Good Morning and Happy 4th of July to everyone.

Last week I assisted one of my fellow Officer's with a coroner's case. For those unfamiliar, a coroner's case in Police work is when a coroner (a sheriff's deputy assigned to the coroner's office) has to come out to remove a person who has died so an autopsy can be performed. For coroner's cases most of the deaths must be unexpected or be an unattended death (not under the care of a Doctor).

One of my fellow Officer's got flagged down by a real estate agent who told him he had not heard from his client in a couple of weeks. Well, the real estate agent gave my co-worker the house key to this person's condo. My co-worker then went to the front door and immediately smelled the tell tale smell of someone dead inside. He had to cut the front screen door to get the front door. After opening the front door the smell was overwhelmingly strong. Inside he found a nude male deceased on the living room floor.

I arrived to find my co-worker and sergeant standing outside. I figured I would respond to see if they needed any assistance. After getting to the front door I wasn't prepared for what I saw inside the condo. I walked inside the condo and the smell was probably the strongest death stench I have ever smelled. I walked up to the deceased man on the living room floor. I immediately saw maggots inside his mouth and all around his body. He appeared to have had some injury to his face because blood was pooled around his head area. The deceased male appeared to have been expired for a couple of weeks at minimum. The deceased man's body had already begun to decompose.

Due to the smell we had to open a sliding glass door inside the condo and turn on a fan to get the bad air circulated outside. We were able to determine fairly quickly that the death was not a homicide. It appeared as if the deceased male had been sick and died on his living room floor. We checked the condo and found medications indicating he had an illness.

In any coroner's case there is certain information that must be gathered for the coroner's office. They need to be able to try and locate a next of kin to be notified. In this case, we weren't able to find any immediate next of kin information. However, later the deputy arrived and was able to gather paperwork that he could use to find a next of kin.

The worst part of the experience was when we had to put the deceased man inside the body bag. We had to lift the body and turn the body to make sure there were no gunshots (meaning this was a homicide). As soon as the deceased man's body was turned the air inside his body was expelled and the smell became worse. Everyone started gagging and it wasn't a pleasant experience. There were probably a thousand maggots underneath the body. We finally managed to put the deceased man inside the body bag and carry him out to the coroner's van.

It is not often that we have these types of experiences. Nothing can really prepare you for what you may see on any given day in Police work. I guess that is why I like my job so much. There is something new everyday.

Until next time,

"Eddie"

Good Evening,
Hello to everyone out there in cyberspace. I had an interesting work week end yesterday. I just got back home tonight from testifying in traffic court. The best part about going to traffic court is hearing the testimony of the citizens who are contesting citations issued to them by various Police Officer's. I almost always have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing to loudly. Traffic court can be like a comedy show sometimes. While I was waiting to testify tonight a Police Officer from a different agency testified about giving a woman a citation for not having her dog leashed at a park. This particular Police Officer had been on horse mounted patrol at the time he saw the unleashed dog running loose. Hearing this Police Officer's testimony about being on horse mounted patrol is something I have never heard before while in Traffic Court.

This past Sunday I began my week by going down my department's outstanding warrant list. I decided that I was going to try and serve some "small" warrants. By "small" I mean warrants that are infractions (fines only) and misdemeanors with low bail amounts. All we do when we serve infraction warrants and cite release misdemeanor warrants is issue a new ticket with a new court date. This past Sunday I managed to serve two cite release warrants by going to these people's houses early in the morning. By serving these warrants it removes them from our list of outstanding warrants.

On Monday, my co-workers and I responded to a house for a 911 hang up. While getting the call I remembered that a 16 year old girl who lives at the address recently had an outstanding warrant. I asked our dispatch to run the girl's name to see if she still had the warrant. My co-workers and I arrived at the house not to long after receiving the call. I knocked on the door and a teenage girl answered the door. She fit the description of the girl who was supposed to have the warrant so I asked her what her name was. She told me her name and she was the person who was supposed to have the warrant. This teenage girl's mother and older sister also came to the door to find out why I was at their door. I told them all we had received a 911 hang up call from their house. The teenage girl's mother told me it was probably one of her other small children who called 911.

