Ticket Blitz

The other day at work my partner had called in sick so I was in a patrol car. While driving around the boss came along side me and told me to pull over. He had told me that he wanted everyone to come in with a few "pinks" (cop talk for tickets) and that I should concentrate my efforts on being part of the team. As soon as he drove away I shook my head. This is what has really bothered me since becoming a police officer. Policing has gotten far away from what I thought was the ultimate goal which is helping people and turned into a mere numbers game. This is all because of Compstat which was developed in order to spot crime patterns in order to deploy your resources better and be a more effective police department. Bullshit!!! What they do instead is measure how many tickets were written during the same time period last year and demand that more be written so that the numbers will be down. I've been on the job for a little over 6 years and am way past the save the world mentality of a rookie. I believe that the true purpose of writing someone a ticket is to somehow try and change their behavior in order to prevent a future accident or correct an unsafe condition. Issuing 1 ticket for someone who blows a red light in the downtown area is more effective then writing 6 to a guy who rolls through a stop sign on a dead end street. Being that I was told to do something by my superior I decided I would only write one ticket that way I was still following his order but not going overboard. While driving one of my co-workers passed me going the opposite way and he was on his cell phone while driving. That is so unprofessional and perhaps my biggest pet peeve. He sees nothing wrong with pulling someone else over for talking on their phone but assumes its OK for him since he is a cop. Wrong again. When I was a rookie in the NYPD an old timer gave me some sound advice. He told me that while driving around in the patrol car you have 2 options. You could drive fast with no seat belt on and make turns without signalling and roll through red lights and disobey all traffic laws like a lot of cops or you could be the example of how to drive. I chose the latter and believe that it is the only option. Professionalism is my biggest attribute as a cop and I owe it all to the military. I always maintain my fitness, make sure that my cruiser is washed, uniform neat and pressed, shoes shined and have my hat on. As an officer your appearance dictates whether you seem to have your shit together or not. By doing these small things I believe that when I arrive on scene people see a professional and immediately have some respect. Now it is up to me to maintain their respect by how I talk to them and handle the situation. One time when I was younger I remember being in an accident and as the cop approached I noticed his car had bird shit all over it, he was extremely fat and his uniform was a wreck. My first thought was "Great, my first accident and they send this moron". I never want to be that guy. I don't mean to rant all day so I'll stop for now. Maybe I should start studying and become a boss.

Amazed by woman

Last night it seemed as if all the crazies were out in full force and my partner and I just happened to run into all of them. We were on our horses and a "normal" looking lady in her 40's approaches us and told us she had something important to tell us. Apparently yesterday morning while she was walking to her car she saw a black male jump off of the fire escape and then run away. Since she was in such a rush to go to work she didn't have time to report it to the police. Now, approximately 10 hours later she decides it is important enough to inform us about it since she is conveniently going away for the next few nights. The hell with everyone else but now it is affecting her and she wants some increased patrols in the area. Call me crazy if you want but if I saw someone jumping off the fire escape in the building in which I lived in I think I would call 911 right away. That's what is wrong with most people these days. As long as something doesn't interrupt their lives or affect their daily routine then it doesn't matter. About two hours later we were riding by the mall and a hysterical Hispanic woman approaches us and says that she was walking down the street and some strange white lady came up to her and pushed her into the wall for no apparent reason and threatened to hit her while she uttered "you people". We did what we could but weren't able to locate the attacker so we tried to console the woman as best we could. To cap the night off we were once again approached by a younger woman who said that there was a teenager who was extremely drunk in front of the mall. We took a ride over there and were given the pleasure of meeting Jeremy, an 18 year old white male who was an extremely gifted projectile vomiter. We called for an ambulance and he was taken to the hospital and then one of the patrol units had to attempt to investigate where he obtained the booze. After that we headed back to the barn and called it a night.

