“Oh, to Be a Cop”

By Harold Blevins

Synopsis

This book is about the experiences encountered when I was a sheriff for Los Angeles County. It is meant to inform those who may be entering the field and wish to gain a hands-on narrative of some of the real happenings of one who has been in the field as opposed to reading about it in textbooks. It shows reactions and ways of dealing with similar situations by various deputies who come to the crime scene. It was also written for the general public who see law enforcement from a different perspective and can also gain an insight from both sides of the picture. I also wanted to leave a legacy for other law enforcement officers that I have worked with who dedicated their lives to helping people day in and day out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469197289

Harold Blevins

Biography Harold Blevins was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and came to California when he was five years old. Highlights of his career were attendance at Fullerton High School, which he considered the best years of his life. He was popular as a baseball star. After high school, he tried out with the Brooklyn Dodgers and was in the process of acceptance when he injured so badly his arm pitching that he was unable to continue and had to look for other talents in his future. After that, he went into the Korean War, which was probably one of the hardest endeavors that he ever encountered . . . If there was an obstacle, he was there to try and overcome it. After the service, he received his arson certificate. During his career as sheriff, he was injured and laid off on a disability retirement. From there, he worked as a safety director at a large mobile home factory, security at Whittier College, and property manager at a large condominium complex.

Book preview

Copyright © 2012 by Harold Blevins.

Library of Congress Control Number:           2012906568

ISBN:                        Hardcover                       978-1-4691-9727-2

ISBN:                        Softcover                        978-1-4691-9726-5

ISBN:                        Ebook                             978-1-4691-9728-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

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1-888-795-4274

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110470

I dedicate this book to my family, Dan, Linda, Dennis, Mary, and Peggy who helped in the fulfillment of my writing. In addition, I would like to thank my sister-in-law, Peggy Shea, for helping us in time of need and publication assistance. I also dedicate my inspiration to my niece Jaime Johnson who underwent unbearable anguish in the death of her husband, Barry, who was killed by a drunk driver.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Harold (Hal) Blevins From My Experiences as a Civilian and a COP

Civilian Experience

Context of Our Schools

Financing the Police Department

Focus of the Police

Discretion

Cooperation with Other Officers and Agencies

Personal and Professional Capabilities

The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics

Primary Responsibilities of a Police Officer Use of Force

Factors Contributing to Police Brutality

Confidentiality

Integrity

Performance of the Duties of a Police Officer

Code of Silence

Psychological Services Unit

My Experiences with Psychological Units

Failings of the Criminal System

Policing in the Community

Beginning My Training

Typical Day at the Sheriff’s Office

On Duty Police Fatalities

The Suspect in Police Murders

The Officer

On The Job Experiences

Trucking On

Oops!

Sunk in the Sink Hole

Out of Line

More about Partners

Working with Fellow Officers

PaperWork, PaperWork

Suicide 2

What a Shame!

Big Observation

Horsing Around

The Old Man and the Citation

Death and Death Messages

Air Disaster

Wife Threats

The Elephant Incident

Embarrassing Moments

I Couldn’t Believe It

Oh, You Robbers!

Guess What?

The Steam Roller

My friend in Trouble

Emergency Calls

Emergency 2

Emergency 3

Kicked Out of the Informant’s House

The Bungled Burglary Observation

Too Bad

Two Brothers Playing Cards.

Drag Racing

The Strict Field Sergeant

The Suicide Call

A Disturbing of the Peace

The Dog Call of All Dog Calls

The Shoot Out

Felony Wife Beating Call

The Husband Observation.

The Night of the Devil

Oh No, Officer

Strange call

The Abduction

Narcotics Plant

Smoking Partner

Motorcycle Incident

Side Trip to the Emergency Hospital

Immigration Laws

Excuses Excuses

Get It in Writing

Police the good and the bad

Station Briefing Room

Coffee Stops

Unauthorized Shootings

Riots and Uprisings

Qualifying on the Shooting Range

Community Policing

Earl the Pearl

Some of My Favorite Calls and Observations

The Forklift Incident

Bum Steer

Auto Accidents

Suspicion of Suspicion

Lawyers and Judges

Helicopter Observer

The Drug and Alcohol Scenes

Police Supervisors and Professional Police Administration

Approaches to Police Administration

The Human Relations Approach

The Strategic Management Approach

The Institutional Approach

Who Polices the Police?

Disciplinary Processes

Police Lawsuits Costing Millions

Arrests

Fingerprints

My Arrests

Police Murders

Petty Thefts

Arson Investigations

Assistant Law Enforcement

Reserve Police Officers

Pedophiles and Child Molesters

Vehicle Violations

Encounters with Insurance

More about Assaults

Police Culture Causes Police Brutality

Injuries

Explosive Devices

Assaults on Police Officers

Intervening In Dispute

Immediate Attack

Assaults by Police Officer

Police Brutality

Judges and the Courts

Prosecution

Juries

Pretrial Publicity

Health and Welfare

Calls I Have Received Regarding Unsafe Conditions

Hostage Negotiations

My Experiences with Hostages

Other Duties than Patrol Officer

Police Suicides

Police Organizations

The Homeless

Determination of the Number of

Patrolmen in Given Area

Public Relations

Traffic Investigations

Becoming a Detective

My Years after the Sheriff’s Department

Why I Wrote This Book?

