The Michigan Daily- Friday, June 19, 1981 Page 8
Cruising: A Fida nig
Not as much
action with the
not-for-TV cops
By STEVE HOOK
T HERE WAS a particularly warm
night earlier this month, one of the
first really steamy nights of the sum-
mer, when I accompanied an Ann Ar-
bor Police Department cruiser for a
Friday night shift. What follows is an
account of that experience:
4:30 P.M. When I arrived at the police'
station, the officer behind the desk had no
idea I was coming, and asked me to wait
while he confirmed the chief's OK. Ten
minutes later, I was greeted by the duty
command officer and *led to his office.
Waiting there was the cop I would ride
with, Officer Jim Heinold, a young man
(age 30) with brown hair and a broad
smile. He seemed sincerely eager to take
an observer along for the ride. Before we
left, however, I was asked to sign a waiver,
relieving the AAPD of liability in case I
should be, say, maimed in a high speed
chase.
We'd go out as part of the University
patrol; Heinold was one of four AAPD of-
ficers that covered the University on a
daily basis, a service for which the
University pays a "handsome sum,"
Heinold said.
5:00 P.M. Heinold talks fondly about his
job and the city of Ann Arbor, waves at
pedestrians along the sidewalks, and
monitors the radio - while weaving
through the spasmodic city streets.
"If you're going to be a cop, this is a good
town to be a cop in," he said while driving
away from town on Washtenaw.
Oddly enough, the most breathtaking
(i.e. dangerous) time of this night shift oc-
curred during the first hour. Heading
toward the Arborland shopping center,
Heinold responded to a "10-15," of "Officer
in Trouble." After quietly informing
headquarters that he was within range of
Briarwood Mall, where a shoplifter was
resisting arrest at Sears, he cranked the
cruiser through a U-turn and sped west-
bound. The siren blared.
Heinold reached the mall in fewer than
five minutes. As he whisked through the
traffic, reaching 60 m.p.h. on one Stadium
Boulevard stretch, cars in all directions
swerved away. At one point, he drove on
the left side of the road, into oncoming
traffic: "Sometimes it's better if you're
actually coming at them, rather than
around them from behind, where they
might not notice you as fast." As he roared
onto State Street, passing dozens of
hastily-sidelined motorists, he glanced at
me reassuringly and replied, "We're
required to exercise caution when doing
this."
Despite our quickness, the incident at
Sears had broken up by the time we
arrived. The suspect had been brought to
the security office; Heinold would simply
accompany the cruiser which would carry
the alleged shoplifter todheadquarters.
5:45 P.M. After the suspect had been
brought in, Heinold searched him, counted
his money, and left him for the "inter-
view" which soon began behind closed
doors. Since we were at the station,
Heinold gave me a thorough tour of the
headquarters - through the briefing
room, communications center, and
evidence and file storage rooms. Very
compact, carefully laid out. Down one hall
I was led to the two holding tanks, where
up to a dozen suspected lawbreakers could
be held - dark, rectangular chambers
with one bench, and a metal toilet with an
attached sink.
"All the comforts of home," Heinold
joked, as I spotted the message
"Pigssuck" spray-painted on one wall.
Heinold was curious about the results of
a recent "Sergeant's Exam," sponsored
by the Michigan Municipal League, which
tests the officers' general professional
knowledge. The letter which tells him the
result - a 94, tied for fourth in the precinct
- is signed by Police Chief William Cor-
bett, with congratulations. Heinold's
ubiquitous grin becomes more ubiquitous.
B ACK ON THE road, Heinold decided
to stop at the Diag-to drive up the
driveway north of Mason Hall and cut the
engine. A brief staredown with the partiers
on the lawn is always a good idea, Heinold
explained, it let's them know you're
around. "You get the drifters coming
around during the summer," he added,
surveying the individual clumps of people
scattered on the grass. "Most of those
people aren't students."
6:15 P.M. Time to roll again - a citizen
had apparently been struck on his bicycle
over on Huron Parkway near Platt Road.
When we arrived, there were three males
of varying ages, three ten-speeds heaped
on each other, and a flustered-looking
woman. She had struck one of the men,
evidently the father of the other two, much
younger persons, coming out of work down
the driveway. The victim appeared
unharmed, just a few scratches along one
arm, and he politely provided the
necessary information for Heinold's ac-
cident report.
