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Lone Tree police take on Park Meadows beat

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Contributed by: John Brandstetter/YourHub.com on 1/29/2007

Whether shoppers are aware or not, the Lone Tree Police Department recently took over most patrol duties at Park Meadows Mall.

Before Park Meadows was annexed into the city of Lone Tree on Jan. 1, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office was responsible for investigating all of the alleged crimes on mall property.

As of Jan. 2, two Lone Tree police sergeants, six officers and a detective are assigned to Park Meadows. Most mall-related 911 calls are now routed through the dispatch center shared by Lone Tree and Parker, with the exception of the anchor stores and their adjacent parking lots.

The sheriff's office will still handle calls from Dillards, Nordstrom, Macy's and JCPenney until they are annexed into Lone Tree later this year.

"Since (the Lone Tree Police Department) started in 2004, we've had a great relationship with the sheriff's office," said Dave Brown, a Lone Tree police commander. "They all pitched in with everything we needed to get the (mall station) up and running."

Douglas County deputies also spent some time helping Lone Tree officers familiarize with the Park Meadows beat, prior to the annexation.

While all of the Lone Tree officers assigned to Park Meadows have several years of patrol under their belts, covering the mall beat is a new experience for them. It can be a somewhat daunting prospect, considering about 40,000 people visit the mall on a daily basis, according to Stephanie Jackson, market manager for Park Meadows. In fact, a great portion of all alleged financial crimes in Douglas County during 2006 came from Park Meadows, Deputy Cocha Heyden said. Heyden also said that of the 329 criminal cases the sheriff's office investigated at Park Meadows last year, 51 of them were felonies.

"The mall really is like a city," said Keith Balltrip, one of the officers now patrolling Park Meadows.

Balltrip said mall officers deal with, among other things, credit card fraud, wrongful impersonation and domestic violence. Shoplifting makes up the majority of mall investigations. They also need to build partnerships with patrons and employees, much like they would on a traditional city beat, according to Brown.

Some of the new things Balltrip and the other mall officers are learning to watch for are people carrying shopping bags from stores not located in the mall or people visiting a store who aren't really looking to buy something. Balltrip also said moms in charge of a lot of little kids sometimes don't notice when one of the kids walks out of a store with an unpaid item.

But, the hope is that just having officers at the mall will prevent some crimes from happening.

"Officer presence helps keep honest people honest," Balltrip said.

Because the Lone Tree Police Department has a lot of ground to cover -- eventually 1.6 million square feet this year -- employees and patrons are encouraged to be proactive if they notice any suspicious activity. Balltrip said store employees can detain people suspected of shoplifting, but some stores don't take advantage of this ability. He also mentioned the No. 1 thing that helps police track suspects.

"License plate numbers are our best friends," Balltrip said.

Brown agreed that a solid partnership between the police department and the mall was imperative.

"We can't do our job without public support," Brown said. "We need the public to be our eyes and ears, and to feel comfortable enough to call us."

Deputy Danny Potter patrolled the mall for about three years before he was reassigned. In 2006, not including December, he handled, from the original report to its conclusion, 41 misdemeanor and 24 felony cases.

"(Park Meadows) is like a cruise ship on the high plains of Colorado. It brings in everybody, and wolves are attracted to sheep," Potter said. "It was unbelievable the stuff I was coming across. Those officers are going to learn a lot."

For more information about the Lone Tree Police Department, call 303-339-8150, or click here.

For more information about Park Meadows Mall, call 303-792-2533 or click here.

For more information about the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, call 303-660-7505 or click here.

Police on ice

Lone Tree Police Officer Keith Balltrip was performing a routine hit-and-run follow-up in Centennial, when the conditions on South Nobles Road got the best of his patrol vehicle.

Balltrip initially drove to this neighborhood to take photos of a Jeep allegedly involved in an accident on the property of Park Meadows Mall. Afterward, he attempted to make a U-turn to head back to the mall, but the car became quite stuck in a snowdrift laced with ice.

After a YourHub.com staff member failed to push the car out, Balltrip said, "Livin' the dream!"

With some help from good Samaritans, the patrol car was freed from its chilly cage and returned to Park Meadows without further excitement.

Balltrip mentioned later that the suspect in the case drove by while his patrol car was being dug out.

"The suspect just passed by and the newspaper's riding along. Short of falling down, this day's good," Balltrip said of his foray into ice skating by automobile.

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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments

Submitted By: Charmaine Robledo

posted on 1/31/2007 @ 10:53:46 AM

Rated Story

I would think so, considering you're isolated on the high seas. And with all that alcohol and Kathie Lee running around, someone is bound to lose a shirt or wallet.

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Submitted By: John Brandstetter

posted on 1/29/2007 @ 5:03:25 PM

(Not Rated)

Karin, that's a brilliant question I forgot to ask. I'll see what I can find out.

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Submitted By: Karin Malchow

posted on 1/29/2007 @ 4:46:24 PM

Rated Story

Is there a lot of crime on cruise ships?

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Submitted By: Steve Shultz

posted on 1/29/2007 @ 2:50:51 PM

Rated Story

Wow, great story. I love the photos. Favorite quote: "(Park Meadows) is like a cruise ship on the high plains of Colorado. It brings in everybody, and wolves are attracted to sheep," Potter said.

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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

John Brandstetter

Denver , CO

John Brandstetter has posted 658 stories and 185 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. John Brandstetter's average story rating is 4.87.

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