Deputy Sheriff Randy Hamson
Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
Deputy Hamson was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic at an accident scene on August 16, 2004 . He succumbed to his injuries on October 24, 2008. He is survived by his wife, three children, his parents, and two brothers.
Officer Shane Figueroa, 25
Phoenix Arizona Police Department
Officer Figueroa was killed in an automobile accident on October 25, 2008. He was responding to a call when the accident occurred. The driver of the truck that hit the officer’s patrol vehicle was wanted by police on four outstanding warrants.
Officer Figueroa leaves behind a wife and three-month-old daughter.
Lieutenant Frank Stecco, 42
Fairfax County Virginia Police Department
On October 21, 2008, Lt. Stecco drowned while participating in helicopter water rescue training. He is survived by his wife, three children, and mother.
* Thanks to ODMP
Officer Dave Crawford has been a great friend to me over the years. He has also been very supportive of the mystery writing community. He’s my go-to guy when I’m stumped for an answer to your questions. Dave also provides many of the wonderful photos you’ve enjoyed on The Graveyard Shift, and in my book. Thanks for all you’ve done for us, Dave.
Now, here’s a few cop odds and ends to get us through the day.
Duty belt baton holder
Paddle lock holster. The black paddle slips inside the pants to secure the holster to the plainclothes officer’s side. A regular dress belt is not needed.
One of the many flashlight styles carried by officers. I’ve noticed that a few writers have begun to write “the officer flipped the switch on her flashlight,” Flashlights, such as the one above, do not have switches that can be “flipped.” They’re all pushbutton switches.
The FRISKER PRO is a hand held metal detector that’s great for locating hidden weapons (inside pants, under shirts, etc.).
Tactical vest. Seems to be a favorite of many of the US Marshals I’ve known over the years. Hmm… And author Bill Cameron, too. I wonder if he’s actually a Fed working undercover?
Bicycle light bar and siren. The device also serves as headlamps. Red or blue flip-down lenses are optional.
The Bulletin Board
– Looking for a new web host for your old site, or someone to build a website from the ground up? The Graveyard Shift and www.leelofland.com were designed and built by Just Write Sites. Stop by and say hi. They’re good people with great prices and service.
– Attention mystery writers – The New England Crime Bake is only a little over two weeks away. This year’s guest of honor is Harlen Coben. I’ll be there, too, participating in The Big Lie.
At the banquet, New York Times best-selling author Harlan Coben, award-winning author Hank Phillippi Ryan, and a host of New England’s stellar crime writers share their dirty secrets. But can you spot the lies? In among the shameful revelations, each writer will sneak in a handful of brazen lies. Please do stop by and see if you catch me in a lie. I’ll bet you can’t.
– Author Kate Flora and I will be at the Springfield, Vermont town library tonight to conduct a televised presentation for local writers and mystery enthusiasts.
– The Associated Press: ANAHEIM, Calif. — In a case of mistaken identity, a newlywed was shot and killed by police after he stepped outside his home to confront suspected burglars.
– New York – Police are accused of brutally assaulting a tattoo employee during a struggle. The complainant stated that officers used a portable radio antenna to sodomize him as the officers were arresting him for narcotics possession. There are discrepancies in the reports.
How do officers know, at a glance, when they’re addressing a ranking officer from another department? Well, the answer is as clear as everything else pertaining to law enforcement – it depends. Police departments use many symbols of rank designation. Some department supervisors wear white shirts (some departments issue white shirts to all officers), while others issue gold badges to their higher-ranking officers. But the easiest way to tell an officer’s rank is to look at his collar insignia. Each pin is a representation of that officer’s rank.
Collar insignias beginning with the top ranking officer (chief).
An eagle (birds) on each collar – Colonel, or Chief (some chiefs prefer to be addressed as Colonel).
Oak leaf on each collar – Major
Two bars on each collar – Captain
One bar on each collar – Lieutenant
Three stripes – Sergeant
Two stripes – Corporal
Chevron, or single stripe – Private, or line officer
* An officer without a collar insignia is normally a private.
