Author: philw

  • Exposing LCSO Deputies

    The Cop at Lunch

    Have you ever been sitting in a restaurant, minding your own business, when in walks a Lyon County deputy on his lunch break? You watch him struggling to squeeze into a booth. He barely fits with that belly and kevlar vest filled with cop gear. Once he gets awkwardly settled, you might see him scan the room with a stoic gaze. What’s going on in his head?

    What if I told you I had an inside scoop on Lyon County deputies?


    That Belly

    Too many donuts, right?

    Actually, the truth may be a bit deeper than over consumption or lack of exercise. In fact, the officer you’re watching read the restaurant menu, probably puts in more physical labor than you do on a daily basis. The vest alone, is pretty hot & heavy. So what’s going on?

    Deep inside the brain of this officer, there’s a little part called the Amygdala. Its job is to regulate the fight or flight response, which is crucial for his line of work. In milliseconds, it can activate heart, eyes, hands, and feet to act in response to any threat. It’s what makes us all plant our feet and quickly turn around to face something, such as a sound of a text book unexpectedly hitting the floor of a quiet room.

    As great as it is at keeping the officer alive in intense situations, cortisol comes with a price. Those many dangerous interactions over the years all created their own neural pathways. Unlike the ones created in 9th grade Algebra, the connections were made suddenly, and much stronger than anything learned in a classroom. This is the cause of countless triggers the deputy has to deal with at all times. If he previously served in the military, he has that added mental baggage to go with it. His sympathetic nervous system is hooked to a car battery.

    Considering the numerous cases of traumatic situations this deputy has dealt with over his career (or even earlier that day), it’s nearly impossible to shut off all those neural pathways that have hijacked his nervous system. Without routine self-care, all the experiences can pile up, and he could even become one of the 200 law enforcement officers who take their own lives every year.

    As you see the Deputy finish up his lunch break, you see a random citizen approach his table to thank him for his service and offer to cover the lunch bill. The waitress seemed to give him extra attention. Dude probably gets a regular discount for the badge!

    The officer struggles to wiggle himself and his gear back out of the restaurant booth then makes his way out of the dining room. Just short of the door, you see another random citizen stop him to to give a little speech about how he appreciates his service. You notice the officer’s response seems almost annoyed, as he nods at the stranger and makes his way out the door. Perhaps even all of these repetitive shows of appreciation can be a nuisance too. Considering he could be soon tasked with tackling and cuffing just about anyone at any time, coupled with the fact few people could even fathom what he’s really sacrificed over the years, the superficial praise is probably irritating. The free lunch however, is always appreciated. We all gotta eat!

    As the officer drives off, paranoid NPC’s are driving at or below the speed limit. As NPC’s worry the law man is watching them drive, the officer is more likely talking to dispatch, and glancing at the cases showing up his laptop screen while he gets annoyed at you driving too slowly in the fast lane. He’s in Fernley right now, and he’s got stuff to do in Yerington… GTFO of his way!


    M.O.S.T. of What I Know

    In my short career as a community health worker contracted to Lyon County’s Mobile Outreach Safety Team (MOST), I got to spend some hours in the back of a deputy’s vehicle as we went to meet people in their lowest times. While I certainly didn’t get enough on-the-job experience to make me an expert on anything, I did gain a better understanding of what it’s like for sworn officers.

    In 2024, I participated in Crisis Intervention Training at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, where I spent a week in a class filled with assorted levels of sworn officers from multiple counties. From those days of presentations, exercises, and candid conversations that I’d never experience anywhere else, my biggest takeaway was how many burdens and fears they carry. They’ve seen things, and they know that every day at work could be their last. They are the ones who have to face the monsters of society, and something as simple as opening a little Tupperware container with fentanyl dust in it could send them to the grave.

    On top of it all, cops are not allowed to have panic attacks or breakdowns. One moment of weakness could mean the end of a career, and they are tested with every call they answer. As an added bonus, they get d-bags who’ll drive all the way from San Fransisco to be provocative, shoving cameras in their face, hoping to catch a deputy slipping for their YouTube channel.


    What Can We Citizens Do?

    Want to take some burden off those who protect and serve? BE GOOD. Don’t get drunk in public, keep your hands to yourselves, and don’t drive like an idiot. Really we all would appreciate that.

    If you do slip up and get in trouble, even at the point you are being detained, be cooperative. Realize this officer is a human being who is looking forward to a beer and BBQ on his or her day off, just like you. They may not be your friend at that moment, but there is no need to escalate. If you’re going to jail, don’t be a raging A-hole about it.

    Don’t call dispatch every time your neighbor plays his music too loudly in his garage. There are only so many deputies on shift at any given time, and there is a lot of miles between towns. Don’t call them over your pissing match, unless the neighbor dude starts waving a chainsaw around. In fact, I’d call as soon as you see him pull the starter rope.

    Read Sheriff Pope’s weekly messages. He has been doing a great job of keeping the public informed through social media the whole time he’s been in office. Nobody likes everyone, so I’m sure someone would disagree, but he’s done an outstanding job all around from my perspective.


    For Real Though, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

    “I could never do what you do.” Officers, I’m sure you hear this a lot, so go ahead and roll your eyes as I say it. The C.I.T. classes gave me a glimpse of what you deal with, along with what you carry while off-duty. I admire those who hold it together, and I understand for those who couldn’t.

