I’m totally mesmerized by this video of the human slinky. Performing as the halftime entertainment at a Creighton University basketball game, Romanian performer Veniamin (caution: really annoying website!) takes the slinky to an art form. A hypnotic one. I want one of these costumes and I don’t even know why.

Here are the directions:

1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them & leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

Around 9:30 last night at work I was driving eastbound on Roswell Road approaching East Cobb Park, when I noticed several cars in the rear corner with teens standing around. I turned into the parking lot and headed towards the teens. They were each holding plastic cups. When I came into view they all simultaneously tossed the contents of their cups into the grass. By the time I pulled up next to them (and parked strategically behind three cars), the cups were on the ground as well. I told the dispatcher that I was out of my car with a group of teens at East Cobb Park.

Me: Hey, what are you guys doing?
Teens: We’re just hanging out.
Me: What did everyone dump out as I pulled up?
Teens: Nothing… What are you talking about?
Me: Seriously. I saw everyone dump the contents of those cups onto the ground, and now you’ve littered by throwing the cups on the ground.

I walked over to the cups on the ground and picked one up.

Me: Why is this cup still cold, and why does it smell like beer?

I was getting blank stares from everyone. None of them were talking at this point, just kind of looking around at each other trying to figure out what to do. I was now at an angle that I could see under the car.

Me: Why are there beer cans and cups under the car?
Teens: We just got here. Those must have been there when we pulled up.
Me: There is a can in front of your rear tire. Are you saying that you didn’t run over that can when you pulled into the parking space?
Teens: Well… Um…
Me: IDs. Everyone.

At this point a tone is played over the radio. A tone is just a long beep. The tone is played before a very serious call is dispatched on the radio. It’s used for armed robberies, shootings, stabbings, burglaries in progress, and officer down calls. We get quite a few burglary in progress calls where someone says that they hear someone in their house. When we get there we find out that they were just hearing things. When a tone is played, we usually assume it’s a bogus burglary in progress.

Dispatch: 4316, copy a signal 50.
Translation: 4316 (my beat partner’s radio number) copy a signal 50 (shooting).
Me to the teens: You guys are lucky! Someone just got shot! I gotta go!
Teens: What?! Seriously?! Sorry!

I turned on my lights and siren and peeled out of the parking lot.

The Shooting

The woman that called 911 was simply making a u-turn in a church parking lot when she saw a man laying on the ground. She checked for a pulse, saw a bullet hole, and called 911.

I arrived on scene shortly after to find the fire department giving CPR to a young white male laying in a church parking lot. He had a bullet wound to his lower abdomen, and didn’t appear to be alive. When the ambulance arrived they loaded him up and took off. After he was gone and we had a chance to look at the scene. The first thing that I noticed was that there was no blood on the ground. Not a drop. We couldn’t find a shell casing anywhere. It appeared that he was shot somewhere else and dropped in the parking lot.

I took the role of making the crime scene log. When there’s a major crime, we log everyone that enters the crime scene. It’s a boring job, but it’s important. I had to stay there until the next shift could relieve me. The media showed up after everyone but the detectives had left. I’ve been on TV three times that I know of. I’m always standing around doing nothing. Which is usually all you can do by the time they show up. All of the exciting stuff is already done. I’m not sure if they played the story or not.

I got home at 1:00 AM. I had called Michelle just before I went out with the teens in the park. I told her that it had been a slow night, and that I should be home at a reasonable time.

Update: June 18, 2008 | 11:55 PM

This is a press release from the department:

The Cobb County Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit is investigating a homicide which occurred at 835 Powers Ferry Road in Marietta, Georgia.

According to investigators, the Uniform Division of Zone 4 was dispatched to the Powers Ferry Church of Christ in reference to a male who was found lying in the parking lot. When uniform officers arrived they discovered that 17 year old Joel Ray Andresen of Marietta, Georgia had been shot. The victim was transported by ambulance to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

***UPDATE***

The Cobb County Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit is updating information regarding the homicide which occurred last night at 2136 hours.

As a result of a tip (from a person who watched the various news coverage overnight), Cobb County investigators along with detectives from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department developed information on the homicide suspect responsible for the death of 17 year old Joel Ray Andresen of Marietta, Georgia.

At approximately 1430 hours this afternoon, investigators were conducting surveillance on the suspect’s residence, when he was observed driving his black 2003 Acura on Baker Road in north Cobb County. As detectives were asking for assistance from the Uniform Division to stop the vehicle, the suspect pulled into the parking lot of a Texaco station off Wade Green Road. As detectives started to approach the car, the suspect along his female passenger fled southbound on I-75 in the Acura. While the pursuit headed southbound on I-75, to help protect the public from harm, police units from Marietta and Cobb blocked the various entrance ramps to the interstate. The suspect eventually exited onto westbound Windy Hill Road to southbound Cobb Parkway. As the suspect approached the entrance ramp from southbound Cobb Parkway to westbound I-285, he struck a police car. After striking the cruiser, the Acura continued southbound, eventually coming to rest on Cobb Parkway under the I-285 overpass.

