New Britain herald., 1927-03-19
COPS FIRST NIGHT
 NEVER FORGOTTEN
Thrill Of Being Alone on Beat
 Sticks in Memory


 is unable to recall, without any hesi
 iancy. his or her first day on thu
 first job after leaving school to gt
 forth into the world and rub shoul
 dcrs with the mob. There is some.
 thing about that first day that i'm.
 prints itself on ones memory with
 such firmness that nothing can eve,
 .iface it, and if there is person
 more unusual than the one who can.
 not recall it. he must be the one who does not welcome the chance of holding forth in a recital of the ex-
 pericnces Of the initial skirmish wit the outside world.
 Policemen. of course. were not always policemen, and consequently
 their first days work was not done
 with q pair of handcuffs hanging off
 their belt still. if a person is inter- csted in the romance of the duty of 1 the guardians of the peace, to hear
 some of the New Britain bluecoats tell about the first appearance they made as such, is 10 derive enter tanment that is not likely to become i tiresome.
 There is, for instance, the story of the officer, who, on being assigned to a long beat the first night he went on duty, counted the number of times he walked from one end Of the district in his charge to the other, and within two hours of the time he left the police station, had covered more ground than any other police man in the city would cover in the entire night. Had the rookie main tained this pace from : p. m. to f a. m, he might not have been able 10 leave his bed for week. Still, he thought that was the way to do police duty and he had determined to do 1t we'll from the outset.
 He Was Musscd Jp-And How
 Another supernumerary, looking splck and span in his new uniform, cap visor shining, shoes we'll polished and badge refecting the rays from every street light with i, dazzling brilliance, had not been on his beat half an hour his first night :, out, when he was called on to make 1 an arrest, and in the rough and ! tumble fight that followed he was 1 rolled about in the mud until hardly 1 q thread of his clothes vas free 1 from dirt. He did not resign, but he could certainly be excused for remarking that the prisoner might at least have waited until he had had time to pose for photograph in his new uniform before mussing him up.
 There is standing joke about -he policemen who are never to be ound when needed, but one officers aars do not burn when someone els it, because he knows 1t cannot De meant for him. He was worrying through his first night Ion the force' without coming across anything un- lsual until about midnight, when 8 icrce fight broke out in a tenement house and he was not only nearby when the first punch was struck, but le was on the receiving end of sev- ral later punches and every one of hem had power to spare. He never aw fight since that night. that he ailed to recall the first evening he i tOre the blue.
 First Jop Called for Diplomacy
 4 married couple. finding much 0 disagree about one evening, f bcyed the impulse in such q strenu- ' us manner that the entire neigh q orhood was aroused with the re- 5 ult that the officer on the beat was @ sked to go into the house and quiet ! he disturbers. He was unmarried [ ut had not promised himself or r nyone else he would be single for L yer: how he ever managed to Il ather up sufficient courage to enter b lc married state after hearing that u attle is surprising to himself. The ushand insisted on telling him ( that had contributed to $ le outbreak from the day of the edding. and the wife. in high G tched. rasping voice that tremblcd f. ad vibratad with anger, seemed @ et"rmined to leave nothing unsaid G lat might impress the bluecoat with Ii le terrible riciousness Of the hus- l r. md. Fortunately, the officer. while b for his interview with the prior to his appoint r. "nt, had read something of the l,. itles and powers Of the police. and 1T . managed to get through the in- 0, dent without making an arrest, but |: , could not help inqu!ring from the di t'ran on the adjoining beat as Il ey put in their next duty call neither or not such rackets come es police attention very frequently. TT Of course, many officers were in Il, e service days and weeks without h; ing called on 10 do more than va 'lk beat or preserve order at In nee or similar indoor affair, but oy en they will admit they will never rgct the first night out If N, thing actually happened to remind Fl m Of tn. nature Of the service y Were in, the expectancy they fr. { from hour to hour as the night ar Ire on, and tn" thrill they re- vi ved as they stepped out with p. lc cops undoubtedly have not in n caualled b? anything that may ve happened 10 them as the pass tn, years of their service saw them be up in the service or drop back on Q civilian life. str
 | dis FREIGHT TRAIN DI,RtHIn pO