    Take care of yourselves. Thank you for taking care of us.

  • The Never Beginning Story

    Just as I was about to start banging out this blog entry, I got a message from Larry & Carol about a missing 18-year-old from an encampment on the other side of town, who was wandering out in the…

    Sorry! As I was writing that, I got another call from Terry, who said some lanky teenager just jumped out in front of her son’s side-by-side while out on the trails. Worried about him, they contacted the sheriff.

    Alright, I gave Terry’s intel to Larry and Carol, and that should be that. Time to get back to…

    Oh, sorry again… Facetime call from Larry and Carol. Going back over that stuff with them, we’re on the same page. Great! Now to finally…

    HOLD ON… Just got a message from my wife at Winco about what’s for dinner. This actually required me to leave the desk and confirm whether or not, we have pepperoni. We did not. She’ll need to grab some more for us to make tortilla pizzas.

    OK… SITTING DOWN TO WRITE THIS DAMN STORY!!

    “Ding” goes the messenger. This time, it’s Greg asking about those free golf cart tires he hit me up to grab from the golf course. A couple hours ago, he was asking for this while I was getting ready to do a Zoom meeting with folks I’m about to be doing a radio show with. Since they were closer to the golf course, I had asked Larry and Carol to grab those, just before the missing teen incident occurred.

    OK, cops, Larry and Carol are on the hunt for the teen. Greg’s tires are secured.

    Let’s see… what was I going to write about? I know it was something about struggling. I was probably going to mention how I’ve been waiting for that final paycheck from the newspaper since before Christmas.

    I was definitely gonna bring up how my daughter just stood up to grown men at the local Subway restaurant, where she quit her job after realizing they never filled out any tax papers on her, after paying her cash for all the months she’s worked there. I might have even brought up the health concerns of the locked up and abandoned men’s room in there, which I bet will add some unpleasant aroma to the sandwich shop. Yeah… don’t eat there, Dayton. New owners are NASTY.

    Surely, I would have written about the feelings of panic arising from my currently zero income, and how we pulled from the mortgage to pay the gas bill. That’s on my brain pretty hard.

    I’m just not feeling it anymore. That creative spark will soon be used to light up a bowl of some free bud from a friendly neighbor. I’ll toss on the headphones, probably listen to some angry Gen X music, then go wash some dishes so we can get to the sink again. It fills up in a small house with 6 Wooleys.

    Happy Monday! LOL

  • My Newest Bad Idea!

    Did you just realize you haven’t seen me on Facebook for a while, then you clicked this link to see WTF? You may have been blocked. 

    Do you remember in Ghostbusters, when that twitchy red bearded dude made Egon and his boys shut down the containment grid, unleashing all the ghosts into New York City? That’s sort of what’s about to go down for me on Facebook. 

    Battling the cult who was going after the school board, me running for office, and my involvement in other activities within my community have led me to some heated debates online. Sometimes they would get so bad, I’d resort to blocking a d-bag or two. The Calvary Chapel folks occupy the majority of people I’ve banished from my Facebook feed. 

    That one guy from 775 OffRoad who confronted me during a reno community cleanup, who I only remember as self-titled “The Asshole,” I bet is on my block list. He was pissed about a discussion we apparently had on Facebook about LCSO cracking down on a homeless encampment. Considering I’ve lived in his head for so many months, even though I can’t even recall the conversation, I bet he’s on the list. 

    I don’t mind arguing with people. In fact, I kinda get into it too much, and have to make myself step away from some debates. I can be too quick to react at times, which I consider a weakness usually. However, I allow myself to be proven wrong, and give props to the person who does it. That, I feel is a strength. 

    I won’t block you because I lost an argument. I also won’t do it because I fear you. The majority of the blocks are done as a big F-U to people who I felt earned it. 

    During my run for Commissioner, I took down the block walls to fully expose myself to the entire voting public as a gesture of transparency. Expected hate came my way pretty hard, and I put a bunch of people back on the list after I lost the election. One guy who was a personal friend when I started the run – who at one point even offered to be my campaign manager – earned a spot on the block after he went psycho, then set out to publicly destroy me before the election was even over. 

    Guilt by association made me block a few. This, I’m not proud of. Others just got the boot for being relentlessly hateful or stupid.  

    Often, I don’t think twice about booting someone from my social media world. But sometimes I do have some regrets for my hair trigger. This is likely a terrible idea, but…

    I’m about to flip the switch. Some of you may immediately block me. Others will take a moment to do some quality stalking. I’m sure most of you won’t really give two squirts of piss about it. 

    There has to be a couple of you who would love to tell me where to shove it. For you special people, I offer you the opportunity to do it here! If you shoot me an email with your 2¢, I’ll add it to the end of this story. Whether or not you want to be credited for the words, I’ll leave up to you. Be sure to let me know! 

    I’m certain you won’t be the only one who has something to say to or about me. I hope to collect enough rants that you can share to and read as a community. 

    SPEAK YOUR MIND!! Don’t hold back. I’d be lying if I said you couldn’t hurt my feelings, and maybe I deserve it. I’m giving you this opportunity to share your voice, and you can even do it anonymously if you don’t want me to share your name. On the other hand, you might want to be seen as the person telling me off. Your choice! Again, just let me know in the email. 

    I guess we’ll see how this does! Against my better judgement, I am now releasing you all from the bonds of my Facebook block list. Holla at me if you want to be heard.