January 31, 2000
Tiffin police officer looks back on 22-year career here
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
A retiring Tiffin police sergeant said during his nearly 22 years there have been major changes in policework.
Sgt. Richard Edelman's last day at the Tiffin Police Department was Jan. 7. Edelman wants to remain with the department as an auxiliary, performing the duties of the armorer, but it has not been officially determined yet whether he can carry his certification after he retires.
Edelman started in law enforcement in Sept. 1972 in Findlay. He came to Tiffin Nov. 4, 1978.
Edelman said policework has gotten more scientific. Police departments used to use teletype machines to send messages back and forth. Teletypes were cumbersome to use, and most departments had only one located in the dispatch center. Many times, officers would have to wait on each other to use the machines. Teletypes have been replaced with the LEADS system, a computer system that can access a database of information quickly.
"They've improved it now to the point that they have it in the cars," he said.
Incident reports went from being typed on sheets of paper to being input into computers. In fact, Edelman was involved in getting the department's first computers.
In 1988, the department got its first computers to replace typewriters, he said. Slowly, the department acquired computers, many of which were Army surplus. As officers started using them for reports, they liked them.
"People started saying, well, this isn't as bad as it seems it is," Edelman said. "In 1994, we started talking about getting the system we have now."
The DM Data system has been successful for the department. Edelman said the initial plans called for a five-year expansion of the system.
"We expanded that five years in the first year," he said. The system was upgraded recently.
Edelman also was the department's first certified firearm instructor in 1978. He organized regular monthly weapons training.
He was responsible for improvements to the police range, as well.
The old sand pit in the range was replaced with a modern bullet trap, and officers began using normal bullets on the range instead of low-power target ammunition.
As armorer, Edelman is certified to work on a number of different weapons and brands. The armorer is responsible for maintenance beyond the normal user maintenance.
The types of crimes police see have changed, as well, Edelman said. When he started, there was a trend toward bar disturbances. As time passed, police were investigating a lot of break-ins. Now, there is a rise in juvenile crime, Edelman said.
The anti-cruising law was a good thing, he said. Youths used to gather downtown and drive cars all through downtown, until city council passed an ordinance prohibiting it.
"It used to be murder downtown," Edelman said.
Of the youths, 99 percent were good people, but the one percent that was the bad element could use the others to hide from police, he said.
DUI arrests also have changed. Drunk driving arrests and accidents have declined, he said.
"We averaged, when I first came on the force, about two drunk driving accidents a weekend," Edelman said. That rate has dropped dramatically.
Edelman once made 20 DUI arrests in 20 days.
"That month, I thought they were out to kill me," he said. "I was dodging them coming out of intersections."
The DUI laws are stricter now, but through awareness and enforcement programs, the rate has reduced, Edelman said.
One incident that Edelman cited as being particularly memorable was in 1994.
"We had a disturbance on Jefferson Street," he said. "A man had a gun."
It turned out to be a domestic call between a man and his wife. When the wife tried to leave, the husband brought her back into the house, he said.
Edelman was the first officer there, and he looked into the house.
"He was sitting in a chair pointing a six-inch revolver at her and at his own head," Edelman said.
While still on the back porch landing, Edelman said he had to quiet the family dog, who fortunately was friendly.
The husband came to the door, and Edelman jumped him, grabbed the gun, and both rolled into another room. Edelman said when he grabbed the gun, he hung on to the cylinder so that it could not be fired.
"The rest of the troops came in and disarmed him," he said. "It was all within 10 seconds, but it was a long 10 seconds. One thing I learned from this job is that a minute is a long time when you are waiting for people to come and help."