I am going to start this week’s update with a good story, because after the last few weeks we all need it.
A break from the norm
Last Saturday, Sgt. Crane reported that a person had apparently dropped or lost their wallet on National Avenue near the Starbucks.
The wallet contained over $300 in cash, a social security card and credit cards. Usually this is when I say someone stole it, or already used their credit cards, or provide some other negative reflection on human nature.
Well, in this case, the person who found it called us right away, and we were able to use the name inside to find the address and get the wallet back to the owner in Belfair, with nothing missing.
Burning brush stomp dance
We had a pretty uneventful July 4 with a few fireworks calls, but nothing significant.
Officers reported that most people who were using illegal fireworks were cooperative once they knew of the city ordinance. But we had one small incident that Corporal Garrity titled “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Two young men went to Haddon Park with their handy sparkler bombs to show their friends how cool it is when it goes “boom.” They thoughtfully took into account the flammability of the location, the beauty bark and the sand. They forgot to account for the dry brush on the nearby hillside.
They lit off the sparkler bomb, but it did not detonate like they expected. Instead, it started throwing out flaming embers in all directions. The men started the “stomp on the burning brush dance.” However, they realized their four feet were not nearly enough to keep up with the growing flames.
To their credit, rather than run away, they called the fire department. Our colleagues at BFD added large trucks and disco lights to the scene, along with a really large fire hose that was used to extinguish the brush fire, which had grown to about 100 square feet.
Paddling to the rescue
In one of the more unusual examples of someone saving a resident from a fire, late at night on the 4th, fire and police responded to a residential structure fire at the end of Madrona Point.
Two men were across the bay at their own campfire when one looked up and saw the house on Madrona burning. The camper knew the resident and began calling from his cell phone to wake her up.
While the first rescuer was calling, the second man jumped in his kayak and paddled over across the bay. The other quickly followed suit and both began trying to put the fire out and wake the resident.
The Fire Department came out, put out the fire, and the homeowner got out safely.
Sgt. Heffernan: Get with the times, play “Pokémon Go”
Monday night Sgt. Heffernan reported that the Pokémon Go craze has officially hit the area.Numerous “suspicious” persons have been contacted in the city.
In his summary he wrote: “The new Pokémon app has them out and about. It appears it is a geocaching type GPS-based app where they chase down Pokémon.
“You’ll be glad to know that our police headquarters building is an official Pokémon gym (seriously), where the players come to ‘do battle.’ So expect to see new friends outside.“I don’t get it, but I was told by a junior and much younger officer maybe I needed to set down my hoop and stick and get with the times.”
I know many departments have issued dire warnings about the players, but as long as people don’t walk into traffic and are careful about avoiding trespassing or violating people’s property, I can think of much worse things to do than walking around our neighborhoods and parks playing a game with their friends.
Dallas Police Chief Brown and President Obama reflect on police roles
Along with everyone else, our officers and community were shocked and saddened by the murder of five officers in Dallas last week.
I am very impressed with the work and comments from Dallas Police Chief David Brown, who commented, “We’re asking cops to do too much in this country. Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve,” noting issues including mental health, drug addiction, the large proportion of African-American single mothers and failing schools. “Policing was never meant to solve all those problems.”
President Obama picked up on Chief Brown in his comments at the memorial service, saying, “…we refuse to fund drug treatment and mental health programs … and then we tell the police ‘you’re a social worker, you’re the parent, you’re the teacher, you’re the drug counselor.’ We tell them to keep those neighborhoods in check at all costs, and do so without causing any political blowback or inconvenience. Don’t make a mistake that might disturb our own peace of mind. And then we feign surprise when, periodically, the tensions boil over.”
Along with the conversations we have about police accountability and reform, Chief Brown and President Obama make a very important point.
Cases in point
Here’s an illustration: The day of the murders in Dallas, a mentally ill man with whom we are very familiar was released from the hospital the day after he had been arrested for fighting with a group of State troopers at a restaurant in East Bremerton.
After having been released after a few hours, he was back and in the roadway on Sheridan with a noose wrapped around his neck and jumping in front of moving vehicles. When the vehicles passed, he tried to catch the rope on the mirrors of the cars.
He was taken back to the hospital for evaluation. There were no mental-health beds available, so he would likely be released again. He has made threats to other people and officers in the past.
Later in the week, we had a case where the intersection of police-as-social-workers and the national debate about police and community relations was even more apparent.
A young adult man who had been placed at Western State Hospital was released back into the community after about 25 days. His parents were trying to get him some additional mental-health assistance and he ended up walking out of their home.
The parents called us and were extremely concerned, not only because he needed mental health treatment, but they were also concerned because he is black, was “acting out,” and they did not want him to have a negative interaction or be harmed by law enforcement.
Officers Frank Shaw and Joshua Stottlemyer did a great job of contacting the family and meeting with them after they observed their son in West Bremerton. They contacted the son and he agreed to see a counselor at the hospital voluntarily, after they established a rapport and told him they would give him a ride back home after he was released. Officer Shaw is one of our Crisis Intervention Officers, who has received additional training on how to deal effectively with these situations.
This is what it’s all about — working with families and the community to find the best way to deal with these very complex problems. However, it does point back to the President’s comment about police as social workers, tasked with taking care of problems with the expectation of no mistakes that might disturb our peace of mind. The right answer is real mental health treatment.
Don’t judge all police officers by the actions of a few
We really appreciate the signs of support from everyone in the community, and saying “thanks” to an officer really means a lot to us.
However, I would also ask that we keep the President’s comments in mind in terms of what we expect from the police, and whether blaming law enforcement for every social ill is constructive or good for our community.
When people use phrases or loaded words that lump all police officers into one group, that is just as wrong as doing the same for any other group.
As President George W. Bush said at the memorial, “Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions. And this has strained our bonds of understanding and common purpose.”
Don’t judge police officers by the worst examples.
Powerful message
Finally this week, I wanted to share this very powerful message I received this week from Peggi Erickson of Bainbridge Island, who allowed me to reprint it with her name:
“Chief Strachan,
“I wanted to reach out and extend my deepest condolences to you and your officers, who lost five fine colleagues in Dallas. Fathers, brothers, friends are fallen in the line of duty. The senseless violent act has taken innocent lives. I was proud of the way the Dallas Police Department handled the situation on the ground and how they have since clearly distinguished between the peaceful protesters and the shooter.
“I have been a peaceful protester who has walked for Black Lives Matter, and who also deeply appreciates the work that your officers do in Bremerton. I truly feel that if the practices of your department could be spread across the country, we would have fewer incidences that lead to violence.
“That said, I know that you and your officers put your lives in danger every day to protect and serve. I am deeply grateful to all of you for your work.”
— Bremerton Police Chief Steven Strachan
