Chief Brian Miller

The Hammond Police Department attended a meeting with the Hammond School City Administration and officials from BP this afternoon. The goal of the meeting was to insure safe and orderly student travel to Gavit School. BP will still be working at White Oak/175th  and Walnut/175th tomorrow morning. Both excavation sites will still be uncovered. BP has stated they will stop all work from 7:00AM - 8:30AM and 2:00PM - 3:30PM. This is to insure the student’s safety. In addition, they will have orange fencing around both sites so the students do not wander into the work site.

The Hammond Police Department will have nine police officers and two emergency management officers in the area of Gavit School to insure an orderly commute to and from school.

At the meeting it was agreed we would use the following route to funnel traffic to and from Gavit. We will put one of our Hammond police electronic signs at 175th/Columbia directing all  Gavit traffic to proceed East on 173rd to Southeastern. At Southeastern, cars going to Gavit will turn right (South) to go straight to Gavit. All  cars leaving Gavit will travel East to Southeastern or Indianapolis Boulevard. No one will be permitted to travel Westbound on 175th.  The South sidewalk along 175th will be open for pedestrian traffic and our police officers will insure the students stay on the sidewalk.

I will be at Gavit tomorrow morning and afternoon with my command staff, to observe the situation, and correct any problems that arise from the BP pipeline work.

Chief Miller

On a chilly, damp morning, I responded to a vehicle crash involving two cars. By the radio dispatch I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. It was dispatched as a head on collision on dead man’s corner (Michigan Avenue, slightly West of Cline) with potential fatalities. I arrived with the fire department and it was clear there would be no survivors. They extracted the four bodies out of the two vehicles and laid them alongside each other, on the shoulder of the road. Each had a sheet over them, each had a piece of paper describing their location in the vehicle, and each had severe, horrific injuries that killed them on contact.  As our traffic investigators started their scene and car search, they found multiple beer cans in one of the cars, and also a fifth body. The body of a woman, was found compacted under the front seat of one of the vehicles. The impact was so severe, the spare tire went through the rear fire wall, through the back seat and front seat area, and lodged itself in the dashboard. The vehicles, which both had drunk drivers behind the wheel, had been traveling at 60 or 70 mph when they crashed head on into each other. Although it has been fifteen years ago or longer, I did not forget the lessons that I learned that morning.

Friday night, for the first time in fifteen years, the Hammond Police Department conducted a Drunk Driving Checkpoint, in the 7100 block of Kennedy Ave. We have not performed them for years, they were outlawed by the US Supreme Court. With changed rules and procedures, they are now permitted. Every car must be stopped, and the cars can only be detained for a very short period of time. For you Liberal Laura’s that feel this is a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights against search and seizure, the Supreme Court has consistently stated that you do not have the same rights and expectations of privacy when you are in a car versus being in your home. If you are at home drinking, you can’t kill my friends or family. If you are drinking in your car, anything can happen.

We stopped every car we could until the lot of the Virgil Huber Funeral Home was full. Each vehicle was kept less than two minutes (yes, we timed each stop with a stop watch)  unless there was an issue like the driver couldn’t find license and registration or we decided to write a citation for an infraction that was observed. I feel the inconvenience to innocent drivers, was minimal.

I had an easy job, I stood in the middle of the North bound lane of Kennedy Avenue ( we only stopped North bounders) and stopped cars and directed cars into the parking lot. It was also by far, the most dangerous job, and I’m still wondering why the Operation Commander, Lieutenant Patrick Vicari, assigned me to this duty. Maybe he was thinking I would end up like a bug on a windshield and there would be instant move-ups in the department. Maybe he thought with my cat-like reflexes that I would be in no danger. For whatever the reason, I put on my fashionable and practical 3M reflector vest, and headed into the street. There were two near misses, one from a confused foreign exchange student, and one driver that was drunk.

