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I know from first hand experience just how crowded the Polk County Court House can be. And I agree something needs to be done to relieve the congestion. But I don't think spending over 100 million dollars is the answer. Especially when every time we turn around we -the tax payers, are being hit up for more money for special projects that seem to cater to a special group.
I was a police officer for nearly thirty years in this city and it always amazed me that the court system here never in-acted night court hours. As an officer working the late night shift it was very difficult physically to have to go to court and get your needed rest in order to perform at your maximum physical potential. As a rule court does not convene until nine o'clock in the morning ..that's if you are lucky. That meant that you got of work at six thirty in the morning you had two and one half hours to kill before you went to court. Normally people who work the late night hours go home from work and hit the sack around eight or nine in the morning, and sleep until around four o'clock in the afternoon. To go home and try to grab a power nap was to risky, if not just plain impossible. Then even though court was to convene at nine o'clock you could bet money that it would be ten or eleven o'clock before you ever got called to testify. Again that is if you were lucky. If a jury had to be picked it might be the middle of the afternoon before you ever got called to take the stand. Then there were the times you had to go to court in the early or middle part of the afternoon. If you have never worked the infamous "graveyard shift" you would not understand that two o'clock in the afternoon to a late night worker equates to three o'clock in the morning to someone who works "normal hours". Doctors, nurses, firefighters, factory workers, police officers anyone who works through the night can tell you just how little it takes to disrupt your very important sleep pattern. You never get a chance to get caught up on your sleep. I know, boo hoo! We choose the jobs and realized we had to take the good with the bad.
If we had night court -and I am not talking about court that runs from dusk until dawn, I am talking about court sessions that would convene around four o'clock in the afternoon and run until nine o'clock at night, people who are often inconvenienced by having to take time off from work to go to court would be able to go to court without missing work and getting docked in pay. Traffic charges and misdemeanor charges which take up a great deal of time and space could be heard at night. Saving the daytime hours for more high profile cases where security might be more of a concern.
Arrestee's could be be arraigned and possibly freed from jail instead of having to spend the night locked up, when they probably have a good chance of being released after appearing before a judge the next morning anyway. It would do some of our judges good to see some of the people brought to jail in the condition they were in when the police arrested them, instead of giving them a chance to straighten up and clean up before appearing in court.
Other major cities have done it. Why can't we do the same thing here in Des Moines?
Yes, some judge, some lawyer and some clerks would have to work nights on some sort of rotating schedule. But, they wanted that job too. And they should be willing to take the bad with the good just like the rest of us who work in the real world during real time.
David F. Brown (retired police Sergeant)
Nov. 25, 2007
Police to resurrect civilian awards program
Des Moines police and an insurance group are planning to resurrect a
civilian crime-fighting awards program.
The Des Moines Police Department's crime prevention unit, which has been
eliminated, used to co-sponsor a civilian crime-fighting awards ceremony
with the Independent Insurance Agents of Des Moines. The awards were
eventually discontinued.
"I have a newspaper clipping here from May 15, 2002, and the headline says:
'12 honored for aiding police,' " said Ted Lussem, treasurer of the
insurance group. "I think that's the last year that it was done."
When Judy Bradshaw was named Des Moines police chief, Lussem approached her
to see whether an awards banquet could be re-established.
Bradshaw did not promise to bring back the crime prevention unit, but she
gave a green light to the ceremony.
After five years without one, a civilian crime-fighting ceremony is slated
for fall 2008.
Six citizens who helped Officer Jeffrey Cronin, who was struggling with a
suspected thief Oct. 31 outside the Dahl's Foods store on Merle Hay Road,
are likely candidates for the awards.
To The Editor;
I spent nearly thirty years on the Des Moines Police Department. During that time I did three different tours of duty assigned to the vice and narcotics control section. My first tour of duty started in 1984 and at that time the vice and narcotics operated together, but had separate responsibilities, I was assigned to the vice side of the section. Vice dealt with four main areas: prostitution, gambling, pornography and liquor violations. Back then what was known as the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) with the State of Iowa had investigators who monitored the licensed liquor establishments around the state. Officers assigned to what few vice control units there were attended classes sponsored by the DCI and we were schooled in how to conduct investigations and inspections on liquor establishments within their own jurisdictions. The DCI was willing to assist us when the need arose, but there were more of us than there were of them.
As time passed, budgetary cuts forced the DCI to basically do away with the investigators assigned to the alcohol enforcement division of their organization. Inspections, investigations and enforcement of liquor violations were then left up to each individual municipality.
As the city of Des Moines got older and more “hip”, the little neighborhood bars that dotted the city started becoming things of the past. The people that ran these bars were getting older and wanted to get out of the business. The clientele that was now frequenting these bars had also changed and the atmosphere of these bars was becoming louder and more rowdy. Ultimately most of these bars were sold. The people who bought them wanted to keep them open as a bar, but had a more grandiose design for them. They wanted to turn them into mini nightclubs. These places were not structurally designed to be a nightclub. Acoustically they could not hold the loud music being generated on the inside of these places. Numerous complaints of loud music are called in to the police department on a nightly basis from citizens who live within close proximity to these establishments. It is irritating to them and it places more demand on an already stressed demand for police service. These places were not big enough to accommodate the number of people frequenting these places. The greater percentages of them ignore their capacity limits. That created a safety concern in case of a fire or something else that might cause a mass exodus from a bar. Some bar owners are cooperative and really try to get along with their neighbors. Unfortunately there are others who are less than cooperative and practically defy the police to do something about the noise, even though in the manual supplied to them by the State of Iowa when they were granted their liquor license it says that they will cooperate with law enforcement authorities.
Some of this lack of cooperation can be as subtle as failing to try to keep the noise levels down, to adopting an “until I saw you, I thought I was blind” attitude toward assisting the police in investigations of shootings or other assault related calls to their businesses.
These bars are no longer the friendly little neighborhood bars that our parents and grandparents frequented. Some of them are very dangerous.
If a heated argument or a fight breaks out in a bar, the management should get the parties involved separated and send one side out the door to neutralize the problem. Unfortunately what usually happens is that the fight gets thrown out the door on to the sidewalk or into the street and the police have to come and break it up…quite often having to engage in some sort of physical altercation themselves in order to bring it under control. Then the management of the bar hides under the umbrella excuse of, it did not happen in here. It started in your bar you just put it outside with the rest of the trash for someone else to clean up.
The article in The Register dated 07/20/07 titled; D.M. scrutinizes eatery booze sales, talks about an establishment that is trying to be opened at the intersection of Sixth and Madison. The name of this business is going to be The Silver Slipper. The applicants say that it is going to be a restaurant/bar. They claim they will sell more food than they will alcohol. First of all having two microwave ovens in a place does not even come close to qualifying this or any other place like as a restaurant. You can go into any convenience store and find more food preparing apparatus than that.
The building that this place wants to open is where one of the first Quik Trips in the city was located. It by no means is equipped to acoustically hold in the sounds generated by a bar. The parking lot is not big enough to hold the number of cars that a business like this would generate. So where will the bars patrons park? Any place they feel like it. This building where the lounge is trying to be opened is kitty-corner from Oak Park School, probably less that 200 feet. It is a block south of a church located at Sixth and Seneca. There are two houses located within mere feet of this establishment. This is not a location to open up or grant a liquor license for any type of licensed liquor establishment.
As a police officer I always felt that we were forced to pussyfoot around too much with problem bars. I always felt that if we were called to a bar more than twice in one night on loud music, or had to respond to numerous fight calls at a bar in the course of a period of time then we should have the authority to declare that establishment closed for the remainder of the night. I don’t care it that determination was to be made at 10:00 PM or 1:15 AM. By not controlling the music the management of the bar is not cooperating with the police and trying to control the problem. Or, by not controlling or being able to control your patrons you are generating a public safety issue. If you can’t run your bar, then by all means allow us to do it for you. But the State Alcoholic Beverage Division will not support that type of action. That liquor license is not under the control of the jurisdiction in which the offending establishment is operating. I would be willing to bet that if the police were allowed to control problem bars by closing them down, it would only take one or two instances for that bar and every other problem bar in town to become compliant with all the laws of The State of Iowa and the ordinances of the cities in which they operate. The lack of the sound of that cash register operating can have an amazingly positive affect on someone’s attitude when it comes to cooperating with the police.
Owning or managing a bar comes with some huge responsibilities. Bar owners/managers are like pharmacist, whether they want to realize and accept it or not. They are dispensing a drug, alcohol. They are charged with monitoring to whom it is dispensed. They must keep track of how much someone has to drink. It is illegal to become intoxicated in a public place, which a bar is. It is illegal to serve alcohol to an already intoxicated person. Sure, you go to a bar to have a good time. Since too many people can’t seem to say “when” concerning how much alcohol they drink, it is up to the management of the bar to make sure people are not losing control of their senses and getting out of control. Bummer ain’t it? The people who want to have a good time and go out to a bar deserve to be able to do so and know that where they choose to drink will be a safe atmosphere. If they go out with the sole intention of wanting to see someone’s head get knocked in, they can go to a hockey game.
There are many other responsibilities that liquor licensees have and are supposed to adhere to. The majority of the licensees run decent establishments. For those who do not comply with State laws and local ordinances, you should not be allowed to operate a liquor establishment in this State.
David F. Brown (retired police Sergeant)
You Only Think You Know Me
American Police Beat
March 5, 2007
By unknown author
I am a police officer. When I get to work, my civilian clothes come
off and my uniform goes on. It's uncomfortable and hot, dark colored
and made of wool. I have to put on a bulletproof vest. I have two
pairs of handcuffs, a small flashlight, a Taser, a baton, some extra
magazines of bullets and a gun. I am trained to defend myself and
others from serious harm or death.
The uniform itself makes me a target of violence. Artists rap about
killing me. Gangsters write on walls about doing the same.
But I love this uniform.
I am the person who comes when someone calls 911. I come with lights
and sirens, driving fast, putting myself in danger, not knowing what
I am driving to; a child just playing on the phone, husband or
boyfriend beating his wife or girlfriend, neighbors arguing over a
parking spot, or a parent whose child is acting up and they are so
frustrated and desperate that they call us for the answer.
Will I be taking someone to jail, mediating a dispute, or playing
parent?
Will I be yelled at, cursed at, spat on or attacked? Will they be
happy to see me or angry that I am there?
I have put a tarp over the body of a seven-year-old who stepped out
in front of a car going at least 40 miles an hour. I watched his
blood wash away as it began to rain. I stood over the body of a
middle-aged man who was riding his bicycle home from work
on the sidewalk and was struck by a teen driver who had two
other teens in the car when she lost control.
I get called when someone dies, even if it wasn't a crime. I have
sat in houses with dead people for several hours, waiting for a
family member if I was able to find one, or a coroner's
representative if I was not. Sometimes the family doesn't
want to come at all. Sometimes they cry. Sometimes it seems
they are annoyed that they now have to make arrangements.
I have looked at the bodies of people who have overdosed on drugs,
choked, hung themselves, shot themselves, cut themselves. I have
had to tell a sister that her little brother was shot in the back of the
head while walking home. He died a half-block from home, killed
by a Hispanic gangster because he was a Cambodian gangster.
I've had people jump out of a second-floor window to get away from me.
I have found people under beds, in closets, and in a shower after
she told me, "I swear he's not here. I am the only one inside."
I have found people in attics and garages. I've had people run from
me, ride off on a bike, or not pull over in their car when I put on
my lights and siren.
I pursued a wanted parolee and a gangster for a half hour. He had
methamphetamine in his system and in his pants pocket. He had stolen
a 9mm handgun.
People have run from me because they had drugs, guns, a warrant or
they just didn't want a ticket.
I have had to check people's backyards at night when they think they
saw someone or heard a strange noise.
I took a report of a gangster who was shot in the face and lived. I
saw him again a year later and listened to him brag about how he
could not be killed. He was shot and killed less than two weeks
later at a party.
I have arrested a 14-year-old girl for prostitution and an
80-year-old man for domestic violence. He had made his wife
sleep in their cold garage with the dogs. They were both alcoholics.
I kicked an alcoholic dad out of a motel room where he was living
with his wife, three daughters and four sons. There was no kitchen, stove or
refrigerator; only a cooler. An infant was being bottle-fed orange
drink because their government assistance had already been spent
that month. I took them grocery shopping.
