Southland: Sideways – A Review

Southland: Sideways

“Even when cops do everything right they can still go sideways. Learning to accept this is a big part of the job.”

There’s lots to talk about this week, and a great deal of the show was devoted to a side of police officers civilians rarely see—the heart.

Take away the gun, the badge, and the uniform, and what you have is an honest to goodness person. And, yes, believe it or not, cops are actually people who bleed, cry, grieve, and laugh just like everyone else. And they hurt when someone else is hurting.

Still, there is a difference. And that difference becomes apparent the moment danger appears. That’s when cops run straight into harm’s way to protect you and me. Who knows why they do it? They’re just wired a little differently than the average Joe and Jane. But, as heroic as they are, and try as they may, they’re going to screw up. They’re human.

And there’s another difference between cops and civilians…when cops screw up it can be big. Really big. And that’s where we begin tonight’s episode, with Chickie and Dewey trying to do right, but…

A man with a knife who runs from the police is one that cops sort of hate to catch because they know what’s waiting for them when they do—the potential to bleed…a lot. Yet, the chase goes on, every time. And that’s what Chickie did last night. But her suspect climbed into a car that started a high-speed pursuit involving several of LAPD’s finest. Pursuit driving is tough. Very tough. Not only does the officer have to maintain control of the vehicle, he/she must maintain visual contact with the suspect, watch out for drivers who cannot hear the approaching sirens, be alert for road hazards, listen to the radio traffic, provide constant communication via radio, and look out for pedestrians…

Dewey’s driving. Chickie’s riding shotgun and is working as the second pair of eyes, constantly vigilant for anything that might happen, including calling off the pursuit if it became too dangerous for her and her partner and for the civilians in the area. She’s also in charge of the radio. Then…BAM! A lady steps out in front of the patrol car and Dewey slams into her while traveling at a pretty high rate of speed. She dies. And here’s where these two cops start learning how to deal with things going sideways.

– Did you happen to notice that neither Dewey nor Chickie wore seat belts during the chase? Quite often, cops simply have to run, jump in the car, slam the shift into drive and go, like a bat out of hell. Seat belts? No time to yank ’em on.

John and Ben spend the majority of the episode attempting to come through on a promise they made to remove a rolling crack house from a neighborhood. However, the order to have it removed has been tied up in a never-ending stream of bureaucratic paperwork—the norm in police work. But John’s been making a real effort to help the community and deliver what he promised. Still, the locals have lost their patience and begin to voice their displeasure, quite loudly.

John tells Ben, “You know what sucks, is that we got the gun and the big stick and they think we have all the power. And then when they realize we don’t they get all mouthy with us. That’s what sucks.”

Great statement. Lots of people think police officers can simply wave a magic wand and make their troubles disappear. It doesn’t happen like that. Not at all.

– Cooper and sidekick, Ben, stop to break up a fight, which eventually leads to the arrest of the two guys. Well, the second the cuffs come out one of the men begins spouting off all the things the other guy has done wrong in his life, such as supplying guns to kids. This, too, was very realistic. People, for some reason, do this all the time, as if telling on the other guy will somehow help them out of their own troubles. Nope. well, not at that time. Maybe later.

– Lydia and Josie respond to a parking lot shooting where the victim was caught in the crossfire between two men who were shooting at each other. He died at the scene. A second victim was on the receiving end of a bullet in the brain. He was able to talk to Lydia and describe the shooters. However, once in the hospital, tests revealed the man had just mere hours to live. Lydia stayed with the man, holding his hand and talking to him, comforting him, and she tried to make his last moments as pleasant as possible.

Well, you know, cops do this sort of thing all the time. You don’t read about it in the papers, though. No, what you see there are the bad things that happen…the sideways moments. Well, these moments of good occur far more often than the bad times. Good job, Lydia.

– Sammy, Sammy, Sammy. you’re coming unglued, Buddy. You need to take a deep breath, stop, and think about your next move. I believe we all know which path your traveling on, and I’ll say this…you should take a detour right now. Sure, he identified the wrong guy in the lineup. He knew it wasn’t the right guy, but he’s so darn desperate to avenge Nate’s death that he’s grasping at anything. Sammy, take a break. Don’t go back to the scene. And do not take this into your own hands. It happens in real life all too often, and the outcome is always the same…BAD. Remember, everyone saw you watching the slimeball talking to his attorney after the lineup.

And going back to Tammy??? Sammy…find someone in your own species.

