What Police Have to Do Between Coffee Breaks

I have always tried to avoid becoming angry over items I read in the newspaper. I read something, however, that sparked a strong feeling of unfairness. In “The Guardian Angels” item (Times, Nov. 17), Angel Danny Lewis glibly remarks that he is helpful in keeping the police on their toes “ . . . because they are patiently waiting for those fresh, buttermilk twists to pop out of Winchell’s doughnut oven and they don’t want to be disturbed.”

Now I should know better than to dignify that type of comment with a response, but I am offended by that concept of police performance. I am a patrol sergeant in a mid-size Orange County agency. Each night, at midnight, we send a half dozen officers out to deal with a myriad of human tragedies, as well as the more easily measurable collection of “bad guys.”

One need only turn to the Orange County section of the same Sunday paper to see that police officers all over Orange County are spending an awful lot of time picking up the wreckage of fatal accidents and domestic disputes that have turned sour and violent.

Two weeks ago, after a father killed himself in the presence of his children, one of my officers got down on his hands and knees and cleaned up the floor, so that the family would not have to. Several months ago, an officer ran into an intersection following a traffic collision and retrieved a severed leg, which he held onto for safekeeping until medics arrived.

None of these officers, most in their mid to late 20’s, pictured themselves this way in the Police Academy. They dreamed of standing tall against crime, and protecting communities from evil by their mere presence. Any one of them would be delighted to stand proudly in a newspaper photograph, surrounded by smiling citizens. They are busy doing police work, however. Most of the work they do in your community tonight will be the work no one else would ever volunteer to do. Even in the seemingly tranquil County of Orange, there is a lot of gritty work that has to be done between each “bad guy” that gets caught.

I have no misconceptions about the success of local law enforcement in its fight against crime. I encourage citizen involvement and am pleased when any anti-crook campaign is able to bask in the warmth of the media spotlight. I take strong exception to the idea of building any such group up, however, by tearing the police down. We each have different work to do.

I know what my crew is doing night after night. I’m proud of the role they fill and the purpose they serve. I worry about how it affects them, though, and of how much tragedy they are continually exposed to.

As their supervisor, I am relieved when they are able to break for a while, even at the doughnut shop, because I know what they had to do between coffee breaks.

ANDREW E. HALL

Fullerton