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From our local Chief of Police in Estes Park, CO:
"As you know, the “product†we offer is a personal service with face-to-face contact. We enjoy working with people, and our services are directly tied to these interactions. The Estes Park Police Department takes each interaction very seriously, with high regard for customer service and utmost respect for our citizens. We admit we are human ourselves, and sometimes we find ourselves smiling or chuckling in the privacy of our patrol cars due to the situations we experience. Some people put themselves in comical predicaments, which ultimately put them face-to-face with a police officer.
The first example that comes to mind occurred just last week, when Commander Eric Rose and I observed a car driving into town on Highway 34. The driver’s door was wide open, and the driver was comfortably resting her foot on the inside door handle. Now, because this wasn’t something we see every day and we knew it to be a potential safety issue. I decided the situation deserved a conversation. The driver told me she decided to spend the day in Estes Park and drove from another town (which will remain unnamed) in the Front Range. But it was hot, and her car’s air conditioner was broken and the windows would not roll down due to an electrical problem. Ultimately she wanted to keep her car cool and decided the best way to do that was to prop the door open with her foot and just enjoy the ride. Here's the surprising part – no one reported her car door being wide open all the way up the Highway 34 canyon and while driving through other cities!
Another situation occurred several years ago. During the night our dispatch center received a 9-1-1 call from a frantic man who said he was being attacked by several dogs at an animal boarding house on the north side of town. Officers responded to the location to find he was intoxicated and had broken into the boarding house in an attempt to free all the animals. Once he opened the kennel doors, the dogs turned on him. He called 9-1-1 to be saved from the dogs. Needless to say, after the hospital visit he went to jail.
What I always appreciate is when police respond to a call of a break-in at a house or business to find the perpetrator has dropped an I.D. or wallet. Nothing like leaving a clue that contains all your personal information. It saves us a lot of time!
A couple of years ago one of our officers was on a traffic stop on Highway 7. While speaking with the driver of that car, another car pulled up behind the officer’s car. This driver, who asked the officer for directions, was clearly intoxicated and was ultimately arrested. I have to say, it was nice of him to pull up to the officer so he could receive a DUI. The officer must be doing something right to be so approachable that an intoxicated driver decided to stop and initiate his own DUI arrest.
Are you familiar with the neighborhood called “The Reserve†on the north side of Highway 34? Once, our dispatch center received a 9-1-1 call from a caller saying the “elk are escaping The Reserve.†The individual was very concerned to see the elk herd jumping the fence and escaping into the community. For those who aren’t familiar, “The Reserve†is the name of the neighborhood that is in no way intended to contain the elk!
We once responded to a call of a car fire at a local business. It occurred in the dark hours of the morning. A man was stealing gasoline while smoking a cigarette. When his car caught fire, he called 9-1-1 for assistance. He received assistance as well as a ride to the Larimer County Jail.
A lady walked into our front lobby and asked, “How long can I park in the 30-minute parking area?†We told her to just figure on “about a half-hour.†She appreciated the information.
Then there are the times we receive a report from a passerby of a vehicle crashed into a tree or rocks. Then later we receive a call from the owner reporting his or her vehicle was “stolen.†Many times it was the owner of the car who had too much to drink, wrecked the vehicle, walked home and then reported the vehicle stolen. Unfortunately, this scenario is not uncommon.
Once, our officers responded to a burglarized local business. The window had been smashed and the register was emptied. The suspect was identified on surveillance video and brought in for an interview. He denied the burglary, and as for the cuts on his hands? He claimed he was attacked by coyotes on the golf course and cut his hands as he punched the coyotes in self-defense.
An officer responded to a local lodge on a report of a small, stray poodle in custody. The dog became aggressive and began barking at the officer. The poodle obviously did not like uniforms. The lodge clerk put the dog in the squad car and the officer started driving to the shelter. En route and stuck in downtown traffic, the dog began growling and barking. It squeezed through the cage separating the front and back of the patrol car and made its way to the front passenger seat. The officer, now face-to-face with the little dog, became concerned for his own safety and began yelling “sit, SIT!†The dog defied the orders and jumped on the console toward the officer, activating all the emergency lights and the siren. Now the officer was stuck in traffic with the hot breath on his neck from a dog that wanted to eat him, lights flashing and siren sounding. You can imagine the looks these two were giving each other in the front of that patrol car. To top it off, the officer had to divert to an emergency call of a motor vehicle accident with the growling poodle still in his front seat, still wanting to eat him. Luckily while at the accident, the dog’s owner responded and picked up the dog – “Trixie.â€
I could go on and on with stories of humorous encounters. It's true, law enforcement is an interesting occupation and there’s never a dull moment! We truly enjoy our work with citizens. "
