Shootings Remind CHP It’s in the Line of Fire

The gun barrel glares down at them from a faded poster on the wall. But far more chilling are the words bracketing that dead-ahead pistol: “Is today the day?” Then, in case the California Highway Patrol officers who gather under that grim image have missed the point, the poster pounds it home with an urgent command: “Think officer safety.”

Message received.

Two CHP officers have been shot in the past two weeks. Officer Don Burt was killed in Fullerton on July 13 by a gunman who blasted him with seven bullets. And Officer Rafael Casillas was gravely wounded on Wednesday by shots to his abdomen, wrist and thigh after a high-speed chase that ended in a gunfight in Granada Hills.

It may seem like they have the most low-key patrol job in law enforcement. They get to ride around all day on motorcycles or in black-and-whites, ticketing speeders and reprimanding seat belt scofflaws. They call tow trucks, clear the carpool lanes, give stranded drivers a lift.

But the recent shootings have reminded the CHP officers what they’re taught in the academy: There’s no such thing as a routine traffic stop.

“It makes you feel vulnerable,” Acting Sgt. Todd Sturges said of the shootings. “It makes you feel vulnerable.”

Perhaps sensing the CHP’s new wariness, drivers have gone out of their way to accommodate--and even to praise--officers on patrol in recent weeks.

One elderly woman flagged the attention of Officer Darcy Hernandez as he idled at a red light near Compton the other day. When he rolled down his window, she shouted at him: “You be real careful today. There are a lot of bad people out there. Be safe!”

Motorcycle Officer Chris Johnson said a few citizens have recently “come up out of the blue to shake my hand and say, ‘I’m real sorry your friend died.’ ”

And as Sturges rolled down the San Diego Freeway on Thursday afternoon, a man in a white car pulled alongside, honked lightly and flashed a cheery thumbs-up. A few minutes later, Richard J. Schlesinger reacted a little less enthusiastically when Sturges pulled him over for crossing a double yellow line into the carpool lane.

But he was careful to speak politely and follow commands to the letter. With all the publicity about the dangers of law enforcement, Schlesinger said he was starting to feel “kind of apprehensive” that nervous cops might be too quick to pull the trigger. “I try to keep my hands visible so they can see what I’m doing,” Schlesinger said.

He’s not alone. In the past few weeks, officers said, drivers pulled over by the CHP have taken to clutching the steering wheel until they get explicit permission to retrieve their licenses or dig out their registration.

“They know everyone’s itchy and they don’t want to make any bad moves,” Hernandez said. The recent shootings, he added, “have made everyone walk around on tippy-toes.”

To make sure officers stay just as vigilant even in more peaceful times, supervisors lecture on safety tips during daily pre-patrol briefings. They also encourage officers to swap war stories, both to talk out their fears and to learn from their mistakes. And they remind rookies and veterans alike to call for backup whenever a driver strikes them as suspicious.

“You don’t know if you’re stopping a fleeing bank robber, someone with a warrant on him, or a three-strikes-and-you’re-out guy who might be willing to do anything to get out of there,” Sturges said.

Most of the time, of course, the stops turn out to be far more innocuous. In an hourlong patrol Thursday afternoon, Sturges pulled over once to offer help to a man changing a blown-out tire, once to reprimand the driver of a blue BMW for illegal lane-hopping, and once to assist a frazzled father whose car had broken down on the freeway.

Not exactly heart-pounding situations. But though service-related stops are the norm, the CHP does make about 10% of all felony arrests in California, Sturges said.

Some come during serendipitous stops (you bust a guy for switching lanes too fast and discover a heap of cocaine in the back seat). Others require sharp-eyed police work (peering through rush-hour jams, you spot a maroon minivan and remember an all-points bulletin calling for just that make and model of vehicle).

All can make even the most seasoned officer sweat. And these days, with memos about Don Burt Memorial Bracelets circulating through the office, those close calls seem a whole lot closer.

“Every day now, before I leave home, I make sure to kiss my significant others,” Hernandez said. “I know it really could be the last time I see them.”

* ‘HOLDING STEADY’: CHP officer in critical condition. A1