  "Are you going to have to break the window?"

"I don't think that will be necessary today, fortunately." I replied, leaning my head to speak into my shoulder mic. "Delta two-oh-three, this is a doll that's been trapped in the car. Unconscious, not breathing. No ambulance required."

We got back into the cruiser. There was a message from the dispatcher asking if she should send a Fisher-Price ambulance just to be sure.

I told her if she could get the Little People fire dispatch to answer their phone, it wouldn't hurt.

Sardines

Posted by: Blue

Most of the intoxicated persons we deal with would rather go into the lock-up than the voluntary side of the shelter.

In the tank, they each have their own washrooms (a grate on the floor) and bed mat, as well as a private room with space to stretch out.

In the shelter, they are ass to elbow, staggered like sardines in a can.  The smell is not far off from an old can of fish either.

Mother's Day

Posted by: Blue

Last night we arrested a woman whose two sons had turned her in on breaches.

She was being aggressive with them because she was drunk and they hadn't given her anything for Mother's Day.

She had an abstain clause on her Recognizance. We hooked her and took her direct to jail without stopping for fingerprints. She kicked, spat and cussed us out the whole way there.

Poopy Pants

Posted by: Blue

The jail was six cars deep in a waiting line for lock-ups two nights ago.

We chatted to the crew beside us. They had a domestic arrest.

He came home with a soiled bottom after drinking too much. When she wouldn't change his pants for him, he beat her and their unborn child to a pulp in front of their four other children.

He was unapologetic and denied being there during the interview, despite the video evidence from the apartment block's security cameras which showed him entering the apartment and later coming out covered in blood.

He's the half brother of one of the most notorious families of assholes our city knows. The family presents a solid case for evolution. They may be the missing link. Apparently not fully human.

Rules

Posted by: Blue

JT and I have exchanged passwords for our computer access cards, contrary to nation-wide RCMP protocol.

It is safer and much more convenient to be able to look someone up on the computer while your partner watches the badguys, whether it's your card in the computer or his.

Don't tell the Feds.

When He's Gone

I haven't been sleeping well. There are a number of reason as to why this is going on, but one of the more unexpected ones is that I have been waking up thinking someone is on our property and breaking-in to our house. At first it's a dream but while I'm asleep I get so freaked out that I wake up thinking I'm hearing things. Sometimes they are outside, sometimes they are creeping up my stairs, but regardless of where they were in my dream and the sounds that I hear when I wake-up, my heart is racing and I'm freaked out. It takes me a long time to calm down afterwards.

When Blue is beside me it's much easier to feel safe and secure. When he's gone I feel exposed and vulnerable. I never used to feel that way.

According to the dream dictionary, one possible interpretation for my dreams is that some subconscious material is trying to make itself known. I don't know how much of that I believe. I think it's more likely that I'm now more aware of all of the crime that takes place under the cover of darkness. Maybe I'm reading too much of the news these days.

Just today I was startled awake in the early hours of the morning by my phone beeping beside my head. I groggily checked my text message, knowing it would only be from Blue. It told me that there was a break-in just a few houses down and to "keep an eye out". Well, it took me quite a long time to get to bed after that. I know Blue wanted to check-in and keep me safe, but after going to the window and scanning our yard, all I could think about was how un-safe I felt. I wanted him there, with me.

A few moments after I read the text I could hear the whir of the police chopper approaching our neighbourhood. Crime happens everywhere, in every community...but we live in a fairly sketchy one.

Maybe it's time for a dog.

Domestic Crap

Posted by: Blue

One of the other crews had a domestic assault arrest last week. The accused male pretended he was sleeping when they went into the bedroom to hook him.

He was naked.

When they cuffed him and started dragging him down the stairs against his will, he struggled, fought and then suddenly and violently shit himself.

The patrol sergeant who attended the call could smell the accused's rank stench from inside his SUV when he pulled-up to check on the crew and sign the Prisoner Log Sheet.

He went direct to Provincial Remand, still naked, covered in shit and crying.

Both of the officers were provided slips for new pants and boots.

Extended

Posted by: Blue

JT was approved for his request to be extended in the District for one more year beyond his mandatory transfer time.

