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  • #46
    Originally posted by Sparko View Post

    Me too. I was digging through my basement about a week ago and found my old nunchucks! I still remember how to use them without giving myself a concussion.
    I stopped when I was still in my 20s and wish I continued.

    If you have Netflix, look up a movie called Paper Tigers. It's about three guys who used to study martial arts and then moved on with their lives, until their old Sensei is killed and they have to get back together to avenge him. Kind of action comedy.
    When I was with the gas compression company, I would do training for women in self-defense at all of our field locations.

    MOSTLY it was about situational awareness, and education, but some of it was physical -- and a lot of that was basic judo type stuff.

    The difference, however, was the instruction to "FIGHT DIRTY" --- if somebody grabs you and gets you into a vehicle, you have less than a 2% chance of living through the day.
    (that was from FBI statistics back then, not sure if that's accurate today)

    One of the women saw me in a grocery store, and smiled and said "hard places to soft places". She said that was the biggest thing she remembered - knees, elbows, fists, forehead to tops of feet, groin, eyes, throat... she said I will never forget "you are in the fight of your life".

    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

    Comment


    • #47
      Lie Detectors...

      I have never taken a polygraph test - never will.

      I have never implemented a polygraph test - never will.

      There have been many times, however, both as a cop, a father, a pastor --- that I have used my own "built in" lie detector.

      It's really pretty simple? How do you know when somebody is lying?

      A BETTER question is "how do you know when somebody is telling the truth".

      Here's how that works. Everybody tells the truth the same way.
      In a conversation with somebody, there will be things that they say that you can absolutely know (or rightfully assume) are true.

      "I work at McDonald's" - you saw them there and know that's the truth.
      "It was raining when I got out of my car to come in here" - you glance at the window, it's raining.
      "I was late because I got a speeding ticket" - they have the ticket in their hand.
      "I just had a cigarette" - you smell it on their breath, clothes...
      "This interview is making me nervous" - you see them sweating and uncomfortable.

      A lot of it is just engaging in small talk, asking questions or prompting conversations about things you will know are going to be true or untrue.

      You watch facial expression, body language, what they're doing with their eyes (looking eye to eye at you, glancing away, eyes down, etc) - because everybody tells the truth the same way.

      In a polygraph, that's called "establishing the baseline".

      When you begin to ask questions that they don't want to answer truthfully, that looks different than the way they tell the truth.
      OFTEN, they look up and to the left when they're trying to come up with a story.
      Often, they'll add more detail than is necessary if they were simply telling the truth.
      Often, they'll try to look eye to eye to make you think they're being open and honest, but their eyes will dart away little bits at a time.

      But I remember the first time I heard "everybody tells the truth the same way". It really does seem to work in establishing when somebody is lying.
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

      Comment


      • #48
        And the problem of cops testifying against cops...

        Wee hours of the morning, I saw a man lying in the snow (it rarely snows in Texas, but it does on occasion) shivering, and I got out to check on him.

        He seemed to be in trouble, so I radioed for "the Squad" (the Fire Department's Ambulance) to come to the scene.

        As I'm radioing to the station, my OIC (Officer in Charge of the Shift) shows up, and tells me the guy is just an alcoholic, cancel the squad, and take him to jail for detox.

        I had just been to breathalyzer training, and one of the cases they gave us was people in insulin shock that appeared to be drunk, and one way to tell was that the person had "fruity breath". I insisted to my OIC that this guy appeared more to be in insulin shock, than in alcoholic condition. OIC got rather angry, and demanded that I cancel the squad. I hesitated, so he did - got on the radio, and cancelled the ambulance.

        As they are picking the guy up to put him in my patrol car, the city doctor stopped by - he had been at the hospital, and was on his way home. He asked if he could help, and the OIC said, "no, just a drunk, we got this". The city doctor suggested that he be allowed to check the man, and the OIC could hardly refuse, so the doctor did a quick evaluation, and immediately announced "this man is in insulin shock, and is near death!" The doctor ran to his car, got his bag, and did whatever he needed to do, while asking "is an ambulance responding?" The OIC gave me a dirty look, and yelled, "Yeah, doc, ambulance is responding", then turned and made the radio call to dispatch the squad.

