Falling Asleep on Duty

[Digital_Boy]

Not a LEO but work as an FAA armed guard at the airport tower at SFO. I can't tell you how much coffee I have to drink to keep from nodding off!!!! I own stock in Petes, Starbucks and Redbull!!!!!!!

Side note: If the FAA catches us even nodding off, we are terminated. Sucks huh?

huh. SFO ATCT has armed security? That's a first. I regularly visit Lindbergh, John Wayne and LAX, and other than DHS and TSA presence no armed security at the tower.

I work out of the TRACON in San Diego on the FTI project, so I get to tour all the sites in and around SD and OC, with the occasional trip to LA and Imperial/Riverside.

[retired]

The city of Paramount has these big ole dots on some of their streets...probably the size of half a soccer...they're pretty wicked lookin...I always get the temptation to drive my honda over them...it would fall apart...

That is my old stomping grounds. After training in HG on pms, I was put in Paramount on ems for awhile. From 2am until end of shift during the week it was absolutely quiet out there (well except for the burglars and car thiefs). There was no substation then.

My falling asleep story was after leaving work and on my motorcycle (personal). Two nights a week I worked pms and on the 2nd night, worked straight thru on earlies and did the next 3 on ems also (good ol' Sgt. Preston).

Well, one day I forgot my schedule and took my motorcycle to work and realized when I got to the station (Lkd.) that I was working that double.

I lived in Chino Hills at the time and drove on Carbon Canyon Rd., which is a winding single lane road. I hit a small pothole and woke up going home. I had no idea how long I'd been asleep, but I surmise not long as I would have crashed. I sang all of the songs I knew the last 4-5 miles home, but I really didn't need to since the adrenalin never stopped flowing.

[bubbagump]

That is my old stomping grounds. After training in HG on pms, I was put in Paramount on ems for awhile. From 2am until end of shift during the week it was absolutely quiet out there (well except for the burglars and car thiefs). There was no substation then.

My falling asleep story was after leaving work and on my motorcycle (personal). Two nights a week I worked pms and on the 2nd night, worked straight thru on earlies and did the next 3 on ems also (good ol' Sgt. Preston).

Well, one day I forgot my schedule and took my motorcycle to work and realized when I got to the station (Lkd.) that I was working that double.

I lived in Chino Hills at the time and drove on Carbon Canyon Rd., which is a winding single lane road. I hit a small pothole and woke up going home. I had no idea how long I'd been asleep, but I surmise not long as I would have crashed. I sang all of the songs I knew the last 4-5 miles home, but I really didn't need to since the adrenalin never stopped flowing.

Sweet! I used to mess around in Paramount sometimes...

Met some of the guys from DXP & NSP (I'm sure DXP was around during your time...maybe not NSP).

Recovered some cars on Somerset Ranch Rd.

I'd drive by All-American to ****block.

Had me some fun in Paramount...even though I wasn't supposed to be there

[bluestaterebel]

I've got no problem with cops taking their lunch break. It just bugs me when there's 14 police cars in the parking lot and everyone is hanging out for 2+ hours.

Sounds like the Fire Department.

[ilbob]

Not sure why but there are no donut shops in the area where I live now. The cops used to congregate at the Dunkin Donut that closed about 10 years ago. I have seen 4 different departments there early in the morning, and once saw 5 squads there at the same time from 3 different departments. I think it was the only thing open at that time of night in the area.

Now they hang out at a gas station that sells Crispy Creme, although I can't say as I have ever seen more than two squads there though. But I am almost never out and about early in the morning these days.

I did see a sheriff's unit pull out one evening from the gas station without putting the gas hose back in the pump. He drove down the street with the hose hanging out the gas tank fill nozzle. I was tempted to try and pull up next to him and alert him but he was moving along at a pretty good clip. Wish I could have videoed it. I could probably have gotten a few bucks for it from a TV show.

[Triad]

I haven't, but while I was on FTO, my training officer would always nap while I did paper or studied policy in parking lots. Was pretty funny.

[SVT-40]

I had a trainee one time who would habitually fall asleep on graveyard shift. I cured him of this habit by parking our unit beside the railroad tracks one night while I caught him again "on the nod".

There was one spot where I could drive the unit up beside a building with the passenger side door up against the building so the trainee could not get out. There was just enough room for me to exit the unit to avoid getting hit by the train.

So with a snoozing trainee I parked and waited for the train to arrive. Just as the train with engine roaring and horn blaring neared us I slapped him awake and yelled for him to jump as the unit was stuck on the tracks. I then bailed out the drivers side to "safety".