If rumors hold true, the transfer policy will be changing this year to allow 7 years in a division, rather than 5.

That would potentially mean an extra two years with my partner.

MHA

Posted by: Blue

The bi-polar patient we picked up two nights ago was in his manic stage.

He told my partner we had to kill Gretzky.

He also told the nurse he was going to climb down his v-neck, crawl up his crack and come out behind him to straighten-out his spine.

Then he threatened to rip my partner's head off with his bare hands and kick it around like a soccer ball.

It took 3 doses of Valium to put him out.

Personation with Intent to Avoid Arrest

Posted by: Blue

If you lie about your name, make sure the person you are trying to say that you are does not have a warrant.

You'll get pinched on your breaches, plus charged with Personation.

We always know.  Fingerprints don't lie.

Tango-Zulu

Posted by: Blue

If you are acting up or doing something you shouldn't when the police show up, if you hear "Tango-Zulu. Tango-Zulu." You should probably smarten up pretty damn quick. You are about to get Tazered.

Duty Gear: The Belt

Posted by: Blue

This is what I carry with me on my duty belt while I am working (starting to the right of my duty belt buckle and going clockwise):

1. Cruiser keys
2. Sabre Red oleoresin capsicum (OC or "pepper") spray
3. Smith & Wesson Model 100 handcuffs (nickel)
4. Glock Model 22 .40 cal. with 15 rounds - 14 in the mag and one in the chamber - carried in a level 3 retention Serpa duty holster by Blackhawk
5. Gerber "Suspension" multi-tool/pliers
6. 16" ASP extendable baton with "Bust-a-Cap" end cap (for easily breaking glass)
7. Silent key carrier which holds 2 different shotgun keys for the racks in the cars, spare handcuff key, key for my gun case and a key for my gun's trigger lock
8. Second set of Smith & Wesson Model 100 handcuffs (also nickel)
9. XTAR TZ20 820 max. lumen tactical flashlight - runs on either 2 - CR123 batteries, or 1 - 18650 or 1 - 17670 rechargeable battery
10. Radio holder - radio includes shoulder mic and earpiece (earpiece attached to my exterior armour carrier)
11. 2 extra magazines - 15 rounds each (ammo is Federal Tactical Jacketed Hollow Points)
12. Taser X26 in Blackhawk holster (crossdraw)
13. Extra Taser cartridge
14. False keeper with hidden handcuff key

The side-release buckles you see connect to the suspenders on my armour carrier.

Duty Gear: Flashlights

Posted by: Blue

I have two flashlights. The main one is an XTAR TZ20 820 max. lumen tactical flashlight. It runs on either 2 - CR123 batteries, or 1 - 18650 or 1 - 17670 rechargeable battery.

The other is a Surefire 6PX Pro with a 320 lumen high and 15 lumen low output. I keep the Surefire on the shoulder of my vest for hands free lighting while reading licenses and writing in the dark. It runs on the same batteries as the XTAR, but will not accept the 18650 cells. 

I always keep 2 spare batteries in my vest. One for each light. 

Duty Gear: Knife

Posted by: Blue

There is no standard issue knife, however officers are permitted to carry a knife for use as a tool, provided it fits into the following categories:

1. It must be a folding knife; no fixed blades
2. It must have a blade of 4" or less
3. It must be carried on the person in an inconspicuous, place which is difficult for a subject to grab
4. It may not be carried on the duty belt in a holster

I carry a Spyderco Endura4 with a stainless steel handle and VG-10 steel blade.  It rides in my right hand front pocket and is obstructed from sight and reach by the barrel portion of my pistol holster.  I also carry it in my pocket daily off-duty.  Fantastic knife.

A multi-tool may also be carried, and this may be mounted to the duty belt.  I carry a Gerber Suspension in a sheath at the 4:30 position on my duty belt.  Off duty, I always have my Leatherman Surge.

Duty Gear: OC Spray

Posted by: Blue

We carry Sabre Red Crossfire OC Spray which dispenses in a stream, rather than a mist or a gel.

It contains 1.33% Oleoresin Capsicum.  It's approximately 1.5 to 2 times stronger than the average bear spray.