I then asked the teenage girl to tell me her date of birth. I again asked our dispatch (by using police radio codes)if the teenage girl had an outstanding warrant. By this time the teenage girl and her family were asking why I asked her about her date of birth. I felt confident our dispatch was going to tell me the teenage girl had a warrant. So, I let the cat out of the bag by telling the teenage girl and her family there was a possibility she had a small warrant. They all immediately told me they believed she had taken care of the ticket already. Our dispatch then told me over the radio that the teenage girl no longer had a warrant in the system. So, we told the teenage girl and her family everything was okay and that we were leaving.

As my co-workers and I were walking back to our patrol car's our dispatcher told us she had made an error regarding the teenage girl's warrant status. The dispatcher told me the teenage girl did in fact have an outstanding no bail warrant from a different neighboring county. So, my co-workers and I walked back to the teenage girl's house. I again knocked on the door and waited for a response. There was a slight delay before someone answered the door. The mother answered and asked us why we were back at the house. I explained to her that an error had been made and that her daughter did have a warrant. My co-workers and I then stepped inside the house but did not see the teenage girl.

We then began checking the house but could not find the teenage girl. The older sister of the teenage girl came out of a downstairs bathroom (She had been in the shower). One of the small children indicated the teenage girl had just run out the back of the house. We continued searching the entire house which was extremely messy and filthy. We checked all the normal hiding spots (closets, under beds, bathrooms) and did not find the teenage girl. We went so far as to check a crawlspace that led to the upstairs attic. At one point a co-worker and I thought we heard what sounded like someone moving in the attic or on the roof. We both climbed up there but didn't find the teenage girl. We did manage to get ourselves covered in dust, dirt , and the attic's insulation material.

The 16 yr. old girl had disappeared into thin air like a Ghost. We checked the garage of the house and the backyard. We still couldn't find the teenage girl. The backyard doesn't really offer much in the way of escape routes if someone were to run away on foot. But, evidently it did offer enough of an escape route for the teenage girl. The family of the teenage girl acted clueless as to where she may have went. Who knows, maybe we missed her as she hid somewhere we didn't check inside the house. Or, maybe she went over a backyard fence and went to a neighbor's house. I know one thing, we will try our hardest to get this escape artist into custody. She can only run and hide for so long before we will catch her.

Lastly, on Tuesday a local kid I will call "Johnny" totaled his Acura Integra by speeding down a main street and losing control of his car. He caused his Integra to collide into two parked cars. I have pulled over "Johnny" on prior ocsasions for driving poorly. It turned out that "Johnny" did not have any insurance after we contacted him at the scene of his collision. We towed his Integra away because it was blocking the roadway. He didn't seem to like me towing his car and wanted to know if he could have it towed to his house. I told "Johnny" his car was wrecked and that it was blocking the roadway. So, I told him no.

"Johnny" is lucky and screwed at the same time. By lucky, I mean he is lucky no other cars were driving down the same road when he lost control of his car. He could have easily killed a driver of an oncoming car or killed himself. By screwed, I mean he is screwed because his Integra is totaled/wrecked. He owes money on his Integra as well. He is also going to have to pay to repair the two damaged parked cars. One of which was damaged significantly. We also screwed "Johnny" by giving him a citation for driving recklessly (misdemeanor), speeding, no proof of insurance, and for driving on the wrong side of the road. It all adds up to a lot of money "Johnny" doesn't seem to have.

Until next time,

"Eddie"

(Please say a prayer for our Soldiers, Marines, Airman, Sailors, and Coast Guardsman who are defending our freedom in the fight against terrorism)

Good Evening Everyone,
I am now back on Day Shift. Given a choice I would choose to work nights any day. However, working different shifts and being flexible is part of being in law enforcement. I had a great time on my vacation and I have been back to work for a couple of weeks now.

Recently I saw one of the most bizarre things I have seen so far in my career. About a week ago we received a call of a high school student running out in the middle of the main road that leads to the campus. My co-workers and I got out to the high school fairly quickly and found several students holding down another student. There was a large crowd of other students forming around the student that was being held down. The first thing I noticed was that the student that was being held down was incoherent. He was foaming at the mouth and was thrashing around on the ground. He almost looked like he was possessed or something. He would not respond to anyone and was violently trying to get up from the ground.

