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.