PAX Centurion - September / October 2015

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • September/October 2015 • Page 39 times not. This job was one of the least desirable because you would have to go to court with those arrested for drunkenness during your tour. This was before alcoholism was recognized as a medical issue. For this duty there was a $3 stipend. The wagon served as an ambulance as well. We carried a filthy blanket and a canvas stretcher between two wooden poles along with a couple of crude splints. It also did duty as a truck carrying police barriers and oil lanterns to mark a hazard or street defect. We had no facilities for women in any station so after women were arrested and booked, they had to be taken to the ‘tombs.’This was the city prison located in the basement of the courthouse. It had a male and female section and when station lockups became full, the overflow was sent there. If prisoners became irrational or out of control, they would be sent there as well and put into “the pads” – a padded cell. Both male and female sections of the tombs had padded cells. The prisoner was stripped naked before being locked up in the pads, including females. A matron was present but often she needed assistance and we officers had to help out. There was a stable in the basement of the station and a small exer- cise yard for the horses. Twelve to 15 horses were stabled there and the holsters, civilian employees of the department, were kept busy with them. Weather permitting the day men, the ones who could ride, took their horses out on their routes. They made a splendid appear- ance and it was great for public relations. They were also used for pa- rades and other ceremonial duties. The original purpose of the horses in District 16 was to allow officers to ride down the numerous public alleys in Back Bay and to see over the fences. The plus side of having horses in the station was bringing your kids in to see them when you came in to pick up your pay. We got paid in cash at that time and you had to pick up your pay envelope and sign for it. The down side was that the station always smelled of horse shit. It was forbidden to take your personal car to your route, so we would sometimes get a ride in a patrol car or the wagon, but most of the time we walked. Good routes were highly sought after. Some officers stayed on the same route for their whole careers. Mine was Route 5, running from Clarendon to Exeter Streets and from Boylston to Beacon Street. It was a mix of commercial and residential and I enjoyed working there. It had several restaurants, the Darbury Room and theAlgonquin Club, among others. These restaurants fed the police. I sometimes joined the officer on an adjoining route and we had dinner together at the Ritz-Carlton. In some restaurants we ate in the dining room, but most of the time we ate in the kitchen. Walking routes, particularly in the summer were very social. This was an early version of what came to be known as community polic- ing.The beat officers were required to call in from a different callbox every 40 minutes. These calls, or hits, were recorded by the officer on the signal desk. Nobody followed this rule. An officer would make one or two calls during his tour and the signal desk officer would record them as required by regulation. We took turns on the signal desk to cover ourselves. The police at that time had a great deal of discretionary power. An arrest could be made if the officer believed that an individual may have committed a felony. It did not take much to reach that thresh- old of belief, so a citizen could be arrested and charged with being a suspicious person who may have committed a felony. If after a day or two it turned out that he did not commit the felony, he was released. No harm, no foul. The release was at the officers’ discretion, so it was no fun being locked up on suspicion. It was not unknown for the ar- resting officer to take his days off with his prisoner still in a cell. This power was not abused but it was available and used as a last resort. It did have the effect of deterring a lot of housebreaks and street crime. We had other arrest weapons in our arsenal as well. Being abroad in the nighttime without being able to give a good account of yourself was an arrestable offense. The officer determined what constituted a good account or reason for being out and about at night. Sauntering and Loitering could also get you arrested. Each week we had a light test. The lights atop the callboxes were set flashing and the lieutenant sat at the signal desk and awaited the response. Every officer on the street had 20 minutes to answer. Once the first officer answered and found that it was a test, the word was passed and we all answered. Woe to any officer who missed a light. The wagon drivers were a special lot. When the wagon was not rolling these officers would sleep on cots and stretchers that they set up in the wagon house. Prisoners at that time were treated differ- ently than they are in the present day. If an arrest had been made of a notorious offender, (a child molester or a cop fighter, for example) that individual was brought out to the cell block and displayed to all officers at roll call. “Take a good look at this guy. If you see this guy around, bring him in” was the invariable comment. The prevailing feeling was that this worked because the offender would take pains to stay out of the district once he got back out on the street.Another practice long since abandoned was the line-up that was held every morning at police headquarters. Each station transported all who were arrested for any significant offense to headquarters for the occasion. The line-up was held in a large room designed for this purpose, com- plete with a stage where the suspects were paraded against a white backdrop marked with horizontal height lines. Bright lights illumi- nated the suspects while witnesses and police sat in the darkness. Lt. Crowley generally ran it.