Burglary Detail

Last night was rainy so I fed my horse for the night and took out a car. I was assigned as a "burglary car" due to a string of burglaries which occurred in a specific area. My mission was to patrol the neighborhoods and surrounding areas and to stop and question any "suspicious vehicles or persons". As I drove through the area I tried to make a mental note of everything so that the next time I drove through I just might be able to notice something out of the ordinary. The only thing I noticed all night was the copious amounts of people walking their dogs in the neighborhoods. As I drove by some would wave while others would glance and nod their head. I got the feeling that they were happy to see a police officer patrolling their streets. It's a good feeling when the people you protect are happy to see you drive by as oppose to giving you an evil stare as you pass by. I did not observe anything suspicious but did have a few conversations with some of the passing residents in regards to some minor complaints in the area. Later that night while stopped at a red light I saw a lady on her cell phone making a left turn. She looked right at me and continued talking as she passed. I immediately made a u turn and decided it was hammer time! When I told her why I stopped her she said " Yeah I no but I didn't even see you, I have no idea where I'm going but I have to get home ". Its reassuring to know how aware people are of their surroundings while driving. So I gave her a ticket and then gave her directions to the highway and she said thanks and then went on her merry way. I love when I'm able to get someone to say thanks after giving them a ticket and feel as if they actually mean it and aren't being sarcastic. That is the ultimate compliment of professionalism!!

What the hell does a possum look like?

Today is my off day so it's time for a story from my past. Soon after leaving the NYPD and working upstate in the country I found myself becoming a different kind of cop. It was here in the country that I started to really become a community police officer and started to enjoy talking with the people in the town and really trying to help them. In such a rural town as Police we went on all types of calls that in NYC we would never respond to. At about 1 am I was sent to a local residence on a report of a possum inside of someones garage. As I was driving to the location I thought to myself "Do I even know what a Possum looks like and do they bite"? When I pulled up to the house I saw the all American family awaiting my arrival, the husband, wife, child and family dog. I exited the car and the man told me that there was a possum in the garage. I wondered why the hell he didn't get it out of there but why should he get hurt when the lonely old civil servant police officer can get bit instead. I told the family to stand back and I bravely entered the garage with no clue what the hell I was looking for or what I would do when I found it. I was armed with a long pole with a rope at the end which is suppose to be put around the animals head and tightened so you can drag him out. It would be my first time using this device. As I looked around the garage my heart was thumping as I looked under things and kicked things to make some noise. I heard something in the corner and walked towards it. I saw the ugly beast wedged against the underside of the stairwell. When I flashed my light on it it's little red eyes glowed like the devil. I made my first attempt with the pole and the possum lunged toward it and I jumped up on top of some box and hit my head on the ceiling! As I began to prod at it it seemed as if I only agitated the beast as it now was trying to bite the pole with what looked like razor sharp teeth which could slice through me like butter. I considered shooting the damn thing but it wasn't safe with my .40 caliber pistol at such close range. After about 15 minutes I was able to stun him with some mace and get the pole around his neck. I quickly tightened down the rope and dragged that god forsaken beast out of the garage. I could hear the family cheer as if I had just saved their life. They said thanks and I got back in my cruiser and left and cranked up the a/c to cool down. All in a days work I guess...

Trail Ride

Yesterday was a beautiful day to be a mounted officer. The weather was near perfect, sunny and in the low 80's with the slightest touch of humidity. We decided to take advantage of the day and go on a trail ride. Once a month part of our job is to ride the trails and the paths in the woods to check for homeless camps and any signs of kids partying in the woods. Without horses these things would probably never get checked because the average cop is lazy and would never get out of his air conditioned car and actually walk anywhere. It's nice to actually ride the horse in the woods in its "natural environment" as compared to the concrete jungle we normally patrol. We found a few spots of graffiti and had to make a report of it but other than that everything was a OK. After taking lunch we went back to the downtown area and were standing in front of the fountain when a few kids approached us and asked if they could touch the horse. As usual we said yes and they did. As the one kid was petting the horse he said" yo, this is dumb smooth". My partner and I looked at each other and shook our heads. The way these kids talk and abuse the English language is amazing. I could only imagine what today's classrooms must be like with this so called street language breaking through in everyday use. All I can say is if this is our future then we must step up our efforts to ensure that these kids are successful or our nation will pay the piper!

