BuckeyeBlog

With the final decision on Issue One just a day away and as the battle between both sides heats up, I decided it was time to be front and center with a Columbus Police Officer. On Saturday, August 2, 2009, I accompanied a police officer who’s job may be on the line. I rode side-by-side with him during the second shift at the 19th Precinct on the west side of Columbus. This is a first-hand account of a night in the 19th Precinct.

It began like any other ride-a-long, (I have been on two others before, one in Athens, Ohio and the other in Baltimore, Maryland), strange looks, some smiles but mostly the officers just pretending like I am not there. After passing the warrant check and scanning my license I was cleared to go.

The officer I was riding with has been with the Columbus Police Department for four years, an average length it seemed compared to the other officers working that night. The officer explained what was in the car, mentioning his car is short on supplies because, “the city won’t pay for them.” Then it was time to head on the road.

Officers in the 19th precinct patrol the Greater Hilltop area; a part of Columbus that consistently ranks in the top three most dangerous and violent areas of the city.

The first stop was a call to a group home for teenagers. It was low on the priority scale but there were no other calls more pertinent, so, off we went. When the officer looked at the address, he recognized it and said he had been here many times before. I asked him if that happens a lot, he said that he will go to the same address and talk with the same people multiple times in one night sometimes.

As soon as we pulled up to the house there was another officer there for assistance. The officers and I went to the porch and listened to both parties tell their side of the story. Apparently, a dispute over a Nintendo game started a physical fight between two male teenagers. I was very impressed with the way both officers handled the situation. Never attacking, never accusing, and always calm towards both young men. The officers encouraged them to try harder and avoid fighting. In the middle of the conversation there was a priority one called in and off we went.

We all ran to the car and both police cars sped off, sirens and all. As we were pulling out the rear-view mirror went flying off. Experiencing first hand the speed and maneuvering of a cop car in pursuit was a true adrenaline rush. Very few cars slow down while cop cars head through intersections, and even less decide to stop. I had no idea what we were heading to, and when I finally had an opportunity to ask any questions the two officers were called off the call.

We began heading back to the first call and it was now my opportunity to ask questions. The officer I was with is on the list of possible officers to be laid off if Issue one fails. He does not live in Columbus, so he will not be able to vote on the issue, but if he did he said he would vote yes. When asked why, he said if 300 police officers were laid off the result would be “catastrophic.” He went as far as to compare it to Detroit, Michigan. I asked him what he meant when he said “things will get a lot worse.” He mentioned the gang presence in the West End. In the past few years he has seen an increase in gang related crimes, since “more and more members have been released from jail.”

The questions were cut short as we headed back inside. No one was arrested and no charges were filed inn this particular incident. I asked him if that happened often and he said in his four years as a cop, there is a lot more paper work and report filing than he had originally expected. This was of interest to me so I followed up with more questions. In his opinion, he said most of the stops he makes are not life-threatening or dangerous; they tend to be more domestic issues or theft related. He also mentioned that in his precinct a majority of people choose not to press charges.

Our next stop was very representative of this. It was a stop at a home of a “known dope dealer,” according the officer. The call involved a stolen rear license plate. The officer took all of the information and the family was very polite. The young man had just bought the tags when the rear one was stolen off his vehicle. When asked if the owner would like to press charges if the license is found, the officer was told no.

Our night continued with a possible assault and a stolen $500, a possible break-in, a possible shooting, a sibling fight between a 40 year-old woman and a 50 year-old man, a mother who called about her 14-year-old daughter who came home “high,” a stop at Rhodes park for a possible “prostitution,” and a broken store window on Broad Street.

Out of all of the calls not one of them turned into an arrest. On all of the calls except for one the officer was accompanied by another police car within two minutes. The one call in which he was not was the possible shooting, which I was instructed to stay in the car for.