– Ben, Dewey, Coop, Chickie, and a few others are having lunch together, and while eating they’re sharing blood-and-guts war stories. This is typical for cops. They become numb to that sort of thing after a while. You almost have to to deal with the carnage you see on an almost daily basis.

– Lydia asks Russell to represent her in the hearing regarding the leaked photos of last week’s celebrity murder scene. This is one of the few times that Southland writers hung a flashing red “I DID IT” arrow over a character, or scene. It was obvious from the beginning that Russell took the photos and sold them to the tabloid. And he hung his former partner and friend, Lydia, out to dry for $500,000. As a result, he lost his job and his friend. Money does strange things to some cops. A few have been known to steal from seized drug money and other funds. I think the word “sideways” fits nicely here, too.

– Cooper, upon seeing the mobile crack house still firmly planted where it wasn’t supposed to be, decides to take matters into his own hands. He and Ben enlist the help of a few bystanders and pull the thing out into the street where it instantly becomes a traffic hazard. Now, John no longer needs any paperwork to have it removed. So he calls for a tow truck. Problem solved. And I’ve seen things like this happen time after time after time.

– Lydia says, “Cops are good storytellers.” So true. A good investigator absolutely MUST be able to spin a good, believable tale. After all, it’s hard to BS a BS’er.

Back to Dewey and Chickie. It’s going to be interesting to see how they cope with the death of the woman they hit during the pursuit. Chickie is already having problems (bad CPR technique, by the way) with the situation. She says she should have been a surfer instead of a cop. Cooper steps forward to say, “How many surfers run toward gunfire? Teachers? Bartenders? If not you, who?”

Yep, it takes a special person to run into a firefight. It also takes some pretty darn good acting and writing to get this stuff right time and time again. But these guys come through every week. Every single week.

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Castle: The Final Nail – A Review

Castle: The Final Nail

Castle and Beckett find themselves on opposite sides of the aisle in this somewhat boring episode. The prime suspect in the murder-of-the-week just happened to be Castle’s old school chum, Damian “Somebody” (I don’t recall his last name. That’s how interested I was in this episode). Beckett and crew pegged the guy as suspect because, well, he was the husband of the victim and he had the motive for doing so…money. Damian was also a prime suspect in the murder of his own father over two decades ago. Coincidence? Beckett thinks not and she’s chomping at the bit to put Damian behind bars. Castle, on the other hand, is firmly convinced his old pal is innocent and does his best to get him off the hook.

Unfortunately, for the first time since I started watching and reviewing this show during the opening season, Nathan Fillian fell off his A game for a few minutes while trying to protect his friend from Beckett’s wrath. The scenes where he insisted upon his friend’s innocence were very forced and totally out of character for the actor. Of course, he’s such a wonderful actor no one would ever hold this tiny faux pax against him. In fact, I place the blame on the writer, not the actor. And that’s been the problem with the M.E. character, too. And we were certainly blessed this week in that we didn’t hear any of that nonsense. See how easily the M.E. stuff was handled by a few seconds briefing from a patrol officer at the scene? Now that was a breath of fresh air for a change. I’ll say it once more…Tamala Jones is a wonderful actor who’s forced to read horrible lines. Not her fault. Anyway, Fillian has nothing to worry about. He could appear on screen and not say a word and his fans would still love him.

Okay. Now for the murder. The victim. Hmm… She was popped in the head many times with what appeared to be a battery powered 16d nail gun, one that’s normally used for construction framing—like when you’re adding a new room with new walls, floors, and ceiling. That type of building. That’s sort of heavy-duty work. Therefore, the gun is  also quite heavy (I own a couple). It’s even heavier when it’s loaded with a full strip of nails. To make the gun activate and drive a nail, the part where the nail comes out must be firmly pressed against some sort of surface (yes, a head would work). So, after seeing the actual killer in this show, and seeing her small and dainty frame, including her hands, I have to wonder how she’d have held the heavy nail gun while struggling with the victim and still manage to press the nail gun tightly against the woman’s head long enough to activate it. AND, she’d have to know how to work the darn thing. It’s not an out-of-box type tool.

These two guys—Ryan and Esposito—have certainly come a long way since this show first aired. They’re now two characters with their own identities who play their roles very well. And they’re funny, too. I actually laughed out loud last night (one of the two or three good moments in the entire show) when Castle and Beckett were arguing and Ryan asked, “What’s going on?”

Esposito’s reply, “Mom and Dad are fighting.”

Hilarious.

