He’s Running! – A Guide To Foot Pursuits

Foot Pursuits: follow the knob

“I’ve got a vehicle stopped at 5th and Mockingbird Lane. Driver just tossed something from the window. Request back up…He’s running! I’ve got a runner!” Suddenly, the radio goes silent, but everyone knows exactly what’s going on. They’ve all been there and done that.

The patrol officer was in the midst of a traffic stop when the driver decided to abandon his car and head for the hills, or wherever it is they think they can go to avoid an arrest. So, Officer I. M. Fast (Well, that’s what’s on his name tag) shoves the shift into park and takes off after the wiry, tennis shoe-clad thug. For the record, the runners are always young, thin, in shape, and wearing tennis shoes. It’s never an easy-to-catch old fat guy in HushPuppies.

The foot pursuit is something that occurs on the spur of the moment. There’s no time to think things through. No time to plan. No time to run through the mental checklist. No time to remind yourself to do important things, like tell someone which direction you’re heading. Or even to think about routine things, like grabbing your portable radio from the charger. Yep, after twenty strides in total darkness the officer will also remember the flashlight he left lying on the passenger seat next to…dammit, he left his cellphone lying there, too! Therefore, besides the obvious, officers often find themselves alone in what can be a very dangerous situation. Why?

– Bad guys tend to bail out in familiar territory, meaning they know where they’re going. And they often have friends in the area—friends who’ll protect their buddies at all costs, even if that means hurting or killing a cop.

– Unless the officer is in great physical shape (how many older cops have you seen who could win a marathon?) he/she’ll quickly become winded, possibly after only a couple of blocks. Sure, adrenaline will take you a few steps beyond your normal capacity, but not too much further. What that translates into is a cop who’s sucking wind like an antique church organ when he does finally catch the suspect. And it’s really difficult to restrain and cuff someone when you can’t breathe.

– The officer is wearing a ton of gear and sometimes those goofy, shiny shoes. And let’s not forget those spiffy bus driver hats. Think about it…could you run wearing all that? Why would you even want to run while wearing those cool duds?

So what should officers consider before taking the first step in pursuit of a runner?

– Why did the guy run? Is he wanted? Is he dangerous?

– Where are we? Is the area dangerous? What’s around me? Who’s around me?

– How far away is backup?

– Did I call for backup?

– What did the guy do? Is it even worth the chase?

– Am I healthy enough to do this?

– What’s around the next corner?

– What’s am I going to do with the guy when I catch him? Will I be able to manhandle him back to my patrol car?

– Why not call a canine unit and wait for them to arrive?

Even though any pursuit, foot or vehicle, can be unpredictable, there are are few things that are a bit predictable. Like…

Most suspects will make right turns (most people are right-handed). Therefore, when the officer reaches a dead end and needs to pick a direction, a right turn will probably be the correct choice.

The cool part of the right-turn habit is that IF the right-handed suspect is forced to make several left turns, his only option, then he’ll soon stop to hide. Running counterclockwise is not natural to them. And…those same suspects are more apt to hide on the right side of a roadway (in the bushes, a ditch, the woods, etc.).

Wait, it gets better. If two suspects bail on you and they run in the same direction, the chase won’t be a long one. Two guys almost always stop to hide before they get very far. So, if you catch one guy behind a stack of pallets, stay alert because his partner is probably laying low inside the nearby dumpster, under the rotten cabbage.

Oh, if the driver runs and the passenger remains in the car, forget the chase. Go for the guy in the car. He’ll snitch. Besides, you’ve got the idiot’s vehicle.

Lastly, lay off the doughnuts and hit the treadmill. Or, send the rookie after the guy. You can always follow them in your patrol vehicle…

 

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Castle: Law and Murder – A Review

Castle: Law And Murder

Well, another episode has come and gone. And this week Caskett (insert appropriate eye roll here) and crew spent the entire hour working a case involving a poisoned juror. Unfortunately, for those of us with investigative minds, the case and killer were pretty predictable. However, that’s sometimes how it goes in the real world. But when I’m watching TV cops, I like to see a bit more twisting and turning before I know the identity of the killer. In this episode, I had him pegged as soon as he appeared on screen.

