When have you called the police?

[Kevin108]

I've called lots of times. U-Haul truck in the ditch and road on a dark, high speed section of rural road. Automotive debris all over an exit ramp in the middle of the night. Traffic signal out at a busy intersection during rush hour. Disoriented man walking in heavy traffic on a rainy night. Kid showing his friends a gun when I was putting up vinyl siding in the ghetto. When I lived at my parents' place I called several times because of out-of-place vehicles with occupants. That always stood out big time on a dead end street where you know everybody and what they drive.

 

[littlegator]

Driving down the I15 fwy in Las Vegas and DUI guy couldn't stay in his lane so I called the police. I followed him to his apt. and waited for police to come. They came in about 5 minutes as the guy was getting out of his vehicle. He was arrested.

Another time, called the police on another person DUI down another fwy in Las Vegas, followed him home and waited about 10 minutes for police to arrive. The man had already gone inside his home, so police knocked on his door and asked him some questions. Long story, short, he was also arrested.

Living in an apartment and heard gunfire right outside. Called police, who were there in under 5 minutes. Turns out it was a DV issue with no physical injuries. The guy who ostensibly shot the firearm was excorted to the cruiser after an investigation.

Those were my personal experiences with Las Vegas Metro - the police were punctual, courteous with me, and professional in their duties. 911 was equally the same.

However, I've had other experiences as a lawyer with other results. Had a case where a person was arrested for marijuana drug possession and was sitting cross-legged with his hands behind his back in handcuffs. The canine officer let his dog go to intimidate the perp, and the German shepherd attacked the man, dismembering his groin area.

Another experience: an African American who was driving down the wrong side of the street. The police attempted to pull him over and the guy got out of the car and fled on foot. There was a female passenger in the car (his girlfriend), who got into the driver's seat and pulled the car over. The police chased the guy, who circled back to his car and tried to get in through the passenger side window. While he was getting in, he was shot 5 times in the back, legs, and buttocks. The police apprehended the guy, took him to the hospital and held him there in handcuffs for 30 minutes outside of the front door while he bled to death. Their excuse was that they took him to the wrong hospital and needed to call in another cruiser to take him to the County hospital (University Medical Center). Their excuse for shooting him was that they felt he was trying to car-jack a car with a female inside of it. (They knew though that he had just gotten out of the same car).

Despite this, I know many police officers in Las Vegas and believe that they try to do the best they can under difficult circumstances. Sometimes they get overzealous. I guess the moral of the story is to live legally and hope you don't get confused with a perp. In all my experiences, for good and bad, LV Metro has been efficient.

____________________________

Live life like it's all up to you, but pray to God like it's all up to Him.

 

[Texas Moon]

I don't like to call the cops on people for silly reasons.
Kids often run up and down my street on 4-wheelers and go-karts(non street legal machines). Do I call the police? NO! I remember when I was a kid and some Old Battleaxe called the cops down on me because I rode my mini-bike down her street.
On the other hand.................

One time I pulled up to the local Stop&Rob C-store. Sitting outside the front was a raggedy-arse POS automobile with a couple straight out of casting from Deliverance. The woman called to me to "come over here". Fiquring they wanted a battery jump I approached. The "man" was passed out in the passenger seat. She held up a plastic tube and asked me to "blow in the breathalyzer"! Their car was equipped with a breath device that required clean breath to start the car. They were so blitzed they couldn't get the car started! I told them "No thanks". She launched on me about what a sorry mo-fo I was. I told her to back off. Walked back to my auto and called the police. No way was i going to allow someone that plastered to get out on the road. Po-po showed up in just a couple of minutes. The officer took care of it.

The neighbor likes to stay up all night, play music, and drink beer with his buds out in his driveway. (How they can stay out there with the mosquito's is beyond me) The music got a little loud. I asked him to tone it down after 10pm or the police would hear about it. So far so good.

Witnessed an automobile accident. Pretty bad one too. Called the cops immediately. They came quickly. Took my statement. Very professional.

My home was burglarized. Creeps stole a bunch of tools, jewelry, etc.
Called the police.
Investigating officer was half asleep during my interview. He basically told me get over it and move on. My stuff never surfaced.

My pick-up was broken into during a trip to a small town a couple hundred miles away. They stole a large Mag-Lite flashlite, a pair of inexpensive binoculars, a Minolta 35mm SLR camera, and a mint condition Colt .45SAA. Cops came. Interviewed me. Gave me feces about the Colt. No prints taken. A few eeks later I get a call from the police that "my stuff had been recovered". Went to police station. They had the flash light, binoculars, and the camera, but......ta-da....no Colt SAA. I hope they liked the Colt.

 

[Brian Williams]

When a domestic dispute turns into a fight between guy 1 and guy2 over babe, guy 1 pulls Glock and shoots the ground while firing Gangsta'. Cops show up 30seconds after guy 1 walks calmly down the street while I tell 911 his description, cops show up and ask if I can ID him, Sure, Guy 1 goes to jail with my testimony.

Guy 1 and guy 2 fighting over knife, guy 1 gets guy 2 in the face with said knife, cops show up on my 911 and and I hear my description of Perp over the load speaker of patrol car. Guy 1 and 2 both go to jail.

Many other times of fights and domestic disputes.

One of the LEO on local force was a student of mine and he often comes over and gives me a hug when he sees me.

b

 

[psyopspec]

I'll stick with actively engaged crimes to avoid clogging the thread with deer strikes, etc...

1) Public urination X2. Once in a hotel elevator at which I worked. The cops left it up to us to prosecute; the janitor said he'd clean it up for $100, guy told him to buzz off. Cops arrest the guy, run his record, and it turns out he has 3 outstanding warrants for public urination. Second time was a drunk woman in an alley near my home, middle of a summer afternoon. I called, waited, and gave a statement.