Looking Back—Changes I Would Like to See

Bibliography

Periodicals

Acknowledgements

I have been on the Yellow Brick Road as it winds in and out—and there is happiness, uncertainty, and anticipation. These are some elements that make life a mysterious dream that you wake up to every day. And there are your loved ones, those you tolerate and those you admire and emulate. It is a world that never stops and changes by the second. There is so much to do and so much to learn and a drive to conquer whatever challenge comes your way. Life is a never-ending puzzle to be solved whose pieces go on to infinity but the joy of completion never stops.

I have been a son of two wonderful parents, a brother of two other boys and two great sisters. I have lived a childhood filled with pleasant memories. I can honestly say that my belief in God and encouragement from others led me on the right path of life.

I have always had a great interest in reading and have been encouraged by those people who have listened to the stories that I have encountered as a result of choosing law enforcement as a career to write a book about my experiences. Before becoming a law enforcement officer, I was a US infantryman in Korea. This experience, intermingled with my training as a police officer, contributed to my insight involved in the job I chose.

This book would certainly not have materialized had I not met my wife, Sue, at the Whittier College Library. Besides being a great partner for life, she is a gifted writer having published many articles in career and vocational magazines as a doctoral Student at UCLA. She has written two master’s theses and published her doctoral dissertation.

As well as being a teacher for forty years, she compiled my stories as well as typed and edited my finished publication.

So when we retired, despite the fact that we were even busier and not so young, we managed to enjoy our grandsons, Brian, Chris, and Steve—the greatest guys in the world. Then there was Aliyah, our great-granddaughter, who keeps that candle glowing.

And someone from above gave us the go-ahead to come forth with this publication, Oh, To Be A Cop, and we hope you will enjoy and become enlightened by reading about the experiences I have encountered out among the troops as a cop.

Harold (Hal) Blevins

From My Experiences as a

Civilian and a COP

Law enforcement includes many occupations other than the obvious of being a patrol police officer. Law enforcement careers are categorized according to jurisdiction, such as city police departments, county sheriff’s departments, the State Department of Justice, district attorney’s offices, and federal agencies. A typical workweek was forty hours, but shifts often included unusual hours, and overtime was frequently available. As a police officer, I would work the football games or other sports or school events. Many police officers nearly double their salaried income through being paid overtime hours due to the fact that police officers have to go to court for such things as people arguing citations and giving testimony in trials.

Police and sheriff’s patrol officers, who make up one of the fifty largest occupations in the county, and detectives and criminal investigators, have duties that range from controlling traffic to investigating crimes. They maintain order, enforce laws and ordinances, issue traffic summonses, investigate accidents, give evidence in court, serve legal documents for the court system, and apprehend, arrest, and process prisoners.

State and local correctional officers guard inmates in jails, prisons, or juvenile detention institutions, while bailiffs keep order in courts.

The EDD projects an 11.3 percent increase in police and sheriff’s patrol officers from 2004 through 2014 in Orange County, California. Detectives and criminal investigators are projected to increase by 19.0 percent. First-line supervisors and managers of police and detectives are projected to increase at a rate of 13.2 percent. For the smaller occupations of correctional officers and jailers, a 13.3 percent increase is projected.

After the service, I graduated from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Academy in 1956. It encompassed about a year of intensive training both physically and mentally. Needless to say, I had little time as I ate and slept very little and concentrated only on the matter at hand. My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, helped me compile all the notes and material, which we put into a 150-page typewritten paper to be handed in at the end of training. It was like writing a master’s thesis and was closely scrutinized by the training officer in charge. Without her help, I would have had a tough time. These basic studies pretty well gave us a prenotion, or awareness, of the situations that we would encounter in the real world and how they should be dealt with by the book. The real training came with on-the-job training and day-to-day dealings with the community, or population, that we would be facing. We also learned more from our training officers and partners as we observed how they handled situations. We covered the following at the police academy:

• Department structure and substructures: inspection, procedures, drills, and forms to be filled out for various situations and violations

• Law and the courts

• Police proficiency, riots, first aid, driving, traffic law, reports, and procedures

• Patrol procedures

• The community, ethics, and proficiency.

Today, along with police academy training, those who have degrees in police science receive higher pay for their advanced study on the pay scale. They also get promotions and advance faster in rank along with their performance on the job.