Okay, this review won’t take long since there really wasn’t a lot to talk about as far as police procedure, but, and you’d better sit down for this one, I have to point out a few good things about Lanie.

For the first time, or so it would seem, the writers did a little forensic homework. Therefore, Lanie actually sounded as if she’d at least walked across a med school campus at some point in her life. Here’s what she had to say about the dead juror (Oh, and she waited until post autopsy to determine cause of death. Nice touch for a change).

– The guy died from cyanide poisoning, and Lanie made this determination using a color test (Cyantesmo test paper).

FYI – The strip is a preliminary test. The confirmation testing would be conducted by a toxicologist in a lab, not by the M.E. Still, it’s a one-hour show, and they needed to get to the point, so they had Lanie report the finding (Of course, she could have said toxicology ran the test and reported to her, but…). Anyway, for the writers out there, Cyantesmo test paper is normally a pale green strip that turns blue in the presence of hydrocyanic acid. The finding is then confirmed using gas chromatography.

BUT…as always, Lanie would have needed a reason to have the victim tested for cyanide poisoning since that’s not something that’s on a normal tox screen. And guess what? She did. She told Beckett that she detected the smell of bitter almonds on the victim. Also, the victim presented with “pink lividity.” Both could be indicators of cyanide poisoning.

So this was good information. But the writers couldn’t stop there. Nope. They couldn’t stand having Lanie sound as if she were a real medical examiner. They followed up with this one…

– Beckett asked Lanie how the poison was introduced and Laine responded with, “Brownish stains in his mouth indicated he recently had coffee. Maybe it was there.” WHAT? So brown stains in someone’s mouth means they’d just gulped down a cup of Starbuck’s best brew? What about tea, a cigarette, or a chocolate doughnut? What about anything that could leave a brown stain???

– Beckett, during an interview with a particularly tough-looking suspect, tells the guy, “Sit down before I make you sit down.” Well, that type of statement only works if you’ve got the a** to back it up. She’s tough, but in this case, I don’t think that would have been the case. I believe this guy would have mopped the floor with both Beckett and Castle. Still, I can see every cop in the world trying it. Part of the job is putting on the tough-guy suit and playing the game.

– Castle made the statement that most poisonings were committed by female killers. I believe that’s an accurate statement. Shootings are male crimes for the most part. But I’ve seen women who were pretty good at slicing up people with knives, so that method could go to either sex.

– The scene where Ryan and Esposito cornered a guy in a closet was pretty good until the man hit the floor. That’s when we heard the detectives’ weapons making all sorts of clicking noises, as if the officers had just racked the slides, or something. That DOES NOT happen, folks. Please don’t write it that way in your stories. Pointing a firearm at someone does not make it click, snap, crackle, or pop.

– I believe it was Ryan who told a probationer/parolee that he’d have him back in prison before roll call. FYI – Normally, that process is called “count,” not roll call. They don’t actually do a roll call. Instead, corrections officers conduct “head counts” several times each day.

– Am I alone here, or does anyone else want to see more of Ryan and Esposito? These guys should be conducting interviews, etc.

– I liked the fingerprint-on-the-seatback-button idea. That’s the stuff that breaks cases. Good thinking here.

– Oh, and the crooked DA… Who didn’t see that coming? Besides, the cops don’t work for the DA.

All in all, I’d say this episode was just okay. Sure, it was solid, but nothing more. No “WOW” factor.

So I guess it beat watching Sanford and Son reruns.

Well, I’d better leave something for my review partner to discuss. So, take it away, Melanie…

To me, this seemed like a filler episode, with the plot dwelling mostly on the case, but I enjoyed it. Plenty of twists and turns.

Nothing earth shaking happened between Kate and Rick, however, although they did manage a little theory building, a few shared smiles, and Kate chastised Rick for tracking Alexis via her phone.

The sweet scene farther along in the show when Alexis came into the precinct and she and Rick ironed things out made both me and Kate smile. She seems to like seeing Rick in “daddy” mode… the time when he’s the most genuine.

