The thin blue line..

In 1962, President Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15th as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week. Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The Memorial Service began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park of approximately 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement. Decades later, the event, more commonly known as National Police Week, has grown to a series of events which attracts thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers to our Nation's Capital each year.

The National Peace Officers' Memorial Service, which is sponsored by the Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, is one in a series of events which includes the Candlelight Vigil.

National Police Week draws in between 25,000 to 40,000 attendees. The attendees come from departments throughout the United States as well as from agencies throughout the world. 

 These events are open to all law enforcement personnel and are an experience unlike any other.  the Greenville Police Department is well represented at this event.  The GPD Honor Guard is there, as are several police officers who annually take their vacations to attend this week-long observance.

One of the highlights of Police Week is the illumination of the the laser during the candle light vigil,...representing the thin blue line.

Greenville Police Officers at Police Memorial Week, 2013

Not again...

October 31, 1975:

What began as a Greenville downtown Halloween celebration turned into a riot.  Eight students and two Greenville Police Officers were injured. 57 other people were arrested.  The event made headlines in North Carolina and Virginia.

An account of the incident from the ECU yearbook, goes like this:   Around 11:00 pm the police attempted to disperse a crowd of about 400 persons.  The crowd had gathered on Cotanche Street, between 4th & 5th streets.  

Chief of Police Glenn Cannon gave the order and the crowd was allowed five minutes  to disperse.  Some witnesses say the order could not be heard by most of the crowd.

The police then deployed a tear gas fogger (seen in the photo above) and tear gas canisters to break up the crowd.  Tear gas was also sprayed in the nightclubs along Cotanche Street, forcing the patrons out and into the streets.

Soon people began throwing rocks and bricks at the police, and some people threw bricks through storefront windows.  Damages to storefronts was estimated at $3,000. The police arrested 27 people for failure to disperse, and 29 others were arrested for inciting a riot.

In the days and weeks following the riot and arrests, there was much discussion about the incident among citizens, the ECU community, the police, and the media.   Many felt the incident was a poor reflection of ECU, but only about half of those arrested were ECU students.  Opinions were mixed and remain so this day.  Some condemned the police as overreacting. Others praised them for taking control of the situation.

Halloweens have changed drastically since those days.  And nobody wants to go back there, again.

Pay off....

Typically, covert surveillance operations do not pay off often.  When they do, it is a wonderful thing from the perspective of the police officer.  Hours and hours of silent watching results in the apprehension of criminal, or in this case, the sure prevention of crime....In an effort to deter and prevent crimes around the university area, Greenville Police Officers have been conducting undercover surveillance operations throughout the university and Tar River neighborhoods, especially after downtown bars close, when many students may be walking in the areas.

On early Sunday May 5,  between 2-3 am,  Officers Simmons and Cates observed a white Ford Crown Vic riding slowly in the area of Summit and East 3rd. St. They observed the vehicle circle the area numerous times, and they began surveillance on it. The officers saw the car  pull up behind students  who were walking in the area and began to stop.  A uniformed GPD officer was contacted to assist and make the traffic stop on 3rd St. near Greene St. 

Upon approach to the vehicle a box of open ammunition was in plain view in the back seat. The driver and passenger were removed from the vehicle and a .22 caliber revolver was located. The weapon was found in between the passenger and drivers seat in the front of the vehicle. 2 pair of thick cloth gloves as well as latex gloves were also located on the dash board. 

Upon identifying the suspects it was determined that the passenger was a convicted felon.  The following suspects were arrested and charged. 

Timothy Terell Jones

Greenville NC 27834

21 yrs old 

charge: Carry Concealed weapon

Jarret Jarmal Gray

Williamston NC 27892

22 yrs old

charges: Possession of Firearm by felon

Identity Theft

CCW

We'll miss you, Fred...

The Police Department is saddened to hear that a long-time friend has passed away. Fred Bazemore was a quiet and gentle soul who for many years came to visit officers in the GPD, and firefighters at Greenville Fire-Rescue. 