I next learned that the senior class at the high school had just taken part in a morning presentation. A paid Hypnotist put on a presentation where he hypnotizes a group of students on stage. The student on the ground thrashing around had been one of the students hypnotized. After the hypnotist brought the students out of their hypnosis this student reacted very differently from the other students. Apparently he was in a very deep hypnotic state and when he awoke he bolted from his chair and began running around campus. That's when his friends and other staff started chasing him and had to hold him down until we arrived.

The scene with the student on the ground was very strange and volatile. We ended up having to handcuff and hobble (a hobble is a device that lets you tie someone's feet together so you can carry them) the student for his own safety until the fire dept. and an ambulance could arrive. The other students watching us handcuff and hobble the student believed we were arresting him. They became quite hostile and we had to tell them to back away from the scene. They eventually listened and we were able to load this student onto a gurney to put him in the ambulance. He fought us the entire time and he wasn't easy to restrain due to his size. The student is about 6ft tall and probably weighs around 180-200 lbs. Luckily, the student's mother was called and arrived before the ambulance took him away. Her presence seemed to calm him down a bit. He was eventually transported to county hospital.

I later learned the student later awoke at the hospital after being given a sedative. He apparently had no recollection of what took place. The hypnotist that put on the presentation was paid $800.00 for the one hour presentation. Not bad money. He hightailed it out of town soon after we had the ambulance transport the student. He was definitely in fear for his safety from the other high school students. He thought they were going to tear him apart because of what happened to the student he hypnotized. He probably wasn't very far off in his assessment.

Until next time,

"Eddie"

Good Evening,
I had a very long an interesting last week of Graveyard. I am moving back to Day shift when I come back from my two weeks of vacation. I m going on a cruise and looking forward to it.

I had a pretty funny encounter on Saturday night. I was working when I heard my Sergeant say over the police radio that he was out with a vehicle high centered on a center island at a busy intersection. I headed to where my Sergeant was located because it was my assigned beat. Well, when I got there I saw a purple sedan high centered (stuck) on the center island. My Sergeant pointed over to the sidewalk and informed me that the two women standing there had been occupants of the sedan. He told me he smelled alcohol and wanted me to perform FST's (Field Sobriety Test's) on the driver. He handed me her driver's license which showed me she was only 18 years old.

I walked over to the female driver "Amanda" and immediately smelled alcohol coming from her person. I asked "Amanda" how much alcohol she had to drink. "Amanda" of course told me she had nothing at all to drink (People usually say, "Two Beers") I told "Amanda" I thought she was lying to me. I again asked her how much alcohol she had drunk. She again told me she did not drink any alcohol tonight. I then told her I was going to have her perform some FST's. She agreed and promptly performed horribly, thus confirming she was under the influence of alcohol. I had her blow into the PAS (Preliminary Alcohol Screening) device as the last FST. She blew a .194 BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) which is over two times the legal limit of .08 in California.

I then handcuffed her and arrested her for DUI (Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol). "Amanda" chose to give a breath sample as her formal chemical test. In California, once a driver is arrested for DUI they have to provide either a breath test or a blood test. I took "Amanda" back to my police department to book her and give her a citation. "Amanda" didn't seem to concerned with her DUI and continued to deny drinking alcohol even when her father came to pick her up. The message I tried to convey to "Amanda" was that she could have killed herself, her passenger, or other driver's on the road by driving drunk. Hopefully, she will learn her listen, albeit the hard way.

On Friday night I was driving near the waterfront in our city. I saw a beat up looking blue sedan parked in front of a boarded up building. The sedan caught my attention for two reasons. One, cars aren't normally parked there. Two, the sedan had no license plates. I got out of my patrol car and ran the sedan's VIN number from the dash board. The sedan came back to a person with the same last name as a person I have caught living in the boarded up houses by the waterfront. I put two and two together and figured that the driver of the sedan was probably the same person I had caught staying in the boarded up houses (Smart huh!).