Duty Gear: Cuffs

Posted by: Blue

I carry 2 pair of Smith and Wesson Model 100 Handcuffs in Nickel Finish.

Per policy, no other style of cuffs are approved for duty use.

Leg restraint options include a RIPP Hobble, or Peerless Shackles.

Welfare

Posted by: Blue

I found out the other day that I net a whopping $100 or so more a month than a welfare recipient with the same amount of dependants.

Of course, I come out behind in the end, because I have to pay for a vehicle, fuel and insurance to drive to work.  Plus, I have to work...

Tax freedom day is somewhere in mid-June for Canadians.

Promotions

Posted by: Blue

The promotions list came out today.  Our shift had one Constable vying for Patrol Sergeant.

He was not listed in the Order that came out via e-mail.

Here's hoping he's the Bridesmaid and someone up the ladder retires soon.  He'd make a fantastic supervisor.

Only a Little

Posted by: Blue

Last night I spotted headlights coming my direction Eastbound in the Westbound lanes.

The car quickly darted the wrong way down the street for half a block and then slid over into the correct lanes when he came to the next break in the median.

I pulled him over at the intersection.  I got out and asked him for his licence, explaining that I was pulling him over for driving the wrong way down the street.

"Well, yeah, but it was only about 50 feet."

"You only drove 50 feet the wrong way down the street?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"OK. Sit tight for a few."

I typed him in.  He had one or two tags from quite some time ago.  I went back to the window.

"Robert, would you drive 50 feet the wrong way down this major street in the wrong direction in rush hour traffic?"

"Well, no..."

"OK.  Do you realize how silly it sounds to tell me that it was only 50 feet?"

"I guess so... I just couldn't turn left there..."

"If I had to explain this whole conversation to a judge in traffic court, what do you think he would say?"

"He'd say 'guilty' ".

"Yes he would.  Drive more carefully please.  Have a good night."

On the Wrong Track

Posted by: Blue

Yesterday, a lady drove the family van 100 yards down the train tracks, believing she was in a back lane.

Somehow I managed to refrain from laughing as I gathered the story upon our arrival.  

Her husband took the sight remarkably well, though he couldn't completely hide the look of disbelief when he walked over from the nearest railway crossing.

He was a bus driver, so I think he had seen a similar range of interesting things happen on the roads as we had.

Squeeze Up

Posted by: Blue

Per Officer Safety Unit, Tac has advised them to start teaching the squeeze-up.

While using lethal force cover on a suspect, you tighten up your stance, getting closer to the other officer and use your off-hand to squeeze their leg when you approach them at their blind spot.  This is also useful in the case of tunnel-vision. One of you is then able to switch to a less lethal option such as a Taser while the other provides lethal cover for both officers.

Squeezing below the waist means that any sympathetic reaction should occur below their waist as well, thus lessening the chance of a sympathetic reaction above the waist like an accidental trigger pull.

This technique differs from what used to be taught, which is standing approximately 10 feet from your partner during lethal force coercion. Studies showed that if the suspect rushed one officer with a knife while the officer transitioned from a firearm to a Taser, by the time the officer with firearm coverage began shooting, he would be approximately three feet behind the suspect, until eventually over-correcting, leading ahead of the charging subject and firing bullets into his partner by mistake.

During tests by our OSU, the officer who was charged was shot 100% of the time with blue on blue friendly fire. The suspect was only hit approximately 20% of the time, and always after the officer went down.

The Weight

Posted by: Blue

A story from The Spectator, written by an anonymous Hamilton Police Officer.  It is well worth a read if you'd like to know what it is like to live the life of a cop.  His words (though it may just as easily have been written by a female, I'll refer to him as male, because I see myself when I read the article) are very wisely chosen and paint the exact picture of what I have been feeling weighing me down this past couple of months.

I especially like the fact that at the end, he describes how he loves his job.  I feel the same.  It has been interesting to be enveloped in this lifestyle for a few years and to look back and ask myself if I would make the same choice over again, and invariably I answer "yes".