Other pins and medals worn by officers may include (from top to bottom):
– Name tag.
– Award ribbons – Community service award, length of service, expert marksman, lifesaving award, medal of valor.
– Pistol expert (to earn this award the officer must consistently shoot an average of 95% or better on the range).
– FTO pin worn by field training officers.
– K9 pin worn by K9 officers
– FTO pin issued by the state of Virginia.
Pins on the back of name tags, ribbons, etc. are used to attach the insignias to an officer’s uniform. A small clasp (similar to an ear ring backing) is pressed over the pin tips to hold them in place. The clasps often fall off during scuffles with rowdy bad guys, and (if the officer is not wearing a bullet-resistant vest) can result in the pin tips puncturing the officers skin.
Sheriffs and chiefs may also wear a series of stars to indicate their rank.
The Bulletin Board
– The 200 word short story contest is now closed. We’ve received tons of excellent entries. In fact, the response was overwhelming. Good luck to you all!
– Police officers in New York (Suffolk) rescued a 70-year-old man from a burning building. One of those officers also saved a drowning man earlier in the month.
– Massachusetts authorities are investigating the abuse of overtime by seven police officers. How much money was involved? The dollar amount is a shocking $80,000 – $100,000 for the first six months of this year.
– Philadelphia police will be holding a memorial service today for Andy, a police dog that was accidentally shot while searching a building for bank robbery suspects.
Tony Hillerman
1925 – 2008
Elaine Flinn has also left us. She lost her battle with cancer last weekend.
Research with Law Enforcement Experts
While I sat at my computer working on Midnight Hours, typing what my characters wanted to do and say, I realized I needed some expert advice to be sure what my antagonist wanted would work. Oh, yes, Midnight was a wily villain indeed and knew how to manipulate and use technology to do unethical things. However, he wanted to access the data base (NCIC) that would give information only certain people can have.
The idea would put punch in the plot and create havoc for the protagonist, Martin Rogers, and his team. Midnight begged me, threatened me, and tempted me to add the twist.
I wrote that Midnight gained access, but something bothered me. Could the data base, the National Criminal Information Center set up by the FBI, be that easily hacked? Would the state overseer agency (in Oklahoma the OSBI) not know it had been? With a deep sigh, I began researching. I contacted a friend who trained as a dispatcher and has been an administrator in a county jail for years. She told me the plot twist couldn’t happen. She told me that only certified people can access the NCIC data base. The local police department also informed me that “hacking” into that data base couldn’t happen. Therefore Midnight had to find a way to gain the information he wanted another way.
Back at the keyboard, Midnight argued, but I said, “Hush right now or I’ll change you to a frog.” With a lingering look in the mirror, a shake of a head, and a deep sigh, Midnight went to a corner of my mind to pout to plot ways to “bug” the computers in the police department. The consensus was for the technologically brilliant Midnight to physically access the department’s servers and computers. To give more information and examples would reveal too much of the plot and its twists.
I did learn more about the NCIC, and even though I didn’t use it for Midnight, I’ll be using the information in sequels. The amount of information available for law enforcement is amazing: a computerized index of criminal justice information.
I asked many questions of law enforcement officers from three different police departments and the county sheriff’s department where I live, as well as the friend in another state. I learned how inter-agency task forces could work (a must for my novel). I read articles from experts in the police procedure and investigation fields and computer and technology fields, and learned some “tricks of the trade” for using one computer to appear to send messages from a different one.
I found much of the information I needed for my novel, but I discovered more. I discovered how the Internet can be used and abused.
Midnight used the Internet to prey on disabled men and bring death, and thanks to the help from law enforcement agencies, I could portray that realistically.
However, according to a sergeant in the Oklahoma City Police Department, I didn’t have the hierarchy correct for their department. He was nice enough to tell me, that since it was my story, my book, I could arrange the department differently, that some departments in other places actually have a similar chain of command as in Midnight Hours.
In the future, I will work even closer with law enforcement agencies to be sure I have details as close to correct as possible in future novels, and maybe leave a little room for creativity.
