Stories from the job...

I thought I would tell some stories that have happen to me on the job. I share this not for any gain of my own but only to share aspects of the job I love. Some of the stories may sound made up but I promise these are accounts of actual events happening on our street.

“Horseplay at the corner market”

It was about half way thru my shift. We had just had our meal break and were heading into one of the roughest parts of town. I say we, I had a patrol officer riding along with me on this night. It happens every Friday night. Let be back up:
I work as a detective in the Gang Unit. This means we respond to any and all Gang related crimes. We spend a lot of our time investigating gang members and incidents that occur in areas infested with gangs. Once a week patrol officer get to wear plain clothes and ride with us during an operation called Safer Streets. During this assignment we work areas that have had a high number of gang crimes for the last reporting week. When I say we, “work the areas” that means we drive thru, make traffic stops, get out and walk the projects, talk with known gang members and arrest people involved in crime, kind of like undercover patrol.
The officer riding with me on this night had been on the street for about 2 years. She worked second shift in the East precinct. This was her second night riding with me and she was very competent and a good officer. (Sometimes you never know)
As we entered North precinct we were driving past a corner market and several kids ran across the street in front of traffic. Thats what caught my attention first. As a cop you are always scanning the area as you drive kind of like hunting or fishing. As we pasted the market I could see two guys “horsing around” in front of the market. It looked like they were wrestling and cutting up with each other. I thought this would be a good stop just to tell them to knock it off clear the front of the market. I turned onto the street next to the market and parked. We got out and walked around the corner without any hast. At this point the two men were in tangled together at the far end of the store. As we walked closer I expected them to see me and my partner and separate on their own. They did not. I called out to them “hey you two knock it off!” At this point I was about 10 feet from them. As they turned to face me I saw one had blood all over his face. I got shot of “Oh crap, this is not good”. Before I could finish my thought they did in fact separate. Now at this point we are at arms reach of both of them. As they let go and pull apart I notice the one that is bleeding from the head is also holding a .357 magnum in his right hand. Before the fear could go from my eyes to my feet both my partner and I had put some distance between us and him and we both had our guns locked on his head. I began shouting to him to put the gun down. I guess due to the trauma he had sustained to his head he would not put the gun down. I remember thinking if the gun moves from his side towards me or my partner we are going to shoot this guy. In what seemed like minutes we were shouting "Drop the gun!" and he was shouting something to the effect of “I’m not the bad guy!”. After several exchanges he dropped the gun and started towards me trying to explain what ever it was he was talking about. Needless to say I didn’t want to hear it at that point. All I wanted to see was him face down on the ground and under our control. The other guy complied with our first commands and was face down and not moving. As this guy moved towards me I helped him to the ground via his dreds or his shirt I can’t remember which, and in about 90 seconds the ordeal was over. Turns out the fellow with the head trauma was the victim and the other guy was trying to shoot him. Just before we had arrived the gun went off during their struggle and hit a second perp in the leg. He was already gone when we arrived. Funny thing about it, the whole thing goes by so fast but so slow. Looking at the surveillance tape was like watching a movie about yourself from a different perspective. Oh yeah, both men were gang members and the suspect had an outstanding warrant as well.