HN notes & photos: The sky suddenly opened up as officers responded to a call in the East End of Hyannis shortly after 3 a.m. this morning. A young man reported being assaulted by a young woman. Officers were forced to investigate in the pouring rain, learning the small group of young adults had recently spilled out from a nearby, closed establishment. There were no injuries and no active disturbance as officers arrived. There were also no arrests made and officers stood by until everyone safely left the area.

And as you can see in the second HN photo, the senior patrolman on scene managed to don his raincoat in time. (Was this luck or experience? It’s hard to say…) Raincoats are often uncomfortable to wear all night while sitting inside a warm cruiser, and it becomes a gamble hopping out without one when the raindrops appear to have finally tapered off. The gamble being whether they will stay tapered off…

And there’s that old saying, “A good cop is never cold, wet, or hungry.” From my understanding of the phrase, in the days before police cruisers, “good cops” were taken care of by the people they met walking along their beat. If it suddenly became cold or wet, and if they were considered “good cops,” community members would be more likely to offer shelter. And if the community truly valued a certain cop in those days, they would feed him or her because they were doing a good job taking care of the neighborhood.

But now, things are very different. Because of cruisers and advanced technology, the days of neighborhood foot patrols have almost completely disappeared out of necessity. Officers are called upon to quickly cover individual emergencies that arise over large areas. The ability to intimately know everyone on one’s beat has changed and it’s not nearly the same. Now, officers are often overextended, working mostly inside highly equipped cruisers, flying from one crisis to the next. Their knowledge is often limited to computer data and less casual, more intense interactions during radio calls and traffic stops, etc. So, the old saying, “A good cop is never cold, wet, or hungry” has perhaps evolved from its initial meaning. The saying, at least in my own understanding and opinion, now means that officers need to be constantly and individually prepared for any and all eventualities.

HN lives a similar lifestyle, working inside a vehicle and traveling from one crisis to the next. In my world, “A good photojournalist is never cold, wet or hungry.” Snacks, warm clothes and rain gear are wonderful in most controlled circumstances. But having said that, in today’s “rapid-fire” world, sometimes one is still forced to quickly jump out with limited gear, despite the best planning. “[Bleep] suddenly happens, you jump out, get soaked, and hope for the best.”

But these modern realities in the face of old beat wisdom still doesn’t stop me from often reminding myself that “A good photojournalist is never cold, wet, or hungry.” And when I see a good young cop getting wet and cold, it’s hard not to nag a little, like a mother hen… while knowing full-well it’s not as simple and easy as it looks.

But, I’ll say it again, “A good cop is never cold, wet, or hungry.” Nag, nag, nag… 😉

P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is a brought to you by The Rolling Stones… times have certainly changed! [CLICK IT/CRANK IT!]

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