A day in the life of a community police officer
From our weekly issue dated March 18, 2009
JCSO Deputy George Gasperson conducts a traffic stop on Caves Hwy. (Photos by Michelle Binker, Illinois Valley News) -click pic for more-
Thursday, March 12
3:30 p.m.
Josephine County Sheriff’s Office Deputy George Gasperson pulls into Cave Junction in a black-and-white patrol car. He’s been on duty since 2 p.m., when he reported to the main office in Grants Pass. There, he checked voice messages, e-mails, got supplies and charged his cell phone.
Gasperson, 31, is the deputy assigned to the city of Cave Junction through its contract with the sheriff’s office. He said that being dedicated to the community has its advantages.
“You get to be a lot more proactive rather than reactive,” Gasperson said. For the past few months, he has patrolled Cave Junction regularly, and has become quite familiar with the area as a result.
“I get a lot of good feedback and comments from the community,” he said.
4 p.m.
Dispatch receives a complaint about someone riding a quad motorcycle on Laurel Road. That report is relayed to Gasperson, who responds to the scene.
Gasperson turns from Caves Hwy. to Laurel, slowing down before pulling into a driveway. He exits his patrol vehicle and asks a man at his front door if he’s seen any such vehicle driving around. The man responds that he hasn’t, so Gasperson moves on to the next house, with similar results. He reports back to Dispatch via radio that he was unable to locate the quad, then returns to patrol.
While driving around the Shop Smart Food Warehouse parking lot, Gasperson recognizes a bicycle rider as someone with a warrant for failure to appear in court. The rider gets off of the bike and goes inside the store.
Gasperson makes an inquiry through dispatch, and learns that the warrant stems from a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants. He is instructed to cite and release the man, but inform him that skipping court again will result in a trip to jail.
The suspect has yet to emerge from the store, so Gasperson pulls the patrol car to a position where he can see both sets of doors.
A woman approaches Gasperson in the parking lot and informs him that her son has run away again. Gasperson promises her that he will keep an eye out for the teen-ager.
Several minutes later the suspect comes out of Shop Smart and lights a cigarette, at which point Gasperson calls him over. He springs out of his car and searches the man, explaining to him about the warrant.
Gasperson instructs the man to sit on the curb as he grabs his citation book and starts writing the ticket.
The suspect is given an April court date. Gasperson wishes him well and gets back in the car.
4:45 p.m.
Employees of the CJ Post Office had phoned the sheriff’s office the previous day to complain about an incident involving three transients. Gasperson heads to the post office to follow up on the call.
Since the post office closed to the public around 15 minutes prior, Gasperson has to go to the back door to contact the employees.
Gasperson is granted entrance, and asks if the transients have post office boxes. If they don’t, he said, they can be "trespassed" from the premises.
A postal worker responds that two of the three transients don’t have post office boxes, and adds that she saw one of them defecate by the side of the building. The third transient has a post office box, she said, but if he behaves in such a manner again, she wouldn’t mind having him trespassed, either.
The woman thanks Gasperson as he leaves. He walks back to the car to update Dispatch, and learns that one of the transients had been arrested the previous evening for assaulting one of the others.
A few seconds later, Gasperson spots the third transient walking down the street with his dog and approaches him. Before Gasperson can even say anything, the man begins apologizing for the incident at the post office.
Gasperson tells him about the trespass and warns him that he’ll lose his post office box if there is any further misbehavior at the facility. He pets the man’s dog and takes off.
“He’s not a bad guy,” Gasperson said about the man. “He never gives me any issues.”
5:39 p.m.
On his way back to the substation in the basement of Cave Junction City Hall, Gasperson sees the male teen-age runaway in front of the I.V. Senior Thrift Shop with a girl. He parks the car and informs Dispatch of what’s going on. He is advised that the young man is listed as a missing person.
Gasperson tries to call the teen’s mother, but can’t reach her. He cuffs the runaway a few minutes later and puts him in the back of the car. The girl starts walking down the street.
After pulling in to the substation, Gasperson lets the teen-ager out of the car and takes him inside.
6 p.m.
Gasperson still hasn’t heard from the boy’s mother, so he prepares to take him to the county’s Juvenile Justice Center in Grants Pass.
The two head outside, and Gasperson puts his prisoner in the back of the police cruiser. All of a sudden, his cell phone goes off. Gasperson answers, and it’s the teen’s mother.
“You’re in luck,” Gasperson tells the juvenile. “You don’t get to go to Grants Pass today.”
6:15 p.m.
The teen’s mother arrives at the substation to pick him up. Gasperson lets the youth out of the police car and uncuffs him.
“I’m sorry that you have to put up with him,” the mother tells Gasperson. “Thank you for putting up with him.”
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7 p.m.
Back on duty following a dinner break, Gasperson heads to Caves Hwy. to "run some radar." He picks a spot that enables radar detection in both directions and a clear view of multiple Stop signs. Gasperson said that people tend to run the signs once it starts getting dark.
A Lincoln SUV comes up Caves Hwy. doing 50 mph. The speed limit on that stretch of road is 35.
Gasperson flicks on his overhead lights and pulls the vehicle over.
“He didn’t even know the speed limit of the road,” Gasperson said. “That’s never a good sign.”
Gasperson gets his ticket book and cites the driver.
8:28 p.m.
While at the substation with Deputy Jeff Iles, Gasperson receives a report from Dispatch of a traffic accident on Caves Hwy. with injuries.
Gasperson and Iles rush to their cars, turn on flashing lights and sirens and speed to the scene. When they get there, they find a car sideways on the road with smoke pouring out of it. Firefighters from Illinois Valley Fire District are on site, and personnel from American Medical Response arrive shortly thereafter.
Two crash victims have been flung from the vehicle. One wails in agony as firefighters roll him onto his side.
9 p.m.
The scene starts to clear out and the firefighters begin to leave. But the deputies must await a tow truck.
9:45 p.m.
The tow truck and a traffic control unit from the Oregon Dept. of Transportation pull up to the accident scene. Gasperson and Iles chat with the tow truck driver for a few minutes to brief him on the situation.
10:18 pm.
A second, larger tow truck arrives to assist. The car has already been flipped back to an upright position, with all of its wheels touching the pavement. Scattered wreckage, long since photographed and documented, is picked up and removed.
10:30 p.m.
The wrecked car is loaded onto the tow truck, as the last pieces of broken glass and other debris are swept off of the road. This means Gasperson, Iles and a responding OSP trooper can finally leave.
Gasperson gets in his car and starts heading back towards Cave Junction. And even though his shift is nearly over, he knows he still has plenty more to do.
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