Another One Caught

Last night we were on our horses and were people watching in front of the bars. There were plenty of sights to be seen. It seemed everyone was out trying to have one last "summer weekend". As we began to walk around we heard a description come over the radio of 2 male hispanics who had attempted to rob some poor schlep. Immediately we saw someone who fit the situation and we chased him down. There is something about the look on someones face when they hear horses running after them that I'll never get tired of seeing. Seconds after we stopped him a patrol car showed up and took over and we returned to the most important part of our night, people watching. Since being on the horse I am 3-0 in pursuits and moving up the ranks slowly!! I'm looking forward to work tonight, it should be pretty busy and the weather is perfect for riding.

Failed Attempt

Tuesday night was pretty quiet and we were on the prowl for something to get involved in. We saw a group of young attractive girls being led down the block by some guy. They were all dolled up and obviously ready to party and nobody was going to stop them from having a good time until they met the bouncer. We watched from across the street as he turned the girls away and examined the guy's ID. After a few minutes the entire group began to walk away . This is when we decided to approach the guy and take a look at his ID. My partner led his horse on the sidewalk and cornered the unsuspecting guy against the storefront. Those young pretty girls kept on walking so we concentrated our efforts on this guy. We asked him for his ID and he gave us a CT Drivers License which obviously wasn't him. Maybe he could pass as the guy's stunt double but tonight there was no movie being filmed. We asked him when he graduated high school and he hesitated and said "2004 but I stayed back a year, you can call anyone in my phone and ask them". Now the last time I checked I was a police officer and not a employee of AT &T, did he really think I would start calling people from his phone? Anyway the guy seemed harmless so we kept his ID and told him to go on his way. Little did he know that it is a felony he just slipped away from but there is no sense of ruining this kids record just because he is trying to have a good time and have a few drinks. I myself in my younger days had a fake New Hampshire ID and I must say it worked in 3 different states and I was only rejected 2 times that I remember. So that was our excitement for the night and because the kid didn't give us a hard time and was respectful of the police everyone went home on time. So the next time you are stopped by the law treat us with some respect and you just might be surprised at the results!!

Can I Have your Autograph?

While parked on the corner bullshitting with my partner we suddenly observed a car blow through a red light. As we began to follow the car he blew through another light. We then pulled the vehicle over and we were both pretty amazed because of the balls on this guy. While my partner was talking to the driver I was snooping around the car and I saw a USA jacket in the back. The driver was being rude and disrespectful and seemed very agitated. He began to tell us we that we must have nothing better to do then pull him over while there are people out there selling drugs. Whenever someone says that I tell them to show me who is dealing the drugs and I will arrest them. That usually shuts them up. When we got back to our vehicle I looked at his license and was amazed at what I saw. It read Derrick Adkins. I thought to myself for a second and wondered if it was the same Derrick Adkins who won the gold medal in the 1996 Olympics in the 400 meter hurdles, the same man I looked up to when I was competing in the same event in college and in the military. After running his license it came back suspended! I told my partner who I thought he was and my partner said "I don't care if its the President it's time for some bologna and cheese". That's cop lingo which is a reference to what food is served to prisoners and it meant that he was gonna get locked up! So we locked him up, towed his vehicle and brought him back to HQ's. While he was in the cell I got on my soapbox and told him that as an Olympic gold medalist and as a person that young athletes look up to I was shocked by the way he treated the police and that I thought he should be ashamed of himself. He told me some down and out story and that he was sorry. I then slipped him my memo book and asked him if I could have his autograph and he looked at me like I was crazy as he signed the paper.

Hangin in the Mens Room

Well today the rain came and my partner and I had alot of busy work to do. Exciting stuff like cleaning out the drains in the temporary stalls at HQ's which I must say was the worst smell I have ever came across. It was like raw sewage. The kind of stench that once it hits your nose you almost spew chunks. After something really gross I find it is always best to eat, so we had lunch. It was during lunch when the subject came up that I wish to talk about. On Sunday I went to a co-workers wedding. What a party!! After many vodka & pineapples I suddenly thought I was Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever. You couldn't get me off the dance floor except for when it was time to use the men's room. It was there where I encountered someone that really annoys me, The Bathroom Attendant!! I really don't see the need for someone to hand me a towel after I urinate. Having a mother who was a waitress I tend to be a really good tipper but I'll be damned if I give some guy a tip while in the men's room. When I go to the bathroom I would like some peace and quiet and do not feel as if it warrants an audience. Call me whatever you want but that's how I feel. The rest of my workday was pretty much uneventful.

