To Protect and Serve: Saturday Night Patrol with Officer Matt Hawthorne

 

It’s a cold west Texas night. Crime is low in the wintertime, but it doesn’t change his objective. Officer Matt Hawthorne hits the streets of Sector 3 roughly an hour before dusk, his intention the same as high traffic nights: he’s here to make a difference.

Cruising known problem areas, he’s looking for everything: suspicious-looking characters walking the streets, who avert their eyes as his patrol car passes, vehicles whose drivers make snap turns when he’s spotted in the rearview. There’s an old man walking a dog, a few teens laughing as they meander down the avenue, a guy wearing shades although the sky is gray and the sun is hiding.

Tall houses with maintained facades line the streets of Santa Rita. The man is walking with the flow of traffic, a violation, and worth a second look. Backpack slung over his shoulder, long, pleather jacket hanging loosely from his shoulders, the man stops and reacts friendly enough as Hawthorne comes to a stop behind him, lights flashing.

‘Are you aware you’re walking on the wrong side of the street?’ he asks the man, who appears somewhat nervous, but is forthcoming enough.

‘No,’ the man says. He’s been told the opposite by a friend, who indicated that walking with the flow of traffic was indeed the proper method.

Hawthorne asks where he’s coming from and where he’s going, if he has any known warrants out and if he’s from the area. The man responds honestly. He’s just been released from jail where he was sitting out a warrant, and shouldn’t have any others. He was originally arrested for marijuana and has been doing laundry at a nearby salon, the clothes are in his backpack. He can take a look.

Hawthorne thanks the man and returns to the car to run his license. All clear. Nothing active and his story checks out. Following a search of his person and belongings, the man is sent on his way, this time on the other side of the street.

Not everyone is stopped, Hawthorne explains, but random checks are necessary. He spends 40 hours a week patrolling these streets, four 10-hour shifts in a row, and he knows what's to be expected in the neighborhoods and when something deviates.

He drives past the park, points to it out the driver's side window. In the evenings, the dim lighting fosters a culture of drug use and he's been hitting it hard lately. The traffic, he said, has dropped some. There are known areas where problems occur, but the other areas are just as important: he's responsible for the whole of sector 3, not just a block of it.

Sector Policing

San Angelo is divided into four policing sectors, and with the exception of number four, the patrol method is essentially the same. Crime is spread fairly evenly throughout the city, but certain types of crime do seem to occur in certain areas. In Sector 3, it’s burglaries, thefts and car wrecks.

“We have a lot of property crime in Sector 3,” says Sergeant Ken Solsbery, the sergeant in charge of the Sector 3 Bravo shift. “I think that’s part of how we differ from the rest of the city. Of course we have the college, like parties, stuff like that that the other sides of town don’t deal with because they don’t have the big college population like we do,” he adds.

Sector 3 also encompasses many of San Angelo’s main traffic arteries. Spanning south of Houston Harte and west of Bryant, the sector includes half of the loop, Sherwood Way, Knickerbocker, Sunset and one of the Walmarts. Fender benders, serious accidents and everything in between fall under the sector’s priority.

Saturday night, the temperature is dropping from the 50s down to freezing. In the wintertime, officers average between 13-18 calls for service, Hawthorne estimates, and they spend the time between patrolling to make their presence known and deter crime.

“Here, there’s a lot more self-initiated stuff,” Hawthorne says, his previous stop an example. “[I’m looking at] alleys, vehicles, I mean, you’re looking for traffic offenses too. Why would a car turn that way and then turn that way?” he says rhetorically. Police stop them and “find out what they’re doing. A lot of times, they’re lost. Sometimes, they’re doing stuff they’re not supposed to be doing.”

Regardless, the objective is to monitor what’s going on and to maintain good situational awareness. “You start to learn people,” he says. “You learn what they do.”

The Assault Call

The man with the backpack has continued to make his way down the street and Hawthorne is once again actively patrolling. He’s been on the clock for less than an hour when a call comes over the radio that sends him off to Sector 1: assault in north San Angelo.

