Warning: I've used some cuss words here....
I worked until 11 Friday evening.
I was supposed to go into Dispatch at 7, so I was working in my office until then. I could hear the thunder was not quite on top of us yet, so I ran out and rolled up my windows. I had just sat back down when half the lights in my office flickered. My computer didn't go out, but apparently the database I was working on, which is served off of Jeff's computer, did. I thought, "All hell's fixin' to break loose in dispatch..." So I headed that direction. I hadn't sat down when the bottom fell out and everything went black. Phones, computers, radios and lights. The phones came back up quickly enough, (Dern it!) and the generator kicked on. No way to reset the computers until the power is back on, but we got the IT guy en route to City Hall to stand by, and the electrical department busy on the power problem. But they can't climb the pole 'til the rain and lightening are done. Turns out, it was an entire grid that was knocked out, so of course the phones are ringing off the hook. Alarm calls everywhere. The supervisor said to put them on a COAP and not dispatch. (That means we'll check 'em when we can.) How on earth we managed to avoid 41's (car wrecks) out the butt, I have no clue! So other than our phones ringing, off the hook, we were doing okay. Really, what officer in his right mind is gonna pull someone over in torrential rain? Plus, there were three of us in dispatch at this point.
So they get the power back on shortly after 7, computers are back up for dispatch only, and we're still working off of portable radios, which will be okay for a little longer. So Danielle goes home. NOW, all hell really breaks loose!
Power is still out in several places, so we're still dealing with those calls. And these people are really assholes - pardon me, just stating a fact. We cannot give them an ETA, basically because we don't have a clue. We've advised the electrical department and they are working on it. And I'm not going to call them to ask when they are up on a pole working on it. I think I got told to get F@#$'d 50 times. Just because I couldn't look into my crystal ball and tell them what they wanted to hear. I had one lady who was on our grid, and when the power was back on, her lights came on, but not her 'fridge. I asked her if she checked her breakers, and she said she did. I told her she would have to call an electrician or repair person. She got irate, said she couldn't afford that, and we needed to get someone out there. I calmly explained to her that if her TV was struck by lightening, we weren't gonna send anyone out. Same with appliances. And I hung up, since my phones were ringing off the hook. She called back a couple hours later - get this! - to apologize. Her son checked the breakers, and he didn't check very well. But she was the exception.
Anyway, like I said, all hell is breaking loose. All "9-1-1" calls come into the county, and they transfer the ones that are ours to us. They are transferring us calls that are not ours, and hanging up as quickly as they can. So we have to transfer back, and the caller has to hold, AGAIN. (Our 9-1-1 really sucks!) Meanwhile, they are taking our calls, getting incomplete info, and calling us with half-a$$ info. They gave us a call of a person screaming, so we give it out as a "Trouble Unknown". Of course we send several units, and ended up with 4 out there. Turns out it is a domestic case, with a "24" (demented person). We go "10-3" which is to hold all radio traffic, except the units out there, 'til we hear that everything is okay. They advise they are Code-4, and we are handling all the other crap that comes in. All of a sudden, one of the guys who is out there keys up to say something and is cut out. We asked him if he's code-4. No answer. So we go back to 10-3. No one is saying anything. We're sitting there, biting our nails, praying that no one is hurt, since out of 4 units, no one seems to be able to say they are okay. Turns out the 24 went berserk, charged my officers, and kicked out the window in one of the patrol cars. The officer who keyed up, his radio battery died. But it was a pretty tense 5 minutes there. One damaged car, cuffed-and-stuffed perp later, everyone goes back in service except for the transporting officer (with the dead battery) and the officer taking warrants.
Now I've taken a call from a woman screaming. I get her calmed down to get her location, and find out that her daughter's baby-daddy is taking the kid and trying to leave. So I get us en route, keeping her on the phone 'til we get there. We get there, and are talking to the guy, and next thing we hear is "He's signal 80 on foot, radio!" He's taken off running. No, he didn't have the kid with him. I'm not sure what transpired between the time I hung up and the time he took off, but I've got another local asshole calling in because he doesn't like the way my officer is handling the call, and wants me to - get this - dispatch the police. I explained to the caller that we are handling it, and if he doesn't like it, he can call later and speak to a supervisor to make a complaint. He was adamant that I send someone now. Not happening. For the 51st time that shift, I'm told "F@#$ you!" At which point, Mr. Concerned Citizen gets hung up on.
Next up is the guy at the local weekly hotel with 4 kids living in a hotel room. He is calling because he was inside dealing with 3 of his kids, when some guy grabbed kid #4 by the arm, leaving red marks. I'm thinking, since the kid is fine, Dad just wants a report, no biggie. We might take warrants for the perp, end of story. So we send a couple officers out there. They get there, and after a couple minutes, start yelling for a "Code 7" (back up). He says it SEVERAL times.... Having no idea what is going on, we cover him up. I'm still not quite sure what happened out there, although he did advise code 4. By then, it was 11, and my relief was there. And since it had been a 15 hour day at that point, I got the heck out....
As soon as I sat down in the car, I could feel all the tension in my neck and shoulders. By the time I turned into my subdivision, I had a full-fledged migraine!
I hadn't experienced that kind of action in about 15 years.... What a night!
I worked until 11 Friday evening.
