Memo from 2002
I wrote this memo several years ago. It was written after I had a close call. I'm posting it here, because there are working cops who read this blog and everyone can use a little reminder now and then.
8-14-2002
This job involves a lot of luck. The other night I was lucky, unlucky, really lucky, really unlucky and finally really, reall lucky.
A LBPD cop was shot at and the suspect was believed northbound on the 405 Fwy. I went code 5 on the 405 at Carson St. I saw a car that matched the description (to my standards anyway). That was lucky. A felony T-stop was done, another deputy searched the suspect and he was placed in the backseat of my black and white. Turned out it wasn't the suspect. That was unlucky. But Pat hunt got into my black and white and ran the vin and the suspect for me. Turned out the guy's CDL was suspended.....oh yeah and the car was stolen. That was really lucky.
When I got the suspect into the booking cage, I did the usual search. When I had him take his shoes off, I stood over him, which is what I usually do. This is so I can grab whatever might be in the shoes that he doesn't want me to grab. When he took one of his shoes off, I saw a .25 pistol. When I saw a pistol in his shoe and realized that my holster was empty, there was an unusual squishy feeling in my shorts.
That was really unlucky. I didn't get shot and I got a hell of a lot of felony gun charges on him. That was really, really lucky.
Was it my fault for not searching his shoes prior to transporting him? Yeah.
Was it the fault of the deputy who hooked, searched and put him in my car? Yeah, after all we did suspect him of being armed..
If the suspect had slipped his cuffs to the front and retrieved his gun, then shot Pat Hunt in the back of the head while Pat was running the VIN for me, would it have been Pat Hunt's fault for not searching a handcuffed suspect in the backseat of someone else's car? Hell no.
Would it bring him back if we blamed one, or more, people.
Usually, deputies like to point the finger and say so an so fucked up. But I've been here since January, 1988 and in all that time I've seen deputies search the shoes of dopers looking for dope fairly often. Gangsters fairly often. But this is usually before an arrest. If a guy has been arrested and is cuffed, before his shoes are searched, generally speaking, deputies usually wait until they hit the booking cage to search the shoes. That's how it was done with the deputies who were here when I got here and it's how it is still with a lot of deputies.
I've talked to some deputies since that night. One told me he always searches the shoes before transporting. I asked him why. He said that when he was on training he and his T.O. had a guy who acting kind of hinky after he was cuffed. They decided to search his shoes. He had a gun. After that they always searched the shoes. Before that, rarely. They learned a lesson that night, but they didn't share that lesson. Another told me that his T.O. taught him, that if the shoes hadn't been searched prior to getting to the booking cage, then search the shoes while the prisoner was still cuffed. The T.O. had a similar experience that she learned from, but that wasn't shared, except with her trainees. But she learned a lesson and changed the way she did things. She changed the way she had been taught. Another old head told me that he also searches the shoes before transporting, because he found a gun in a guy's shoe in the booking cage. He didn't search the shoes before, because he wasn't trained to, but he did afterward. Another example of a lesson that wasn't shared. I doubt they are the only ones.
So the question is, "Why don't deputies share their mistakes?" Maybe because Deputies are fairly egotistical and don't like to be ridiculed, second-guessed, or thought ill of.
Well, no offense meant, but most of you are only barely recognized faces to me. I don't know your names. And, again no offense meant, but my boots have more experience than most of you.
And for a third and final time, no offense meant, but I don't care what most of you think of me, cause I don't know you. As I said, Deputies can be pretty egotistical.
So learn from my mistake and if you aren't searching the shoes yet (I know most of you are lying if you say you do, cause I watch what you do) then search them. And if you have a lesson others can learn from then share it. Better the feeling of embarrassment that quickly fades from teasing that is meant in good nature, than the feeling of going to your friend's funeral.
So the blame's not important. No one got hurt. The lesson's important so no one gets hurt.
