So about 3 months ago, I'm working with this nice probationary officer, about 10 years younger than me. Good guy. Good head on his shoulders and has previous experience working in LA County jails as a jailer. But I will tell you, in the 28 day deployment period we worked together, our car was the ultimate cluster magnet.
Case in point, the call I like to call "Mamma's Day Out!" We respond to a radio call of a missing person from a nursing home / assisted living building not far from the station. Nice place, newer, and all the amenities. On the way, I'm quizzing this officer wtih the standard questions. How do we handle a missing person? What makes it a critical missing? What paperwork do we use? Who should we notify and who shall we notify? And to be honest, he's doing a good job with the answers. He pays attention and asks questions when unsure. So we go inside and meet with a person there, advise the reason of our visit. We're taken upstairs to a "lockdown" area. This must be where they keep the alzheimer patients, dementia residents, etc. Smart. You don't want them to wander off.
Through the course of the interview, we find out that the missing person is about 90 years old, has dementia and is somewhat medically fragile. And guess what? Whoops! They let her adult son (in his 50s) waltz her out of there for lunch! That was yesterday morning.
Crap.
Oh, and she has some money. And her adult daughter and son-in-law live nearby and they are not happy, having been notified by the staff that morning. In addition, Momma has two (thats right, 2) executors to cover her financial and legal rights. One in Nevada (Las Vegas is full of retirees and nursing homes) and one in Los Angeles. And they're not talking to each other. And no one seems to know where Momma is at. But the manager of that floor explains that she is sure, based on the history she knows of this woman's family, that the son took her back to Nevada. The daughter is supposed to be responsible for Momma. The son only comes to visit once a month.
I grab the mike on my radio, "Yeah, let me get another unit and a supervisor to my location." I'm thinking, this could be a bona fide kidnap. We might have to contact the FBI. Supervisor gets there, we determine a little bit more, like, turns out that the daughter has done the same thing about 2 years ago. Snatched Momma from her nursing home in Nevada and brought her here to our sleepy beachside community.
Guess what, folks? It's all about the money. Momma's got it, and in her late stages of life, the kids just want to make sure they get as much of it as they can before she shuffles of this mortal coil. You have to feel sorry for Momma, thinking she's going out to lunch with her darling boy and next thing you know she's on the freeway enroute to Vegas.
Well, we get everyone involved, detectives, notify the watch commander, call a few people for advice and even have the LA legal executor come to the senior home. Guess what? Turns out there was supposed to be hearing the following day! The LA executor was supposed to take over ALL responsibilities for this lady! And now she's gone...surprise-surprise-surprise.
Sidenote: There is one detective who works robbery who came to this call...we know each other from working at another division a few years ago. She sees me and my rookies on a call now and she just starts shaking her head! "Damn, man! Always a cluster with you! Haha. Always have to be some old lady kidnapped, home invasion, aliens coming up the beach type, streets on fire, you chasing someone across town on a unicycle or somethin' when you're around!" And she's right. HAHA. She's right.
Well, turns out that when she calls the executor in Nevada, she pulls no punches and they come correct, if you get my meaning. Telling someone they may be accessory to kidnap sort of causes the information flow to turn from a trickle to a river! Turns out Momma was safe and sound back in a nice nursing home in Vegas. Las Vegas Metro PD was able to confirm it.
And the best part was, for once, patrol officers and supervisors didn't take a single report. Detectives took the ball and ran and told us we could clear the scene. They would handle it as a possible elder abuse. Thanks, guys. That was the best training I could have given my guy and one he won't soon forget.
Back to the car, back on the air, "Show me clear and send me any calls you have holding." I love this job.
Case in point, the call I like to call "Mamma's Day Out!" We respond to a radio call of a missing person from a nursing home / assisted living building not far from the station. Nice place, newer, and all the amenities. On the way, I'm quizzing this officer wtih the standard questions. How do we handle a missing person? What makes it a critical missing? What paperwork do we use? Who should we notify and who shall we notify? And to be honest, he's doing a good job with the answers. He pays attention and asks questions when unsure. So we go inside and meet with a person there, advise the reason of our visit. We're taken upstairs to a "lockdown" area. This must be where they keep the alzheimer patients, dementia residents, etc. Smart. You don't want them to wander off.
Through the course of the interview, we find out that the missing person is about 90 years old, has dementia and is somewhat medically fragile. And guess what? Whoops! They let her adult son (in his 50s) waltz her out of there for lunch! That was yesterday morning.
Crap.
Oh, and she has some money. And her adult daughter and son-in-law live nearby and they are not happy, having been notified by the staff that morning. In addition, Momma has two (thats right, 2) executors to cover her financial and legal rights. One in Nevada (Las Vegas is full of retirees and nursing homes) and one in Los Angeles. And they're not talking to each other. And no one seems to know where Momma is at. But the manager of that floor explains that she is sure, based on the history she knows of this woman's family, that the son took her back to Nevada. The daughter is supposed to be responsible for Momma. The son only comes to visit once a month.
I grab the mike on my radio, "Yeah, let me get another unit and a supervisor to my location." I'm thinking, this could be a bona fide kidnap. We might have to contact the FBI. Supervisor gets there, we determine a little bit more, like, turns out that the daughter has done the same thing about 2 years ago. Snatched Momma from her nursing home in Nevada and brought her here to our sleepy beachside community.
Guess what, folks? It's all about the money. Momma's got it, and in her late stages of life, the kids just want to make sure they get as much of it as they can before she shuffles of this mortal coil. You have to feel sorry for Momma, thinking she's going out to lunch with her darling boy and next thing you know she's on the freeway enroute to Vegas.
Well, we get everyone involved, detectives, notify the watch commander, call a few people for advice and even have the LA legal executor come to the senior home. Guess what? Turns out there was supposed to be hearing the following day! The LA executor was supposed to take over ALL responsibilities for this lady! And now she's gone...surprise-surprise-surprise.
Sidenote: There is one detective who works robbery who came to this call...we know each other from working at another division a few years ago. She sees me and my rookies on a call now and she just starts shaking her head! "Damn, man! Always a cluster with you! Haha. Always have to be some old lady kidnapped, home invasion, aliens coming up the beach type, streets on fire, you chasing someone across town on a unicycle or somethin' when you're around!" And she's right. HAHA. She's right.
Well, turns out that when she calls the executor in Nevada, she pulls no punches and they come correct, if you get my meaning. Telling someone they may be accessory to kidnap sort of causes the information flow to turn from a trickle to a river! Turns out Momma was safe and sound back in a nice nursing home in Vegas. Las Vegas Metro PD was able to confirm it.
And the best part was, for once, patrol officers and supervisors didn't take a single report. Detectives took the ball and ran and told us we could clear the scene. They would handle it as a possible elder abuse. Thanks, guys. That was the best training I could have given my guy and one he won't soon forget.
Back to the car, back on the air, "Show me clear and send me any calls you have holding." I love this job.
Now, now, you know Las Vegas is now All About Families. No money-wasting attractors around there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting. You sound like a great trainer. Always fun to have a good student.
Sincerely,
Ann. T. Hathaway
Where are you, Officer Black? i'm missing the tales!
ReplyDeleteAnn T.