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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1993)
Reporter gains insight on duty with police officer By Susanne Steffens It's Saturday, just about 7 p in. For most people, it's just anoth er evening full of fun and par ties For me, it's going to be an exc eptional evening Ins ause I'm spending the evening on duty with n Eugene pol».u officer. With my notelrook and pencil, my purpose is to reflect an evening’s events from the eyes of the police onto the h’merald page Going through my mind before stepping into the polic e car are major events like murder and rape, hut. of course, Eugene is no l.os Angeles. The primary problems for the Eugene police are criminal trespassing and noise disturbances, and Offic er Terry Fitzpatrick tells me in the cor that Rang m o m - b e r s hanging out together in Eugene is also becoming a serious problem both for the polii e and the pub lic. Fitzpatrick. 4,'t. is going to In* my "teacher" tliis evening, and while he is talking on the police radio, mv eyes wander around the <Jir to the equipment buttons for the sirens and lights A shot gun is placed in a holder almost in front of me. and behind me is the window that separates those who've been arrested from the officer Our first stop is West Univer sity Park, which has I income one of the worst places around the REPORTERS IN OTEBOOK campus area for (.rime Drug users visit the park constantly. and a number of people violate the park hours by hanging out then* during the night. Right now. there are two tran sients who are using the park, sitting by one of the tables, and we walk up to them for a little ( hat Fitzpatrick says the two are well know n among the < ampus police bec ause they have open containers of alcohol on a regu lar liasis Fairly intoxicated, they are not causing any trouble and the park is still open, so we say goodbye and go Iwick to the car It’s soon H pm, and by dri ving around the campus area. I'm beginning to learn one of the most important duties of police officers — observation Fitz patrick says police officers can Hamms Monday Night FOOTBALL 25< Hot Dogs Big Screen TV Drink specials Games & Prizes Monday is Rock Night! Rock 'N' Rodeo 44 E 7th PEGASUS A group of six recent college grads riding across the U.S. in an effort to increase awareness of HIV prevention Talks to You About... Your Health and HIV In an All-Campus Presentation Where: 150 Columbia When: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m., Monday, October 11 - and - Join the Pegasus Crew at the EMU information table outside the Fishbowl between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. For more information call the Health Education Office at 346-2728. Sponsored by the Student Health Center. U of O Housing, & Interfratemity ( ouncil easily see lieer fxittles being hid den and people running away from locations With the evening already in dark light. 1 squint my eyes, trying to see anything sus picious. It is Fitzpatrick who sees something first, on Hast 13th Avenue outside of the Bijou Theater. A transient named Jef frey is sitting on the steps to the entrance, so intoxicated that he can hardly move. Fitzpatrick tells me Jeffrey has lost a lot of weight lately from consuming mainly alcohol. Fitzpatrick tries to make Juf frev leave the premises, but Jef frey dot's not c ooperate and is therefore arrested for criminal trespassing With help from a nearby officer, lie is handcuffed and put into the car. With a strong smell of alcohol in the car. we drive Jeffrey to the lame County Jail He is slurring Ins words, trying to invite me out fora date (Luckily. I already have plans for Sunday evening.) At the jail, the gates are opened and Jeffrey is brought into the arms of the security per sonnel, who will take care of him until the next day. Care means giving him o shower, breakfast and clean clothes. For most of the transients, this is their opportunity to get a med ical checkup, a good meal and a bed to sleep on. The only thing they will miss is the alcohol hot lie After the arrest, Fitzpatrick has to write out a report of what happened, which includes gen eral information about the sus pect and an observation report about the incident. Hack in the University dis trict, we stop in a parking lot near East 13th Avenue and Alder Street, and Fitzpatrick sees two minors who are sitting in front of a car with open con tainers. After trying to break off the evening, they are troth given citations, and from my seat in the car I can see the despair in their eyes when they are told the court date and bail. The night is getting older, but it's still fairly quiet. On the radio we are informed about a cus tomer at the Best Western Motel who is having diabetic prob lems, but when we arrive, the paramedics are already in the process of helping. After a few minutes, the situation is under control, and we are on our way to a noise disturbance from a party. However, the party has quieted down by the time we arrive, so my hope of visiting the parly is gone. Fitzpatrick tolls mo that the boundaries that he usually goes by on his route are High Street to Walnut Street and 24th Avenue to Broodway Street. Passing by Rennie's. Guido's. Taylor's. Safeway and High Street Cafe, it seems like most people are staying inside this evening, maybe because of the loss in the football game. Driving through the whole rout*-, we meet Robert, tlie tran sient we had talked to earlier at West University Park, on Hast 13th Avenue Walking down the street with a glass of Is'or. Robert has already Ix'en given a nurtilw of warrants and been arrested 20 to 30 times, says Fitzpatrick Tonight Robert is about to be arrested once more for having an open container, an arrest he is strongly against As Robert shouts that he is not breaking the law, Fitzpatrick gets help from a nearby officer and they put him in the police oar. We an; on the way to the jail again as Roliert calls Fitzpatrick everything in the book.’and I start to wonder how much patience tiles*; officers hove. Being called an '‘idiot" and a "bloody fool" without respond ing would have l>een impossible for me. hut for F'itzpatrick it is just another part of his work. During tin; rest of the evening 1 have the opportunity to visit a number of parties, where $350 citations an; given for noise dis turbances Most of the people having the parties try to avoid being cited by giving explana tions that could have won them an Oscar, but for the police, the complaining neighbors are the ones who should bo the win ners. So, did I have the chance to ride with loud sirens and blue and red flashing lights during the evening? Yes. At 1:30 o.m. we were on the way for a cup of coffee, hut wo had to change plans after the radio informed us of a fight on East 13th Avenue and Alder Street outside of the 7-Eleven Suddenly, 1 realize how the surrounding traffic responds to our fast s(>eed, and 1 wish I could put the same lights on my car. In less than a minute we arrive on the premises, but the fight is over, and the suspects have already gone. Looking around for the fighters brings us nothing, so we take a break at Franklin Boulevard, where we consume cookies and coffee. The shift is almost over for Fitzpatrick, hut before that time we get a call about counterfeit money that had been found at Lawrence Hall, a complaint about noise and criminal tres passing. and notice of posses sion of open containers. Visiting the different sites brings the evening to an end. but whun Fitzpatrick brings mo home, a fire alarm is ringing in the neighborhood. For him the evening wns not yet over, as he explains, "this job brings u lot of overtime." Going to bed, I could still hear the fire alarm ringing, and look ing out from my window I see the firefighters and police offi cers on the premises talking to some people. With a new insight about the Eugene police officers and how they work. 1 fall asleep safe and sound, knowing that the officers are out there to help, and not the opposite. .Emerald Pass it on. 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