A night with the campus police

The tires on Officer Greg Williams’ patrol car screamed as they struggled to gain traction on wet Jefferson Sreet asphalt. A light rain earlier in the evening was just enough to make the streets slick and the night air muggy.
“We’ll pull this car right here,” Williams said. “He’s driving with his bright lights on.”
A U-turn and rapid acceleration put the Ford Police Interceptor about five vehicles behind the offending Volvo. Police Interceptors have stronger engines, transmissions and brakes than their Crown Victoria counterparts. That’s good to know as a passenger. Especially about the brakes.
Williams weaved through traffic to close the gap between his car and the Volvo.
“Is that the car? … yeah, that’s it,” Williams said, answering his own question.
So on came the blue lights as a traffic stop was initiated; it would be the first of many peel-outs, chases, license checks  and “Sir are you aware that it is against the law to_____?” made by the GCSU Police that Thursday night.
After a patrol of the campus and downtown areas proved uneventful, the officers on duty met at the Irwin Street Parking Lot to plan a license check. They decided on the intersection of Irwin and McIntosh streets and set up their operation.  Several  officers were stationed in the intersection to check licenses, while others stood ready to assist or chase down vehicles that fled. Police cruisers were pointed in each direction, engines running.
It didn’t take long before there were more squealing tires.
Most people who want to avoid a license check don’t run through it; they try to inconspicuously turn off or do a U-turn to avoid it. Drivers will even pull into random driveways in order to minimize suspicion. That’s where the chase cars come in.  Excuses vary from “I’m sorry officer, I’m lost,” to “Oh, I turned around because I thought it was a wreck.”
An SUV rolled up to Officer Tammy Pissott. After a look at the driver, Pissott  walked over to her patrol car to get the Alcosensor.
“Do you smell it?” Officer Justin Gaines asked as she walked back to the vehicle.
“That’s _______,” Pissott said, apparently aware of the driver’s legal history.
“Oh,” Gaines said.
A quick test on the Alcosensor  concluded that, while the individual was not over the legal  blood alcohol level to operate a vehicle, there was alcohol present in his system. He was under 21, so he should have  “blown zeros.”
“…It’s that alcohol, man. It seems to be a problem for you…” Officer Gaines said as he escorted the handcuffed young  man to the back of his patrol car.
“That’s his fourth underage possession,” Gaines said.
Gaines was corrected by Sergeant Scott Lance.
“No, that’s his fifth. I gave him his fourth the other night,” Lance said.
Things began to slow down on Irwin Street, so the officers agreed to meet elsewhere in half an hour.  The group split up and patrolled the streets – state law gives campus police jurisdiction on university property plus 500 yards in any direction. In Milledgeville, that includes the downtown area.
Calls came over the radio: an underage drinker at a downtown bar; a possible wreck on Hancock Street.  The officers seem apologetic that there’s nothing exciting going on. They all agree the rain earlier in the evening is keeping people home.
The next  license check is set up on Clark Street, across from the Centennial Center driveway.
Soon tires are squealing again; someone made a U- turn to avoid the check. 
“I love that sound,” said Michael Baker, the newest addition to the GCSU police force.
Baker, a GCSU graduate who has not yet gone through police academy, must be content to observe the night’s excitement.
Williams and Lieutenant Joe Grant race off to chase down the  SUV.
“I miss it every time,” Pissott said, disappointed that Grant and Williams had been closer to their cars.
 Cars are stopped, licenses are checked, citations are issued. There are more sidewalk sobriety tests with the Alcosensor.
“These kids… they want to go downtown and party and drink a little bit. As long as they (are of legal age), OK…. But they should walk home,” Grant said.
The officers took a half-hour to patrol downtown and campus once more. A conflict between an overzealous patron and a bartender was dealt with downtown.  A few guys were reprimanded and given sobriety tests after shouting obscenities in front of the dorms.
One of them had an extra I.D., which is illegal. Williams says that many people keep old I.D.’s in case they ever get one of them suspended and have to mail one of them in.
“I’ve got a console full of them.” Williams said.
He is not exaggerating. The licenses, some fake, some just expired, spill out of both of his hands and back into the console. The “best” one, a fake I.D., is simply printed on photo paper that reads “Hewlett Packard” on the back.
The flimsy license comes to mind again about an hour later when an officer remarks “ It’s the ignorant people that make our job easy.”
The last stop of the night, Clark Street in front of MSU, was also the busiest. It’s Thursday night and the bars are about to close. They came at a steady pace –  drunk people on sidewalks, drunk people in cars.  A carload of extremely intoxicated individuals rolled up to Pissott.
“Who all has been drinking tonight? …Don’t lie to me. That’s the worst thing you could do right now,” Pissott said.
The car passed through without incident. The designated driver blew zeros.
One highly intoxicated pedestrian believed that a 2:30 a.m. license check is a perfect opportunity to introduce himself to the local law enforcement. He wandered out into the street to shake Officer Gaines’ hand.
“Waass up, Man!” he said.
“Not much, buddy, but you need to get out of the street,” Gaines said.
“Aaaww I jus wawnted to come saaay heeey,” the pedestrian said.
His drinking buddy, who appeared to be in slightly better shape, called him back over to the sidewalk.
“Aaww I wus jus tawkin to tha cops,” he explained.
Another pedestrian let out a yell.
“Was that absolutely necessary?” Gaines said.
“No sir, Officer, it was not,” was the answer.
“It’s never too late to be an idiot,” said an officer when the pedestrians had passed.
The streets and sidewalks soon cleared. It was nearly 3 a.m.
Baker returned, flashlight in hand, from his “rookie” assignment: a foot patrol of campus. For one night at least, no one was peeing on front campus. He had nothing to report.
The officers gathered in the middle of the street to discuss the night’s activities:
2 citations for improper child restraint
1 citation for underage possession of alcohol
1 citation for loud music
1 citation for expired tag
1 citation for improper parking
1 citation for failure to maintain lane
1 citation for expired license
It was nothing for the record books; nothing to send in to “COPS.”  A boring night by all accounts. 
But that’s good. A boring night for the GCSU Police Department means people are behaving themselves in Milledgeville.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 13 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry