Defusing A Sticky Situation

[Salamander]

But it's hard to tell ahead of time. I mean, you would not think Crescent City California is like North Houston?

I know exactly where you were. And while you probably did manage to choose the second-worst spot in town, it isn't very bad and most likely you were not at much risk. I've been working on a project near there for the past few years and have spent way too much time in that town, have even walked through that particular lot in the evening on the way to the Safeway next door. Have never had an issue.

There are usually some homeless dudes living out of their cars behind the boarded up store, and they wander around the lot when they get bored. There's some petty theft and drug buys, mostly meth, some heroin. More homeless come in from Pacific Shores six miles away (the worst spot in town, and my project site) to beg/borrow/steal enough for their next fix and often hang around that lot for a while.

Example of a recent interaction: A few days ago I was getting a couple of scientists started on post-construction monitoring at Pacific Shores, where we removed 11 acres of old roads in a failed 1964 subdivision as mitigation for airport improvements. Halfway through the day a guy came walking toward us, I know who he is, he's done time for attempted murder, took several shots at another homeless dude and missed. I walked over, met him halfway to keep him clear of the two young women who were working out there, had a nice friendly chat, he left. Apparently he was on his meds that day and pretty normal. Most likely he was scoping out the trucks to see if there was anything worth stealing. The key was we saw him before he got within 200 yards of us, so I had time to take the initiative and get to where I wanted to be, and I was armed. Turned out to be an easy one.

I've had long talks with local LE about this place to help keep my team safe out there, and Sheriff Eric Apperson pretty much summed it up at our first meeting: He said something along the lines of 'you guys won't have any trouble out there, to them you're authority figures.' Five years in, so far he's been right.

[Hambo]

There are usually some homeless dudes living out of their cars behind the boarded up store, and they wander around the lot when they get bored. There's some petty theft and drug buys, mostly meth, some heroin. More homeless come in from Pacific Shores six miles away (the worst spot in town, and my project site) to beg/borrow/steal enough for their next fix and often hang around that lot for a while.

Your confidence in your fellow man, even if mentally ill and homeless or jacked on crank, is inspiring. I, being a cynical and distrustful person, would not stop or shop there. Rich is driving a 55' billboard that says "I'm affluent" in a state where he can't carry a gun, and he did the right thing by leaving.

[Salamander]

Your confidence in your fellow man, even if mentally ill and homeless or jacked on crank, is inspiring. I, being a cynical and distrustful person, would not stop or shop there. Rich is driving a 55' billboard that says "I'm affluent" in a state where he can't carry a gun, and he did the right thing by leaving.

Actually I think Rich got it exactly right by driving right back out of there. Just because the risk of violence is not extreme (a little above the national average, but most of the numbers I'm finding are old) in Crescent City, that's not a reason to sit there while they figure out how to steal anything that's not nailed down.

There is no easy way to ID that lot as a problem, in advance, from 35mph on 101, because it's right after a very normal and busy Safeway lot. As far as I can tell he recognized the bottom feeders pretty quickly and moved along. If stopping had been that important, there's a bigger lot a quarter mile down the road with a espresso shack and a long line of shiny new pickup trucks which is pretty clearly a better place to stop.

And the unarmed part... I don't know if Rich was or wasn't, and it's true our fearful leaders won't issue out of state CCWs. But this is Del Norte County we're talking about. While superficially in California, it's actually in the state of mind called Jefferson. It's normal and expected to be armed there. CHP might enforce, but I doubt anyone else will. We're talking about a place where LE still carries 1911s.

As for my attitude to my fellow man, I'm about as realistic as it gets. The difference is, unlike Rich, I work in that county a lot. Bottom feeders are a fact of life for me, one that I need to deal with. I need to run a multi-million dollar construction project and be responsible for 20+ people on some days in the worst place in the county. We find ways to get the job done, and to cope with the natives. After five years, we know a lot of them by name. They don't bother us.

Would I go to Crescent City if I didn't need to run a big project there? No. Not often, except to drive through on the way to other places. I mean, it's best known for Pelican Bay Prison.

This thread got me thinking about why we've had no problems. I think in part it's because we have a mission, a focus, and we're aware because we need to be working around heavy equipment. If homeless dudes are in the way, we respectfully but very firmly get them out of the way. They approach, we don't avoid them, we move to them, they pick up on that assertiveness and confidence (because after all we're really focused on things we're good at, most of the day), they see we're busy, they move along. Especially because there's nothing worth stealing left out in trucks or otherwise in view.

I'm thinking that carrying that confidence and focus beyond the job is a good way to stay out of trouble in general though.