        Long story short, the man nearly died, ONLY saved because the city doctor happened to stop by, and the police who were on the scene managed to talk the dispatcher AND the firemen who ran the squad to doctor their radio logs to show that the squad was never cancelled, and was slow responding due to icy road conditions.

        The pressure was on me to doctor my individual shift report to match theirs, but it wouldn't be consistent with the 911 radio recordings. They told me that was taken care of, and I just needed to change my report. At that time, I was already considering leaving law enforcement (as far as line officer, anyway) and had gotten tired of similar incidences where "blue backs blue" unconditionally. I stuck to my story, and they sneered, "we'll just bury your report, and ours will be the official record".

        The man had a very difficult recovery (had other health issues as well) and apparently some permanent liver or kidney damage (don't remember all the details this many years later). The family sued, and managed to find a civilian witness at the scene (the proprietor of the business where this guy passed out) who, in deposition, testified that "one of the officers had immediately called for an ambulance, and other officers cancelled that request". The business owner (a bar) had seen the guy lying in the snow, and was about to call the police, but was concerned this guy had come out of his bar, and he (the bar owner) might be sued. So he had come out to see for himself what was going on.

        In the meantime, I had left the department for other work (I had a wife and a small child now, and police work is not a job for a young Christian family, sadly).

        I never got called for deposition, though the department had my updated contact info, and was never called to testify in the civil trial that ensued. From what I understand, the city settled the suit for an undisclosed sum of money citing "errors in communication".

        Had I stayed on the Department, my choices would have been to lie in court, or testify against fellow officers.
        The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

        Comment


        • #49
          Occasionally you have a funny.

          Got called to a house about 10 PM where a lady said a burglar had tried crawling in the doggie-door in her back door.
          She found a porkchop on the kitchen floor, and the doggie was chomping down on the porkchop, but the burglar couldn't quite get his behind through the opening.

          His body was halfway through the opening, and she started beating him with a broom while calling her husband from the living room where he had been watching TV.

          Apparently, we got there pretty quickly, because she claimed the burglar had freed himself and went running to the back of the lot.
          There was somewhat of an "overlook" made of railroad ties that made a boundary for the small stream that flowed past the back of their property.

          One of the things you do at night like that, when you get to the dark, is just stand there for a moment and let your eyes get used to the dark.
          And listen.
          We couldn't hear anything except the gentle sound of the stream, but were watching for any kind of movement, and just enjoying the night air, and listening.

          My partner and I were just quietly taking it all in, when we heard a male voice say, with a decidedly British accent, "excuse me, gentlemen, can I have a word?"
          We looked at each other, then looked around, nobody in sight.

          A second time, "Sir, excuse me please, but you happen to be standing on my fingers".
          We looked down at our feet, and sure enough, my partner was standing on the guy's fingers, as he was huddled down in the weeds at the base of the railroad tie boundary.
          My partner apologized, the man gave himself up, and thanked my partner profusely for not crushing his hand.

          Most POLITE burglar we had ever encountered.
          The only time he complained was during fingerprinting, when he asked, "Do try to be careful with that left hand, please, a rather large constable was just standing on it, and it's quite sore".
          My partner apologized, and promised to be extra gentle.

          Booking was a breeze, and he admitted he could not make bail, so he offered to stay in our facilities til morning.
          "However", he said, "would you mind leaving the hallway light on, as I'm a bit fearful of the dark".

          My partner couldn't resist, and responded in his Tom Bodette voice --- "You'll be in Cell Number 6, and we'll leave the light on for ya".

          All the rest of that night into the morning, we are all very polite to one another with our own attempts at British accents.
          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

          Comment


          • #50
            Another story on Sgt. Joe - the great big Hungarian cop who thought he was the only cop who knew police work.

            About 11 PM, got a call that there was an attempted robbery at the local bowling ally. Call goes out to "all 700 cars", but only my car -711- and Sgt's Joe's car -721- were in the area, and other cars were tied up with a fatal accident at the far other end of town.