The “Forbidden Planet” framing device was a nice touch. Rick begged first Alexis and then Martha to go with him to see the movie at the beginning of the show, but they both declined. Then at the end, Beckett admitted that she’s a fan of the movie and plans to go since they’ve solved the case — sans Josh, who’s on shift — and this thrills Rick, but he doesn’t let on that he loves the movie, too. He lets her think he’s never seen it. So she insists he go along… and with a hidden grin, he agrees, even asking her to go for burgers at Remy’s afterward. Sly dog. She doesn’t agree to that right away, but who knows what might happen off camera? <smirk>

Next week’s show looks interesting… but the one I really can’t wait for comes later, during May sweeps. The big trip to L.A. for a case and a visit to the Heatwave movie set.

 

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No Key, No Problem: How The Bad Guys Get In (Good Guys, Too)

No Key? No Problem

 

Set of picks, tension wrenches, and a broken key remover.

Padlock shims. Used to open spring-operated padlocks.

PRO-LOK7 is designed to open any standard ACE 7-pin lock.

62-piece lock pick set

Manual pick gun. Insert pick. Squeeze trigger. You’re in!

Slim Jims and wire tools for vehicle entry

 

Window punch

 

Breaking car window glass is easy enough using a punch, but not everyone has access to the tool. But…everyone can certainly get their hands on a common, everyday spark plug, right? Well, here’s what a tiny piece of porcelain from the tip of a spark plug can do.

 

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Alaska Adventure: On A Dogsled

Alaska: On A Dogsled

 

Those of you who’ve been following our friend Monica’s adventure already know she left everything behind to live and work with sled dogs in the wilds of Alaska. And when I say everything, I mean she turned her back on sunny California and a very high-profile job in biotech (Monica is a scientist) to reside in a one-room cabin with no running water. Yes, that means nighttime visits to a very frigid outhouse!

To keep warm in the -40 temperatures, she and her roommate and fellow rookie dog handler, Regan, must split wood for the fire barrel, their only source of heat. The two adventurers take turns sleeping in the top bunk (heat rises so it’s the warmest of the two bunks in the cabin), and they share the responsibilities that go along with caring for 60 sled dogs—placing clean straw in the dog houses, cleaning up after the dogs, feeding and watering, exercising, and scraping frozen urine from the sides of the dog shelters.

Monica has been in Alaska for a few weeks now, reporting back to civilization only when she is lucky enough to catch a ride to a place with internet capabilities. And, after all this time, she’s still loving every minute there. In fact, she plans to let us know how the team fares in the next race, a grueling 440 mile run in Kotzebue, a native community just above the arctic circle that’s only accessible by plane.

Regan and crew ready for another day

* All images are the property of Monica Palme and may not be reproduced or used in any way without her expressed written permission.

 

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Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

The Graveyard Shift extends our condolences to the families of these brave officers.

Officer Andrew Dunn, 30

Sandusky Ohio Police Department

March 19, 2011 – Officer Andrew Dunn was working patrol when he stopped a man riding a bicycle at night with no lights. When he approached the suspect the man opened fire, striking Officer Dunn five times. The officer managed to return fire, wounding the suspect, and called for assistance before succumbing to his wounds.

Officer Dunn is survived by his wife, two sons, his parents, two sisters, a step-mother, and two step-siblings.

Officer Jermaine Gibson, 28

Cathedral California City Police Department

March 19, 2011 – Officer Jermaine Gibson was killed in an automobile crash when his patrol car left the highway and struck a tree. The crash occurred during a high speed pursuit of a suspect driving a stolen vehicle.

Officer Gibson is survived by his wife and infant son.

Officer Craig Birkholz, 28

Fond du Lac Wisconsin Police Department

March 20, 2011 – Officer Craig Birkholz, a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, was shot and killed when he responded to a call. As he and another officer approached the house the suspect opened fire from a second story window, striking both officers and a police canine.

Officer Birkholz is survived by his wife.

Officer Elmer (Buddy) Christian, 34

Athens-Clarke County Georgia Police Department

March 22, 2011 – Officer Buddy Christian was shot and killed after responding to assist a fellow officer who had been shot by a carjacking suspect. The suspect fired the fatal rounds through the window of Officer Christian’s patrol car as he drove up.

Officer Christian is survived by his wife, two children, his parents, and brothers.

 

 

 

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The Secrets To Creating and Writing Compelling Villains

Creating and writing

 

Villains. They’re the bad guys of our stories who are devoted to wickedness. They have specific goals and will stop at nothing to reach them. Are you as driven to write them as compelling characters?