After a brief confrontation with officers, the suspect identified as 28 year old Lester James Smith (Jr.) of Acworth, Georgia was taken into custody without further incident. He was not injured and currently resides at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center after being charged with Felony Murder, Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Armed Robbery and Attempting to Elude (Felony).

The female passenger was not injured in the crash and is an acquaintance of the suspect. She will not be charged in the case.

Esther sent me a link to this news clip which features me putting up a police line. I had already lined off the area, but when the media showed up I expanded the crime scene. I also turned on the blue lights on my car so they would have something pretty to look at. They got most of the details wrong in the first story.

WSB-TV Original Story

WSB-TV Story about the Pursuit

I arrived at the same time as my sergeant, but from a different side of the parking lot. The male described as the one hitting the female waves down my sergeant, and I pull up with him in time to hear their conversation:

Sgt: Are you the one that called?
Male: Yes.
Sgt: Is there a fight?
Male: No.
Sgt: But you called and said there was a fight?
Male: Yes.
Sgt: Turn around, you’re under arrest.

They guy looked completely dumbfounded as I cuffed him, and asked me what he did wrong. I explained to him that calling in a fight, when there was no fight, is false report of a crime. I explained to him that I drove over 90 MPH to get there and save the woman that he was supposedly hitting. He then changed his story to say that he told someone else to call in and say what was happening. It’s not who makes the call, but who causes the call to be made. 

When I asked him why he would call 911 and describe himself as the person who was hitting another person, he told me that he needed the police to escort him to his ex-girlfriend’s house so he could pick up some of his belongings. He explained that he did not know of another way to get the police to respond other than to call in a fight in progress. I told him that he could just call 911 and ask to have an officer escort him–it’s something we do on a daily basis. 

We were two beats short on Monday, and it takes a couple of hours to arrest, transport, book, and take a warrant for a person. I told the guy that I was going to let him go home and I was going to take out a warrant for him. He said he would turn himself in at the jail the next morning. Before I let him out of my car, I ran him on the computer. His driver’s license came back suspended for failure to appear. Meaning he got a ticket as some point in time and did not go to court for it. If he didn’t go to court for a ticket, then he probably wouldn’t turn himself in at jail.

So I took him to jail. When we got there, I found out that he had just left the jail the day before. It’s completely absurd that someone would do what he did. I was irritated with him at the time, but looking back it’s really funny.

::

That same night I arrested a woman for D.U.I. I also charged her for endangering her child’s life by having him in the car while she was D.U.I. I typically hate dealing with drunk people. She wasn’t much of an exception, though we did have an interesting conversation on the way to the jail:

Drunk: Don’t leave me.
Me: Don’t leave you where?
Drunk: Don’t leave me at the jail. Just stay with me.
Me: You want me to stay with you at the jail?
Drunk: Yes! I’m claustrophobic, and I need to you stay with me so I don’t panic.
Me: Ma’am, I’m not going to stay with you. I’m going to drop you off and then get dinner.
Drunk: But just don’t leave me, okay? You can just let me out here, I won’t tell anyone.
Me: Um, no. 

She was at least slightly entertaining. I was talking with Michelle on the phone while the drunk and I were having this conversation. She thought it was funny and suggested that I stay with the drunk at the jail.

Mr. Y went to his property line and saw Mrs. X in the driveway. He asked if Mr. X was home and if he could talk to him. Mr. X came out and Mr. Y asked him if there was a problem that they needed to discuss. The conversation quickly went south, so Mr. Y went back inside his house… Mr. X followed.

Mr. X then stood at the front door and yelled at Mr. Y, Mrs. Y and toddler Y. He then went to the street and yelled at Mr. Y trying to entice him to fight. At this point, Mr. Y called 911.

When I finished talking to Mr. Y, I stepped out the front door to find Mr. X. He was in the street again, this time talking to a passerby in a car. As I walked through the front yard to talk to Mr. X he stumbled over to me to shake my hand, thanking me profusely for coming. I could smell the alcohol on him before he even got to me.

I asked him what had happened, and he started from the beginning. He told me the following:

• Mr. Y has a four year old daughter, and he has a three year old son. 
  • For some reason, Mr. Y decided that he did not want his daughter playing with toddler X. 
  • Toddler X has been crying for weeks because he wants to play with his neighbor. 
  • Mr. Y is being cruel to toddler X because he won’t let them play. 
• Mr. Y does not own his house… his mother does. 
  • Mr. Y only pays $200 in property taxes.
  • Mr. X pays $2,000 in property taxes. 
• Mr. Y has yet to mow his yard this season.
• Mr. and Mrs. Y did not go to college, and they wear college shirts.
• Mr. and Mrs. Y smoke pot on a regular basis and do not have jobs. 

