tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24095028862815976582012-02-16T20:42:41.283-05:00Elder Steven Watts is serving as a full time missionary in the New York Rochester Mission. He shares his law enforcement career experiences in this blog and relates them to the teachings of Jesus Christ. He served in law enforcement for over 35 years and during some of that time he served as a Bishop and Stake President for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-57156484785666224042010-12-15T22:42:00.000-05:002010-12-15T22:42:49.866-05:00

 It was the Christmas season when family togetherness and joy should be filling our hearts.  Unfortunately this night jealousy and assault with a deadly weapon would be the offerings for the holiday season. I was working the graveyard shift and pulled the short straw for an undesirable assignment.  I was assigned to guard a home in the lower southeast side of town that had been quarantined by the

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-1152562044274301182010-11-13T21:54:00.000-05:002010-11-13T21:54:32.525-05:00

In the movie, GLORY, Morgan Freeman admonishes his men to fight, and if necessary, die standing up while facing the enemy.  These Civil War soldiers are the first African Americans to fight in the Civil War for their own freedom and the freedom of all American citizens in the future.  These soldiers of the 54thRegiment were ready to step up and do their part even if it meant giving their life

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-43159128136313853462010-10-22T15:41:00.000-04:002010-10-22T15:41:47.154-04:00

At the last General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Elder Arnold spoke about staying within boundaries of the commandments.  He related an experience his wife had. “One day she found one of her father’s cows outside their fenced pasture eating wheat instead of grass.  She thought,  ‘You stupid cow!  That fence was there to protect you, yet you broke through it and

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-35317180644097611672010-10-14T10:32:00.000-04:002010-10-14T10:32:08.319-04:00

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf is a former airline pilot and now an Apostle and member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  During this past General Conference he spoke on the importance of focusing on life’s fundamentals. He urged everyone to put the things that matter most first as he related his message to his flying experiences. This police episode points

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-65869653544681367062010-09-27T08:44:00.000-04:002010-09-27T08:44:11.112-04:00

There was a time during my police career when prisoner rights seemed to exceed citizen rights.  Judges were forcing federal, state and local government agencies that were operating prisons and jails to provide inmates with at least 80 square feet of living space.  They also had to provide access to fully paid legal advice, medical services, education and library services in the jail, three square

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-50744518596932306792010-09-15T21:58:00.000-04:002010-09-15T21:58:41.835-04:00

Shortly before I retired from the Police Bureau I was working in the Personnel Division and had a college intern helping me complete personnel background investigations while earning college credits.  She was 19 years old and studying criminal justice.  I will call her Abbie. Abbie came to work on Monday morning looking ashen white and ill.  I inquired how she was feeling and her response was the

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-20877052901321267212010-08-30T16:08:00.003-04:002010-08-30T20:18:33.854-04:00

I was working a 10 hour shift from 6 PM to 4 AM and had just begun my watch when I was crusing down 82nd Avenue, minding my own business, just being content to let folks know I was on patrol when suddenly I saw two cars racing towards me at break neck speed.  They were trying to run each other off the road or into some other car.  In an attempt to stop this insane behavior I threw on my overhead

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-84514721038525452972010-08-20T19:11:00.000-04:002010-08-20T19:11:35.790-04:00

I was working the afternoon watch on a beautiful Memorial Day.  I drove down a busy avenue to my district and this avenue hosts all the vices known to mankind.   I saw the usual assortment of thieves, prostitutes, and drug dealers lurking in their haunts.  I saw two hookers about to pick up a john (a person who solicits a prostitute) so I got on the tail of the john and he suddenly wasn’t so

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-64465890683141427322010-08-13T09:50:00.001-04:002010-08-13T09:59:30.087-04:00

Was it an accident, a murder or a suicide?  I had to decide quickly to determine who should be called to assist at the crime scene.  It was just getting dark when 911 dispatched  me to investigate a pedestrian that had been struck by two vehicles on a busy four lane metropolitan boulevard that had a double guard rail separating opposing traffic.  We’ll call him Wayne. My first job was to

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-56423583956201885582010-08-06T09:44:00.003-04:002010-08-06T11:02:45.424-04:00

