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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-08-07, Page 10Page 10 Times -Advocate, August 7, 1991 SPFCIAL PFATLJRF. A rainy night on the beat with Exeter's police By Adrian Harte, editor It was a dark and stormy night. The cold hard rain washed over the sidewalks, drenching the bums and the workers heading home just the same. The cop looked out the window while strapping on his gun. He wondered what was out there in that rain, waiting for him tonight. It would be a long shift, too long to spend on the streets.... But this is no time for a cheap detective novel. It is just another night of reality on the job for the Exeter Town Police. In fact, it is Friday night, the start of a holiday weekend and there will be two police cruisers on duty tonight, one with Constable Liam Brennan and auxiliary officer Scott Heywood, the other with Constable Will Chisholm at the wheel. The spare pas- senger seat has been reserved for the Times Advocate to get a first hand look at a typical night for the local police. Here's how it happened, as it happened throughout the 10 -hour shift from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. 8:00 p.m. Chisholm arrives at the police station to prepare for his shift. He picks up fresh batteries for his flashlight, gets his nightstick, and packs the ALERT machine into its case before getting into the grey cruis- er. Chisholm then begins his first tour of Exeter's rainy streets, a random pattern around the town to get a sense of what is going on where - all of which will be com- mitted to visual memory in case something later looks out of place. Chisholm has been doing patrols like this for the past six years and has become intimately familiar with all the nooks and crannies of Exeter that most people would pass by without a second thought. All the plac- es where people can hide, all the spots for potential vandalism or robbery. But the fact that a cruiser can roll past at any given moment, day or night, is enough to keep trouble at bay. "It's a deterrent in itself," says Chisholm of the patrol as he winds the car through the deserted storage yards behind the local industries. 8:45 p.m. The cruiser parks on Highway 83 where passing cars can be tracked with the radar gun. Its still raining, so most motorists aren't far off the 60 km/h speed limit, especially since the highway's rough sur- face under construction discourages higher speeds. Nevertheless, eight minutes later a car with three older women in it flies by at 89 km/h. They are pulled over, license and registration checked through Goderich dis- patch's computer system, and given a ticket. 9:13 p.m. A white car zooms by with the radar gun indicating a clear 92 km/h, but while pulling him over, Chisholm notices a group of bikers stopping for gas. Since they arc wearing their gang "colours" - usually a sign of trouble - he checks their licenses through dis- patch. All check out well, except one bike has the wrong license plate. They are on their way north, so dispatch calls ahead to alert other detachments. By this time the car's police radio is coming alive with inquiries from other officers on patrol in Gode- rich, Seaforth, and Clinton. The cruiser begins another tour of the town. 9:49 p.m. A man signals the cruiser and tells the of- ficer his car has broken down on Main Street. Will it be towed? he asks. Chisholm promises to keep an eye on it and make sure it isn't ticketed. 9:52 p.m. A pair of bikers are pulled over for a rou- tine check of license and registration. Everything checks out and they are sent on their way. The other town cruiser is called to MacLeans because their bur- glar alarm has gone off. 10:03 Chisholm awaits the other officers outside MacLeans as they check the building and confirm that it was just a false alarm. Meanwhile Chisholm reflects on the random nature of the patrol - turning off Main Street one way can mean a quiet drive, turn the other way and you may catch a drunk driver running a stop sign. 10:30 p.m, Both cruisers stop for a dinner break at the 3AAA Restaurant. 11:30 p.m. Back on patrol. It is raining again and the town is now very quiet indeed. Traffic has dwin- dled and a check of residential streets reveals there are no large parties to be found, despite the holiday week- end. The recreation centre is closed up and silent and the parking lots of the bars show this will be a night unlikely to produce trouble with rowdies or drunks. 11:50 p.m. A van mysteriously parked by the river is unoccupied, but a license check reveals it is not stolen and the owner is not wanted. Nevertheless, a look through the window at its contents, several items in- cluding portable stereos, arouses suspicion. 12:00 a.m. The cruiser returns to the back yards of local industries for another check. 12:05 a,m. A car_is__found nearly hidden between two trailers. A registration check finds it is not report- ed stolen, however, if the owner should awake in the morning to find it missing, the fact it was spotted the night before will be in the police computer. 12:33 a.m. A car with several youths on board is pulled over on Main Street for a check for open liquor. None is found, but the driver cannot produce a license. Dispatch confirms the driver is licensed, so Chisholm warns him he could be fined for driving without it. Back on patrol it becomes evident this is going to be a quiet night. The bars close without incident and the persistent rain has kept potential troublemakers off the streets. "You forget how quiet it can be sometimes," ob- serves Chisholril 1:30 a.m. The cruiser's seats are beginning to feel a little uncomfortable after just six -and -a -half hours on the job, leading to questions of why cruisers are little more than mildly re -worked family cars. Why do they not have more comfortable adjustable seats, holders for the flashlights, nightsticks, notepads and pens that the officer keeps beside him? And for that matter, why don't police cars have all -wheel drive? 