Photograph by George Sakkestad
Officers Joe Deprima (left) and Randy Rimple patrol N. Santa Cruz Avenue on a busy Friday night.
By Shari Kaplan
It was Friday, Aug. 9. The time was 4:10 p.m.--or, to the officers meeting downstairs at the Los Gatos Police Department, 1610 hours. I was there waiting to begin a 10-hour, swing shift ride-along.
Four sworn officers and one unsworn traffic patrol officer sat at a long table in the briefing room, where patrol sergeant Larry Pankey read from a printout of the day's activities so far.
The overlapping shifts are broken into day (7 a.m. to 5 p.m.), swing (4 p.m. to 2 a.m.) and graveyard (10 p.m. to 8 a.m.). Officers work shifts for six months at a time, usually on the job for four consecutive days, then off for three.
Pankey, a 21-year veteran of the force, skimmed through the log, commenting on the usual 1066s, 415s and 594s (cop code for suspicious people, disturbances and malicious mischief), along with patrol checks for suspicious circumstances and reckless drivers, an occasional fire and other incidents.
Some entries were good for a chuckle: A stripper who was accidentally locked in a pair of handcuffs came to the department for assistance; a tape recorder belonging to one of the detectives was missing. "I wonder if they can follow that up themselves?" Pankey asked drolly.
I was assigned to officer Randy Rimple, who grew up in Los Gatos and now lives in Capitola. Rimple works as a "rover," covering the entire town as opposed to an apportioned area. It is the most varied beat--like that of the patrol sergeant--and Rimple said it can also be the most hectic when the rover covers for officers who are busy responding to calls.
Meanwhile, Los Gatos Weekly-Times photographer George Sakkestad took the downtown beat with officer Joe Deprima, who performed law-enforcement duties for the U.S. Air Force and received an associate's degree in criminal justice from San José City College, before joining the LGPD 5 1/2 years ago.
4:30 p.m.
As we left the parking lot and began driving down Villa Avenue, Rimple explained that when police are involved in a disturbance, they are taught to avoid fist-fighting.
"If someone comes out with a fist, we come out with a stick," he said. Along with a "nightstick," officers carry a can of Mace or pepper spray, handcuffs, a handgun, extra ammunition and a walkie-talkie on their utility belts.
"You get issued the basics, and then you can personalize it," said Rimple, an 18-year veteran of the force. "Since I've been a rookie, I've also carried a Swiss Army knife. I've probably used this more than anything else."
Some officers carry knives, extra handcuffs or other gear. Rimple, though, likes traveling light; officers get older every year, he notes, but the great majority of those they deal with on the job are teenagers through adults in their early 30s. All officers learn self-defense, although Rimple, 39, has the added advantage of being a self-defense corporal at his former job with the Watsonville Police Department and its gang task force.
Our first destination was the Los Gatos Creek Trail, which Los Gatos and Campbell police are paying extra attention to following several assaults over past months.
"I like to check the trail during the day. As things get darker, I'll frequent the liquor stores and convenience stores," Rimple explained. "I'll say [to people hanging out], 'How's it going?' or 'Whatcha doing here?' If they seem nervous, then I'll be more concerned to find out more about them."
4:40 p.m.
At the cul-de-sac on Charter Oaks Drive, which runs parallel to the creek, Rimple noticed a lone minivan. It probably belonged to a nearby resident, but Rimple said a vehicle parked in an out-of-the-way spot could be stolen, or it might belong to someone casing the trail.
He radioed dispatch with the van's license plate, but before he got a reply, two calls came in regarding alarms--one a holdup alarm at a 7-Eleven and one a residential alarm in Monte Sereno. As we drove quickly out of Charter Oaks, Deprima radioed that he was on his way to 7-Eleven. We headed for Monte Sereno.
4:45 p.m.
No alarm was sounding when we arrived at Via Vaquero; Rimple explained that many alarms are connected to "sound" only at the police station. After circling the perimeter on foot and finding the doors and windows secure, Rimple entered it in his notepad as an apparent malfunction. We later heard from Deprima that a 7-Eleven employee had accidentally tripped the alarm there.
We then patrolled shopping centers, residential drives and commercial streets without incident. Rimple, in a reflective mood, said that being a police officer means "ensuring people's rights aren't being violated, keeping people's homes and property safe--and finding the bad guys!"
As an 18-year-old, he revealed, he didn't think much of most police until he got a speeding ticket and attended traffic school, which included an eye-opening ride-along.
"[The officer] had a good attitude and treated people fair. He wasn't a hard-nosed cop; I liked how he dealt with people," Rimple recalled. He soon changed his major at West Valley College from physical education to law enforcement; he wanted to help people and interact with them as positively as his mentor did.
Rimple displayed that attitude when he called out, "How's that seatbelt working?" to a woman driving next to us. She nodded and grabbed for her shoulder harness in response to the friendly warning.