With all of this in mind (and with some alcohol in his blood) Mr. X decided that it was time to handle it “like a man.” He decided that the neighbors needed to know what kind of bum was living in their neighborhood, so he distributed the tax information. He then stood in the street and yelled at Mr. Y, hoping he would come outside and hit him, so they could fight. 

Long story short, I arrested him for Pedestrian Under the Influence (it’s like DUI, but PUI) and Disorderly Conduct. PUI just requires that the person is drunk, in the road, and a danger to themselves or others. I’d say that being drunk in the road is a danger to yourself. I charged him with disorderly conduct because he was standing in the street screaming. It doesn’t really matter what he was yelling, just the fact that he was yelling was enough for the charge. I also warned him that if he ever stepped foot on the neighbor’s property again (even if it is his mother’s) he’ll go to jail for criminal trespass.

I then spoke to Mrs. X. She told me the following:

• She told him to leave Mr. Y alone.
• She told him not to go outside.
• She told him that it didn’t matter that their son couldn’t play with the neighbor.
• She told him to stop drinking.
• She told him to just drop it.
• (She told him so.)

On the way to the jail I asked him why he would want his son to play with the uneducated, pot smoking, free-loading, cruel neighbors. He told me that he was very liberal and that those things didn’t bother him. 

Mr. X’s priorities were so out-of-whack, that I couldn’t help but laugh. I made sure I told the story to everyone on the shift by the end of the night. So now I’m sharing it with you.

::

I’m listening to Pandora Radio <pandora.com>. Pandora is a free internet radio station website. It’s very unique as well. When you go to their website, you’ll be given the chance to sign up. You don’t have to, but I suggest that you do. Once you’ve created your free account (or if you opt not to sign up, you can still do this) you type in the name of an artist or song that you like. They’ll play the song you choose, or a song from the artist that exemplifies their musical style. Once that song finishes, it will play a song similar to the one you just heard. One of the great things is that it introduces you to new artists and bands that you may not have previosly heard of. If you don’t like the song that’s being played, you can click a “thumbs down” button on the picture of the album, and they’ll avoid that song, and others like it. If you like the song, click the “thumbs up” button and they’ll play more like it. If you create an account, you can make radio stations that will be displayed each time you sign in.

::

I’m going through my old journal entries and giving them titles and categorizing them. Most of them did not have titles, or if they did, it did not import the titles when I changed to WordPress. It’s a tedious process, but it kept me busy in class this morning. I enjoy my classes, but they get a little boring sometimes. My Police in America class comes second nature to me, as well as my Criminal Law class.

Bluenecks are Northerners… the Opposite of Rednecks.
You might be a blueneck if…

• You would never stop and buy something somebody was cooking on the side of the road. (e.g. boiled peanuts)
• For breakfast, you would prefer potatoes-au-gratin to grits.
• You don’t know what a moon pie is.
• You’ve never had an RC Cola, but you know what Moxie is.
• You’ve never, ever eaten okra — fried, boiled, or pickled.
• You’ve never seen a live chicken, and the only cows you’ve seen are on road trips.
• You have no idea what a polecat is.
• You don’t see anything wrong with putting a sweater on your dog.
• You don’t have bangs.
• You would rather vacation at Martha’s Vineyard than at Six Flags.
• You would rather have your son become a lawyer than grow up to get his own TV fishing show.
• You drink either “pop” or “soda” instead of “cokes.”
• You’ve never eaten and don’t know how to make a tomato sandwich.
• You have never planned your summer vacation around a gun-n-knife show.
• You think more money should go to important scientific research at your university than to pay the salary of the head football coach.
• You don’t even have one can of WD-40 around the house.
• The last time you smiled was when you blocked someone from getting on an on-ramp to the freeway.
• You don’t have any hats in your closet that advertise feed stores.
• You have more than one professional sports team in your home state.
• The farthest south you’ve ever been is the perfume counter at Neiman Marcus.
• You call binoculars opera glasses.
• You can’t spit out of the car window without pulling over to the side of the road and stopping.
• You don’t know anyone with at least two first names (i.e., Joe Bob, Faye Ellen, Billy Bob, Billy Ray, Mary Jo, Bubba Dean, Joe Dan, Mary Alice)
• You don’t have Maw-maws and Paw-paws.
• You get freaked out when people on the subway talk to you.
• You have no idea who the Allison’s or Petty’s are.
• None of your fur coats are homemade

We have several free newspapers here in the shop that are mostly advertisements, but also have some great stories in them. Here’s something that made me laugh out loud:

Things I’ve learned from my Children (honest and no kidding):
The following came from an anonymous Mother in Austin, Texas:

1. A king size water bed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.
2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
3. A 3-year old voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20×20 ft. room.
5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn’t stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words “uh-oh,” it’s already too late.
8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9. A six-year old can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.
10. Certain Lego’s will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old.
11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12. Super glue is forever.
13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can’t walk on water.
14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15. VCR’s do not eject PB&J sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18. You probably do not want to know what that odor is.
19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.
21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy. It will, however, make cats dizzy.
22. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy