Following my arrival at the station Wednesday evening, I was subjected to the standard station tour. (This only after my ride-along patrolman had dictated an arrest report to a female dispatcher trainee.) Corinne, the secretarial dispatcher, turned out to be my escort. (According to G.P.D. regulations, female ride-alongs cannot ride with a lone patrolman.) She provided me with detailed information about the communication department, along with the current "roll call" gossip. Corinne seemed quite sympathetic toward the officers and possessed the kind of information (privileged) about individua

Additional biographical data enriched my patrolman portrait. It seems that Davis felt his sense of prejudice had increased since he joined the force. Various racial and ethnic references revealed this to me: (speaking to Gary, from the K-9 Unit), "Hey, dude, if you're going down to south-central L.A. [a predominantly black area], you should take an extra gun"; (verbal exchange with a fellow officer stopped at a traffic signal), "Hey, Bob, let's go to La Palma, to eat some tortillas and drink some beer" (spoken with a heavy Spanish accent). Davis revealed a more interesting bit of data concerning personal changes resulting from police duty. He mentioned that he now enjoyed his solitude, liked to be alone more; continually being asked for advice and solving other people's problems had made him tired of being around others. He confessed having less patience with "phony" individuals. These themes bring to mind Skolnick's "working personality" (1967). Just as he considered the preoccupation with danger an important element of the police officer's "working personality," this counselor/mediator role also takes its toll on patrolmen. Having to play referee in domestic quarrels, neighbor disputes, and the like can create a burdensome tax on a city employee. I would expect to see ramifications, perhaps even negative consequences, in his interpersonal contacts and communications with friends/spouse/family as well as with "citizens." He might strive toward greater isolation?possibly resulting in alienation from his social support system.

Finally in the police car with Corinne and Davis, I notice no cage, polyglass plate, or screen separating us. Fittingly, the sergeant's vehicle used for ride-alongs is devoid of such trappings. We will not transport any suspects (police equivalent=prisoners), since we'll be a backup unit. (I still don't know if that's the reason the shotgun in the car was stuck in its brace.)

Once out of that frying pan, we drove a few blocks in answer to a suspicious vehicle call. Apparently, an occupied VW bug had looked peculiar to some neighbors, who, in John's words, "called the boys in blue." Davis and a fellow officer cautiously approached the car and questioned the suspects. Suddenly, I found John opening the door nearest me and escorting a man into the police car. At first, I thought he was a suspect from the Bug. (I could certainly smell the alcohol fumes emanating from his person.) But then John pulled away from the curb and headed north toward an intersection. Evidently, the man next to me was a reserve officer who thought there was a burglary in progress at a vacationing neighbor's home. Within minutes, G.P.D. cars appeared on the scene; we were in the midst of a field emergency! Vehicles leaving the area were stopped to check for lookouts or accomplices. The police helicopter appeared, immediately lighting the entire residence as it hovered overhead. In the midst of this excitement, poor John had been unable to pry the shotgun from its brace. It reminded me of an episode from the Keystone Cops. As it turned out, three men had been waiting near this home for a fourth companion, with no malicious intent. (The reserve officer's request had taken precedence over the suspicious vehicle. John did not hesitate to follow his directions" presumably his status as a reserve signaled trustworthiness and competence.)

John described Terry Poe as a heavy man, 6'2", 260 pounds. Poe answered a call summoning him to the aid of a child who had ceased breathing. When he arrived, the scene he encountered caused him instinctively to employ his discretionary decision-making power. The result: four cops and one sergeant had to pull Terry off the boy's father. Apparently, the third-degree burns covering the child's legs just below his knees and the testicles and scrotum burned beyond recognition invoked Poe's wrath. Obviously, this officer misused force when he surpassed it as an instrumental means to gain control and resor

Some topics in this essay:
Darlene Davis, According Davis, Delhi Davis, Terry Poe, John Davis, Nearby Davis, According GPD, IV Ben, La Palma, City Police, discretionary decision-making, excessive force, decision-making power, discretionary decision-making power, fellow officer, police car, john davis, stereotypical cop image, police 1973, reserve officer, person john, suspicious vehicle,