Police Blotter
July 20-22, 2020
How many police officers does it take to provide the services your community wants and needs. How does a minimum of two officers per day sound, even if the only thing we’re handling is crime related calls for service? We think two is the right number, but to consistently field a minimum of two officers per day, we need to have more than just those two. To cover a 24 hour day, it takes two shifts. Even if we send everyone home at 3 a.m., it still takes two shifts. Whether we work 8, 10, or 12 hour shifts, it still takes two shifts. We’ve tried just about everything over the years and two 12 hour shifts seems to be the best way to provide consistent police services. To cover the entire week, we need a total of 4, 12 hour shifts. So, if you’re doing the math in your head, 2x4 is 8. Perfect, right? Not quite. We are also contracted to provide an officer at the airport, so add 4 more. That makes 12. But people get sick or go on vacation, right, and what about training? We need to send people to training to be good police officers. Add two more to each shift to cover these instances to ensure we always have at least two. That makes 20. That’s just uniform patrol. We also need detectives to do follow-up on big cases, administration, support staff, parking enforcement/animal control, along with Victim Services and Animal Shelter. Put all that together and you have the current make-up of the Jackson Police Department. We are happy to have a conversation with anyone that wants to come in and know more about the police department. We’ll answer your questions, address your concerns, and even set you up on a ride-a-long to see first-hand what a police officer’s day looks like.
Welcome to the police blotter, where you don’t just get a snapshot of crime that’s occurred, but you get to see everything we’ve done.
20073064: On July 20, 2020, at 6:47 a.m., Sgt. Ruschill responded to a report of Illegal Camping. It was reported that someone had not only camped but built a warming fire in the Russ Garaman Park. We can’t argue that this park is a great location for that kind of thing, but it is not allowed. Sgt. Ruschill contacted the 41 year old Afton, WY man to advise him of that. Unfortunately, the man had some unfinished business with the Circuit Court in Lincoln County and they had issued a warrant for his arrest. Sgt. Ruschill had to arrest the man.
20073084: On July 20, 2020, at 10:04 a.m., Sgt. Ruschill responded to a report of a Sexual Assault. He received a third hand disclosure of a sexual assault of a juvenile female. The investigation will be handed over to our School Resource Officer (SRO). Wyoming law prohibits us from releasing any further information about this case at this time.
20073106: Hit & Run Collision.
20073168: On July 20, 2020, at 6:33 p.m., Officer Blair responded to a report that a sexual assault victim was receiving multiple offensive text messages. The victim believes the messages are coming from the suspect who had sexually assaulted her. Officer Blair is working with Detective Figueroa, who is investigating the sexual assault case, to prove this is the case. If they can develop probable cause, they will charge the suspect with a felony for intimidating the victim.
20073394: On July 22, 2020, at 10:18 a.m., Officer Mattson responded to a report of Auto Burglary. The victim reported the theft of 4 flyrods from his vehicle. These flyrods cost about $6,000 in total. Ouch. If you know anything about this theft or find a flyrod case with 4 flyrods in it, please give us a call. The victim would like to have their flyrods back.
20073400: On July 22, 2020, at 10:34 a.m., Officer White responded to the airport checkpoint. If you didn’t know, the Jackson Police Department is contracted to provide law enforcement services at the airport. The problem at the checkpoint was that a woman had forgotten about the firearm she carried in her purse while escorting a minor to the gate to catch a flight. Oops. We would ask all those that carry a firearm on a regular basis to be more conscious about your weapon and where it goes. You know where you can take it and where you can’t, so please be less casual and more disciplined about carrying it. Officer White secured the weapon while the woman finished escorting her daughter and returned it when she left the building. No citation was issued.
20073419: On July 22, 2020, at 1:02 p.m., Community Service Officer Weston responded to an animal attack. He learned that a group of men were jogging down an alley when two dogs came into the alley and one of them bit one of the males on the upper calf. CSO Weston verified the dog’s rabies vaccinations were current. The dog owner is offering to pay medical expenses to the man that was bit. No citation was issued at this time.
20073491: On July 23, 2020, at 11:42 p.m., Officer Raab contacted a man who was sleeping in his vehicle on public property. If you didn’t know, it is illegal to camp on public streets, parking lots and public property. Yes, we know there is a lot of that going on. We get frequent calls and complaints to address the issue, which we do as we are able. When Officer Raab made contact, he could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. He also found the man to be on probation. Not a good combination. Rather than take the man to jail, Officer Raab decided giving the man a ticket for the marijuana and writing a report for the probation violation to be sent to the prosecutor was the best solution.
Here is the other stuff we did.
Totals Description
1 911 Hang Up
4 Abandoned Vehicle
6 Animal Control Complaint
1 Animal Control Dog Bite
1 Animal Control Found
5 Citizen Assist
5 Code Enforcement
7 Collision
1 Collision Hit and Run
1 Commercial Alarm
2 Disturbance
2 Driving Complaint
1 Fire Alarm - Carbon Monoxide Residential
1 Fire Alarm - Residential
5 Follow Up PATROL Investigation
2 Found Property
7 Illegal Camping
1 Information Only
2 Investigate Fire
8 Medical Assist
1 Medical Transport
2 Motorist Assist
1 Noise Disturbance
9 Parking Complaint
3 Parking Rounds
2 Parking Violation
1 Pedestrian Stop
1 Public Intoxication
1 Registration Violation
1 Sexual Assault
1 Special Assignment
1 Suspicious Circumstances
2 Suspicious Person
1 Theft
22 Traffic Stop
1 Vehicle Fire
2 Vehicle Identification Number Inspection
1 Vehicle Information
116 Totals