Week 4: Night Shift, Firearms, and Darkness!

 My last day working on the day shift at INDE was Tuesday, and I started working nights on Saturday. I was initially intimidated working day shift because there were many people. Fortunately, I was able to navigate day-to-day routines thanks to all-day shift rangers. I will utilize the techniques and strategies for my remaining time at INDE (and beyond). Here are a few important things I learned during the day shift. 

Park rangers face many perils throughout their tenure. One of the most important aspects of being a Law Enforcement (LE) ranger for the National Park Service is the ability to carry a firearm. Title 54, the General Authorities Act, allows commissioned park rangers to carry firearms. A gun is a dangerous weapon that must be handled in a particular way to avoid unintentional discharge(s). For that reason, there are 4 (four) rules every ranger must know to utilize a firearm safely.  The rules are:

1. Always keep your gun pointed in a safe direction. 
2.  Treat guns as though they are always loaded.  
3. keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on your intended target.  
4. Always be sure of your target and what's behind it. 

 Additionally, commissioned rangers must undergo training and/or certification to utilize firearms after a fixed period. I experienced rangers undergoing firearm (re)certification at one time. As previously mentioned, all rangers must know the rules for firearm safety. The firearm instructor, Deputy Chief Fernandez, asked his class of Rangers what the rules were before entering the firing range. The Rangers in the class knew the correct answers to the response.  

My first night on the night shift was an experience. The difference between the morning and night shifts is night and day. Firstly, rangers that work during the day are responsible for opening various areas. On the other hand, night shift rangers are responsible for closing the aforementioned areas. So, I shadowed Ranger Terry while she performed her nightly duties. The most jarring thing about the night shift is the low visibility at times. As a result, many areas throughout the park have become viable hiding spots for juveniles and transients. We came across a transient in the 18th-century garden while closing. He left the area without causing a scene. 

Sometime later, we received a notification from dispatch that there were gunshots heard near Edgar Allen Poe's house. Ranger Fahey and Terry responded to secure the Poe house. While investigating, Range Fahey discovered one of the doors was unlocked. The rangers needed to secure the entire Poe house to ensure no one was in the building—spoiler alert. The rangers did not find anything out of the ordinary outside of pictures of Edgar Allen Poe. 

Week 3: Haze, Permits, and Birds

 Good morning, good afternoon, and good night,

This week was very odd, to say the least. Independence (and Philadelphia) experienced a thick haze of smoke. Canada was the progenitor of the miasma inflicted on us. The good vibes prevalent in the park were replaced with melancholic ire. Many visitors wore masks due to the poor air quality. Overall, the wildfire from our northern neighbor reverted the city to a pandemic-era environment. 

The fog cleared a few days later, and things returned to normal. There were a few events on the docket. One was for the Armed Forces recruitment event. A plethora of soldiers from different ranks were in People's Plaza. 

In addition, a prayer for the Islamic Heritage Festival was held across the street next to the Visitor Center. 

The Islamic Heritage Festival's flyer said there would be a parade on June 10th at 1pm. The parade would start at 1 N Independence Mall and end at Penn's Landing. Upon my arrival, I did not see anything resembling a parade. The only event I saw was for an Indigenous People's Day event at People's Plaza. I want to end this blog on a good note.

One day, I noticed a bird on the Liberty Bell Center during patrol. It was a neat place for a bird to make a nest. Unfortunately, other animals think the same way. Ranger Fitzke informed me that bird limbs can be found around the INDE because new hatchlings fall out of the nest, and animals eat them. Talk about spawn camping...

Week 2: Reenactments, Pride, and Violence

 This week was particularly interesting in contrast to last week.  For one, two big events occurred. The first event was recreation for Memorial Day, and the second was a pride parade. From my experience, people usually have family gatherings or visit a grave site of a deceased veteran. So I assumed there would be a small turnout at INDE on Memorial Day. Inversely, INDE saw a great number of tourists come through. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred about crime.  The big event was a reenactment and flag-raising taking place outside Independence Hall. The reenactment took about half an hour, and visitors enjoyed it.

I attended court with Ranger Morales on Tuesday.  Ranger Morales was summoned to court because he witnessed a crime a while ago. Unfortunately, his case was not the only one that had a hearing. Twenty (20) cases needed to be heard by a judge, and the case Rager Morales is part of was the last one. On the bright side, I got to experience court proceedings for various types of offenses. Many of the scheduled hearings were continued to another date because the police officer was unavailable. In addition, there was an instance of an officer not appearing for a court hearing twice. The Judge requested the assistant District Attorneys to find out how long the officer would be out 'sick.' Watching court proceedings and interactions between lawyers gave me insight into the legal process after arresting someone. 

As previously mentioned, the Pride Month parade was the second big event this week. The parade is not a sanctioned  National Park Service event; the generated crowds

 overflows into INDE's jurisdiction. INDE has concurrent jurisdiction with Philly PD.  The jurisdiction at INDE is commonly described as 'curb-to-curb" because park structures are often separated by city streets. The Pride Month  Parade occurred in the streets of Philadelphia, so Philly PD has sole jurisdiction over the parade. But Philly PD and INDE can work together for crimes committed on park property.  Philly PD did an excellent job throughout the protest. A group of counter-protesters with 'triggering' signs was at the Pride Month Parade. For example:

As a result, protesters from the parade began to react to the distasteful signs, and Philly PD had to protect the counter-protesters. Similar to the Pride Parade and affiliates, the counter-protesters are exercising their first amendment rights. A fight would have more than likely occurred if Philly PD was not in attendance. 

