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BPD Weekly Update
Blast from the Past - Old School Sergeant
Back in the late 1970s, burglaries were a real problem for Bremerton. Sergeant Wes Henry, Jr. was the graveyard supervisor and he was big on making sure his officers were out checking buildings for signs of illegal entry. Unlike today, where every business has an alarm system, alarms were few and far between back then. We had some burglars who would break into buildings via roof top ventilation systems or cut windows out of their frames to gain access into a business. They were even very good at getting into safes, or flat-out taking the whole safe with them. Sgt. Henry liked his officers to walk alleys and inspect the back doors of businesses. To make sure young officers were out doing this; he would go out while they were having dinner or doing reports and put his business card in door jams or rooftop ventilation intakes of businesses. On his business cards, he would put the date and time to determine how long it took officers to discover the cards. At the end of shift he would ask officers if they had checked their buildings. If they said, "Yes," he asked if they found anything out of the ordinary. If they didn't have all his business cards to turn in, some serious hazing was forthcoming. You learned to check your businesses - top to bottom. [Dave Boynton]

Trask goes to the Academy
Every new recruit heading to the police academy must pass a physical fitness test before they are accepted into their assigned academy class. If they don't pass all phases of the test, they are not admitted to the police academy and must apply for a new session - sometimes months later. Passing the test brings pressure and stress - and not all potential recruits make it. Here is Lieutenant Elton's report on a recent trip to the academy with a newly hired hopeful:

It was a brisk October day when newly hired recruit Casey Trask floated on the whimsy of hope, and potential, into the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) education building. There, in room E251, he was introduced to a small sample of recruit trainee life. Officer Trask was wide-eyed at what he later described to me as the opening scene from the movie Full Metal Jacket. On to the physical fitness test - he 300 metered his feet off, nearly pushed the world out of orbit doing push-ups, flawlessly demonstrated how sit-ups should be done, and then ran the mile and a half. That's all I will say about that...we all have room to improve in certain areas. In the end, Officer Trask slayed the test, and is now a member of Class 779. Yes...779! [Lt. Aaron Elton]



Bike Patrol Training
At Bremerton PD, we have two full time bike patrol officers. A few additional officers are also trained on bikes to fill in at parades and other special events - or to patrol the city as time and staffing allows. Unfortunately, they don't always get much opportunity to patrol on bikes.

Last week, however, some of the bike officers took advantage of the overlap Friday by conducting training at the Police Firing Range. Sergeant Garrity, Corporal Polonsky and Officer Greenhill organized the training, which emphasized accurately shooting from the bicycles after some physical exertion. The training also incorporated several scenarios as well as competition style events. All of the officers involved enjoyed the training and look forward to doing it again in the future. Following the training, Officer Ross Guiney worked on his Defensive Tactics videos for his Master Instructor certification. The other bike officers conducted a proactive patrol event downtown and made several arrests. Currently Sergeant Heffernan is working to Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) Certify the entire Bike Patrol Team. The Bike Patrol continues to demonstrate their tremendous value to our department. [Sergeant Todd Byers]



The result of a series of poor choices...
Corporal Steve Polonsky observed an older-model Nissan Sentra cross into the center turn lane on Kitsap Way and run a red light. When he went to stop the vehicle, it suddenly increased its speed to over 70 mph and crossed into oncoming traffic as it approached National Avenue. The pursuit was terminated for safety reasons near Kitsap Way and 6th Street as the suspect ran a second red light. A short time later, word was received that the vehicle had lost control near 6th Street and Washington Avenue and crashed into a retaining wall and parked vehicle. The driver was seen running from the scene in a red jacket. Additional officers responded to the area and set up containment. Officer Trevor Donnelly, who was on containment, contacted a possible suspect in the area of the track. He wasn't, however, wearing a red jacket. As Officer Donnelly was listening to an assortment of lies from this gent, a witness notified Officer Faidley that same man had been hiding near some trash cans. When Officer Faidley checked the area around the trash cans, he located the red jacket which had been stashed. Our suspect was transported to the hospital where he donated two vials of his blood (thanks to a search warrant) and eventually booked into jail for a rather lengthy list of charges. [Sergeant Todd Byers]



