Santa Maria PD Shooting

A while back, a reader asked my opinion on the Santa Maria PD shooting involving an on-duty officer who was also the suspect in a sex with a minor case.  The incident occurred at the end of January of this year.  For more specific details, check out policeone.com or lawofficer.com.

The gist of the incident is that Ofr. Covarrubias was suspected of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female who, perhaps not so coincidentally, was also in the Santa Maria PD Explorer program.  Both Covarrubias and the girl were assigned to a DUI enforcement night.

A lieutenant with Santa Maria PD was told the Explorer would be called away during the DUI enforcement to make a “pretext call”.  For some reason, the commanding officer of the enforcement night told all the officers present that she would be called away for an investigation.  Covarrubias was present. … Continue Reading

Book Review: Burnout by James Vachowski

They say there’s a first time for everything.  Today, I’ll be writing about someone else’s writing.  I was contacted by James Vachowski via email.  He told me he was seeking law enforcement bloggers who would be interested in reviewing his first mystery novel, “Burnout”.

I am a voracious reader.  I am also cheap frugal.  I saw an opportunity here.  I responded to Mr. Vachowski that I would indeed be interested in reviewing his novel.  He sent me a .pdf file of “Burnout” and I got to reading.

Before I delve into the novel itself, allow me to make a few things clear.

1. I don’t know Mr. Vachowski from a hole in the wall.  Based on the fact that he wrote a book, however, I will assume he is not, in fact, an actual hole in a wall.

2. It seems fair that I add that I was not compensated (other than receiving a copy of the book gratis) for what follows which means I can be just as honest as I want because I owe him nothing.

3. If you’ve been around the blog long enough, you know I’m not a grammatical wunderkind, so I’ll leave that to others and just talk about the story.

4. I’m not a professional reviewer or editor, but Lord knows I have an opinion and I know a thing or two about police work, so there’s that.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the book:

… Continue Reading

Do I Turn You On?

You are going to be sorely disappointed if you’ve got a mind like mine and just read the title of this post.  I’m talking about your turn signal.

My apologies.  I’ve already committed to writing what follows, though, so we may as well muddle through together.

I just can’t seem to win when it comes to the lane change.  It’s feast or famine.  Either some idiot just bolts in front of me with no signal or some idiot flips on the signal and just comes over.

But, MC, why would they do that while you’re on your badass motor?  To be fair, I’m talking about my personal car on the drive home.  If someone was fool enough to do something like that whilst I’m working, they’d get a rag for their trouble.  Make no mistake, it’s happened many times while I’ve been working.  Remember why I love being in Trafffic?

Exactly.

On the way home today, however, I was tooling along minding my own and listening to my Dave Ramsey podcast happy as a lark since the weekend had arrived.  Traffic on the freeway was moderate and moving along at a nice 50 mph or so.  I had a good 110′ between me and the car in front of me.  (Who can tell me why?  Come on, fellow traffic nerds, I know you’re out there…).

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Hide and Seek

One of the many misconceptions I hear about traffic enforcement, particularly with regard to motors, is that we “hide”.  Allow me to take this opportunity to dispel some myths for you.

First off, let’s operate under the assumption that we do, in fact, hide.  My response?

So?

Now, that certainly isn’t the touchy-feely, mollycoddling response today’s society has come to expect, nay, demand from their friendly, neighborhood police officer.  In response, I offer a familiar retort:

So?

I feel a whole other rant coming on about how we handle most situations with kid gloves for fear of upsetting the tender sensibilities of society at large, but I’ll restrain myself and talk specifically about the “hiding” issue. … Continue Reading

Precogs Unite!

I loved this movie.  Speilberg?  Cruise?  Wanton action and futuristic special effects?  I’m in.

Refresh your memory:

Can this technology be true(ish)?
… Continue Reading

“Gun Violence Overnight…”

That’s one of the media’s favorite headlines.  The old adage “if it bleeds, it leads” is absolutely accurate.  Humanity’s capacity to both harm each other and feed off of the misfortune of others knows nearly no bounds.

As I was watching the news this morning (something I don’t often do because, quite frankly, I can’t stand the lousy and biased reporting by folks who don’t know a lot about what they are reporting), I heard about a violent night in a local town.  The news reported that first responders were busy from the late hours of the evening to the wee hours of the morning.

You know what I couldn’t help but think?  You know who (more often than not and excusing the occasional stray that goes through a house and hits a four-year-old) doesn’t get shot in the middle of the night?

People at home in their freaking beds sleeping.

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Peace Officers For Christ – Mt. Hermon Couple’s Conference

For the past year or so, I’ve been involved in an organization that focuses on bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to fellow officers.  The Northern California Chapter of Peace Officers for Christ International has been rebuilding over the past year and we are moving toward big things in conjunction with the incredible folks over at KLOVE.  I’ll have more on that in the future.

For now, however, I’m happy to announce a couple’s retreat at Mt. Hermon in the Santa Cruz mountains on April 27 -29, 2012.  This retreat is geared specifically toward law enforcement and their spouses to bring a fantastic weekend of teaching, worship, recreation, seminars and lifecoaching.

You can check out the details regarding cost and some of the speakers at Mt. Hermon’s website as well as some of the fun activities available including zip lining, rock climbing walls, game room, and swimming.  POFCI wants to invite you to come relax and recharge with your spouse in a beautiful surrounding.

And just as a reminder to all on both sides of the law, I give you Romans 13:3-5.

³ For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. ⁴ The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. ⁵ So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.