The C-PACT Blotter

On the whole, things have gotten NOTICEABLY quieter at the apartments these days, a testament to the effectiveness of the task force. We'll take a slightly less exciting ride-along any day, because it means that criminal activity is down. That's a great development for the residents of the apartments and Cheverly as a whole.

Again the night began when I arrived at the station around 8:00pm. Before I went in, I did a slow walk around the glossy black Charger in the lot. The department has taken delivery of just one car, the Chief's. The other two come in next week and will go to Lt. Frohlich and Detective Stone. As the Chief said, "These cars will be going to the more MATURE drivers." In other words, despite the fact they were $10,000 off the sticker price, they'll cease to be a deal if they get wrapped around a utility pole.

Once inside the station, I sat down with Chief Robshaw and Detectives Gizinski and Stone and got caught up on the day's events. They also shared some great old stories of incidents gone by. The light mood turned sober as the officers let me know about the death of Corporal Findley (see previous post).

We left the station at 8:34 and arrived at the apartments by 8:37. Almost immediately we saw the vehicle of a man who the officers knew had an alcohol problem. We followed it for a bit to see if he displayed any evidence of driving under the influence, but his trip was a short one, and he did not seem to be operating the vehicle in an impaired state.

At quarter of nine, we said "hi" to some kids hanging out in front of their home on Oak Street, checked Cheverly East Neighborhood Park, and then swung through the Giant parking lot. At 8:48 pm Detective Gizinski warned a shopper that he had both parked in the fire lane outside the grocery store AND left his vehicle running. The man was apologetic and drove off, grateful for the leniency.

A minute later we merged onto westbound 202 and saw a Mitsubishi Lancer with an inoperable taillight. The detectives pulled the car over and wrote a SERO for it. Everything else was in order with the operator's license and registration.

By 8:59 we were cruising through the lot of the Howard Johnson's hotel. All was quiet so we made the u-turn at 57th Ave. beyond the Exxon and headed back southeast on 202 in the right hand lane. 

As we were crossing Cheverly Avenue, an older Dodge/Chrysler minivan sideswiped the curb severely. The left front hubcap came shooting off and began to bounce back towards us. It skipped away from the cruiser into the center lane where it was crushed by another car. The driver of the van had corrected his course by now, but soon swung over to bounce off the curbstone again. Detective Gizinski hit the lights and the driver slowly pulled over, coming to a stop just before the light at 62nd Place and Neighbor Lane.

Inside the vehicle were two very cooperative but very inebriated men. There was half a case of cold Modelo Especial, at least one open container, and two paper shopping bags of empties. The driver admitted to drinking seven or eight beers. Nothing else of an illegal nature was found in the van. These were two hardworking guys who were letting off some steam on a Friday night, but should most definitely NOT have been on the roads. It was, no doubt, a disaster averted.

Soon the Chief and Officers Doughty and Jones arrived, then a Spanish-speaking officer from a neighboring jurisdiction. He began to facilitate a field sobriety test administered by Officer Jones, but the driver failed the HGN and one-legged stand portions so completely that the test was discontinued. Officers Doughty and Jones then took the man to the University of Maryland Police headquarters for a breathalyzer test.

The driver's two brothers soon arrived. They collected the passenger and wanted to take the van. Unfortunately for them, the vehicle had to be impounded. However, they were happy to learn that they could pick up their brother at the UMPD, and he would not have to spend the night in jail. By the time everything was buttoned up at the scene and the tow trick rolled away, it was 9:42.

The detectives then broke up a crowd of loiterers at the Cheverly Food Mart, and we rolled back through town, making a quick stop for rations at the 7-11. Back out on patrol, the investigators ran a tag on a suspicious vehicle at Champagne Liquors that came back clean. We then drove through some more neighborhoods, ultimately checking the Swim and Racquet Club (aka "The Pool") and the adjacent park. All quiet on the Cheverly front. After a stop back at the station for a tin of Skoal, we got a call that an alarm had been tripped at a business in the industrial park behind the Pepsi plant. We were off at a good clip.

When we arrived, Officer Richard Tollison's cruiser was parked in a next door lot, but we could not see him. The gate to the business was open, and Det. Gizinski drew his weapon and entered the grounds. He stayed close to the wall as he approached the first corner and carefully peered around it. Officer Tollison, with his weapon drawn, was approaching from across a loading bay lot and gave the all clear. Both men reholstered. Since this was the second false alarm in as many nights, the conclusion was there was some problem with the system.

At this point we returned to the apartments for one more swing through the complex. Detective Gizinski gave a seven or eight year-old boy (who happened to be out on the street at 11:34pm!) a tour of the Impala's bells and whistles--or sirens and lights, rather--and we headed back to the station to end the shift.

It was definitely a quieter tour than the May trip, but last month was just at the beginning of the task force's work. It is obvious now that the "criminal element" realizes the CPD is serious about maintaining a high profile in the apartments. In short, folks up to no good were nowhere to be found last night.

Thanks again to Chief Buddy Robshaw, Detectives Ed Gizinski and Earl Stone, Officers Sean Doughty, Bernard Jones, Jason Lamb, Richard Tollison and everybody else on duty Friday night, June 27, 2008. It was another great time.