Posted by: Blue
Today was a first for me. I was bitten while wrestling with an impaired driver arrest. She locked onto my left thigh. Fortunately my badge wallet was in my cargo pocket and she got a mouthful of cloth, leather and tin instead of skin and muscle.
She told me she would be filing a complaint against me.
I must not have tasted as good as she thought I should have.
Showing posts with label Irony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irony. Show all posts
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Friday, January 31, 2014
Welfare
Posted by: Blue
I found out the other day that I net a whopping $100 or so more a month than a welfare recipient with the same amount of dependants.
Of course, I come out behind in the end, because I have to pay for a vehicle, fuel and insurance to drive to work. Plus, I have to work...
Tax freedom day is somewhere in mid-June for Canadians.
I found out the other day that I net a whopping $100 or so more a month than a welfare recipient with the same amount of dependants.
Of course, I come out behind in the end, because I have to pay for a vehicle, fuel and insurance to drive to work. Plus, I have to work...
Tax freedom day is somewhere in mid-June for Canadians.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
False Perspective
Posted by: Blue
Last night we responded to a male holding a knife to his throat in the shower.
We got there moments after my Patrol Sergeant did.
The guy was locked in his bathroom and the shower was running.
"John, come on out here. Put the knife on the floor and show us your hands. We have a taser."
"Just use a nail or something on the door. It's one of those locks you can open with a nail."
"I don't have a nail, John. Open the door or I'm gonna kick it down."
"Am I going to jail?"
"Well, John, you haven't hurt anyone have you?"
"No..."
"And you haven't threatened anyone have you?"
"No..."
"Then why would I take you to jail? But I need you to open the door so that I don't have to kick it down and taser you."
"Just a sec. I'm gonna put my robe on."
John finally came out of the bathroom. We cuffed him and searched him and then took him into custody under the Mental Health Act.
On the way to the hospital for a mandatory psychological evaluation, John said "I just wish my wife hadn't come home. She's so crazy. She makes everything worse. She's just so crazy."
Last night we responded to a male holding a knife to his throat in the shower.
We got there moments after my Patrol Sergeant did.
The guy was locked in his bathroom and the shower was running.
"John, come on out here. Put the knife on the floor and show us your hands. We have a taser."
"Just use a nail or something on the door. It's one of those locks you can open with a nail."
"I don't have a nail, John. Open the door or I'm gonna kick it down."
"Am I going to jail?"
"Well, John, you haven't hurt anyone have you?"
"No..."
"And you haven't threatened anyone have you?"
"No..."
"Then why would I take you to jail? But I need you to open the door so that I don't have to kick it down and taser you."
"Just a sec. I'm gonna put my robe on."
John finally came out of the bathroom. We cuffed him and searched him and then took him into custody under the Mental Health Act.
On the way to the hospital for a mandatory psychological evaluation, John said "I just wish my wife hadn't come home. She's so crazy. She makes everything worse. She's just so crazy."
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Semantics
Posted by: Blue
JT on the phone to a homeowner: "Hello. It's the police calling... Not to alarm you but we've had a distress alarm at your house..."
He immediately turned to me and silently rolled his eyes over his ironic choice of words.
JT on the phone to a homeowner: "Hello. It's the police calling... Not to alarm you but we've had a distress alarm at your house..."
He immediately turned to me and silently rolled his eyes over his ironic choice of words.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Noisy
Posted by: Blue
On our last night shift, we took a noise complaint. One of the occupants of an apartment block was complaining that another was keeping her awake, throwing beer cans from the balcony, spitting, and speaking loudly or shouting.
We went into the problem apartment. It was quiet. The one male who was still awake pointed us towards the balcony. As I stood outside and called my partner over to observe the saliva stains on the pavement which had been spit off of their third floor balcony, the dude had the nerve to ask us to keep it down while we were talking on the balcony, as "Sound carries really well out there and I'm just thinking of others."
