Bike Training
The Bremerton Police Department has deployed a Bicycle Unit, off and on, since at least the early 1990s. The current iteration is a two-person unit staffed by Officers Brandon Greenhill and Derek Ejde. Regular readers of this column understand how effective these two have been in proactively addressing problem areas of the City. They are constantly being mentioned as being involved in some extraordinary feat of crime fighting or public relations. Citizens view them as more approachable than an officer in a patrol car. The bikes also allow Officers Greenhill and Ejde to silently roll up on illegal activities in progress. Other agencies recognize the value of bike units and are deploying their own teams. Brandon Greenhill is a certified trainer with the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA) and this week provided a certification course to officers from Bainbridge Island PD and Port Orchard PD.
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L to R: Nathan Lynch Port Orchard PD, Charles McCarty Bainbridge Island PD, Ryan Norton Bainbridge Island PD, Cameron Lewis Bainbridge Island PD, Josh Buonvino Bainbridge Island PD, Brandon Greenhill, Bremerton PD - Instructor.
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BPD Bike Patrol is Expanding
In addition to training other agency's bike officers, we've been doing a little training of our own. On June 8th, five new officers embarked on their arduous journey toward bike patrol certification. Often compared to the rigorous BUD/S 6-month Navy SEAL course (ok, not really), the 32-hour bike program is designed to weed out the weak and uncommitted. Led by the department's own R. Lee Ermey - our term of endearment for Officer Greenhill - the officers were tested to their limits and they did not break.
In the days following the class, the newly minted bike officers patrolled the streets in pairs from 10 PM until midnight, making numerous contacts and arrests. Attached is a map of Officer Guiney's travel for one night, grinding out eight tough miles and validating his decision to give up smoking. Awesome job to all!!! [Corporal Byers]
Officer Fabio
Kitsap County K-9 Deputy Joe Hedstrom was at Bremerton PD Headquarters on Friday and innocently let it slip that Lt. Plumb was once known as "Fabio." When Lt. Plumb protested and denied the appellation, Deputy Hedstrom mentioned that there may be photographic evidence in existence of Randy "Fabio" Plumb. Some photos were later sent to me by a confidential source. What do you guys think? Here he is circa 1998, as a narcotics detective, holding his lovely infant daughter and how he looks today.
Inside Bremerton: June 2018 - Watershed Tour
Last week Corporal Jeff Schaefer appeared on the Inside Bremerton's coverage of the watershed.
Click here to watch the episode. His segment discussed the Bremerton Police Department's role in patrolling the 3000 acres of pristine forests that surround our City's water supply. He pointed out that this is not a recreational area. No hunting, camping, biking, fishing or hiking is allowed. Anyone caught trespassing is breaking the law. However, officers frequently provide education and warnings to those that inadvertently wander into this prohibited area. Bear sightings are the most exciting things encountered by officers on watershed patrol.
Blast from the past. "I can run faster than you can drive drunk."
Officers Boynton and Waldroop were walking the Callow Avenue business district about 3 A.M. in the 1980s. They came across a van with the engine running stopped in the north bound lane of the 300 block of Callow. Officer Waldroop walked up to the driver's window and looked inside while Officer Boynton went to the passenger window. They saw the diver with both arms on the wheel and his head down, passed out. The van was in park.
Officer Waldroop began jogging in place outside the driver's side window and then banged on the window. The driver woke and looked out the window to see Officer Waldroop apparently "jogging" next to his van. Officer Waldroop yelled at the driver to stop the van. Officer Boynton was wondering what the heck Waldroop was doing.
The driver looked straight ahead and stepped on the gas. The van didn't move since it was in park, but Officer Waldroop slowly "jogged" backwards down the side of the van. Waldroop then came running up a little faster in place by the window and again yelled at the driver to stop the van.
The clearly intoxicated driver pressed down a little harder on the accelerator, which of course did nothing but rev the engine at a higher RPM. Officer Waldroop drifted back and then came running even harder up to the window, again simply running in place outside the driver's window of the stationary van. Officer Waldroop banged his hand on the window and yelled, "I told you to stop the van." The driver took his foot off the gas and hit the brakes.
