Death

Posted by: Blue

Warning: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF DEATH

JT was off a few days in the last couple weeks.  On my last evening shift of the tour, I was working with one of the officers from the station to the South of us.  I like him.  He's in a rock band and has funky hair.

We were dispatched to a Sudden Death.  It took us through the last half of our shift.

It was over 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in the apartment, with no AC and only a tiny window that didn't catch the breeze.

Our deceased was in his 50's, buck naked, and over 450 pounds.  He expired beneath the kitchen table.

The M.E. called in extra help from the body snatchers and two crews showed up, bringing with them an extra-large body bag.

The body had only been there for about a day and a half, but in the heat, he had already begun to quickly decompose and bloat.  His back was over the table legs, and when we moved the table from under him, some of the blistered flesh burst, spilling a clear goo that smelled similar to rotten eggs all over the floor and my boots.

His face was turning black and green.  Some of the bodily fluid had leaked out of his nose after he died.  It was blackish and tarry.  Luckily, the maggots hadn't gotten to him yet.

I made sure to call the new recruit for our shift so he could come take a look (and smell).  His Field Trainer was very thankful that I thought to include them in the learning she said.  I didn't believe her.  She seemed insincere.

When the transport company rolled him to get the plastic sheeting around him, that's when it got bad.  The body started gassing.  My partner for the night pulled his vest up over his face and just looked at me.  "Nope! No! Uh uh."

There is no smell on earth like the gasses coming off of a decaying and decomposing body.  It seems to stick to you and get into your mouth so you can taste it.  It lingers and hours later you sometimes catch another whiff coming off of your clothes.

After rolling him, we could see the impressions on his back from the table leg and an extension cord he had fell onto.

Part of our job in a Sudden Death is to gather any medications, large amounts of cash, and things like the will, the suicide note in the case of a suicide, and notify the next of kin.  We also help the M.E. to determine cause of death if we can.  I usually check the fridge for meds.

Our deceased had the following in his fridge:

• 4 cases of diet ginger-ale
• 1 full bottle of Coke Classic
• 1 full bottle of Coke Zero
• 2 bottles of hot sauce

There was nothing else.  There wasn't even a jar of mustard, a litre (quart) of milk, or a wilted head of lettuce.

On the ottoman was a massive pizza called the "T-REX" - salami, pepperoni, beef, ham, hot peppers and onions with double meat and double cheese, extra sauce, according to the printed chit taped to the box.

A half-empty (I realize that I thought of it as half-empty rather than half full - I must be getting more cynical as a cop) 60 oz. bottle of cheap vodka rounded out the dietary supplements for the gentleman.

With all of the heart meds and insulin that we found on the kitchen counter and in the freezer, it was clear that it was his lifestyle that killed him.  Although the exact cause of death was undetermined, pending an autopsy, no one had any doubts that it was "natural" causes.

I think, I will be hitting the gym more regularly and trying to stay clear of the fast food a bit more.

The Recruits

Posted by: Blue

The recruits started field training on Monday - Canada Day.

We have a former Natural Resource Officer and a former Prison Guard on our shift.

They both seem like good guys.

Recruits

Posted by: Blue

The new recruits are out on field training.  I am no longer the junior officer on our shift. 

The new recruit has already been in her first tussel with a Mental Health patient.  Her field training officer was happy because she jumped right in without hesitating. 

Top marks for the most important category: Officer Safety.

All Smiles

Today is a good day. Nay, a great day.

The Boy doesn't have school today, so I got to sleep in. Which, on any normal day, is reason enough for rejoicing. Today would be wonderful if we were to just stop there...but it just keeps getting better folks.

Right now I'm having my morning java and blogging in bed while the kiddies are watching cartoons downstairs. Ah, a quite house and a cup of coffee always make for a good day, but it still keeps going.

After I'm done here I'll be getting the kids and I dressed and fed and then we'll be heading over to our city's convention center, finding a spot (hopefully) with a good view and watching Blue graduate from police academy! I'm so excited. I wish I could post pictures of Blue in his dress tunic. Just imagine something spiffy like Prince William on his wedding day and that'll give you a good idea of what the recruits look like. Very sharp.

Afterwards, the kids will be going to their aunties for the night so Blue and I can go and enjoy his grad dinner with friends and family. An evening out all dressed-up with an awesome reason to celebrate with loved ones...it doesn't get much better than that!

See, I told you today is great day!

(now I'm just praying that the 50 recruits will be able to stand at attention for 2+ hours without anyone falling over!)

Posted

Blue just found out today that he won't be having to go to station duty right after academy (like some of his other classmates)! He is posted to a division that specifically requested him! That means that he could be there for the next 5 years (which is an odd thought for us since we've bounced around so much for the past 5 years). He's overjoyed knowing that he'll be back in his patrol car cruising the streets in a week and a half.