He was politely explained that we were the police, investigating a noise complaint and that we had no desire at the moment we walked into the apartment to start issuing tickets, however the situation could easily escalate to a fine or a trip to the drunk tank if he cared to continue his attitude and smart-assery. I told him matter-o-factly that there was always an arrestable criminal charge for Causing a Disturbance if he really wanted to be a wise guy.
The bluff worked. He apologized, shut his trap and we had no more problems from that suite that night.
On our last night shift, we took a noise complaint. One of the occupants of an apartment block was complaining that another was keeping her awake, throwing beer cans from the balcony, spitting, and speaking loudly or shouting.
We went into the problem apartment. It was quiet. The one male who was still awake pointed us towards the balcony. As I stood outside and called my partner over to observe the saliva stains on the pavement which had been spit off of their third floor balcony, the dude had the nerve to ask us to keep it down while we were talking on the balcony, as "Sound carries really well out there and I'm just thinking of others."
He was politely explained that we were the police, investigating a noise complaint and that we had no desire at the moment we walked into the apartment to start issuing tickets, however the situation could easily escalate to a fine or a trip to the drunk tank if he cared to continue his attitude and smart-assery. I told him matter-o-factly that there was always an arrestable criminal charge for Causing a Disturbance if he really wanted to be a wise guy.
The bluff worked. He apologized, shut his trap and we had no more problems from that suite that night.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Irony of Ironies
Posted by: Blue
We were dispatched to a Motor Vehicle Collision. Two persons en route to hospital. One unstable. One critical. Both elderly.
It turns out that they had run a stop sign. A young male had t-boned them on the driver's side. They were just coming from a family BBQ at their grandson's house. Alcohol was not a factor. Nor was medical episode.
The elderly male driver and the passenger, his wife were in rough shape. He had a massive brain bleed, fractured legs and spinal damage. At 80 years old, his chances of survival were very low, let alone recovery. She had a collapsed left lung, and a ruptured bowel, the contents of which the doctors were finding well into her chest cavity. Due to her blood thinners, it was a difficult task to operate as she would not stop bleeding.
He was unconscious and already in treatment when we arrived. She was still conscious and able to answer my questions through her oxygen mask as she waited for the trauma room to be prepped. She was polite, coherent and very sweet, even in her agonizing state.
My partner and I sat and watched as the doctors and nurses went about trying to save the couple. We sat and watched as the family made the difficult decision to remove the life support from their father. We sat and watched as he slipped away.
The medical staff were still furiously working on her when another trauma victim came into the room. A stabbing.
The male was gang related. Drunk. Full of tattoos. Missing teeth. A record as long as my arm. He had lived a life of misery and crime. He had made all the wrong choices, which, combined with his poor upbringing and home life had left him destined to walk in the shadows of sorrow. There was no one with him in the hospital.
He had been stabbed. As he lay in agony, asking for help, two passers-by rolled him for the $180 in his wallet (payment for the 6 hours of work he had done that week). The next people to pass were more generous and called 911. The wound was not severe or life threatening. Just messy. He had a warrant and he would be going to jail after he was stitched back up.
He cried and complained. He swore and shouted at the staff. He made an ass of himself.
There they were, all in the same room. The two frail elderly patients on the brink of death, polite and stolid even as they lay dying. The third, a sloppy mess of a human, blubbering, drooling in his drunkenness and lashing-out at all of those who were trying to help him. And I thought: "The irony, is that the fool will live, and the remaining elderly female will likely not make it."
I suppose that it makes sense in a way. I suppose the gang member needed another chance to make a different choice. I just pray to God that he does.
In my opinion, there are a myriad of reasons that people end-up on the bright side of life or on the dark side. Poverty and mental health issues, combined with addictions and a social system which is designed for failure and generations of parents who are ill prepared to care for children provide a seemingly impossible hill to climb.