I could tell by the way the man nearly ran me over that he was having trouble piloting his car. I yelled to the traffic officer Sergeant Chuck Turner, that he had a 10-55 (drunk) on the way. When he was told to pull his vehicle in the provided space, he did so diagonally, even though everyone else was parked in a long, straight row. When Sergeant Turner smelled the alcohol on the man’s person he asked him how many beers he had consumed. Getting the standard answer of “two” (if you drink a forty pack of beer you still answer “two”) Chuck asked him to get out of the car. The man was neatly dressed in a suit and tie (tie did not match, I’m a fashion critic) and became angry at Turner. He told Sergeant Turner, “you need to understand, I’m going to have breakfast!” He said this several times throughout the encounter. I don’t know what his food consumption had to do with our enforcement of the law, but he made sure to throw it out there. During the field sobriety test, he counted aloud in a rather odd fashion, one… two… five… three…did I say two? It was apparent by his clumsy actions that he was intoxicated. He also failed the portable breath test with a fairly high score. I got a big surprise when I tested his passenger wife, to see if she was sober enough to drive the family car. She tested .000 ! Yes folks that’s right, she was stone cold sober and allowed her obviously drunk husband to drive. The wife got angry with us for arresting him, and even stated several times, he didn’t drink anything! Things would have worked out better if she (A) told him his selection of ties sucked. (B) Drove his drunk butt home.

I guess the driver got his grand slam breakfast, but it was at the Hammond Police Jail.

We arrested six drivers in all, three for drunk driving, three for drugs. Sergeant Ray Finley was working one of our enforcement lanes, and glanced into a stopped SUV. The backseat passenger, either asleep or feigning sleep, had a small bag of cocaine resting in plain view,  on his crotch. The male driver, and female front seat passenger, all ended up being arrested for possession of cocaine. I transported the female passenger, who insisted that she could not miss her class in cosmetology school, Saturday morning.

Throughout the night, many of the stopped drivers thanked us for our efforts. I know that ad campaigns, peer pressure and increased enforcement, has reduced incidents of drunk driving. However; we still see far too many intoxicated drivers involved in vehicle crashes.

I would like to personally thank Lieutenant Patrick Vicari for his efforts Friday night. We all made it home alive and unscratched. His operation was a success, and it ran very smoothly.  I would like to also like to thank the 16 police officers and 7 Emergency Management officers who participated in the drunk driving checkpoint (all salaries were paid by a federal grant). Everyone performed their jobs efficiently and professionally.

Serving on the thin blue line, night and day,

Chief Brian Miller

Not everything we do is pure law enforcement.  Sometimes our mission is public safety. Yesterday we were dispatched to the scene of a gasoline/petroleum leak at 175th and White Oak. No one is 100% sure of what we have, and some of this is speculation, but here goes: There is a BP gas and oil pipeline that runs North South through this intersection. We believe there is a leak in this pipe (it has not been located yet) and the product has entered into our waste water / storm sewer. Our Police Department, Fire Department, Emergency Management, Street Department, Sewer Department, Water Department, EPA, Hammond Environmental, The City Engineer,  and of Course BP are all at the scene. Last night approximately 1500 gallons of petroleum product was vacuumed out of the sewer. Today they will try and locate the leak and fix the problem. This could be a major project and all units will have officials on scene for many days. I am impressed by the professionalism of all the responding units.  Bp has about thirty employees on scene and has been very cooperative with our city.

Hopefully the leak will be fixed soon and the residents can get back to normal life in the next few days. At this time there is no immediate danger to residents, but we are of course, closely monitoring the situation.

Chief Brian Miller

I spend many sleepless nights worrying about the impact of my decisions. As the top cop in the city of Hammond, I am painfully aware that my decisions about the allocation of police resources sometimes have a significant impact on the 80,000+ citizens of this city. It is a daunting responsibility, and rest assured, I take it seriously. I question each of my major decisions and always ask three questions. Is it legal? Is it ethical? Am I doing it for the right reasons? Strict bar compliance has generated much debate, pro and con. Many feel that I am stopping economic growth in a city that needs successful businesses to thrive. Others feel that we are picking on legitimate bar owners because some of their customers choose to violate the law.  On the flip side, some residents welcome it, and feel it is important that we stop local watering holes from becoming gang hangouts and drug user magnets.    
 