1:38 a.m. The other police cruiser has made the first liquor charge of the evening after pulling over a car and finding the young women inside have open liquor. 1:44 a.m. Chisholm sets up a_ radar trap near. the bridge on Main Street. Twelve minutes Iater he pulls out to stop a car doing 73 km/h in the 50km zone. To write three speeding tickets on a Friday night is rare, explains the officer. ' Usually there are other more pressing things to invesfigate. 2:17 a.m. A car is spotted erratically driving up Main Street. The driver says he is lost on his way to Grand Bend, but admits to having been drinking earlier in the evening. To be sure, Chisholm asks him for an ALERT test. In the back of the cruiser, the driver blows into the machine and is rewarded with a green light. After be- ing given instructions to find Grand Bend, he is sent on his way. 2:30 a.m. Dispatch contacts the other cruiser and asks them to go to the hospital to assist with an incom- ing patient having seizures. Chisholm decides to go along. When the ambulance arrives the patient is brought in without much trouble, but he later throws several fits, requiring the three officers, and hospital and Zurich ambulance staff to hold him down. The doctor quickly begins to suspect this is not so much a medical problem as the effects of drugs. The family are contacted while attempts are made to calm the man down. Later, Chisholm explains that the police are often asked to assist at the hospital, and violent cases such as this one occur two or three times a summer. Overdo -- es, and attempted suicides are more routine occurren6 es. ,' '• "�` 3:23 a.m. Satisfied that the patient is now' and control the officers leave. Chisholm heads for a coffee; break and the other officers return to the station to complete reports before finishing their shift at 4 a.m. This is the first of five night shifts for Chisholm. The second is usually the worst, he explains, because of the struggle to adjust to a new pattern of work and sleep. 3:47 a.m. Chisholm returns to the station to catch up on some paperwork, mainly to document the ALERT test. However, it is only minutes before dispatch inter- rupts with a report of a domestic dispute. 3:52 a.m. A woman has called the police and says her estranged husband has broken into a car in the apartment building parking lot and made threats, dis- turbing neighbours. She has a restraining order. When the cruiser arrives the suspect has already left, but the woman is upset and worried he may return. Chisholm gives an escort home to another concerned party and then begins to see if the suspect is still driving around town, possibly intoxicated. 4:20 a.m. A Mustang zooms up Main Street, oblivi- ouS to -the cruiser pursuing fast behind. When he is pulled over, the driver admits to doing 85 km/h, but says he didn't see the sign for 50 km/h. He is let off with a warning, mainly because Chisholm is more con- cerned about the other suspect on the loose. Before checking at the suspect's home address, a stop at the OPP station confirms that the man fumed him - 1:44 a.m. Chisholm sets up his radar to monitor Main Street near the bridge. It isn't long before someone pushes the speed limit a little far. 3:47 a.m. After the call to the hospital changed the night's routine, Chisholm attempts to catch up on paperwork. But moments later he is called to a domestic dispute. 5:00 a.m. A patrol through the downtown mall confirms that all is safe and sound and no one is lurking in the shadows or the stairwells. In the rain - While a constant rain kept most people off Exeter's streets Friday night, the town police were still on the beat as a deterrent to criminals and to provide emergency service. self in to their officers and was es- corted home. His car was left in the detachment lot. Content he no longer poses a threat tonight, Chis- holm decides to wait and see if the complainants wish to press charges. 4:35 a.m. A tour of the schools, the recreation centre, storefronts, and alleys confirms that all appears to be well. 5:00 a.m. Leaving the car, a walk through the unlocked down- town mall confirms that all stores are secure and no one has passed out on the stairs, as has happened in the past. 5:13 a.m. After a tour of the north end industrial area, the cruis- er returns to the station for another attempt at tidying up the paper- work. "For a quiet night it turned out pretty interesting," said Chisholm. 5:30 a.m. A last tour is made of the town, making about 120 km added to the cruiser's odometer that night. The only vehicles on the roads now are trucks and the occa- sional delivery van. A stop in at the hospital confirms that the patient is sleeping sounclly and will be fine,. if a little sore, when he eventually comes to. 6:00 a.m. It's getting light and the 10 -hour shift is over. The only people on the streets now have al- ready been to bed and are com- pletely unaware of the night's events as seer from a police cruis- er. Yes, it hu been a quiet night -om the c dicer's point of view, but even so, it was likely far more eventful than most Exeter citizens would guess. And yes, at 6 a.m. it is still rain- ing. Abandoned car - Chisholm inspects a car left on an industrial lot in Exeter. , While it has not been reported stolen, the fact it was checked by police will make it easier to find in case it does turn out to be missing.