The hero of the story is a stumbling block for the villain. He’s in the way, therefore the villain must do all he can to eliminate the him. An antagonist (someone who merely opposes the hero) simply makes waves for the hero.

Villains are used to create tension in a story. They also provide much-needed hurdles for the hero to overcome during his journey.

Unlike antagonists, villains are sociopathic, narcissistic, and can be quite unpredictable. And they often use fear to get their way.

Villains must be layered characters—three dimensional. And they absolutely must have a reason to do what they do. Do not make your villain a mindlless killing machine!

Think of real-life villains… What makes them so creepy, and scary? Yep…they’re real.

When should you first bring your villain to the page?

Readers must be able to identify with the villain. Perhaps he has an interest in animals, or children. Maybe he’s a devoted church member or the hero’s letter carrier. Maybe the villain is the babysitter for the hero’s children.

Villains are extremely motivated.

 

Don’t go “villain crazy!” Over the top villains are unbelievable.

Finally…

Those were just a few basic guidelines for creating a compelling villain. If all else fails you could follow a simple recipe I concocted. It goes something like this (Of course, like all good cooks I’ve kept a few secret ingredients to myself).

 

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Shooting For Survival: Are You Prepared?

Shooting for survival

Ready on the left? Ready on the right? Ready on the firing line. Commence firing!

Those words, or something similar, are heard by officers all over the country as they attend their annually mandated firearms qualification. Yes, once or twice each year all officers get the word to report to the range to qualify with their duty weapons. So many of them, for the first time since the last mandatory qualification, pull out the gun cleaning kits to spruce up the old sidearms. Then, with their pistols all clean and properly oiled, many of them begin to feel a bit of anxiety creeping up. Suppose I can’t qualify? What happens if my scores aren’t high enough? You know, my eyesight has gotten a little weaker since last year. What if I miss the entire target? Will I lose my job?

Well, those are worries that should never arise because officers should be required, or at least allowed, to shoot more often. Practice by repetition is the key to firearms proficiency. And budget woes should never affect an officer’s ability to defend him/herself. Yet, ammunition and training time are normally some of the first things to go when funds get tight. But that’s the way it is and that’s the way it’ll probably remain. So cops deal with what they have, which sometimes isn’t much. Still, do departments make the most of what little firearms training time they provide? Easy answer…NO. Most of them do not.

Many departments still have their officers line up on the range, wait for the command to fire, and then blast away at stationary paper targets, hoping they’ll punch enough holes in them so they can pass the qualification requirements. Then they call it quits until next year. But is that enough to survive in today’s increasingly dangerous world? Probably not.

Each week we report the line-of-duty deaths of the officers killed during the preceding week. And many of those officers were killed by gunfire, in shootouts with armed suspects. Not in gun battles with stationary paper targets. Now, I’m not saying that either of those officers weren’t properly trained. Not at all. Sometimes you do everything right and the worst still happens. What I am saying is that there are things that can, and should be taught to each and every officer that could help them in the field.

As I stated earlier, officers train best through repetition. And they train best by learning to react to various threats and situations…over and over and over again. Then, when those events present themselves, officers will revert to their training and react appropriately. Therefore, it is an absolute must that officers spend at least some time training under “threat” situations. After all, suspects on the street are simply not going to stand perfectly still with their hands hanging at their sides so that officers can squeeze off 50 or 60 rounds at them. So why should officers train as if they’re going to someday face a one-dimensional paper bank robber?

Sure, some practicing with stationary targets is necessary. That’s how cops learn the basics. But what else can they do to better prepare themselves for the real bad guys?

1. Shoot in low light situations. Not all firefights are going to happen at noon. In fact, many shooting situations occur at night. So why practice all shooting in the bright light of the day? And practice shooting while holding your flashlight!

2. Tactical reloading – Spend lots of time practicing reloading your weapon while under fire (pretend of course). Many department ranges have their officers fire until their magazines are empty and then remove them, hanging on to the spent magazine while replacing it with a fresh, full one. No! Officers should practice discarding the empty magazine. You do not want your hands full, trying to reload while bullets zip by your head. However, you should place the empty magazine in a place where it’s easily accessible for future reloading, if necessary.