            Across the parking lot from the bowling ally is the back side of a shopping center, one of those long blocks of multiple stores.
            There's a "breezeway" from the front of the shopping center to the back, about halfway down the row of shops.
            When I pulled into the parking lot of the bowling ally, the manager met me outside, pointed to the back of the shopping center, and yelled "that's HIM, THERE!!!!"

            I saw a guy in a blue jean jacket, black pants, and white tennis shoes running, so I gunned it and gave chase, him on foot, me in my patrol vehicle.
            As I am almost caught up to him, he runs through the breezeway, and I know it will take me at least 2 minutes to drive all the way around to the front, so I call for Sgt. Joe's unit, and he answers "I'm in front of the shopping center".'

            My first thought is that Sgt. Joe is NEVER going to be able to catch this guy on foot, as I don't believe I have EVER seen that big man run!
            So I'll probably spend half the night chasing this guy down on foot.

            I warn Sgt. Joe that the kid is running through the breezeway, and will be emerging out the front any minute.
            Sgt. Joe responds, "10-4, got him in my car!"

            I was stunned - how in the world could THAT happen.

            I zip around the front of the shopping center, and there is Sgt. Joe sitting in his patrol unit, the kid in the back seat.
            I asked, "how'd you catch him?"

            Sgt. Joe said, "well, I pulled up to the front of the breezeway, saw the kid running toward me all breathless, so I opened the back door of the cruiser and yelled, "Hurry up, GET IN!" So the kid took a flying leap into the back seat, and I shut the door.



            The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

            Comment


            • #51
              Cujo on the Loose. (Cujo was not the dog's real name, but it works!)

              Yeah, that's how he was described - a big vicious attack dog like Stephen King's CUJO!

              Several neighbors along the creek had claimed they had seen him, and at night, they said you could hear him howl.

              The park along the creek was one of the places Cujo was reported to have been seen, so one night, things otherwise pretty quiet, I decided to drive down to the park and see if I could find Cujo.

              I parked my patrol vehicle up on the gravel parking lot overlooking the creek, "went dark" (turned off all exterior and interior lights) and turned my radio down so I could barely hear it.

              I figured I'd let the patrol vehicle's engine cool down a bit, and in the frosty night air, sound travels far, and I'd just sit and wait. I had a "starlight" night vision scope (very primitive back then) that I would use to scan the creek, figure he'd go down there for a drink of water.

              I rolled my windows down to listen to the night sounds, and took my .357 Ruger Security Six out of its holster, and laid it in my lap, ready for anything.

              It seemed like forever, just sitting there listening, looking, spotting a racoon or two through the scope, ready for anything, but, quite honestly, thinking I was feeling pretty tired just sitting there.

              ALL OF A SUDDEN, CUJO Appears in my window, snarling and growling and trying to eat me, trying to climb into the patrol vehicle with me, slobber flying everywhere, and I could feel his hot breath on my face. Fortunately, I was quick on the draw, grabbed my .357 magnum from my lap, and shot him 6 times in the head (later discovered 4 shots hit him) and he fell quiet on the ground outside my door.

              Oh yeah, my heart was pounding in my ears, I was breathing hard, trying to do that thing where you "combat breathe" -
              • Breathe in through your nose for a count of four;
              • Hold your breath for a count of four;
              • Exhale through your mouth for a count of four;
              • Hold your breath at the bottom of the exhale for a count of four;
              And I was calming myself down - looked out the window to make sure Cujo wasn't going to attack me again, then called dispatch on the radio --- 711 - dispatch.
              Nobody answered.
              Called a couple more times, nobody answered.
              I remembered I had turned my radio way down, so I turned it back up to its normal position.
              "711 - dispatch" -- still, nobody answered.
              (they were, indeed, answering, but I couldn't hear)

              Another patrol vehicle pulled up behind me, and a fellow officer came running up, then stopped suddenly when he saw Cujo, stepped around his body, and asked if I was OK.
              I could see the officer's mouth moving, but all I could hear was this high pitched ring.
              I hadn't had time to put in ear plugs, and discharging a .357 magnum SIX TIMES directly in front of your face and ears has a remarkable affect on one's hearing.

