Oh, say can you see? We certainly can

Pinball anyone? Or how about pingpong? Follow the ball. I hope it gives you a rolling view of a police officer’s eyes. We will try to see and scan as much as possible, we never stop looking for criminal activity.

We see a vehicle not use a turn signal. We see a possible a possible drunken driver. We see a person sitting in a car, in a bank parking lot — we see a getaway car. We see a person lean through a window and shake the driver’s hand — we see a possible narcotics transaction.

I was once told by a retired narcotics police lieutenant, the best cops are the nosy cops.

We tell our children never stop asking questions. As police officers we never grow out of that mindset. I get asked or hear it often, “Why did the cops stop me?” My response: Because you must have done something against the law and it’s our job.

No one likes to be scolded, but as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

Working as a police officer is the best profession to follow the bouncing ball. Keeping the ball in sight lets us cradle a safe community. The only way we can do an even better job is having your eyes help us.

Let’s get bouncing, “Control, 269, I’ll be 10-8.”

■ July 13. Officers stop a vehicle coming from Lake Mead. The driver who shouldn’t be driving gets sobriety tests. Another great performance, but the driver is arrested for DUI. Incredibly, the driver’s 9-year-old son is in the car. Officers meet up with mom, releasing the child to her.

■ July 14. Henderson marshals are in Boulder City and looking for the ball, or fugitive that is. They check one address on Lakeside but no one is there. They check another address in the Villa Del Prado neighborhood. Jackpot! The wanted subject is arrested without incident.

■ July 15. Metropolitan Police Department out of Las Vegas notifies Boulder City Police Department of a suicidal subject sending pictures of a slit wrist to someone reporting this incident in Las Vegas.

Metro tracked (GPS ping) the cellphone and it appears it’s in the desert area of Boulder City. Next issue, we have almost 200 square miles of desert. The subject was not found in Boulder City.

■ July 16. A caller coming into Boulder City from Arizona reports a Mustang traveling more than 100 mph passed by and ran them off the road. The caller trails the reckless driver to Burger King.

We make contact with the driver. His driver’s license is from Liberia and can’t be checked. The Liberian passenger at first lies to us about his name. We get his real name and learn he’s got warrants.

We find several other citations from other states with the driver’s name on them. The trifecta came when both are arrested: the driver for reckless and passenger for warrants. The rental car gets towed.

■ July 17. Vons calls about a theft. A group of young adults came to do some late-night shopping. That would have been good, but these characters had sticky fingers. They grab a bunch of beer, run out of the store and hop in a waiting car. Remember what I said about people sitting in driver’s seats waiting? Good thing we did get some good video footage from the in-store and parking lot cameras. They got away for now, but we’ll follow the ball.

■ July 18. A caller reports that a Lincoln Town Car ran off the road, hit a fence and drove off. The caller did get a license plate. Within a minute, we find the car at the registered address in the Villa Del Prado neighborhood.

The witness identifies the driver. The subject refuses sobriety tests. It’s obvious to us the driver is intoxicated. Handcuffs are out and the subject is transported for processing. We learn this is a third DUI arrest for this driver, who is younger than 25.

July 19. It’s a balmy, beautiful day — perfect for a stroll on Nevada Way. “Oh my goodness, did you see that?” A middle-aged gentleman tried to pirouette, with an additional half twist.

A few problems. First, he had no training. Second, he had no balance. Third, the sidewalk had a curb. Finally he was drunk. He came to a stop after his face met the asphalt.

Drivers stop to help; we arrive and determine a 0.266 blood alcohol is a bit much.

Another wonderful week!

Boulder City Police Department has been planning National Night Out for 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 5 at Veterans Memorial Park. Boulder City residents can come join the fun and watch the Boulder City Police Department versus Boulder City Fire Department softball game.

Hope to see you there.

Officer Jeffrey Grasso is a 11-year veteran of the Boulder City Police Department. He previously served as a police officer in south Florida for four years.