Temptation and Life Saving

Despite the chill, despite the rain, it’s June. The calls come quick and hot. 

Tonight, the shift’s short, so the rush is all the more - lights and sirens, 

accelerate and go, and pray that cover’s close.

The night is a blur. You don’t break. You don’t eat. You earn your pay.

A priority three, domestic beef is holding. A drunk brother has locked his 

sister out of the house they share.

I self dispatch to it on the box.

Radio had other ideas.

There’s a fight in an apartment off the Breakers. I’m sent.

Grumpy’s is my cover.

It’s bogus. There’s no fight. It’s a party. An annoyed neighbor

 exaggerated the call to ensure swift police arrival.

As I code out the call, Grumpy takes the priority three.

When I clear, I head to cover. 

Grumpy has two minutes on me. The call close: two minutes away.

I send a message.

NRT

As I arrive, across the street, Grumpy and the sister are running, down the 

stairs and away from the house. The woman’s in the the lead. Grumpy has the 

rear.

His eyes on the house,  Grumpy is screaming, 

“RD! RD! He pointed,  he 

pointed a gun at me!”

I run to the house, to trouble, to the woman and Grumpy. I bark at the 

woman, order her down the street and away, out of sight, and behind cover. 

As Grumpy hits the street, he’s hollering,

 “That mother-fucker just pointed a gun at me!”

He’s pissed. He’s not thinking.

I grab him by the vest and put him behind the engine block of a pickup 

on the  street, and key my mike.

Grumpy just had a guy point a gun at him.

There’s no cover. The east-side cars are on their own hot calls. The few

 available west-side cars are blocked by bridge openings over the river.

It’s all ours.

G. What does he have?

“ A Berretta, a 9mm... I asked if he would let his sister in and he locked 

the door, ran into the house and returned, rattled the window, 

pointing the gun at me! I got the gal to safety, but I shoulda 

smoked that mother-fucker!”

I’m watching the "1" side, the front side and windows as Grumpy speaks. 

I see the brother approach the picture window. He’s scanning 

the sidewalk for a  shot. He can’t see us, so he opens the door, 

and walks outside, gun in hand.

My gun’s in my hand, pointed at his head. I’ve unholstered 

and aimed without a thought.

I shout.

You drop that gun or you’re fuckin’ dead!

His hands go up. He’s still holding the gun.

Drop that gun or I will .. fucking.. kill you!

My finger is in the trigger guard. I’m ready to shoot. 

This is it. I’m going to have to kill a man.

Then, the man lowers the gun, and puts it on the brick 

half-wall in front of him.

His hands go up. His hand go down. It’s an absurd hokey-pokey.

Get your hands up, and keep your hands up or I will shoot!

His hands waver. He wants to put them down. He wants the gun. 

He wants to see if we’ll shoot. 

My mind’s made. He moves for it, he dies.

I have to remove him from the temptation.

Keep those hands up. Walk down those stairs and leave that gun behind.

He thinks about it. He looks at the gun. He looks at me, 

and walks down the stairs.

Grumpy moves to flank him, from my left to my right. He closes

 and shouts out commands.

When the the man’s shoes touch the sidewalk, Grumpy orders,

 “Get on your knees!”

The man complies.

I can smell the drunk on him as Grumpy yells, “Now, lay on your belly.”

It’s all by the numbers, all by training, a high risk technique.

The man starts, stalls, and pops back up.

I’ve had enough. I won’t let him go back to his gun.

I holster, draw my taser, and fire. The first probe hits him

 in the right pect. The second strikes him under the jaw

by his left ear.

In the dark, you can see the lightning, the electricity arcing.

He starts to fall, then flail, yanking out the probe from under his ear.

The circuit is broken.

He starts to rise.

I’m not letting him up. I rush forward and drive the taser into his chest.

The  man falls back. I end up with my knee in his belly and the taser

at his throat. 

“Okay. Okay.”

He’s done.

I cuff and stuff him before the world can come.

When I return to Grumpy, he’s holding the gun.

“That mother-fucker was threatening me with a fucking blank gun!”

It's a theatrical prop.

It fires, it sounds, but no bullets come out.

Comments

[Applicant]

The police around here are constantly dealing with that. Toy/Airsoft guns are all made of clear plastic around here and have to have an orange stopper, but it's the replicas that are the big deal. They haven't shot anyone with a replica...yet, but they're constantly bringing it up in the media. I have no doubt someone in the province will get killed with one soon enough.

[RD]

@Applicant,

We took apart the gun. It is a Berretta replica. It has a magazine filled blank round. when fired they sound real. The casing is ejected, but the barrel is plugged.

RD

[Ann T. Hathaway]

Dear RD,
Dear Lord, you tell it so well.