              Cujo weight 195 lbs, and at that time, was bigger than me!

              I discovered it takes about 3 days for the "ringing" and "deafness" to go away completely. (Though my wife disputes "completely")


              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

              Comment


              • #52
                Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                Cujo on the Loose. (Cujo was not the dog's real name, but it works!)

                Yeah, that's how he was described - a big vicious attack dog like Stephen King's CUJO!

                Several neighbors along the creek had claimed they had seen him, and at night, they said you could hear him howl.

                The park along the creek was one of the places Cujo was reported to have been seen, so one night, things otherwise pretty quiet, I decided to drive down to the park and see if I could find Cujo.

                I parked my patrol vehicle up on the gravel parking lot overlooking the creek, "went dark" (turned off all exterior and interior lights) and turned my radio down so I could barely hear it.

                I figured I'd let the patrol vehicle's engine cool down a bit, and in the frosty night air, sound travels far, and I'd just sit and wait. I had a "starlight" night vision scope (very primitive back then) that I would use to scan the creek, figure he'd go down there for a drink of water.

                I rolled my windows down to listen to the night sounds, and took my .357 Ruger Security Six out of its holster, and laid it in my lap, ready for anything.

                It seemed like forever, just sitting there listening, looking, spotting a racoon or two through the scope, ready for anything, but, quite honestly, thinking I was feeling pretty tired just sitting there.

                ALL OF A SUDDEN, CUJO Appears in my window, snarling and growling and trying to eat me, trying to climb into the patrol vehicle with me, slobber flying everywhere, and I could feel his hot breath on my face. Fortunately, I was quick on the draw, grabbed my .357 magnum from my lap, and shot him 6 times in the head (later discovered 4 shots hit him) and he fell quiet on the ground outside my door.

                Oh yeah, my heart was pounding in my ears, I was breathing hard, trying to do that thing where you "combat breathe" -
                • Breathe in through your nose for a count of four;
                • Hold your breath for a count of four;
                • Exhale through your mouth for a count of four;
                • Hold your breath at the bottom of the exhale for a count of four;
                And I was calming myself down - looked out the window to make sure Cujo wasn't going to attack me again, then called dispatch on the radio --- 711 - dispatch.
                Nobody answered.
                Called a couple more times, nobody answered.
                I remembered I had turned my radio way down, so I turned it back up to its normal position.
                "711 - dispatch" -- still, nobody answered.
                (they were, indeed, answering, but I couldn't hear)

                Another patrol vehicle pulled up behind me, and a fellow officer came running up, then stopped suddenly when he saw Cujo, stepped around his body, and asked if I was OK.
                I could see the officer's mouth moving, but all I could hear was this high pitched ring.
                I hadn't had time to put in ear plugs, and discharging a .357 magnum SIX TIMES directly in front of your face and ears has a remarkable affect on one's hearing.

                Cujo weight 195 lbs, and at that time, was bigger than me!

                I discovered it takes about 3 days for the "ringing" and "deafness" to go away completely. (Though my wife disputes "completely")

                Especially since you fired the shots from inside the car where it reverberates.

                Did the dog have rabies or other disorder that could account for his behavior?

                And it's been years since Wambaugh's Blue Knight and Police Story. Time for a new book along those lines?

                I'm always still in trouble again

                "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                Comment


                • #53
                  Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
                  Especially since you fired the shots from inside the car where it reverberates.

                  Did the dog have rabies or other disorder that could account for his behavior?

                  And it's been years since Wambaugh's Blue Knight and Police Story. Time for a new book along those lines?
                  Yes, the dog had rabies, and was frothing about the mouth.