– Beckett interviewed the suspect at one point during the show. The interview started out pretty good with her asking good questions, playing tough cop, etc. But it quickly fell apart, as if the writer simply got tired of writing and quit. Maybe her phone rang and she lost her place in the script when she hung up. Who knows? But we’ve seen this sort of thing before from the writer of this episode, Moira Kirkland.

– Castle is allowed to visit with his friend in lockup. And he begins to question the guy. No way. No how. In real life, as off-base as it is, he’d be considered an “agent” of the department (I don’t mean that he’s like a secret agent, merely someone acting on the behalf of the police department), therefore, he’d have to abide by the same rules as the cops. See, the suspect views him as part of the official investigation, and he is. So, an attorney would have a field day with any agent of the department asking questions without Miranda because the answers to those questions would certainly be reported back to the police and held against him. Well, that among many other reasons why he wouldn’t be allowed back there. Safety is a big one. Remember, the guy is a suspected murderer.

Okay, so now Castle is running the investigation? It would seem so since he up and walked out of the department carrying a box of evidence from an open murder case, stating, “I’m going to solve this one…” Please…

Beckett confronts Castle’s friend (the guy she suspects of murder) alone, in his home. No back up? She thinks the guy is a dangerous killer. Even Batman takes Robin with him when he’s meeting with the Joker.

– Once again, we followed a show all the way to the end, watching a trail of clues leading to a suspect, in this case, Castle’s school friend, only to have a totally new person pop up as killer. Well, this lady was introduced earlier in the show, but only as a secondary character. There was not a single clue leading to her involvement at all. Very disappointing to the viewers. As they say, “We were robbed.” Viewers (and readers) like to work the case with the detective, hoping they’ll solve it before the authorities do. Well, that can’t happen when the killer is dumped on us in the last seconds of the show.

I hate to say it, because I like this show, but the only really satisfying part of this episode for me was at the end when Castle and Beckett were walking down the street talking about having a drink. Why was this scene my favorite? Because I knew the show was ending.

How about you, Melanie? What’s your take on The Final Nail?

Melanie Atkins

Hi, Lee. Thanks for asking me to blog again on the romance part of the show. Not much on the forensic front in this episode; at least, nothing much that I could see. Most of it dealt with trust issues – between Beckett and Castle, Castle and his friend, Damien Westlake, and Westlake and his wife and the other players in their circle of friends and frenemies.

• As you already know, Rick and Kate fought over the likelihood of Westlake’s guilt—in front of a suspect, thereby undermining Kate’s authority—and this infuriates her. She sends Rick home, leaving him in a quandary. He ends up apologizing to Kate after a heart to heart talk with Martha, and she lets him back on the case. Still, who does Rick side with? His old friend, or Beckett?

• It’s obvious that Kate doesn’t like being on that opposite side of the case from Rick. She also admires his persistence and staunch loyalty to Westlake. And when evidence that might exonerate his friend turns up, she tells Westlake, “Richard Castle believes in you. And I believe in him.”

Whoa! This is major—and a step up from Episode 13, Knockdown, when Kate told Detective Ragland that Rick is someone she trusts. Slowly but surely, little by little, Rick Castle is becoming her best friend and confidant. The man she turns to when the going gets tough. The man she can’t live without. No, she’s not to that point yet—but it’s coming.

• Another twist sends them back to Westlake in regard to his father’s murder, and we hear them say their patented line in unison: “I think I know who the killer is.” I’m sure Lee covered this, so I’m not going into the case here. My focus is on Kate and Rick. They are so in sync—and the look they exchange when the elevator doors open is hot enough to melt steel.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Forget Josh. Rick and Kate are on the threshold of a relationship that will sizzle and burn. They’ll fight like they did tonight sometimes—who doesn’t? But just think about the heat they’ll generate when they make up!

Stay tuned for a blockbuster two-parter that makes up the next two episodes. I’ve read some spoilers, and all I can say is WOW. I can’t wait. ; )

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Registration for the 2011 Writers’ Police Academy is open and slots are filling fast!

Meet Your 2011 Instructors

Denene Lofland received a Ph.D. in Pathology, with an emphasis in microbiology, from the Medical College of Virginia. As a former biotech company director, Denene managed successful clinical projects that resulted in FDA approval for two new antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of pneumonia and cystic fibrosis. She also supervised several projects, including government-sponsored research which required her to maintain a secret security clearance.

A renowned scientist, Denene is known for her expertise in DNA, bioterrorism, and new drug discovery. She has published several articles in a variety of scientific journals and was recently asked to contribute to the thirteenth edition of Bailey and Scott’s Diagnostic Microbiology.

