CAPE’S LARGEST P.D. RIDDLED WITH PATROL OFFICER SAFETY ISSUES: HN NOTES & MULLINGS ON THE MATTER

IN THE ABOVE HN PHOTO: A Barnstable P.D. patrolwoman steps across shards of glass to speak with a Hyannis woman who just reported her door being smashed last evening. The incident may be related to an ongoing argument over a cat. Police are working on locating the prime suspect. The investigation is active and ongoing. IN THE FOLLOWING HN PHOTO: A Hyannis woman became extremely alarmed and called 911 at the sight of a man apparently overdosing next to a dumpster in the downtown area last evening. By the time BPD officers arrived on scene, the man was conscious and able to walk into the back of an ambulance all by himself.   [HN NOTES & MULLINGS ON THE MATTER] In phone call, a veteran Barnstable Police Officer told HN about being very concerned about the department being understaffed. There currently is an abnormally low number of police officers actually working the streets during certain shifts on his department. It’s dangerous, he believes, and his family is also worried. Other active patrol officers expressed morale being low among some due to being overworked and frequently forced to work overtime. It’s having an impact on some officers in terms of their health and family life, with some even considering quitting the job they once loved… … seniority and retirement dreams after time served be damned! Over the past several decades, the usual number of police cruisers patrolling the village of Hyannis at any given time has been at least six to eight cars. Now, according to current police sources, it’s not unusual for there only being four, three, or even as few as two cruisers out patrolling Hyannis during the overnight hours. (And HN remembers one summer evening in recent years when there was only one cruiser patrolling downtown Hyannis. One! Which is completely unacceptable.) And the low numbers of officers patrolling Hyannis during the overnight takes away from other Town of Barnstable villages being adequately covered. For example, the BPD’s “Northside” car covers the large span of area from the village of Barnstable (including the Cummaquid neighborhoods) to the village of West Barnstable. But unfortunately, the Northside cruiser is now often called in closer to Hyannis, to hang out near the village line, with it sometimes being completely pulled from its normal patrol of the northside villages, and directed to patrol Hyannis when all other cars are tied up on one of any number of serious calls that routinely occur anywhere withing the entire Town of Barnstable, at any given moment. The large, combined area of Marstons Mills and Cotuit – an area larger, or as large as some Cape Towns – only has one Barnstable Police cruiser patrolling and taking calls. The village of Centerville used to have a dedicated cruiser but now the “Centerville car” also covers Osterville, which also used to have its own dedicated cruiser called the “Osterville car.” The Marstons Mills/Cotuit and Centerville/Osterville cars now routinely need to rush over winding back roads – rain, snow, or ice – in order to provide backup for one another. When normally staffed, there are supposed to be free ranging “town cars” that supplement the coverage across the villages of Cotuit, Marstons Mills, Osterville, Centerville, West Barnstable and Barnstable. Now, whenever there is a serious incident during the understaffed overnights, it’s essentially all-hands-on-deck at one particular situation, while the other large areas of town are often left completely without any police presence at all! The lack of nearby backup places officers at risk. The lack of adequate coverage across all villages places citizens at risk. Mutual aid from other towns has become a common occurrence these days, but mutual aid officers from other towns are only helpful when they actually arrive on scene, which can take way too long, as many as ten or more minutes, depending on the ongoing situation in the other, neighboring town. It’s a dangerous situation whenever patrol officers are overworked and understaffed. And the family members of our overextended patrol officers are taking note. God forbid anything happens, but if it does because of negligent, below normal levels of coverage, there will be hell to pay. Let’s hope and pray it never comes to that. Meanwhile, I’m told the Barnstable Police Department is in a state of transition due to Chief Sonnabend being out on a self-imposed, indefinite “medical leave.” I’m also told Deputy Chief Challies, the incoming “acting chief,” is sort of an unknown quantity in the eyes many of the young patrol officers (and it’s mostly young patrol officers these days), since she has been rarely seen working alongside the patrol force in recent years.  She has her work cut out for her, to say the least.  The Barnstable Police Department is basically divided into two groups. There’s the upstairs personnel, the so-called “secret squirrels” of the outfit, made up of clever detectives and “sagacious” police administrators, some of whom are rarely ever seen. And there are the downstairs ‘trols, or members of the pa-trol force… the hardworking patrolmen and patrolwomen. The ‘trolls being the so-called “backbone” of the outfit. But as mentioned above, the ‘trols currently need more help, and it’s a desperate, unhealthy situation as it stands right now. So, what will happen next? And how will incoming acting Police Chief Challies handle the dangerous issue of patrol officers being overextended and overworked, and often forced to work extra shifts?  As of right now, it’s uncertain. P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is a brought to you by Thundercat…  [CLICK IT/CRANK IT! HEADPHONES ABSOLUTELY OBLIGATORY!]