Not On My Watch

About the Book

This memoir takes you through the rookie years of being in uniform, patrolling the Ghetto on second shift, making some terrible mistakes—apprehending a felon and luckily coming out uninjured, then being placed in traffic enforcement detail where some lucky stops of vehicles came up with some good felony arrests and later receiving the Policeman of the Year award. Some of the “characters” in the police department were identified as well as some of the street people. The author took pride in being a good, honest, hard working policeman, who said that he never had a boring day during his twenty year police career. He believed in the great golfer, Lee Travino's philosophy, “the harder you work the luckier you get.” It was proven by the author’s felony arrest record. His theory was, if you stop vehicles, you make some good felony arrests.

During the turbulent sixties (Viet Nam) era he was assigned to plain clothes as an intelligence officer to gather information on subversive groups and their activities. The author was able to get some good information by having an undercover policeman infiltrate one of the most active groups.

He and his men were able to use a house across the street from where this group lived that was inhabited by an elderly woman, and she thought it would be fun to be able to work with the police department, to watch the people across the street.

During the time he worked traffic enforcement, the city annexed a large area on the North Side of Peoria (Richwoods). Thinking he was ready for a change, the author volunteered and was assigned to that area in Patrol Division on second shift. It did not take him long to realize it was too quiet an assignment. It was a lot of public relations and no action. He lasted six months at that assignment and was transferred to the detective bureau, where the author stayed until he retired with twenty years service. The last two and half yearsof his career, he was supervisor on the second shift.

About the Author

Early child hood to High School age in the south end of Peoria where we didn’t have the proverbial pat nor window and I did not know the difference.  I thought every body was the same.  Went to three Junior High Schools, then started to Manual High School in South end of Peoria.  Father who had been a factory worker decided he wanted to work on a farm.  We moved to an area near the small town of Forrest, Illinois where my father worked for a farmer.  I worked by the day for farmers in the area when I was not in school for the fantastic salary of $7.50 a day and thought I was doing great.  I attended Forrest Township High School, which had an enrollment of about 100 kids.  Quite a change from the High School in Peoria, which had an enrollment of about 1200.  I graduated in 1946 with a class of 18.  I don’t remember what my grade point average was but I do know it wasn’t remarkable.

Three months after graduation I was drafted into the army took my basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina then overseas.  Landed in Injon Korea January 1, 1947.  Shortly there after sent to Seoul, Korea to an M.P. training school.  Foot patrol in Seoul for a short time.  They started letting draftees out of the Army, and I got out in 9 months.  No war in Korea at the time.  Four years later (1951) I was drafted again for the Korean Conflict.  Forty-eight hour refresher course and over seas again.  I was assigned to M.P. battalion in Tokyo.  After 20 months sent home for an Honorable Discharge.  No combat either time overseas unless you can count the White Bear Beer Hall in Tokyo.