Denene is currently a professor at Armstrong Atlantic State University.

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Have I Told You Lately?

Have I Told You Lately

The day has finally arrived when most of us step up the affection game by sending flowers, cards, candy, cute and cuddly stuffed animals, and other gifts to the people we adore. We dress up, go out to dinner, drink some really good wine, toast to many more years together, and, well, we simply enjoy the company of our significant others. I know I do.

But on this day of making goo-goo eyes at our soul mates, we should also remember those folks whose day isn’t going as well as ours. For example:

1. One in four women have experienced some form of domestic violence.

2. 600,000 to 6 million women are victims of domestic violence each year.

3. One in five high school females reports abuse by a dating partner.

4. Date rape accounts for 70% of reported sexual assaults by adolescent and college age women.

5. 50% of men who regularly assault their wives also frequently abused their children.

6. 3.3 – 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence each year.

7. 40% of high school girls report at least one friend who has been beaten or hit by a boyfriend.

8. 80% of women who are stalked by their former husbands are physically assaulted by that partner. 30% are sexually assaulted by that partner.

9. Three women and one man are killed by their intimate partners every day in this country.

10. 76% of female homicide victims were stalked prior to their death.

* Stats – Domestic Violence Resource Center

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And now, for that special someone in my life…Happy Valentines Day, Denene.

* Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow when Melanie Atkins and I join forces again to review tonight’s episode of Castle.

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Weekend Road Trip: Pesky, Hard-To-Find Murder Scenes

Pesky, hard-to-find murder scenes

Not all murderers choose to do their dirty work in the comfort of someone’s warm and cozy brick rancher on So Sweet Lane in Lovelytown, USA. Sometimes, assassins are a bit creative when it comes to disposing of the fruits of their labor. In fact, victims have been found in really odd places, like…old, rat-infested, abandoned factories, dilapidated houses, inside rusty farm machinery, lying miles-deep in the woods, a railroad car, inside discarded barrels, inside water towers and tanks, under water, a chimney, and hanging from the rafters in a barn.

So why not be creative when writing your murder scenes? The real killers sure are.

* Some of the photos in today’s blog are from the collection of Maryland photographer, Sunday Kaminski. The others are mine, one of which was once an actual murder scene.

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It’s time to reserve your space for the 2011 Writers’ Police Academy! Some workshops have extremely limited slots (FATS, Driving simulator, jail tours, and ride-a-longs with sheriff’s deputies).

Note – Due to high demand and limited time and space, ride-a-longs and jail tour slots may be filled by lottery drawing.

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Meet The 2011 WPA Instructors

Lieutenant Josh Moulin works for the Central Point Police Department and is assigned full-time to the FBI as the commander of the Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force / FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force. He has 18 years in public safety service, ten of which have been in law enforcement serving in various roles including patrol, field training, arson investigation, detective, sergeant and lieutenant.

A nationally recognized expert in cyber crime and digital forensics, Lt. Moulin often teaches across the U.S. on various high-tech crime matters, especially about technology-facilitated crimes against children. He has been qualified as an expert witness on numerous occasions in both state and federal court and holds several national certifications in digital forensics.

Cross-designated as a Special Deputy US Marshal, Lt. Moulin holds a Secret level security clearance, allowing him to investigate violations of both state and federal law.

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Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

The Graveyard Shift extends its condolences to the family of this brave officer.

Officer Michael J. Califano, 44

Nassau County New York Police Department

February 4, 2011 – Officer Michael Califano was seated inside his patrol car, writing a traffic summons for the driver of a box truck, when he was rear-ended by a tow truck. The front of his police car was pushed under the box truck, and the tow truck came to rest on top of the officer’s car. He had to be extricated by rescue personnel who then transported him to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the next day, February 5, 2011.

Officer Califano is survived by his wife and three children.

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Bath Salts: Fighting Devils

Bath Salts: Fighting Demons

Cops are called names all the time. And those names are sometimes not so nice. But when a suspect calls them devils because he actually thinks he’s seeing two very real demons coming for him, well, that’s a different story. And that’s exactly what happened in Mississippi a few weeks ago when two sheriff’s deputies attempted to arrest a man. He became combative, claiming his was fighting two devils. In fact, he was so out of control that one of the deputies was injured during the scuffle.

Another Mississippi man, Neil Brown, used a skinning knife to repeatedly slash his face and stomach.

