Last week our offices kept busy by handling 65 calls for service and conducting 80 traffic stops. Those traffic stops resulted in 50 citations and 30 warnings. Numbers like this really don’t describe what we do all week; it is just a quick look at our activity. I don’t really believe you get anywhere by focusing on numbers, people is where the focus should be. But, I think numbers are cool too.
A nice week with no reported thefts or burglaries! We only had a couple arrests as well. A traffic stop by Sgt. Hanson resulted in a “cite and release” of a suspect found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. Cpl. Robison conducted a traffic stop and found the driver to have 3 active felony warrants (Domestic violence and weapons related) out of Nueces Co. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail.
We had a good scare on Friday evening. Capt. Reyes took a report of what ended up being 4 missing kids ranging in ages from 10-11. We were able to determine they had planned to run away. Officers were called in and a search of a wooded area was conducted. We were assisted by the Atascosa Co. Sheriff’s Office and the TXDPS (a Trooper and a fixed wing aircraft). The Lytle ISD also had personnel at our police station / command post. We sifted through lots of tips and leads; we had a lot of worried family members. I was very concerned, they were last seen by IH-35 and we were headed for a cold night. The media helped us get the info. out and fortunately around 10:30 PM the children were all located just outside of town not too far from the high school. They were reunited with their loved ones at the police station. We were blessed with a happy ending. It was wonderful how the community came together and provided tips and offers for support.
If you have travelled on N. Prairie St. (between Laredo and FM 2790 N) you will see that our Public Works crew installed two speed humps. The city council passed an ordinance a few months back and now the project is complete. That section of City Street has always been a “racetrack” hopefully the speed humps will do the trick. I have never been a big fan of speed humps, but it looks like this may work. I drove over them a few times in my old pickup and I had to really slow down. So stay on FM 2790 and avoid the “shortcut” and avoid the humps. I should probably come up with a little catchy jingle and post it to YouTube.
I was out of town last week, I was attending my required police chief training course in Huntsville. My excellent staff “held down the fort”. I have a lot of good people working with me. When I’m gone, they all just fall into place and start trying to act and look like me. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I can’t complain.
I promise to be transparent so that means you get not only the good, but the bad as well. I was just leaving Huntsville (headed towards Navasota) when I was pulled over by this old DPS Trooper. I was driving a city car; it was a 2007 maroon Ford Taurus. It looks pretty rough as there is some issue with the paint; we hadn’t even started it since last May. The Trooper was a friendly fellow and proceeded to tell me I was speeding a little bit and I changed lanes without signaling. That’s possible, my wife was in front of me and I was trying to stay in sight of her. The car is marked “City of Lytle” in small white letters, so he asked me if I worked for the city and I told him I was the Chief of Police and I was headed home after a week at school. He asked me how long I had been the Chief and I told him just over 20 years. He then took a closer look at the car and said “is this the best they can do for you?” I really didn’t know what to say so I just said “it runs good”. Maybe he felt sorry for me because I just got a warning.