Click here for details about Vivian’s Midnight Blog Tour and Contest.
– Views, comments, and opinions of guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion and views of The Graveyard Shift.
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The Bulletin Board
– Author Tony Hillerman, author of the Navajo Tribal Police mysteries, passed away yesterday. He was 83. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family.
– El Paso County sheriff’s Deputy Juan Muñoz was awarded the Sheriff’s Office Lifesaving Medal Award for saving a 2-year-old boy from a burning car earlier this month.
– A former New Bloomfield, Pa. police officer was recently convicted of molesting or propositioning more than a dozen teenage girls for sex while on duty. The incidents leading to the officer’s arrest date back as early as 2000.
– USA Today reports that more than one-third of police officers murdered last year were not wearing body armor.
– The Associated Press reports that the Washington State Supreme Court has thrown out the conviction of a man who was searched by police solely because of his odd behavior.
The Court’s unanimous decision reinforces the rules for simple pat-downs under state law, which offers stronger safeguards against police searches than the U.S. Constitution requires.
– The Paris Review: Tehran’s all-female police units. Photos and story Here.
*Only two days left to enter the The Graveyard Shift’s 200 word short story contest! Details here.
I grew up in Delaware, spending summers with my grandparents in a little town on the Choptank River in nearby Maryland, an hour from Ocean City. My summertime treat was to spend a day at the beach with my beloved grandfather. He was a strong, hard-working, quiet man who loved the water, the salty air, and the Maryland sunrises. It’s not hard to see why he loved his life on the water, and why he loved sharing it with my brother and me.
I walked this beach, on this very sand, a thousand times as a small boy, hand-in-hand with my grandfather. I can still hear him describing the roiling, black thunder clouds, and the crashing waves brought on by angry nor’easters. I set out for an early morning walk last weekend, and found myself wondering how many of the footprints in the sand above were made by a present day grandfather and his grandson.
When Denene and I strolled along the boardwalk last weekend after we left Bouchercon, my senses came to life. The hot oil smell of Thrasher’s famous French Fries permeated the morning air, and the sounds of bells, whistles, and carnival barkers attacked us from all sides. Suddenly, I was a small boy again, back with my grandfather holding his hand as he led me to the arcades.
I felt the magical draw of my youth. One of my fondest memories of all time was pulling me toward its source. I knew then what I had to share with my wife – the best arcade game ever – Skeeball! I loved this game and I wanted to share that experience with Denene. I also recalled that I was pretty darn good at it, too. After all, I had beaten my grandfather at practically every game we’d ever played. Yes indeed, I was a Skeeball wizard back in the day.
Well, after losing several games to Denene, a rookie – actually, she was a virgin Skeeballer – I realized that my grandfather had probably let me win all those times. Of course, I told Denene that I’d let her win, too. Unfortunately, she knew better.
And then it was over, and I grew up all over again.
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The Bulletin Board
– From CNN News: U.S. police departments are streamlining patrols, reducing training and cutting back on some preventative programs as their budgets fall victim to the struggling economy.
Many police chiefs are warning deeper cuts may be coming.
– Baltimore police say the best way to reduce crime is to lock up the criminals and throw away the key! Forget rehabilitation, probation, and parole!
– According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, over one third of Atlanta’s recent police academy graduates have criminal records!
– Assaults on police officers are on the rise. Philadelphia, for example, reports a 19% increase on assaults on their officers over last year.
Deputy Sheriff Sarah Irene Haylett-Jones, 27
Monroe County, Indiana Sheriffs Office
Deputy Jones passed away on October 19, 2008. She’d been directing traffic at an accident scene on October 17, 2008, when a car operated by a teenage driver struck her, causing her fatal injuries. Sarah is survived by her husband, two brothers, and her parents and grandparents. Deputy Jones had been with the sheriffs office for only 8 months.
