Coming soon to a coffee table near you
Sunday night, officers arrested a man who had a Department of Corrections arrest warrant. Officers had been looking for him for some time, as he had allegedly attempted to strangle his girlfriend three days earlier.
When he was located and arrested, he was also charged with possession of a narcotic, which was found in his pocket.
As Sgt. Heffernan noted, “The man claimed to have found it on the ground, adding ‘Gotta make sure the kids don’t find it,’ which is quickly replacing ‘These aren’t my pants I am wearing’ as the title to my planned night-shift-inspired coffee table book.”
Drink, drugs, cell phones — all illegal while driving
That same night, while returning from the jail after arresting a drunk driver, Officer Derek Ejde followed a driver who was traveling in the middle of the road, straddling the center lane. She also nearly ran into the back of a truck.
After being stopped, the woman denied drinking, attributing her poor driving to prescription medication and her cell phone usage. Not sure why she thought these statements would help her. Maybe because she was extremely drunk?
Washington State Patrol assisted in the arrest, and she tested at over three times the legal limit.
A short time later, Officer Kent Mayfield stopped a driver who had blown through a red light on Wheaton Way. The driver admitted to having a few beers, but far fewer than his passenger, who had just thrown up all over the inside of the vehicle. That driver was arrested too.
That’s more than ‘a little bit’
Monday night, officers handled a very serious call in which a 21-year-old man assaulted his 17-year-old girlfriend. He had allegedly punched her; poured water on her face, mouth and nose; and strangled her with his hands at one location. He then took her in a car to another location, strangling her with a seatbelt along the way, and then punched her when they were at a store.
Apparently, he was upset because, “She had communicated with other men on Facebook while he was away at training for work.”
The man admitted to the assaults and commented, “I may have gotten carried away a little bit.”
He went to jail for felony domestic violence.
Peaceful resolution to scary ‘routine’ patrol
Sometimes you will hear the phrase “routine” patrol. I usually put that in quotation marks because there really is no such thing as routine patrol.
We had a scary example this week when an officer was on patrol on Lebo Boulevard when a car passed by. The officer saw the driver point with one hand, and he then held up a cylindrical metallic object by the steering wheel, which he also pointed at the officer. It appeared to be the barrel end of a handgun.
The officer turned around, called for backup, and ordered all of the occupants out of the vehicle. The cooperative driver eventually helped us to determine that the three were “dancing to the music” and the item in his hand was his chrome colored vape pen, which looked like a gun barrel, especially because of how he was holding it.
He apologized profusely and said he did not mean the officer any harm; he was just enjoying the music. He was released at the scene.
Exit light. Enter night.
Last week, I wrote about a man who was sleeping so soundly with his music turned up that an officer was able to enter his motel room and turn down the music without ever being able to wake the man up. It seems to be a new trend.
This week, an officer was sent to a loud noise complaint on Pennsylvania Avenue. He arrived and heard the very loud music coming from the reported house. The officer repeatedly and loudly knocked, receiving no response.
He made entry into the unlocked house to check to see if anything was wrong, finding a man sleeping very soundly to Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” at about 110 decibels.
After trying to wake the man with no success, our officer went into “Enter Sandman” mode, turning the volume down and locking the door on his way out. Exit light, enter night, we’re off to never-never land.
BPD officers are appreciated
Finally, we appreciate this email received this week:
“Please give an appreciation to all your officers who are handling all the stress of their jobs with patience, grace and good judgment. I understand that it is difficult and sometimes traumatic. They are appreciated!”
— Bremerton Police Chief Steven Strachan
