tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36484503167663034982024-12-18T22:29:07.049-05:00wherein I write about my experiences as a young cop in the South Bronx in the mid to late 90'sTenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-79055145433755822682016-08-14T22:27:00.003-04:002016-08-14T22:27:57.546-04:00

I've been reading about the police shooting and subsequent rioting in Milwaukee and all I can think to myself is "Why?" Why is any cop, in any jurisdiction being proactive these days? It was a traffic stop and two occupants ran from the vehicle. Screw it, let them run. Hell, why are we even enforcing traffic rules at this point anyway? The news is not on the cop's side. They never were and

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-12158445975921028562016-08-03T11:09:00.001-04:002016-08-03T11:09:35.676-04:00

Put this in in both the WTF? and I'm not Surprised categories (link to story at the Washington Post): A Metro Transit police officer has been arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.  Nicholas Young, 36, of Fairfax, was arrested Wednesday morning at Metropolitan Police Headquarters. Last week, according to an indictment filed in Alexandria

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-51504370193361069542016-08-01T23:32:00.000-04:002016-08-02T22:38:53.401-04:00

Let me start out by saying when I first heard of them, I was against them with all my being. The idea that every interaction with the public (and possibly even the usual banter between police officers on patrol) would be recorded was simply too much Big Brother for me. I held that thought for a long time. Even as the NYPD was experimenting with it with a handful of cops in a half dozen patrol

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-51943199541919741822016-07-26T16:12:00.002-04:002016-08-01T23:34:11.145-04:00

Perp - Perpetrator, the one that committed the crime Bus - Ambulance (probably rooted in the concept that in poor neighborhoods, most doc visits are via ambulance to an Emergency Room) Wheel Gun - revolver Heater - perp's gun Skel - druggies and other "low lifes" - probably rooted in the idea that many heroin addicts are thin and skeleton like RMP - Radio Motor Patrol - patrol vehicle -

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-16778959525039385682016-07-26T11:22:00.001-04:002016-07-26T11:30:01.782-04:00

Yep, that was the plan. Go to some of the more memorable locations in my old South Bronx commands and take some picture, from the outside, of the more memorable locations. Didn't happen. This past weekend was too damn hot. Instead, I virtually explored it via Google Maps and Street Views. I found myself constant drawn to the same location. Actually, it's four locations, but it's treated as

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-23272829089775767772016-07-22T10:10:00.001-04:002016-07-22T10:22:31.170-04:00

Since I've retired I've been checking out some police related podcasts as I'm considering doing one myself at some point. You would have thought I would have dug into the world of police podcasts while I was actually commuting to the job. One of the best I've found so far is the Police Academy Podcast. It does an amazing breakdown and analysis of the Alton Sterling and Philando Castile police

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-71173121932930735062016-07-21T21:30:00.000-04:002016-07-21T21:30:45.353-04:00

It was a late winter night in early 98 when we heard the gunshots "POP! POP! POP!" followed by at least a half dozen more. We were traveling west on Westchester Ave, just past the intersection of Southern Blvd and the gunshots were from behind us. We turned on the Christmas Tree lights and did a sharp u-turn at which point the job came over the radio: "Confines of the 41 Precinct, shots fired

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-26773306877226491112016-07-20T07:55:00.000-04:002016-07-20T07:55:17.351-04:00

I caught the news last night as I was laying in bed. Confines of the 70 Precinct in Brooklyn. Dear Fellow Sergeant  Tonight in the confines of the 70th precinct at the corner of Ditmas avenue and E 23rd street. Two NYPD officers in uniform were walking their patrol post when a dark colored sedan with tinted windows slowly approached them made a statement about getting them and proceeded

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-74461182837587778172016-07-19T19:44:00.000-04:002016-07-19T19:45:14.025-04:00

On December 3rd, 2014 the Staten Island Grand Jury, came to the end of their investigation to the police related the death of Eric Garner. While I personally never thought what the cops in this situation did was criminal, it was in my opinion, poor tactics. It might not look good on camera striking someone resisting arrest in the knees to bring them down, but it certainly is following procedure.

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-7169970468415750472016-07-17T21:40:00.000-04:002016-07-17T22:34:57.604-04:00

I had lots of plans on how I was going to re-kick the Saturday Knight Special blog. Mourning the loss of yet more members of law enforcement was not it. Three officers dead in Baton Rogue. Three others shot. Another military vet is the shooter, this time with links to the Nation of Islam. The assasination of five officers in Dallas on July 7th was already going to change the direction of this

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-78340542276384617412016-03-20T14:44:00.003-04:002016-07-13T21:09:33.122-04:00

Yep, the rumors of the death of Saturday Knight Special were greatly exaggerated. Well, maybe not "greatly" but it is coming back. I'm currently on "pre separation leave" leading ip to actual retirement in July. Time, you might say, is now on my side. If all goes well there will be a new post up before the end of March, but I'm saying April just to be sure. Aiming for twice a month posting,

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-67539563017655048872012-02-21T22:17:00.000-05:002015-06-13T17:38:39.818-04:00

The biggest thing to learn about police work is not the laws, not police procedures, it's not how to fire a gun (case in point - I've only fired mine twice a year at the NYPD Firing Range for the last 16 years), it isn't boxing or wrestling moves... all of that doesn't mean shit if you can't deal with people. Or, maybe even more importantly, by knowing how to deal with people, how to relate to

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-82007380188602811362012-02-08T16:45:00.001-05:002015-04-29T20:55:06.965-04:00