Neil Brown points to the scars he received from self-inflicted knife wounds while high on bath salts

A 21-year-old Louisiana man cut his own throat before blasting himself with a shotgun, ending his life. And it’s quite possible that the death of Tippah County Mississippi Deputy Sheriff Dewayne Arlyn Crenshaw is related to these bizarre incidents. How? The man who gunned down Deputy Crenshaw was believe to have been under the influence of bath salts, as were the others. And the list of odd and devastating events is long and growing longer every day.

Bath salts, aka Uncle Charlie, Ivory Snow, White Lightening, Red Dove, Bliss, Vanilla Sky, and Ivory Wave, are really a synthetic stimulant containing mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), chemicals that are readily found in many plant foods. Since the main ingredient in the drug, cathinone, is derived from a plant, and the end product is not intended for human consumption, there is no government regulation.

Users/abusers of bath salts (the drug, not the stuff used in bath water) either smoke, snort, or inject the powder, which affects neurotransmitters in the brain. As a result, the user experiences  extremely vivid hallucinations and, unfortunately, paranoia and suicidal thoughts. The drug causes the user to want more and more (a three or four day binge, like meth and crack users often experience), resulting in increased calls to poison control centers from people needing immediate care from overdosing. It is believed that the death of a Mississippi woman can be connected to an overdose of bath salts.

The effects are so devastating that state lawmakers are considering banning the drug. In fact, Louisiana has already outlawed the chemicals by emergency order.

Bath salts are sold legally over the internet, and in many convenience stores for as little as $20.

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Southland: Cop Or Not – A Review

Southland: Cop Or Not

“The celebrity culture makes police work in Los Angeles different from anywhere else in the country. But ask detective Lydia Adams about it and she’ll tell you celebrity’s a bitch.”

Before I get into the review I’d like to to take a moment to introduce you to the man behind the curtain for this week’s episode. Cheo Hadari Coker (pictured above) is the wizard of Cop Or Not. He’s the writer and co-producer who has somehow found a way to take what are normally the private thoughts that drift around inside a cop’s head and put them first to page and then to the screen. He, along with the other writers of this incredible show, have really done a wonderful job of portraying police work accurately. In fact, for several weeks I’ve noticed (my wife, too) an uncanny parallel with some of the events in the episodes to certain events in my eclectic police career. But that’s a story for another day. For now, let’s congratulate Mr. Coker for a job very well done, as always, and step into his excellent tale of celebrity, murder, and those twisting, writhing daymares that pass through a cop’s mind from time to time.

The show opened with Lydia lying in bed listening to things (her mother’s bed springs squeaking) that she’d rather not hear. And it’s obvious that she’d prefer to remain in bed rather than getting up and going to work. But duty and a couple of dead bodies call. Also stirring from slumber, among other things, are John Cooper and Sammy. Ben, however, has been up for a while and is already pounding out a few miles on a treadmill. Without saying a single word these actors gave us a peek at what it’s really like to start the day as a police officer.

The older, more-seasoned officers are tired, beaten and bruised, and worn out after many years of odd hours and shift work, fighting, worrying about your job (more on that later), worrying—really worrying—about staying alive to work another day, hoping the job doesn’t ruin your personal relationships and family life, and, well, you get the idea. And I feel their pain because I’ve walked in those shoes. But, the rookie who’s still green around all the edges has tons of energy. He’s ready to run…and run…and run.

The crime scene. Great detail as usual. I especially liked that they took the time to show the detectives logging in with the uniformed officer guarding the entrance. That’s how it should be done in real life. Log in and log out. Everyone, including the chief.

– Cooper, a seasoned vet resents having to stand guard at the murder scene. That’s a “same old song” that’s sung by nearly every veteran cop. They simply don’t like doing “unimportant things” like directing traffic and standing guard for hours outside a crime scene while “big shot” detectives waltz in and out drinking coffee and telling jokes. Cooper summed up that very real sentiment with his comment, “We should be out doing real police work.” This was fantastic detail.

– Cooper says, “Crappy job. Something happens to an important person and the mayor’s phone rings. Which direction do you think that s**t storm’s going to roll?” So true. You’d better believe the brass jumps when the mayor calls. And the butt chewing rolls downhill really fast from there.

– Sammy, Sammy, Sammy…You’re a loose cannon, buddy. And your seams are ready to explode. BUT, you’re reacting just as a lot of cops would in the same situation. I’d tell my own story here, but I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s just say it happens. Anyway, Sammy crawls back into uniform as an excuse to head on over to gangland where he can confront, and get even, with Nate’s killer. Yeah, that could happen. I say that because it has…many times.