Fred would come to the lobby of the GPD almost daily and was always happy to receive gifts from his friends, a dollar or two for some chewing tobacco, or a soft drink. He always had a smile on his face and enjoyed the police and firefighters as his friends.

Fred was a regular customer at Cubbie's Restaurant downtown. He could be found there almost daily. He also knew almost all the employees at City Hall, where he stopped frequently to say hello.

Battalion Chief Tony Smart spoke with Fred’s sister, who said she was very appreciative of the relationship between us all and Fred. He enjoyed the friendships during the 35+ years that he came by the station(s) and the various functions when he was included.

Fred's health began to decline several years ago, and his visits to the Department became less frequent. He passed away on Friday.

Fred, we will miss you.

Fred Bazemore

Nightmare...

It has to be a parent's worst nightmare.   As parents with teenagers in college, we know the possibility exists that we will receive this call.  But under most circumstances we expect a car crash,  possibly a drowning, but who could anticipate impalement?  

Police this morning responded to University Manor apartments to assist EMS regarding an ECU student who fell and was killed by becoming impaled on a metal post.

Detectives from the Greenville Police Major Crimes and Special Victims Unit found from their interviews that the victim and 4 friends were out in the woods behind the apartment complex. They had been drinking alcohol and were hanging out on an overturned tree.  As they were headed back to the apartment complex, the victim was holding on to a branch above him and walking on one below him.  The branch above broke and gave way, with him falling to the ground.  

Below him was a waist-high metal post sticking out of the ground.  The post was apparently there as part of a debris fence that had been in place since the apartment complex was built.  The post impaled the victim from the lower left back to the upper right chest.  

The witnesses attempted to render first aid but were not successful.  Detectives believe the victim died almost instantaneously.

An autopsy will be performed.

It is a parent's worst nightmare.

God's grace...

At about 2:45 a.m on Thursday, January 18, 2007, 4 men entered the duplex at 1312-A East 14th Street.  They were armed with guns and went in to rob one of the occupants who was known to be selling marijuana.

A young man by the name of John Scott Alligood was in there, too.  John was an ECU student.  He was from Washington, NC.   John wasn't selling drugs, but his room-mate  Thomas Harris was.

John was in the living room as the 4 suspects went in.  When the robbers came through the front door John stood up, and as he did so, one of the suspect swung a pistol at him to knock him back down.   The gun fired and John was struck in the chest.   John Alligood died a few days later.

The shooter, a young man named Cam Parker, had already committed at least one other murder by the time he and several associates planned to rob this college dope dealer...

Fast forward to Thursday April 11, 2013:  6 college-aged people are in a house on Cotanche Street.  Around midnight 3 armed suspects burst through the door to rob them of some pot, money, and cell phones...

...by the Grace of God, nobody got killed.

A chilling thing to do...

"The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin," says the newspaper or TV anchor...but really, there is much more to it than that.

One of the most difficult jobs a police officer ever does is to deliver a death notification.  Telling a person their loved one is dead, experiencing that reaction, dealing with the trauma, and answering the inevitable questions are elements to the notification process that no officer who has done this ever forgets.

It is most important that family members hear it from a representative of the official agency, and not from a roundabout source such as the media.

A death notification should be made in person whenever possible, but truth be told sometimes that doesn't work out.  Locating family members in a timely manner can be very difficult, and with our mobile world, family members are often hundreds of miles away.  

When a death notice has to be made in far away jurisdiction, then ideally, the local law enforcement agency would make a proper notification.  Sometimes all a family member gets is a notice to call the police in Greenville NC.

There is no sugarcoating a death message.  The officer delivering such a notice must be clear and straightforward, but compassionate. The officer needs to have detailed information about the incident and be ready to anticipate all manner of questions and emotions.  The officer will stay with a family and assist them to summon other family members, clergy, or offer whatever logistical assistance possible in the situation.

Speaking from experience, it is a chilling thing to tell parents their son is dead: Something an officer never forgets.  It is also a reminder that our profession is one of service and compassion, as much as enforcement.