Throughout these stops I became more and more puzzled. Why are police officers being used in these situations? I asked him if it is frustrating, and he admitted it was. The officer also said that about 60-70% of his stops are situations in which no arrests or charges take place. When I asked him why he stops, he said he has to. If someone dials 911 and wants to physically speak to an officer, they are required to stop and speak with the residents. The calls are given priority numbers, but eventually all calls are answered, no matter what.

The typical “police responsibilities” of traffic tickets and arrests were few and far between. There was time to stop and remove rusted metal from the middle of a busy street; but, for the most part it seems as if officers in Columbus have become glorified social workers and mediators. I told him this and he laughed. I told him and will say now that I do not mean this to be offense. The officer I followed was great at his job, very compassionate, understanding, and knew his place within the community he served. The people around him respected him and thanked him for his service. The problem it seems does not lie with him, but instead within the community he serves.

Why call the police if something is stolen but you do not want press charges? Why call the police to discipline your children when cops’ hands are tied to do anything, other than offer advice? Why are police responding to group homes in which full-time staff members are paid by agencies, most of which receive government funding are there to keep the house under control? Why do people make false 911 calls just to see the police respond?

The officer did not have an answer, but only said, “most of the time it just makes people feel better to see me or another officer show up on their doorstep.” Very humble and probably very true. But, with so many other services in the city and in a time when budgets are tighter than ever, why is police officer time being spent in these ways? Maybe it is time for the City of Columbus to create an awareness campaign of who to contact if you need help with your child who comes home “high,” or what to do when your two adult children continue to fight in your home. When it comes to theft reports, it is time to go online, especially if you are not even willing to press charges. If it is just purely for insurance reasons, police officer time should not be wasted.

I asked the officer what he would tell someone living in the City of Columbus about Issue One. He said he was not sure, it is a hard situation; on the one hand there are people who feel that money has been misspent throughout the years and they do not want to give city officials another chance. But, on the other-hand if officers are cut there will be less officers to answer calls. Right now the officer said their response rate in his precinct is less than two minutes. I thought that was very impressive. If Issue One fails he said that amount will obviously increase, but he is not sure how much. The officer mentioned that he knows that times are tough for people right now and a lot just cannot afford the increase; he also said that there is no guarantee the money will go to police and fire services, which makes him and a lot of others nervous.

After hearing his comments and experiencing a night on the streets on the West Side, I have gained a new perspective. It seems that it is not the number of police officers the city has or the amount of overtime pay or salary they are earning that is causing the problems. In my opinion people seem to be taking advantage of the 911 system and the Columbus police force. If the officer did not have to respond to calls about minor disagreements, parenting issues, or fake 911 calls, the night would have been extremely slow. Without these calls there would have been a lot of sitting in front of Stop signs waiting to write tickets and not so much paper work. Citizens are not the only problem though; there seems to be a lot of overlap between officers. Although having a second or third officer show-up at a stop create peace of mind for the officers, is it needed all the time? When the officers approach a house or location, most left their cars running. A minor detail? Maybe, but think of the gas that is being wasted.

I want to the thank the Columbus Police Department for allowing me to have had this opportunity. It raised a lot of questions and also presented me with a new perspective on how city funds are being spent. I also was very surprised to see how people living in the city abuse police services. I thought you only called the police if a disagreement or fight is out of control, you are in dire need of help, or find yourself in a true emergency. I had no idea police had to step-in to be mediators, provide parenting advice, or take theft reports without ever being able to press charges or make an arrest. After Tuesday, August 4, 2009, and whether Issue One passes or fails, I hope to have the opportunity to do this again with the same officer. Will crime increase if officers are cut? I am not sure anyone can provide an accurate answer. Will the money go to police and fire, if it passes? One would think it would. What I do know is that people should not abuse the 911 and police system here in Columbus; people should give officers an opportunity to do what they are trained to do, protect and serve, not babysit.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 9:12 am and is filed under Accountable Government, Buckeye Voices, General, Observations, Transparent Government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.