Odd ends from a career as a street cop.
- The night I booked a suspect into jail and went back out on patrol without my firearm. I handled an entire call (with one hand over my holster) before driving back to the jail and retrieving my gun undetected.
- The burglary scene where I left my posse box containing evidence. An hour after returning to the station, I remembered where I left the police report and the evidence, in my posse box at the home of the burglary. One phone call later, I was on my way back to the victim’s house. Not good.
- Driving down Pacific Coast Highway when a couple ran across the street in front of me completely nude and entered an apartment. I stopped in the roadway and immediately was struck in the rear of my police crusier by a woman in an SUV. I had to call for a supervisor to investigate the collision while the culprits escaped.
- The night I drove a drunk to his home instead of to jail. He passed out in the back seat and would not wake up. I had to drag him to the front door but I couldn’t find his keys. Finally I got him inside and left so I could drive back to the city I actually worked in.
- The night I caught the armed robber. A robbery just ocurred in the Cheesecake Factory parking lot. The suspect was described with a gun and a vehicle driving north from the scene. After at least fifteen minutes with no sighting, I stopped on the road north of the restaurant. Apparently he had stopped too because he drove right past me 10 blocks from the scene of the crime. I followed him downtown where he pulled into a parking space, then I held him at gunpoint until backup arrived. He didn’t move. I found the loaded gun and the stolen property under the passenger seat. That was the knight I shined.
