A Police Wife - I got one of those calls...

7:58 am: House phone rings, jerking me out of a deep sleep. I missed the call, but could vaguely remember it saying it was "The Hubby" calling.

7:59 am: I picked up my cellphone from the nightstand, dialing Husby's number...one ring...

Husby: Hey babe.

Me: *sleepily* Hey...what's up?

Husby: I'm ok, I'm fine, but I was in accident. It was a big cluster, so I will tell you all about it later.

Me: *still trying to wake up* Do you want me to come up there? *even though I already know in my head that I am coming up to the hospital either way.*

Husby: You don't have to, I can get a ride. It's up to you.

Me: I am on my way.

These are the scary calls that you never want to get as a Police Wife. I am so thankful for God's hand of protection on Husby and his Brothers. When the incident was all said and done, there were 4 patrol cars trashed, three officers in the hospital and one crazy guy locked up.

It could have been so much worse, all of the Officers walked out of the hospital yesterday morning. Today they are sore and with Husby, even battling some numbness in his arm and hand...but I know that God was with Husby and his partners yesterday morning, and I am so thankful for that. I am thankful that they caught the lunatic that did this to them. The lunatic that tried oh, so desperately to take Husby and his partners away from their families for no good reason.

He didn't succeed, he is in custody with pending attempted Murder charges amongst many others I assume. I have never been more proud of the brotherhood of men and women that came to the defense of Husby and the other Officers.

So Police Wives, hug your Husbands today, just a little tighter than yesterday, I know I will be doing the same for mine.

I love you babe.

a little Gala fun...

Husby is involved with the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. as an Ambassador and a Liason between for his County. Last night we were invited to attend the Groundbreaking and Gala. It was a great chance to get all gussied up and meet lots of new people!

I loved the dressing up part!! :)

Me and my oh-so-handsome Husby...

They had some great artifacts to showcase. Many more of them will be showcased in the Museum that is now being built.

This call says "To: Daddy, wish you still could play." It was one of the artifacts left at the Memorial Wall during Police Week.

 

This old patrol car was actually used in the movie "Runaway" with Dean Cain.

 

 The Gala location was gorgeous...this was only about half of it!!

They had statues all the way up by the ceiling...we almost missed them.

and there was a huge fountain in the center...

I am so proud of all the hard work Husby has done for this organization! It shows his passion for the loss of fellow Officers and making sure that each one of their stories are heard.

We even got to meet Vincent D'Onofrio from Law & Order: Criminal Intent!!

How cool?!?!

Husby got to be a part of a video made by A&E Television, and shown at the Gala...awesome!

All in all, it was a great evening! And we meet some GREAT passionate people!! :)

a Cop's mentality...

I started thinking today...Husby says some pretty funny/interesting things; and I am pretty sure I can chalk it all up to being part of the "Cop's mentality."

He calls people he comes into contact with at work such names as "hoodlehead" and "yay-hoos."
I guess he has to come up with some names since he doesn't use foul language...but these two crack me up!

Do your Officers have such names? Probably worse??! :)

Then there are the sayings...

When there is something going wrong that he doesn't want to deal with..."Can't see it from my front door."
When someone approaches him with a last minute request..."Your failure to plan is not my emergency."
When some gets their pants in a bunch..."Oh, He/She's got the same pants to get happy in."

...to many of these sayings I normally reply with a "oh isn't that sweet babe!" haha!

Do your Officers have any funny sayings?

It's funny to see how the Cops mentality or sense of cynicism changes them over the years! Share your stories!

Mental Ride-A-Long

Cory Writing...

Let me essplain the title of this blog. I responded to a pretty serious call the other night and after the incident I thought it would be neat to blog about my thoughts while responding to the call and while on the call. So you are going on a Ride-A-Long through my brain.

Here is the disclaimer.... If you don't want to know the thoughts I have when I am on a very serious call then don't read any further because this could scare you...

