Another Old Cop Story

When I first started this blog one of the things I wanted to do was record some of my police experiences. In an effort to get back to that, here is one from San Leandro, California (in my next post I will write about how I came to be a member of the SLPD).

I was working the early morning shift and decided to stop in at an all-night convenience store to stretch my legs and get a drink or snack. I went to the 7/11 on east fourteenth street in the west end of the city (closest to Oakland). As I walked in, a guy was walking out and he was giving me that "I did it and I guess you know I did it" look. The clerk was looking at me strangely as well and my tired mind was starting to realize that something was amiss here.

When I poked my head in the door, the clerk told me that the guy who had just left had robbed him. When I turned back to the guy, he was already off and running and so a foot pursuit began. I was still pretty young and in good shape (1970) and I began closing on him. He began going over walls and fences in back yards and when I got the chance, I got my brand new Motorola belt radio out and began informing my comrads of the goings on.

So the robber who is now about 75 feet in front of me, grabs a bicycle he apparently had stashed in some bushes. I almost got to him (about ten feet) when he finally built up enough speed to get away.

My roommate, Bud Dobsen (I wasn't married yet), came screeching around a corner in his police car. As he neared my location I told him, using my handy dandy belt radio, and pointing too, where the suspect went.

The arrest report contained this rather amusing verbiage written by good ol' Bud: "... As I neared the suspect who was still fleeing eastbound, the front bumper of my patrol car inadvertantly tapped the rear wheel of the suspect's bicycle causing the suspect to topple to the pavement." The suspect didn't require hospitalization but he did have a few "contusions and abrasions" but we were able to book him for robbery.