Officer Waldroop ran forward a few feet before stopping and returning to the van. He opened the door and told the driver to get out. The driver looked at Officer Waldroop and said, "Man you can run really fast." Officer Waldroop replied. "I can run faster than you can drive drunk, and you're under arrest for DUI." Driver put up his hands up and said, "You got me." [From Dave Boynton, former BPD sergeant and current Electronic Home Monitoring Coordinator]
Taste the rainbow
Officer Ejde, who was riding by himself while his soul mate was putting on a bike class, was dispatched to a melee at the Salvation Army first thing in the morning. Apparently, one of our peeps was upset because someone stole his Skittles. What made him even more enraged was when his friend bought him a new package of the rainbow candy. I don't know about you, but when someone hands me a bag of Skittles, my day improves immediately. Like Corporal Polonsky says "It certainly won't make your day worse." Anyway, an argument erupted when friends stepped in to defend their respective combatants. Only the cool hand and buttery rich voice of reason from Officer Ejde could quell this insurrection. Now, if you would have told me the subject was upset about Skittles changing the green ones from lime to apple without telling anyone, I would understand. No one, however, understands why he was so charged up over getting the replacement bag. [Corporal Schaefer]
More sweet stuff
Officer Ejde was at it again down at Sally's right after the Skittle dispute. He was given information that a warrant subject was in the area. As he checked, he saw said warrant subject standing with the same group that was just in the argument. He softly approached the group perpetrating like he was following up with the verbal when he noticed the warrant guy looked like he was going to jack rabbit. He grabbed the suspect and told him he had a warrant and he was under arrest. After a brief struggle, he was able to take him into custody. Searching the subject incident to arrest, Officer Ejde came across a meth pipe in his pocket, baggies in his wallet and some license plates and a few debit cards that belonged to other people in his backpack. Closer inspection of the baggies revealed a white crystal substance but not the consistency of meth. It appeared the baggies contained sugar as if the subject was either selling it as meth or using it to cut the drug to increase his supply. When questioned about this, the guy said it was sugar for his cereal. This young man was booked for his various charges including the warrant and meth possession as Officer Ejde got a positive test on one of the samples. [Corporal Schaefer]
Garbage fire
South Kitsap Fire Rescue sent two pumper trucks to a fire inside the dump on Imperial Way. It was unknown exactly what caused the smoldering stench, but I spoke to one employee who said patrons will sometimes dispose of charcoal briquettes in their waste. [Corporal Schaefer]
Fowl play
Officer Jen Corn assisted Animal Control in trying to round up a rogue rooster on the east side. It was unknown if he was trying to cross the road. [Corporal Schaefer]
We've all had some bad nights, but this one takes the cake.
Sergeant Heffernan was dispatched to an intoxicated man who injured himself by dropping 15' off a balcony. The dispatcher mentioned a domestic dispute was somehow involved. The injured fellow was fixin' to leave and had the car in reverse as Sergeant Heffernan pulled up. Noticing that the driver was apparently under the influence, Sergeant Heffernan asked the man to step out. This reasonable request was greeted with some mild resistance and very rude name calling. The man was detained and medics were summoned to check his head injury.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Heffernan interviewed witnesses, including the suspect's husband, who said the inebriate consumed a lot of liquor during the night and had been dealing with a laundry list of personal problems lately. As paramedics evaluated the man, he became uncooperative and had to be restrained to the gurney for the trip to the hospital. While at the hospital, Sergeant Heffernan obtained a warrant for his blood. Officers determined our injured man was the perpetrator in a domestic assault which apparently led to him jumping off the balcony. When the suspect was medically cleared, he was delivered to the jail on DUI and DV-assault charges. [Corporal Schaefer]
There you are! Hey, do I know you? No but there you are, you're there! (Name the movie)
Officer Rivera took a trespass report last month where the suspect's mug was captured on a Ring doorbell camera. At first, her identity was unknown until the image was sent out via department email. Several people chimed in to drop the dime on the woman due to her distinctive neck tattoos (law enforcement's best friend). Fast forward to around midnight when Officer Hughes was on random and unpredictable patrol at his favorite fill-up spot, the Kitsap Way Chevron. In walked our oblivious suspect, whom Office Hughes recognized and detained. She went to jail for a warrant and criminal trespass. [Corporal Schaefer]
Sheer determination: A for Effort but Still Going to Jail
Back in May, Officer Berntsen developed probable cause to arrest a woman for a no contact order violation. Turns out she had priors so it was actually a felony violation.
Last week, Officer Berntsen observed the woman on the front porch of her mom's house. He contacted her, told her she was under arrest and a second later, she took off running. She ran between some houses and disappeared in the brush near the cliffs on Washington Avenue. KCSO brought out their drones to help search for her and after about an hour, she was located and arrested.
