Galls

It was only my third week with the police department and my first week in uniform and on the street. My FTO and I were working the afternoon shift, patrolling the high school, where fights had been occurring after classes. As we drove down the street I noticed two students who looked like they were squaring off to fight.

We got out of the squad car and separated the two boys. They explained to us that they weren't fighting; just having a "serious discussion." We left them to get on the school bus and returned to our vehicle. As an afterthought my FTO ran a warrant check on one of the boys, who had been wanted in the past. Sure enough, the check showed that the boy was still wanted out of our county on a valid warrant.

By this time, a line of school buses had formed and it would have been impossible for us to turn the squad car around and catch it. To further confuse things, neither of us knew the number of the bus that the kid had boarded. Being the young rookie that I was, I wasn't going to let that minor detail stop me from an arrest. As my FTO sat in the passenger seat expressing frustration, I jumped from the vehicle and chased the school buses on foot.

As I ran, I remembered that I still didn't know which bus the kid was on. There was a line of approximately six buses traveling up the street, but I vowed that this would not stop me from arresting him. I randomly picked out a bus and ran alongside the driver's door and told him to pull over.

Luckily for me, the bus I picked that day was being driven by one of our off-duty sheriff's dept. lieutenants. As soon as he pulled over, I jumped on the bus. As luck would have it, my quarry was on board. He was immediately arrested and taken to jail. I don't know who was more surprised at the situation, my FTO, the lieutenant, or the young man arrested.

I've been in a few foot chases since then, winning and losing, but my sergeant and FTO always manage to remember the day "Sparky" chased the school bus.

Todd "Sparky" Neumann
Deputy Sheriff/Patrolman
Walworth County Sheriff's Dept.
Elkhorn, WI

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