The Hammond Police Department participated in a bar compliance check performed by the Indiana State Excise Police on Saturday night (Sunday morning). In addition, 4 parole Officers from the Indiana State Department of corrections accompanied us. We often come across parolees in our bar searches, and it is a violation of one’s parole to be in a bar, and drinking. With the Hammond Police Gang Unit and my administrative staff, there was a total of 18 law enforcement officers searching bars on Saturday.
 
We started off at Do Do’s Bar on Conkey Street.  The State Alcohol licensing board suspended the license for Do Do’s but the bar is currently allowed to stay open as long as the appeals are pending.  Small crowd inside, and everyone with the exception of one patron, was cooperative. One citation for an expired gambling machine sticker and our caravan quickly sped over to Copper Penny. Again, the crowd was small, and only one minor, liquor storage violation, was noted. 
 
Our arrival at “Our Place” on Michigan Avenue was strange. The bar was closed but two employees remained. They said the last customer left at 11:00Pm so they shut down. Although I can’t prove it, I believe patrons at the other bars had phoned ahead of us and tipped “Our Place” that we are out in force and searching bars. One fire code violation and then we hit The Mighigan Avenue Tap at Michigan and Maywood Ave. The bar was open and hopping. We began to check the patrons for id’s when one of the customers began acting suspiciously, and would not take his hands out of his pockets after I being ordered. I placed the subject in a prone position on the ground and handcuffed him prior to my pat down search. Nothing was found, and when I questioned him about why he refused my commands he gave me a blank stare and replied ” I always put my hands in my pockets”. I’m quite sure he will never graduate “Magna Cum Laude” from a prestigious Ivy League university.
 
We hit the Anchor Inn with a full head of steam and quickly made our first arrest. Upon our entry, a male subject got real nervous and began walking quickly to the rear of the bar. One of the Excise Police officers saw him throw something into a corner. A small bag of white powdery substance (suspected cocaine) was located. He was quickly snatched and transported. While we were checking id’s, Parole supervisor Yvettte Salinas became very suspicious of a subject that gave conflicting stories about having an id and then not having one.  While doing a though check on the subject it was discovered he was wanted out of Lake County. Again, he was quickly escorted out in handcuffs. As we left, the bar patrons played the them song from “cops” (Bad Boys) and actually wished us well for the rest of our evening.   

We drove one block to the Flat Rock bar and performed a quick check. There were few patrons at the bar and our check went quickly with no violations noted. When we went outside, we did a final exit briefing and decided that we had enough fun and would call it a night.
 
I have said it before and I will say it again. The officers from State Excise are extremely professional and fun to work with. They are hard nosed individuals and work hard and efficiently. Thanks to Sergeant Ally Taylor for coordinating their programs. Also, thanks to the Indiana State Department of Corrections for their participation. Yvette Salinas and her crew were extremely helpful and fun to work with.
 
As a side note, I received a nice e mail from Kristine, owner of The Anchor Inn. She thanked me for our inspection and asked for the names of the arrested subjects so she could put them in her id reader and refuse them future admittance. Her e-mail made me feel good about our operation and reinforced in my mind the need for strict regulation.        
 
These late hours are killing me. Fell asleep during a family celebration yesterday. I guess those are the scrafices you have to make for life in the fast lane.
 
Brian Miller

I like to backup my fellow officers as they go on calls. I do it often and usually have no regrets. Today I wish I stayed in my office. The photo is from a house I was in today. There were cockroaches cascading from the walls. I have been in few residences that were as infested as this one.  It actually appeared as if the walls were alive, they moved.

As we left, my fellow officers and I checked each other for bugs on our uniforms and equipment. We all left with that creepy feeling that something was crawling on us.

We will of course turn photos and information over to code, building enforcement and The Lake County Health Department.