Warrant Officer Sipple took custody of woman for the trip to jail. She was handcuffed behind her back and placed in the back of the vehicle. While in traffic on 11th Street, the suspect did some yoga moves and slipped out of the handcuffs and reached between the bars to open the back door from the outside while the window was rolled down due to the warm weather. The chase was on again as she sprinted down Warren Avenue, and again got lost in yards near 13th and Elizabeth.
Officer Hall and K-9 Ando responded and we had the area locked down for containment. A citizen came out of her house and said the person we were looking for was likely the stranger that just wandered into her house. Sure enough, Officer Hall looked in the house and saw our suspect in the living room. He motioned for her to step out where she was placed under arrest. This time with leg restraints.
You would think this would be the end of the story, but not quite. While on the way to the jail, Officer Donnelly and France had to pull over to reset the restraints because she was still trying to work her way out of them. She was FINALLY booked into jail for the felony order violation, resisting arrest and escape. Below is an action shot of the track. [Corporal Schaefer]
King County desperado meets his match
Early in the morning on Saturday, Officer Hughes responded to a local motel for an argument between brothers. The brother who made a threat to the other fled out of a window prior to police arrival. Officers determined he had a felony warrant out of King County for burglary. After learning the man was the motel's maintenance guy, Officer Donnelly returned to the motel the next night to look for the man. He saw him enter a room and, when other officers showed up, he contacted him and arrested him for the warrant. The suspect had methamphetamine on him so he was also booked for VUCSA-meth possession. [Corporal Schaefer]
Like a Mr. Magoo Cartoon...but not funny
CENCOM dispatched a possible intoxicated driver traveling south on Warren Avenue. The person who called 911 reported a Kia stopped at an intersection while the traffic signal displayed a green light. The driver was hunched over the steering wheel. After waiting for nearly ten seconds, the good citizen pulled alongside the passed out driver and honked. The driver woke and continued on his way, striking the curb multiple times before stopping next to Olympic College. The caller activated her hazard lights and followed the Kia. After crossing 6th Street, the driver bounced over the median and dislodged a sign causing, damage to its bumper, windshield and roof. The Kia continued in the oncoming lane and turned west on Burwell. After passing the Police Department, the driver stopped in the crosswalk, exited his vehicle and walked around the Kia multiple times. After returning to his car, the driver continued on his way as Officer Guiney followed with his lights activated. The vehicle displayed some of the worst driving Officer Guiney has ever observed in his law enforcement career. Eventually, the driver stopped on Callow and was invited to exit his vehicle. Poor performance on Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and the strong odor of marijuana led to his arrest. A Drug Recognition Expert processed the driver and, following the evaluation, took the driver was to the hospital where he voluntarily provided a sample of his blood. He was booked into the jail.
Masked Bandits
Officers were toned out to a 6th Street residence for a burglary in progress in the middle of the night. The caller reported hearing people surrounding his house and banging on the walls. Multiple officers responded, with Officer Prouse arriving first. He quickly identified the suspects as The Masked Bandits of the Forest, or more commonly known as, raccoons. He was able to sort out the detail without any further assistance and the other officers were cleared. [Corporal Vertefeuille]
Good Try
Among the many fine citizens of our fair town, we have a notorious driving scofflaw. Among his many accomplishments, he has managed to get his driving revoked status in the first degree. For those not aware, that takes significant effort and consistent determination to drive badly over a long period of time. This week, he decided he really needed to drive somewhere for some important reason known only to him. Realizing that he is instantly recognized by every Bremerton Police Officer, he developed a shrewd plan. First, he placed a license plate belonging on a green Toyota on the white Ford he decided to drive. Then, he put on a full, curly black wig, a hat, and glasses. Once everything was in place, he drove. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for the rest of the motoring public, he crossed paths with Officer Ejde prior to reaching his destination. Officer Ejde wasn't having any of this nonsense and stopped our disguised scofflaw. The State of Washington considers driving while revoked in the first degree a big deal. He went to jail. Officers snapped a photo of the disguise, but unfortunately not before it had already been removed. [Corporal Vertefeuille]
Johnny Rivera x2
Johnny Rivera called to report a package of drugs being shipped via FedEx. Johnny Rivera responded to investigate said package. Johnny Rivera took Johnny Rivera's statement and learned Johnny became suspicious when the package was being mailed to Jane Doe in Florida (a very cunning rouse, but Johnny figured it out). Johnny took the package from Johnny and placed it into the BPD Evidence Room for further investigation. In case you were wondering if there could possibly be two Johnny Rivera's in the world, there are, and they both work in Bremerton; one for FedEx and one for BPD. [Corporal Vertefeuille]
