fitoo1
Member
After posting on another thread about good police officers and the good work they do. I got to thinking about a situation that happened to me a 7 or 8 years ago. Its more of a confession I guess bare with me and tell me what you think.
I was a deputy Sheriff for a north central Indiana county. I was working afternoon shift and there were four of us working. There are two districts in our county east and west. If there are more the three people working the additional officers are considered "back up" to the district cars. I was assigned back up on the west end of the county and was instruced by my supervisor to patro a certain area as we were having some daytime burglaries. I was not to be assigend calls, I was just to observe a few houses in a particular nieghborhood (we had a good idea who as doing the burglaries).
About 8pm I was dispatched to the far eastern part of our county for a stranded motorist. I called dispatch and reminded them of what I suppose to be doing, and realizing this, every one else was busy and I had to go anyhow. As an added little part of this...I had just had a nice little fight with my wife at the time about my toddler son dialing 911 to talk to daddy for the umpteenth time. Anyhow, here I go almost thirty miles across the county. Now I understand that when the public calls for help they want it NOW...to much TV I guess...but I can since relate. I get to the stranded motorist..now it gets good.
She was a friendly lady in her late thirties I suppose, it was a cool night so her vehicle was running for warmth, it wasnt cold...just cool. She was parked about thirty yards from a driveway leading to a farmhouse (it was a rural area). I walked up to the car and asked what the problem was...she said..."well Im real low on gas, i dont have any money and I dont think Im going to make it to the next town. Can you take me to the next town (which was not in the same county) and get me some gas and bring me back?" I asked her if she had come through Greentown (about five miles back) she said she had, but she was headed to another town.(?) I said "okay...do you have a gas can?" she said "no, arent you suppose to carry one in your car (which is illegal mind you), and by the way what took you so long to get here? Ive had four or five people stop and ask if they could help me and I told them now becuase I knew a police officer would be by here soon enough I called more than a half hour ago" I could feel my face getting red. I called my supervisor and asked if I could fulfill her request that I take her out of our county to get her some gas. He said no take her to the town she just came through, get her some gas take her back and send her on her way. I told her what my supervisor had told me and she got angry at me at reminded me that wasnt the way she was headed. It told her that was the only help I could give her, other than calling someone to come and get her etc...
It was about that time another officer had a high risk traffic stop initiated and needed back up, he was a few miles from me and dispatch sent me. I told the lady i would be right back, I had an emergency to attend to. When I returned she was standing in the road, looking at her watch and tapping her foot. It had been about ten minutes. When I approached her she told me to go away, she had other help on the way, her son, who lived just a few miles away was on his way to come and help her, she didnt need my help anymore. I did the wrong thing and scolded her for not being more willing to help herself out of the situation she was in. I told her that she would have been waiting for a long time for a cop to happen by as she was in a very rural part of the county that doesnt see too much traffic, other than the state highway that was just a mile away. I told her that if every one was like her the roads would be lined with old cars with corpses in them. Her son arrived and she left in a huff.
I know what I said was wrong. I know that my job is/was to help people. But it does irk me that people cant solve problems themselves. The want to call the government to solve theyre problems.
Which is worse...an indignant cop or a dingbat helpless citizen.
I was a deputy Sheriff for a north central Indiana county. I was working afternoon shift and there were four of us working. There are two districts in our county east and west. If there are more the three people working the additional officers are considered "back up" to the district cars. I was assigned back up on the west end of the county and was instruced by my supervisor to patro a certain area as we were having some daytime burglaries. I was not to be assigend calls, I was just to observe a few houses in a particular nieghborhood (we had a good idea who as doing the burglaries).
About 8pm I was dispatched to the far eastern part of our county for a stranded motorist. I called dispatch and reminded them of what I suppose to be doing, and realizing this, every one else was busy and I had to go anyhow. As an added little part of this...I had just had a nice little fight with my wife at the time about my toddler son dialing 911 to talk to daddy for the umpteenth time. Anyhow, here I go almost thirty miles across the county. Now I understand that when the public calls for help they want it NOW...to much TV I guess...but I can since relate. I get to the stranded motorist..now it gets good.
She was a friendly lady in her late thirties I suppose, it was a cool night so her vehicle was running for warmth, it wasnt cold...just cool. She was parked about thirty yards from a driveway leading to a farmhouse (it was a rural area). I walked up to the car and asked what the problem was...she said..."well Im real low on gas, i dont have any money and I dont think Im going to make it to the next town. Can you take me to the next town (which was not in the same county) and get me some gas and bring me back?" I asked her if she had come through Greentown (about five miles back) she said she had, but she was headed to another town.(?) I said "okay...do you have a gas can?" she said "no, arent you suppose to carry one in your car (which is illegal mind you), and by the way what took you so long to get here? Ive had four or five people stop and ask if they could help me and I told them now becuase I knew a police officer would be by here soon enough I called more than a half hour ago" I could feel my face getting red. I called my supervisor and asked if I could fulfill her request that I take her out of our county to get her some gas. He said no take her to the town she just came through, get her some gas take her back and send her on her way. I told her what my supervisor had told me and she got angry at me at reminded me that wasnt the way she was headed. It told her that was the only help I could give her, other than calling someone to come and get her etc...
It was about that time another officer had a high risk traffic stop initiated and needed back up, he was a few miles from me and dispatch sent me. I told the lady i would be right back, I had an emergency to attend to. When I returned she was standing in the road, looking at her watch and tapping her foot. It had been about ten minutes. When I approached her she told me to go away, she had other help on the way, her son, who lived just a few miles away was on his way to come and help her, she didnt need my help anymore. I did the wrong thing and scolded her for not being more willing to help herself out of the situation she was in. I told her that she would have been waiting for a long time for a cop to happen by as she was in a very rural part of the county that doesnt see too much traffic, other than the state highway that was just a mile away. I told her that if every one was like her the roads would be lined with old cars with corpses in them. Her son arrived and she left in a huff.
I know what I said was wrong. I know that my job is/was to help people. But it does irk me that people cant solve problems themselves. The want to call the government to solve theyre problems.
Which is worse...an indignant cop or a dingbat helpless citizen.
.