The call was for a drunk subject acting strange and waving a gun around. The person calling was the girlfriend of the subject and she fled the house to a nearby neighbors house. She was calling from the neighbors house, so she couldn't tell us what the subject was doing. That was everything we had to go on.

My thoughts while responding to the call. The first thought I had was this could get ugly and I hope I get down there before they approach the house, so I can be involved.

My second thought was about the fellow Law Enforcement Officer's that were tragically killed in the line of duty on a similar call in Pennsylvania. (story link http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30043893/). I read the stories of fallen officers, so I can learn and improve my tactics. The only thing I can do to honor the sacrifice other officers make is to learn from their incidents and not become a victim myself.

I finally arrived at the location where we decided to meet to formulate a plan of attack. We strategically planned our approach, so we wouldn't become victims. We all got into our vehicles and approached the scene.

We arrived on the scene and spoke to the girlfriend and got enough information to try and make contact with the individual. We set up around the house and I made sure I continually reminded myself to stay behind cover because he was supposedly armed with a rifle. We were able to talk the guy out of the house and the incident was safely resolved without incident. It was a very successful conclusion.

Shortly after the incident I ran into my Sgt and we talked about the incident. He said to me his first thought when the call came out was about the officer's in Pennsylvania because the call was eerily similar. I told him I had the same exactly thought. Interesting.

I hope you enjoyed experiencing this call through my thoughts. Let me know what you think.

Monday Moan

Cory Writing....

My Monday Moan is about slippery trees. You might be scratching your head on this one, but allow me to tell you a little story and you will understand.

On Friday night I responded for an overturned vehicle in the water.

When I arrived there was a truck flipped over in the water down a hundred foot cliff. We ran down the hill to the truck because there was supposed to be a guy trapped in it. We got to the truck after falling into the mud several times and we located the individual not in the truck, but close to it.

I was stuck out by the truck standing on a tree that was a little above the water. So I stayed there until the fire department got the guy on a backboard and started to move him up the cliff. There was enough room on the dry area, so I started to walk along the tree trying to keep my balance. The tree was really slippery and slimy, so I was trying to be careful. I got almost to the dry land when I tried to jump, but my feet slipped. Luckily I landed on a dry spot, but the slip caused me to fall forward. As I was falling forward I reached out to catch myself with my hands on the tree. I grabbed the tree, but I had gloves on and my hands slipped off too. The only thing left to catch my fall was my face, so I have a bump at my hairline, a scratch on the bridge of my nose and a scrap on the end of my nose. In a straight line just like the tree, so that is where my Monday Moan comes from.


Now that I shared my embarrassing moment I want to hear your Monday Moan.

A Black Bear in Anne Arundel County...

Cory Writing.....

My title for this blog is not a joke. Let me tell you the story.

I was sitting in my car just taking a siesta and the crack of the radio interrupts me and I hear the dispatcher say, I am receiving a call from a citizen that is reporting there is a black bear running around his neighborhood.

Granted we are in South County, but I immediately think, "ok this citizen is an idiot and this thing is a big dog or this guy got some bad weed." Obviously I wasn't the only guy that thought this because when the officer that was dispatched to the call arrived on scene he said, "Radio I am out and it is a bear."

Several units were on scene and trying to coral this bear. The described it as about 60 lb bear, and I can just see three cops trying to keep this bear from wandering. Yeah Ok !!!!!

So they call DNR (Department of Natural Resources) and they say we are going to respond out there, but we don't want anyone to shoot the bear. Side note if the bear is coming at me I don't care what DNR wants but that bear will be full of lead. Back to the story. DNR finally arrives out there and they come to the conclusion that this is the bear that they have been tracking up from Southern Maryland and they decide to leave it alone. So everyone clears.

I have a little problem with this. Why aren't we catching this thing instead of letting it roam around Maryland. I have to say that if that thing gets ahold of someone, or something there is going to be a huge law suit.

I love police work because just when you thing you have seen it all a black bear roams into Anne Arundel County. Baltimore City might have heroine addicts, but Anne Arundel County Police can fight bears. Ha Ha.

For those of you wondering here are fun facts about black bears.....

Typical weights:
Males of breeding age: 125-500 lbs
Females of breeding age: 90-300 lbs

Are Black Bears Like Dogs? NO

Where do black bears live? American black bears only live in North America. They are found throughout Canada, in most of the states in the United States, and in northern Mexico. Black bears live mostly in areas where there are forests.They need a place where there is food,water, and shelter. They can find these things in wooded areas.

A black bear can run, for a short distance, as fast as 35 miles per hour. That's about as fast as a horse or a deer can run. It's much faster than humans can run.

THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL BEAR.

Karma is Great

Cory Writing ........

Here is my Cop story of the week and it has to do with Karma biting back and I loved it.

I am working tonight/morning (May 25) and of course we are getting all kinds of loud noise/party calls, since it is Memorial (rememorialized) Weekend. When I go to this type call I am very calm and understanding the first time I go, but if I have to come back to the same place more than once this is when it gets really ugly.

I get this call to a house for a loud noise/party, so I go to the address and tell the people standing outside that is it time to go inside and turn the music off because their neighbors are calling and complaining. The individuals oblige and say, "OK we are sorry Officer, the party is over." They went inside and closed the door and I left. Here is where it gets ugly.

About 45 minutes to an hour later I get the second call for the same address, but this time I have the person that is calling wants to talk with me. I arrive at the address and speak to the complainant. She states that the kids that live next door are yelling and screaming and keeping her up. As I am standing talking with this lady I can hear the guys yelling and scream. Mind you these houses are not connected to each other, there is a healthy distance between them.

I go over to the house and knock on the door. A drunk male comes to the door and I ask him if he lives there and he stated no. I asked for the owner and he stated he would go get him and he attempts to shut the door, but I invited myself in. He says, "oh I guess you can come in." and I stated, "Of course I can come in thank you." The owners come down and I just started to rip into these guys because I have a history with this house. These guys are 25 ish years old and I have been to the house for complaints where they are playing in a blow-up ball pit at like 3 in the morning. So if you can imagine these guys are like a bunch of frat boys living in a neighborhood not a college campus.

As I am having an intense moment of fellowship with these guys I asked them if they had jobs and one of their peanut gallery buddies pipes up. "Yeah we have jobs and we probably make more money than you." So I proceed to tell this Jack donkey that I don't' care how much money he makes, but he does need to grow up and shut up. If he wants to go to his house and act like an idiot than go ahead, but he isn't going to act like an idiot in my post." He continued to act like a moron and I told the whole house that if I come back a third time I am going to take everyone to jail. Then I left the residence knowing that if I come back there is nothing I can do except tell them to turn it down again. But what they don't know usually works in my benefit and it did because I didn't get another call to this house.

This is where Karma comes back to bite these guys in the buttocks. I was sitting on a gas station parking lot observing traffic. All of a sudden I hear this noise and look to my left just in time to see this ball bouncing into the street. I then see a truck speeding off of the parking lot. I immediately pull out and pull the car over. I walk up to the driver of the vehicle and immediately notice that this is the moron from the house earlier. I am just dieing laughing on the inside, but I didn't say anything to them because after all I am a professional. I ask the driver for his driver's license and registration and he doesn't have either of them on him. I ask them who threw the ball and of course all the guys act stupid like they didn't do anything. Finally the driver comes clean and says that he threw the ball. Lucky for him the ball didn't break anything, so I couldn't lock him up. Oh I wish that would have broke something because that would have been so much better. I did get the final laugh because I wrote this idiot two citations for a total of 80 dollars of fines and made him park his truck and walk.

So the lesson for today is when you have a run in with the cops, you better be nice because we usually get the last laugh.

Some Adults are just Kids with adult privileges

Cory finally writing.......

So this blog is a result of several car stops that I have performed in the last week.