Domestic violence is the number one call citywide, and in this case, the victim is no longer on scene, the assailants, unknown. Weaving through several streets, Hawthorne and Officer Jeremy Cannady arrive at a residence near Houston Harte. Several people await the officers before a house, one of them has made the call.

Running through the events that had just taken place, a woman explains that the victim, a female, had approached her house in rattled panic, claiming to have been assaulted. The victim had asked for help, she said, but as she began to dial the police, the woman became distraught, pleaded that she stop dialing, then ran to her vehicle and sped away. ‘She was acting strange,’ the woman tells Hawthorne. ‘I think she was on drugs.’

As the woman approached the vehicle, the caller wrote down the license plate number. She now provides Hawthorne the plate and vehicle description, as well as a description of the woman. Suspicion surrounds the woman's behavior and Hawthorne is grateful for the caller’s attention. “They did everything right,” he says. Without a plate the woman would be likely be lost. He passes the information on to dispatch and the other officers.

Hawthorne is driving back to his sector when a call of an unwanted subject comes over the radio. The call only takes a few minutes to clear, and as he climbs back into his patrol car, a vehicle matching the description of the assault victim is called in at the Star Stop in Sector 2.

Apparently, the lady at the house is not the only one to assess the woman’s behavior as strange, as an employee of the convenience store reports the presence of a disorderly male and female, both suspected of being quite drunk and driving. The vehicle left heading back toward Sector 3, and Hawthorne immediately begins corresponding with officers in the area.

Within five minutes, the car is stopped across from a park in Sector 3. The woman, who matches the description given in the north both in apearance and character, sits accompanied by a male who has identified himself as her common law husband. 

As the officer approaches notepad in hand, the man begins to speak first. He explains the story his wife has told him, and how she'd picked him up. Neither are under the influence, he insists, and continues to provide additional background information as the officer requests. Intermittently, the woman interjects, repeating that she's been assaulted in pleading tones, then quieting down again as her husband continues.

Then--finally--it's her turn, and at first she seems relieved, that is until she is asked why she left the scene. At the tip of the question the conversation ceases and the woman appears to be searching for words. ‘She was scared, sir,’ her husband offers, then begins to come up with more dismissive answers. The response does not convince. Once again, Hawthorne attempts to lure the reason out, emphasizing the need to write a report to bring her assailant to justice. This time she feels a little more compelled to respond, and impatiently blurts out a puzzling explanation in what appears to be an effort to absolve herself of suspicion. The tale is unique, at best.

By now a female officer has been sent this way to conduct a search on the woman and she is removed from the car. Waiting in handcuffs she becomes verbally combative, begins wailing incomprehensibly. While be behind the wheel she'd committed two traffic offenses and is suspected of being under the influence. She'll be taken to jail after a pat-down.

Hawthorne returns to the car. Perplexing as the situation may have been, he doesn’t appear phased by the events that have just taken place. Instead, he explains what the arrest means. ‘We got her off the road and possibly prevented an assault,’ he says. ‘This started in Sector 1, went to Sector 2 and ended in Sector 3. If we hadn't stopped her, she would have continued all night, all over town. She’s intoxicated and shouldn’t be driving, and he may have gone and confronted those guys.’

By now, Hawthorne has become immune to the strange behavior, accustomed to the random threats. He’s been a police officer for roughly four years and deals with a very small percentage of the population who are often under the influence or prone to verbal or physical aggression. The job can take its toll, but he has never regretted joining the force. “I love my job,” he says. “This (car) is my office.”

Encounters like this aren’t out of the ordinary, he explains, but he’s never seen this couple before. Several of those he encounters on a daily basis in Sector 3 are repeat offenders. He knows their names, birthdates and preferences by heart. Oftentimes, he doesn’t even need an ID, he just calls them by name and asks them to hand over whatever contraband they may be carrying. This, Hawthorne says, is the fruit of maintaining awareness and knowing his streets.