3. Practice shooting while using various objects as cover. Then, you’ll do so in the field. Always use cover!

4. Officers should get into the habit of always facing their target (never turn your back on the shooter!). But, many departments have the officers first shoot from closer ranges (5 or 7 yards), and then when they’re finished at that distance they turn around and walk back to the next firing point. NO! They should back up to the next point. This gets them in the habit of facing their aggressor.

5. Strong and weak hand shooting. Always, always, always practice shooting with either hand. You never know when your strong hand may become injured. If it does, you certainly want to be able to at least hold, point, and shoot the firearm with some degree of accuracy.

6. Practice shooting at moving targets. Bad guys do not stand still. Neither do cops when they’re in a firefight. So why always practice shooting at stationary objects?

7. Get some time on firearms training simulators, such as FATS. They’re great for preparing officers for real-life scenarios. They’re also great for pointing out your weaknesses in stressful situations. I’d rather correct my errors in a classroom, not after I’ve caught a couple of rounds to my torso.

Finally—and this is to the officers out there—practice, practice, practice. Repetition, repetition, repetition! What you do during training is what you’ll do on the street. I guarantee it. So even if your department doesn’t allow the practice time, you find somewhere to practice shooting. Your life may soon depend on your ability to use your weapon effectively.

 

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Congratulations to Michael, Ben, Shawn, Regina, Tommy and the rest of the crew at SouthLAnd. The show has been picked up by TNT for a 4th season! We’ll see you next year. Thank you guys, too, for supporting this blog and the Writers’ Police Academy.

 

 

 

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Castle: One Life To Lose – A Review

Castle: One Life To Lose

After a couple of weeks off the show was back in full swing with a visit to the set of a fictitious soap opera called Temptation Lane. And Fillion probably felt right at home in this episode since he paid his soap opera dues way back when on One Life To Live.

The show opened with the body of the week (the soap’s head writer) falling from a closet onto the set during the taping of the show. The poor woman had been killed with a fire ax, which, to me, looked more like a prop from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Even so, it fit perfectly with this light and humorous episode.

But…(yep, here it comes) Lanie had to open her mouth, spilling the usual flow of stupidity. So I’ll get that out of the way first. REMEMBER, I only point this stuff out so writers, and others, won’t think this is how it is in real life. You guys asked me to do this so there’s no need to complain about my Lanie-bashing! Okay, here goes…

Lanie, while displaying enough cleavage for three women, squats beside the body and says, “Spinal cord was severed with an ax.”

Well, I guess she’d brought along a pair of those x-ray specs you can order from the back of comic books, because that’s the only way she could have known the extent of the injuries at this point. And she didn’t stop there, continuing with, “Upon contact (with the ax, I guess) her lungs filled with blood causing her to drown.” WHAT??????????? Boy, those x-ray specs are really worth all one-hundred pennies. In fact, every detective and pathologist should run out and buy a pair today!

WAIT, there’s more. Lanie says, “Based on the CSU sweep (I didn’t know those folks reported to her) the victim was killed here. The killer cleaned up the blood spatter and then shoved her (the victim) in the closet.”

How (shaking my head vigorously from side-to-side) would they be able to tell where the victim was killed if there was no spatter? THAT’S what they’d use to determine the position of the killer and of the victim.

Enough of Lanie, and believe me, I’ve had enough Lanie “VooDoo M.E.” to last a lifetime. I did like how Beckett and crew eliminated suspects as a means of reaching their goal. That’s normally how it’s done, unless the clues are really obvious. So, good job there. The rest of the investigation was a yawner. In fact, I pegged the killer from moment one, almost as if she had a flashing red arrow hanging above her head throughout the show. However, this episode really wasn’t about  the murder. It was meant to be fun and it was. Lots of great one-liners, and lots of Fillion’s silly side. Beckett was fun, too. Well, with the exception of the phone call at the end. That’s getting really old. But I’ll leave the mushy stuff to Melanie. And speaking of Melanie…what’d you think of this week’s show?

This nod to Nathan Fillion’s days on One Life to Live reminded me why I love the show in the first place: snappy banter, inside jokes, and heated (though small) Castle-Beckett moments.

• Castle started with the banter and flirted with Kate, and she gave it right back throughout the episode.