I need a shower, and maybe a flea dip… It isn’t always easy being a cop.

Brian Miller

It was so hot I could roast marshmellows on my dashboard. Still, Assistant Chief John Doughty and I patrolled the streets of Hammond last night.  The heat and related problems have been a common theme to our police department. From residents suffering from heat stroke, to the air conditioning going out at the police station, everyone has an issue with the weather.
 
Went to a domestic disturbance on Waltham Street.  The elderly mother was fighting with one of her grown son’s girlfriend. The girlfriend was pregnant and also in a foul mood. In her desperation, mom grabbed a knife or a fork (depending on which witness you believed) and threatened everyone in the house. I entered the house to referee the fight and immediately noticed it was at least two hundred degrees inside. The male subjects weren’t wearing shirts and the sweat was literally pouring off of them. I tried to sort out the issues and mitigate the disaster, but after a few minutes I told the residents that it was probably the heat in the house that was the cause of all the fighting. In fact, I had been in in the house less than five minutes and I wanted to hit someone… In a smart move, the pregnant female decided she didn’t want to live in a “Easy bake oven” anymore, and left to stay with family members.
 
An ice cream man was the next contestant in the “can we agitate the Chief ” sweepstakes. We received a call on Highland St. from a man who sells ice cream from a push cart. On Wednesday, a neighborhood boy had given him a counterfeit fifty dollar bill in exchange for some ice cream he purchased for himself and half the neighborhood kids.  Ice cream man called the police, but when the officers arrived, the counterfeiter had fled, and the remaining children wouldn’t name the suspect. The delinquent boy had been hanging around a particularly troublesome address (we are helping to “evict” the renters by citing the landlord) but the residents would not verify his name or address. Apparently the matron of the house had promised to reimburse the ice man the next day. When he showed up to receive his fifty dollars the female would only give him twenty. The ice cream man called the police and demanded that we make the woman cough up thirty more dollars. We politely explained that we could not make her give him additional money and encouraged him to take the $20.00 she was offering. Our logic was half the money was better than none of the money.  He firmly rejected our proposals and left, angrily muttering about the inefficiency of the the Hammond Police Department.  I left, hoping his ice cream would melt…

    
 
As we were leaving the ice cream fiasco, a resident being pulled around by a large pit bull ( I don’t care for large, aggressive dogs) told us that there was an elderly subject passed out in an alley.  Upon our arrival we observed the subject laying face down in the grass, apparently the victim of a heat related injury. We immediately notified radio dispatch that we needed an ambulance and helped the subject to a sitting position. Although dizzy and disorientated, he came around and our friends from the fire department came to the rescue and helped him out (everyone loves firemen, police not so much).     

   
 
John and I went to Ruth and Stateline to locate a female that was flagging down cars for the purposes of prostitution. Just as we arrived, another police officer spotted our morally challenged, free lance entertainer ducking into the lobby of an apartment building. We invited her outside for a chat and I immediately recognized her. I have known this particular lady of the evening for about eighteen years. I believe she holds the record of being our longest and most prolific Stateline performer. It was a tearful reunion, if only Hallmark had a card for this occasion…We immediately caught up with each others lives. I had went from patrol officer to Chief, and in that same interim she had went from prostitute to well…prostitute. Because we are both coming up on our twentieth year I asked her if she had any retirement plans. She laughed and said she had already retired and wasn’t “hooking” anymore. With a tearful, “don’t forget to write” I sent her packing, and watched my old friend fade off onto the sunny streets of Calumet City.       
 
