Everyday I see things on TV that tick me off and get me worked up, and I just want to shout at the morons who seem to be making the dumbest decisions. But then my kids tell me to just chill out and Scooby will solve the mystery and all will be well in the world. Of course I’m not totally convinced, but I patiently wait for the next 10 minutes, ignoring the fact there is no way in hell that someone as skinny as Shaggy could polish off three pizzas. But lo and behold, Scooby and the gang do figure out that the “Creepy Heap” is a fake monster and they solve the mystery. Then to rub salt in my wounded pride, my 7-year-old daughter shows me Joey Chestnut on the Internet who ate 45 slices of pizza in 10 minutes. Go figure.

We all see things that we don’t like or that we don’t think are right. Sometimes we’re justified in being angry and need to speak up about righting the wrong or helping educate those around us. But before we go nuts and start screaming and yelling, let’s make sure we’re on the right track. Get more information, learn the details and maybe even ask a question or two…

I saw two cops chase down a student, tackle him and arrest him for no reason. Why can’t the cops just let us party?

I’m guessing the question is not only about the desire to party, but why the cops did what they did. I can’t comment about what you may have seen specifically, since I wasn’t there. Or maybe I was… What I can say is that it is very common that when we make an arrest on Del Playa, we often get a crowd of people around which yells at us to let the poor guy go.

Of course they don’t realize that this guy just broke some dude’s jaw down the street a minute earlier. Sometimes it’s as simple as someone running from us for a beer ticket. It may seem unfair, or like we’re targeting students, but the truth is that no matter where you live, if you run from the cops, you will be chased and arrested.

Getting arrested is never pretty. I’m not saying we do everything perfect or never make a mistake, but if you think about it, we are always under the spotlight and everything we do is being watched and questioned. It’s highly unlikely that we randomly grabbed a passerby and started a game of “Chase The Baby Harp Seal.”

If you see something that you think may not be right, before you start yelling about calling Green Peace on us, ask a question. Once everything is calmed down, politely ask an officer what happened. If they won’t or can’t answer you right then, stop by the I.V. Foot Patrol and ask. You might be surprised that when someone asks us questions that don’t begin with, “Hey, pig,” we don’t mind answering them. You can also e-mail me and I will do what I can to answer your questions. I encourage you to ask questions, but do it in a way that is productive and not like you’re trying to argue the Scopes Monkey Trial.

Instead of answering another question, I wanted to wish you all a safe Halloween. If you have guests, try to encourage them to be respectful of our town. Isla Vista gets a bad rep from the rest of the county because of the costs spent trying to keep the community safe during the weekend. There could be a thousand cops out there, but it’s up to the students and residents of Isla Vista to keep this a safe Halloween. Keep the alcohol off the street, don’t let fights start and if you do drink, don’t get drunk. Try to have a good time, but let’s keep our town safe for everyone. And if you see something wrong or you’re not sure about, ask questions.

Ticked off by a ticket? Party popped by the Patrol? If you’ve got questions, don’t let them eat away at you. Ask. E-mail me anytime. QA@police.ucsb.edu or call me at the I.V. Foot Patrol office: 681-4179, and I’ll get back to you.