COP ROCK BAND ARRESTS ATTENTIONS OF YOUNG AUDIENCES

Three Shawnee police officers arrested nearly 85 St. Joseph's Catholic
School sixth-graders Wednesday with little more than Probable Cause.

Granted, Probable Cause is a band founded by Officer Craig Herrmann in
1996, and the only thing they took into custody Wednesday was the attention
of the kids and their parents who packed the DARE graduation ceremony held
in the school's gymnasium.

"We show the kids that cops are people, too, and it lets them know that we
do more than put kids in jail," said drummer/patrol officer Maurice Loridon.

Although only three officers were on stage, Probable Cause consists of 4
members, Herrmann, Loridon, Lt. Bill Hisle, and Sgt. Greg Collins, all
current or former DARE officers.

The group performs for free, on their own time, and in uniform.

"We're quite average musicians, honestly, but the uniforms, it's what draws
them in," said Lt. Hisle.

Band members estimate that the group does 25 shows a year. This month
alone, they have done four, including Wednesday's performance.

They primarily play DARE graduations at Shawnee schools, but they also
perform at community events across the metropolitan area.

Their play list is varied, and tempered by the audiences and venues in
which they play. Probable Cause draws on various musical styles. From Buddy
Holly to John Mellencamp to Jingle Bells to Smashmouth, the group searches
for songs that convey a positive message.

There can be nothing negative about the music, said Lt. Hisle.

"So most of rock 'n' roll is out," he said.

The St. Joseph DARE graduates, a collection of 11- and 12-year-olds clad in
the school's solid blue and white uniforms, squirmed in their stage-front
seats as smiles and whispered giggles played through their ranks.

Their heads snapped almost unanimously forward when Herrmann, the band's
frontman, kick-started the set with a guitar laden version of Del Shannon
"Runaway".

Instantly the squirming metamorphed into roving packs of pony-tailed girls
lip syncing alongside tribes of bravado-infused boys attempting to perform
the most acrobatic dance move imaginable.

The teachers, decked with Christmas-colored sweaters and jingling jewelry,
twisted and occasionally shouted at students in danger of hurting themselves.

All the while, Probable Cause rocked its positive vibrations to the
audience's delight.

"They are wonderful, the kids get so excited," said Trisha Donaldson, a St.
Joseph's sixth-grade teacher. "They also play some oldies that us older
teachers like."

Herrmann, the St. Joseph DARE instructor who presided over the graduation
ceremony preceding the concert, said the band allows the officers to show
students that they can have a lot of fun and still be a good person.

"A lot of kids grow up with the idea that you have to be bad to have fun,"
said Herrmann. "We show them that you can be a good person, enjoy life, and
have fun at the same time."

Herrmann acknowledges that despite the band's and the DARE program's best
efforts, not all graduates will remain drug and alcohol free. But Herrmann
believes that they make a mark and that he and his fellow band members have
helped equip children with the ability to make their own decisions.

"Anytime we play in a school we're making a memory for those kids," said
Herrmann. "They won't forget the day the cops came to school and played
rock 'n' roll."