Me, two years in plainclothes and putting on the uniform again was like stuffing sausage into a casing. My chest had quickly fallen to my waist, my waist to my butt, and my feet steadfastly refused to ever chase anyone again. It was an eyeopener that sent me to the gym and back running five plus miles every day.

Sammy’s partner for the day is an African American officer who doesn’t appreciate Sammy using him as a tool in his effort to avenge Nate’s death. The partner-for-a-day lets Sammy know that he doesn’t appreciate his cowboy attitude by saying, “I live by the patrolman’s creed—Make it home alive. Whatever it takes.” Certainly, taking on a dangerous gang, alone, is not the way to live up to that creed. And risking your partner’s life so you can take care of a personal vendetta, well, it’s just wrong.

Sammy’s uniformed partner (I apologize, but I cannot, for the life of me, remember his name) also made a really profound statement when he said, “It’s always worse for a brother.” It’s true. A black officer sometimes catches hell from other African Americans. Especially those who are on the wrong side of the law. During tense times they immediately launch into the Uncle Tom comments, and worse. They also seem to expect a break from the African American officer simply because they’re of the same race. It doesn’t happen like that for white officers. Not at all. It’s tough being a cop, but try wearing a uniform when you’re not white, or female.

– Cooper said, “You stand where they tell you to stand, for however long they tell you.” He was venting his frustration at having to stand guard at the celebrity suspect’s empty home. But his comment was spot on. Patrol cops sometimes feel as if they’re on the bottom of the totem pole (not so, but the feeling is still there at times), and feel as if the administration treats them so.

– “Domestics often turn to murder.” Cooper couldn’t have made a more accurate statement. Unfortunately it’s true.

Lydia gets caught up in an IAD investigation regarding crime scene photos that had been leaked to the press. Of course, you and I both know that Lydia is as straight as they come and would never have let those photos get out of her control. She’s a seasoned investigator who lives by the rules, and her instincts. However, the scene was a perfect example of what many cops fear most about their jobs, and Lydia summed it up nicely by saying, “After you get over the fact that you can get killed there’s only two things worry about on the job. You worry you’re not going to be there for your partner if something happens to them, and the department’s going to hang you out to dry because something doesn’t fall the way they like.

– Cooper and Ben leave their post to respond to a call. A definite no-no in the cop business. But, sometimes you just do what you gotta do if you feel strongly that it’s right. We’ve all been there and we faced the consequences later. In this case, John and Ben rescue a child who’d been surviving for three days off what he could find in the refrigerator while living in a house with a dead relative. This stuff happens in real life. The public doesn’t see this side of police work, the gut wrenching, emotional stuff that tears you apart, slowly but surely.

Sure, John’s supervisor rakes him over the coals, lightly, for leaving the post, and then orders them back to the house. But you could hear the “I understand. I’ve been there”— in his voice.

So, we’re back to the murder scene, where the accused celebrity has committed suicide, but not before leaving a note professing his innocence. Cooper and Ben wonder about his guilt, or not. Then they receive a “See the woman,” call. Cooper says, Let’s go do some real police work.” It’s time to forget the celebrity and everything about the case, and move on.

A patrol officer doesn’t have time to dwell on any one case, or person. If they did they’d open the door for the many demons that wait for any opening they can find to climb inside a cop’s head. Besides, there are far too many cases. Far too many victims. But, that doesn’t stop officers from caring. They all do. No matter what. No matter the risk. It’s just what they do…

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Writers’ Police Academy

Registration for the 2011 Writers’ Police Academy is now open. You do not want to miss this one of a kind event!

Writers’ Police Academy

Guilford Technical Community College and Public Safety Training Academy

Jamestown, N.C.

September 23-25, 2011

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We’ve just added some new workshops and experts to the lineup!

Cold Case Investigations

Bloodstain Pattern Investigations

3D Laser Scanning

(experts show you how it’s done in the field using actual equipment)

How about tours of the local jail?

Ride-a-longs with sheriff’s deputies?

Have we got some surprises in store for you!

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Castle: Lucky Stiff – A Review

Castle: Lucky Stiff

Lucky Stiff. Yep, the victim was indeed fortunate in that he didn’t have to listen to the hocus-pocus gobblety-goop uttered by Lanie Parish, the voodoo M.E. on this show. Why, oh why, won’t the writers take five extra minutes to write this stuff correctly? It’s beyond me why they’d want to make Tamala Jones look foolish when the rest of the characters are pretty believable. Even though a writer—Castle—would never be allowed to do the things he does in this show, at least what he does and says is sort of correct. Lanie, on the other hand, consistently babbles mostly nonsense. More on that in a second.