The look of utter fright on his face was priceless as he tried in vain to open his door and jump to safety. The trains light was squarely on him as it roared past. He was so frightened he actually pissed his pants.


Needless to say he NEVER fell asleep again.

[fullrearview]

I don't know about on the streets, but some do in the jails...they take turns on night shift. I can't do it if I tried. I have to be doing something.

[veeklog]

between the hours of 4am anf 5am there is no radio traffic on the mids.

[fullrearview]

Lt.Col. Dave Grossman has a lot to say about the importance of sleep for today's warrior. Good read if you haven't picked it up yet. It will really open your eyes to a lot of stuff, no pun intended.



http://www.buy.com/prod/on-combat-th...209929672.html

I was in the process of reading this but put it down for a bit.....I will get to it again...soon

[Jonathan Doe]

When I worked on EM shift (2200-0600) on boat patrol, my LT used to tell us to rest for a while when we get pretty tired. They didn't want us drive a $200,000 patrol boat + equipments and crash and sink.

[gunrun45]

I still remember my first FTO...

That guy had sleeping on duty down to an artform. The guy would drive his unit behind the local high school to the grand stands for the foot ball field. THe grand stands were backed up by a huge dirt mound and the anouncer's booth was on top of the mound.

He would park his car on the slope of the mound so that he was in a reclined, almost laying down, possition. He would crank up the volume of his cell phone and turn down the radio... He figured that dispatch had his cell number and would call him if he didn't answer the radio.

He said he started doing it after he drifted off to sleep while driving on the highway on duty. He rolled a unit a totalled it. Frankly, I was amazed the guy still had a job.

Needless to say, I was not impressed. Even back then this wasn't acceptable.

[BigDogatPlay]

Working graveyard and going to court is always the hardest. One time I had three days straight of court after work. I'd go home in the afternoon and try to sleep totally jazzed on coffee from trying not to sleep in court. By the fourth night I was practically a zombie. Thought about calling off sick, but couldn't make myself do it. Gotta be tough.

About 3:30 AM I fuel the unit and am driving around aimlessly looking for something to engage. I could feel myself on the nod, and then I thought I saw a deer in the road. Darned near put the unit sideways into a pole... the deer was solely my imagination. Drove straight to the station, told the sarge what was going on, locked up my weapons and took an approved snooze on the couch in the sergeant's office.

On a side note, if you are tired all the time or find yourself nodding when you really shouldn't, get yourself checked for sleep apnea. If you're like me with a big old neck and shoulders, and maybe packing a little too much weight as well, it's a potential problem.

[eltee]

Back in the day when I was a cop pup working midnights in the quietest neighborhood in the universe we had a practice called "cooping." There were areas where we could park the unit that provided natural camouflage (the coop) and would take turns napping / listening to the radio. This was WAYYYY before the days of GPS or radio tranmitted location detection.

The motorcycle cops had it even easier. They often had beat wives so they would park their bikes inside a garage for a little "nap" in the middle of a shift.

A couple of times if I was getting over a cold and had that cold induced fatigue I would let my partner drive and I would fight the nods...sometimes failing. We used to joke about seeing the "Plymouth" imprinted in reverse on someone's cheek (like "pillowface") from snoozing on the inside of the car door.

One time on a team robbery stakeout after a long night, I was on the inner perimeter in an unmarked truck with an assault rifle across my lap. I knew the outer perim guys would radio us if the target showed up. I was in the passenger seat. I had sunglasses on and propped myself up but was asleep at some point because the sergeant walked up and threw something through the window across my face. Being asleep, I didn't react. He started laughing his *** off because I looked so convincingly awake.

Hey...think of it as power napping to enable me to be fully rested and at maximum output when I need to act. Right

All of the above, if actual stories, occurred back in the day and certainly long enough ago to have exceeded the statutes of limitations relating to disciplinary action.

[tazmanian devil dog]

huh. SFO ATCT has armed security? That's a first. I regularly visit Lindbergh, John Wayne and LAX, and other than DHS and TSA presence no armed security at the tower.

I work out of the TRACON in San Diego on the FTI project, so I get to tour all the sites in and around SD and OC, with the occasional trip to LA and Imperial/Riverside.

Very cool!! Yep. We have armed guards at SFO. You don't see us much unless we go into the terminal to get a bite to eat. Other than that they pretty much keep us under lock and key!!! If you get a chance come on up to SFO and maybe I can get the AT Manager to authorize a tour.