• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Duster

Duster

(Pixabay)

March 10, 2021
Dave OberhofferbyDave Oberhoffer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

Depending on who is listening to it, a lot of different information can be gleaned from a short-coded Police band radio transmission:

Broadcast:

“24th and Capp St, 418 in progress, HMA  5’6”, 110 lbs. taking off his clothes, screaming at people, running around in intersection, violent and aggressive, now lying on the ground “

Street level translation:

“Brother Julio got’s some major drugs on board and is tweaking.”

Cop Translation:

“Duster”

Duster Details

PCP (AKA Angel Dust) was a too often encountered scourge of the Hispanic community that lived generally east of Mission Street, from 25th Street to 17th Street in San Francisco.

Street life was gang life there. The pain numbing qualities of this former elephant tranquilizer meant you were invincible. You could conquer all of your enemies, take the blows and wounds so suffered, and not feel the consequences.

You didn’t need food, heck you didn’t feel hot or cold temperatures, so why bother with confining clothing.

Our friend Julio had no doubt imbibed a favorite local recreational drug construct called a “KJ.”

A “Killer Joint” was some local trash herb, (stems and branches), hand rolled into a cigarette, and then dipped into an Angel Dust infused liquid bath. As an informative local banger once told me: “Part mellow head, part melt your testiculos off.”

Cops en-route

BD and his partner George F caught the initial call, while Ron and I along with Luis and Butch rolled that way just because. Of course, other cars would hover around, off the record, just to watch the fun unfold.

Apparently “Julio” had literally jumped/fallen/was pushed out of a second story window, to luckily land on a fruit store canvas awning, before dropping the additional 10 feet to the top of a parked truck.

Julio

This object of our attention fit the broadcast description and was sitting on the pavement almost dead center of 24th Street.

Our usual technique in these cases was to get the potential arrestee down to the ground, so as to prevent him from running away. Julio tried repeatedly to stand up while we were strategizing but didn’t seem to know where his feet were.

Score one for the good guys, or so we thought.

There is an arrest technique that is almost never taught in the police academy. I think it’s because the staff wants to be able to claim plausible deniability:

“We never taught them to do THAT!!”

We call it “The Blue Blanket Maneuver.”

Show time!

Sgt C. the VERY experienced and savvy Street Boss took this moment to come up on the radio:

“24th and Capp: 10-13?”  (What’s going on guys?)

BD answered back:

“Multiple units 10-97, Blue Blanket pending” (We are here, we’re going to jump him.)

Sgt C: “Copy; advise on a 408” (Don’t kill anyone, let me know if you need an ambulance.)

Like Elmer Fudd sneaking around a wabbit hole, we quietly encircled Julio while he was happily looking at the way the sun shined through his hands.

Rugby

Twelve (12) hands grabbed at Julio’s 2. Multiple pairs of handcuffs sparkled in the afternoon sun.  Seeing that nothing was going his way, the center of our attention pulled himself in to an armadillo like posture. The superhuman strength that PCP gives people now had 6 beefy cops frustrated in trying to un-turtle a much smaller drug addict.

Back then, we didn’t have field-issued leg restraints. Normally, you hook two or three handcuffs together, and that works acceptably. It just takes coordination.

I guessed that’s why no one noticed that suddenly my left wrist was handcuffed to Julio’s right ankle…

If I didn’t know these guys so well, I’d have thought it was a deliberate joke. In an instant moment of clarity, I realized that it WAS a deliberate attempt at levity.

Haha…

This was confirmed when I saw that Julio’s hands were firmly cuffed behind his back, while both of his legs were being held manually down in place by Butch and George.

When I stood up, and Julio’s leg arose in concert, there were whistles and shouts of enjoyment from the peanut gallery.

My “friends” uncuffed me, and we took Julio back to the station with little additional fanfare.

Sgt C met us at the sally port door as we carried Julio inside like a rolled-up rug.

How that man knew what had happened so soon after I never would know, but he said, “Glad you escaped from custody Dave.”

Forty-five minutes later as the team put the final polish on a “Physical Restraint Arrest Report,” there was a huge commotion in the Booking Area.