A while later, a dispatcher's voice alerted all units to be on the lookout for a silver station wagon, last seen on Pollard Road. A passing driver had called police upon noticing a woman screaming while a man was driving. Officer Randy Bishop searched the area, but did not find the vehicle.
5:34 p.m.
While stopped at a traffic signal at Los Gatos Boulevard and Lark Avenue, a car suddenly shot through the intersection many seconds after the light turned red. "Red light runner!" Rimple yelled, turning on the array of colored flashing lights and accelerating through the intersection.
After issuing the citation and returning to the car, Rimple said the woman didn't make up a story; she was simply "zoning"--thinking about whether to take the freeway, thinking about dinner, thinking about everything but the color of the traffic light.
While we were busy on the boulevard, Deprima was busy on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, responding to a report by a business owner of someone bothering passersby.
Deprima arrested the man, whom he recognized as a local transient, for public drunkenness and drove him to the county jail in San Jose.
Rimple responded to three more alarms in the next hour. One came from a painter on Daves Avenue who was turning doorknobs to be sure they were locked before he left. When he realized he set off the alarm, he waited sheepishly at the end of the driveway for our arrival. Another came from a business on Allbright Way, where employees were working late but didn't have the proper alarm code.
Afterwards, we fit in a half-hour dinner break of soup and sandwiches. No doughnuts!
7:51 p.m.
Rimple responded as backup for officer Carl Lewis, who had pulled over a driver for a vehicle code violation. The driver told Lewis his name but did not speak English well. Rimple, who speaks fluent Spanish, took a turn conversing.
"He gave me his first name and wouldn't give a last name. He couldn't come up with it and claimed he was nervous," Rimple said later. "I asked, 'How can you be so nervous that you forgot your own name?' "
Standing with his arms crossed, the driver, a San Jose resident, finally gave Rimple a name, but different from what he had told Lewis. He also claimed he was 21, but the birthdate he gave did not jibe, Rimple said. After sending the passenger on his way, Lewis arrested the driver on charges of giving false identity to an officer and driving without a license in his possession. Lewis drove him to the county jail, while a tow truck removed the car.
I recalled then what Rimple had said earlier: "Most altercations will take place at the time of arrest. You shouldn't arrest alone."
"When there's trouble downtown, nine times out of 10, it's out-of-towners," Rimple added as we resumed cruising. "Of those who go to jail, it often stems from being under the influence--usually alcohol. Tempers flare when you're liquored up. Fights usually involve multiple people and everybody wants to press charges on each other."
Rimple credits a strong police presence downtown with keeping violence to a minimum. "[Police] visibility is a great crime deterrent--it seems to have a good effect," he said. "The scariest thing for me is driving along N. Santa Cruz Avenue at night because the streets are full of people and you never know who's going to be liquored up and step right out in front of the car."
A small party of deer convening at Belgatos Park stared but did not step in front of the car as Rimple drove into the parking lot to shut and lock the gate.
Along Los Gatos Boulevard 10 minutes later, a woman Rimple suspected of being 5150--mentally disturbed--also stared at the car as she lumbered along, calling out broken sentences. As Rimple pulled over, a woman on our side of the street searching for lost sunglasses told us the woman was a local character and was "harmless."
We drove on.
10 p.m.
Following a roll-by of a bar, where "good evening" and a wave were enough to remind people not to loiter, we responded to Blossom Valley Drive to check out a possible prowler. A resident heard sounds of walking, talking and bottles clinking coming from a power pole easement behind his back yard.
Using a high-intensity flashlight, Rimple walked through the area, then returned to the car and drove through the entire accessway. The suspicious people were gone.
Afterwards, he chatted with the resident who reported the noises, who was concerned that people might jump over the fences at night.
10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
Before joining Deprima and our photographer for foot patrol of N. Santa Cruz Avenue between W. Main Street and Highway 9, we hung out for a while among many groups of people. Rimple asked some teenagers their ages and reminded them of the town's 10 p.m. curfew. He chatted with young adults he knew, asking one about his job, advising another about how to fight a traffic ticket.
Later, Rimple and Deprima walked up and down the street and made appearances in four or five nightclubs and bars, getting a feel for each venue's crowd and making sure no trouble was brewing.
12:50 a.m.
We had just started cruising when the radio crackled again, sending us as backup to a school whose alarm went off. Rimple and Lewis spent about 15 minutes searching the grounds and walkways. At the last window he checked, Rimple came upon shattered glass and a rock the size of a bowling ball.
They called the principal to determine what, if anything, had been stolen or vandalized. Rimple filled out as much of the incident report as he could without input from the principal, who was expected in about 40 minutes. He then gave the report to Lewis, who was working an extended shift, to finish.
2 a.m.
Swing shift was over, and so was my ride-along.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, August 28, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved