Beyond the Badge - by Richard Hannibal

 

2013 and 2012 Columns

 

December, 2013      Thoughts of a Retired Police Officer

 

I begin with a quote I heard recently, "Cops wake up every morning different than the rest of us. Our worst nightmare is their Wednesday."

 

Unlike many of my brother and sister police officers, I have come out of a 30-year police career relatively unscathed. However, many retired officers are not so fortunate. Like military veterans, they suffer the ravages of war, especially those who policed larger urban areas.

 

November, 2013      The Oasis     

 

The glare of rush-hour taillights and honking horns, clash with the serenity of the evening's fading light. Motorists fight for their place in the homeward bound procession as the men in black and whites thread their way from call to call. The constant Friday night chatter on the police radio takes Officer Jeff Andrews into the world of poverty, hatred and heartache. The negative aspects of the job are seldom punctuated by the elusive touch of hope or goodwill. Jeff rarely experiences a happy moment, which would lighten his burden, like an oasis in the desert of misery. His stoic attitude is merely protection from being totally drained of spirit. It is insulation against the cold, damp reality where he spends his shift.

 

October, 2013         The Search (A Long Story)

 

He promised them Paradise. When they finally found it, tasted it, and touched it, they did not recognize it and began their search. Since they were already there, the search could only lead them away from the place they longed to be. Their true selves knew, but they allowed the emotions of their mortal bodies to lead them away.

 

September, 2013     The Magical Book

 

Recently, an old partner of mine sent me a centennial remembrance book from the Los Angeles County police agency where I spent 25 years of my life. It was a "magical book" that allowed me to travel in time from 1911 to 2011. I will treasure this book for the rest of my life.

 

August, 2013          In Memoriam 19 Firefighters Killed in the Line of Duty June 30th 2013  

 

Firefighters live with heat, dust, and smoke. It is part of their life. When one dies in the line of duty it causes us to pause a moment in our lives. But, when 19 are killed at one time, it is forever embedded in our memory and reminds us of the constant peril our firefighters selflessly face protecting us. We offer them our deepest, eternal debt of gratitude. It causes us to reflect on the many heroes in this world who keep us safe. Such were the men of the elite Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots. They were part of the Wildland Fire Division of the Prescott Fire Department.

 

July, 2013               The Silence

 

One day the rumbling stopped along the wide black trail where nothing grew. The eyes of the animals living nearby no longer burned from the brownish air that hung close to the ground. The sudden quiet caused a thousand ears to strain. Squirrels rose on their hind legs and sniffed the air for signs of danger. Others looked toward the black trail from the bushes and grass and realized the menace that divided communities was gone. Life among the creatures changed the moment the Silence came.

 

June, 2013               An Exercise in Dialog

 

Writers continually strive to write better, not for us, but for the reader. And, we all have our personal weaknesses. Mine is writing dialog and a writer friend of mine uses too much dialog in his stories. Therefore, we challenged each other — he would write a two-page story using only narrative and I would write a two-page story using only dialog. I didn't realize how difficult that was going to be

 

May, 2013               Gun Violence Control   

 

GUN CONTROL! I don't care where you are on the political spectrum, those two words generate a surge of emotion. Then add children, pregnant women, and puppies, and you create a mini-war of factions. I have lived long enough for my political pendulum to swing from being a young conservative, to a middle-age liberal, to where I am now — a middle-of-the-road thinker. This is where I ponder society's woes.

 

April, 2013               Shots Fired!

 

"They say you never hear the gunshot that kills you." . . . Sergeant Jeff Andrews was having that thought when the windshield of his patrol car erupted in an explosion of flying glass.

 

March, 2013            You Are Not Who They Think You Are

 

People keep asking me my age. Could it be my white hair and mustache? Maybe they think I used to be the oldest cop in the world. I usually answer with the words I heard long ago, "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

 

February, 2013         Cops Give Much More Than Boots   

 

I was somewhat surprised at the national attention given a New York City Police Officer who gave a pair of boots to a homeless man. This act resulted in three days of national headlines, as if it were an aberration. Yes, it was a kindly act, and yes, I always like to see my beloved police profession get favorable press. However, this benevolent act is multiplied a thousand times a day, every day, by most cops on the beat.

 

January, 2013          Brothers

 

How far they had come! An armed robbery in progress, a foot chase, and an attempted murder would have satisfied the average "blue suit." But to them, it was just another day at the office. How far they had come! Like an addict, they needed more action to satisfy their lust for adrenaline. They sought increased dosage to take them to the limit, which only yesterday required so little. This unquenchable thirst had the potential to consume them both.

 

November, 2012       Cold Case Murder

 

In October 1998, a young woman was reported missing to the Morro Bay Police Department. An out-of-the-area friend, who said she had been missing since 1995, reported her. The case was suspicious at the time and the Morro Bay Police conducted an investigation. Absent physical evidence and leads, the belated report was listed as a missing person and filed.

 

September, 2012      Police Pursuit

 

On August 3, 2012, about 8:30 pm, officers of the Morro Bay Police Department responded to a report of a fight with possible injuries in the 400 block of Kern Avenue. One of the suspects, a 27-year-old man who was wanted for investigation, fled the scene prior to the officer's arrival. A description of the suspect's dark gray Chevy Tahoe was broadcast. Moments later, a Morro Bay Officer located the vehicle and made a traffic stop. Moments after pulling to the curb the suspect accelerated away, northbound on Highway 41.

 

August, 2012           Information on Project Lifesaver

There is a vital resource for families with persons who are suffering from dementia. It is an attachment that can assist searchers in locating the missing person. The lead agency is the SLO Sheriff's Department, assisted with financing by the SLO Lions Club.

 

July, 2012                Drunk in Public

 

A recent arrest has resulted in some questions about the laws that govern peace officer authority at an on-sale liquor business (bar or tavern) and public intoxication. With that in mind I would like to clarify some applicable laws.

 

June, 2012               Morro Bay Homeless Update

 

I hope I am not boring or upsetting folks with my frequent thoughts on the homeless in Morro Bay. Don't blame me! Over a year ago I was assigned as the Morro Bay Police Homeless Liaison Officer. Up until then, I was aware of the homeless presence, but I never gave it much thought. It was always someone else's problem.

 

May, 2012                Active Shooter!

 

It is about 10:00 a.m. on a beautiful day in Morro Bay as one of three on-duty police officers quietly patrol Main Street. The peaceful atmosphere is suddenly shattered by the tense, but controlled voice of the police dispatcher —

 

   "Attention Morro Bay units, we are receiving numerous 9-1-1 calls reporting gunshots being fired at Morro Bay High School. Gunshots can be heard in the background as witnesses call in. Units respond Code-3!"

 

March, 2012             Because They Cared!

 

In Chino, California, six-year-old Jose Verduzco was diagnosed with stage-four brain cancer. He bravely endured daily chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Jose's love of playing baseball was replaced by four major brain surgeries. The tumor was removed, but it grew back within six days. After a two-month hospital stay, Jose was finally allowed to come home to his family, whose finances have been hit hard by Jose's health problems.

 

February, 2012         A Tribute to Police Officers Working the Graveyard Shift

 

I readily admit I never liked working the graveyard patrol shift. I always considered it a crime against nature. The other night I woke up at 3:00 am. I was warm and snuggled in bed under my soft, down quilt. Thunder, lighting, and heavy rain pounded my bedroom window. It was one of those downpours that windshield wipers cannot clear.

 

January, 2012          When Can a Private Citizen Carry a Gun?    

 

Firearms laws are complex. Penal Code section 12031 states that a person cannot carry a loaded firearm on his or her person or in a vehicle while in any public place or on any public street in an incorporated city (Morro Bay) or in any public place or on any public street in a prohibited area of unincorporated territory (county area).     

 

 

 

 

Back to Beyond the Badge 2014                        Go to Beyond the Badge 2011, 2010 and 2009