Many police cadets in high school and others who ride along with the officers have had experience with the community and police work prior to joining the force. However, there is nothing like wearing the badge and being responsible as a full-fledged policeman. It is a large weight to carry on one’s shoulders, yet it is very rewarding knowing that you can make the world a better place. It was like coming out of a full military unit to a semimilitary unit. It, also, was a trying time. Some of the first assignments I had were the following:

• Transportation

• Psycho detail

• Patrol and traffic and training officer

• Helicopter observer

• Undercover officer

• Los Angeles superior court

• Detective sergeant fugitive detail

• Sergeant predetention bisculuz center

• Sheriff’s honor guard

Civilian Experience

Whittier College safety director for college

Safety Director at Fairmont Homes and Gulf Stream, Nappanee Indiana

Property Manager: Harbor Vista in San Diego, California.

Motel Manager: Fantasy Inn, Anaheim California.

Lecturer and Driving Instructor for Sears Driving School in Costa Mesa, California.

Investigator for Professional Parking in Costa Mesa, California.

Fairmont Homes, Nappanee Indiana—Safety Supervisor Mobile Home Manufacturer.

Location of Book—Mostly in Los Angeles County, California.

I stood there, looking out the window at the passing police car. It had been twenty years since I was with the sheriff’s office, laid off on an early retirement as the result of many minor injuries incurred in the line of duty as a police officer. It seemed like a short career and I didn’t feel incapacitated, though I had many bouts with an aching back. In any other profession, you would still be working but not with the hazardous type of work involved with handling the law. Your body and mind must be perfect in all aspects. In writing this book, I refer to policemen or he, but there are as many dedicated and decorated women, who serve on the force and put their lives out there on the line to defend our entire population and devote their lives in the name of justice.

I ask myself. What is a policeman really? Let’s analyze it further by breaking down the letters as set forth:

• Power to deal with all situations and strengths of people

• Outstanding in all areas of community involvement.

• Liked and respected by society as a whole except for the criminals

• Initiates the action to stop and control a criminal environment

• Completely confident and capable

• Energetic and aware of danger.

• Make the world a better and safer place

• Always ready to assist the public

• Never passes up an opportunity to help others.

In essence, all of the above qualities pertain to the makeup of police work but the list goes on and on. Other responsibilities included in this list are:

• Protecting life and property

• Preventing Crime

• Apprehending criminals

• Always acting lawfully

• Treating every member of the department… both sworn and civilian as we would expect to be treated if the positions were reversed.

• We shall not knowingly break the law to enforce the law.

• We shall be fully accountable for our own actions or failures, and when appropriate, for the actions or failures of our subordinates.

• In considering the use of deadly force, we shall be guided by reverence for human life.

• Individuals promoted or selected for special assignments shall have a history of practicing these values.

Context of Our Schools

The next question posed is the context of the schools as a place for adolescent development. Policing agencies are an integral part of the schools because they set the tone for the law. In essence, policemen are role models for our youth. Many policing agencies have sports programs for youth to help them stay off the streets and have a reason to build their self-esteem. Educators as we well know are expected to prepare adolescents for adulthood. How much of the responsibility for adolescent transition are the schools prepared to undertake and how effective has the process been? The police assist the educational institutions by having speakers and assemblies for safety, not only physical but mental awareness of what the dangers are out there in the world, but also how to deal with situations that may arise in their lifetimes. Parents may be a good informational system but it is well known that children and adolescents will listen to outside sources far more than their parents. Then too, there are parents who do not inform their kids about the real dangers or assume that they have the know-how to handle them.

Financing the Police Department

In the political realm, policing is an expensive proposition (Hickman 1990: and Klockars 1989, 1992.) Is it true that you get what you pay for? If this is the case, there may be trouble in River City. Police Unions are supportive of candidates for high office positions, who are supportive of their causes. What the politicians promise, as in all political races, and what comes to fruition may be a different story. Oftentimes, politics and budgets are not commensurate with the outcome. As budget cuts affect the community, so do they affect the number of officers who will serve the public. Budget cuts may result in understaffing which causes depression and unrest among the policing ranks, and when someone feels underappreciated, productivity wanes. This is one of the reasons that cities contract out their policing functions. It also may be due to the fact that some areas are far less urban and populations may be a great deal smaller in those vicinities. I found that the sheriff’s department transgressed many cities and had a widespread clientele. I enjoyed this factor because we served many publics and were not a one city operation. It gave us a broader picture of the communities that we served, as well as the overlap among areas.

Focus of the Police

The origin of police practice and responsibility come from the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. They are set forth as follows:

1. Fourth Amendment—The right of persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. Upon probable cause, a search may be instigated if there is an oath or affirmation and a warrant secured by the court.

2. The Fifth Amendment—No person shall be held to answer for a capital, crime, unless indicted by a grand jury, except in cases of the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense twice, put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

3. The Sixth Amendment—In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed. They must be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Source: United States Constitution.

Discretion

A police