NOT SO GOOFY AFTER ALL

Recently, in “A Goofy Idea ………………….” (12-5-09) I described Annise Parker’s mayoral campaign proposal for outside agencies to answer Houston police calls if their officers were closest to the scene as a goofy idea. Trey Rusk, a veteran law enforcement officer, presents a very convincing argument to the contrary.

I cannot argue with the fact that Houston citizens, including myself, wouldn’t care what police agency responded to a burglary, robbery or assault in progress emergency call so long as an officer with a badge and gun showed up forthwith.

My only reservation is: Will those outside agencies only respond to true emergencies or will they show up at the scene of a routine call where a burglary, robbery or assault is reported well after the perpetrators are long gone? Rusk says that while officers from outside agencies will bust their balls to answer Houston’s blood, guts, guns and glory calls, they will not respond to routine calls because none of them will want to get stuck with writing the required police reports.

Here is Trey Rusk’s rebuke of BarkGrowlBite:

RESPONSE TO “A GOOFY IDEA WHOSE TIME SHOULD NEVER COME”
By Trey Rusk

Here is a basic fact. If I were a citizen of Houston and my home was being burglarized or invaded (robbery) or my crazy cousin showed up for the holidays and began assaulting my family, I don't care which law enforcement agency was the first responder. I would want the badge and gun in my home pronto!

BarkGrowlBite did have a valid point in the 1970's. Now all agencies are trained better including the ISD, Constables and Metro police departments. In the 70's police had radio communications and were able to communicate with each other.

President Nixon gave all law enforcement agencies in the U.S. LEAP [Law Enforcement Assistance Program] Grant money to upgrade and standardize communications, jails, and educate police officers. It was a great effort that really made a positive influence on law enforcement. Since then the departments strayed away from each other with 800 trunking radios that did not allow effective communications between agencies.

Now we use computers to broadcast and receive calls and no one knows what is happening one block from their location. In fact, I have been sitting at an intersection and had a wanted felon drive by my unit while being pursued by another agency and I had no idea that a pursuit was in progress., Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend and Montgomery Counties should have a shared channel available to their dispatchers that would allow Be On the Lookout (BOLO) broadcasts and severe emergency calls to be broadcast for all to hear. If a unit is close they should respond.

Several years ago the Houston Police Department began allowing Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education licensed officers with several years of experience to join the department and attend a reduced academy. This included ISD [Independent School District], Constable and Metro officers. Granted, the original Houston Police Department Academy Graduates received more training than some departments but a lot of the training focuses on City of Houston ordinances and policies.

ISD, Constable and Metro officers are now trained for active shooter situations. I would establish guidelines to responders such as distance and number of units, but to stop a nearby licensed peace officer from responding to a violent assault is ridiculous. I suggest that BarkGrowlBite look at the question from a victim's point of view.

[Rusk is a veteran law enforcement officer. He retired from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission as an enforcement agent with the rank of lieutenant. He is currently an investigator with the Galveston County Auto Crimes Task Force.]