I'm not a coffee drinker. Never have been, never will be. I can count the cups of coffee I've drunk in my lifetime in one hand. Strange, I know, with the stereotype of cops, coffee and dounuts. It was a cold night in March of '97. My partner and I had a footpost on Fulton Street and it was cold and we were underdressed. The Job, in it's infinite wisdom, had changed the approved uniformed

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-82546164820174947872012-01-15T20:45:00.000-05:002012-01-15T21:36:52.610-05:00

After washing my hands (yes, were are still at the apartment with the guy with a discolored grapefruit sized ball sack) my Sergeant explained to me the rest of the process for dealing with the recently deceased. The deceased's family had arrived (they were waiting in the living room) and I was to bring one into the deceased's bedroom to remove his ring (because we knew where his hands had been,

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-66706384291979411212012-01-15T10:52:00.000-05:002012-01-15T10:52:16.818-05:00

Yeah, I was kinda laid out since the 5th.  Not totally, tho I did take 3 days off from work (and the weekend in between).  It's just that you need to be in the right mindset to write these pieces, and being on antibiotics and fighting off an illness certainly isn't the right mindset. I'm feeling more like myself, so hopefully later today or tomorrow I'll have another piece up.  

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-63227506029464049202012-01-03T20:01:00.001-05:002012-01-15T20:51:19.947-05:00

I remember well my first DOA in a home of natural causes.   In some ways, it was more disturbing then my first DOA who was shot in the head. The apartment was on the 4th floor of a six story walk up.  It was late spring, so when I arrived at the location with the Sergeant, there was still sunlight (as my hours were from 530 PM untill 2 AM - otherwise known as Six to Twos).  EMS

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-2059419756365842982011-12-30T21:22:00.001-05:002011-12-30T21:29:44.311-05:00

52, and Still Working the Streets Julie Glassberg for The New York Times Barbara Terry, 52, has worked nearly her entire adult life as a prostitute in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. She hopes to retire in a year or so to a house she bought upstate. By COREY KILGANNON Published: December 30, 2011 LIKE many single mothers, Barbara Terry, 52, scrounged for baby sitters and

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-37110974232411450632011-12-29T17:11:00.001-05:002011-12-29T17:12:29.482-05:00

The job is a numbers game. I know, because the end of the year is when all the numbers get tallied up. It's a busy time, and I've been busy getting my unit's numbers together to present at the beginning of the new year (just in case you are wondering why there have been no new posts in the last week). The numbers game starts the moment you hit the streets. They expect a book (20) or more

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-80371203429258149632011-12-22T17:45:00.001-05:002011-12-22T22:14:02.828-05:00

Station House Security is probably one of the most boring posts one can receive as a cop. It's your job to make sure that unauthorized individuals aren't allowed to walk right up to the desk officer. It's kinda like being a Walmart Greeter, but with a gun and without the shopping cart. I've done my fair share of station house security.  Most were monotonous and boring.  There are

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-43264951012194382522011-12-21T20:53:00.000-05:002011-12-21T20:53:46.683-05:00

I have a cold from hell right now.  It's from one of the outer layers of hell, but it's still hellish.  It has, however sapped my ability to write anything fairly coherent.  Besides, all my energy is going to actually dragging my ass to work. Here's the deal with my job.  We have unlimited sick time.  You can be out for 11 months and still draw your salary (I know, I did

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-13768515976976080762011-12-19T15:59:00.001-05:002011-12-22T22:14:29.978-05:00

It was my second week of field training when I got my first crime scene assigned to me. At roll call, myself and my partner were told to immediately fall out and respond to the housing project on e163 street. There were numerous buildings in the complex, each in the 10-14 story range for height. One of the first things I had noticed when I had the post earlier in the week were the number of

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-32323268350427345602011-12-17T00:47:00.000-05:002011-12-22T22:14:53.009-05:00

I was on a solo foot post in the vicinity of Southern Blvd (with the elevated train above it) and Boston Road when I was a approached by a male black, maybe 50.  He was quite agitated, and was repeatedly putting his hand to his throat in the universal "I'm Choking" sign. "Come!  You come with me!"  He grabbed at the sleeve of my jacket but I brushed his hand away. "Sir (as I was

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-71285176632673018732011-12-15T21:40:00.000-05:002011-12-15T21:40:04.848-05:00

(found this online - I think it gives a very good perspective of the calling to law enforcement) "A cop is sitting at dinner with civilian friends when the conversation turns towards the sad news of the police officer that was killed in the line of duty earlier in the day. Did you hear of the officer who was killed today, someone asks. Yeah, replies the cop, clearly angry and saddened at the

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-8607666483252187082011-12-15T14:17:00.001-05:002011-12-22T22:15:19.734-05:00

Our first day (or more precisely, night) on the streets of the South Bronx was almost surreal. There were 30 rookies that needed posting, so there were 30 posts defined for us. Roll Call was at 1735 hrs (535 PM for the civvies reading this) and it was as chaotic as you might expect. Names were called out, posts were assigned, poorly copied maps of the precinct and a post list were issued, meal

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648450316766303498.post-3244524676776340942011-12-14T10:46:00.001-05:002011-12-14T10:46:20.674-05:00

Found this online and thought I would share it: "The Final Inspection" The policeman stood and faced his God, Which must always come to pass. He hoped his shoes were shining. ... Just as brightly as his brass. "Step forward now, policeman. How shall I deal with you? Have you always turned the other cheek? To My church have you been true?" The policeman squared his shoulders and said, "No,

Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.com3