We are doing this new detail at work where we are sitting a certain intersections where people are running red lights, making illegal right turns on red, and driving through gas stations to avoid the red light.

I am sitting at this particular intersection and I see this guy drive through the gas station and clearly wasn't planning on stopping for gas. I pulled him over and approached the driver's side window and asked him if he knew why I pulled him over. He said, "No I am not sure." So I preceded to tell him, "for driving through the gas station to avoid the light." He said, "Oh ok I am in a hurry because I have to catch a flight." I told him to stand by and I would get him on his way as soon as I could. I quickly ran his information and wrote a warning to him. I then approached his window and told him, "Sir I really appreciate when people tell me the truth and I try to reward people for that, so I am going to give you a written warning. Today's lesson is driving through a gas station is not quicker than waiting for the light because you will get pulled over." He said, "I know sir thank you."

The next three car stops were where I get my title from, "Some Adults are just Kids with adult privileges." I pulled over this guy for doing the same thing and he preceded to give me an excuse of, "Well I was going to get coffee for my wife and I, but then I realized we were late for work so I decided to just go to work." Ok sir I am just a retard with a badge, so I will believe you." (I didn't say this but I was thinking it) Needless to say this guy got a coupon aka.Ticket.

The next lady I pull over gives me the excuse that, "I pulled in to get gas and noticed it was too expensive, so I am going down the street where it is cheaper." Well lady that excuse would work except you passed the gas station right next to the station you drove through, which was 4 cents cheaper. Excuse doesn't work, here is your coupon.

The third and final won is the best. I pull this guy over for making a right on red when posted, "No right on red." I approach the guy and tell him why he was pulled over. He was really cool about it and apologetic. I did however issue this guy a citation because this was a day everyone was getting citations. I walk up to the window to give this guy a citation and he signs it no problem. Just as I walk away the wife had to open her mouth and say, "Why aren't you sitting there in the afternoon and pulling over the cars making that illegal u-turn, they are causing a real problem." I really said this. I told her, "Well maam I don't work afternoons, but if I did work afternoons I would definitely sit there and write citations." She responded by saying, "Well you should tell someone that they are doing that." I told her, "I will get right on that maam, have a nice day."

The last three car stops are the people in this world that make writing tickets, so much easier. They also validate the title of this blog. Sir everyone else is doing things wrong why aren't you pulling them over? "Shut up you big whiner and grow up, here is your coupon."

A call I handled on April 27, 2008

Cory writing....

I responded to a call for a family violence in progress. The notes of the call stated that the mother was fighting with her 16 year old son.

I arrived on the scene and located the mother. She advised me that she found her son passed out in the hallway and next to him was an empty bottle of alcohol. He was so intoxicated that he passed out, so dad took him into his bedroom. He was very combative with his parents, but when I got there he was asleep in his bedroom.

I continued to talk with mom and tried to explain that there wasn't anything we could do for her. I advised her to contact Social services and see if they can give her advice. She told me that she already talked to them and they told her the only way they could help her is if she signed a form that says she is "an unfit parent." She didn't want to do that because they would take all of her kids away. (Here is where she makes a great statement)

She stated, "That is ridiculous, I am not an unfit parent, he is an unfit kid."

I had the hardest time keeping a straight face after this one. I wonder why this lady is having so many problems.

You can't make this stuff up.

Priceless thing which occurred at work......

Cory finally writing again...(I remembered my password)

I had something happen at work that I thought would be nice to share with those who read my blog. I hope that I can do the story justice on here, so here goes.

I received a call to go to an intersection where a deer had been struck by a vehicle. When I arrived on the scene I noticed that there was not only one deer, but actually two deer struck by a vehicle. The only thing left on the scene from the vehicle was a bunch of little broken plastic piceses. No signs of the vehicle, but this vehicle had to have severe damage because they weren't small deer.

