Undercover Again

Some time later after my initial embarrassment involving trying to pick up strange women (for the good of the department, mind you), another officer and I decided to have another go at it. This time we carefully chose our target-- one we knew well and could more easily walk into a situation of our choosing. A thorn in our side and a pet project of many of the D5 street officers, the woman we would attempt to take off the streets that evening was always soliciting passing cars for money at one particular intersection. What made this so bad was that the location was not in an area where one goes to look for Ladies of the Evening. The motorists she solicited were just trying to get in and out of their neighborhood and were constantly approached from this Group Home regular as she came up with any pathetic story for a few dollars. One would think that after 50 arrests in a relatively short amount of time for various pedestrian violations stemming from panhandling and solicitation, a person may get the message that he or she was not welcome on that corner, or in the City for that matter, doing those sorts of things. And maybe, just maybe, the Justice System would work and the person would move on to more productive endeavors after learning the error of her ways. Not Brenda. No. We could count on seeing her each night. Her warrants for not showing up in court for her misdeeds appeared in the system like clockwork every ten days. Brenda would stand right in the middle of the street by this corner waiting for the cars that had to stop for the light. She would then beg for money, saying her feet hurt and she needed money to get home. Never mind she had been pacing that area for five hours and only lived three blocks away. On the occasion that one would balk initially at just giving her money for nothing, actually sticking around, Brenda would appear to reluctantly suggest an act of prostitution. Surprisingly, she had takers, earning her the reputation of amateur prostitute. It was believed at the time that she had been diagnosed with HIV, which makes solicitation and prostitution in this state a felony.

Now that you can appreciate the background on this individual, you may understand why we wanted to get her off the street. If we could get her charged with the felony, she may be away for more than just a week or so. It was with this mindset that Gordon and I set out to nab Brenda that night. Our District had procured a mini-van recently for undercover purposes. It had tinted windows, a decent stereo system, and was a much more comfortable ride than the metal box on wheels I mentioned during the last escapade. We went about this operation a little differently, perhaps a little wiser, a little braver. Gordon changed into "civies" (his off-duty clothes) and assumed the driver's seat. I kept my uniform on and crouched on the floor behind the rear bench seat. I turned my radio volume down and switched to an unused channel. Several other officers in cruisers would monitor this channel and act on my command. We set out and immediately found Brenda at her familiar corner walking up to another car. The driver was smart and made a right turn as soon as possible. We were now at the red light. "Please, sir. I need a dollar. My kids are hungry."I stay out of sight, listening to every word but unable to see anything. Gordon gets ready for the negotiations. What he was not ready for was this hefty, dirty woman opening up his passenger side door and sitting down next to him. "Can I get a ride, sir?" she asks. Like Gordon has a choice now. We were prepared for this eventuality, however, since the Vice guys usually take down their suspects in this manner all the time. Gordon drives through the neighborhood as Brenda pours on the sob story. Gordon tells her he doesn't just give money for nothing, but Brenda's not biting. In fact, she tells him to let her out-- which he does. We're not worried though. I get on the radio and tell the other officers we're having another go at this. We go around the block and approach Brenda once again. She comes out into the street awaiting the approaching van, as if daring us to hit her. "Can I have a dollar? I'm hungry and haven't eaten anything." She honestly does not remember us as she is so honed in on getting money from each and every car she can flag down. A mental imbalance also lends itself to her repetitive and forgetful nature that makes rehabilitation for her offenses very difficult. "Do you want a ride?" Gordon asks. She eagerly accepts. "You're not a cop, are you?" she asks. "No. Are you?" Gordon asks as I try hard not to laugh at that image from my hiding space. The next image I could have done without as I suddenly hear Gordon cry, "Don't show me that! Put your shirt down!" Apparently Brenda subscribed to the theory a police officer cannot be privy to anything inappropriate if he plans to set up someone on a prostitution sting. Wrong. It's not something that anyone in the predicament hopes for given the caliber of individuals out there, but it's completely legal. As Gordon continues to explain the problem with Brenda's "Something for Nothing" philosophy, she finally offers herself for a price. The deal is sealed as she meets the criteria mentioning the act and its cost without any entrapment by the officer. I whisper into the radio that we got her and can suddenly see the reflection of red and blue lights bouncing around the interior of the van from behind us. "You're a cop!" Gordon shouts as he looks in the rear view mirror at the approaching cruiser. Brenda swears she's not. "Let's lose 'em!" he tells her. I roll into the back hatch door with the sudden acceleration as Gordon tears off down the street. The sirens come on and he ends the charade a few blocks later. Our good buddy Chris approaches from the cruiser and greets Brenda on a first name basis. She swears she didn't do anything wrong but is promptly arrested after Gordon is given a "good talking-to." Chris drives off with Brenda and we return to D5 where I stretch out the kinks in my back and Gordon changes back into his uniform. A few minutes later, Chris pulls into the lot on the way to the jail with Brenda in tow. Gordon leans his head in to talk to Brenda. "I heard you just tried to solicit some guy," he says, looking right at her. "No, I just asked him for a ride." She gives the staple answer they all give as she apparently does not recognize the officer before her. "What'd this guy look like? Was he good looking?" Gordon asks as he tries leading her. "I don't remember, sir." And that, unfortunately, is the problem with her.

Oh, by the way. She was determined not to have had HIV/AIDS (yet) through court-ordered testing, so the felony charge did not stick. We saw her out on the same corner three days later.