Traffic Stops with City Cops

Traffic Stops with City Cops 

Week 3 

Hey there! My name is Brennan McAuley from Cohort 5. I am currently down at Christiansted National Historic Site for my second summer internship. Here is what I did in my third week! 

Concurrent Jurisdiction at its Finest

The Virgin Islands Police Department received a grant for a traffic stop initiative. One of the many locations that were included in the grant was right in the park. This created an excellent opportunity for me to get lots of experience with traffic stops. I saw many scenarios where de-escalation was used in order to bring a heated situation down. I gained experience using a tint meter. Along with all of those experiences, I was able to see how tickets were issued along with how officers used their discretion to proceed with each and every situation. We did this on three separate days this past week wich allowed me to gain a lot of experience. 

Holding Down the Fort in the Event of a Hurricane 

Ranger Rivera gave an excellent presentation to everyone at the park on the park plan in the event of a hurricane. Rivera explained the proper procedures for before, during and after a hurricane. This presentation was very informative. It showed me the role Protection Rangers have in the event of a natural disaster. Overall everyone in the park has an important responsibility for the park in the event of a hurricane.

      
Firearms Safety, Cleaning, and Inventory

            Ranger Laurencin gave me a lesson on firearms safety. He went over the importance of cleaning and properly caring for your gun especially in an environment such as the Caribbean when salt and humidity really have a negative impact on your firearms if not properly cared for.  I learned how to clean a handgun and saw how to take apart the handgun which enabled me to see the mechanics which helped me better understand the handgun and how it operates. Finally, Ranger Laurencin, Ranger Rivera, and I worked on a park Inventory sheet. A large part of this was working to make sure all park property was accounted for.  

Boat Patrol

Practice makes perfect, or at least it makes you better than before. My boat training continues to get more intense. This past week I practiced boating in a high-speed chase and then had to make a contact with an illegal poached. This training really simulated what it is like with poaching encounters in the park. Laurencin gave me different scenarios that have taken place in the park which means one day I could be dealing with very similar situations. As far as real LE contact go while on a boat we had a windsurfer in the park (water sports are forbidden within the park boundary). I drove the boat in the direction of the windsurfer. Fortunately, the surfer got the message and surfed right out of the park. We also did foot patrols along the beach on Buck Island. This was rewarding, there were lots of visitors that were so happy to see a ranger. Many people offered us water. It was great to see how people enjoyed seeing a ranger!

Practicing operating the vessel at night 

Look at that park job!