We will title this week's first story "Call the Authorities to Take Away the...Other Authorities": Last Friday Officer Joe Corey was called to a house in East Bremerton for an "unwanted subject". Usually this is an unruly family member or an old boyfriend that the resident wants removed. In this case, the resident had allegedly illegally diverted a salmon stream through their property, and officers from the State Department of Fish and Wildlife and a state biologist had come out to talk to him about some possible solutions to the matter. The man decided he did not want them on his property, so he called us to remove and arrest them for trespassing. When Officer Corey explained the law and that there would be no arrest, the man told the officer to "get the f--- off my property". When the officer had the temerity to respond, "okay", the man came back with "Now, f---head". Fish and Wildlife will be following up with charges against the man.

Here is an example of how law enforcement is changing and how public expectations are also changing. Corporal Steven Polonsky and others responded to a local motel on a report of a semi-naked man running around and causing a disturbance. As officers arrived, the man ran into his room and shut the door. He refused to come as he apparently put his clothes back on. The manager wanted him evicted and when the man still refused to come out, the maintenance man arrived with a key. As the door was opened, the manager chose that exact time to inform the officers "oh and the guy has a gun". Officers quickly took cover positions. After some talking back and forth between officers and the man, he finally emerged and told officers to shoot him. He was not holding any weapons so officers did not comply with his demands. The man then slammed the door shut again. Sgt. Tim Garrity arrived on the scene, and it was determined that the man was likely under the influence of alcohol or drugs, mental health issues, or both. The decision was made to get in our cars and drive away. The decision meant we did not force a confrontation with an armed man when there was not any major crime involved. Officers are using restraint and discretion, and always looking to what best serves public safety.

In this newsletter, I have frequently discussed the dangers and ubiquity of "lookalike" weapons and the tragic consequences we have seen from them nationwide, most tragically and notably in the death of Tamir Rice in Cleveland. Monday, we had an incident that started badly but ended very well. Officer Jen Corn responded to a report of a group of teens near the old Bremerton Junior High School running around with assault rifles. When she approached the group, they immediately put down the weapons and stepped away from them. It was quickly determined they were "air-soft" rifles, all of which were black and looked just like AR-15 rifles. In speaking with the group, Officer Corn discovered that they were well aware of the realistic look to their air-soft rifles, and they developed a safety plan if they were approached by the police or somebody else. In an effort to further educate, Officer Corn removed her own duty rifle, took out the magazine, and showed them just how similar theirs looked to hers. It was a good educational moment for them, and hopefully they will exercise good judgment in the future when using their air-soft equipment. The officer thanked them for having a plan to keep everyone safe, including officers, and also had a good talk about making sure the neighborhood was not alarmed.

On Wednesday officers responded to the report of a burglary in progress on 5th Street. The new owner arrived at his residence and discovered it apparently occupied. Multiple officers surrounded the house and noted the sounds of a male singing inside the residence. When an announcement was made and officers went inside, two adult men were located. One told officers that the house "was a gift from God". When asked why they did not have a key, they directed any further questions to God as well. They were booked into the county jail and hopefully will not use their one phone call to ask God for bail.

On Thursday, officers took a report of a theft from the tip jar at a café. Employees observed a man with who apparently has very recently moved to our area from Seattle to take advantage of our social services. He took $1.26 and was located a short time later by officers. Statements from the employees were taken and the man was jailed on $1000 bail, which is significantly more than $1.26. He seemed surprised that we went to all this trouble for a tip jar theft. This man has become the source of many calls and problems in the few weeks since he decided to call our city home.

Last week we sent out our 2016 Professional Standards Report, which is a listing of our complaints, traffic stops, pursuits, crashes and internal affairs investigations. We publish this for each calendar year, and it is an essential part of being a progressive and accountable department.

Finally, we received this very kind feedback this week from a Pastor at a Bremerton church, regarding the work of Officers Alan McComas, Joe Corey and Corporal Todd Byers:

Dear Chief Strachan,

I want to commend your officers who answered our 911 call in dealing with one of our mentally ill folks. They were wonderfully respectful of this young woman's mental tornado. They were kind and gentle, so that there was no escalation of her heightened emotions due to her mental illness, or of her fear of men. I was relieved and gratified that I could trust that whoever came to our door to help us with this momentary crisis would have been well trained in issues of dealing with the mentally ill. But they exemplified those best qualities.

I was able to thank one of them the next day when I saw him, and he said it made his day. But I wanted to make sure that they know how appreciative we all were in how they handled this incident. Thanks again for all of your work in our community.

Work Hard - Have Fun - Stay Safe