I got out of my vehicle and started to walk up to the deer because I was going to have to drag it out of the middle of the road. Well as I approached the deer I noticed that one of them was still alive. This really freaked me out because for some reason I have this fear of me pulling a deer off the road and it waking up and kicking my butt. (I guess I watched Tommy Boy one too many times, "Holy shnickes.") After I got over the idea of this deer being alive I walked over to the other deer to see if it was dead. Thank God this deer was dead, so I dragged it over to the side of the street, then I had to figure out what I was going to do with the deer that was still alive, but couldn't move.

For those of you that don't know we are supposed to shoot a deer that is hurt but still alive. It is the humane thing to do. My dilemma was that we are in the middle of Solomons Island Road (also known as Route 2) which happens to be a three lane highway going both ways. So I called my Sgt. who advised me to get another officer to block off one side of the road to stop traffic and find a safe background to shoot the deer. So I called another officer and he was en-route to help me block traffic.

While I waited for the officer to arrive on scene I sat in my car wishing for this deer to just die, so that I wouldn't have to shoot it. Something about shooting a deer while on duty just doesn't sit right with me. So as I am sitting here telling the deer to just die ... this deer decides, "Oh I am done lying her on the ground, I'm going to get up now." The deer literally bends in half trying to get up and running away. (this is where you animal rights people get up and get a tissue) The deer couldn't get up because clearly his legs were broken and his face was split from the end of his nose to past his ear. So he just flopped onto the road and gave what I thought was his last breath. WRONG

Finally the other officer arrived on scene. I advised him of what I was going to do and he pulled his car across the lanes to block traffic. He got out of his vehicle and I approached the deer and got into position to shoot the deer. Just as I took aim at the deer I heard a citizen asked, "Sir am I able to go around?" Just as the officer started to answer, "Ma am you might want to wait" BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM. I shot the deer and put it out of his misery.

I asked the other officer if he saw the ladies face when the gun went off, but he said, "no I was watching you." I told him I can only imagine what her face looked like. Here she was wanting to go around and the next thing she hears is a gunshot go off. I can only imagine what she was thinking. So I was able to put this deer out of it's misery, but this deer had the will to live because even after the gunshot it took another 5 minutes for the deer to finally breath its last breath.

Well that was my priceless story from work. That lady will probably never ask another officer again if she can go around a police barricade. She probably is calling a counselor as you read this for counseling sessions. Have a great day and until next time.......

Peace, love and hair grease.

Something to make you go...... HMMMMMMMMMM

Cory writing.........

On Friday March 7, 2008 I worked my secondary (off-duty job) gig at Friday’s Restaurant at Arundel Mills. I work at this restaurant about 2-3 times a month and this is the first time that I remember something like this happening. I was standing at the front door just observing the comings and goings of the restaurant and I had a guy approach me as he was leaving. As he walked by he said, “Thank you for wearing that badge sir and you be safe.” It totally caught me off guard and I quickly said, “your welcome and thank you.”

Let me explain to you why this caught me off guard. I have been working at this restaurant since it has been open and I have heard stupid comments and goofy questions day in and day out. I have never had someone that wasn’t police or significant other of police, thank me for wearing the badge or doing what I do. This I find very sad, not that I do this job for those things, but they are nice every once and awhile.

I consider the Police Officers of our Great Country to be the unacknowledged heroes. When most people think of a hero the first thing that comes to people’s minds are our U.S. Military or Firemen. While these guys deserve that title I also want people to realize that Police Officer’ deserve this title also. A lot of the times we don’t get this title because we are there when you don’t want us to be and never there quick enough when you need us.

I am not writing this because I am having a pity party. I am telling you this because I want to encourage you to be that guy that makes a police officer’s day. Just a quick Thank You for wearing the badge or doing what you do is sufficient. I don’t want you to do this to the officer that has you pulled over or is taking a report for you. Tell the officer that is working his second or third job at the restaurant that you are eating at, or the officer that is standing in line with you hoping that he will be able to eat before running off to handle the next call.
This guy really made my day a whole lot better for just being thankful and verbalizing it to me. It didn’t cost him a thing. Just think about this the next time you see a hero.