Walmart and the County Jail

When the call comes over the radio Hawthorne is finishing up the last few lines of a citation for a driver involved in a motor vehicle accident on Sherwood and Southwest. 'Bravo 32, I'll take this one,' he says over the radio, then drives around to the back of the Walmart. 

Trips to Walmart are common in Sector 3, he says, adding that on average officers are called to the superstore three to five times a week. Most of the time the call is for theft, and the number and type of incidents don’t seem to vary much between the two store locations, he says.

This time, the subject is a teenage male who had walked out of the store with a cart full of Doritos, hamburger meat, Oreos and other snacks. The kid doesn't look the type intent on living the 'thug life'. Rather, he's got a sort of goofy demeanor about him that is a combination of awkward, young and strangely innocent for just having stolen $200 worth of junk food. Talking to the boy, Hawthorne learns he’s had a rough go of it lately and has been living in his car. As he does a search, he finds a Lone Star Card in the teen's wallet. This, he'll bring up later.

Ten or 15 minutes pass and the boy's belongings are being inventoried and shelved; a trustee is handing him his orange Croc's. The teen will spend the night in jail, but the arresting officer hopes that it won't become one of many. Stopping on the way to the booking counter, Hawthorne begins to speak in hushed tones.

‘I know you need help, and that’s ok, but don’t do this, man. Don’t throw it all away. You don’t want to be in jail. You’ve got a Lone Star Card in your wallet—use it to buy groceries, not cigarettes and other stuff. That’s what it’s for. Everyone needs food and water and if you need help, that’s understandable, but don’t steal.’

The kid appears to take the exchange to heart, nodding knowingly, but not saying much, then the two continue to the counter where Hawthorne books him in. Meanwhile, the woman from the assault call stands some six feet away, and she’s been looking for Hawthorne.

‘She’s been asking for you,’ an officer had said as he entered the jail. ‘She says you’re intoxicated too and she wants you to blow.’

Now, she stands with piercing eyes fixed on the officer as he inputs information on one of the jail computers. Her stare is long and un-breaking. For a minute—several minutes—she holds a complacent, almost wounded gaze, her breath growing heavier and less controlled, coughing like an old motor that doesn’t want to turn. Tears well up in the corners of her eyes, but she doesn’t blink or turn away, just continues to stare ahead, her expression gradually turning down.

An officer points to the phone. ‘Pick it up,’ he says, then gives her instruction as to how to dial her husband. She turns her gaze to the floor, clutching the phone against her ear, hair falling against her face.

He may not see her again, but he'll most likely see one like her, and mentioning the boy once again he reiterates the hope that he won't be next. 

Officer Hawthorne grabs his booking sheet and heads back to his car. ‘That kid was a good kid,’ he says, noting how he had behaved and the respectful tone he had spoken in. ‘There’s nothing I hate more than seeing kids wind up in jail like that. I don’t want him to become one of my regulars. He was raised right, you could tell, he’s just been down on his luck. That kid has a future and I don’t want him to throw it away.’

Beyond the jail’s walls, officers are initiating traffic stops, setting up perimeters, stopping drug wars. Hawthorne returns the gun and taser to his belt, then puts it in drive to follow through on the script pasted on the back: To Protect and Serve

One of his final stops is a truck on Bryant with the flashers on. Inside, an elderly woman sits alone waiting on her husband to return with a gas can. Easing up to the back bumper, Hawthorne pushes the truck safely into the driveway.

‘She was a really nice old lady,’ he says. ‘Hopefully her husband comes back soon.’

At 3:00 a.m., Bravo company signs off for the night and Hawthorne drives back to the station. “No two days are the same,” he says, ““I’ve got a job to do and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”

Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily

The LIVE! Daily is the "newspaper to your email" for San Angelo. Each content-packed edition has weather, the popular Top of the Email opinion and rumor mill column, news around the state of Texas, news around west Texas, the latest news stories from San Angelo LIVE!, events, and the most recent obituaries. The bottom of the email contains the most recent rants and comments. The LIVE! daily is emailed 5 days per week. On Sundays, subscribers receive the West Texas Real Estate LIVE! email.