But I wholeheartedly believe that a person can be redeemed. I believe that a person can change. There is a part (a small part) of me that is an optimist. The larger part is a realist. At times I border on cynicism.
Each of us has choice. A free will. Each of us must choose repeatedly and continually what sort of person we will be. We will all make mistakes. The issue is that we are creatures of habit, and we will invariably fall back on what we practice. A lifetime of practising poor choices will put us in the habit so that even when we wish to make the right one, it will be against the grain that we have established for ourselves. In the same way, a lifetime of making choices based on others' best interests and based on morality and ethics will cultivate a generous and integrity-driven individual.
I entered into this career intending to help people. I believe it is difficult in this era to affect people in a positive way as an officer. Our hands are tied in almost every way. We are held to impossible standards, and the system of "justice" stands so squarely on it's head, that it seems at every turn that police are the ones on trial, not criminals. Accountability for law enforcement has been transformed into distrust and unease. We are our own worst enemies. Many believe that to enact true justice, police must exaggerate and misrepresent the facts to garner convictions. This can be true, as the law has been perverted and changed from being a system of rules which express a spirit of ethical and moral behaviour to being a system of do's and don't's which attempt to erase the lines of right and wrong. The individual's (criminal's) rights are held above those of the public (victims).
All this being said, I am adamant that I am able to make a positive difference as a police officer. However small. However difficult. I am in a position where, by practising good choices, people will be helped in a very real and tangible way.
We were dispatched to a Motor Vehicle Collision. Two persons en route to hospital. One unstable. One critical. Both elderly.
It turns out that they had run a stop sign. A young male had t-boned them on the driver's side. They were just coming from a family BBQ at their grandson's house. Alcohol was not a factor. Nor was medical episode.
The elderly male driver and the passenger, his wife were in rough shape. He had a massive brain bleed, fractured legs and spinal damage. At 80 years old, his chances of survival were very low, let alone recovery. She had a collapsed left lung, and a ruptured bowel, the contents of which the doctors were finding well into her chest cavity. Due to her blood thinners, it was a difficult task to operate as she would not stop bleeding.
He was unconscious and already in treatment when we arrived. She was still conscious and able to answer my questions through her oxygen mask as she waited for the trauma room to be prepped. She was polite, coherent and very sweet, even in her agonizing state.
My partner and I sat and watched as the doctors and nurses went about trying to save the couple. We sat and watched as the family made the difficult decision to remove the life support from their father. We sat and watched as he slipped away.
The medical staff were still furiously working on her when another trauma victim came into the room. A stabbing.
The male was gang related. Drunk. Full of tattoos. Missing teeth. A record as long as my arm. He had lived a life of misery and crime. He had made all the wrong choices, which, combined with his poor upbringing and home life had left him destined to walk in the shadows of sorrow. There was no one with him in the hospital.
He had been stabbed. As he lay in agony, asking for help, two passers-by rolled him for the $180 in his wallet (payment for the 6 hours of work he had done that week). The next people to pass were more generous and called 911. The wound was not severe or life threatening. Just messy. He had a warrant and he would be going to jail after he was stitched back up.
He cried and complained. He swore and shouted at the staff. He made an ass of himself.
There they were, all in the same room. The two frail elderly patients on the brink of death, polite and stolid even as they lay dying. The third, a sloppy mess of a human, blubbering, drooling in his drunkenness and lashing-out at all of those who were trying to help him. And I thought: "The irony, is that the fool will live, and the remaining elderly female will likely not make it."
I suppose that it makes sense in a way. I suppose the gang member needed another chance to make a different choice. I just pray to God that he does.
In my opinion, there are a myriad of reasons that people end-up on the bright side of life or on the dark side. Poverty and mental health issues, combined with addictions and a social system which is designed for failure and generations of parents who are ill prepared to care for children provide a seemingly impossible hill to climb.
