BY CHIEF STEVEN STRACHAN

Bremerton Police Department

Hit and run

Friday night, Officer Michelle Griesheimer took a report of a hit-and-run in the area of Sheridan Road and Clare Avenue. The caller said the car struck a PSE power pole, dislodging several cables prior to fleeing the area.

Officer Griesheimer located the suspect vehicle and as she approached, a passenger got out and ran away. The passenger was eventually located, and had a nasty three-inch gash on their forehead. The driver refused to provide a sample of his breath, so Officer Griesheimer applied for and received a search warrant from a judge for the driver’s blood.

The driver was booked into jail on charges of hit and run and suspicion of DUI. The passenger received medical attention, despite their apparent reluctance to stay in the area.

Tentacles of opioid addiction

The nationwide opioid epidemic is starting to get some real attention.

It looks as if painkiller addiction may have been a contributing factor in Prince’s death a few weeks ago; the use of heroin as a replacement for opioids is apparent all over the country; and every police department, including ours, is seeing the effects of the problem.

The tentacles of the addiction are manifested in unexpected ways, and a strange case last Sunday was one example.

Officer Spencer Berntsen was contacted by a woman who had been legally prescribed Oxycodone by her doctor. The woman became very ill, and later contacted the Emergency Room and showed them the pills she was taking. They determined that the pills were not Oxycodone, but another prescription that could have been lethal at that dosage.

It turns out that the woman’s roommate, who apparently is addicted to Oxycodone, stole the woman’s pills for herself, and switched out the other pills to replace them. It is fortunate this did not turn out to be a homicide case; Officer Berntsen did a great job of interviewing the victim, and getting a statement from the suspect, who was booked into jail for felony assault.

Thanks for going above and beyond

Speaking of Spencer, last week we mentioned a case where he went above and beyond to recover a set of golf clubs taken in a car prowling incident. This week we received this note:

“I want to express my gratitude and sincere thanks for the time and effort Officer Berntsen has taken on the case of finding my husband’s golf clubs. When I went to one of the pawn shops, the manager told me Mr. Berntsen is one of the better cops who follows up and comes into their establishments looking for stolen items.

“That reassures me he truly cares and wants to make things right. I also feel very grateful that we have the Bremerton Police; lately seeing the bicycle officers out patrolling the streets in downtown Bremerton and helping to clean up the area.

“I sure don’t envy the jobs the police force have to endure, putting their lives on the line every day for us, but from the bottom of my heart, I am very grateful and appreciative for everything you do.”

Unfortunate forgetfulness

Tuesday we had an example of the old saying, “facts are stubborn things.”

A resident on Park Avenue called 911 to report a person — against whom she had an order for protection — who had just been in her driveway, in direct violation of the court order. Officers Jason Vertefeuille and Chris Faidley were on bike patrol nearby and arrived very quickly.

They located the man, who said he was “taking care of his girlfriend’s yard” at an adjoining address and swore he did not enter the driveway of the protected person. When Officer Vertefeuille spoke with the victim, he learned she had taken a photo of the suspect in the driveway.

After viewing said photo, Officer Vertefeuille advised the suspect there was photo evidence of him in the driveway. The suspect decided “he now did not recall being in the driveway.” For his loss of memory, in addition to the violation of the court order, he went to jail.

Suspect arrested for drug-related homicide

Very good work on this case by Det. Brandon Greenhill, and hopefully this will provide some closure to a grieving family who lost their son. I believe it also sends a message to drug users and dealers that they will be held responsible for their actions.

Patience paid off in a peaceful resolution

On Wednesday, we had an incident in which the really important part was the safe and sensitive handling of a difficult mental-health related call.

Officers accessed an on-duty crisis intervention officer, who helped us peacefully resolve the situation.

Family members had received text messages indicating a man was off his medications, upset about something, and they feared for the safety of the man’s adult sister who was still in the house. The initial reports were that the man had made threats to kill his sister and burn the family cat, and then burn the house down.

Officers responded and attempted to contact the man, who would not come to the door. Attempts to contact the sister on her cell phone were unsuccessful, and we couldn’t get her to come out of the house.

The sister finally came out, and the intervention officer engaged the man in conversation and ultimately convinced him to come out and voluntarily go to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.

Outstanding and important work and a great job by our officers, as well as the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Deputy who assisted.

But wait, there’s more

While surrounding the house, Sgt. Randy Plumb inadvertently stepped on a very nice neighbor’s iris plant and broke it.

Each responding patrol officer was able to navigate the difficult and treacherous path and avoid the iris plants, except Sgt. Plumb, who was apparently distracted by the burden of leadership.

The very nice neighbor expressed her genuine thankfulness we were there doing our job, but also expressed some friendly concern for the Sergeant stepping on her plant. After receiving, according to Sgt. Plumb, “much grief” from the on-scene captain and officers, Sgt. Plumb went directly to the Bremerton City Nursery store and obtained a brand new, fully grown, replacement iris plant.

When the Sergeant explained the circumstances to the nursery employee, they laughed and insisted on giving him a discount. With his tail between his legs, Sgt. Plumb responded back to the neighbor’s house, offered an apology and presented the new iris plant.

The neighbor was extremely grateful and thanked Randy numerous times. Well done.