Off to a Running Start - Literally!

I was coming through town last night, and glanced over at the First Baptist Church. It looked so beautiful, I had to circle around and get a shot of it. This picture was taken with my city-issued camera so it's not that great. But you get the idea.

I think I'll put mine back in the car, just for this kind of stuff.

We weren't terribly busy. I spent the first two hours of the shift trying to straighten out a log-in problem with my laptop, generated by Roger's insistence that I was wrong about the cord on mine. Ugh!

A little later, I was on my way to a 41 (accident) when they gave Johnny an 86 (domestic) and sent Corey as his Code 7 (back-up). I just happened to be about 100 yards away from the location when they gave it out, and Johnny was not much further away, so I cleared on it. I asked Corey to pick up my 41, and you could tell he was PISSED. (Mike ended up handling it.) Anyway, the primary aggressor was gone when we got there, but she said he was on foot in the area. Our victim had visible marks, and state law says we must prosecute the perpetrator. No big deal. I hopped back in my car to go look for the guy. There is a shopping center right across the street from the residence, and as I came around the side, whose car should I see parked out front, that hadn't budged? You guessed it... Corey.

Anyway, Johnny and I located the suspect a street over, loaded him up and took him back to the residence. I went inside to get the victim's written statement. I thought Johnny left the suspect in his car, but when I turned around to go get my camera, he was standing behind Johnny. Johnny said he'd go get his camera, and was going to put the handcuffs on the suspect. I heard him talking to him, and had just picked up the statement to read it when I heard what sounded like a scuffle. I headed to the front porch and got there just about the time Johnny said, "He's running!"

I rounded the house just in time to see the bad-guy jump the next-door-neighbor's fence, and was behind him when he hit the corner of their house. We chased him over to an auto repair shop. There wasn't anywhere for him to go that we wouldn't have heard him thrashing around, so we knew he had to be there somewhere. Johnny headed up into the kudzu and brush behind the business. With a flashlight, he said he was tripping over stuff, so we knew the bad-guy would be making noise when he moved. Johnny heard him, and started that way, in time to see him jump the fence into the office complex on the other side. I headed back around to the street, thinking to get my patrol car, 'cause I know I don't move fast - especially in my current state of pain. About that time, I realized I had the victim's statement and driver's license in one hand, and my flashlight in the other. Johnny had jumped the fence behind the guy and was a few yards behind him. I hit the sidewalk, stuffed the statement in my pocket, then looked left and saw the asshole at the side of the building, so I ran that way.

I was probably 50 feet from him when I pulled my taser and ordered him to the ground. Unfortunately for me, he complied. I REALLY wanted to inaugurate my taser! In reality, I was too far away to hit him, but he was coming my way. So I had him on the ground, with my laser on his ass when Johnny got to us. I told the guy if he moved a muscle, I would taze him. He said he didn't think I'd do it, but he didn't move either. Darn!

Otherwise, I had several piddly calls. My only paperwork was an impound on a vehicle that ran a red-light, right in front of me. She said she was going too fast to stop. All she had was a Learner's Permit, and her required adult passenger had a Mexican driver's license, which doesn't count. Couldn't understand why I wouldn't let her go on home, or just park the vehicle... Funny how when she wasn't getting her way, she suddenly forgot how to speak English.

So much for my plan to not do much last night. I work tonight, then I'm off tomorrow. Hallelujah!