The rest of night was fairly uneventful. I enjoyed patrolling the streets with my partner, John. I don’t honestly know what it would be like to work in a job that I don’t love. I know some day I will have to let it go, I’m just not ready, yet…

Your friend on the thin blue line,

Brian Miller

I hit the streets at 5pm on Friday night, ready to go, and hoped up from the Mountain Dew I drank (I know, me on caffeine is a scary thought). The night started out okay. Officer Chris Gootee and Officer Jason Scafbuch saw a subject they knew by name in the parking lot of St. Margaret’s Hospital. They ran his name and it came back with a warrant for the subject’s arrest. As they turned their car around and began to search for him, I also arrived to assist. When the subject saw the police, he quickly took out a cell phone and pretended to make a phone call.  We know he was pretending because later we discovered the phone didn’t work. I don’t know what this guy was thinking, maybe ” Hey if I act like I’m on the phone, these cops won’t want to inconvenience me with an arrest for my outstanding felony warrant”. You can guess how that ended up. Predictably, my gang guys were all over him like a cheap suit and had him cuffed and stuffed in record time. The guy they arrested is a dead ringer for the leprechaun on the Lucky Charms box. I’m not making this up. If he was wearing a green hat and suit I would have tried to catch him to steal his cereal.

My next celebrity encounter happened minutes later. I witnessed an SUV run late through a stop light. I pulled the vehicle over, and the female driver gave me a driver’s license that identified her as Jennifer Lopez. I ran her license through radio dispatch and the operator came back with ‘J -Lo” is negative for warrants”. Although she obviously wasn’t the singer version of ‘J-lo”, she was very polite and apologetic, and I let her go with a warning.

The night was slow, calls weren’t coming in very fast so I began to stop vehicles for traffic violations. This is a cheap adrenalin rush for a cop because you never really know what your stopping.  We stop cars for traffic infractions, like J-Lo and her red light, we stop for misdemeanors like drunk and reckless driving, and sometimes we stop cars to investigate potential crimes.  There is always the unknown when you are making a vehicle stop. Did the driver go through a red light because they are inattentive? Maybe they are intoxicated or gopped up on some illegal drug. They may have run the light because they just pulled an armed robbery, or participated in a shooting. Years ago we had an officer stop a car in an alley. The driver had just murdered his prostitute passenger with a tire iron and was looking to dump the body.

The Location of the stop is important. just because you ran a light at 169th and Indy doesn’t mean that you are going to be stopped right at the intersection. I’m going to follow the suspect vehicle and run the plate first. We are able to retrieve license plate information in seconds and it is helpful in gathering information on the driver. Is it stolen ? Does the license plate come back to the car? If not, is it possible someone put a “cold plate” on a stolen car. Sometimes  our department or another, will have a pick up order for a vehicle that was used in a crime. It sure would be useful to know the vehicle was used in a recent homicide. If it is only going to be a traffic infraction stop, I try and stop the driver in a well lit up area. Light is my friend, darkness is a friend to criminals. That’s why cops have overhead spotlights, side spotlights and carry billion candle power flashlights. If it is going to be a felony traffic stop, I begin looking for a more isolated spot for the shootout that may occur when my back up and I make the stop.

The initial walk up to the suspect driver is always a little tense. I offset my squad behind the violator, to give myself a lane of protection when I’m walking to the vehicle. I also insure that I don’t have anything in my gun hand if I have to draw my weapon quickly.  Shining my flashlight in the driver’s eyes is a way of insuring I have the tactical advantage on the stop. After obtaining the driver’s information, I walk backwards most of the way to my squad, so I can keep an eye on the violator. As I run the license or write a citation, I will often do it from a position of cover behind my patrol car. It never hurts to be safe, I do everything I can to insure I make it home alive.

I made several traffic stops Friday night. Most were the routine variety where the driver had committed some traffic infraction. I didn’t issue many citations, I was always looking for bigger fish and so I threw the small ones back. For a Friday night shift it was strangely quiet. Most of our calls were minor. I know my patrol officers appreciate a break now and then because the nights of endless, hot calls take a toll on you.

I hope your weekend was as uneventfull as mine.