Diner Burgers

As we sat in front of the fountain my partner and I began to converse about a very important topic. We were deciding what we were going to eat for dinner tonight. Would it be tex-mex, spanish or a good ol' fashioned burger. We sat there weighing the pros and cons of each one when we were told to check on a fight about 1 block away from our location. We began to head in that direction when we saw a man on the sidewalk waving his arms frantically attempting to get our attention. As we looked in his direction he pointed up the block and we saw another man running away. Game on. I yelled to me horse and gave him a little kick with my spur and the chase began. Galloping up the road on the double yellow line while my partner was galloping up the sidewalk. For a minute there I began to feel as if we were in the Kentucky Derby, except our finish line would be who could catch the bad guy first. As it turns out my partner did but regardless I'm sure it was definitely a sight people won't forget. As a result I still remain undefeated in pursuits on horseback, I'm 2-0! If for some strange reason some lucky punk out runs the horse I'm pretty sure he won't outrun the police radio. After that job we headed back to the fountain and made the most important decision of the night; diner burgers all the way!!!

You must be the entertainment

Since nothing notable occurred last night at work I thought I would share a funny story from last winter. It was right smack in the middle of the holiday season, Christmas eve to be exact, and I was sent on a complaint of a loud party. I guess the person complaining must not have been in the Christmas spirit because who the hell complains about noise at 8:30 pm on Christmas eve. Anyway I figured it would be the usual noise complaint job, the kind that any idiot could handle: knock on door, tell people to keep the noise down and leave. What actually happened was probably the most embarrassed I ever was a cop so far. As I approached the door I could hear some music and the sounds of people having a great time. When the door opened some guy greeted me with a smile and said "I'm glad you are finally here". Before I could ask why he grabbed my arm and led me into the living room where he announced to the crowd of 15-20 drunk women that the stripper was here! The women let out a roar and then suddenly cranked up the music. Before this went any further I grabbed the man and told him that I was in fact a real police officer. He now had to tell those screaming women and when they heard the news they all began to laugh. My face was a red as an apple. As the man walked me to the door one of the women came running over and asked me if I wanted to stay anyway and make a few extra dollars. I kindly thanked her and then got the hell out of there and didn't look back. I told everyone I worked with the story and they all laughed, some said they would have handled it in a slightly more cinemax after dark way but all in all I left work that night feeling good about myself.

Nice Parking Job

Last night was a beautiful summer night to be riding the horse. I was in a good mood and was almost completely stress free so work went well. Near the end of the evening ( 12:30 am) my partner and I were sitting on our mounts in the grass and were bullshitting when we saw a female attempting to parallel park. As she backed up she totally hit into the car behind her. My first impression was that she was drunk. As she was finishing up her stellar parking job I decided it was time for a social experiment. I wanted to see what she did when she exited the car. Would she look and check to see if there was any damage to the other car? Of course not. Would she leave a note on the other car? Hell no. She got out of car and attempted to walk away as if nothing happened but she failed to see the 2 cops on horseback watching the whole thing. We confronted her and really began to grill her. She said she was a schoolteacher and she was sorry. So we told her we were sorry but we would be issuing her a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident. She tried to plead with us as we wrote down her and the other car's information. We then put a note on the other car telling them if they wanted to make an accident report to call the station. We then told the woman we weren't giving her a ticket and that she could leave. We were just bluffing her to make her sweat a little and realize that she did the wrong thing. When a ticket is given the hope is that it will cause the driver to change their driving habits but tonight I think our method worked better. What do you think?

Good day of shoveling shi.....

