MANSFIELD — I didn’t know what to expect riding shotgun in a Mansfield Police car at night.
And in my one night of co-piolting the Mansfield crime scene I saw uncomfortable things, silly things and learned about a side of the city I rarely see. Soon after the shift began, upbeat Mansfield police officer Joe Gladden was dispatched to handle a sex-crime alert.
While I did not leave the car during this event, Gladden told me a 17-year-old male was arrested for allegedly kidnappping and raping a 13-year-old girl. He was brought in for questioning and later charged with a sex crime and abduction of a minor.
Despite that ugly incident, Gladden maintained a positive demeanor.
One could say he was bound to be in law enforcement. His mother is a dispatcher in Morrow County. His wife is a state trooper in Richland County.
Gladden began his law enforcement career in Morrow County and became a detective who participated in the department’s drug enforcement team. He joined MPD less than two years ago after growing weary of small-town issues such as moving cows off the road.
I was invited to go on a car ride with Gladden on Wednesday, June 14.
When I climbed into the cruiser at 5 p.m. there was already a man in the back of the vehicle. Gladden told me he was picked up on warrants.
It had been a busy week of arrests, he said. On Monday, he had picked up two criminals. Tuesday he collected three.
“Today is sort of slow,” he said. “I wish you had come out with me yesterday.”
But nearing 7 p.m., our shift got more interesting.
Gladden was dispatched to the corner of Park Avenue West and Wood Street, in front of Church’s Chicken, where a man had reportedly been screaming at cars.
As we pulled up, two other officers came to aid Gladden, as he made the arrest for public intoxication.
From the back seat of the police car, he continued telling us how he wanted to make it back to his father’s house. The smell of beer filled the cruiser and lasted for the remainder of our shift.
During that incident, Gladden found a partially full, 24-ounce can of Olde Crow malt liquor in the man’s hand. The individual was in good spirits, so Gladden was easy on him.
This was the man’s second arrest for public intoxication, meaning he could have been handed a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
“Because you’ve been easy, I’m going to give you another eight-hour hold (in the Richland County Jail.) You do have court in the morning,” Gladden said filling out his paperwork to hand to the jailworkers. “But next time you are drunk, stay at home. We’ve had a bunch of calls about you yelling at cars.”
We drove into the police building and walked the subject into the jail.
From there, Gladden drove us to the parking lot across the street from the jail. He wrote up his police report, explaining to me how different things used to be.
“In the good old days, you could have dumped the beer and given him a ride home. I’d get to be the good guy and he wouldn’t be in jail,” Gladden said. “Now, if he goes home and lights a cigarette and burns down the whole house, we’re liable because we were in contact with him.”
He picked up the beer to include its details in the report.
“And this beer is evidence,” he said. “If i don’t submit it, I could be charged with dereliction of duty.”
We headed to the station and he submitted the can to the crime lab.
Back on the road, we went to his zone four — north of Park Avenue West and east of Main Street — where he is assigned to monitor on a daily basis.
Gladden knew nearly every face, and nearly everyone’s name and history with law enforcement.
“It’s one of the smaller zones,” he said. “I try and get to know everyone. That way if I don’t know who they are, I can usually tell if something is up.”
He pulled down a street and saw a man hanging out on his front step. He told me that person’s name and that he had a history of warrants.
He ran plates throughout our trip through zone four hoping to find some sort of action for us to do.
But alas, it was a slow night. It had rained just before 5, leaving few people out and about.
We found one man staring at a tree. I thought it was suspicious, and we pulled over to speak to him.
“Hello,” Gladden said. “What are you looking at?”
“This tree,” the man said. “I don’t want it to fall and break my fence.”
“That wouldn’t be good,” the officer replied. “I’m sure you could call someone to take it down.”
“Well the tree is on their property. If I get permission, I’d take it out myself,” he said.
“Well, good luck,” Gladden said, ready to drive away.
“Thank you, and thank you for your interest,” the man said. “It’s good for you all to be paying attention around here.”
Later on as we rode up to the Family Dollar on South Diamond to watch a video tape of a theft, someone shouted “F—- you, Pig” at us.
“Sometimes you get waves,” he said. “Sometimes you get that.”
One thing I learned in that car ride is how difficult being an officer is, and how gracefully Gladden was able to handle the situations. As the crime beat reporter, I usually only see the police reports and get tightly summed up quotes about the events.
Seeing the interactions by the police was a unique opportunity MPD allows anyone from the public to do. I recommend it.