Chief Brian Miller

Please join me in congratulating Hammond Police Officer Frank Eggers on saving a life Wednesday morning. On that day, he was dispatched to a residence in reference to a 27 year old female that was was bi polar, off her medications, pregnant, and suicidal. Upon arrival, fire department ambulance personal, went into a bedroom to talk with “Sarah” (not her real name). Soon after their arrival, One of the fireman yelled “grab her” as Sarah ran from the bedroom and straight into the kitchen. Sarah went for the kitchen stove and grabbed a large knife from it’s holder. She held it above her head with both hands and plunged it towards her belly.  Before Sarah could penetrate her stomach with the knife, Officer Eggers grabbed her wrist in one hand, and the knife in another. He twisted the knife out of her hands and secured it. Eggers also controlled Sarah’s wrists and effectively handcuffed her. Frank was able to do all of this in a spilt second, with no injuries to himself or the victim. Officer Eggers was wearing gloves, which obviously kept his hands from being badly cut. Sarah was transported to the hospital for treatment of her mental disorders.

Without his quick and decisive actions, there is no doubt that Sarah would have been grievously wounded or killed by her own actions. Many suicide calls that our officers respond to, turn out tragically. Sarah’s family was very grateful for Officer Egger’s selfless efforts.

I am personally proud of Officer Frank Egger. He is another fine example of the fine, young, men and women we have patrolling our streets. Eggers trains in mixed martial arts and can bench press a small trailer home. I am glad we have him on our police department.

Thank you Frank, I am proud to serve on the thin blue line with you.

Tonight, I will patrol the streets of Hammond with my officers. Not out of obligation, or work requirement, just because that is where I want to be. When I go on calls I am not always recognized as the Chief of Police. Most of my officers address me as “Brian” (which I like better than Chief) and citizens call me by my favorite title, “Officer”. Some will thank me for helping them, or thank me for serving this City. Many will curse me for a citation or arrest, that’s okay too, it comes with the badge. Best of all, I will be where I am most comfortable, surrounded by the officers I have come to love and respect over the years.

Sleep well tonight, my friends. The dedicated officers of the Hammond Police Department have your back.

Brian Miller

“Hey Chief, we are a little short handed, want to go on a drug search warrant?” My reply was an instant “yes” and I started to prepare my equipment. I get to “play” with the guys and girls of my police department on many occasions. I rarely turn down an offer to go on an operation, only if I have some really important “Chief’ duties that don’t allow me to participate.

God help me, I still love to hear the screams of “Police! Search warrant!”, see the ram go through the door, and then rush into the house to secure the occupants. On this occasion we were going to 650 Conkey St. to hit an apartment where we had made several controlled buys.

We lined up, in unmarked cars a few blocks away, waiting for a controlled “buy’ to occur before we would serve the search warrant. Nervously waiting to see if the “deal” goes good is part of the job for our narcotics officers. Patience has never been one of my virtues, so it is hell on me.

The deal was good, and one of the officers gave the signal to serve the warrant. We came down Madison St. like a parade, although there were no adoring throngs of people to greet us. We pulled up half a block away and exited the vehicles. Neighbors saw us getting out of the cars with assault rifles and entry vests and quickly and smartly, gathered up children, and began to herd them into their homes. We approached the apartment, knocked and announced, as we are required to do. I believe knock and announce search warrants just afford the occupants to arm themselves or ditch narcotics, but we are at the mercy of our criminal justice system, and must play by the rules. With screams of “Hammond Police, Search Warrant” we rammed the door with the heavy metal ram. The door exploded with the first hit, and we entered the apartment. I was the third or fourth officer in and quickly saw two suspects lying on the floor with their hands above their heads. By their actions it was clear that this was not their first rodeo, and police rams coming through the front door were a common occurrence. I was stuck in the door because of the suspected drug dealers lying at my feet. I wanted to get out of the fatal funnel (doorway) as it is the most dangerous place to be during a high speed entry. I could hear screaming from a side bedroom, and needed to get in and secure the occupants. Seeing no other avenue for escape I kicked a 36″ porcelain lion out of my way and rushed to the bedroom. Predictably the lion smashed into a million pieces on the floor and added a much needed loud crash to the ensuing chaos. I rushed into the bedroom with Officer Paul Maldonado and witnessed two females also laying down on the floor with their hands raised. Like the other occupants, they had been through this process before and knew exactly what to do. In a short amount of time we were able to secure all the occupants with handcuffs and search the apartment for more fugitives. My heart was still pounding as I examined the females I had secured and realized one was quite familiar to me from my downtown Hammond days. Many years ago, I had arrested this female for prostitution. In fact, she was still plying her trade just last week when I stopped her along Stateline, and told her to find a rock to crawl under. We are old time acquaintances, and are on a first name basis. I would have talked with her about the good times, but there were none.

