Life Changers

This will be a life-changing month for me and I'm not sure how to process everything that is happening. I will only be working part-time starting in October and I am nursing a wounded knee and two fractures in my leg. The job change, however, has nothing to do with the leg injury. I will still get to do what I love, just with shorter hours.

In many ways, I am excited about spending more time with my family and possibly getting my house straight once I am out of this stinking wheelchair. I never have enough time to do the things I really want to do and now that it is a possibility. I have also joined Thirty-One Gifts as a consultant and am enjoying getting my business started.

Please say a prayer for me as I heal from my injuries and get adjusted to a new life.

Belle

This is my granddog Belle, a beautiful Jack Russell Terrier. She's a sweet little girl, but she gives our dog Marvin a run for his money!

Yellow Jackets Swarm to the Scenes

They swarm quickly to a crime scene in their yellow and black uniforms. Seeing them in action, a citizen in Chisholm gave them the well-deserved name they use today: The Yellow Jackets.

Montgomery’s Bike Patrol, or Yellow Jackets, are a special group of fit and talented officers. The unit has been in place since November of 1979. The City has 42 of these officers on bicycles.

Lt. C.A. Thornton says the use of bicycles instead of cars can make police officers more easily approachable. Bicycles can also be issued to police officers to enhance the mobility and range of foot patrols. The bikes are nearly silent in operation and many criminals do not realize that an approaching person on a bike is actually a police officer. If the criminal attempts to flee on foot, the riding police officer has a speed advantage while able to quickly dismount if necessary.

The bicycles are custom designed for law enforcement use. Many manufacturers of bicycles offer police models and MPD uses bikes manufactured by Trek. Each officer is custom fitted for his bike to ensure it is the proper length.

Officer Leroy Manigault says the Yellow Jackets are also welcomed in the schools. “Our presence makes a difference,” he said. He said the officer’s senses are heightened on a bicycle- he or she can see more, smell more and hear more. The Yellow Jackets are also highly visible at Biscuits Baseball games, along the Riverfront, and different areas of the city. Vehicle break-ins and other crimes of opportunity have been significantly reduced in areas where the Yellow Jackets patrol.

The Yellow Jackets use the Riverfront area for their training exercises. They have a course there and officers wishing to join the unit after serving one year of patrol must train there and pass a certification test. Last week, the department certified six additional bicycle officers.

Corporal Allen Dailey said he was on duty the day two men robbed a pawn shop downtown. Armed with a good description from the pawn shop owner, he and another officer followed the robbers to Trenholm Court and caught them on foot. He said having the bikes to zoom in and out of small places such as alleys was extremely beneficial in helping them make the arrest.

Next time you see a Yellow Jacket, please thank him or her for the work they do to keep Montgomery safe.

A New Officer and Best Friend

The Montgomery Police Department got a cuddly new member of the force this week. She is a four-month old Belgian Malinois donated by Charter Communications as part of the company’s charitable giving program. Fittingly, they named her Charter.

The sweet girl is teething and chewed my hand for several minutes. Like most puppies, she loves chewing on her toys and playing tug-of-war. She is a big, beautiful baby who will go home to live with her trainer where she will be loved by him and his three children.

Sgt. W.E. Reeves, who has trained dogs for almost eleven years, said Charter should be ready to work for the department by early summer. Charter will be assigned to the Special Operations Division, where she will begin her service as a drug detection dog.

Montgomery Police Chief Kevin Murphy said MPD relies on its K-9 enforcement program to help prevent and detect criminal activity. The K-9s are used for building searches, drug detection, crowd control, and tracking.

“We need look no further than our late K-9 hero Bodi to understand the value of our K-9 partners,” Murphy said. Bodi, a German shepherd who retired from MPD in January 2012, was shot and wounded in the line of duty when he located and helped apprehend an armed robbery suspect. Bodi died in July 2012. His story brought an outpouring of sympathy and gifts by thousands enraged by the actions of the criminal.

During his retirement ceremony, Bodi was presented with a Purple Heart medal for his bravery. In addition, he received the Paw Award at the 2012 Montgomery Humane Society Dog-U-Tante Ball in April.

Including Charter, Montgomery has 16 K-9 officers. On average, these dogs serve with MPD until they are 10 years old, at which time they retire and are placed in loving homes for the remainder of their lives.

Chief Murphy put it best when he said that there is no greater bond than the relationship between a K-9 officer like Charter and his handler. These special dogs are truly an officer’s best friend.

Heroes Who Walk Among Us

Meet Montgomery Police Corporal D.L. Johnson. He is a veteran of Desert Storm who was seriously injured in an explosion. The father of four children patrols the busy streets of his districts and answers the calls that come in nightly.

It is obvious from riding with him last week that the people of his districts know and respect him. He doesn’t drive down many streets without getting a friendly wave from an elderly resident or a greeting from a child. He has a degree in social work and said he loves the interactions he has with the people he sees daily. He wants people, especially children, to view the police not as men and women who will take them to jail but as individuals who are there to help them.

I watched him and his fellow officers try to help two families who had reportedly been leased the same home and were both there to move in. One of the families also said their belongings had been stolen from the house. The officers managed to ease their concerns and diffused what could have been a volatile situation.

Nightfall became more ominous. Rain made visibility more difficult as Johnson responded to a possible armed robbery call. This could be the most frightening part of the job because the officers are never sure what they are responding to until they get to the scene. I know that my heart was pounding wildly as we met the victim. Johnson was able to get a good description of the suspect, a breakthrough as the woman is suspected of similar crimes in the past two weeks. Now, officers have a chance to bring her in for questioning.

Johnson is just one of the hundreds of officers of the MPD who put their lives on the line every day. I hope to tell you about them in the coming months as I meet them and learn about the departments I now serve. These men and women are truly heroes who walk among us.

No Place for Heels

I walked into Station 12 of Montgomery Fire/Rescue Friday inappropriately dressed for my ride-a-long in a dress and heels. I walked out later that afternoon suited up with a new appreciation of the difficult nature of the job of firefighters and fire medics.

Once Police Lt. Tonya Thompson got me properly suited up for the job in borrowed blue pants, a Department of Public Safety jacket and boots, I was ready to ride. I had barely walked into the station before we received our first emergency call. I rode with Lt. Anthony Welch and Medic Brian Dewberry. We responded to a car crash on the interstate. The driver had flipped his vehicle into a deep ditch and paramedics got busy treating him for his injuries until he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

We returned to the station where District Fire Chief B.S. Hackett gave me a tour, explaining to me the schedule of the firefighters and the differences among the many types of fire trucks. I never realized there were so many kinds- one for pumping water, one with ladders for search and rescue, medic trucks, and lifesaving equipment trucks. It is all still kind of spinning in my head.

Chief Hackett directs 36 people on one of three shifts, including seven-year veteran Welch and Dewberry. We stopped for an excellent lunch cooked by the firefighters and medics. If you ever get a chance to eat a home-cooked meal in a fire station, take it. They grill a mean pork chop and dine together just like a family. After all, they are a family.

The afternoon brought several emergency calls, including a woman having chest pains and another possibly in a diabetic coma. I watched the two young medics carefully take the time to ask the right questions, get IV’s started to pump glucose, do EKG’s and take vital signs, all while under the careful watch of frantic family members unsure if their loved ones would live or die. Both medics were able to comfort these families and answer their questions while administering lifesaving procedures.

The firefighters and medics at Station 12 were the individuals responsible for responding to a big fire that recently broke out on Thomas Avenue. Montgomery resident Martha Jane Dawson described this week the fire department’s response more eloquently than I ever could:

“The sight we saw as we ran from our house was unbelievable. Flames roaring skyward as far as you could see — flames and smoke coming from every direction. The firemen surrounded the beautiful old home, working diligently to confine the fire, determined to save as much of the house as possible. They worked hard to keep the fire from the two homes next door. They worked tirelessly until every cinder was extinguished.”

I can’t imagine any group I would want more rescuing my family or saving my property. These men are heroes.

The Heart behind the Voice

I have come to a conclusion. There can't be enough police officers or 911 operators to handle the overwhelming number of calls they receive. Yet somehow they get the job done.

Why am I thinking about this? I started a new job last week with the Montgomery Department of Public Safety. To learn about what the departments do, I am spending time with the people in the trenches. Emergency Communications was first on the list and I spent a good part of a shift with a 911 operator Friday night.

I imagined Halle Berry in the movie "The Call." Although they do experience a high level of stress like Berry, there was no one tracking a kidnapped girl at a remote farmhouse in the country. The GPS technology used in the movie was also just Hollywood magic.

The stress, however, is real. In fact, Emergency Communications Director Larry Fisher said the turnover rate for the job is 20 percent or more, an extremely high number.

Lt. Angela Rigsby is one employee who has learned how to deal with the stress. She has worked for the department for more than 16 years. I listened in as she handled with professionalism everything from multiple car wrecks to domestic violence calls. I heard her soothe terrified people who could barely tell her their names or where they were. She has a special knack for helping people at their most vulnerable. She must also be able to fully comprehend what is going on so that she can alert responders and get that information dispatched to the appropriate person.

Domestic violence situations are in the top third of all calls.

Not all calls are emergencies. Sometimes the calls are administrative such as getting information on warrants or repossessions. The tasks from these calls must be handled in between emergency calls. On Friday, the phone never stopped ringing while I was there. I'm not sure how the employees do as much as they do.

Potential employees must attend an off-site training academy for twelve to fourteen weeks before they can start on-the-job training.

Major Melinda Chandler said Montgomery has the only emergency communications department in Alabama with an off-site training center. "Our standards are self-imposed," she said. The training program is considered a model for the entire state.

A giant sign in emergency communications center says it best: Dispatchers are the heart behind the voice. The people of Montgomery get to experience that level of commitment on a daily basis.

"We are called the lifeline for a reason," Director Fisher said.