Not done yet

Sgt C who was doubling back on overtime as the Station Keeper was shouting:

“Grab-him-don’t-get-blood-on-yourself-call-an-ambulance-code 3.”

I ran to the booking area door to look in and saw Julio violently struggling with another half dozen cops, while spurting deep red blood from his right foot.

Open blood flow meant rubber gloves, so after I struggled mine on, I helped hold down the Duster until Jimmy the lead paramedic took over a short time later.

Julio, having been the perfect picture of semi-comatose drug addict had been un-handcuffed, and released into a solo cell, under the watchful eyes of three security cameras, and the Station Duty cop assigned to help the Keeper.

Somehow, Julio had KICKED out three ranks of solidly anchored ceramic bricks to be able to crawl through the opening trailing a thick swale of blood from his shattered foot.

He subsequently showed up unannounced and very unwanted at the booking counter, and told the more-than-startled Sgt C:

“I want to go home, open the F***ing door!”

The Final Act

As the doors to the Custody Ward at SFGH closed behind Julio, I realized that my day was now far from over.

The city replaced the shattered cell bricks with more sturdy concrete versions, after the Station Duty swabbed the blood stains away.

My request to be issued leg-irons was refused because it was determined that I didn’t need them.

10-7


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Angel DustJuliopcpSan FranciscoSFPD
Dave Oberhoffer

Dave Oberhoffer

Dave Oberhoffer started a law-enforcement career in 1979, having survived the Vietnam War, and owning an Irish Pub. His San Francisco Police Department assignments were: Walking a foot-beat, numerous sector car assignments, and Vice and Narcotics work. As an Inspector, he was then assigned to the Special Investigations Division for five years. This was followed by work as a Squad Sergeant running a team in the housing projects on Potrero Hill. As a Lieutenant, he ran the Records Division, the Crime Scene Investigation Unit (CSI), and was a Watch Commander in four different districts, retiring at the San Francisco Airport.  After retirement, Dave had a cup-of-coffee as a small-town Chief of Police, and then taught Law Enforcement Studies at several Bay Area Colleges.

Related Posts

Alcatraz

US Marshals release new images in 60-year-old Alcatraz prison break

June 21, 2022
San Francisco DA

Boudin gets booted from office

June 8, 2022
newspaper

The $24,000 newspaper

June 3, 2022
running chew

 The Running Chew Toy Incident

May 11, 2022
fire in hole

‘Fire in the hole’

April 21, 2022
San Francisco officers

San Francisco police officers baffled when pulling over car with no driver or occupants

April 12, 2022
Load More

Latest Articles

Faith Rose Gratz

Guard in love with murderer brought him cellphones and meth to deal in prison

June 25, 2022
Monica Garcia

Former El Paso police officer receives prison sentence for helping stepfather distribute cocaine

June 25, 2022
Pennsylvania troopers

Pennsylvania troopers blast judge’s decision to dismiss woman’s murder charges

June 25, 2022
Vermont State Police

Troopers threatened with excavator while making arrest

June 25, 2022
terror attacks

DHS warns of potential terror attacks for weeks due to Roe v. Wade ruling

June 25, 2022
K9 Exo

Mississippi police K9 shot and killed by fleeing suspect

June 24, 2022
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

MUST READ

Vermont State Police

Troopers threatened with excavator while making arrest

June 25, 2022
Jeremiah Story

Arkansas detention officer shot and killed by suspect who retained gun while getting booked into jail

June 24, 2022
US Supreme Court

SCOTUS rules that police cannot be sued for Miranda violations

June 23, 2022
open carry

U.S. Supreme Court overturns New York law restricting the carrying of concealed firearms

June 23, 2022
Ruben Ruiz

Police officer husband of murdered Uvalde school teacher was detained, disarmed trying to rescue wife

June 23, 2022
Load More

JOIN THE FIGHT

SAFEGUARD RECRUITING

Police Officers Needed – Entry level and lateral applicants wanted!

February 14, 2022

Deputy Sheriff

February 3, 2022

Dispatcher

January 25, 2022

Deputy Sheriff (POST Certified)

January 25, 2022

BE COURAGEOUS

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2021 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2021 LawOfficer.com