Before I get into the fantasy forensics and police stuff, I’d like to welcome author Melanie Atkins to the Castle review this week. Melanie writes romantic suspense and she’s a devoted Castle fan, so I thought it might be fun to have her review the non-cop, mushy stuff while I do what I normally do—point out the right and wrong police procedure. So, welcome Melanie, and off we go.

Lanie says, “Single gunshot wound to the chest. From the stippling and bruising I’d say there was a struggle.”

Well how in the world could she have seen either since the victim’s shirt was still on, covering the entire area where stippling and bruising would have been located. Of course, she could have been referring to the gunshot residue (also stippling) that could have been found on the shirt. Who knows. But she certainly could not have seen bruising near the wound site.

Oh, she also said the shot vaporized the victim’s heart. Good one there. All Beckett needed to do at that point was find Evil Spock and his ray gun. I’ve seen a lot of shooting victims in my day and all of them still had a heart. Sure, the old ticker may have had bullet holes in it, or even missing chunks, but it was there. And not in a gaseous state, either.

– Beckett says the gun found at the scene was too big to make the entry wound in the guy’s chest. No way she could judge that without seeing the wound. Even then it would be a guess.

– Lanie chimes in, “The victim was shot with a 9mm automatic. The bullet went straight through and the techs dug the slug out of the pool table.” So now she’s an expert on firearms and ammunition examination and comparison. And on the scene, too. That’s impressive.

No way she could offer a positive without testing in the lab, a lab in which she DOES NOT work. Lanie is a medical examiner, a pathologist who performs autopsies on the dead, not as a scientist or technician in a firearms lab. I don’t believe bullet comparison is taught in medical school.

– Even though NJ cops had already done so, Beckett tells Ryan to re-search the car driven by the murder suspect. Good practice, even within your own department. Never trust anyone else’s word when it comes to a search.

– Beckett did a decent job of plotting the timeline leading up to the death of the victim. Start with the completed puzzle (a victim) and work backwards, unraveling the clues and evidence as you go.

– Someone said the bad guy brothers were in prison serving a nickle. Decent use of slang. A nickle translates into five years.

– Beckett and group enter the studio while convict brothers are recording a rap song. The scene was okay, but I liked Castle’s impromptu rap best.

“Three armed cops and a writer makes four.

You’re under arrest.

So get on the floor.”

– Beckett questions the convict brothers and one says, “You got it all wrong, shorty.” That’s another great use of prison slang. Some inmates use the word “shorty” when speaking about, or to, any female.

– Another slightly humorous use of street slang was when Esposito, when referring to a bad guy, said, “One whiff of bacon and he vanishes into thin air.” Bacon is street slang in some areas for “cop.”

– The scene in the bar where Beckett wiggles and seductively charms her way up to Oz was a little silly. There’s no way a drug dealer, one who’s as “off the grid” as this guy, would ever make a deal that quickly to someone he didn’t know. Not even to someone who looks like Beckett.

– Beckett threatened to charge Oz with possession with intent to distribute, and she threatened to get him federal time, which is much harsher with longer sentences than state time. Still, I don’t believe what I saw in his hand would have been enough cocaine to warrant a 20-year sentence. But I’d have to check the federal sentencing guidelines to be sure. I have a copy (You do to if you have a copy of my book. It’s in the back).

Castle made another funny when he referred to the charge of blowing up a car as, “Felony blowing crap up.”

So enough from me. Melanie, how’d they do in the mushy-stuff department?

Lee, thanks for inviting me to contribute to your blog. I love this show. Some people would even say I’m obsessed, but I just can’t help it. After years of searching for the perfect mix of crime and romance, I’ve finally found it – in Rick and Kate’s slow dance.

And now… on to my take on the romance parts of “Lucky Stiff”, Season 3, Episode 14:

• I wasn’t surprised that neither Kate nor Rick mentioned last week’s kiss. Episodes are sometimes shot out of order, and the powers that be don’t know exactly which one will air first. So they leave stuff like that out, so they don’t have to worry so much about continuity. I would have loved a mention of it, but I have a feeling that it’ll come later. It’s obvious, though, that Kate and Rick are growing much closer.

