In quisquiliarum de mahemium

Mayhem always leaves a trail of garbage.

Sometimes, it's the belongings of the injured, sometimes it's the debris from the treatment. Usually it's both.

Sometimes, it's another deposit in ones "death bank", another episode of trying to attain order from chaos or just another event in a shift full of absurdity.

As always, things get resolved and some degree of order is restored. Sometimes the outcome is exactly what we desire, sometimes we have to settle. Either way we have to move on.

Our clients may not ever fully recover, the debris from the mayhem is just too much to recover from. I feel for those people, I know what lurks behind the doors of their wounded souls.

We on the other hand, just try to do what it takes to the job done and hope that the next one has a better outcome. Maybe we are the ultimate optimists.

 

I'm just glad I don't have to deal with it anymore.

Thanks for reading,

Schmoe

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Well done to the crews from the South End, they did a great job on this. I got there kind of late, honestly I'm glad. As always, it was great to see these people, I feel honored to have worked with them and to document the great job that they do.

Again - Riverside Mourns After Officer Murdered

A city mourns - again.  The scabs from the last time are torn off and tragically, the blood flows -  again. Three officers shot, one fatally in two separate yet connected incidents.  Shit from Los Angeles has flowed uphill into my hometown and destroyed lives here.

Two officers from the Riverside Police Dept. were ambushed this morning as they sat in their patrol car, waiting for a red light to change. Both were transported to the hospital, one perished, one is reported to be in critical condition. This event occurred shortly before or after another shooting, one where a Los Angeles police officer received minor wounds after being fired at in Corona, a city located just west of Riverside.

The suspect is not a career criminal, nor is he a foreign born terrorist or a red-necked bunker building militia member. He is a disgraced former Los Angeles cop who is also wanted for murdering two people in Orange County on superbowl Sunday. As of this writing, he is still at large.

Apparently, the suspect in this was fired from LAPD several years ago for lying against a fellow LAPD officer during an official matter. The suspect who is/was also an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves, was not happy about the termination and has vowed to kill officers who were involved in his termination and their families. He actually posted a lengthy manifesto outlining his desire to wreak mayhem on Facebook.

One of the two murder victims in Orange County was the daughter of an attorney involved in the case against the suspect. Needless to say, LAPD is on high alert and has officers throughout southern California, watching the homes of people involved in the rogue officer's dismissal. The shooting in Corona involved LAPD officers who were assigned to protect someone named involved in the original case.

A spokesman from RPD said that the two officers who were shot in Riverside, were stopped at a light in a marked police dept. vehicle when they were ambushed. The spokesman said that the officers were not looking for the suspect at the time and had no indication that they were being targeted.

This is a very dynamic situation, the names of the involved officers have not been released. A very active manhunt is underway from the Mexican border up into Ventura county. Officers at the various crime scenes have brought out the rifles and shotguns as the suspect has vowed to target command posts.

The thought of an armed murderer running about the southland, targeting cops is frightening. He is reported to be armed with a military rifle and dressed in a military type uniform. It would appear that he as at war with law enforcement, hopefully he can be stopped before he ruins any more lives. It is said that when evil meets crazy bad things happen. Trained, evil and crazy is a recipe for disaster.

My thoughts an prayers go out to the family, friends and fellow officers of the fallen officer. Sadly, Riverside has a long history of losing cops, I can tell you most of their names and the circumstances under which they were lost. All were tragedies, all symptoms of a screwed up society.

I didn't name the suspect, the piece of shit does not deserve the ink/pixels. If you want to view his manifesto, it can be found here. I didn't read it, the rantings of a crazy, violent murderer do not interest me. Maybe after he is caught or after he is dead I'll take a look at it. At least we'll know why he did it.

I'll keep you posted.

Schmoe

Precious Metal (Balls of Copper and Brass Part II)

A few weeks ago, I related to you the sordid tale of metal theft from the station where I closed out my career. As I had some business to take care of in the area and I felt kind of bad my original post had not been accompanied by any photos, I felt a side trip was in order. One of my objectives was to show you the scene of the crime, the other was to get a pulse on how bad the problem of metal theft had become since my departure seventeen months ago. I didn't have to look very hard or very far.

Open or closed?

 These OS&Y control valves are located 390 yards from the front door of the Station. They supply the domestic water and fire sprinklers to a pallet washing facility. At first glance, they appear to be in the closed position. The valve stems are not visibly protruding above the control wheel, therefore they must be closed. It's not until a closer examination that the reality of the situation is revealed.

 A battery operated saws-all, a minute or two and a little elbow grease. Done, a couple pounds of brass gone, a several thousand dollar repair bill in store for the property owner.

This is a similar assembly at the DMV, which is located right next door to the valve assembly pictured above.

I'm just guessin' that these red valve stem protection devices were kind of like shutting the barn door after the horse ran off.  The shiny brass valve stems indicate that they were recently replaced, likely after the original ones were stolen. The stem protectors and shiny stems are a common sight in the area.

These back-flow prevention device covers are extremely common as well.

The theft of back-flow prevention valves has been a common occurrence for quite a while. We have had people knock on the door of the station, advising us that one had been stolen, allowing mass quantities of water to shoot into the air. We would jump on the rig and go to the reported location, shutting down the water supply if we could. We would then try to track down an RP and tell them of the situation. A few times, we on-sited similar situations, just missing the thieves by a few minutes.

In the case of Metal Thief vs. Fire Station 13, the act was a little more intimate.

The victim in this abhorrent act is clearly visible in the above photo. As obtrusive and ugly as it is, it didn't deserve to be so violently removed from the station. The perpetrator likely backed his vehicle to this point, then hooked up to the manifold and took  off. I am told the handicapped parking sign was collateral damage, it was traumatically removed as well.

The small arched window to the left of the  manifold is in the captain's head, the dorm is just off-frame to the left of that. I'm sure the on-duty captain thought the world was coming to an end when he heard the manifold being amputated.

Fortunately, though the manifold was removed, it was not retained. Though a few pieces had to be replaced, the majority of it was able to be reinstalled and it has been restored to it's place of glory on the front wall of station #13. I am told that Eddie, the building services supervisor, has been told to figure out a way to discourage further theft attempts. I am sure he will come up with something.

Frankly, I was always surprised the thing was in front of the station anyways. It is ugly as a mud fence and it kind of spoils the beauty of the station. As relocation would be a costly endeavor, I'm guessing that the anti-theft remedy will either be camouflage or some type of enclosure. Personally, I'm for hiding it.

It appears that despite recent laws and regulation regarding the sale and purchase of scrap metal, the theft of it continues unabated. This particular time, it kind of close to home. Until metal thieves are strung up from trees or at least caned, it's probably going to continue to be a problem. I'd like to write more on this subject, but I've got to go hide my trash can full of empty beer cans. I can't afford to lose them.

Thanks for reading,

Schmoe