Page 18 îl?* ))ttrtlanù (Ohseruer Vice Patrol plies that she is going to a bar continued from Front from a friend’s place while keep ing her arms close to her torso to afraid to send them to detention. keep warm. She seems confused He knows the regulars along the as to why sh e’s being stopped on strip. He knows which ones are such a cold night for no obvious drug users and prostitutes, and reason. he wants to make his presence After he’s satisfied her story is known. true, he concludes the conversa “One o f the main things we use tion with, “have a good night,” is ju st our visibility,” he says, as before clim bing back into the po his gaze shifts from people w alk lice car. ing on the street to his laptop attached to the console, which makes beeping noises as it scrolls out a feed o f indecipherable po lice code. Officers on this detail essen tially drive around less-than-sa- vory parts o f town looking for women who suddenly jum p into cars, loiter at bus stops, or people known for past offenses. After doing two laps up and dow n the avenue, the o fficer makes an abrupt turn right-hand turn onto a side a street, parking The officer explains that he the car and springing from his makes anywhere from one to six seat. arrests on any shift. The prosti He approaches a woman on the tutes he encounters have differ sidewalk. S he’s wearing a thick- ent stores and backgrounds. Some down jacket with the hood pulled have drug problem s. Some have over her head, white Nike sneak housing problem s. Some are be ers, and jeans. If she’s a prosti ing trafficked. Some just think it’s tute, sh e’s not doing a very good cool. Just yesterday, he cited a 60- jo b advertising. year-old woman who just got out The officer asks for her name, o f a bad divorce. and where sh e’s going. She re “ I’m not sure if there is one profile, you know ,” he says. After making a trip down 122nd A venue and a few m ore laps around 82nd, the officer makes an unannounced u-turn in the middle o f an intersection and flicks on his lights. T h ere’s trouble at an assisted living facility near Mt. Tabor. H e’s been there before, and seems very relaxed as he weaves in and out o f traffic before speeding through a January 27, 2010 emergency call, just as the woman hits the button for her floor. “Do you understand that I ’m on an em ergency call?” says the officer, who is annoyed at being delayed. “Oh, sorry,” she replies. On the fifth floor, a 93-year-old woman in a night gown with di sheveled hair sits on a bed. S he’s already scared o ff her room mate, and has allegedly assaulted a staff member. Her son “isn ’t dealing with it,” and staff and officers are trying to figure out what to do with her. “ I’m not going to go back to the hospital,” she cries. “Y o u ’ll maybe like it better,” says one o f the officers. ...On the fifth floor, a 93-year-old woman in a night gown with disheveled hair sits on a bed. She s already scared off her roommate, and has allegedly assaulted a staff member. Her son ‘isn’t dealing with it, ’ and staff and officers are trying to figure out what to do with her... residential area. We get to the front entrance o f the care home and are buzzed in through the lobby by a staff m em ber. We board the elevator with a staff m em ber w earing scrubs and tied back black hair. She seems alm ost am used at the sight o f the officer. “Y ou’re looking for Mr. who?” she asks. The officer says that h e ’s on an Peninsula Little League 2010 (Serving the Youth o f Inner North & N ortheast Portland ages 5-14) v/5/z our w eb site at: w w w .eteam z.activ e.co rn /p en in su lalittleleag u e Registration available on-line beginning January 8, 2010 $10 DISCOUNT TO BE O FFERED FOR EARLY ON-LINE REGISTRATION IF REGISTERED BY 1/31/10 Regular Sign-ups: $64/T-Ball, $74 All other levels T his fee includes the pepperoni fund raiser. Sell one bag o f pepperoni and get $24 o ff fee. Each bag co n tain s 24 sticks THURSDAYS at Boys and Girls Club 5250 NE M artin Luther K ing Jr. B lvd • February 4, and February 18 • 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm SATURDAYS at Peninsula Park Community Center; 700 N Portland B lvd (R osa Parks W ay) • February 6, and February 1 3 • 10:00 am to 1:00 pm R egistration form s can be co m p leted in ad v an ce by do w n lo ad in g from o u r w ebsite: w w w .eteam z.active.com /peninsulalittleleague Softball Program Level M inor M ajor Junior Ages 8 - 10 10- 12 13 - 14 Q u estio n s contact: M ark W ashington ~ 503-288-0033 markw@portlandobserver.com Baseball Program Level T-Ball Farm M inor M ajor Junior A g es 5 -6 7- 8 8 - 10 10- 12 13 - 14 Q uestions contact: Jjay Lincoln ~ jlinks@ tm ail.com Items to bring to sign-ups: Birth Certificate; Proof of Address; Doctor/Insurance Information; Player Fee Little League Baseball, Incorporated does not limit participation in its activities on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual preference or religious preference. “ I wish they would have killed me right aw ay ,” exclaim s the woman, who looks like sh e’s ju st woken from a deep sleep. This is nothing new for the of ficer I’m with. The police have had calls in the past from the facility for things that usually d o n ’t re quire police presence, and the officer shows his annoyance while talking to a woman with ruby-red hair w h o ’s in charge. “W ell, I can’t have my staff assaulted,” she says finally. Meanwhile the other officers have calmed the nursing home resi dent and are helping her into her coat while waiting for an ambulance. With the situation under control, it’s back to cruising for hookers. Back on the strip, two women are walking northbound. Against the faint glow o f street lights the two look like an am orphous black blob. But the officer recognizes them. He abruptly pulls into a parking lot on a side street. His fingers fly across the keyboard like a pos sessed spider, typing in com mands into the keyboard. A mug shot o f a woman with a battered face w earing a defeated expres sion in stan tly appears on the screen. By now the tw o women have congregated with another woman and two bearded men, one o f them in a w heelchair, outside o f a con venience store. The police cruiser quietly creeps up on the crowd. Everyone is com pletely oblivious to our presence, except for the man in his wheel chair who begins waiving his hands and bobbing his head, as if to warn the others. “V irginia,” says the officer, whose firm voice pierces the cold air and the conversation the group is having. “Yes sir,” replies a woman, whose opens her eyes as wide as they will go, revealing an expres sion that looks alm ost like sh e’s having a religious experience. “You been using?” asks the officer. “No, sir,” she says. “You been drinking?” he asks, who again receives a “no, sir.” “ But you do use m eth,” states the officer. The wom en, clearly rattled, launches into a story o f how a friends bike was stolen and she has a cold. “I ’m going to suggest you go hom e,” the officer says to the woman, who continues with her story nervously. He repeats his suggestion again, adding a firm “now .” Just after dispersing the crowd and returning to the strip, the of ficer quickly pulls over and leaps from his seat to confront another woman walking down 82nd Av enue. He asks where sh e’s going, and is told sh e’s headed to a friend’s house from a bar. “I ’m ju st really cold,” she says. “Why not take the bus?” he asks, a question she doesn’t have a good answ er for. He asks if sh e’s ever been ar rested. “ I ’ve never had a cop ask me if I ’ve been arrested before,” she says. “ W ell, you never know ,” he replies. After running her ID, it comes out she had. The woman says it’s hard to explain and launches into a story o f how she got involved with a car theft when she was 14. The officer thinks he recognizes her and probes further before ask ing if she has condoms on her. “ I’m one o f the ones out here that a re n ’t doing that,” states the woman emphatically. T h at’s enough for the officer. “Have a good night,” he says before clim f bing back into the car. To Place Your Classified Advertisement , Contact: Phone: 503-288-0033 Fax: 503-288-0015 e-mail: classifieds@portlandobserver.com