But I wholeheartedly believe that a person can be redeemed. I believe that a person can change. There is a part (a small part) of me that is an optimist. The larger part is a realist. At times I border on cynicism.
Each of us has choice. A free will. Each of us must choose repeatedly and continually what sort of person we will be. We will all make mistakes. The issue is that we are creatures of habit, and we will invariably fall back on what we practice. A lifetime of practising poor choices will put us in the habit so that even when we wish to make the right one, it will be against the grain that we have established for ourselves. In the same way, a lifetime of making choices based on others' best interests and based on morality and ethics will cultivate a generous and integrity-driven individual.
I entered into this career intending to help people. I believe it is difficult in this era to affect people in a positive way as an officer. Our hands are tied in almost every way. We are held to impossible standards, and the system of "justice" stands so squarely on it's head, that it seems at every turn that police are the ones on trial, not criminals. Accountability for law enforcement has been transformed into distrust and unease. We are our own worst enemies. Many believe that to enact true justice, police must exaggerate and misrepresent the facts to garner convictions. This can be true, as the law has been perverted and changed from being a system of rules which express a spirit of ethical and moral behaviour to being a system of do's and don't's which attempt to erase the lines of right and wrong. The individual's (criminal's) rights are held above those of the public (victims).
All this being said, I am adamant that I am able to make a positive difference as a police officer. However small. However difficult. I am in a position where, by practising good choices, people will be helped in a very real and tangible way.
Friday, June 1, 2012
On Country Music
Posted by: Blue
My partner JT and I both love Dwight Yoakam.
Two days ago I was working with a temporary partner and I turned on the song "Please Daddy" by Dwight Yoakam. It's a song about a woman who leaves her husband and little daughter. The daughter tells her father not to cry and that she'll be with him through the hard time. It's a sad old country song.
Just as the song was ending, we were dispatched to a Sudden Death.
A 41 year old woman had died of undetermined causes, leaving behind a common-law spouse and four children. As we entered the home, the youngest daughter, 7, was consoling her father as he cried.
Sometimes this job sucks. No matter how much you love it.
My partner JT and I both love Dwight Yoakam.
Two days ago I was working with a temporary partner and I turned on the song "Please Daddy" by Dwight Yoakam. It's a song about a woman who leaves her husband and little daughter. The daughter tells her father not to cry and that she'll be with him through the hard time. It's a sad old country song.
Just as the song was ending, we were dispatched to a Sudden Death.
A 41 year old woman had died of undetermined causes, leaving behind a common-law spouse and four children. As we entered the home, the youngest daughter, 7, was consoling her father as he cried.
Sometimes this job sucks. No matter how much you love it.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Bad Decisions
Posted by: Blue
The other day while backing up another unit on a traffic stop, I noticed the driver was wearing a tshirt that read: "MAKING BAD DECISIONS AND NOT CARING". He had been driving with no license and no insurance. His truck was being towed and he would likely never hold a valid license ever again in the province.
He sure seemed to care more than his shirt implied.
The other day while backing up another unit on a traffic stop, I noticed the driver was wearing a tshirt that read: "MAKING BAD DECISIONS AND NOT CARING". He had been driving with no license and no insurance. His truck was being towed and he would likely never hold a valid license ever again in the province.
He sure seemed to care more than his shirt implied.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Vandals
Posted by: Blue
Last night, a call came in about several youths damaging a building downtown with spray paint.
The assigned unit came over the radio stating that a bank at the corner of the two busiest streets in the city had been damaged to the tune of "WE ARE THE 99%".
Ironically, it was unknown who "WE" was. Perhaps the numerous cameras in the area will be able to shed some light.
Last night, a call came in about several youths damaging a building downtown with spray paint.
The assigned unit came over the radio stating that a bank at the corner of the two busiest streets in the city had been damaged to the tune of "WE ARE THE 99%".
Ironically, it was unknown who "WE" was. Perhaps the numerous cameras in the area will be able to shed some light.
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