The Time I Worked for a Crooked Cop

I was going to school in Ruston and needed a job. So I called an agency and got an administrative assistant job for $10 an hour.

For a cop.

I am not what you would call a police-oriented person. But I needed the money. Plus, it was kind of an interesting gig. I did web design, answered phones, authored a database. Whatever I wanted to do to help out, basically.

It was a one-person outfit called Heaven’s Watch. Ostensibly a police charity. That didn’t have charitable status, I found out a bit later.

Immediately, the long distance service for the phones was disconnected.

I called the agency. “Hey, this guy isn’t paying his bills. You need to find me another job.”

“Don’t worry,” they said. "We are paying you. He pays us."

So, whatever.

The guy had a police cruiser that had a $12,000 paintjob. Eagles, stars, statue of liberty, 9/11 stuff. It was basically a patriotic country song come to life.

His hustle was taking it to fairs and the like, selling t-shirts, and collecting donations. The website was part of his push for increased revenue.

He was a big dude. I’m talking 6’ 6” or something, and probably 400 pounds.

The longer I worked there, the more anomalies I saw. More unpaid bills. Him gambling. Him…staying up all night.

I’ve run with my share of thugs, and I met some of his people. Clearly thugs.

The first time he had me cash a check in my name, for an “emergency”, I didn’t think too much of it. It was something like $2200. The second time he asked me to do it, I refused. In retrospect, I could have just cashed it and bounced.

But I realized he was trying to set me up for his embezzlement.

The months went by, and I ended up spending a lot of time alone, battle rapping on Yahoo chat. There wasn’t much to do.

It turns out, he owed the agency $14 an hour for my services. Which he also didn’t pay. And he had stopped paying the car note. All while bringing in thousands every month.

Finally, the dummy from the agency showed up in person to try and collect. Dude left his service revolver on the desk, pointed at him…

So the agency eventually called me and said they weren’t going to pay me anymore, and I had to quit. He countered with offering me cash. Which I accepted.

The first week, fine. He paid me. The second week, me and the guy who washed his car were waiting around at five P.M. to get paid.

He was a no-show. Wouldn’t answer the phone.

“I think I know where he is,” I said, and we drove to his father’s house. After I put all my stuff in my car. And changed the computer password to ‘asshole’.

His father owned the office complex which also housed the Department of Transportation office for that area. He was essentially waiting for his father to die to inherit his estate.

So he greeted us at the door, all smiles, and bum-rushed us out of there.

“Hey, guys. I forgot! No problem, let’s go to the office, and I’ll cut you guys checks.”

When we got there, he was enraged. So much so that the guy who detailed his car just jetted, unpaid.

I let him rant for a while, then said, “Bottom line, am I going to get paid today or not?”

He jumped up and stormed into my office. I guess he was going to throw my stuff at me, but all that was in there was his. All I could think was that I was in an office with an insane cop who smoked crack or did meth, and had essentially pointed a gun at an agency rep.

I decided to go outside.

So, I’ve dealt with angry cops. What’s far scarier is a crying cop.

He was going off so bad, between angry and crying, a D.O.T. employee came outside to smoke, and decided to stay and watch the whole thing. After he threatened to have me arrested, and I called his bluff, I decided to go, unpaid as well.

A week or two later, I talked to the Chief of Police in Ruston, who was a more reasonable fellow, and explained the situation. After telling him I was never paid, he talked to the guy, and came back and said, “Yeah, he’d like  access to his database and website.”

So he sent another thug with an envelope containing $400. What he got in return was a scrap of paper that said ‘asshole’.

I’m not sure if he ever tried it, or just wigged out further.

A month or so later, I got a call from channel 8 in Monroe. Would I like to be interviewed?

Hell yes.

My wife was scared, of course. Thin blue line of silence or whatever. But a lot of cops who knew what was going on were actually supportive. They just wouldn’t do it themselves.

I spent about five minutes on T.V. giving everyone the lowdown, and he was destroyed.

It turns out he was a $1 a year reserve officer. Essentially a role-playing volunteer. He wasn’t even supposed to own a police cruiser, they can’t be sold to civilians.

The car was repossessed, the fake charity folded, and I’d like to think he never became a full-blown officer.

Here's a mostly broken archive.org snapshot of the site: https://web.archive.org/web/20021017054210/http://heavenswatch.org/

And here's the ONLY info I can find on HW and Stroud...and even that took some digging. Nothing incriminating, just an early mention before I got there.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/360348721/

"Union Parish Sheriffs Deputy Becky BeDoit-Fitzpatrick and Ouachita Parish Sheriffs Deputy Marvin McFarland show off the Heroes on Patrol moving tribute to policemen who died in the Sept. 1 1 terrorist attacks. The car, which is being driven across the country, eventually will be displayed in New York City. Mandy M. GoodnightThe Town Talk n L l i - ' i 111 . - 1 m no .n u i f . 3 By Mandy M. Goodnight The Town Talk POLLOCK - A row of seventh-graders peaked at the car with interest. Some even pulled out their cameras to take a photograph. The eagle on the front stood out as if reaching for the ones who ventured close enough. It took a little while before some of them noticed the names printed inside the stars on the car's front. They stared at one another trying to figure out exactly what the names meant. Heroes On Patrol had rolled into Camp Grant Walker Friday evening. The car is a movable memorial to the law enforcement officers who died Sept. 11. "It is important for the kids to see this," said Lt. Mathew Stroud of the Richwood Police Department. "What is standing in front of them is history." About 75 seventh-graders from throughout the state were at the campgrounds for a two-day Challenge Camp. "This will be a part of their history," Stroud said. "It is something special." Stroud and three other north Louisiana officers said they felt as though the policemen killed Sept. 11 were forgotten in the wake of the attention given the firemen. The officers wanted to send a car to New York but then decided to make the car a tribute to their fallen brothers. The car comes from Texas and is painted with a waving American flag that extends to the back of the car. The front has a giant eagle and the shadows of others surrounded by stars with the names of 71 fallen policemen and the departments where they worked. In addition, the four Louisiana officers formed Heaven's Watch, an organization of officers helping others throughout the United States. This weekend, the Franklin Parish Sheriffs Office will host the car at the Catfish Festival. Organizations and law enforcement agencies can host the car for free. Some of the highlights of the crosscountry tour include taking part in a Professional Golf Association event in July and escorting 7,000 Harley Davidsons into Beaumont, Texas, for a gathering. Eventually, the car will make its way to New York City for a memorial service in September and remain there for display. Mandy M. Goodnight: 487-6465; "