Officer Matt Ferguson reports to the Mount Vernon District Station at 5:30 a.m. After attending roll call and taking care of business, he’s on the street by 6:15 a.m. If all goes well, he’ll arrive back at the station at 4 p.m. that afternoon.
When asked by a member of the Mount Vernon Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) what his worst call would be, he smiled and said, “Any call after 4.”
Yet, there he was, still at the station at 8 p.m., giving his time to address the monthly CAC meeting. With him was Officer Matthew Grubb, who brought his son and daughter to the meeting because his wife was away on business. Each has their own patrol area, but frequently back each other up.
The two of them shared some of their insights about patrolling the streets. Ferguson’s serious response to the question about the worst call was, “Anything having to do with child abuse.”
Ferguson spoke about making his rounds. He said that he regularly checks out the hotels for stolen cars and the registers for wanted people. He visits the apartment complexes, checking for graffiti and vandalized cars. Ferguson also visits local businesses, checking for smashed windows.
“After awhile you know who belongs there [in your patrol area] — when they go to work, where they live,” said Ferguson, who tries to get to know the people in his patrol area.
He talked about some of the equipment that they use. After 9-11, all officers were issued gas masks; this is helpful not only for terrorist attacks, but in case the officers have to use mace or some other chemical to get control of the situation. He demonstrated a ballistic shield, which is helpful in certain situations and said that they are being trained on assault rifles.
Grubb’s patrol area includes Buckman Road and Janna Lee; these areas see more that their share of criminal activity including a homicide late last year. Vehicle tamperings are common, as is tagging by gang members.
“These areas keep us busy,” Grubbs said. “They don’t like us, but they keep having us back all the time.”
By default, Grubbs has become somewhat of an expert on temporary tags, being trained to identify when they are fake or stolen. He has issued several tickets for these illegal tags and registrations and is waiting for the cases to go to trial.
Mount Vernon CAC meetings are always held the second Tuesday of the month at the Mount Vernon District Government Center. Upcoming meetings will be held on: April 12, May 10 and June 14. All are welcome to attend.