Well today was a good day of old fashioned shit shovlin'! It was just me at the barn today so I got to do all the chores myself. I actually enjoy cleaning the horses and their stalls. It's nice to do manual labor as it gives you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. I also feel as if it is almost like a therapy session for me. No bosses around telling me what to do, joe public isn't asking me all types of questions and I don't have to deal with any knuckleheads. It's just me and the four horses. Peace and quiet and the lovely smell of crap and urine. After grooming the horses and cleaning their stalls I still had time left so I decided to give all of them a much needed bath. Each horse reacts different to the water. Some don't like it near their face and others could care less what you do as long as it is quick so they can go into their stall and eat some more. At the end of the day I felt like I earned my day's pay. After a quick goodbye to the horses it was time to go home and start my weekend. After reading this you could say that this cop is full of ......well you finish the sentence!

It's because I'm Black

Today I responded to a call of a customer dispute at a photo store. Upon arrival I spoke with a 19 year old black female who began to tell me her story. She had walked into the store and brought 4 pieces of candy. When the cashier (a Chinese woman) was counting her change the black female thought she was taking to long and told her to hurry up. The girl got upset and called the police and then told me she wanted her money back. I then went into the store and spoke with the cashier who told me the same story but with another chapter. She said that the girl left the store and then came back in and demanded her money back. The girl then proceeded to throw the candy at the cashier and then exited the store. Another worker in the store ( a Hispanic male) verified the story. I then went back outside and told the young girl that she would not be getting her money back and that a report would be made but before I could finish she said "You aren't helping me because I'm black". Never mind the fact that she threw candy at the cashier, that was OK in her mind but the root of her problem according to her was that she was black. Can you fucking believe that! The people involved were a black girl, a Chinese woman and a Hispanic male and she has the nerve to say that it's because she is black. In my job I deal with this all the time. I had nothing to do with slavery and have no idea why I continue to be blamed for everything. Instead of blaming other people why doesn't she accept the fact that she was wrong and shouldn't have acted like an idiot. But I guess it's easier to blame others and not accept your wrongdoings. This is the America I see everyday. A country where the race or gender card is blamed when people don't get what they want and when they do get things other people say its because of their race and not their own merit. I don't know what the solution is but I will continue to treat everyone with respect and maybe I will receive the same in return.

Boring Day

Well with my partner on vacation it was going to be a week the horse and riding in a patrol car again. I was looking forward to it. My day began great. I went for a 5 mile run before work and felt great. The workout made me arrive at work in a good mood. Ready and anticipating a fulfilling day of police work. Well it turns out that the only thing fulfilling would be my workout and the thought of seeing my girlfriend at home after work. The day was extremely slow and nothing seemed to be going on except for barking dog complaints. I'd be barking too if I was outside in this humidity. At least I was in a car with A/C all day I kept telling myself as I repeatedly looked at my watch. Day 1 came and went with nothing exciting. Sorry to let you down but there is always tomorrow.

Drunk in the Park

It was a hazy, hot and humid August night and as usual we knew we would be sweating our asses off on the horse. But we marched on and prepared for the nights work. I decided to wet my horse down to cool him off before the nights work. We then waited about 1 hour for the sun to go down and then headed uptown. Once we got uptown we headed for our usual destinations, the park and the city center. In the park we noticed that there was one of the regulars drunk off his ass lying down. We approached him and told him he had to leave the park immediately or we would help him leave. He chose option 1 and his other homeless buddy helped him to wherever they would call home for the night. My partner had an interesting idea; he said we should call a bus (ambulance in cop lingo) and have him taken to the hospital but the catch was that we should take his backpack and voucher it at headquarters as his punishment. I thought it was funny. These homeless guys are a royal pain in the ass. Most of them are friendly towards us but it seems as if they all are emotionally disturbed. We keep close tabs on them because when you have nothing to lose you are capable of anything. Until a better solution arises we continue to solve the problem with the "it's time to go, we don't care where you go but you can't stay here mentality". Well by now we were very hot but a quick visit from an employee of one of the restaurants would change that. She came out and brought us each a cold bottle of water. Every night they give us some water. It's greatly appreciated and we enjoy bullshitting with our "fan club" as we call them. There are lots of loyal fans in the "Horse Nation" a term I like to use as a homage to the great rock band Kiss and their followers the Kiss Nation. Well after 11:30 pm we headed to the bar scene where we would spend the remaining 1 1/2 hours checking out the sights and laughing at all the drunks.