This administrative process lasted more
than 10 minutes, with a great deal of in-
formation filling the report. Heinold retur-
ned their identification and returned to the
street.
"A large part of police work is spent
doing paperwork, service functions,"
Heinold explained as he headed north on
Huron Parkway, "A small percentage of
the time is actually spent 'fighting
crime'."
"The word about TV cop shows is that
they're allfantasy," He continued. "I have
never fired my gun at a suspect in eight
years on the force. Most police officers
never do fire their guns."
7:00 P.M. I noted to Officer Heinold that
Daily 'noto by PAUL NGT R
Officer Jim Heinold has been an AAPD staff member for
eight years. Hunting for speeders with the radar unit (above)
and communicating with headquarters (below right) are
regular parts of his job.
we seemed to be receiving a few caustic
stares from fellow drivers and
pedestrians. "You want to see some dirty
looks. I'll show you dirty looks," Heinold
chuckled as we headed into Gallup Park.
As we slowly traversed the winding
driveway, we were indeed perused by
several small groups of people, strikingly
similar to those on the Diag - most of
them drinking beer, enjoying the sunlight,
listening to radios.
Having found no conspicuous offenders-
of-the-law, Officer Heinold decided to try
his hand with the radar. Parking at the
outlet of the Gallup Park drive, pointing at
Huron Parkway, Heinold unplugged the
cigarette lighter and inserted the radar
unit's cord in the socket. He showed me
how two preparations are required to
begin the operation. First, the number
"188" was flashed onto the red display
readout, "to make sure the entire numeral
will appear in use, to avoid mistakes."
Secondly, a tuning fork was struck against
the unit's side, and suddenly the number 50
appeared in bright, square-shaped figures.
"That's what it's supposed to show,"
Heinold explained.
Pointing the radar gun northward,
Heinold could pick off the oncoming traffic
- which was winding out of a hilly curve
before the cruiser came clearly into sight.
"You watch the traffic, and use the radar
for verification," he said as the first cars
innocently glided by. "You can usually tell
what their speed is; I can usually come
within one mile-per-hour." As the next
dozen cars drove by, he guessed their
speeds and generally proved his claim.
Suddenly, a sitting duck. A blue Old-
smobile, driven by a seemingly unatten-
tive young woman, sped into view at 51
m.p.h. - 11 miles above the speed limit.
Heinold shifted the car into gear and
chased her. After seeing her license and
registration and running the details
through a check, he dismissed her with a'
warning..
"Fifteen is generally my limit," the of-
ficer explained later, "beyond 15, I'll
usually write you a ticket."
7:30 P.M. There was a drifter on
south side of town, according to the dis
cher, who had been begging quarter
residents. Officer Heinold, c
familiar with calls such as this, cru
toward the neighborhood. After
zagging through the vicinity for sev
minutes, he found himself on Pacl
again - the suspect still at large. C
again, he drove through the area, and
flagged down this time by an eld
woman, who then points to a thick clum
bushes. The officer disappeared into
cluster for several minutes, and retut
with the drifter's name and hometown.
"He said he was resting in the bs
Heinold said after reporting to headqi
ters. "Said he just hitch-hiked f
Madison, Wisconsin." Heinold expla
that after getting the newcomer's ii
tification and giving him a quick sez
for weapons, he informed him about I'
laws regarding transients, and al
provisions that are available for then
local agencies.
As we left the neighborhood,
pointed to a man sitting ina motionl
outside an apartment building. He wa
undercover cop, on duty. "For es
arrest you make undercover," Heii
said, "you may spend two weeks sittin
your ass. Talk about drinking coffee."
8:00 P.M. Another "service call." 'I
play a lot of city league softball at a p
called Buhr Park, just off Packarc
resident whose backyard is located
beyond the right field fence, having re
ned from a long day at work, was
pleased to see a stream of right f'
trampling his shrubbery in purs
home runs.
Officer Heinold was virtually at a
for words. What could be done about
poor man's dilemma? Move home ph
The patrolman could only recommen
call to the parks department in the n
ning. He gave the resident his busit
card, saying that he'd call the departr
himself if there was no progress soon.
8:45 P.M. We drove back downtow
the Buhr field caper, discussing the
practicalities of relocating home plat
center field. Heinold said he'd be pici
up his partner, who was walking a b