                  Funny - in the Stephen King's movie, they used a St. Bernard. (Actually 4, plus a man in a dog suit, plus a mechanical dog)
                  A) It's really hard to get a St. Bernard to attack viciously - they're dumb fat and happy. (in a really smart way)
                  2) You can't stop their tails from wagging (except by tying them down with fishing line, like they did in the movie)
                  C) the "frothing at the mouth" was a mix of egg whites and sugar, which Cujo LOVED and kept licking his chops.

                  And, yes, firing shots inside an automobile or enclosure of any kind is highly NOT recommended.

                  The guys had been trying to get me to switch from the .357 Magnum to a higher capacity 9 mil - and told me I wouldn't have been "as deaf".
                  The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    As for the book title... The Blue Poke?







                    Naaaaaaaaaaah.

                    I'm always still in trouble again

                    "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                    "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                    "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
                      As for the book title... The Blue Poke?







                      Naaaaaaaaaaah.
                      It's coming.
                      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Slowest Police Pursuit Ever

                        Just after 2 AM was always interesting, because that's when most bars closed and bar owners sent customers home.

                        I was actually a block from one of our most problematic bars, waiting for the mass exodus, to see if anybody was particularly worse than others at navigating home.

                        My partner calls, "708 to 711 - I'm in pursuit, Eastbound, FM 2521, about 4 mph..."
                        I check back "708, you said 4 mph, as in zero four?"
                        He replied "affirmative - D9 caterpillar, already ran over 3 cars and a half dozen mailboxes - probable intox".

                        d9.jpg

                        Having received his location, I vectored to a place where I could head off the pursuit, then thought, "Do I REALLY want to be in the path of a D9 Caterpillar?
                        I saw the headlamps of the D9 approaching, with flashing police lights behind it, and parked my patrol vehicle well off the road.

                        I stood on the shoulder of the road as the D9 approached, and above the roar of the engine, I could hear what I thought where Irish Sea Chants.

                        I ordered the operator to stop, but he was having a grand time singing and smashing cars.

                        Not knowing what else to do, and not having covered this in basic police school, I ran around to the back of the huge set of "tracks" on the right side of the vehicle, grabbed on, and allowed them to pull me up into the air, where I could step off onto the operating platform and talk to the operator. He seemed quite happy to see me, and offered to let me drive, because "I've never had so much fun in my life".

                        Amazingly enough, he was functional enough (though clearly drunk) to give me some quick pointers on steering and stopping the thing, as I told him my buddy wanted to join us for some more fun. (Seemed best just to humor the old guy) We pulled off the road, shut the engine down, my buddy climbed up the hard way, and we talked the guy into getting down to look at his accomplishments. We escorted him to my patrol vehicle, and invited him inside for a ride in a patrol car, to which he said, "Ah, yes, done this many a time".

                        Turns out the guy was a rich old codger, just out having some fun, and happily paid for all of the damage he had done, including buying new cars for those he had run over. Fortunately, he had only run over parked cars - nobody injured.

                        Since I had the subject in my patrol car, and needed to get him back to the station, I told my partner "you call a tow truck to impound the vehicle".
                        The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

                          It's coming.
                          I’ve been waiting for my copy!


                          Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Originally posted by mossrose View Post

                            I’ve been waiting for my copy!
                            You'll get a signed copy.

                            There's a snag - it was going to be about my service in SE Asia in addition to "Police Stories", but there's still a legal snag concerning stories about a place I officially never served, and some veterans issues that I THOUGHT were being worked out.

                            It's looking more and more like I'm going to have to split the work, as I can't get clearance yet to talk about SE Asia.
                            The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

                              You'll get a signed copy.

                              There's a snag - it was going to be about my service in SE Asia in addition to "Police Stories", but there's still a legal snag concerning stories about a place I officially never served, and some veterans issues that I THOUGHT were being worked out.

                              It's looking more and more like I'm going to have to split the work, as I can't get clearance yet to talk about SE Asia.


                              Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Originally posted by mossrose View Post

                                I'd like one inscribed "To me[1] big younger twin brudder from anudder mudder"






                                1. knowing how much of a grammar nazi you are "my" is an acceptable alternative.

                                I'm always still in trouble again

                                "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                                "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                                "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                                Comment

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