Life in The City

So the captain at the Northern Station here in San Francisco is named Kevin Dillon. I love him because he writes his weekly newsletter with real panache (email him and you can have the updates delivered to your inbox). As an antidote to the small-town antics in Maine, here's some big-city crime written by a pro [PDF]. First off, everyone loves a dogfight:

Sunday, August 14, 6:18 AM, Dog Fighting Arrests: Police Communications sent Officers Schaffer and Knight to the report of three men inciting a dogfight in Linden Alley near Buchanan. Drawing near the scene the officers overheard the animals’ snarls and yelps at a distance of roughly one block. In Linden Alley they observed three men in their late twenties forcing two bloodied animals toward one another. The beasts snapped and lunged at each other, viciously thrashing their adversary’s head and neck.

As one might imagine, walking into a dogfight to arrest the participants may be tactically challenging. The officers might like to avoid harming the animals, in spite of their being the most dangerous element. The most criminal, on the other hand, are the dark souls that have divested themselves of compassion, and feed off the terror of beasts. Schaffer and Knight would have to walk a tightrope to apprehend the caitiffs.

The problem, on the other hand, was no mystery. Stop the bad guys and, more often than not, the fight will stop itself. Knight then climbed out of the radio car and, drawing her department issue firearm as a precaution, ordered the suspects to heel their dogs and face the wall behind them. Dogs do attack people from time to time, as we all know. One man complied taking his animal with him. The second man walked away from the officers west on Linden with his dog in tow, and the third, being intoxicated, rushed toward Knight with an injured puppy in his arms to drunkenly argue the officers’ prudent tactical measures.

Knight gave the intoxicated man an order to stop but he refused. Schaffer then intercepted the suspect, forced him into a Department approved wristlock, and steered him back toward the wall. The man persisted, nevertheless, struggling and shouting so much the officer had trouble fitting him with handcuffs. Officers Brennan, Takaioka and Perez, then arrived to provide backup, and the four of them successfully restrained the man by forcing him to the ground to control his movement. The officers detained the second man and his dog at the other end of Linden Alley.

Thereafter all three suspects and their animals were transported to Northern Station. The man that had cooperated was issued a citation and released. Of the two that had refused to cooperate, the man that had walked away was booked for delaying an investigation, and on an unrelated warrant. A charge was added for dog fighting as well; he had been arrested for dog fighting once before. The inebriated third party was booked for delaying, resisting, and being intoxicated in public. The Department of Animal Care and Control then arrived to seize the dogs, and transferred custody to the SPCA. All three animals, including the puppy, had sustained injuries from the fighting.

Just goes to show -- when your gambling fun is broken up by the cops, don't rush at them holding an injured puppy. Cooperate and save yourself a night in the hoosegow. Next up, how about a heartwarming tale about the ho with a pimp who cares:

Monday, 11:20 PM, Loitering for Prostitution, Arrest: Vice Detail Officer Callo arrested a 24 year-old woman for soliciting with the intent to prostitute at Larkin and California. As he processed the woman’s booking card she received several cell phone calls from a number with the caller ID of “Pimping.” He asked her who it might be.

“I didn’t do anything. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.

Whatever. He booked her at County Jail 9.

Finally, let's take a deep look into the shittier side of the human condition (since that's what Blottered is all about, natch):

Thursday, 3:50 PM, Child Neglect, Arrest: The employees of a shop on the 900 block of Geary called Police Communications to report their concern for an heavily inebriated woman and the infant she was responsible for in a baby stroller. The 42 year-old woman had been in a stupor pushing the baby slowly past the shop when the employees appealed to her to come inside and sit down. Thereafter they called 9-1-1 and Officer Ray Mahvi responded.

Mahvi arrived to find the baby alert and the woman barely capable of remaining seated upright. Her eyes were bloodshot and drooped closed as she swayed from sided to side. The officer had to ask several times for her name. Yes, she was the baby’s biological mother. She had just received a 130cc dose of methadone and she had supplemented the high with a can of malt liquor. The woman could not even recall how old the child was. She said the infant was born in ’92 when to all eyes she was clearly younger than twelve months.

When asked for identification the woman reached into the stroller and pulled back the baby’s blanket to find it. Beneath the blanket had been two more 24-ounce cans of Steel Reserve, but not one bottle or jar of baby food anywhere. Sergeant Bill Griffin then arrived and contacted the Juvenile Division to consult. Charges were approved and the officers arrested the woman for felony child endangerment. SFFD Paramedic Unit 41 took custody of the baby and transported her to Child Protective Services. Her mother was booked at County Jail 9.

Moral of the story: If you're headed down to the methadone clinic, don't bring your baby.