West Springfield District Police

Jany Soto

Metropolitan Center Dr. Please this it’s not a parking. Shuttle, Metro and Fairfax Connector large vehicles need space to in & out. Thank you

mmt yci

A supervisor named Crawford was excellent at explaining why I was treated the way I was during the stop (basically, procedure ill-explained) & he used an upbeat friendly tone.  :) Original incident: I parked at the Burke Walmart near 11 p.m. just a little away from the bulk of the other cars but not at the end of the lot (I was hoping to grab a very short nap but didn't want to be eye-balled by passer-bys; very 1st attempt).  Within 30 seconds (while I was still in my car, not doing anything odd, not talking to a local through a window, nothing) a police car shined a super bright light & eventually a cop (Ofc. Dent) approached without introducing himself & asked if everything was okay & if I was going into the Walmart or not then asked for ID.  I said okay but also calmly asked if it wasn't ok to park there. He said it's private property so if you're gunna just do absolutely nothing then no you can't park. I said oh ok & asked if I could just go (I'm not a criminal, so it wasn't as if my ID would show a warrant plus over half the cops I've encountered have been a-holes and I didn't want to risk that).  He said yeah & walked away, so I left. About 30 seconds passes & I'm pulled over AGAIN (or, 1st time) by him!  He said he pulled me over for my plates being expired.  I told him yeah I know it looks expired but they have been renewed & I have a copy of the receipt in the back window which shows I get a 15-day grace period until the stickers arrive.  I handed him my ID & he walked toward the front of my card to shine a light on my safety insp sticker as if he was trying really hard to fine me (Crawford: procedure), he came back after a few mins, saying he could ticket me for improper display but wouldnt this time (Crawford: DMV data was down). I tried to explain there was nothing to display as I haven't gotten the stickers in the mail yet.  His partner had been shining a flashlight into my car doing a quasi search which felt offensive (Crawford: procedure).  Dent seemed confused about DMV regulations...even WITH the paper in full view at the back glass. Dent said I was "arguing" (hostile??) by merely explaining the 15-day grace period...wow. Basically, everything was a vibe of you're not a decent person, although Dent was not as bad as some that's for sure.  Apparently their standard procedures are a bit on the extreme side.  When not explained as purely procedure their actions make you feel like a suspect.  Communication would have prevented this less than stellar rating. Dent was fairly professional but could have communicated better.  At the street stop he mentioned at the end that he felt it was problematic I "didn't want to show" him my ID in the Walmart parking lot.  Crawford: it's procedure to get ID - even though all I did was pull into a space. So, maybe missing data was the problem but since Dent didn't explain that & had followed me I took him to mean he felt I was suspicious. He stated it was a high drug activity area. So, I'm wondering if he followed me due to labelling me a criminal & just happened to notice the expired stickers later, since he didnt mention them in the Walmart parking lot. I'm fine with a ticket or rules but to be treated as if I'm a drug suspect for nothing is extreme & shouldn't be protocol.  Are there all that many female drug dealers or healthy-looking, well-spoken drug addicts? Even in that case correlation wouldn't be causation. Also, I feel less safe if someone has a negative assumption as they approach me with a gun in their possession. I nearly backed up & left as soon as the bright light was turned on in the lot but didn't want to risk being shot due to some negative mentality clouding an officer's mind ("criminal fleeing to avoid capture" vs. person trying to have a peaceful day). Hopefully the officers will be trained to at least initially keep things more positive (no bright light as soon as I park & approach as a kind person, no "you're arguing") & actually read documentation provided!

Zahid Khan

I been in this location deal with officer Hudson Bull he is very intelligent and caring officer 👮‍♀️. Who investigate very well before getting warrant for someone else. If my friends and any love one have any criminal complaint I always tell them to go to West Springfield police Department.All officers are very Honest and Intelligent. 🎁🎄Merry Christmas to All Officers 👮‍♀️ 🎄🎁

John Devine

Your customer service is appalling. It took me 4 phone calls to get through to a voicemail system for traffic enforcement. Your office refuses to enforce crosswalks on rolling road. What will it take a pedestrian getting killed?