New Hours

Before going to work I enjoyed a kick ass workout. I ran 6 miles and did 50 pull ups, 150 push ups and 50 dips. Was really running hard. Then tonight was the start of our newly assigned hours from 6 pm to 2 am one week and 10 am to 6 pm the next. Doesn't sound so bad except that it is being done as a type of punishment because our unit refuses to work for free. Could you imagine that, not wanting to work for free.....we must be real rebels or something. Anyway we started tonight off with a smile because you should never let the management know that something they told you has upset you. The best thing to do is smile and shove it right back up their ass!!!! As we left the barn we weren't sure how long or how far we would make it because both horses had loose horseshoes. Once we got uptown there really wasn't much happening on a Tuesday night. Got to have a few interesting conversations but that was about it. About 2 hours before the end of our tour my horse lost his front shoe. A minor inconvenience. My partner had to go get the trailer and we loaded them in and brought them back to their safety zone, the stables. A very slow night but at least the horses got to have one of their favorite treats, sour patch kids!!! A fellow cop brought some in for them and boy were they happy! Anyway maybe tomorrow will be more interesting. Just a little recommendation : go and see I know pronounce you chuck & larry, it was hilarious!!!

What the f..k

Well it was an exciting night. Started off like a routine day on the road but then over the radio came the call of 2 suspects wanted in a homicide driving a burgundy pickup being chased by approximately 10 police cars from other agencies.......... and they were heading for our city! One minute you are looking at your watch to see how much time is left in your tour and then in a split second every hair on your neck stands up and the adrenaline starts flowing. Time to get off the bench and get your ass in the game. As we prepared to take up positions along the highway and help in the pursuit suddenly shots fired from the perps car at the cops. Now its definitely on. The perps then decided to make a u turn and get back on the highway. Many of our units were getting in the pursuit as well when all of a sudden we hear over our radio that the boss does not want any of our units to leave the city. Did I hear that right....what the fuck was he saying. Two scumbags are suspects in a homicide and are SHOOTING AT THE POLICE and he says do not leave the city. Whatever happened to brothers in blue? If I was being shot at and was driving through another town or city I would want every damn cop out there helping out. It doesn't reflect well on our agency in my opinion but I guess that's why I'm not a boss yet. Maybe it was the right decision but every cop I was working with that night didn't think so. Ten minutes later I was looking at my watch again to see how much longer was left. It happens that quick and you are never really expecting it but when it goes down you pray that you will do the right thing. Till the next time....

Court Time

Well today I had to go into work early because I had a felony DWI hearing. I was not looking forward to going because I dread..... no I should say I hate testifying! As I showed up and checked in I was informed by the ADA that I was the second case on the docket and that I should sit and wait. This entailed me reading 3 month old magazines about all the little drunk celebrities. Well before I could finish these literary masterpieces it was my time for the hearing. I felt confident in my testimony but was nervous when it was the defense attorney's turn to try and rip me apart. Try she did but how unsuccessful she was. Every futile attempt was met with an instantaneous response from me which only seemed to enhance my case. In the end that poor schlep would have been better representing himself. The judge said there was enough evidence and that the case will go the grand jury so that means more overtime!!! This high school graduate kicked the law school graduates ass!!!! Don't mess with a high school education and military training!!! Anyway once my scheduled tour began I was in a good mood and overall the night went well.

