Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
Welcome to summer time. Actually, just pre-summer for now, but it (the weather) is improving daily. Nice temperatures; blue skys; pools, sprinklers, camping, etc. Along with that comes a few unique challenges to law enforcement that are directly related to the season: increased numbers of BBQs with plenty of alcohol flowing, safety issues around pools, the sweat of wearing a vest...
As we move into the summer season I wanted to take a couple minutes to talk about a couple of those things. We all know about them - but in the hectic day of family life and work duty, we sometimes don't think about things that can make a huge difference in our day - or someone else's.
Summer is the season for lots of cookouts. Memorial Day has just passed; Independence Day is coming; Labor Day at the end of the summer - and all those family gatherings, parties, etc in between. Some of these events / BBQs / cookouts don't ever cause us problems. Others can have several hundred people in attendance, DJs, etc and we will inevitably get loud-music or disorderly conduct complaints. Heck, we may only get a few complaints about parking, but we still have to go make contact and ask someon to move a car. In some circles just having the police show up means the BBQ was a success. In other circles having the police show up means a lot of people are nervous because the bong had just been passed around and several folks have a pocketful of cocaine or crack.
Go into each of these situations with thought and safety. Sure, you might know the homeowner at the location you're responding to, but do you know everyone in attendance? If the numbers are sufficient, for sure and certain don't go alone. Remember that a peaceful or "routine" situation can go to hell-in-a-handbasket real fast when 50 friends come running out to demand you NOT tow that car from in front of the hydrant; no matter that you already asked for it to be moved three times. Simple numbers can present a threat - so don't dismiss it.
As you go on prowler calls, burglary calls, or even lost children calls, be aware of the pools and other deep water areas. We don't often think about it or train for it, but if you fall in with your vest and gunbelt you may have one hell of a hard time getting back to the surface without ditching some gear. Have you ever trained for that? For strong swimmers this may not be an issue, but for those who aren't as comfortable in or around water and who go in unexpectedly, it can be disastrous. At the very minimum, if you AREN'T comfortable in the water and AREN'T a strong swimmer, practice ditching your gunbelt: pop the buckle, remove those keepers, let it fall. You have to be able to do this in five to ten seconds without being frantic. Remember this: every piece of gear you carry can be replaced if need be. YOU CAN NOT. It's easy to get stuff off the bottom of a pool. If you ditch it in a river it's probably gone forever. Will the administrators bemoan the headache you caused? Yep; but no one will attend your funeral.
Remember too that those pools and water areas are often magnets for curious children or traps for those who wander out unsupervised. On calls for missing children, check those close areas first as circumstances dictate. If you are one of those officers previously discussed who isn't comfortable in the water, or is a weak swimmer, always look for something to reach that child in the water rather than diving in without a thought. Even professional lifeguards would rather HAND you something than come in to get you.
Finally (for this blog entry) let's talk a bit about sweating and heat. There are a couple issues here most of us don't think about. How much we sweat is often on your mind. It's HOT in the summer - especially wearing that nice insulating bullet-resistant vest. Thank goodness for good air-condition in cruisers, eh? So what do we need to worry about?
First, remember that many bullet resistant materials lose their life-saving strength and properties if they get wet and stay wet for too long. Sweat is liquid and is absorbed on the inside of the carrier of your vest and into the vest material itself unless it's protected by a sheath of plastic or some other similar barrier. When you get home and take that vest off, DON'T fold it back on itself as you were wearing it and lay it down. I know it's a pain and takes up space, but lay it on a drying rack or some other mesh surface folded OPPOSITE of how it hangs on you - so the insides are on the outside. Let it dry. (This will also help your chest smell less like your feet at the end of each work day)
Second, remember that sweat you produce can lead to dehydration when combined with enough heat exposure. Dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are dangerous things. Coffee, sodas and alcoholic beverages DON'T rehydrate you. WATER, even if you want to flavor it with something... WATER is good. That said...
Too much can kill you. Have you ever heard of hypernatremia? Many (most) haven't. Just like you can be dehydrated and that lack of water can harm or kill you, having too much in your system can upset the balance of electrolytes in your body so badly that it's also harmful. Hypernatremia is essentially OVER hydration. Search it out online and educate yourself about it. I am (unfortunately) aware of at least one instance where a police officer died in training due to hypernatremia simply because he drank too much water trying to protect himself from dehydration on a hot day.
So... welcome to summer. Stay safe.
