Rosser's Ramblings: Amarillo Police Department Falls Short...Again

Amarillo Police Department/Photo by City of Amarillo-APD

By Trent Rosser

How many times does it take before someone finally snaps? What has to happen for someone to finally lose their mind and do something stupid to the ones that hurt them? Either physically, mentally or emotionally, someone has been hurt so bad or so many times that they finally break. The answer for me is six. That is right. Six times in the last 9 years, is my breaking point. From the time I walked out of rehab and started my life sober, I have constantly been robbed. It didn’t matter what part of town I was living in, someone or possibly more than one person has broken into my vehicles. 

The first time I was living at an apartment complex just south of 45th and I walked out of my apartment and my car door was open. The passenger window was pulled away from the door and they were able to slide their arm in to unlock it. The only thing they took was my car stereo. They did not cut the wires, they ripped them out. I, of course, called the police and they came out (after waiting for about 2 hours) to make a report and dust for prints. The officer said that she couldn't get any good prints off of the car, but I could clearly see a palm print from ten feet away! I was told to look at pawn shops to see if I could ever find the stereo and then they would do a follow up if I found it. I was never able to get that window to roll up or down right ever again. 

Since then I have lived all over town and I have come out in the mornings to find my paperwork and things scattered all over my truck and cars. Every time, with the exception of the first time and this last time, I have left my vehicle unlocked. I have lost bags of tools, (not important tools, they came from Harbor Freight), loose change, lighters, flashlights and once I left my voice recorder in my truck and they even stole that. The voice recorder was not very expensive, but it did have the conversation and interview that I did with the Hall of Fame wrestler Jake “The Snake” Roberts on it. Like I said though, most of the time it was my fault for leaving the doors unlocked or the windows down. But this past Sunday, Super Bowl Sunday to be precise, was a little different. 

We recently bought a new truck. It is a big truck and very nice. It has a car alarm and most nights I set the alarm. To set the alarm, you have to hit the lock button (on the door or key fob) with one door still open. If you just lock it with the remote, it does not set the alarm. Just before bed Saturday night, I walked to the front door and just hit the lock button. Let me also note that on this night, the dogs got lucky and were able to sleep with us in our room. Sunday morning I got up and started watching the boob tube, just like any other Sunday. When my wife woke up, she asked if I would go to the store and get us a soda water since they are half price on Sundays. I walked out to the truck and noticed that the back window was a little off. It is an electric sliding glass window, but wasn't it also tinted like the others? Well, maybe I left it open. I unlocked the truck by the remote and was about to open the door when I noticed paperwork in the front seat. I looked around and glass was all over the place! I walked back towards the house and noticed my ball hitch was gone. The clip was lying on the ground next to the truck. I called the police to come and do a report. Yes, I was pissed. There was nothing to take, but they busted out a window. My wife called the neighbor to have them check their cars as well. All they took was a little change. They left an unopened pack of cigarettes, a car seat for the grandkid, a ring that my wife had in the console and a pair of sunglasses. All they took was about fifty cents in change. We found my trailer hitch in a neighbor’s yard when they came out to check their cars. In 9 years, my vehicles have been broken into six different times.

Now, let me explain why I am upset at Amarillo Police Department. As most of you know, I am a very big advocate for the military and police. I always have been and probably always will be, but what happened really got my blood boiling. I called the emergency number and explained that I didn't know if I should have called that number or not. The dispatcher said it was fine and took all my info. My name, address, phone number, what happened, etc. Then she said that they no longer come out to do anything that I will need to file a report online or they can call me back and file a report over the phone. So no dusting for prints, no pictures of a broken window or anything. No police officer would show up. My neighbor told me to post it on one of the Facebook groups about crime watch in our neighborhood. So I did, and warned everyone to check their cars. Sure enough, about three blocks away, more vehicles were busted into. A couple of them had their windows broken also. So the wife and I loaded up in the truck and got our sodas. I then drove down the street to where the other vehicles were reported to be broken into. Now this neighborhood is a little more upscale (amazing how one street can make a difference in a neighborhood). Can you imagine my surprise when we counted four police cars?  All doing reports on vehicle burglary. One officer was getting out of his car and I stopped to ask him, “Are you investigating car break-ins?” He replied, “Yes, we are.” I said, “Mine was broken into also.” He looked at me with disgust and said “ok” and kept on walking. He didn’t want any information from me, he just gave me a “go to hell” look and walked off. So we drove on. After all, we still had to clean all the glass out of the truck.

We got another block and on the street was another truck with the doors open. The owner was cleaning it out with a shop vac. We stopped and asked and sure enough, his truck was broken into as well. In fact, he had two trucks broken into. He said that the thieves left his credit cards and cash but stole a hunting rifle from under his seat. He said that the police had already talked with him, but he said that they acted like they really didn't want to be there doing the report. With all that being said, my new question is what the hell is going on with the Amarillo Police Department?

Recently, APD has been under a microscope. Frequent bad publicity has tarnished the good name of APD. A K-9 officer was caught on camera kicking his own dog. Our former Chief of Police, Ed Drain, has moved on to greener pastures. So we have been without a Chief of Police for a small time, and just yesterday a new interim Chief was named. I really hope that he will actually be a chief and hold some accountability to certain people. In my opinion, Chief Drain was just a firefighter. He was sent to put out the flames that the current city council started. Again, just my opinion. 

So what is going on with the city police? I have always praised them for their bravery and actions, but I am starting to lose faith. I tried to call and get some information and maybe a follow up on the K-9, but as of this writing, I have had no response to my request. Again, they have dropped the ball. I do remember that at one time, APD was short staffed. Is this the issue still? If so, why? What would it take to get more officers trained? If it is money, then we need the funds. No more cutting their budget. If we can afford a brand new baseball stadium, we should be able to fund our men and women working to protect us. We want tourists to visit, but they will not want to come back if they are robbed every time they come. And if the local police do not want to do a report….then the thieves will prosper while the law abiding citizen will be punished. Time and time again, the thieves will continue to steal, but if the police are not there to stop them, or to even try to find out who committed a crime, then the crime rate for Amarillo will continue to skyrocket. 

Amarillo Police Department, the ball is again in your hands. Do your job that the taxpayer expects of you and help with the crime, not to pick and choose who or where you want to make reports, but all reports. Who knows, you might actually find that more than one crime is being committed from the same position. Wake up APD and get Amarillo safe again like it was, once before.