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Taking to the streets

Durango police say walking builds good community relations

Sgt. Jacob Dunlop with the Durango Police Department picks up trash, gives tourists directions, pets a dog and nods to panhandlers while strolling Main Avenue.

Melissa Cox of Flagstaff, Arizona, waves him down to ask for recommendations for a good Chinese restaurant.

Dunlop names all the Asian eateries he can think of along the historic thoroughfare: May Palace, Rice Monkeys, Himalayan Kitchen and Sizzling Siam.

“Very helpful,” Cox says, before walking away.

“That’s all I could think of off the top of my head,” Dunlop says. “I get a little nervous. I really try to keep it balanced when someone is asking (for restaurant recommendations).”

Dunlop is one of several police officers who voluntarily signs up to do walking patrols on Main Avenue.

It is a form of community policing that allows the public to interact with officers and reminds officers of the people they serve.

A string of incidents in recent years has raised tensions between Americans and police.

In Albuquerque, police came under scrutiny for killing more than two dozen people during the past five years, including a 38-year-old homeless man. Other incidents have highlighted racial tensions in cities across the country, including Ferguson, Missouri; McKinney, Texas; Baltimore; and New York City.

High-profile incidents such as those can unfairly alter the public’s collective consciousness about law enforcement, said Jim Spratlen, chief of the Durango Police Department. But with persistent community contact, Spratlen hopes that when something bad does happen on a national stage, the local community will not paint his department with the same broad brush stroke.

“I want our citizens to know who we really are and don’t try to generalize us,” Spratlen said. “We’re different in Durango, I guess is what I’m trying to say.”

Personal contact

The police department has done walking patrols during the summer months for decades. It allows officers to respond quickly in areas where there is a high concentration of people.

Officers can sign up for approximately four-hour shifts, in which they walk up and down Main Avenue between Fifth Street and 12th Street. They visit the alleys and sometimes East Second Avenue.

Police insist officers on foot aren’t targeting panhandlers, who some say are more visible ever since the city stopped enforcing its anti-loitering ordinance after the American Civil Liberties Union questioned the constitutionality of the law. Instead, police say they respect panhandlers’ right to solicit donations as long as they don’t act aggressively or break other laws.

Dunlop said he has spent time educating panhandlers and businesses about the new ordinance that prohibits aggressive begging.

“If they’re passively holding a sign, they’re not in violation of anything,” he said.

Helping in numerous ways

On his shift Wednesday evening, from 4 to 8 p.m., Dunlop chatted with tourists, assisted a colleague with a traffic stop, went into a marijuana dispensary and contacted a drunken man, who agreed to be more civil.

“I’ve given quite a few directions,” he said.

Walking gives officers a different perspective of the community than driving in a car, he said. They see things up close, hear more of what is happening and the world goes by at 2.5 mph instead of 25 mph.

“In a car, you’re moving a lot faster and scanning a lot faster,” Dunlop said.

Of course, this can make it difficult to catch up to a driver doing something illegal or to respond to an incident across town.

Pedestrians who passed the uniformed officer Wednesday night seemed to either ignore Dunlop, give him a nod or say something like, “Hello, sergeant” (he has three stripes on his sleeves) or “Have a slow evening.”

Spratlen said walking patrol generates more incidents, but it also may reduce crime, including skateboarding, drivers revving their engines, people blocking the sidewalk and late-night bar assaults.

“People are saying it makes a difference because people see your presence,” he said. “I have no proof of that, but I believe that.”

Checking in at a pot shop

Dunlop used his pack radio Wednesday night to tell dispatchers he would be providing extra patrol at Santé Alternative Wellness, a marijuana dispensary. Pot shops have been targeted in recent months by burglars, and Dunlop wanted to make sure everything seemed normal.

Tracy Robinette, Santé’s medicinal manager, welcomed the officer into the store but acknowledged the strangeness of it all. Less than two years ago, Dunlop would have called the Drug Enforcement Administration if he’d seen that much marijuana in one location. Today, he is providing extra security.

“It’s weird, as you know,” Robinette said, looking at Dunlop. “It’s just a taboo thing.”

A short distance up the alley, Dunlop came across a man digging through a trash bin. The man dropped some of the trash on the ground, and Dunlop asked him to pick it up and keep the alley clean. The man complied and the officer continued up the alley where he saw a large black plastic bag in the middle of College Drive. He picked it up and threw it away.

“We just like being visible to the public,” he said. “When you’re walking, it’s so much more personal being face-to-face.”

shane@durangoherald.com



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