I was supposed to go into Dispatch at 7, so I was working in my office until then. I could hear the thunder was not quite on top of us yet, so I ran out and rolled up my windows. I had just sat back down when half the lights in my office flickered. My computer didn't go out, but apparently the database I was working on, which is served off of Jeff's computer, did. I thought, "All hell's fixin' to break loose in dispatch..." So I headed that direction. I hadn't sat down when the bottom fell out and everything went black. Phones, computers, radios and lights. The phones came back up quickly enough, (Dern it!) and the generator kicked on. No way to reset the computers until the power is back on, but we got the IT guy en route to City Hall to stand by, and the electrical department busy on the power problem. But they can't climb the pole 'til the rain and lightening are done. Turns out, it was an entire grid that was knocked out, so of course the phones are ringing off the hook. Alarm calls everywhere. The supervisor said to put them on a COAP and not dispatch. (That means we'll check 'em when we can.) How on earth we managed to avoid 41's (car wrecks) out the butt, I have no clue! So other than our phones ringing, off the hook, we were doing okay. Really, what officer in his right mind is gonna pull someone over in torrential rain? Plus, there were three of us in dispatch at this point.
So they get the power back on shortly after 7, computers are back up for dispatch only, and we're still working off of portable radios, which will be okay for a little longer. So Danielle goes home. NOW, all hell really breaks loose!
Power is still out in several places, so we're still dealing with those calls. And these people are really assholes - pardon me, just stating a fact. We cannot give them an ETA, basically because we don't have a clue. We've advised the electrical department and they are working on it. And I'm not going to call them to ask when they are up on a pole working on it. I think I got told to get F@#$'d 50 times. Just because I couldn't look into my crystal ball and tell them what they wanted to hear. I had one lady who was on our grid, and when the power was back on, her lights came on, but not her 'fridge. I asked her if she checked her breakers, and she said she did. I told her she would have to call an electrician or repair person. She got irate, said she couldn't afford that, and we needed to get someone out there. I calmly explained to her that if her TV was struck by lightening, we weren't gonna send anyone out. Same with appliances. And I hung up, since my phones were ringing off the hook. She called back a couple hours later - get this! - to apologize. Her son checked the breakers, and he didn't check very well. But she was the exception.
Anyway, like I said, all hell is breaking loose. All "9-1-1" calls come into the county, and they transfer the ones that are ours to us. They are transferring us calls that are not ours, and hanging up as quickly as they can. So we have to transfer back, and the caller has to hold, AGAIN. (Our 9-1-1 really sucks!) Meanwhile, they are taking our calls, getting incomplete info, and calling us with half-a$$ info. They gave us a call of a person screaming, so we give it out as a "Trouble Unknown". Of course we send several units, and ended up with 4 out there. Turns out it is a domestic case, with a "24" (demented person). We go "10-3" which is to hold all radio traffic, except the units out there, 'til we hear that everything is okay. They advise they are Code-4, and we are handling all the other crap that comes in. All of a sudden, one of the guys who is out there keys up to say something and is cut out. We asked him if he's code-4. No answer. So we go back to 10-3. No one is saying anything. We're sitting there, biting our nails, praying that no one is hurt, since out of 4 units, no one seems to be able to say they are okay. Turns out the 24 went berserk, charged my officers, and kicked out the window in one of the patrol cars. The officer who keyed up, his radio battery died. But it was a pretty tense 5 minutes there. One damaged car, cuffed-and-stuffed perp later, everyone goes back in service except for the transporting officer (with the dead battery) and the officer taking warrants.
Now I've taken a call from a woman screaming. I get her calmed down to get her location, and find out that her daughter's baby-daddy is taking the kid and trying to leave. So I get us en route, keeping her on the phone 'til we get there. We get there, and are talking to the guy, and next thing we hear is "He's signal 80 on foot, radio!" He's taken off running. No, he didn't have the kid with him. I'm not sure what transpired between the time I hung up and the time he took off, but I've got another local asshole calling in because he doesn't like the way my officer is handling the call, and wants me to - get this - dispatch the police. I explained to the caller that we are handling it, and if he doesn't like it, he can call later and speak to a supervisor to make a complaint. He was adamant that I send someone now. Not happening. For the 51st time that shift, I'm told "F@#$ you!" At which point, Mr. Concerned Citizen gets hung up on.
Next up is the guy at the local weekly hotel with 4 kids living in a hotel room. He is calling because he was inside dealing with 3 of his kids, when some guy grabbed kid #4 by the arm, leaving red marks. I'm thinking, since the kid is fine, Dad just wants a report, no biggie. We might take warrants for the perp, end of story. So we send a couple officers out there. They get there, and after a couple minutes, start yelling for a "Code 7" (back up). He says it SEVERAL times.... Having no idea what is going on, we cover him up. I'm still not quite sure what happened out there, although he did advise code 4. By then, it was 11, and my relief was there. And since it had been a 15 hour day at that point, I got the heck out....
As soon as I sat down in the car, I could feel all the tension in my neck and shoulders. By the time I turned into my subdivision, I had a full-fledged migraine!
I hadn't experienced that kind of action in about 15 years.... What a night!
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2 comments:
Wow, Darya, I got all tense and worried just reading this. It must have been one H*ll of a day for you.
Joanne
First of all, I love your new cards. Sound slike you had a night from h*ll. I'm so sorry I called you just to add more to your already terrible night. I hope things are settled down for you back at work. I promise I will never you call you that late at night ever again. Unless it's an emergency!
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