Steve Raabe - Patrolling the Heart of the West: True Tales of a Nevada State Trooper

Whether you have an interest in law enforcement, are a fan of all things Nevadan, or just want to enjoy a good book that you wont want to put down once you start reading it, youll find Patrolling the Heart of the West to be a memorable read. Highly recommended.

Excerpt from Readers Favorite, review by Kimberlee J Benart

Patrolling the Heart of the West is a thoroughly entertaining and enlightening read. With a style reminiscent of the war stories exchanged during a law-enforcement family barbecue, Raabes skill as a storyteller is evident as he imparts his wisdom and experience with a unique sense of humor, candor, and insightfulness.

Andy Brown, author of Warnings Unheeded: Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base

Told with great humor and compassion, Raabes tales show us the heart behind the badge.

Michael Gurian, NY Times bestselling author of The Wonder of Boys

Patrolling the Heart of the West is a quick, entertaining and informative glimpse into an important, sometimes dangerous career spent in a unique, little understood corner of the country.

Ed Pearce, Senior Reporter, KOLO-TV Reno

Raabe tells his experiences with excellent accuracy, grace and wit. I couldnt put the book down!

Colonel Michael Hood, Nevada Highway Patrol

Perhaps the most endearing police memoir yet written. As a son and brother of cops, I admire the humanity Raabe brings to each of these stories. Jon Gosch, author of Deep Fire Rise

Raabes stories reflect the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of patrolling our highways. Patrolling the Heart of the West will bring a new appreciation for the unique role and responsibilities of state troopers, especially those who work in rural or remote areas.

G Paul Corbin, criminal justice professor and former chief of the Nevada Highway Patrol

Patrolling the Heart of the West

Copyright 2018 Steve Raabe

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any

form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

For permissions contact: editor@latahbooks.com

Events, conversations, and locations were recreated from the

authors memory of them. In some instances, the names and details

of individuals and places have been altered to protect anonymity.

Book design by Gray Dog Press and Andrew Juarez

Cover image derived from Adobe Stock photos

Softcover ISBN: 978-0-9997075-2-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018932810

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request

Published by

Latah Books, Spokane, Washington

www.latahbooks.com

The author may be contacted at snowraabe@gmail.com

This book is dedicated to my three children,

Timothy Lee, Michael Lawrence, and Corrie Jo,

and to my wife, Janelle Snow,

all of whom spent many years

watching me strap on a gun and leave for work

knowing it was possible I might never be home again.

Contents

Introduction

From Garbage Man to Trooper

Thats Why Im the Sergeant

Sawed-Off Shotgun

Youre Killing Me

Two Vanilla Cones, Please

You Bought a Cow

Did You Kill Anyone?

On Our Way to Court

A Dead Cops Grave

Now I Know My ABCs

Rural American Justice

Just a Hitchhiker

Contact the Railroad... Never Mind

Bopped on the Noggin

Baa Baa Black Sheep

I See What You Mean

Leave Herman Alone

Put Your Seatbelts On

She Pulled Herself Over

The Secretarys Son

Who Are You Screaming At?

Your Sergeants My Best Friend

Mushroom Man

Young Pups

Ill Be Right with You

Trained Attack Dogs

This Corvette is the Coolest

Who Canceled the Ambulance?

You Dont Say

Rated X

The Longest Train Ride

What a Mess

End of the Road

I Cant Open the Window

My Neck Is Broken

Dont Stop Here

Ten-Five Oscar Meyer

Recovered Before Dessert

My Best Friends Brother

Litterbugs

Polygraph in My Pocket

Get My Hands Up?

Alto! Alto Casaba!

Two Little Scratches

Kidnapped?

They Never Saw It Coming

Have Tire, Will Travel

I Am Not Shooting That Cow

Dangerously Lazy Cops

My Colonel Was a City Troop

Those Winnemucca Dunes

Dopes Hide the Dope

Not Pressing Charges

Chet, Thats Good!

AIDS Convention

Careful What You Wish For

My Turn for a Ticket

Do I Look Like a Realtor?

The Art of Interviewing

That Darn Nevada Win

Where, Oh Where Has the Vice President Gone?

I Think a Warning Will Do

Do I Know You?

How Did This Happen?

Hey Dad, What Are You Doing?

My Last Accident Investigation

Acknowledgments

Introduction

F rom family gatherings to sitting around campfires with friends, I have enjoyed sharing the true events I experienced as a state trooper. The stories were well-received, and many friends and family members encouraged me to write them down, so I took their advice.

It is my hope that these stories will help people understand the duties, dangers, and experiences of state troopers patrolling the remote highways of the western United States. Some of my tales are funny, others are sad; some describe people who experienced an unbelievable amount of luck, and others who had no luck at all.

My career covered the last two decades of the twentieth century and into the new millennium. During this period, great strides were made in the field of policing. From protective equipment and speed detection, to computers and portable hand-held radios, improvements were made.

When I started as a trooper at the ripe old age of twenty-three, all citations and reports were hand-written. The escalation of force against a combative subject went from hands-on, to a night stick, to a firearm. In recent years, the police taser has been added as another level of non-lethal protection, but to us it was science fiction.

Nevada State troopers always worked alone. Those of us stationed in rural Nevada were often the only trooper working for over a hundred miles in any direction. During the first decade of my career, we had no portable radios. The car radio was our only option to make contact with anyone. Calling for help outside of the patrol car wasnt possible, and even if it had been there was seldom anyone close enough to respond anyway.

Every winter, snow covered the solar panel that powered our radio repeater located at the top of Maggie Peak. This lone repeater provided radio coverage for the last one hundred miles of State Route 140 to the Oregon State line. When the radio went down while working accidents or arrests, we would give civilians the phone number to dispatch and ask them to drive to the nearest telephone and relay our needs.

Im not sure exactly how many traffic stops or contacts I made over the course of my career, but when I start estimating the number of citations, mechanical repair orders, verbal warnings, accident scenes, arrests, and motorist assists, it numbers in the tens of thousands.

While techniques, equipment and procedures changed over the years, one thing remained fairly consistenthuman nature. Of my countless interactions with people throughout my career, the following stories are the ones that stand out, my memory of them refreshed by my daily diary which I kept religiously. Sometimes my notes were followed by a smiley face, a sad face, brief comments, or simply my favorite wordBingowhen things came together unexpectedly.