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.
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