If the deal sounds too good to be true... 
Officer Alex George investigated a case involving the illegal resetting of a vehicle's odometer in order to defraud a purchaser. A woman who lives in Everett purchased a 1998 Toyota 4Runner with 168,500 miles for the screaming deal of $3,850 from man named "Joe" in Bremerton. Unfortunately she did not complete a CARFAX report until two days after the purchase. She discovered the vehicle actually had 299,500 miles on the odometer two days prior to her purchase. Oddly enough, the victim's attempts to contact "Joe" upon discovering this discrepancy have been unsuccessful. Currently, Officer George is attempting to confirm the identity of "Joe." This sad tale is not intended to be a commercial for any service that provides vehicle history reports, however, a word to the wise - your next purchase of a used car needs to include a request to, "Show me the CARFAX." [Sergeant Todd Byers]

Defective headlamp leads to a whole lot more
Officer Chris Faidley noticed a Ford Mustang had an equipment violation and was speeding. When he tried to stop the vehicle, the driver continued on for quite some time before pulling over. This sort of behavior always raises an officer's suspicions. After being informed why he was stopped, the driver refused to identify himself. The driver was finally identified following a team effort by Bremerton PD officers, Washington State Patrol (WSP) Troopers, the driver's girlfriends and guy friends. And surprise, surprise! He had two warrants for his arrest. During the name-game run-around, it became apparent he was highly intoxicated. The driver was delivered to the hospital, where a search warrant for his blood was obtained from the on-call judge. The driver soon began to express a strong desire to harm officers and himself. As he waited for mental health clearance, the medical staff used a portable breath test instrument and discovered his blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit (.243) 3½ hours after the initial stop. This required detoxification prior to incarceration. Our offender had four prior DUIs. They never learn. [Sergeant Todd Byers]

Dy-no-mite!
On Halloween, an explosion rocked the parking lot across from the Kitsap Rescue Mission. Officers responded to investigate and eventually called the WSP Bomb Disposal Unit. The FBI even showed up. It appeared someone detonated a homemade firework/explosive device. Fragments of the device damaged a nearby car and landed over a hundred feet away from ground zero. WSP is investigating remnants of the device seized for evidence. [Sergeant Jeff Schaefer]

[Update: After some outstanding investigation by Bike Officers Brandon Greenhill and Derek Ejde, they developed probable cause to arrest a man for detonating the device. The suspect is well-known to our bike officers and frequently hangs out downtown by Sally's and Kitsap Rescue Mission. Graveyard officers picked him up Friday night. Excellent police work by all involved.]

You mean you're not Charlize Theron?
Officer Ryan Avery and I were summoned to the commercial building on Wheaton Way across from Hollis Street for a transient setting up camp in a stairwell. The owner of the one of the businesses was tipped off by the motion sensor on building's surveillance system.

We located a woman who had bedded down for the night in one of the stairwells just feet away from the sign that reads, "NO LOITERING, POLICE ENFORCED." I planned to simply trespass her and send her packing but she opted to play the "name game" with me providing possibly legit names followed by obvious grade-A baloney names like "Charlize Theron." Listen, I know Charlize Theron when I see her and this woman wasn't fooling me. After about fifteen minutes of trying to get through to her we didn't want to take her to jail, we just needed to know who she was for the trespass form; she chose not to cooperate, so I informed her she was under arrest. After a brief struggle, she was taken into custody and booked for false statements, criminal trespass, resisting, and the meth pipe found in her sweatshirt. In the end, we figured out her true identity and she was booked under her real name instead of Ms. Theron. Or, Ms. Gordon. Or, Ms. Alphaunt. Or, any of the other names she gave me. [Sergeant Jeff Schaefer]

Officers Greenhill and Ejde and Captain Plumb take part in the downtown Halloween festivities



Traffic unit staying up past bedtime
Traffic Officers Steven Forbragd and Sara Felty adjusted their schedules in order to bless the swing shift and graveyard crews with their presence. Their diligence paid off in the form of a Department of Corrections warrant arrest, an Under 21 DUI-drugs arrest and a doozy of DUIs at the end of their shift. For the last DUI, Officer Prouse watched a damaged car sailing down the hill on Sheridan Road. He went to stop it and the driver kept creeping down the road - almost as if they were drunk or something. He made contact and, being a former traffic officer himself, quickly surmised the driver was likely under the influence. Enter Officer Forbragd, who responded and took over the investigation. Meanwhile, a guy parked at a local motel reported his Jaguar had been demolished by a Chevy Cruze that left the scene. Would you believe the impaired driver stopped by Officer Prouse was driving a Chevy Cruze? Wild, huh? Anyway, the driver was arrested for DUI, hit and run, and blew in the neighborhood of .250 on the Draeger breath test machine. Officer Felty caught up on paperwork and booked the lass into jail on her way home while Officer Forbragd stayed late to finish his report.

