Officers Rich Thomas and Gina Hartzig
BY JENNIFER NESSLAR
NNB Student Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG – The front window of the house was shattered. Broken glass lay piled around an upside-down bucket, which made neighbors believe the vacant house has been broken into.
When Gina Hartzig, St. Petersburg police District 1 officer, entered the house with colleague Ryan Clark, she noticed a tarantula on the floor. Clark checked to see if the tarantula was real, and he jumped back quickly.
Hartzig screamed.
Then Clark smiled. The tarantula was plastic.
The intruders were leaving fake rats and spiders in the house, according to the homeowner, who doesn’t reside there. Clark used the situation to play a joke on Hartzig.
Broken glass, spider webs and dead roaches – real ones – littered the house.
Encountering problems with vacant homes is common to officers of District 1 – the area extending from U.S. 19 east to Tampa Bay, and Tropicana Field south to the Sunshine Skyway.
District 1 covers some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, where crime rates are high, and some of the nicest, with high-valued waterfront real estate.
Hartzig works in the 20 zone of District 1, which means she is the first called to respond in the area between 20th to 30th avenues.
In the 20 zone, “we have lots of vacant properties,” Hartzig said. “Kids go in to hang out and smoke marijuana.”
Hartzig, 36, moved from New York to the Tampa Bay area when she was 23. She started at St. Petersburg College, in order to get her 30 credit hours to transfer to the police academy. Policing was a natural choice for her.
“It’s just something I always wanted to do,” she said.
Hartzig, a single mother, works the day shift so she can come home to her 4-year-old daughter, Taylor.
In March, Hartzig celebrated 10 years with the department. She’s spent the years working as an officer and training other officers.
Hartzig and Clark have worked together in the 20 zone since Hartzig trained Clark, 22.
The jokes began early. During training, Clark would attach his paperwork to the police cruiser visor with rubber bands. When Hartzig closed the visor, the bands would snap her in the face.
Clark regularly adjusts the mirrors on Hartzig’s car when she isn’t looking. Hartzig teases him back.
But Hartzig’s job doesn’t always allow her to joke with her colleagues.
In 2011, she and a trainee responded to a call for backup. Officers had gone to 3734 28th Ave. S. to serve a domestic battery warrant. They discovered that the suspect, Hydra Lacy, was armed and in the attic.
Over the radio, Hartzig heard loud gunfire.
“One of the officers was saying, ‘Get us out of here’ in a low voice,” Hartzig said. “It was just unreal.”
Two sergeants, Tom Baitinger and Jeffrey Yaslowitz, were fatally wounded. Hartzig went to the hospital with Baitinger.
Hartzig notices a tension between police and some of the residents of District 1. People are often dishonest with the officers.
A boy caught for stealing a scooter lied about his name. A woman lied about a man living with her. But officers can usually figure out the truth by asking around.
“Around here, everybody knows everybody,” Hartzig said. “As much as they don’t want to help us, they help us a lot.”
Not all District 1 residents resent the police. At Munch’s Restaurant & Sundries at 3920 Sixth St. S., the waitress knows Hartzig always orders sweet tea and her coworker Rich Thomas orders water. The restaurant gives the officers half off on their meals – even though Hartzig wrote a waitress a traffic ticket in a car accident.
“I kept apologizing,” Hartzig said, “but our policies make us do it.”
During their lunch breaks – and whenever work is slow – Hartzig meets up with Thomas and Clark. Meet-ups usually involve laughter.
Hartzig pointed at Thomas. “He’s my work husband,” she said with a laugh. Both officers are single, but they are not dating each other.
In her free time, Hartzig shops with Taylor. She goes out to dinner with Thomas every few weeks, and they frequently argue over who picks up the check.
“My daughter loves him. I don’t know why,” Hartzig said.
“You know why,” Thomas said. “’Cause this!” He pulls out his phone and shows a picture. Taylor is resting her head on Thomas’ shoulder.
“We’re cute together!”