Thank You for Calling FWPD - Please Hold….. Autumn 1997

After that confrontation with the guy dealing drugs on the side of my house, I decided to call FWPD to talk about the situation. Of course, when you call the “Desk Sergeant” at 427-1222, the person who usually answers is not really a sergeant. In fact, it’s probably not even a police officer you’re speaking with, which might explain some of the confusion at times. So when I called FWPD that first time, our conversation went like this:

ME: Hi, I’m having some problems in my neighborhood, with illegal activities going on there. I wonder if I could speak with someone, because the situation seems to be getting out of control.
FWPD: What exactly is the problem, sir?
ME: People are selling drugs on the side of my house, actually throughout the entire area, but I really need help keeping them away from my house.
FWPD: How many people are there, sir?
ME: No, I’m sorry, they’re not selling drugs right now. But this is a constant problem that seems to be getting worse. I’ve confronted some of them myself, to let them now that I don’t want them here, but they always come back after a while.
FWPD: Sir, it’s probably not a good idea to do that. You should call us if this happens again.
ME: Yes, I will definitely do that. But this really is a big problem here, and I wonder if it might be possible to speak with one of the officers who patrols the area.
FWPD: Why do you need to speak with an officer, sir?
ME: I haven’t lived here very long yet, and the officers in this area might think this is still an abandoned property. I just want to make sure they know someone lives here, and that the guys selling drugs on the side of my house are not invited guests.
FWPD: Sir, what exactly is it you want me to do?
ME: I would like to speak with one of the officers who patrols my neighborhood.
FWPD: Sir, if you are not calling to report a crime that is currently in progress, then this is probably not the number you should be calling.
ME: Then who should I call?
FWPD: Sir, I don’t understand what the problem is, if the people have already left the area.
ME: Thanks!

OK, maybe he thought I was over reacting to the situation. I’m sure they get calls all the time claiming that drug dealers are taking over a neighborhood when really it was just the wind blowing. Maybe he was just playing dumb to try and give me time to realize how inappropriate my request to speak with an actual police officer was. Or maybe he really was the idiot that he seemed to be. Either way, I knew it was time to hang up before my frustration caused me to say something inappropriate.

I called FWPD several more times during the next few months. Each time, I started with the same request. “There is a very serious amount of drug trafficking going on in my neighborhood and I would like to meet with a police officer to discuss this problem.” Often, I would be referred to another person. Sometimes that person would then direct me to someone else, and I even got referred back to the desk sergeant (a.k.a. - “I know nothing!”) a few times. Sometimes I ended up getting someone’s voicemail, but my messages were never returned. I even took to calling specific departments from the listing in the phone book.

I called Vice and Narcotics once, thinking they would certainly like to hear from a resident here that wanted to help with the drug problem. I talked with a man that identified himself as either Detective or Lieutenant Allan. He said he’d get back to me, but never did. Years later, when I talked to other officers, none had ever heard of “Allan.” OK, here’s a tip. If you’re a public servant who doesn’t want to identify yourself because you work in a sensitive area, I can understand that - just tell me. Don’t be a jack-ass and give me a false name!

On my last call that year, an elderly sounding lady answered the phone. I’m sure I was quite frustrated by this time, after having been rebuffed for so long, so when she tried to dismiss my request I got a little upset. I said “Look, if I have to come into the station and scream and shout, and even get arrested for being a nuisance, if that’s what it takes to get to talk to a cop, then that’s what I’m about ready to do. All I want is to be able to talk with an actual police officer about the problems in my neighborhood.” She responded in an almost trembling voice “Sir, please don’t threaten me.”

Now I felt bad, wondering if I had brought this poor old lady to tears. All I wanted to do was talk with a cop. I guess I could have just stood outside and flagged down a passing officer, but so many of them here seem to have a war-zone mentality that I figured that would be unwise. So I thought if I could talk to one of them when they were setting at a nice comfy desk instead of out on the crazy streets, the conversation might go a lot better. But they have insulated themselves too well with a wall of civilians and anonymous officers who either pretend to be or actually are idiots!

At first, I thought that this disregard of my pleas for help was intentional . A departmental policy of subterfuge intended to allow them to pretend like the problem really didn’t exist. Over time though, I began to think that it is more likely a sign of their bureaucratic ineptness. I think some of those people really didn’t know who I should talk to. But rather than admit that, they just pushed me off on someone else or tried to end the call. Regardless of whether their unresponsiveness was intentional or not, the effect was to convince me that I should just quit asking the police for help and take care of the problems here myself. In an upcoming post, you’ll see that this frame of mind almost led me to do something very unwise.

Maybe FWPD should watch this video to understand the problem

At least I don’t live in France