Anyway, a Reserve Officer and I walked back through some brush to get to one of the boarded up houses. I shined my flashlight on the boarded up house and called out the name of the person I believed was inside. Sure enough, he came walking out of the boarded up house. I then handcuffed him and arrested him for trespassing. The boarded up houses have a perimeter fence around them and have posted no trespassing signs.

I had previously warned the same person not to come back to the house when I caught him and his girlfriend staying there only a month before. I took him to my police department and cited him out. I told him he would go to County Jail if I caught him there again.

This guy I caught in the boarded up house actually seemed to be doing better since the last time I caught him in the house. He has a job now and looked cleaned up a bit. He has been to prison before and used to do drugs. So, hopefully he can straighten himself out and find a permanent place to live.

Lastly, on Wednesday night I was stopped in my patrol car talking to someone I know when I heard two cars accelerating at a high rate of speed towards me. I turned and saw the two cars racing down a main street near where I was stopped. I estimated the speed of one of the cars that flew by me at about 70 - 80 mph. The speed limit on the street is 25 mph.

I immediately took off after the lead car that I saw blow by me first. I eventually stopped the car a short distance away. The car was a brand new, very fast Infiniti. I asked the driver why he was driving so fast. He told me he was racing to get away from the car that was driving behind him. He told me the car driving behind him was tailgating him so he needed to speed up to get away. I wasn't very happy with this driver to say the least. He could have been involved in a catastrophic vehicle collision killing himself or others.

I had no mercy on the driver. I issued him a Misdemeanor ticket for an exhibition of speed and also cited him for no proof of insurance. I could have towed his car but didn't because he lived a stone's throw away.

The moral of the story is that you never know when someone, such as a police officer, might be nearby when you are driving like a jackass. So, obey the rules of the road for your sake and for the sake of others.

Until next time,

"Eddie"

Good Afternoon,
I hope everyone out there is doing well. I am off today so I don't have a case of the Monday's. Last week I was driving down a busy main road in the city I work in at about 9:30 pm. While driving I saw a guy riding a bike while he was carrying an unopened 12 pack of beer. What drew my attention to this guy was that he was riding across all lanes of traffic with no regard for his safety or other driver's. His bike also had no bike light mounted on the handlebars for use at night. So, after this guy drove right in front of me across two lanes of traffic I turned around to follow him. I then drove along side him and told him to stop his bike. The guy listened to me and immediately stopped.

Well, as I began to talk to him it was apparent he had already been drinking alcohol. He had a strong odor of alcohol. As I continued to talk to the guy it also became apparent he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. The bike he had been riding was his Mongoose BMX type kids bike he had since he was 13 years old. He is now 40 years old.

Anyway, to make a long story short I had him do Field Sobriety Test's which he performed poorly on. I then had him blow into the Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) device. He blew a .10 which is over the legal limit of .08. In California you cannot ride a bike while under the influence of alcohol just as you cannot drive under the influence of alcohol. The .08 legal limit applies for riding a bike like it would for driving a car or motorcycle. I then handcuffed the guy and arrested him (10-15) for riding a bicycle under the influence of alcohol 21200.5 of the California Vehicle Code. He got upset immediately and thought I was going to take him to County Jail. I told him that if he was cool I would just cite him and release him later. He then calmed down. I had him provide a breath sample at the jail which was again a .10 Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). I later cited him and released him.

About a week and a half ago I was working overtime during the morning to conduct a search warrant with my department's tactical team. While at the location I saw a green Honda Accord parked down the street. I saw the Accord had a guy sleeping inside in the driver's seat. After running the license plate the car came back as being reported stolen to another local police department.

Another Police Officer and I knocked on the window of the car to wake up the driver. He appeared groggy and under the influence of a controlled substance. The guy finally opened the car and got out. I started searching him and found a Meth pipe, 7 shaved keys (used for stealing cars), and the Honda key. I handcuffed him and arrested him for being in possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools, vehicle theft, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

I later found out the guy I arrested was only 19 years old and already has two Felony strikes. Meaning, if he gets another Felony conviction he could get 25 years to life in Prison here in California. The green Honda Accord had been stolen from the driveway of an 82 year old woman. So, I was happy to get her car back for her and take the 19 year old loser out to County Jail.

Until next time,

"Eddie"