Sometime later at the parade, Ranger Fitzke and I are approached by a man. According to the man, a lady kicked his daughter because she was trying to touch her dog. The man understood that the dog in question was a service animal---he felt the woman should not have kicked his daughter. Ranger Fitzke made contact with the woman, and she said she did not kick the child. Rather,  she extended her foot to separate the child from her service animal. In addition, she informs Ranger Fitzke that the accuser has been following her since the incident occurred. Ranger Fitzke heard both sides of the story and told both parties to take a walk away from one another to cool off. Both parties complied and left the area. I could have seen the situation escalate due to the woman's dog. As Ranger Fitzke and the woman spoke, the dog jumped at Ranger Fitzke. I thought the Dog was not being controlled when I saw it lunge at Ranger Fitzke, but it was friendly. 

Week 1: Leashes, Fleas, and a Dilema

 Hello all,

This is my first blog post, so tell y'all about myself. My name is Jamil Weathersbee, and I am a ProRanger from Temple University. In addition, I am a Criminal Justice major at Temple.  I was born and raised in Philadelphia. This blog(and future blogs) aims to record my journey at my internship. My internship will be at the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia and First State in Delaware. The first day of my internship was on May 24 at 0500. Many stores had to change their hours. So,   most stores were closed at 0400. I did not anticipate this, so I was very tired. 

Soon after, I met my supervisor, Ranger Fitzke, at the Law Enforcement Operation Center. Then, Ranger Fitzke took me out for foot patrol. Our first stops were opening gardens. Ranger Fitzke answered any questions whilst debriefing me about NPS policies and history. In addition, he informed me about a series of common violations that I will see at INDE. One of the most common violations is having a dog off-leash. The violation can be solved by telling a person to leash their dog; Ranger Fitzke exemplified this with each contact. At one point, I asked Ranger Fitzke about how common public nudity is in gest; soon after, we are approached by a man in Washington Square during patrol. The man informed us that an African-American man pulling his pants up and down while sitting on a bench. In addition, the informer says the man seemed 'lucid.'  The reported individual was about 15ft from us. The man looked unkempt and was only wearing jeans. A reasonable person would be in the right to assume the man could be homeless. Ranger Fitzke had a conversation with the man at a safe distance. Based on their conversation, Ranger Fitzke discovered that the man was scantily dressed due to insects on him. After the conversation, the man wore a shirt and continued his day with a verbal warning. 

Another memorable contact occurred at the Constitution Center. Ranger Fitzke was notified that someone was parked in a handicapped spot. We arrived at the area and saw a vehicle with a handicap sign on the spot. I thought the reported vehicle had already left, but the handicapped vehicle was the violator. The parking spot was exclusively for buses that needed handicapped access. Therefore, any vehicle parked in the spot can be towed. Ranger Fitzke asked the folks inside to make an announcement to get the car owner's attention. The employee was not able to make an announcement because shows were playing. Fortunately, the building's employee identified the owner, and he moved his car. The contact concluded positively because we did not have to tow a vehicle in a handicapped spot.

Summer 2023 internships and an end of an era

In July 2022 the National Park Service began hiring permanent law enforcement rangers through the Law Enforcement Hiring Initiative (known informally as “direct to FLETC”).   So it is with mixed emotions that we announce that the final two student interns will be completing their internships in Summer 2023.

ProRanger Philadelphia was established in 2009 as an academic and technical skills training and internship program that was cooperatively administered by the National Park Service and Temple University. Participants took academic coursework and participated in trainings and internships to gain exposure to the career field of a law enforcement park ranger before attending the Park Ranger Law Enforcement Academy (previously known as the Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program). Students who successfully completed the program were eligible for non-competitive conversion to a permanent law enforcement ranger through a direct hiring authority.

In summer 2010 the first ProRanger interns took part in summer internships. Since then a total of 94 students completed internships at 43 different national park units.  We thank the countless rangers who have made this program possible by dedicating their time to mentoring these students, exposing them to the life of a law enforcement ranger, and helping to determine whether a career as a U.S. Park Ranger was right for them. 

We are especially proud of the involvement of our ProRanger alumni for giving back to the program and to Temple University by volunteering their time to train and mentor the next generation of law enforcement rangers.  This summer, Rangers Jess Cooper, Nick Fitzke and Jordan Keiffer are serving as internship supervisors.  In addition, we are fortunate to have alumnus Ranger Moe Greene serving as the acting program director.

We hope that you will continue to follow this blog to learn about the experiences of the last class of ProRanger summer interns:

• Caitlyn Clay will be interning at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SAMO)
• Jamil Weathersbee will be splitting his time between Independence National Historical Park (INDE) and First State National Historical Park (FRST) 

Learn more more about the NPS Law Enforcement Hiring Initiative or employment as a law enforcement ranger on a seasonal basis at Temple’s Park Ranger Law Enforcement Academy.