They say that ignorance is bliss.  I often tell my partner that we as police are among the few who have had that ignorance torn from us, never to be revisited.  It is a career where we see very clearly the things which contribute to the decay of society.  We see them over and over and over again and are unable to hide in ignorance of the horror of mankind's selfishness and depravity any longer.  As the officer said in the article, we are doomed to re-live certain things over and over again.

But I am happy to be a police officer.  I am happy that I continue to find the strength to serve, despite the hatred that I feel from so many people, despite the undue scrutiny, despite the impossible standard of perfection.

I believe I am still finding my balance as a cop, even after 3 years.  I know that I swing from over-caring to apathy at times.  I like to think that I have some good role models to look-up to.  Some of them are over on the right side of this webpage, writing their own takes on this life.  Others are my peers and superiors at work.  This is a hard job to adjust to.  Trust me.  My heroes are the ones who walk the Thin Blue Line and remain balanced, somehow overcoming the tendency to become jaded and apathetic.

If you see a police officer in the next while, it really does mean a lot to us to receive a simple thank-you.  I have had people come up to me and say something like that.  It makes my day.  Cheers to you people.  You are who we do this for day after day.

A Song

Posted by: Blue

Most days, I am content and happy with my job and my choices that have brought me thus far in life.  Every once in a while I get melancholy and reflective and wonder how my life might have been different.

I was listening to one of my favourite artists today - Del Barber.  Some days I feel like The Waitress, who could have, and maybe should have done much more with her life, but just got stuck and never broke out. Some days I wonder if I should have studied in university to become a doctor or lawyer or engineer, or if I should have taken more risks and made bigger attempts with my business.  Some days I wonder if I should have started building houses and become a developer.

Some days, I just wish it was way back when, and all I had to worry about was a horse, a gun and a saddle. On those days, the cowboy days, the last chorus haunts me.

Here it is in it's entirety.  Also a link to the iTunes album, here.

THE WAITRESS

She was tall and always tired
Works the late shift at the all night diner
The years can fly by you in a place like this
Waiting for a perfect man and a perfect kiss

Coffee cups, eggs and sausage
Steady hands, friendly smiles hold her hostage
She traded her 20′s for a job that never promised more
Her dreams fell asleep on the top bunk and woke up on the floor

There ain’t no good fight
There ain’t no hero
There ain’t no bad man out to get you
There’s just a tough job 
That will swallow you in the darkness of another day

She grew up in the West 
She grew up in the country 
Great plaines, long trains, horses and hay 
She thought she was rich cause she had everything she could need 
Till the storm of divorce came and all was lost to legal fees

She moved to the city before she turned 25 
Never looked back never wondered what she’s lost
She got a job, learned to work, tried her damndest to be happy 
But she know’s she’ll never feel what’s it’s like to be free enough to leave

There ain’t no good fight
There ain’t no hero
There ain’t no bad man out to get you
There’s just a tough job
That will swallow you in the darkness of another day

There’s no more cowboys
No more bonfires
No more stars up in her sky
There’s just the streetlights
Casting shadows into the darkness of another day

- Del Barber

Escort

Posted by: Blue

A number of months ago, we were dispatched to a Check Wellbeing call.  The family of a young woman were outside of the hotel where she was staying.  They had tracked her there after clandestine communication with her through text messages to a phone number they had found listed with a picture of her in lingerie on Backpage - a common internet site for seeking-out escorts and hookers.

As the story unraveled, it became apparent that there were quite a number of women working out of this particular hotel, all under the oversight of their "manager" (read: pimp).

This particular newly 18 year old young lady was not willing to leave the hotel with her family.  They begged and pleaded with her.  JT and I explained all of the dangers.  She would not budge.  Our supervisor was assigned to the call.  He tried to smooth things over; to no avail.

In the end, we had to escort the family off of the premises, as they were not paying customers of the hotel and they had begun disturbing other customers.

In our country, it is not illegal to be a hooker or an escort.  It is not illegal to solicit hookers or escorts.  It is illegal to Communicate for the Purposes of Prostitution.  Communicating for the Purpose is a Summary Conviction Offence (similar to a Misdemeanor in the States).  We did not have any evidence of any communication directly relating to sexual services for the exchange of money, and therefore, in the Crown's opinion, there was no evidence to a crime.

