Hutchinson Police Officer Dayton Gates returns to his squad car after checking the back door to Hollywood Video in Hutchinson after a the burglar alarm went off at the store, most likely caused by wind, on Friday afternoon, Dec. 25.
Hutchinson Police Officer Dayton Gates makes a phone call while fellow officer Chad Agnew interviews Douglas Miller, the downstairs neighbor of a man the officers later found dead in his apartment on W 10th St. in Hutchinson on Friday afternoon, Dec. 25.
Hutchinson Police Officer Chad Agnew breaks in the door of an apartment on W 10th St. in Hutchinson on Friday afternoon, Dec. 25.
Hutchinson Police Officer Dayton Gates interviews Jackie Redford, the step uncle of a man found dead in his apartment on W 10th St. in Hutchinson on Friday afternoon, Dec. 25.
Jackie Redford, the step uncle of a man found dead in his apartment on W 10th St. in Hutchinson, waits outside the building on Friday afternoon, Dec. 25.
I spent my Christmas 2009 working my last day at the Hutchinson News. A reporter and I rode along with Hutchinson Police Officer Dayton Gates for a few hours. The ride-along started off pretty slowly- we drove around for a while and went on a false burglar alarm at a video store. Then Officer Gates got a welfare call- check up on a man who hadn’t been responding to his family’s phone calls for a few days. There was no response to knocks on the door and the neighbor downstairs hadn’t seen the man for a few days. Eventually a family member showed up and officers made the decision to kick in the door. We found the man dead in his apartment. What started as an uneventful Christmas Day for us and officer Gates quickly took on a somber tone as investigation into the death began.
Definitely not a typical Christmas.
Best,
Pat