Gun Run

It was a crisp clear spring day in the Bronx. I was on patrol with my partner and both of us were fresh out of the academy. We were rookies and had the "save the world attitude". We actually still thought we could make a difference. Suddenly on the radio we heard "respond on a report of 3 Hispanic teens with a gun". Our conversation stopped as we responded, lights and sirens going and my partner driving like he suddenly was a Nascar driver on the last lap of the Indy 500. As we were pulling up I saw 3 Hispanic teens and one of them had a gun pointed towards the ground. We jumped out of the car guns drawn and I yelled "Put the gun on the ground and everyone get down". The one with the gun was trying to say something but I interrupted him and told him to put the gun down again and put his hands up. This time he listened. When the situation was over and I picked up the gun it turned out to be a cigarette lighter. The lighter was about as big as a 22 cal handgun and was black, very realistic. I almost shit my pants. If we would have arrived on scene and this poor schmuck with the lighter gun had turned towards us with the gun pointed at us we would have lit him up. Dead in the middle of the business district on our busiest street in broad daylight. The headlines in the paper would have read "2 White Cops Shoot Hispanic Teen holding Cigarette Lighter" and Al Sharpton would be marching in front of the precinct. We would have been justified if we had shot but we would have to live with that decision. This call proved to me what they had said in the academy. When cops are out on the street we only have a split second to make a decision which could end up completely changing our lives forever. When I go to work I have no idea what's in store over the course of my 8 hour tour. So the next time you see a cop reading the paper or in Dunkin Donuts or doing what you conceive to be nothing cut them some slack and think about this story. You have no idea what he just did or saw.

Narcotics Anonymous

While getting ready for patrol on last night I noticed my horse had a loose horseshoe so that would mean that I would have to ride a different horse. Wasn't really looking forward to it but what can you do shit happens. As soon as we get in the downtown area this nice looking girl comes over to us and tells us she is from out of town and is looking for a narcotics anonymous meeting and wanted to know if we knew where there was one. My partner looked stunned and didn't know what to say because it's not a common answer found in his "Rolodex" of everyday questions. For some strange reason I felt compelled to find an answer for her because she was very persistent. I pictured her in a few hours unable to find a meeting and then getting all cracked up somewhere so I searched high and low and came up with a phone number for her to call........what a relief. Later on that night a car drove by us while we were on our mounts on the side of the road and the driver gave us the bird as he drove by. My partner saw this and started to chase after the car which as fate would have it was stopped at a red light. A few seconds later I followed. After stopping a car you either write a ticket or say your two sense, you should never do both. My partner chose the latter and ripped him a new ass....professionally! He then gave him back his paperwork and told him to go on his way. Never intended on giving him a ticket but you have to stop people. You can't let them get away with things or the next cop they encounter they may try to get away with a little more. Sometimes people assume because we are on horse that we won't do anything but it's great to see the look on their face when we do!!

Friday Night

Well Friday night came and went. Very nice night weather wise probably low 70's and a cool breeze, almost perfect for being on the horse. As the night started out and we were heading uptown I was not in the best of moods, had lots on my mind but a run in with one of the regular homeless guys would change that. My partner and I were sitting on the horse on the side of the road when this homeless guy affectionately called 8.2 by the local kids comes over to us. ( This guy is a royal pain because he hangs out with all the teenagers and buys them smokes and beer but we haven't caught him in the act yet) 8.2 comes over drunk as usual and begins to ask us "is that horse a girl, I saw you guys in the paper." As he attempts to pet my horse I sternly told him don't touch my horse. He attempted to continue his story when I then turned and said "How many times are you going to tell us the same fucking story? Keep walking." He did and my partner turned to me and said I can't believe you just said that to him. That type of response is uncommon for me but hey I'm human and was having a bad day. That little incident broke the tension I had and the rest of the night went well. Another guy in his 30's walks over to us and says "I was just walking by the fountain and the wind was blowing and I got a little wet, is the city going to do something about it?" Can you believe that complaint? My partner told him to walk on the other side of the street if it bothers him that much. With everything going on in the world this is what is bothering this idiot. That's the thing in this job, you hear the strangest things and run into the weirdest people. After that it was the usual job of babysitting the hundreds of teens in the park and in front of the theatre as usual. Big crowds courtesy of Harry Potter. Well Saturday night looks like it will be a nice one also.

Slow Night

Tonight the weather was supposed to be bad so it would mean no horseback. Instead we had the very honorable responsibility of driving around in the pick up truck with the barracades in case of storm related emergencies. But of course once again the great weathermen were wrong and the rain didn't come so we just drove around all night and bullshitted with other cops. Nothing exciting in the city tonight. But stay tuned......you never what tomorrow brings.