According to the hotel manager, it was next to impossible to legally evict someone from a hotel room if they were still paying all of their bills.  He looked quite angry when I explained the circumstances of our attendance.  It was a reasonably nice hotel.

We submitted an intelligence report for Vice Unit.  A short time later, the unwelcome guests vacated the hotel, only to take-up residence in another nearby location.

The family yelled at us, took our badge numbers down and threatened our jobs.  It is impossible to explain the black and white of the law to someone who is watching a family member willingly partake in dangerous behaviour.  It is impossible to go home content with your work on a day like that.

Unfortunately for everyone, it happens more often than not that we are handcuffed by the letter of the law.

Motivated

I am not today.  - Blue

Pursuit

Posted by: Blue

On Christmas Day I was the prime unit for a traffic pursuit which began on the same block that I live on.

We spotted two males running through the field near my house where the power lines run through that part of the city.  I thought it was odd to see 2 males dressed in baggy black clothing jogging late on a Christmas night, especially in my neighbourhood.

We turned around to check them out.  They hopped into a grey Chevy Cavalier.  I hit the cherries and pulled up parallel with their front bumper (approaching from the front of their car so our front bumpers were facing one another, but I was still in the traffic lane).

The driver didn't look at me.  He immediately started shimmying his car, trying to get it out of the parallel parking spot I had wedged him into.  He reversed.  I went forward and put the front driver's side bumper of the unmarked cruiser we were in at his driver's side door so he couldn't jump out.

"Get us another unit here now!" I told my partner.

The car slammed into our bumper, pushed us out of the way and took-off W/B.  I revved the engine, spinning the rear-wheel drive Crown Vic into a 180 on the icy road.  We gave chase.

He stopped at the first stop sign, and then went through every other stop sign and red light.

My partner started calmly calling the pursuit over the air, asking to be patched into the other districts.

It was quiet.  Every available unit volunteered and was assigned.  By the time we were 1000 yards away, the suspects ran-over a well-placed Stop-Stick, taking-out their front passenger-side tire.

The pursuit continued with the suspects on three tires and one rim.  A Downtown unit came up behind us to take-over as prime unit because they were a marked unit.

They hit another Stop-Stick around 1000 yards further up.  Two more tires blown.  They only had 1 intact now - the driver's side rear tire.

The downtown unit got out in front of the suspects and tried to slow them down.  They took a left.  We were prime again.

They made it another block and we saw the driver's door crack open as the vehicle slowed to a stop.  "He's running!", I yelled.  My partner voiced it over the air.

The passenger was slower to get out of the car (we found-out later it was because he was holding a safe on his lap and had to wait until the driver bailed so he had a place to ditch it).  He opened the door to come nose to nose with my partner's Glock.  He gave up and hit the ground on his belly, hands outstretched.

I gave chase to the driver down the back lane of the street we had just come down, along with one of the guys from the downtown car.  Units were flooding the area.

I got hung-up with my duty rig on a chain-link fence when the suspect headed for the front street again, tearing the sleeve off of my shirt and cutting my shoulder.  The downtown guy kept going.  When I managed to free myself, they were about 75 yards ahead of me and the driver was cutting back into the back lane.  I cut back, hoping to intercept.

I gunned it, scanning for a figure emerging from a back yard.  The downtown guy came across the air "I've got him in the side yard of 29!"

I could see the reflection of the flashlight against the snow and darted over there, drawing-out my Taser as I ran.  I showed-up and found the suspect proned-out.  "Contact," said the downtown guy.  "Cover," I replied.  He moved-in to cuff him while I kept the red laser of the Taser in the centre of his back.  "Don't don anything dumb or you're gonna get lit-up," I said.

He was cuffed and brought to one of the cruisers.

The driver was on a warrant plus numerous breaches.  The passenger had breaches, not to mention the Flight charge, Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Possession of Break-in Instruments for both of them.  The safe belonged to a drug dealer who wasn't cooperating, so we couldn't get the Break and Enter or Possession of Goods Obtained by Crime.

During the Duty Inspector's briefing, she told us the only reason she didn't abort the pursuit on the icy winter roads was that my partner was extremely calm and reassuringly in control of the situation while he was voicing over the radio.