I wrote this memo several years ago. It was written after I had a close call. I'm posting it here, because there are working cops who read this blog and everyone can use a little reminder now and then.
8-14-2002
This job involves a lot of luck. The other night I was lucky, unlucky, really lucky, really unlucky and finally really, reall lucky.
A LBPD cop was shot at and the suspect was believed northbound on the 405 Fwy. I went code 5 on the 405 at Carson St. I saw a car that matched the description (to my standards anyway). That was lucky. A felony T-stop was done, another deputy searched the suspect and he was placed in the backseat of my black and white. Turned out it wasn't the suspect. That was unlucky. But Pat hunt got into my black and white and ran the vin and the suspect for me. Turned out the guy's CDL was suspended.....oh yeah and the car was stolen. That was really lucky.
When I got the suspect into the booking cage, I did the usual search. When I had him take his shoes off, I stood over him, which is what I usually do. This is so I can grab whatever might be in the shoes that he doesn't want me to grab. When he took one of his shoes off, I saw a .25 pistol. When I saw a pistol in his shoe and realized that my holster was empty, there was an unusual squishy feeling in my shorts.
That was really unlucky. I didn't get shot and I got a hell of a lot of felony gun charges on him. That was really, really lucky.
Was it my fault for not searching his shoes prior to transporting him? Yeah.
Was it the fault of the deputy who hooked, searched and put him in my car? Yeah, after all we did suspect him of being armed..
If the suspect had slipped his cuffs to the front and retrieved his gun, then shot Pat Hunt in the back of the head while Pat was running the VIN for me, would it have been Pat Hunt's fault for not searching a handcuffed suspect in the backseat of someone else's car? Hell no.
Would it bring him back if we blamed one, or more, people.
Usually, deputies like to point the finger and say so an so fucked up. But I've been here since January, 1988 and in all that time I've seen deputies search the shoes of dopers looking for dope fairly often. Gangsters fairly often. But this is usually before an arrest. If a guy has been arrested and is cuffed, before his shoes are searched, generally speaking, deputies usually wait until they hit the booking cage to search the shoes. That's how it was done with the deputies who were here when I got here and it's how it is still with a lot of deputies.
I've talked to some deputies since that night. One told me he always searches the shoes before transporting. I asked him why. He said that when he was on training he and his T.O. had a guy who acting kind of hinky after he was cuffed. They decided to search his shoes. He had a gun. After that they always searched the shoes. Before that, rarely. They learned a lesson that night, but they didn't share that lesson. Another told me that his T.O. taught him, that if the shoes hadn't been searched prior to getting to the booking cage, then search the shoes while the prisoner was still cuffed. The T.O. had a similar experience that she learned from, but that wasn't shared, except with her trainees. But she learned a lesson and changed the way she did things. She changed the way she had been taught. Another old head told me that he also searches the shoes before transporting, because he found a gun in a guy's shoe in the booking cage. He didn't search the shoes before, because he wasn't trained to, but he did afterward. Another example of a lesson that wasn't shared. I doubt they are the only ones.
So the question is, "Why don't deputies share their mistakes?" Maybe because Deputies are fairly egotistical and don't like to be ridiculed, second-guessed, or thought ill of.
Well, no offense meant, but most of you are only barely recognized faces to me. I don't know your names. And, again no offense meant, but my boots have more experience than most of you.
And for a third and final time, no offense meant, but I don't care what most of you think of me, cause I don't know you. As I said, Deputies can be pretty egotistical.
So learn from my mistake and if you aren't searching the shoes yet (I know most of you are lying if you say you do, cause I watch what you do) then search them. And if you have a lesson others can learn from then share it. Better the feeling of embarrassment that quickly fades from teasing that is meant in good nature, than the feeling of going to your friend's funeral.
So the blame's not important. No one got hurt. The lesson's important so no one gets hurt.
Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting
DeleteI admire your willingness to share,and thank good you are still with us ,take care
ReplyDelete