Myriad activities keep police busy

A police department and the police officers that make up a department’s body are fascinating. Examination of the needed reality for police structures has a singular conclusion: Without a doubt, we need police. Think of what goes on in our world or town today, and we have police. In a free nation and in Boulder City, ask yourself what makes a good police department?

I offer the following: In previous articles I described Robert Peel’s nine principles of policing. They provided a fair foundation for police organizations to build upon.

I’d like to share some everyday instances of what makes Boulder City Police Department a great police department.

Officers deal with the tens of thousands of vehicles that come through our town daily. On a given weekend, we can get more than 100,000 vehicles driving through our quaint town. Do we, as residents, have a “get out of being stopped for violating traffic law” card? Ah, no.

One more thing, out of the hundreds of citations issued monthly, multiply that by three and then you have the verbal warnings we give.

If the patrol staff isn’t conducting traffic enforcement, then it’s answering calls for service. Service? Correct, from a barking dog, a water leak, a noninjury accident, to a not-in-progress crime report you get a uniformed Boulder City Police professional. I’m not too sure if residents in our neighboring municipalities can claim that benefit.

Let’s not forget to mention the violent crime we deal with. We may not be completely crime free, but the majority of Southern Nevada knows the Boulder City Police Department keeps the town safe. Not only must you drive by crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s, if you stick out in our town, we will come say hello. Clean Green Boulder City; just the way we like it!

So, what do you say? Hop in, let’s move on out!

“Control, 269, we’ll be 10 -8 (in-service), rock ’n’ roll”

April 6. Officers are dispatched to the skate park regarding a melee. We arrive and apparently one skater was hogging the skate ramp. Each of the kids who was pretending to be “Rocky” had fans on his side. All parties involved decided not to file battery charges against each other. For your information, if you skate, don’t hog that ramp.

April 7. Officer makes contact with a female near El Camino Way. The female was mumbling “I can’t go back to Vegas.” The officer runs a check and finds out the elderly female was missing from Las Vegas. We make contact with the granddaughter who comes and picks up grandma at the police department.

April 9. Officer responds to assist Boulder City Fire Department regarding a combative subject on Darlene Way. The subject takes seizure medication, but decided to take the medication with alcohol. Can you say bad idea? The fire department wants to help, but can’t because the subject is being combative. We arrive and de-escalate the situation. Boulder City Fire Department tends to the subject and gets that person to the hospital.

April 10. An officer follows a car that can’t seem to drive between the lines. The officer asks the female driver to step out of the vehicle for field sobriety tests. Once out, the spandex-dressed 6-foot-tall female removes her platform shoes. She fails the test. After being arrested, the officer asks “Is there anything in the car?” The female responds, “Yes, there’s a man in my trunk.” What? Officers check the trunk and find a breathing 6-foot, 2-inch, 250-pound man curled up in the trunk. We learn there are no limits to showing your love for someone. The female is taken to jail and the trunk friend is given a ride to the gas station.

April 11. We get a call regarding a fugitive who has felony warrants and missed his sentencing court date. The caller reports the subject is near the Boulder City Hotel. We converge on the area, search the hotel and find the girlfriend but not the subject. As we spread out, we see the subject attempting to impersonate a tree near the Backstop. The subject will have 18 to 48 months in prison to practice with his horticulture acting.

April 12. It 6:30 a.m. The 76 gas station calls regarding a subject in a car hanging out at the pump. We arrive and make contact with the disoriented driver. He says its 6 p.m. and believes this is Arizona. The driver is not sure what’s going on and we learn the cocktail of prescriptions he is taking includes morphine, Soma, Xanax and Ambien. Needless to say, we’ll have one in custody. Thank goodness no one was hurt.

Officer Jeffrey Grasso is a 10-year veteran of the Boulder City Police Department. He previously served as a police officer in south Florida for four years.