We ended up arresting three females, a male “suspected dealer” and a 16 year old juvenile subject that was a dead ringer for Opie Taylor (Andy Griffith Show). His looks were deceptive though. “Opie” had been recently released from Lake County Juvenile for aggravated battery and he had also been previously arrested for pointing a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon.

Everybody was happy, except those arrested and the only casualty was the lion. I wonder if someone will make a complaint that I’m abusing porcelain animals. Or will the owner later claim that this is a priceless heirloom from the Ming Dynasty? These are the thoughts that keep me up late at night.

Live from the front, and still living the dream…

Chief Brian Miller

Note: All suspects identified in this blog are to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

My feet are blistered, my back aching, and I’m exhausted. The Festival on the Lakes is finally over. While I enjoy seeing old friends that I have made on the job, and meeting new ones, it is a taxing week on our police force. I suffered through the heat with my guys and gals, polyester uniforms, and kevlar body armor doesn’t breathe. For the most part it went pretty smooth, although Sunday night was a little dicey.

During the five day event, we had several heat related injuries to guests, asked a few rowdy patrons to leave and in one strange case, had to lecture a couple that was trying to join the “mile high club” in one of our porta potties. Kind of defies good taste and good judgment in my opinion.

We had twelve arrests over the five days, Wednesday we had five, Sunday we had seven, with zero arrests on Thursday and Friday nights. Most of the arrests were for disorderly conduct or public intoxication. On Sunday night, we had a more serious incident that occurred in the beer garden. At about 11:00pm, I was walking around the fest, and checking on my officers. I ended up at the entrance of the beer garden.

A fight broke out when two male guests allegedly began making racial slurs at one of the fireman that was working in the beer tent. When the subject male was asked to leave by a Hammond Police Officer, he refused and challenged the officer. The suspect was a very large man, (I would guess well over 300 pounds) several officers were trying to handcuff him, when another male subject ( a friend of the first suspect) tried to enter the fray. Sergeant Jose Burgos and I grabbed the second subject’s arms and the fight was on. His wife also tried to get into the fight but she was quickly handcuffed by Officer Sophie Rodriguez. Eventually we were able to ground the individual and handcuff him. We then ran to help other officers that were still fighting with the first suspect. After awhile, we were able to gain control of this subject and escort him to a police car.  Several officers, including myself, received various cuts and scrapes from the encounter. The suspect also spit in the face of one of the arresting officers.

I left the fest after my arrest, and spent the next hour and a half completing paperwork necessary for prosecution of the individuals. I was left with a bad taste and hollow feelings from my final fest night. The equipment left inside my front door and the clothing littering my hallway, were all remnants of a night that went bad. I passed out diagonally on my bed, and didn’t move for the next few hours.

During the duration of the festival I had several persons approach me and tell me that they enjoyed my crazy blogs about police work on the streets of Hammond. I had always been under the impression that I only had three regular blog readers (including two family members) but apparently have a little larger group that enjoys my ramblings.  To all that commented on my blog, I sincerely appreciate your positive comments and will strive to keep you entertained and informed.

I enjoyed seeing my personal and work friends this week and hope that I see you all again before summer’s end.
 
I’m still a little out of it this morning, I’m going to need a day or two to rest my aching body…I would like to just spend a day on my boat and just sail off.

Enjoy life, it is both fleeting and fragile.

Brian