      Happy New Year It was New Year’s Eve and I didn’t have enough seniority to get the evening off.  My wife didn’t want to sit home alone, so we hired a baby sitter so she could ride with me on patrol.  However, after this night of adventure she never rode with me again. It was a blustery cool night with high winds. Our first call was to contact Rob who was waiting in the precinct lobby and

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-85871719598556195442010-07-30T08:53:00.000-04:002010-07-30T08:53:59.020-04:00

It was a sunny Friday afternoon (my Monday) and I was working 4 days a week, 10 hours a day, when I began patrol duty at 4 PM. If I was lucky I would return to the precinct by 2 AM, but many days it would be 3-5 AM.  Before my shift I had shined my boots and put on a freshly dry cleaned uniform with military pleats on the shirt and pants. No two days of work are ever the same and this would be a

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-11403365719705131632010-07-23T20:09:00.001-04:002010-07-31T20:20:34.791-04:00

I was working the day watch on a sunny fall day, school was in session and the speed limit in school zones was 20 miles per hour. Often children were walking near the street or playing on the school grounds near the street during school hours. I had just cruised passed one of the grade schools in my district to remind motorists they needed to slow down. I rounded the corner onto one of the main

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-1223646630104515882010-07-16T15:59:00.005-04:002010-10-12T19:34:06.184-04:00

As young cop I was working the first watch, midnight to 8 AM shift, with Tuesday -Wednesday off for my weekend. On many of my days off I would have to testify in court between 9AM and 5PM and then I would try to get a couple of hours of sleep prior to going to work. Prior to going to work on Wednesday evening about 11:30 PM I had been trying to live a normal life on my weekend while testifying in

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-13123217722668762642010-07-16T15:42:00.001-04:002010-07-20T21:01:18.038-04:00

In past episodes of Mormon Cop I have avoided using names and locations because communication techniques are getting so advanced I worry about embarrassing someone if they should see their story on this blog. Police do not see people at their best; usually officers see them at their absolute worst. Many times I have met the subject of a police contact some time later and they want to apologize

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-65935406693518736022010-07-16T15:39:00.001-04:002010-07-20T21:04:49.647-04:00

I was working the Day Watch out of East Precinct and the weather was turning colder, signaling the fall season was coming. It was mid afternoon and I was directed by dispatch to meet three Military Police Officers near my district. They told me of an Army deserter that was living nearby and requested my assistance to help arrest him. He had stolen an M-16 rifle when he deserted so this made the

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-32093488679796198892010-07-16T15:33:00.001-04:002010-07-20T21:15:20.920-04:00

In my youth I studied the Old Testament and used many of these lessons in my life. One of these bible stories is about Joshua. After Moses departed, Joshua was chosen by the Lord to lead the children of Israel to the Promised Land, now occupied by the people of Jericho. When the spies entered Jericho they used a harlot named Rahab to find safety and gather information on how to overthrow this

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-91153668670638978062010-07-16T15:29:00.001-04:002010-07-20T21:33:01.627-04:00

I was working patrol out of East Precinct on a balmy spring evening as it was just getting dark. The district I was patrolling had several active known felons living in a high crime area. One of them was a female drug dealer that sold drugs to middle age school kids to feed her own methamphetamine addiction. She was about 28 years of age and looked like she was 60 years old. She was skinny with

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-85464550278272965542010-07-16T15:26:00.001-04:002010-07-20T20:53:55.908-04:00

It was a warm summer evening just after midnight and I was working traffic enforcement. Another officer was also assigned to work the same stretch of highway. We focused on this highway because the police department had received complaints from several people that many other motorists were creating dangerous driving conditions by speeding and weaving in and out of traffic at very high speeds in

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2409502886281597658.post-8959055704086736762010-07-16T15:10:00.001-04:002010-07-20T20:49:25.607-04:00

I served in law enforcement for over 35 years. During some of that time I also served as a Bishop and a Stake President for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The following is just one of many instances where I served with one seen partner and one unseen partner. While working the afternoon shift one warm summer evening, in a two-man squad car, my partner and I got a call for help

Elder Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03166619959404050466noreply@blogger.com0