So proud of my officer.

Normal

Life has been normal. Well, as normal as it can get being married to a cop.

We've adjusted to shift work well, gotten used to The Boy being gone to school all day and are finding ways I can get out more while Blue is on shift.

Part of me wants to have crazy stuff happening so I could pump a few more posts out, but it's been quiet. Which is good.

Blue is enjoying his job. I'm enjoying having him around more. The kids are enjoying happier parents.

In one week he'll be finishing up his last shift and then heading back to Academy for two weeks to prepare for his graduation. We're all excited to see him marching around in his dress uniform.

He's done so well during his field training. I know he wouldn't in a million years come on here and write this, but I would...he's an awesome cop! Everyone likes him and he's already had a few requests sent in for him to join a specific division. He's found his niche and he loves it.

I'm so proud of him, I'm sure I'll be a blubbering idiot at his grad.

Happy Wife

I had just crawled into bed when I got the text. Normally I go to bed before 10 but tonight I found myself wide awake at 11:30.

You awake?

Yup.

Gonna swing by in a few.

Why?

Just for a kiss.

I bolted out of bed and threw on a sweater while scrambling down the stairs. I had yet to see Blue in his car all geared-up. I stood by the window and waited. He was just a few streets over looking for a guy wanted for a domestic.

Ten minutes went by. My heart beat a little faster with each set of headlights that shone down the road. I looked around at the other houses hoping that no one was watching.

The cruiser pulled-up in front of the house. Blue was driving. His partners face illuminated by the computer screen.

He walked up to the house and I couldn't help but have a huge grin on my face. He looked so...serious and professional in his uniform. His new earpiece gave him a bit of an 'FBI' bad ass look. Blue is 6'5" and his boots probably add another inch to his height so when he's completely outfitted he looks like the type of cop that you just don't want to mess with.

He came inside and I got all sheepish. I didn't know if I should hug him or stand back. I was embarrassed with how much I was smiling. He's happy and comfortable and succeeding and it all shows.

We had a quick kiss and then he was off again.

 I watched him get into his car and pull away. It was so strange to see him in his new normal...in his element. He's used to his uniform and his vest and his gun. He's used to his cruiser and his radio and his touch screen computer. He's used to the stops and stares. I'm only used to hearing stories and washing his uniform and being flexible with his shifts so it was strange for me to get an itty bitty glimpse of him as a police officer.

I loved it. I quite literally went to bed with a smile on my face.

Second Shift: Stickers and Ballons

Posted by: Blue

Today was the first arrest that I was involved with.  I charged and cautioned a 43 year old male for Uttering Threats.  They all tell me that I'll remember my first arrest for the rest of my career.  We'll see.  I found the whole thing relatively uneventful.  I guess because I would have expected the same reaction that I might have if I found-out that I was being arrested.  He just calmly turned around, put his hands behind his back, and my partner cuffed him.  Later, at the station, he fell asleep in the cell while waiting for the paperwork to go through the Sergeant.  As we walked in to serve him his court and ident dates, he yawned, glanced them over, and said "OK.  Thanks guys.  Hey, so are you just gonna turn me out in front of the station?  Or could I get a ride to my sister's house?"

We asked where his sister lived.  She wasn't far.  We drove him down to a drug store nearby and released him back into the wild.  The whole call was quite unremarkable.

On the other hand, the thing that I think will stand-out in my memory from today was a light tap on my shoulder from an older woman.  She wanted me to come and say something to her grandson who was  outside of the store where we were picking-up coffee.  I happily joined her after the clerk waved me through with a free coffee (a perk that I really could get used to), and was introduced to Quinn, a 7 year old boy with a smile on his face. 

Quinn's grandmother nudged him, and he smiled bigger, and said "Thank-you for doing your job to keep the city safe."  His grandmother said "We'll keep praying for all of you."  I said "I can never have too many of those."

I don't think I'll ever forget that.

I gave Quinn one of the balloons that was in my vest pocket, and two stickers.  He smiled bigger, and then he came over to the cruiser to meet my FTO.  Frank smiled and asked him how old he was and if he wanted to be a police officer when he grew up.  I didn't quite hear his response, but it sounded like he said something about it being a toss-up between a police officer and a hockey player.

As the two walked away and I saddled-up in the driver's seat, Frank volunteered, "You're getting full marks for Community Relations."  I have another officer to thank for that.  Raindog, I tip my hat.

Second Call

Posted By: Blue

I try not to contradict my wife whenever possible, but I would like to point-out that on Sunday evening, I was actually attending my second call.  My first call was here, and I'm sticking to it.

First call of my first actual shift was a sudden death (SD).  Great way to start out.  Guess it was gonna happen sooner or later.

