Looks like last week was uneventful. We only handled 53 calls for police service. There were no arrests made and no property crimes were reported to us. I took three days of vacation and missed absolutely nothing. I can’t create much of a weekly report with no material to work with.
We are headed straight for the 4th of July. We have lots of new people in town and they may not be aware that we have a city ordinance that prohibits discharging fireworks. The police department will have extra staff on patrol to try to respond to complaints. We will also have officers placed on top of both water towers with binoculars, they will be calling out fireworks locations to our patrol cars. I have instructed those fellows not to take any paint with them, the last thing we need is a big “I Love My Chief” painted on the water tower in John Deere green. We will also deploy drones with heat seeking cameras. They will be used to send GPS coordinates of fireworks to our patrol cars. Well, this one is still in the planning phases. We might end up using the drones to deliver food to the guys on the water towers.
Fireworks are interesting; we have a lot of residents that really think it’s no big deal to shoot off a few. We have a lot of residents that aren’t too happy when they get up in the morning and fireworks debris is all over their yard and roof. Not to mention, I have never talked to a dog that was sitting around on the 4th of July and enjoying the explosions. So, be courteous to your neighbors and our animal friends this 4th of July. We won’t be in the office, so if you need to report fireworks, please call our 24-hour dispatch number. That number is 830-769-3434 (Option #1); some friendly folks at the Atascosa Co. Sheriff’s Office will answer the phone and send us where you need us.