Turf Battles

Turf battles are a common occurrence in law enforcement.  I’ll give you an example or two.

It was around 1:00 one morning when I was working the midnight shift in one of the cities where I worked.  I heard over the car radio that a state trooper was involved in a car chase in a nearby town and were headed in the direction of the city where I was. I do not recall why the driver of the car was being pursued. I set up my patrol car as a roadblock in the area of one of our interstate onramps in an effort to keep the suspect vehicle from getting onto the interstate. Eventually the chase got to our city. I could hear the chase approaching me, both over the radio and blaring sirens. (Officers are required to keep their dispatcher and other officers advised of their locations when in a chase.  We will discuss both foot and car chases in a later post).  As the chase came closer to my location I heard the sound of gunfire and the trooper saying over the radio that he had shot at the tires on the suspect vehicle to stop them.  When the tire blow out, the suspect driver lost control of his vehicle and ran into an island of gas pumps at a closed service station.

Almost immediately after the suspect vehicle struck the gas pumps, I heard the trooper state that the suspect got out of his vehicle and was running away. All city officers were en route to the area to look for the escaped suspect. I drove over to the gas station because I was near by and it was my area of patrol that evening.  I was concerned if there had ben any passengers in the suspect vehicle and their condition.  I was also concerned about the possibility of a fire or explosion because of the damaged gas pumps.

I was still appalled that the trooper shot at a moving vehicle.  The purpose of the pursuit must have been damn important, Officers are taught not to shot at moving vehicles. We were lucky that when the suspect lost control he didn’t run into and occupied vehicle driving down the street, or into any of the open restaurants in the area.  The trooper was standing around the station lot looking at the crashed car and talking with my shift commander. I heard the trooper ask who was assigned that area of the city because he wanted to give them a statement to accompany their accident report.  I walked toward both my commander and the trooper and said something to the effect that was I and I had no intention of working that accident. My shift commander backed me up.  I do not recall who worked the accident, all I remember; is that it wasn’t me or anyone one else on my department.  I don’t remember if it was another trooper, or the Sheriff’s department. I went back into service and assisted in the hunt for the suspect. Police jargon would be a suspect at large. Now that I am older and reflect upon that night, maybe I was wrong? Maybe I should have worked the accident? After all, we were both on the same team, trying to enforce the law. Trying to apprehend those who didn’t obey the law? But, I was upset that he made a mess in my turf.

I heard days later that the suspect had hitch hiked back to where he lived, the city where the chase started, and was caught, In police jargon he was apprehended. I also heard the trooper was suspended for a few days.  Guess I wasn’t the only one who thought what he did was really stupid and dangerous.

Here is another example:  I was working a burglary case in one of my jurisdictions. Admittedly I sensed it could have some connections to persons in another country, but I was slowly making headway.  I was called into the office of one of the high-ranking officer’s of the department and told to back off the case.  Of course my usual response was to ask why? I was told that all they were told is the FBI was working an angle associated with some of what I was investigating and that was all I needed to know I never was sure if the FBI did tell my superior and he wouldn’t tell me or if the FBI wouldn’t tell him either. There were a couple of other times the FBI and I locked horns, but I don’t recall many of the details. And now they don't seem very significant. 

I think turf battles are everywhere, not just in law enforcement, but also in all businesses and organizations.  Why are there such turf battles? Aren’t we all on the same teams?

Until next time,

Sally S