I took a ten-month-old child into protective custody. I found her
lying on a bed with a pile of crack cocaine. I waited three hours
for the "mother" to come home so I could arrest her.
I found a man bleeding on a living-room floor, a loaded gun next to
him. There were bullet holes all over the inside of the house. There were
two duffle bags full of marijuana, a scale and small baggies. There
was a Christmas tree and decorations. His wife and daughters were
standing outside in the cold, crying. He survived what had been an
attempted drug rip-off and is probably dealing drugs somewhere else
today.
I've jumped fences, kicked down a door, and broken my arm in three
places. When I'm eating lunch or dinner, people have said,
"My tax dollars don't pay you to eat." I've had to throw my
meal away to go to a call.
I've had co-workers scream for help and I have had to ask for help
myself.
I've been scared.
I've worked on Christmas, New Year's Eve, Easter, Fourth of July and
Halloween. I've dealt with the homeless, gangsters, drug dealers,
prostitutes, victims, suspects, mothers, fathers, brothers and
sisters, city council members, doctors, lawyers, all walks of life.
I have dealt with more harm, despair, hopelessness and death in the
last four years of my life than you will your entire life.
When I leave work, my uniform comes off and my civilian clothes are
put back on. But my duty to "protect" is still there.
When I go out to dinner with my family, I have to check the
restaurant for that gangster who told me to watch my back or for the
boyfriend I arrested for beating up his girlfriend. When I go to the
grocery store or the mall, I must do the same thing.
In a public place, I will wonder why a guy is looking at me. Do I
know him? Have I arrested him before?
Does he actually recognize me?
Should my family and I leave?
When I walk into a bar or go to a party someone always yells, "Did
somebody call the cops" or some other smart remark they think I have
never heard before. Friends make cop jokes. My family makes cop jokes.
Someone always asks if I've had a doughnut even though they have
probably eaten more than me. People love to make fun of us. Some
love to hate us.
I would like to tell all these people: "I don't enjoy writing you a
ticket. I don't get paid more if I write more parking tickets. If I'm at
your house because your party is too loud, it's because your
neighbor called us.
"Don't hate the police because you've been given a speeding ticket
when you know you were speeding. Don't hate the police because we
arrested your boyfriend for beating you up, or because you got
caught with drugs, a gun, in a stolen car, or for driving drunk. Don't
hate us for your mistakes or poor choices. We don't write the laws,
the politicians you vote for do.
"Don't hate us for yelling at you; there may be a reason for it. We
may be looking for a bad guy. "Or you may have said something
smart to us or been drunk.Or maybe we just had a really bad day.
"I like some of the same bands you do. I like the same movies you do.
I like parties and barbecues. I like hanging out with friends and
family. I like sports, traveling, camping and reading.
"Do I sound much different than you? I am different. I am a police
officer."
By TOM ALEX
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
 People say a lot of things after a police officer hands them a ticket.
Rarely is it thanks.
But Shelly Grimm did.
"I am writing this letter as a sign of our appreciation for the officer who cited us for seat belt violations," the Des Moines woman wrote to the police department this week.
"We were pulled over on July 24 due to not wearing our seat belts. Of course, at the time it wasn't the greatest way to start our morning, but ...
since that day, our vehicle did not move until we were properly secured."
Here's why that's good:
Grimm was in a serious car accident on Sept. 7. She and her son Jared, 9, escaped with bumps and bruises. The car was demolished, but the seat belts did their job.
"I felt it tighten," Jared said. "I saw all these blurs while we were spinning around."
Shelly Grimm said that when her husband learned what had happened, "he said he'd like to give that officer a hug and a kiss" for the July ticket for no seat belt and failure to secure a child passenger.
"We'd gotten lazy and weren't using seat belts as much," Shelly Grimm said. "The officer took (my husband) back to his squad car and gave him quite an earful, away from the kids, you know, so the kids didn't hear him."
The officer, Richard Glade, does not remember the stop. He makes 20 to 30 a day.
"We're not out here to make people's lives miserable, and I think most people know that," he said. "We're trying to make people safer."
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