Officer David Tome, 31
Northern York County Pennsylvania Regional Police Department
Officer Tome was struck and killed on October 21, 2008, while he was working an accident scene. The driver of an SUV had bypassed all warning devices blocking the right lane where Officer Tome was conducting his investigation. The officer was killed instantly. Officer Tome is survived by his wife and two children.
Officer Richard Bremer, 39
Fredrick City Maryland Police Deaptment
Officer Bremer was killed on October 22, 2008, when he was involved in a traffic accident during the pursuit of a wanted suspect. Officer Bremer leaves behind a wife and three children.
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Thanks to ODMP
I, as do most police officers, began my career as a uniformed patrol officer doling out traffic citations to speeders, reckless drivers, and red-light-runners. This assignment was not one of my favorites (I preferred the Sherlock Holmes crime-solving side of law-enforcement), but traffic enforcement was a necessary rite of passage.
The only thing that saw me through the mundane ritual of writing tickets was the array of humorous excuses from drivers. I would compare days with officers to see who’d heard the best story.
Here are some of my favorite excuses for traffic violations:
“Sure I know the speed limit is 65, but I wasn’t speeding. I had my cruise control set on 78. You do allow ten miles per hour over the speed limit. Don’t you?”
“My mother just died three days ago, and I really need to get to the hospital to see her.”
I’m sorry; I must’ve dozed off for a minute. Was I really speeding?”
“But the light had just turned red a second ago.”
“I have to go to the bathroom and it really helps me to not think about it if I go fast.”
Every time I switch from beer to Vodka, I seem to drive too fast.”
“Smoking dope always makes me drive fast, but I’m coming down now. I should be okay in few minutes.”
Sometimes, officers cannot resist adding a bit of sarcasm when they respond to a violator. Here’s an example of some of the real answers I’ve heard.
Speeder. “Officer, I don’t have a clue as to how fast I was going.”
Officer. “I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?”
Speeder. “Couldn’t you just give me a warning? One more ticket and I’ll lose my license.”
Officer. “Okay, I’m warning you not to speed again or I’ll give you another ticket.”
Speeder. “I want to talk to your shift supervisor before you write that ticket. We’ll get this straight!”
Officer. No problem. You can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don’t think he’ll help you. By the way, did I mention that I’m the shift supervisor?”
Speeder. “Why did you stop me? Oh, I know, you have a quota, right?”
Officer. “No sir, we don’t have quotas anymore. We used to, but now we’re allowed to write as many tickets as we can. In fact, my boss encourages me to do just that.”
Speeder. “It’s okay Officer, I’m a police officer.”
Officer. “Great, then you already know where to sign.”
Speeder. “Officer, I’ll bet you don’t give out tickets to attractive women, do you?”
Officer. You’re exactly right, we don’t. Sign here, please.”
Offender. “You’re not man enough to arrest me.”
Officer. “I’m man enough to know that if you take your hands off the car again, I’ll make your brother an only child.
Officers stop hundreds of drivers for various offenses during their careers, and they hear hundreds of reasons why they shouldn’t issue traffic tickets. However, there is only one proven way to avoid receiving a traffic citation — drive the speed limit.
The Bulletin Board
Last night author Kate Flora and I traveled to Franklin, Ma. to speak to a group of new writers. The event was sponsored by the adult education division of the Franklin school system. Kate and I do this as representatives of our local chapter of Sisters in Crime.
Kate Flora
From the Associated Press
– A Sylvania, Ohio police officer has been suspended because his mustache was too long, extending below the corners of his mouth.
– A MAMARONECK, N.Y. police officer has ticketed his own city’s mayor, twice, for using a cell phone while driving.
– Inmates on death row in Texas made 2,800 phone calls on a cell phone that had been smuggled inside by a prison guard. The phone was discovered after one of the inmates made a threatening phone call to a state senator. The governor of the state ordered all prisons locked down after the discovery of the phone.
– Last week a Baltimore police officer shot two suspected burglars in his home.
– Officers in Corpus Christi, Texas have been told to cover up all tattoos. For some officers, that could mean wearing a long sleeve shirt during the hot Texas summers.
