(Blogger’s Note: This is the last of four installments of “A day in the life,” which chronicles the December 19, 2005 patrol shift of Bremerton Officer David Sherman)
6 p.m.
Next, it’s off to the Central Office to type up reports. It’s one of the nagging parts of an officer’s job, but one he must do to keep good records, track criminals, and keep the department’s accountability to a tee.
There for about a half hour, CenCom then informs officers of a call of “malicious mischief” involving a half-way house in East Bremerton. Some officers have to leave some reports for later and spring to action.
We learn on the way to the call that a man has been “throwing things” in the house and yelling at other residents living the house. Once there, the reporting party is interviewed, and they say the man and the woman have already taken off.
We get back in the car and speed toward the ferry terminal, where
it is alleged the man and woman have gone. We find them there and
officers place both of them in cuffs and in the back of the patrol
car.
Over the radio, Sherman’s told that the woman was the primary perpetrator of the couple, which is attempting to head back to Kent. The man is later released from cuffs. Officers there have to wait for Officer Renfro, who is the primary officer in handling the case. Once there, he interviews the man, and he’s let go.
The woman sits in the back of our patrol car. At first, Renfro’s interview with her is calm. When he’s finishing up, he tells her that she’ll be going to jail, that they have probable cause to make the arrest.
This infuriates her. She begins to make threats under her breath at Officer Renfro after he leaves. He approaches the car and asks if she’s OK or wants to add anything to the interview.
While bending down to ask, she kicks the door, cracked open, straight at his face. He’s able to get out of the way, but not before he’s hit in the hip with the door.
Other officers close in to the car. He gets up, opens the door wide, and exclaims: “What the heck are you doing?”
She lunges and kicks him in the knees and thigh, knocking him back again.
“You just picked up an obstructing an officer charge,” he says to her.
He informs officers that he’ll now have to remove the woman from
the
car, so they can apply leg restraints. The purpose in doing so is
so that the corrections officers at the jail won’t have to face any
further abuse from the woman.
He tells officers he’ll likely apply a “hair hold” so he can remove her without physical harm.
When he enters the back of the car, she lays flat, kicks him and squirms away from him. Once he has her in the hold, she yells, but is removed from the car quickly.
But once out of the car, she won’t stop fighting. Renfro finally gets her on the ground where she still refuses to stop trying to get out of his hold.
“Stop fighting!” he tells her. Finally, she releases and officers apply the leg restraints.
Sherman is tasked with taking her to the county jail in Port Orchard. Once we start driving, she announces from the back that she’s sorry.
Sherman tells her he might have more sympathy for her, but that after assaulting a police officer, he has little.
7:30 p.m.
After she’s booked into jail, Sherman and I head to an East Bremerton terriyaki place on Lebo for dinner. Again, the car is parked so all passing motorists see it clearly.
The rest of the night is quiet — unusually so, Sherman says — despite the fear that due to the rain, many accidents would occur. Sherman parks his car in a large East Bremerton parking lot next to a big box store.
We also traverse the bridge again and check Evergreen Park, known by officers as a place people come to buy, sell and use drugs.
Our last stop of the night is three kids jay-walking across Wheaton Way. Sherman catches up to the kids in the parking lot and rolls his window down.
“Which one of you here knows what a cross walk is?” he asks. They point to each other.
“I didn’t stop you to write you a ticket. I stopped you because I want you to be safe. Use a cross walk next time,” he tells them.
They agree, and we move on. After a few more area patrols, it’s back to the West Office, and Officer Sherman’s night is over.