The "correction" part of the correctional system didn't stick
Officers Alex George and Corey Ditmer were dispatched to a domestic violence incident involving a subject whom was recently released from prison. The man is currently on Department of Corrections' supervision and his most recent felony conviction was for assault. His girlfriend complained that the man threw her down on the bed and grabbed her by the arms. She had minor injuries to prove it. Since he chose to not give a coherent version of events from his point of view, he was placed under arrest for DV assault. He apparently doesn't subscribe to the theory of "if you choose the actions, you choose the consequences" as he got a bit squirrely with Officer George while being escorted to the patrol car. He was booked into jail and I'm sure his community corrections officer will not be pleased when Officer George's report ends up on her desk. [Sergeant Jeff Schaefer]

More Arm than Hammer
Officers Prouse and George responded to a DV on the east side. The female half of the estranged couple had been out of town for a week and returned to find baking soda poured all over the upstairs of the house by her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend. If you're like me, all you wanna do when you get home from traveling is sit down and relax, not clean up some BS (baking soda - get it?). 

An argument ensued and the man grabbed the woman and threw her onto the floor, treating her as if SHE was the one who made the mess. Anyway, he went to jail for domestic assault and she will likely be sweeping baking soda off the floor all day. At least the tile will be clean and odor free. [Sergeant Jeff Schaefer]

Better call Saul! 
It was brought to Detective Garland's attention by the prosecutor's office that a Kitsap County Jail inmate we will call "L. L." has been acting as legal representation for other inmates and filing legal documents on their behalf. This might surprise you, but there is no evidence that Mr. L. L. has a law degree or is an actual attorney. Detective Garland met with another inmate who was recently transferred to the state prison in Shelton. That inmate informed Detective Garland that Mr. L. L. helped author some documents in order to "quash" a warrant the inmate has in the State of Oregon. When asked if the documents had any effect, the inmate said "no," and went on to say he was told by representatives in the court to stop listening to jailhouse lawyers. Now that's some sound advice. Apparently the inmate paid Mr. L.L. $20 in jail commissary funds for his legal work. I've heard of Pro Bono but never Pro Ho Ho. [Sergeant Jeff Schaefer]

From the "if they were smart, we'd all have to be firefighters" file
A victim called to report the theft of his backpack from his front porch. In an interesting twist, later he also found his backpack. It was on a woman at 7-Eleven. When he went to confront her, she dropped it and ran. In an even more interesting twist, she left her wallet and ID inside the stolen backpack. Now the suspect has Probable Cause (PC) for theft three in addition to her Port Orchard PD assault warrant. [Sergeant Jeff Schaefer]

Jim Burchett, Chief
Bremerton Police Department
1025 Burwell Street
Bremerton, WA 98337

360-473-5224
Fax: 360-473-5890
Assistant: Barbara Forbes
November 8, 2018
Contact 
Chief  Jim Burchett

Captain Randy Plumb
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Captain Tom Wolfe
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Lieutenant Kevin Crane
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Lieutenant Mike Davis
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Lieutenant Aaron Elton
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Headquarters
1025 Burwell Street
Bremerton, WA 98337
(360) 473-5220
 www.BremertonWA.gov

BPD Staff Directory
OFFICERS
Ryan Avery
Kasey Barnes-Trask
Spencer Berntsen
Jason Butler
Dana Clevenger
Joseph Corey
Jennifer Corn
Kenny Davis
Cory Ditmer
Trevor Donnelly
Derek Ejde
Jordan Ejde
Christopher Faidley
Sara Felty
Jared France
Steven Forbragd
Martin Garland
Alexander George
Brandon Greenhill
Ross Guiney
David Hughes
Jeffrey Inklebarger
Kent Mayfield
Allan McComas
Michael Nelson
William Prouse
Johnny Rivera
Frank Shaw
David Shohradov
Matthew Thuring
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
David Boynton
Rena Brown
Tom Danaher
Barbara Forbes
Donna Goodwin
Marie Hansen
Dennis Hughes
Elena Rinonos
Marixa Scott
Joseph Sexton
Ian Sipple
Samantha Switzer
Kiarra Root
Debra Williams
CORPORAL
Beau Ayers
Todd Byers
Bryan Hall
Steven Polonsky
Rodney Rauback
Matthew Strombach
Jacob Switzer
Jason Vertefeuille
  SERGEANTS
Timothy Garrity
Ryan Heffernan
Kelly Meade 
Billy Renfro
Dahle Roessel
Keith Sargent
Jeff Schaefer
  LIEUTENANTS
Kevin Crane
Michael Davis 
Aaron Elton
  CAPTAINS
Randy Plumb
Tom Wolfe
CHIEF
James Burchett