Monday, October 11, 2010

Police Ride Along: Part Two

This is where things got interesting.

Officer Ed and I finished our conversation about DV talking about how it affects kids. I pointed out that the reason I do the work I do is because of kids. They see violence occuring in the home and that's what they learn. They are future criminals in the making and it creates more work for him. They have little empathy and don't care what they do to others. I also informed him that one characteristic of an abusive relationship is the abuser will intentionally get the woman pregnant to keep her in her place. So, there are many children exposed to violence. He said he didn't know that. He then said that kids need to have consequences and parents should not be a kid's friend. I agreed with him. That's about the time he saw on his constantly updated crime computer mounted in my elbow space that assistance was needed with an elderly man at Sand Run Park . The man thought snakes were in his truck. That Dodge Ram truck, by the way, was pimped out with purple, lime green and pink paint and decals. Officer Ed was impressed. After examining the man, the paramedics convinced him to go to the Psychiatric Emergency Services unit, better known as PES. The man left with no incident. No snakes on truck.

By that time, I was feeling sick due to a pinched nerve in my neck. Cocking my head to my left, trying to make eye contact with Officer Ed as he and I rapped about DV aggravated the nerve and made me nauseous. But, with great power comes great responsibility is what I told myself and I kept it moving....which was to Starbucks. Officer Ed said he was "dying" because he had worked a side job earlier that morning and needed caffeine.

A hundred feet away from the Starbucks parking lot on Sand Run Drive, Officer Ed chimed in about a fight between two females that broke out at the Dairy Mart on Market and Merrimen. Three males were there also. He flipped the siren switch on, blew past Starbucks and sailed east bound on Market. It was a rush to be on the other side of the siren and cruise past traffic on pause. Officer Ed said fights are typical after school, especially when its early in the school year. Fights are always breaking out and these girls are probably fighting over a guy. When we arrived, there was no sign of any fight between two girls. While Officer Ed went inside to make sure all was well and I tried to stabilize my neck in the cruiser, another cruiser and paddy wagon arrived. Simutaneously, another call requesting back up for a fight on S. Hawkins  sounded on the car radio. Officer Ed was back in the cruiser within seconds and said with urgency we needed to head to S. Hawkins. This time, we followed the other cruiser and paddy wagon, with the French siren sound because, as Officer Ed explained, its good to differentiate the siren sound so someone doesn't think the cavalry is over, pull out and get T-boned. We also drove much faster because Officer Ed said the officer who requested back up had a certain inflection in his voice that indicated he needed help. I thought I was going to ralph going about 60 mph on a brick road.

However, when we got to the S. Hawkins round-about, the fight was broken up. Trying not to vomit, I remained in the car as Officer Ed talked to the responding officer and two other officers about what happened. Four sixth graders were beating up on a lone sixth grader. The responding officer seemed dismayed over what the 4 boys were doing to this other boy. I saw him show the other officers that the boys only came up to his chest. No arrests were made and the kids were gone.

It made me wonder what consequences these kids suffered, if any, once they got home. I wondered how they learned that bullying another boy was acceptable. I wondered when did middle school bullies start taking their power trips off the playground in exchange for a public beating at a very busy intersection?

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