Way Back in 1972

One of the first things I was told by a veteran officer when I started with the Branford Police Department was that by the time I retired, robots would be doing the job.

That never happened but a few years later the computer was introduced to law enforcement, bringing in a new era to police work. 

Of course, if you had asked me then what the greatest changes were, I would have said the first was  patrol cars with air conditioning and am/fm radios. The second would have been when places like the two 7-11s' were built so I could get something to eat between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Before that, you had to wait for Jack's or the Sunset to open before you could get food at night. But being the real cops we were, we never went without our coffee at night.

The police station was on Hillside Avenue (the building is now gone ); the desk officer would make coffee and the first man called in, had to pick up the day-old pastries at Castellon's Bakery back door. You got called when it was your turn and you got about 15 minutes to drink your coffee and eat stale danishes. 

One of the most difficult jobs in those days, for me, was working on the  ambulance. I had become an ambulance attendant/driver by default. It was the responsibility of the police department to operate the ambulance. I had no first aid training of any kind but in the days of non-regulation that was, no problem.

Sometimes I would be called into drive and spend the entire day doing medical transports. That sometimes left just two officers to patrol the entire town. There was no 911 system then so if you didn't get your entire message out the first time you called, we might not be able to help you if you didn't call back.

The department did have a high turnover rate, including officers who attended the police academy and handed in their resignation on graduation day. I did work with some outstanding individuals who were naturals for police work. I also worked with and some  what I can only call "hiring mistakes." In most cases, the mistakes realized that they were one and left quietly.

I have been asked many times if I miss the job and my answer is always the same,"Whats to miss?" By the way, my starting salary was $9,000 a year and all the stale pastries you could eat at two in the morning. Sometimes it was fun and sometimes it was a nightmare; the job is not one anyone imagines it to be but you'd have to have been there to know. That's probaby why so many officers came and went after a few years ;it's not the fun you thought it would be and sometimes you just have to admit when you "ain't got the stuff" and find another career.