• Rick nailed Kate as a “shipper” — someone who invests in a relationship on a TV show (That would also be me, but we’re talking about Kate and Temptation Lane… right?)

• Castle mentioned the name “Esplanie” for the pairing of Lanie and Esposito… a highlight that cracked me up because that name for the couple first came up on my favorite fan site. (Along with “Caskett” for the Castle-Beckett ship. Creepy, yes… but it fits.)

• Beckett and Castle built theory together in classic fashion. Too cute, especially when Ryan and Esposito called them on it.

• A fabulous Castle-Beckett scene at the end of the show after Rick gives Kate a signed picture from the cast of Temptation Lane. The kind of scene that makes my little Caskett heart go pitter-patter… only to be interrupted by a phone call from Josh (Dr. Motorcycle Boy) to Beckett. Worst. Timing. Ever!

All in all, I enjoyed this episode that took us back to the Castle basics. Can’t wait for next week, when a juror drops dead in the jury box.

And just for fun

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Cocaine: Bale Me Out?

Cocaine: Bale Me Out

Cocaine smuggling is big business, and the drug traffickers pull out all the stops when it comes to getting the illegal white powder into the United States.

Bulk cocaine is normally packaged into individual kilos (2.2046 lbs.), or bricks, and then bundled together into plastic or cloth-wrapped bales (pictured above). Each brick costs between $15,000 – $35,000 depending upon the location. The price is normally in the higher range in larger urban areas.

Deputy Chris Welte holds a single brick (kilo) of cocaine he confiscated during s traffic stop

Cocaine bales normally contain approximately 20 bricks for a total weight of a little over 44 pounds each.

Cocaine bales

The U.S. Coast Guard siezes tons of cocaine every year. They find the stuff in boats and planes, and they even find it floating at sea or washed up on beaches, like the plastic-wrapped kilos worth $2 million found on the shore in the Boca Raton, Fl. Inlet.

Lately, the Coast Guard is dealing with a new means of trafficking—personal, self-propelled submersibles (mini-submarines).

In 2009, the USCG managed to seize 11 of these underwater boats and confiscated 64 metric tons of cocaine.

The U.S. Coast Guard does a wonderful job of intercepting drugs before they enter the country. How effective are they? Well…

Coast Guard Drug Removal Statistics by Fiscal Year * As of Date Below
Fiscal Year Events Vessels Seized Detainees Marijuana (lbs.) Cocaine (lbs.)
2011* 9 5 15 3,150 1,092.4
2010 122 56 229 36,739 202,402.1
2009 123 58 322 71,234.1 352,862.8
2008 85 43 209 22,173.8 367,926.1
2007 65 37 188 12,380.0 355,754.6
2006 64 23 200 9,059.3 287,035.4
2005 87 66 364 10,026.0 338,205.6
2004 104 71 326 25,915.0 293,993.0
2003 65 56 283 14,059.0 136,865.0
2002 58 40 207 40,316.0 117,780.0
2001 65 30 114 34,520.0 138,393.0
2000 92 56 204 50,463.0 132,480.0
1999 118 74 304 61,506.0 111,689.0
1998 129 75 297 31,390.0 82,623.0
1997 122 64 233 102,538.0 103,617.0
1996 36 41 112 42,063.0 44,462.0
1995 44 34 56 40,164.0 33,629.0
1994 67 28 73 33,895.0 47,333.0

 

You know, sometimes tunnel vision, something cops should avoid like the plague, gets the best of us. When the question of cocaine bales came up on a popular writer’s group all I pictured was what you see above, a bale of hay. And I know better. Shoot, I worked narcotics for years and a friend of mine does this stuff in the Coast Guard. We even had a USCG helicopter help us out on a few drug operations. AND, I was certified as a DEA intelligence investigator. Still, I had this image in my mind when I incorrectly answered a question (and I bet it won’t be the last time I do). But…

Maybe my old brain knew what it was doing after all…

* USCG images and stats

 

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Please Don’t Forget Me

Please Don't Forget Me

 

*All images are the property of Maryland photographer Sunday Kaminski, and may not be reproduced, copied, or used without her expressed written permission. Sunday’s works have been featured in many major venues, including The Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

 

 

 

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