Required

Most Recent Videos

Comments

You can go through the backpack when given permission or with a search warrant, same as always. He was addressed by the officer because he was walking with traffic which was not safe for him to be doing and apparently didn't know that. The officer left him safer than he was so I don't really see the problem.

If you commit any kind of violation, the police do have the right to stop you and ask for basic information. According to the chief, some 45 percent of police work is self-initiated activity, such as making traffic stops or double-checking someone walking down the wrong side of the street. The searches are consensual. Oftentimes, these stops that on the surface may not appear to be that big of deal lead to arrests for larger crimes. People are found with drugs, illegal weapons, who hold warrants, etc. The criminals have to move their wares somehow, and by stopping vehicles and persons and doing a little bit of questioning, a great deal of criminal activity can be stopped.

bebop, Wed, 03/12/2014 - 15:14
If you walk around being suspicious, police have the right to check you out. if you're behaving yourself, you have nothing to fear. I'm happy to show anything I am carrying, hold up my arms, whatever, to show I'm not a threat. Those who freak out about "forgoing rights" usually have something to hide. Those are the ones making "snap turns."
I have it up to here with how these roughnecks drive recklessly on the road. We are not safe as we once were. They discharge weapons like Monday night at the strip bars. We need all the help we can get, so they stay in line .
Rwr321, Fri, 03/14/2014 - 04:30
Are you kidding me. The oilfield is what supports this community. Who do you think pays most of the taxes. And FYI they have to pass drug and driving tests to be employable. The doom and danger you talk about isn't a product of a group of people (oilfield) who are supporting thier families, it's the same here as it's always been, if something changes, the change has to be the problem. Thugs and unwilling to work people who feel they have nothing to lose are the problem. So stick all your oilfield myths in the garbage with your slanderous comments and if you can't be positive. Be quiet.
Agriculture built and runs this community. Oil boom because oil comes and it Go's but agriculture will always be here! San Angelo would die a long miserable death without Ag!
Well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (and other sites), the number of occupation/industry is listed below. You can make your own judgements. All Occupations 44,660 Education, Training, and Library Occupations 2,060 Office and Administrative Support Occupations 7,550 Sales and Related Occupations 5,170 Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 4,660 Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 2,940 Production Occupations 2,890 Transportation and Material Moving Occupations 2,630 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 2,400 Retail Salespersons 2,280 Construction and Extraction Occupations 2,180 Personal Care and Service Occupations 2,170 Healthcare Support Occupations 1,830 Management Occupations 1,650 Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food 1,400 Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations 1,380 Waiters and Waitresses 1,200 Business and Financial Operations Occupations 1,190 Customer Service Representatives 1,080 Cashiers 1,070 Protective Service Occupations 1,020 Office Clerks, General 1,010 Registered Nurses 900 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive 800 Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners 770 General and Operations Managers 680 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 640 Construction Laborers 630 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General 620 Computer and Mathematical Occupations 600 Community and Social Service Occupations 590 Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses 570 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers 570 Nursing Assistants 550 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers 540 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand 520 Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks 520 Bill and Account Collectors 510 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products 410 Slaughterers and Meat Packers 400 Cooks, Restaurant 370 Medical Assistants 350 Medical Secretaries 350 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers 340 Stock Clerks and Order Fillers 330 Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers 310 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations 300 First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers 300 Receptionists and Information Clerks 290 Accountants and Auditors 280 Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 270 Firefighters 260 Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers 260 Dishwashers 250 Sales Representatives, Services, All Other 240 Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics 230 Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants 220 Tellers 220 Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners 210 Counter and Rental Clerks 210 First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers 200 Legal Occupations 200 Electricians 190 Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers 180 Roustabouts, Oil and Gas 180 Billing and Posting Clerks 180 Packers and Packagers, Hand 170 Childcare Workers 170 Bartenders 170 Business Operations Specialists, All Other 170 Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria 160 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers 160 Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists 150 Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists 150 First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 150 Child, Family, and School Social Workers 150 Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment 150 Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop 150 Cooks, Short Order 140 Carpenters 140 Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors 140 Shipping, Receiving, and Traffic Clerks 140 Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 140 Medical Records and Health Information Technicians 140 Computer User Support Specialists 140 Driver/Sales Workers 130 Pharmacy Technicians 130 Home Health Aides 130 Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers 130 First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers 130 Network and Computer Systems Administrators 130 Physicians and Surgeons, All Other 120 Service Unit Operators, Oil, Gas, and Mining 120 Loan Officers 120 Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers 110 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators 110 Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations 110 Security Guards 110 Administrative Services Managers 110 Helpers--Production Workers 100 Human Resources Specialists 100 Cooks, Fast Food 90 Insurance Sales Agents 90 Residential Advisors 90 Food Preparation Workers 90 Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 90 Industrial Machinery Mechanics 90 Paralegals and Legal Assistants 90 Food Service Managers 90 Teachers and Instructors, All Other, Except Substitute Teachers 90 Data Entry Keyers 80 Pharmacists 80 File Clerks 80 Parts Salespersons 80 Medical and Health Services Managers 80 Civil Engineering Technicians 80 Financial Managers 80 Recreation Workers 80 Postal Service Mail Carriers 80 Educational, Guidance, School, and Vocational Counselors 70 Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks 70 Information and Record Clerks, All Other 70 Lawyers 70 Sales Managers 70 First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers 70 Dental Assistants 70 Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products 70 Instructional Coordinators 70 Detectives and Criminal Investigators 70 Wellhead Pumpers 60 Orderlies 60 Construction Managers 60 New Accounts Clerks 60 Bakers 60 Veterinary Technologists and Technicians 60 Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers 60 Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists 60 Tire Repairers and Changers 60 Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers 60 Police, Fire, and Ambulance Dispatchers 60 Substitute Teachers 60 Compliance Officers 60 Physical Therapist Aides 60 Phlebotomists 50 Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters 50 First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers 50 Real Estate Sales Agents 50 Brickmasons and Blockmasons 50 Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks 50 Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers 50 Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service 50 Legal Secretaries 50 Physical Therapists 50 Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists 50 Speech-Language Pathologists 50 Graphic Designers 50 Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters 50 First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers 50 Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance 50 Public Relations Specialists 50 Chief Executives 50 Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks 50 First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand 50 Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs 50 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers 50 Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping 40 Nonfarm Animal Caretakers 40 Training and Development Specialists 40 Medical Transcriptionists 40 Construction and Building Inspectors 40 Cost Estimators 40 Printing Press Operators 40 First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives 40 Coaches and Scouts 40 Counselors, All Other 40 Loan Interviewers and Clerks 40 Computer Network Support Specialists 40 Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians 40 Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials 40 Healthcare Social Workers 40 Machinists 40 First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators 40 Dentists, General 40 Computer and Information Systems Managers 40 First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers 40 Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay 40 Sewing Machine Operators 40 Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists 30 Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse 30 Computer Operators 30 Radiologic Technologists 30 Highway Maintenance Workers 30 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers 30 Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 30 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other 30 Automotive Body and Related Repairers 30 Health Educators 30 Advertising Sales Agents 30 Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs 30
Agriculture might have built and ran this community at one time, but the drought will be locking that down simply because we are running out of water. The beautiful thing about the oil industry is innovation. We pump water out of the ground, along with the oil. Times--they are a-changing!! And thank God. Texas and America is long overdue for energy independence, and this community is long overdue for the positive economic stimulus this boom is bringing. For years, generations of west Texans have attended our universities and moved away because there were no jobs here to support the families they wanted to build. Prayers have finally been answered. Is it all butterflies and rainbows? Absolutely not--there's room for improvement with everything. But, by and large, there are people who were scraping by, choosing to stay here to support elderly parents and/or children by working two jobs who are now able to work one good paying job instead. Insurance drama? Now they are able to get their kids off Medicaid and Foodstamps. What subsidies does the ag industry still depend on? Independence is a beautiful thing.

Post a comment to this article here:

X Close