DC Police Stories 1

Introduction I started my police career on Monday, June 2, 1972, as a Metropolitan Police Cadet in Washington, DC. That is a program that hires young men and women between the ages of 17 to 19 years old and prepares them to become police officers in the great city of Washington, DC. I really had no idea what to expect from the department. I was young and somewhat inexperienced in the way of life. I had no idea what lay before me as a police cadet or as a police officer. However, I learned very quickly what is needed to be a police officer in Washington, DC. For three years, I worked in only two division assignments; Community Relations Division and Traffic Division. They both were great jobs. I met a lot of important people and had a great time working there. I performed mostly public relations work for the department. A few months before I was scheduled to attend the Police Academy, I was transferred to the Traffic Division. I used every possible contact that I had to have the transfer canceled, but to no avail. Everyone told me that it was to my benefit to get some exposure to real police work. I didn't want to hear that. I wanted to keep my good inside job in community relations. 2 Thanks to others who cared for my benefit, I was transferred to the Traffic Division. It turned out to be one of the best assignments I ever experienced. I met new friends and learned a great deal about police work that benefited me later as a police officer and supervisor. These are the reasons why young people need to experience new things, places, and take on new adventures. Once I completed and graduated from the police academy, I was assigned to the First District Sub Station located on Capitol Hill. I work there for one year. I requested a transfer to the Seventh District located in the South East sector of the city. I worked there for 5 years and really learned how to become a police officer. Later my experiences there made me a better police supervisor and manager. I was promoted to Sergeant in 1980 and was assigned to the Fourth District, located on Peabody Street, Northwest. I worked as a patrol sergeant and later as an administrative sergeant for the police district. In 1983, I was promoted to Lieutenant and reassigned back to the Seventh District. I was a Sector Commander and supervised/managed four sergeants and 33 police officers. During my 12 years as a lieutenant, I was the commander of: - Vice/Task Force that targeted and investigated illegal drug criminal activities and prostitution offenses. 3 - Detective Investigation Section that investigated all criminal activities. - Investigation Unit called Rope that targeted career criminals and repeat offenders. This book covers some of my experiences while working as a policeman from 1972 to 1995. I hope everyone who reads this book will appreciate the sacrifices that police officers make every day to keep citizens and their families safe. To you we say, "Thanks for your dedicated service." I have changed the names of all parties mentioned in the book. Even though the stories are true, I wanted to protect the families, especially the children, of the police officers. These stories in no way are geared to disrespect my fellow police officers or their families. I simply would like to share my experiences with you and others; especially young police officers. As a young man I made several mistakes as an officer, but learned from them to better myself and became the police manager that I am today. Most leaders are not born into the job. They learn from their mistakes and turn those incidents into successes for others to benefit from. I had the pleasure to socialize with many good police officers; men and women. They helped me and assisted with my growth, not only as a policeman but as a man as well.