Knee Deep

“Hooked” on my blogs, are you? Well I am happy to welcome you back. Fortunately for both of us, I have been taking notes. A lot has happened. My assignment to the Operations division began on Saturday. Yes, I hung up my keys as "Traffic 593". The Operations division is similar to the Interpretive division but focused on special events. Additionally, they manage the campground and handle building leasing. Due to the pandemic, special events have not been planned, the campground remains closed, but the division lives on. One of my initial contacts was with Ranger Hagan, who is another ProRanger alum at Sandy Hook! In fact, I have now learned that she is one of three prior ProRanger`s at Sandy Hook. We began preparing for the passengers to disembark the ferry by inspecting the dock for tripping hazards and any suspicious packages. The ferry brings visitors from New York City to Sandy Hook once a day during the week and twice on the weekends. As part of Operations we encouraged social distancing, answered questions, and kept the line moving into the park. Law enforcement rangers are regularly assigned to ferry arrivals to perform alcohol checkpoints. Ranger Moleski invited me to aid her in checking coolers for alcohol and glass when the second ferry arrived. I believe the checkpoint is a great tool for crime and accident prevention. Every find has the potential to be a preventative for a call for service later in the day. Following a checkpoint on Sunday, Ranger Hayes showed me how to use the P.B.T. as a “Sniffer” to determine whether a beverage in question contained any alcohol content.

Monitoring a visitor as he removes alcohol
 from his cooler.

Ranger Moleski, Ranger Hayes and I
prepared for the ferry checkpoint.

Incoming SeaStreak Ferry

Once the ferries were unloaded, I had the opportunity to speak with Ranger Hagan and Supervisory Ranger Pepper-Parker about their time in law enforcement. During the conversation I was reminded of what a small world it is, which we have been told time and time again. They are both familiar with other ProRangers who have gone through the park.  Following lunch, I conducted an educational patrol with Ranger Millin on the bay side. The objective was to improve visitor behavior and answer questions about the resource. Of no surprise, unfortunately, we encountered a lot of trash. We made a few contacts and recovered an abandoned fishing pole. Then we set up a kiosk at a bay side entrance to further our educational efforts. With plenty of time to chat, I learned that Ranger Millin had also worked in law enforcement with another agency.  ProRanger internships afford students the opportunity to develop their understanding of the law enforcement field. Hearing from well-established and successful rangers who found their best fit in another division has been one of the most important moments so far.

Ferry dock entrance

Have no fear, I will be at the academy on August 10^th.  The following day I primarily shadowed Ranger Bongiovi. He is a wealth of knowledge and positivity with a deep-rooted interest in the visitor experience. Despite the heat wave, upon my request, he took me to tour the campground without hesitation. I know he will be reading this. I will most certainly be visiting Thomas Edison National Historical Park after hearing about his time there. The only person who could possibly one up him is Ranger Hernandez who absolutely loves his job which is entirely based around improving the visitor experience. His mindset reminded me of works by Freeman Tilden. My time spent with operations was a reminder of how great the opportunity to work in a National Park is. Chances are you won`t find law enforcement sitting in the grass with a visitor just chatting. I was also fortunate to sit with Ranger McCarthy who leads Operations. We had shared a few words in passing before, but on that day we sat and discussed the ProRanger program in depth.  

The information kiosk 

Once I wandered back home to the Law Enforcement division, I found myself back on foot patrol with Ranger Patrick. Once again, we patrolled Gunnison beach. From a distance we discussed what to look for and how violations can be hidden. Back at the ranger station we also reviewed and practiced handcuffing methods. Much like my time with operations, this instance along with others like it have stood out from the internship as a whole. Seeing exactly what we have learned during ProRanger weekend activities being used in the field has been awesome. Fulfilling in a way. When I don`t have a ranger to ride along with I try to find ways to continue to be productive. Luckily, this week I found ways that included more than burying my head in RM-9. One morning I noticed our E.M.S. bag needed to be refilled after the overnight shift had a medical call. I walked to our fire station to gather a replacement oxygen tank along with some other miscellaneous supplies. There I had the chance to introduce myself to a park E.M.T. who is also headed to the seasonal academy soon. At one point Ranger Whithers sent me to the mechanic with a vehicle to be diagnosed. This is a collateral duty that I find interesting. Of course, there is always time for the books, so I read through some of our jurisdictional inventory.

S.H.U. Jurisdictional Inventory

New supplies for the E.M.S. bag

 Finally, I returned to patrol with Ranger Hayes. Much like Ranger Bongiovi, he had no problem showing me areas of the park which I was still not familiar with. We trekked out through Horseshoe Cove all the way to Battery Aerosmith. Resource violations are common in the salt marshes of Horseshoe Cove. We made a few visitor contacts there. Battery Aerosmith is a closed area on the bay side. We continued on to visit Battery Kingsman and Battery Mills. “Kingsman and Mills” is a commonly used term when rangers are describing the location of their traffic stop. Locations such as these help rangers orient themselves because the main road, Hartshorne Drive, runs through most of the park without cross streets. The road to these batteries is not open for visitors and I thought it was a closed area, but it is not. We drove through this very untouched area and we saw the Osprey refuge, which is a closed area. Next, we patrolled two beaches on foot. Ranger Hayes once again urged me to make my own tent contacts, I knew he would. I am a quiet individual, so I was hesitant initially. Before long I was contacting multiple visitors regarding their tents which are not allowed on the beach. I also made a few contacts with visitors playing music through speakers. The hardest contact was probably the one with a language barrier. I worked my way through it through with the help of Ranger Hayes who I have seen face the same challenge. During these patrols Ranger Hayes had me communicate all of our radio transmissions.

Two views of Battery Kingsman. You can see how it could have easily been missed from the air despite being such a monolithic structure.

The salt marshes of Horseshoe Cove.

Osprey

Communicating our location and actions.

To wrap up the day we responded to a call from the lifeguards about a disturbance with a visitor. There I witnessed my first arrest. It was great to see the rangers handle the subject without escalating the situation and being very conscious of their safety. A packed beach sure can seem silent when law enforcement is present. My week ended with my first ride along with Ranger Moleski. As previously mentioned, all of the seasonals have treated me well. We discussed the ProRanger program as well as the route she took to become a seasonal law enforcement ranger. I also had to defend the East Coast as what it is, the better coast. Have you had a New Jersey bagel? The excitement in that shift came in the form of a medical call on the bay side. We trekked out quite a way to the patient with lifeguards, E.M.T.`s and other L.E. rangers behind us. I was able to experience the interruption of bystanders. Fortunately, a U.T.V. was available and capable of accessing the bay side to transport the patient back to the awaiting ambulance. Approximately one hour later we were dispatched to the same area for a potentially violent disturbance. This was right at shift change and I was impressed by everyone`s willingness from both shifts to respond. Due to the nature of the call we attempted to avoid the long trek out and instead waded through the water. This only lasted  until we discovered the tide came in and we would end up swimming if we went any further. During this call I was able to watch the rangers navigate their way through a multifaceted scenario involving the wellbeing of a juvenile. Those last two calls really sent home the message of how important physical fitness is in this profession and that no scenario is beyond reality. Hopefully I kept you “hooked” and will see you for the next blog. 

Post incident. Do you enjoy long walks on the beach too?