• Case in point: Kate taking Castle’s quote to heart when he said, “Money doesn’t change who you are; it just magnifies your personality.” Later, she questions him about what he did when he got his windfall, and he says that the after letting his inner child take control for a while, he realized that what the money really gave him was freedom – freedom to write, to live the way he wants, and time to spend time with Alexis. Kate must have bought this, because much to Castle’s delight, she quotes a paraphrased version to Martha later when Castle’s mom is trying to decide what to do with the money Chet left her.

• Anyone else notice that Kate always drives? She always has to be in control – like with the Ferrari in tonight’s episode. My guess is that when they finally do get together, she’ll toss him the keys. Anybody agree with me?

• Castle was enthralled with Kate while they were undercover at the dance club. This isn’t surprising if you’ve watched the show at all. But unlike in earlier episodes, especially in the first two seasons, he didn’t make any smart comments. He simply couldn’t take his eyes off her. This time it was Kate making the sarcastic remark, when the target of the undercover operation asked her if Castle was her boyfriend, and she said, “For now” with a roll of her eyes.

• And last but not least, after questioning Kate at every turn about what she’d do if she won the lottery, Castle finally knew when he heard Martha say the word “legacy”. Too excited to keep it to himself, he went to Kate’s apartment, invited himself in, and announced that she would do honor her mother’s legacy – such as starting a scholarship in her mother’s name. Turns out that on his way over, he’d called the professor at her mom’s old law school and asked about doing just that, and he wants to host a fundraiser to fund it. Kate’s walls are still up to some extent, so her first reaction is to mention how Rick can’t stay out of her personal life… but she can’t help but be touched. His excitement is contagious, and they sit down to plan the fundraiser.

They’re making progress, one tiny step at a time. A slow dance, as I mentioned before. I like that way. What do you think?

* You can learn more about Melanie Atkins here.

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Handcuffs: What’s In Your Case?

Handcuffs: What's in your case?

The two main types of handcuffs used by law enforcement are chain-link cuffs and hinged cuffs. The top image is of a pair of chain-linked handcuffs. Most police officers prefer to carry and use chain-linked cuffs because the chain connecting the two cuffs swivels, making the restraint flexible and easier to apply to the wrists of combative suspects.

The lower image is of a pair of hinged cuffs. These are more commonly used when transporting prison or jail inmates. However, some officers do prefer to carry the hinged cuffs as part of their regular duty/street gear. Hinged cuffs are not flexible (the hinge between the two bracelets does not swivel) which greatly reduces wrist and hand movement. This type cuff is difficult to apply to the wrists during a scuffle, but the lack of flexibility helps prevent lock picking and other furtive movements by prisoners.

Both style cuffs operate using a ratchet and pawl locking system. Both are equipped with a second lock (double-locking) to prevent any further tightening of the ratchet which can injure the wrists of the cuffed suspect. The second lock also prevents prisoners from picking the lock.

The standard handcuff key is pictured above. The L-shaped end of the key is used for unlocking the cuffs, while the prong on the opposite end of the key (at the O, which is used to grip the key between the fingers) is used for double-locking the restraints. To double-lock, the officer inserts the prong into the round holes at the base of the cuff (one on each cuff).

Handcuffs are normally carried in a case (the officer above carries two sets of cuffs) at the center of the small of the back to allow for easy access with either hand.

* This post is in response the questions we received last week regarding the officer’s gun belt. This is actually a re-do of the very first post on The Graveyard Shift, over three years ago.

* Author Melanie Atkins will be joining us tomorrow as a special guest reviewer of this week’s episode of Castle. Melanie is one of Castle’s most devoted fans, so it’ll be fun to hear her take on the show. Of course, I’ll still have my say. Will we butt heads? We’ll see.

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Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

The Graveyard Shift extends our condolences to the families of these brave officers.

Corrections Officer Casimiro Pomales, 52

New York State Department of Correctional Services

January 28, 2011 – Corrections Officer Casimiro Pomales was killed in an automobile crash while transporting an inmate to a medical appointment. The driver of the second vehicle was adjusting the heat in her car when she sideswiped the prison van, causing it to roll over several times. Officer Pomales is survived by his wife and children.

Correctional Officer Jayme Lee Biendl, 34

Washington State Department of Corrections

January 29, 2011 – Corrections Officer Jayme Biendl was strangled to death by an inmate during an escape attempt.

Correctional Officer Colonel Greg Malloy, 44

Florida Department of Corrections

February 2, 2011 – Colonel Greg Malloy, a canine handler for Holmes Correctional Facility, was shot and killed in a gun battle while assisting local law enforcement officers track a wanted murder suspect. The suspect was also killed during the exchange of gunfire.

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