This week, Officer Kent Mayfield, who is still recovering from gunshot wounds received Dec. 17, received a wonderful note of encouragement from a young man from Las Vegas named Jake Rieger. Jake wrote:
“Officer,
I saw that you were hurt and I’m glad you’ll be OK. I hope people start to be nicer to police and keep you safe too. I want to write to you to let you know people still care. I leave these notes on patrol cars around Las Vegas and I want you to have one, too. When I grow up I want to be an officer and I hope to be as brave as you.”
I did a little online research and it turns out Jake is a 10-year-old lad who views police officers as his heroes. Jake has made it his mission to let officers know how he feels through his thoughtful cards. Well, Jake is now my little hero. He will shortly be receiving a nice Bremerton PD patch. I have a hunch that with his caring nature, he will make an excellent police officer. An article about Jake can be found at http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/34450862/las-vegas-boy-10-writes-thank-you-notes-to-police-nationwide.
Wrong Way Corrigan?
On Feb. 12 we had a house fire in the 1200 block of Sixth Street. As is typical in these situations, Officer Shaw closed westbound Sixth Street to allow the fire department to battle the fire. There were subtle hints that the road was closed, as described in Officer Shaw’s report:
“I was parked facing southbound with four barricades, two with ‘Road Closed’ signs attached and six large orange traffic cones. Caution tape was also attached and stretched across the entire two westbound lanes of travel. My vehicle had its overhead emergency lights activated to also signal the road was closed.”
Evidently missing all of this, a car drove around the barricades and proceeded west in the eastbound lanes, continuing as he crested a blind hill. Our errant driver continued driving west in the east lanes long after clearing the closed area of the road. Officer Shaw stopped the vehicle and pointed out to the driver that he was driving the wrong way — west in the east lanes. The driver replied, “There’s two lanes,” just in case Officer Shaw hadn’t been aware of that or something. It may surprise you that the driver was arrested for DUI.
— Cpl. Vertefeuille
Note: a free BPD patch to the first member of the public to email me and explain who wrong-way Corrigan was. No looking on Google — on your honor. City employees need not apply. James.burchett@ci.bremerton.wa.us.
Crisis averted
Officer Forbragd initiated a vehicle stop on Feb. 13 at Kitsap Way at Highway 3. The vehicle did not have a front bumper or required front plate on it. The rear license plate displayed an expired registration in June 2017. When Forbragd attempted to stop the car, it turned the wrong way on the one-way ramp to Highway 3. Fortunately, the violator came to a safe stop before a head-on collision occurred. The driver did not have a driver’s license, insurance or registration for the vehicle. Officer Forbragd’s keen senses detected a trip permit in the window of the car that was altered. A plethora of charges resulted from the stop.
— Cpl. Vertefeuille
(Extra credit if you can name this movie, name the character and define “plethora.” Note: The extra credit for answering Cpl. Vertefeuille’s question was shared by Kari Mann of the Prosecutor’s Office and the brilliant word-smith Cpl. Schaefer. Their prize is our admiration for their trivial knowledge, whatever that’s worth. — JB)
Evidence techs will love this
I arrested a guy on warrants down at the ferry terminal this morning. Pretty mundane stuff except for his belongings I had to check into the property room. One giant suitcase, one hula hoop and one vacuum cleaner. The things people tote around …
— Cpl. Jeff Schaefer
Splish, splash, I was taking a bath
A man whose exploits frequently grace the pages of the BPD update was reported to have been bathing in Evergreen Park every day for the past five days — without his clothes. The Bike Guys set up to catch a glimpse of our streaker; they spotted him by the boat launch and approached him only to be greeted with him in a towel asking, “How may I help you?”
After gathering statements from spectators, they placed the man under arrest for indecent exposure. In his statement, our nudist said they wouldn’t allow him to shower at the Mission so he asked where he was supposed to bathe. Um, how about NOT in a public park?
— Cpl. Jeff Schaefer
Another trip permit?
A vehicle was spotted traveling southbound on Warren Avenue. It was a bright and beautiful day in the city of Bremerton, and the sunlight clearly illuminated the doctored trip permit in the back window of a 1995 aqua-green Subaru coupe. The writing was in blue pen (wrong), the date was not marked off in a three-day block (wrong), and the entire back side of the trip permit was left blank (wrong). The trip permit was also covered with packing tape, which made it into a makeshift dry erase board (wrong). The individual was stopped and the trip permit was seized as evidence. Oh, and the driver did not have insurance. He was issued an infraction and charges will be filed for the doctored trip permit.
— Cpl. Jeff Schaefer
Man down!
The Bike Guys and Sgt. Cronk spotted a guy wanted for an assault from last week. When he realized he was about to be hemmed up, he took off running with a Cannondale in pursuit. The suspect bolted into the old JC Penney building and out onto Second Street, back southbound and then dashed into one of the parking garages in the 500 block of Burwell.
The trusty shipyard workers across the street yelled out, “There he is!” The sprinter ran low on gas, but had just enough left to resist arrest when caught. Officers had to use reasonable and necessary force to take him into custody. While on the ground, the man yelled “man down,” referring to himself, and said he just smoked weed. I thought that stuff was supposed to make you docile. Anyway, he went to jail on several charges. Thank you to the hardworking men and women of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
— Cpl. Jeff Schaefer
Rough night
Sgt. Heffernan responded to McCloud’s for a fight involving a patron and security. When he arrived, security officers had the suspect wrapped up on the ground. The man was detained and statements were gathered. According to the security guys, the suspect was cut off in the bar and told to leave. They went the extra mile and even bought him something to eat and were going to pay for his taxi ride home. How did he repay their generosity? By peeing on their fence and punching one of the security guys in the face and calling them some vulgar names. The guy blew a .220 into the PBT and threw up on himself on the way to jail.
That Crossfit stuff really works
A BPD update repeat all-star was pounding on the back door of a sleeping resident’s house in the wee hours of the morning. When he wouldn’t go away, the homeowner called 9-1-1. Enter Officer Ortona and Cpl. Byers. They located the suspect in the resident’s yard and told him to stop. The man decided he didn’t want to stop and walked away. When officers tried to physically detain him to investigate the incident, he took off. Officer Ortona, an avid Crossfitter, booked after him, but Cpl. Byers hopped into his patrol car and raced ahead to cut the suspect off. They were able to catch the prowler, who went to jail.
It’s not all funny stuff
I try to put a light-hearted spin on the news of the week, but to keep things real and in perspective — without going into the details — our officers spend much of their day dealing with things that are not so light-hearted or amusing. This week we’ve: Arrested a man suspected of raping his niece.
Investigated another heroin death.
Arrested a man suspected of biting his wife and baby. The baby also suffered broken bones.
Assisted in investigating an officer-involved shooting on Bainbridge Island.
Stay safe out there, folks.
— Jim Burchett is interim chief of the Bremerton Police Department. Contact him at James.Burchett@ci.bremerton.wa.us.
James Burchett, interim chief, Bremerton Police Department
