About six weeks or two months ago — I can’t remember exactly — Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett announced at a City Council meeting that his department was going to institute a more serious crackdown on illegal fireworks this Fourth of July. The local gendarmes were going to enforce the city’s anti-fireworks ordinance far more rigorously than they had done in the past.
After the meeting was over I approached the chief and asked if there was any possible way I could ride along with one of the patrol officers on the night of July Fourth to see firsthand how this was going to be handled. I also don’t remember his exact response but I do remember it was very positive. He said all I had to do was come to police headquarters and complete the requisite paperwork. Two days later I did just that and part of that paperwork informed me someone would be contacting me about my "ride-along" a couple of days prior to the event.
When last Friday rolled around, and I had not heard anything from anyone at KPD, I sent the chief the following e-mail at 11;24 a.m.: "Hate to bother you about this, but I filed the requisite paperwork to do the police patrol ride along on the evening of July 4th. The date is rapidly approaching and I still have not heard anything from anyone in KPD concerning where and when to report. Just curious on the status of my request." The chief responded within 24 minutes with the following: "You bet. Lt. (Name redacted to protect a possible innocent party) has it on his desk, but he is out of the office attending training today. Can we confirm on Monday when he returns? Since we have so many officers coming out and occupying seats, would you also be acceptable to ride with any of the other staff members like Code Enforcement, Animal Control, Parks, FD, etc., if needed? Just in case?" I immediately replied "Yes to both questions."
And that was my last contact with the chief or any other member of the KPD regarding this subject.
Now I’m going to be generous and attribute this screw-up to an administrative oversight. Perhaps when the lieutenant returned from his training day he was so snowed under by other more urgent police work, he didn’t have an opportunity to see and respond to every matter "on his desk."
But there’s that suspicious dark side of me that lurks within the recesses of every news hound that wonders whether the police had second, third, possibly even fourth thoughts about having someone from the media watching their activities, their procedures, their performance last night up close and personal. Suppose things didn’t go as planned? Suppose the car I was riding in failed to cite one example of illegal fireworks even though those fireworks could be distinctly heard? I imagine Chief Barnett will want at some date in the not-too-distant future to tout the success of the department’s crackdown on illegal fireworks activity for July Fourth. The last thing he might want is someone like me contradicting his version of events based on an eyewitness account.
That suspicious dark side was reinforced by something else that happened last night. Around 7:30 p.m., my granddaughter’s maternal grandmother, Kitty, texted me to let me know that she and Grace, my granddaughter, had come down from Austin to visit Kitty’s daughter and son-in-law who live in Plum Creek, exactly a half-mile from where I live. They were all planning on going to Kyle’s official fireworks show. They asked if I wanted to join them. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to spend some time with Grace, so armed with my trusty folding lawn chair, I trekked over to "Aunt Becky’s house." Before we left for the show, Grace and Kitty decided to play in the front yard with some sparklers they had purchased. After a couple of unsuccessful tries, they finally lit one up. Kitty was waving it around in circles when a KPD vehicle pulled up. The female patrol officer stuck her head out the door and told Kitty she was breaking the law; however, she was willing to let Kitty off with a warning, even though the city's website specifically states "Police Chief Jeff Barnett said effective immediately, those who set off fireworks inside the city limits will be issued citations, not warnings." First: I never considered hand-held sparkler illegal fireworks, but that could be me not fully comprehending the city’s definitions. Second, and somewhat more troubling, I couldn’t help but notice that this officer was alone in the patrol car. So much for the chief’s other assertion that last night would see "so many officers coming out and occupying seats."
Which reminds me: What ever happened to that supposedly independent external police department audit?
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