For My Ford/SODO/Sat June 7/2:10 am: After the club closed, a 25-year-old white Tacoman walked to the space where he parked his 1996 Ford Ranger pickup and found empty. He soon learned that TBT Towing had claimed his vehicle. He called the towing company and, upon learning that he had to pay $273 for the return of his truck, said, "Fuck you! I'm not paying that!... I'm coming to get my truck! And I'm not paying no $273."

Shortly after the telephone call, a taxicab pulled up next to the west side of TBT Towing's storage lot; the Tacoman exited the taxicab, climbed over the barbed wire fence, entered the storage yard, and began heading toward his Ford. A TBT Towing employee spotted the Tacoman and called 911; the Tacoman realized he had been spotted, climbed back over the fence, and disappeared.

However, the Tacoman reappeared a few minutes later while the responding officer, Officer J. Kappel, was "gathering pertinent information." "There he is!" said the TBT Towing employee, pointing at the Tacoman, who was again climbing up the fence--when the Tacoman noticed the officer, he again climbed back down the fence and fled the scene.

Officer J. Kappel radioed in suspect information (25-year-old, white male, 5'6", 150 lbs., blue eyes, light brown hair, wearing a white sweater and tan pants). On South Spokane Street, a patrolling officer, Officer Johnson, spotted and arrested a man who matched Kappel's suspect description. The Tacoma man was brought back to the storage lot, and Officer J. Kappel conducted this interrogation:

"Upon contacting the suspect I immediately noticed the extremely strong odor of an alcoholic beverage. I asked the suspect how much he had had to drink. He replied, 'A considerable amount.' I asked the suspect to specify what 'a considerable amount' consisted of. The suspect said, 'A considerable amount.' I asked the suspect again to specify. The suspect replied, 'I'm drunk! I'm also 25 years old, there's no law against that!'

"I asked the suspect where he was coming from. He said he was just dropped off by his friend around the block (and pointed toward Fourth Avenue South) so he could pick up his truck. I asked him where his friend was and he replied, 'Oh, he drove away. He's going home.' I asked him how he was planning to get home. He stuttered and paused, and then said, 'I was going to see if my truck was here. I wasn't going to drive.'

"I informed him that he had just told me he was there to 'pick up' his truck....'"

After two more pages of this type of interrogation (with its traps, its suspicions), Officer J. Kappel writes: "I transported the suspect to the West Precinct, where Sgt. Ferguson screened the arrest."

Rob Devor, the director of the Police Beat movie, which is to be shot over the second half of this summer, is, in an effort to raise more money for the project, screening his highly regarded first film Woman Chaser at the Little Theatre on Saturday, June 21 at 3:15 pm and 5 pm. A party will follow the second screening. For more information check out www.nwfilmforum.org/policebeat.