Officers race to ‘fireworks’

“This is the busiest I’ve seen it,” said Police Officer Amanda Fedunok, who has been on the force for 18 months.

The “beep” relayed to her vehicle computer with the first call about 10:15 p.m. meant that Fedunok should activate her lights and siren to get to Pleasant Court as soon as possible.

She had been tracking down an illegal fireworks complaint when the domestic dispute was reported. “There are a lot of people who either don’t see or hear us when we are trying to respond to one of these incidents and that can be frustrating because there is the potential for someone to get hurt,” she said while attempting to pass a couple of slow-moving vehicles. “If you see a cop car going down the road with its lights and sirens on, then you should be aware that someone could be in a life-threatening situation and we are trying to get to them.”

TENSE TIME

Because it had gotten dark and the man involved in the escalating argument was reportedly intoxicated and angry, Fedunok followed protocol and radioed for backup.

The other officers had not yet arrived when she reached the street where the residence was located.

“A lot of time after dark, families are settling in for the evening and there is a different type of people out there, so we worry more about providing back-up,” Sgt. Dan Nelson, who has been on the force 22 years, told a reporter earlier that evening.

“We definitely get more alcohol-related calls in the evening than we do in the day.”

Parking a short distance away from the Pleasant Court residence, Fedunok grabbed her flashlight and headed cautiously for the front door.

“I’m right behind you Amanda,” called Officer Koji Nagamatsu, who pulled in moments later. He was followed by a couple of deputies and a state trooper.

Not only did the man end up being arrested for interfering with the police investigation, the woman was taken into custody for violating her probation by consuming alcohol.

“Domestics can be tricky because there is a relationship and emotions run high,” said Fedunok. “It can be one of the most dangerous situations that we face.”

NEXT ROUND

While Fedunok handled the Pleasant Court incident, Nelson responded to the report of a confrontation between an intoxicated mother and adult son at a West Second Street home.

The situation was resolved when the man agreed to go on a walk and give his mother time to cool down.

Meanwhile, Officer Jeff Keinlen made the first of what would be three police visits to a home on Montana Street in the eastern sector of the city.

Dispatch had relayed to him that a husband and wife were arguing and the man had become physically abusive.

Kienlen arrived to find both individuals intoxicated and numerous broken items strewn around the residence. The woman was lying naked in the bedroom but denied being abused and showed no sign of injury. She admitted to breaking household goods with a bat. No one was arrested.

With city officers tied up on calls, Oregon State Police Trooper Gavin McIlvenna told dispatch shortly before 11 p.m. that he would handle a fight going on between a brother and sister at The Dalles Marina.

Both individuals were intoxicated and the woman claimed that the man was threatening to kill her. The incident had been witnessed by many people gathered to watch the fireworks and he was arrested.

Fedunok headed off to the Lewis and Clark Festival Park when dispatch reported that a 13-year-old girl with developmental delays was yelling and screaming at her parents. Nolan Hare, festival organizer, and another security official were attempting to calm the situation.

The situation involving the family was the only significant problem that law enforcement dealt with at the park where 10,000-15,000 people had gathered.

Officer Elton Travis was present when Fedunok pulled up and he had been talking to the angry girl, which had distracted her from the disagreement and gotten her to laugh. She left with her parents a few minutes later in good spirits.

MORE DISPUTES

At the same time, Kienlen was responding to a 14th Place location where two males had been reported rolling around on the roadway in a physical dispute. He arrived to find one intoxicated individual who did not want to pursue charges. The other man had left the scene.

McIlvenna was typing a booking report at the regional jail when Fedunok pulled into the bay with the Montana Street man that Keinlen had dealt with about an hour earlier.

She had gone to the Montana Street home after a neighbor reported that a woman who lived there with the couple’s son had been hiding at her place during Kienlen’s first visit.

The woman and her boyfriend had been involved in an assault situation a few days earlier and he had been directed by the court not to have contact with her while an investigation was underway.

Fedunok and Kienlen showed up to question the younger woman, who was back at the residence, and the father of her boyfriend called dispatch to report that he was being harassed by the two officers.

The man was taken into custody by Fedunok for abuse of 9-1-1 and his son was arrested and transported to jail by Kienlen for violating the no contact order.

Fedunok ended up back at the Montana Street home about 1 a.m. when the girlfriend reported that she was afraid to go inside and get her belongings because the boyfriend’s mother might hit her.

Arrangements were made for the woman’s clothing to be brought outside by a family friend. She and the bags were picked up by another friend.

“When I first started this job, I thought I could save everybody, help them make different life choices, but then I realized that I couldn’t,” said Fedunok, who majored in psychology and criminal justice, and did master’s level work in forensic psychology.

“It’s really frustrating when you get to a house and you know something bad has happened but they deny it and you can’t do anything. We really do want to help.”

OTHER CALLS

While the Montana Street situation was being resolved, Elton arrested a man for driving under the influence of intoxicants and crashing into a parked car on East 11th Street.

He and Fedunok then checked out a report that two subjects were parked in a pickup near Sororis Park and in possession of handguns. They located two females at that location but neither had a weapon.

Also unfounded was a report that two subjects were tampering with a propane tank at a Sixth Street gas station.

Earlier in the evening, Nelson and Elton had gone to View Point trailer park to conduct a welfare check on a woman who had learned that day that her father was terminally ill. She had not responded to calls from friends, who were concerned about her state of mind. She answered the door at Nelson’s knock and he asked her to let people know that she was okay.

Prior to that incident, Elton had been alerted that the back door to the Civic Auditorium was standing open. He heard noises in the basement when he arrived and went slowly down the stairs calling for whoever was down there to come out. He finally located the source of the sound — a large rat in a metal trash can. It was determined that the door had been damaged by a past burglary attempt.

Elton had given a break to a motorist during the evening. He had stopped the Illinois man driving his sister’s Dodge Challenger for running a red light at Third and Union streets. The subject had been trying to find festival park and told the officer that he had become confused and not noticed the light change.

He was warned to be more attentive but not given a ticket.

“He came here to celebrate the Fourth and we don’t want his memory of the visit to be a traffic ticket,” said Elton.

Fedunok said it can be a nervous experience to pull a vehicle over because you never know what awaits you.

“It could be anybody with anything,” she said.

Nelson, Elton and Fednock admitted that they get as uncomfortable when a patrol car pulls in behind them while they are off duty as they know other citizens do.

“We all slow down and start checking the gauges,” said Elton, who was hired by the department seven years ago and also has experience as a reservist.

VARIED ENCOUNTERS

While fueling up during patrol, Elton encountered an off-duty fireman from Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue.

“Why aren’t you working?” he asked in reference to the fact that July 4 could be a day for multiple fires.

“Well, I heard there were going to be some fires tonight so I decided to drink and drive around,” the fireman joked in reply.

“I’ll catch you later then,” Elton said.

He explained that there is a lot of good natured joking between the fire and police services, and other law enforcement agencies, but everyone works well together.

“It makes this job so much easier to know that somebody’s covering your back,” he said.

Sometimes as city officers roll down the street, they come across the path of known drug dealers or people with long criminal records.

Nelson saw two of those individuals right across the street from a Third Street pub where people were gathered on the patio to enjoy the summer evening.

“With meth or weed, you might be today’s buyer and tomorrow, because you’ve got drugs, you’re the dealer,” said Nelson.

NORCOR, a facility that serves Wasco, Hood River, Sherman and Gilliam counties, reported that 13 people were booked between 6 p.m. on July 4 and 6 a.m. July 5.

The sheriff’s office and police department answered 78 calls for assistance during that same time period. Five of these calls involved use of illegal fireworks.