I am moved to say as I did last time: so very close. You mention the good training and the procedures for high risk and I see that. I also see a great presence of mind, even at the brink.

You do not mention all of the alternate futures involved, nor I am sure did you stop to quantify them at these decision moments, but you knew them all anyway. This is what it sounds like to me.

How grateful we should be for your presence of mind and adherence to training, your practicality and also your humanity. You could re-frame Grumpy's mindset and you controlled the outcome, de-escalating it.

I am still taken aback and greatly moved. I pray you and your loved ones get some healing for the fear, anger, and trials that beset you.

Thank you and all your brethren and loved ones for the amazing, fearful work you (and they) do.

Very truly yours,
Ann T. Hathaway

[Jade]

Holy Christ... there are no words to describe that man's immense stupidity.
I am so glad you did not have to shoot him, but what a fracked up thing to go through.

[Sister Copinherhair]

Well, now that you have my heart beating a mile a minute...

Jesus!

Glad it all ended well.

[Matt G]

Very well told.

The frustration about the bogus call is palpable. The narrowness by which the man escaped death, mostly because a cover arrived that could see, is clear. Grumpy did the right things, but he needed help.

[RD]

@Ann,

I think the alternatives are strong enough not to be spoken.

When I interviewed the man afterwards, he repeatedly admitted he should have been shot.

If he had a real gun, I think he would have shot at Grumpy and his sister.

The story is much about the what ifs and could have beens as it is the narrative.

@Jade,

When I went home, I followed my rules, and woke up my wife. We talked for an hour, and then, I sweated through the few hours I slept.

@Sister,

Amen!

@Matt G,

Grumpy did well. He needed a minute to get his head back in the game. I took the lead. He recovered and let his training do the work.

[Nurse Bear]

Holy cow. Glad you're both safe.

[RD]

@ Nurse Bear,

I am glad everybody is safe: Grumpy, the sister, the brother, and me.

[deputydog]

i am glad you are okay

[Coyote]

Good job, RD.

[Montie Burchett]

RD,

Linked here from my favorite blog. I like your writing style. reading it brings a rush of mental pictures and remembered snippits of sound to accompany those pictures from similar situations I've managed to get into over the last several years on the job.

I'm glad you guys got through it OK and nobody got hurt (no matter how deserving of it they might have been).

[Al Terego]

"It's a theatrical prop."

Well, they say all the world's a stage.

Except if it's not a toy, you die. So he must die first, just in case, at your hand.

And either way, that's not theater.

(Beautiful work. I was directed here by Tam at View From The Porch; if you haven't been there, you should go.)

AT

[Kal]

Good job, good post, warm thoughts, brother.

[RD]

@Deputy Dog,

Thank you brudda!

@ Montie,

Thank you for the compliment. It's what I am attempting to achieve with this blog.

@AT,

If the world is a stage, I feel I am stuck in absurdist plays: Beckett, Camus....

I went over and looked at View From a Porch. It's a very popular site.

@Kal,

Thank you my friend.

@To Everyone,

I talked to Grumpy after the event. I told him I thought he did the correct thing. He couldn't get into a point black gun fight with a civilian two feet away.

If the man had a real gun and fired. She and Grumpy would have been wounded.

Grumpy shield her as she went down the stairs. That's heroic.

I told him if anybody had a problem with his actions, they could come talk to me. I was there.

Thank you all for commenting,

RD

[LauraB]

Your sparse prose speaks too clearly of how the data of the moment is parsed in order to anticipate the next action. Perfectly rendered...

Trooperand I always have the AAR...glad you were able to get home for the chat.

(Ref'd by Tam as several have been...)

[RD]

@LauraB,

Thank you for the compliment.

I think the AAR is marriage saving.

Cheers,
RD

[RD]

I spent all day at court on this case yesterday. Grumpy had to go back today. I was excused after testifying. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Cheers,
RD

[Renee]

I hope having this laid out in court gives you some closure. What an unbelievable nightmare.

I don't know what this guy told you when you interviewed him, but my thought is he had nearly made up his mind to die that evening. But not quite. And, that if he did finally take the decision to die, he fully intended to die by your hand.

I have no doubt you made the guaranteed consequences of picking up that 'gun' absolutely clear to him. And he must have known the gun was a toy. The only reason he should display an attachment to such an object in that situation is if he wanted to meet death.

My interpretation of what you've written is that he was trying to manipulate the situation like a coward. And that you saved his life by being clear, forceful, focused and utterly professional. He was waffling but leaning heavily towards choosing death, and your strong conveyed authority overruled whatever was going on in his mind. He was compelled to obey you a bit more than to follow his own desires, and he ended up living because of your skill.

If he hasn't mentioned anything like this, I wonder if he's too ashamed to admit it.

[NT]

What is AAR?

[RD]

After Action Review.....