Ride along with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office

I went on a ride along with a deputy of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday this week. I have been looking forward to it for awhile. As the police and court reporter covering Washtenaw County, I wanted learn more about the sheriff’s department and its methods. I was assigned to ride along with Deputy James Roy, who has been with the sheriff’s department for about five years. He is part of a violent crime unit stationed in Ypsilanti Township, but there are a number of aspects of his job. Deputy Roy explains it himself in this video:



Deputy Roy showed me around Ypsilanti Township and the different areas he regularly patrols, which include neighborhoods like West Willow, some apartment complexes like Village Grove Apartments, and trailer home parks. Part of the reason for the patrols is simply to have a visible police presence in the community. I’m still pretty new to the area so I was seeing quite a few things for the first time. He also talked about the different technology and techniques he uses, and about his own experience as a law enforcement officer.

The different kinds of technology used by police are among what I learned about on the ride along. Recording equipment is heavily used. Deputy Roy showed me a body microphone held in patrol vehicles. When he leaves the vehicle he clips it onto his uniform, and it provides an audio record such as for interactions with residents and suspects. Patrol vehicles have cameras in them. Footage gets downloaded wirelessly when a vehicle gets to the station, which for him is usually the Ypsilanti Township Civic Center on Huron River Drive.

The sheriff’s department also looked into portable video cameras for deputies to keep on themselves like the microphone. Deputy Roy said he tested a few of these cameras out over the summer, trying to find something that works out good. It needs to be easily portable, he said, because deputies carry plenty of equipment already.

From my own understanding, recording equipment is used both as a record of what happened if needed in court and as a means to protect officers from accusations.

I was also shown the computer deputies connect to their vehicles while on the road. They look like heavily armored laptops. There’s all kinds of features, such as a touch screen and easy to navigate screens that allow deputies to look up information even while on the move. Systems are in place capable of pulling up any driver’s license photographs and mug shots a person may have, allowing deputies to cross reference – useful for determining if somebody has a fake ID. Some of the computers even have a print reader, which is able to pull up this information with the imprint of a finger or thumb.

I also learned quite a bit about Deputy Roy during the ride along. I could tell he was passionate about being part of the sheriff’s department and working to make the community a better place.

“I could do this every day,” he said. “It’s what I always wanted to do.”

Three members of his family are also in law enforcement, two cousins and an uncle, so one explanation for his interest in law enforcement is that it’s simply in his bloodline.

Overall the ride along was a good experience. I’m glad I got to know Deputy Roy. He invited me to do another ride along pretty much whenever, but there were some suggestions like a midnight shift in July. I was told that’s one of the most active times in the year for law enforcement – mostly because people are themselves more active and get out more when its warmer, and this activity peaks in July.

A lot of rain, a flooded apartment and a huge headache

The first big seasonal storm of 2010 came through Washtenaw County last night, and left my wife and I with a flooded apartment.

We live in northeast Ann Arbor and were hit fairly hard with rain as many other people in the county were.

While we consider ourselves fortunate not to have seen damage as those in Dundee experienced via a tornado, the standing water ruined all of our carpet, as well as everything sitting on the ground.

Some of our furniture will have to be replaced due to mold concerns, and we already had a crew come by and rip out the carpeting.

It all came to pass when my dog started barking around 1:30 a.m. because he heard our neighbors outside talking loudly. I put my feet down on the floor, directly in to about three inches of standing water.

The next few hours were spent moving everything that wasn't already soaked to higher ground and trying to track down maintenance to get the ball rolling on a solution.

The carpet was removed around 8:30 a.m. after the water had subsided, but the planned equipment to dry the place could not be turned on because the power went out around 9 a.m. (And has yet to be restored)

This presented another big issue because I take a weekly drug that needs to be refrigerated at all times, so we decided to drive to my wife's office to stash the medicine, and some perishable food, in the refrigerator there.

All in all quite a mess.

A positive note in all of this is the way our neighbors have come together to extend help to one another in a trying time.

In all, around 10 apartments were flooded in our complex, and we all pitched in a little to help rectify and save whatever and wherever.

Hopefully we'll straighten the rest out this week.

I didn't like my shoes anyway.

Health department investigating E. coli outbreak

From the Washtenaw County Health Department:

WASHTENAW COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH CONTINUES

E.COLI OUTBREAK INVESTIGATION

Possible Link to Similar Outbreak in Ohio


YPSILANTI, Mich., April 26, 2010 — In cooperation with multiple agencies, Washtenaw County Public Health continues investigating an outbreak of food-related illness. Preliminary results from the Michigan Department of Community Health indicate that this is a toxin-producing E. coli non-0157 strain. Seven of the local cases have been confirmed as E. coli non-0157 and are related to one another. Fourteen cases are awaiting laboratory confirmation of E. coli. Persons reporting illness consistent with the outbreak were likely exposed between April 7th and April 15th and became ill between April 9th and April 16th. Persons typically experience symptoms three to four days after eating foods contaminated with E. coli.

The process of identifying common food sources is complex. Initial findings indicated ill persons were exposed at one or more local eateries. Additional evidence now indicates there may have been a problem related to the distribution of certain foods received locally. The Michigan Department of Agriculture is conducting a traceback to determine whether a common food distributor or supplier may be involved. Similar cases are also under investigation in Ohio. Columbus Public Health in Columbus, OH is reporting five confirmed cases of E.coli non-0157, with several more pending confirmation.

“Our investigation is progressing,” says Dr. Diana Torres-Burgos, MD, MPH, Medical Director of Washtenaw County Public Health. “Outbreaks like these are incredibly time-consuming and difficult, and we continue to share the information we can confirm.”

Symptoms of E. coli infection include abdominal cramping followed by diarrhea that progressively worsens and is often bloody. Typically, there is no fever. Anyone with similar symptoms should seek medical attention. Individuals are also asked to report suspected E. coli illness to Washtenaw County Public Health at 734-544-6700.

Most persons sickened with E. coli recover within a week; however, some infections can be serious. The non-0157 strain of E. coli identified in the outbreak is less common, but it is still capable of producing severe illness.

Proper hand washing, food handling and cooking are critical to preventing the spread of foodborne illness. The Washtenaw County Public Health Fact Sheet on E. coli is available at: http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/departments/public_health/phcontent/cd_fact_sheets/ecoli.pdf