Officer Down, Remembering Brian Etheridge

For a few weeks now I have been trying wrap my head around the death of Brian Etheridge.

Unless you are in Kansas, the name probably means nothing to you, which is really sad. Most of you are not aware of his death because it was of too little importance to attract the attention of major national news broadcasters. The story apparently lacked the news worthy appeal that a minority professor being lawfully arrested for obstruction has.

Brian Etheridge was a 26 year old Deputy in Sedgwick County, Wichita, Kansas.
On September 28th, while responding to a report of larceny, he was shot to death in an ambush set by the person that called to make the report. He had been a deputy for only 18 months, and leaves behind a young wife and child.

All across Kansas, law enforcement officers mourned his passing. The loss of any young life is tragic. The senseless killing of a young man dedicating his his life to preserving the peace and serving the community is nothing less than outrageous. For me and many of my law enforcement counterparts, it is also deeply personal.

I did not know Etheridge. Our jurisdictions are hours apart. But his passing has had a profound effect on me.

First, the manner in which he died serves as a reminder to me that police work is a dangerous job. There is no guarantee that a shift will end with me walking through my front door. It is a very real possibility that I will give my life doing this job.

I hope that his sacrifice, and the lessons that can be learned from it are not lost on the other officers and deputies who are aware of it. If nothing else is gained from Brian Etheridges untimely passing, every cop in Kansas should now be approaching every task before them with increased caution.

Let's face it. There is a great deal of repetition in many aspects of law enforcement. It is easy to become comfortable with anything if you do it enough. The way a house is approached while serving papers, or our position during a traffic stop. These can be potentially fatal scenarios that many cops now approach with complacency.

My way of remembering Brian Etheridge is simple. I think of him every single time I respond to call. I am more watchful during normal patrol. My approach to houses and vehicles is once again text book. My posture is defensive, but ready to shift to the offense without hesitation.

It is a very real possibility that in giving his life, Brian Etheridge has prolonged my own.

God Bless You Brian Etheridge. Thank you. Rest in Peace

Looking to the future

First of all, I would like to say hello to my followers. I apologize for my lack of pro activity lately. And welcome to my new readers. Thanks for stopping by. It's always nice nice to be received well by some fresh names.

Some of you were already aware that I have been looking forward to moving to the southeast. I had actually set my hopes on a deputy position in Aiken South Carolina. Unfortunately that did not work out as I had hoped. The truth be told, the credit check portion of my background investigation was the reason I was dropped from consideration. BUMMER

It is sometimes ironic how things work out. The same day I received the bad news about the job, I also heard from the mortgage company through which I applied for pre approval. I was approved for loan adequate enough to get a nice house at a very reasonable price and manageable rate.
GO FIGURE?

I have heard many times, and from time to time have even spewed the words myself, that everything happens for a reason. In this particular case the reason is not immediately obvious.
I am also not discouraged in the least. I am still hopeful that a move is in the not so distant future. In the days and weeks to come I will be applying with various agencies in central South Carolina in hopes that my competence as a law enforcement officer outweighs my financial profile. In the mean time I am working at cleaning up some things in my credit report that should improve my score as well as make me a more appealing employment candidate.

While I cross my fingers and hope that good fortune befalls me, I will continue to serve my county as well I can. Sadly, that will probably be through yet another brutal mid western winter.

anonymous civilian

Johnny Law wrote a good piece yesterday. I was not surprised that the post drew quite a few comments. What struck me as funny is that most comments had little to do with the actual topic. An anonymous comment about a label made a big splash.

I have nothing to hide. When I write something, I want everyone to know that it was I who did the writing. Likewise, when I comment on another Blogger's post, I have no issue identifying myself.

Is it just me, or is there something contradictory about an anonymous commenter complaining about having been improperly labeled?

There is no denying that the mysterious commenter could write. It is shameful however, that they lack the courage to identify themself.

Anon, the next time you feel compelled to criticize a cop on his own blog, you might consider one of the following as your new name; Chickenshit, Cophater, or my personal favorite; Douchebag.

KARMA. FACT or FICTION? You Decide

Early last week, while responding to an emergency in the northern part of the county I had an untimely and unfortunate collision with a large owl. By the time I saw the bird take flight, it was too late to react. I held my breath and hoped against the odds that it would not come through the windshield. Then the impact! The sound was not unlike hitting a side of beef with a 2 by 4.
I immediately glanced toward the right side mirror, hoping to see where the unfortunate creature fell, only to discover that the mirror was no longer attached to the car. Visibility through the passenger side window was completely obstructed by a massive sneer of owl poo that actually spanned the length of my vehicle. I pulled to the right while informing the dispatcher that I was taking myself out of the response due to a minor accident involving an owl.

For the next few days I was subject to discovering Tootsie Pops and wisdom jokes everywhere I turned. My fellow deputies were relentless in demonstrating their unique brand of law enforcement humor.

Then, by coincidence, a few evenings ago, one of the would be comedians on the shift managed to
remove the light bar from the roof of his patrol car. Method of removal: Wild turkey.

A sad occurrence for the bird. But not just a little poetic where my associate is concerned.

Merely coincidence? You decide.

Something strange in the air?

One fairly consistent thing about working in this county is that our call volume is pretty low. The local police department field many more calls than we do at the Sheriff's Department. At least this is usually the case. And because of the concentration of crazy people in the city limits, PD calls are generally more interesting, if not more entertaining.

My last few shifts, however, have been anything but dull. There must be something in the air that is bringing out the crazy in the county. Call volume is definitely up, and there has been no lack of opportunity to find folks doing stupid stuff. Lately, I haven't even had to go looking for cases, as they have come to me.

I've probably said this before, but it seems that re-hashing it wouldn't be a bad idea.
"If you have a suspended driver's, DON'T DRIVE!
"If you make the ignorant decision to drive while your license is suspended, DON'T SPEED!"
"If you make the even more ignorant decision to speed while driving with your suspended license, slow the f**k down when the nice deputy gives you a courtesy flash!"
Failure to follow this simple advice will more than likely result in a trip to the county Bed and Breakfast, an impounded vehicle, a meeting with an angry judge, and a significant loss of money.

I'll admit, that is not really uncommon. But this?
"If your life has become more than you can bare, and you absolutely must put an end to your misery, jumping from a bridge with 10 pound test fishing line around your neck is not the way to go." "It's going to break, and you are going to get wet!" Then you will visit with a underpaid, barely qualified counselor, that will more than likely say you are healthy enough to spend some quality time at the county Bed and Breakfast.

Anyone that has served in the law enforcement community long enough, will have run into this.
I am referring to the Driving while intoxicated, in possession of a fake license, non english speaking, sucking on the intoxilyzer hose, pissing all over the place, passing out in the testing room, requires blood draw , undocumented resident case.
That was my last adventure before the end of my shift this morning.
The admin portion of that gem was interrupted only once. Nothing serious. Just a naked man running through town , being pursued to by two angry women. Naturally, all PD units were too busy to respond to this one.

I can hardly wait to see what tonight has in store.