Friday, January 30, 2009

It's not guns that kill people. It's those little bullets.

Hi Mom? Listen, I have something to tell you. I was at the movies and when we came out this guy offered to drive us to the subway station. We were in the car and the police tried to stop us. He wouldn't pull over and we were like, pull over, what are you doing? He stopped but he ran away and the police are chasing him. They found some stuff in the car.

The stuff was a handgun under the driver’s seat. The young lady went on to assure her mom that she didn’t know the guy. I have a feeling that her mom didn’t believe her. We got a good laugh listening to her call, although it was probably no laughing matter for her or her friends and the other moms who would get called next.

It just amazes me how many young people seem to feel they have to own a gun. I see this time and time again. The world is surely different from when I grew up. Now the police were hot on the trail of the guy who ran away. He was being tracked by Police Dog Services and the dog had a strong scent.

“I have a guy here who has been shot. Can you get me an ambulance?”

Just a few kilometers away at West Mall and Burnhamthorpe Rd, the call was in for a shooting. We ran for our cars and headed to the scene. I arrived in just enough time to get a shot of the victim being treated in the back of the ambulance. They didn’t waste any time in loading him up and rushing off to the trauma centre.
As we headed back to our original call on Islington near Bloor, the ETF had joined the search with Canine and they continued to track the suspect through back yards. Wouldn’t you know it, after about two hours they got the guy. He looked pretty cold and was shivering like crazy, but after a quick check by Tactical Ambulance he was off to a cozy cell over at 22 division. I think the guy may have actually been glad to get in that warm police cruiser.

It has been a really busy week, bad weather and way too many bitterly cold nights. Thank God it’s Friday.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Loaded 45 Cal



Guns and Gangs Unit executed an early morning wake up call on Lawrence Ave West. One male in custody along with a loaded 45 caliber semi automatic pistol. The serial numbers had been filed off. Also seized was a quantity of cash and narcotics. And so goes life in the big city. Nice catch in -25 weather.

If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?

Unless we are there to see these warrants, nobody really sees the great work these undercover guys are doing. They take the guns off the street and save lives. It's that simple. Keep up the good work guys. The guns were actually a shotgun with modified stock and a 303 rifle. Thanks for the show and tell.

Major Crime Unit




Got some info on 31 division Major Crime Unit and ETF doing a warrant on Grandravine. This is the same complex where I shot another warrant recently. In that case they got a loaded 357 magnum. Tonight they got three alleged bad guys and two pieces of hardware. A fully loaded sawed off shotgun and a 22 rifle. The picture is Jeremy from Global. We're waiting for show and tell.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Getting Ready For The Cold

It has been fairly quiet the last few shifts. We had a nice fire and I have posted a picture. The big story right now is the weather. Tomorrow night is supposed to be -21 with a wind chill of -31. That should be fun.

Right now I'm hearing some chatter about ETF and a possible warrant in 41 division. Maybe we will get some action tonight after all. Chasing warrants can be a waste of time but every now and then you figure out where one is being done and it is for a murder or something. It's 2am and all is well.

Update - 2 warrants executed - 2 alleged bad guys off the street.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Have you been drinking tonight sir?

It was a busy night for Emergency Services in York Region. I headed up to Highway 7 and Leslie early in the night. The call was for an accident involving the police. Seems that a driver didn’t see all the flashing lights, as they approached a construction site on Highway 7. They didn’t miss the cruiser though. They ran right into the back of a police car that was directing traffic. It is alleged that the driver may have been drinking.

From there I headed right back down to King and Yonge for a strange one. The call was for a man on fire. I was surprised to hear police confirm that a man was indeed on fire. It seemed to start in the vestibule of a bank, near an ATM. Someone used a fire extinguisher to put the guy out. He was taken to St. Mike’s and is in very serious condition with third degree burns. He may have been a homeless person sleeping at the ATM. Police taped off the scene and called an ambulance for another homeless man sleeping right across the street. We see so many of these sad souls sleeping all over the downtown area. They sleep on to of heating grates to stay warm. It’s sad as many have mental health or substance abuse issues.

Just after 4am it was back to Richmond Hill for a fire in an apartment building. Firefighters rescued many residents climbing out of windows, as thick smoke spread throughout the building. The fire started in the kitchen of a unit on the main floor. The York Regional Police, best known for keeping media further back than the public, really did a great job of helping those who were evacuated into the cold night. A long line of cruisers were brought to the scene and shuttled residents to shelter at a nearby police station. A great action plan by the Yorkies. Metro would have left them waiting for a cold TTC bus to show up, which always seems to take forever. Hats of to the Yorkies on this one!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Details are few

So we finally got a comment from a Duty Inspector on Talwood. He has TSV responding to reconstruct the scene and some tire tracks. Female shooting victim in drivers seat of running car. They are holding a second scene but will not say where.
The gangs all here waiting for more. Pictured are Jason (Global), Bert
(City) and Phil (Stringer).

Suspicious Death in 33 Division

Back at it again at 11 tonight. I responded to a call for a shooting on
Talwood Drive in the Leslie and Lawrence . A female found shot on a
quiet residential street in a nice area. Cops are keeping us back pretty
far.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Happy New Year


It has been some time since I posted to my blog. I was asked to go on a day shift for seven weeks and was operating a live truck for a little while. I’m happy to be working and that I have skills that allow me to move around a little bit. I don’t really mind doing the live truck but I don’t find it to be very creative or exciting. It doesn’t get my juices flowing the way the night shift does.

Things are getting back on schedule now. I’m back on nights and my sleeping is slowly becoming regular again. I usually sleep a little in the morning and then a few more hours before my shift starts. It seems to work well for me and the goal is simply to not be consumed by my sleep patterns. I don’t want to be constantly worrying about how much sleep I’m getting or be getting overly sleepy during my shift.

It has been fairly quiet the last little while. Leading up to Christmas we have had a fatal fire out in Oakville. It’s always sad to cover these events so close to the holidays and for some reason we seem to see more of them this time of year.

Peel Region was first out of the gate in the GTA with a homicide. A young women was killed in a store in Malton, right on Airport Rd. near Derry. Metro followed closely behind with a man shot in the head outside a massage parlour. These rub and tugs attract a lot of scumbags and many times robberies in and around these places go unreported, for obvious reasons.

I’ve been off for a couple of four day stretches over Christmas and New Year and I’m back at it again tomorrow night. Happy Holidays everyone.