*Don’t forget to enter the 200 word short story contest! Details here.
Yesterday’s blog topic prompted a question regarding the arrest powers of private citizens. Here’s a follow up to my answer.
Stop In The Name Of…Walmart?
Since I’m a former police detective turned writer I spend a great deal of time reading about my present day counterparts. I also enjoy seeing how law-enforcement officers of yesteryear handled the complex issues of their day. Perhaps my all-time favorite examples of police work at its finest are the old black-and-white episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.
One episode in particular stands out above the rest. It’s the show where gas station attendant and all round goofball Gomer Pyle takes it upon himself to make a citizens arrest. Small town deputy, Barney Fife makes an illegal U-turn prompting Gomer to chase after him on foot while yelling in that southern drawl he’s so famous for, “Citizen’s arrest, citizen’s arrest!”
The scene is hilarious, but did you know that it’s really true that private citizens can make arrests for certain crimes. However, even though that law allows it, I don’t recommend that you or any of your loved ones take it upon yourselves to save your neighborhoods from masked bandits, drug lords, mafia hit men, or foreign terrorists. Doing so could result in great bodily harm and if handled improperly, the loss of everything you own through civil lawsuits. Courts lean heavily against the use of force by non-police officers during arrest situations.
Should the situation arise where you feel that you simply must apprehend the local candy bar thief there are certain guidelines that citizens must follow when detaining a criminal. Most states require that a civilian has either personally witnessed the crime or that they are certain a felony has been committed and they’ve detained the guilty person.
The most common offense in which citizens make arrest is shoplifting. Department stores frequently employ loss-prevention personnel whose primary duty is to prevent the theft of merchandise by shoplifters. Sometimes those workers are required to physically detain a thief until the police arrive. They must do so using whatever means is necessary and in many cases the employees have never received any defensive-tactics training nor have they been taught proper arrest techniques. This lack of training further increases the potential for bodily harm and the potential of a lawsuit.
In most cases private security guards are not sworn police officers and have only the same powers of arrest as ordinary citizens. Sometimes local governments permit security guards employed at such places as shopping malls and construction sites to make lawful arrests for minor crimes such as trespassing. These uniformed guards have no authority outside the property where they are employed.
There is a provision in the law that allows a police officer or sheriff to command the assistance of a private citizen in the case of an emergency. In this instance, the citizen is required by law to aid the officer with the apprehension of a dangerous criminal, or simply to help an officer subdue an unruly suspect. This law stems from the days of the Old West when a sheriff needed a posse to round up bank robbers or horse thieves. It’s a law that rarely used today, but the option is still available.
I know from experience that it’s much safer to write about arrests than it is to actually slap the cuffs on a disorderly criminal who may have nothing to lose by being violent. So, my best advice to you is to send your protagonists after the bad guys, on paper.
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The Bulletin Board
– Don’t forget to send your entry for the 200 word contest. The dead line is approaching quickly.
– If you haven’t received an email acknowledging receipt of your story please contact me again. Your message may have been overlooked.
–From the Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO – An anti-war protester confronted former Bush administration aide Karl Rove while he spoke at a San Francisco mortgage bankers’ meeting.
A statement by the group Code Pink identified the woman as 58-year-old Janine Boneparth, who tried to handcuff Rove in what she called a citizen’s arrest for “treason.”
– From the Associated Press
EUSTIS, Fla. – A rookie police officer in central Florida has been fired after supervisors learned that he Tasered a teenager at a birthday party that involved underage drinking.
The officer was a guest at the party. He was not on duty.
– I’m going under the knife on November 3rd to repair a ruptured disc in my neck. Hopefully, I won’t be out of commission for very long. Author/NYC medical examiner, Jonathan Hayes, will be filling in for me on the 3rd while my surgeon slices and dices away on my flesh and bones. I go today for my first pre-op visit, whatever that means.
I’m pleased and excited to announce that Jonathon will soon be joining us as a regular blogger on The Graveyard Shift.
Police Procedure and Investigation: A Guide for Writers