Dude "expired" on the toilet (how cliche).  He was apparently a bit of a loner.  He called in sick Wednesday and Thursday.  Family didn't find him until Sunday.  The Medical Examiner Investigator thinks he may have actually called in sick for Thursday a day before, because he was pretty far gone. 

We advised the family not to take a look at the body.  He wasn't himself.  My Field Training Officer (FTO) took down all the relevant info while I took everything else in (the sights, the smells... the tastes... He really was decomposed.  It hung in the air.).  I had been worried about my first dead body, but as it turned out, I felt confident and at ease.  We returned to the station and my FTO wrote a lengthy report.

The remainder of the shift was relatively quiet.  We ran a few plates, attended a family disturbance, and a noise complaint.  I wrote a short report on the family disturbance, but the noise complaint was deuced (cleared with no report) with just a few comments on the computer.

And so ended my first shift.  Now I'm on four days off.  I start a six day stretch of day-shift again Friday.  Looking forward to it!

All Smiles

We were all smiles around the dinner table last night.

Seconds after walking through the door Blue had his shinny new badge out, showing it off to the kids and I. He had just finished meeting his Field Training Officer and his Sargent, packing-up his Academy locker and unpacking everything into his district locker.

Blue wrote his final test on Monday (he got a great mark, btw)  and ran the PO-PAT on Wednesday (shaved a bunch off of his original time too). On Thursday he was issued his 'piece' and on Friday he was given his review from his platoon Sargent (a glowing review I might add).

Blue was pounding his fist on the table in emphasis over how excited he is about a number of things and Waffle was pounding hers right along with him (although I'm sure she had no idea what he was talking about). The Boy wanted to sit beside him at dinner because, in his words, "Daddy's a cop...he's cool", and I eagerly ate-up every little bit of info he shared about the division he was placed in.

I know that there are hard, tired days up ahead and a very sharp learning curve looming over our heads but it's nice to feel this excited and optimistic about Blue's job. It's nice that he finished that portion of Academy at the top of his game. It's also nice that other's seem to see how well suited he is for this work. I'll let him blog more about it later since I don't want to steal all of his thunder...but I'm just so dang proud of that guy!

The 11th Hour

Posted by: Blue

Well...

Less than 4 weeks left.

I will officially be posted to field training by the 21st.  I'm not sure just yet how my shifts will look, but I am hoping for "B-side" (the second set of shifts who are on when A-side is off; see 4-10) .  I hope that my marks will grease the wheels in that direction.  I've made some good friends who all seem to be headed for B-side, including some excellent instructors and training officers.

I've got to admit, I'm feeling slightly apprehensive about being on the street for the first time.  I will have my gun, badge, OC spray, and ID card issued on the second-last day of classes.  Then within a few days, I am off to my second call.

We have had a few very interesting lectures in the past few weeks, including two officers who had been involved in lethal-force encounters.  Both officers had shot and killed their suspects.  One was 8 weeks out of the academy.  A sobering thought.

Last week we had some training with fighting and use-of-force.  One of the days we were given blue-guns (a working pistol by the same manufacturer as our service pistol that shoots blanks and Simunition rounds), and we ran through a number of encounters from suicidals to knives to compliant people to shoot-outs.  It was the first time any of us had pointed a gun at another human.  It was also the first time that I found myself picturing a person dead by my hand.  I hope and pray that I never have to take that life.

On a lighter note, this past weekend was a long one for us.  I went camping with some friends from academy.  We probably all should have been studying for tomorrow's test, but we couldn't help ourselves.  I brought my leaky old boat with my faithful 1972 motor, and we managed to catch our lunch one day.  Two big Pickerel (Though I think any of you Yankees reading might know them as Walleye).  It rained most of the weekend, but we made the best of it.  I love these new friends and comrades.  One thing is certain: I know I can trust each and every one of them with my life.  That's a reassuring feeling.

I'm really interested, given my impending street-baptism, to hear some stories of your first days out there, and what it feels like to "go live" for the first time.  Hope you're all having a good day.

Cheers

First Call

Posted By: Blue

Today, during a vehicle stopping training exercise, my training partner and I were in our cruiser in a large grocery store parking lot, when we noticed someone waving us over.  Our driving instructor said "Well boys, although you're still in training, you're still cops."  We drove over to the citizen and rolled down our windows.  It was a hit and run.  There was an elderly woman who backed up into him a short time ago, flipped him the bird, and told him to "fuck off".  We parked the cruiser and our instructor got out.  Just then another cruiser that had been dispatched rolled up.  The two officers took over.  We cleared on a deuce (no report), and sluffed the call (left it for another crew).  If we had been on duty, it would have been a terrible way to deal with a call.  Under our circumstances, it couldn't have gone smoother.

Although there was nothing that came of our encounter, and our instructor actually did most of the talking, it sure didn't stop us bragging to our classmates that we were the first crew to respond to an actual live encounter.  We are officially the two most experienced officers in the recruit class.