2) Fist fight between a stocky juvenile and a 30-something businessman. The juvie had two friends that were just watching. I didn't see who started it over what (and didn't much care so long as no one was critically injured). Called the cops, made a statement, walked away before seeing what happend.

3) Was dating a Norwegian girl a while back, and at bar close one night while out with other foreigners, we were hassled in a parking lot by a guy that didn't appreciate diversity from other nations. He, acting alone, was trying to incite a fight with five guys, two of whom were a LOT bigger than him. I made the 911 call while two others held him down, he called me dirty words after struggling free and starting to run away. I said, "You'll have to run faster than that, the cops have cars!" Arrested less than a minute later, made a statement. We went home and he went to detox/jail.

 

[v35]

I arrived at a single vehicle accident - car was on its roof off the road in dense woods and really messed up, most of the glass gone, and no occupants in the vehicle. It was about midnight, I couldn't find the driver, and couldn't tell if it was blood or mud all over the seats.

I called 911 as soon as I stopped my car. Took the police 50 minutes to arrive. No other cars came along while I waited.

I read later the driver was found dead the next morning, about thirty feet from the car.

As someone wrote, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away. In my case, fifty.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Mostly favorable

Fresno, CA PD, c. 1981: I was working at a gas station when a car load of unsavory characters who had obviously been drinking heavily and were talking smack pulled up to the island. While my partner serviced them, I surreptitiously called the police. I never expected four patrol cars to pull into the station and surround them. Just before the police put them in handcuffs and took them away, I said, "Hey, make sure he paid for the gas!"

San Bernardino County, CA Sheriff's Dept., 1991: I won't go into too much detail, but I got to ride in the back of a patrol car wearing matching steel bracelets, with a chain between them so I wouldn't lose them. But, man, they were polite!

SBC sheriff's again, 1993: I came home to find I had been burgled and cleaned out of anything and everything of value. Two deputies came out to take a report and, once again, were very polite and professional. I was mortified when my kitten used his claws to shinny up the deputy's pant leg, but he just laughed. The miscreants (neighbor's teenage kids) were later caught and I even got one of my guns back. This took some time (about two years) because it was impounded until the case was adjudicated and I moved in the interim, but they found me.

Henderson, NV PD, 2004: My truck was stolen from my apartment complex and I called it in. The first thing (I kid you not, literally the first thing) out of the dispatcher's mouth was: "Are you behind on payments?" "No, I'm not behind on any payments." An officer did come to my apartment roughly an hour later to take a report. The truck was later recovered.

Phoenix PD, May 2006: I stopped when a line of traffic ahead of me came to an unexpectedly abrupt halt, but another vehicle - and another vehicle behind that - didn't. No injuries to anyone, but the third car was trashed. I called 911 on my cell phone and the police were on scene in perhaps five minutes. Because of the heavy traffic and the lack of a wide shoulder on the street to pull over on, they ran interference for me and the second vehicle (we were the ones that were drivable) to pull into an adjacent parking lot to take the reports and get the other traffic moving again. Everything was handled well.

 

[jerkface11]

Drunk guy walks into my work declaring that he's going to beat up one of my coworkers. Said coworker isn't there drunk realizes this and says he'll be back at 5 to beat the %&#$ out of him. We call the cops tell them the story they send someone out. The cop says he'll be back at 5 in case the drunk shows up. 5 o'clock rolls around my coworker has now been at work for an hour or so the drunk does show up but instead of coming inside to fight just sits in his car. 10 months later the cop has yet to return.

 

[Davo]

I call often to report traffic hazards and suspicious activity.
Last year, while working on my ambulance we located a car that had slid into an embankment. Fire and CHP had not arrived, and were attempting to locate this same incident elsewhere in the area-we all responded from a local airport. This was wide open desert, and they were several minutes from our location when I notified them.
We approached the vehicle when a combative drunk, who spoke very little english began to curse at us, and proceeded to break a beer bottle on the dash and wave it at me.
We moved back to the rig and pulled away while I notified CHP. They advised they were 10 out-I could still see the drunk trying to figure out how to unbuckle his seatbelt. 2 minutes pass and the rig begins to shake and though its 3 am its bright as noon. The CHP air ship had come in for support. They hovered 20 feet over this drunks vehicle and then landed on the desert road extremely fast. The co-pilot exited with gun drawn and the bad guy surrendered pretty quick.
I was not in immediate danger but it was quite a show.

 

[Charles Foxtrot]

New Years Eve, my freshman year of college, I'm working the night shift at a self-service gas station. Open the door to help a customer and I get a gun shoved in my gut. Said they were going to blow my crackah ass all over the wall. Didn't know what a crackah was. They cleaned out the station till, flitched my wallet and ran away laughing. Cops came quickly enough, but simply wanted to fill out the paperwork. Took no prints, didn't even drive too far down the alley the bastards ran into.

1) Cop friend of the family said that the police are only there to draw a line around a body - with powdered sugar from their donuts.
2) Robbers were petrified that I might have been carrying a gun. Hmmmmm.
3) The station's suits immediately "counselled" me on carrying any weapon. Absolutely no guns - not even a knife. I quit the station right then. I may be a college student -- but I'm not that dumb!

BTW: A week later the same two (or similar lowlifes) shot a gas attendant about a half mile from my station. Then a third robbery, and finally a fourth, where the gas cashier was killed. None ever solved.

 

[kermit315]

dark lonely fall night, around midnight in rural central illinois, (all of central illinois is rural, right?). found a ford explorer on its roof in a ditch. occupants were messed up pretty bad. driver was the brother of the states attorney for the county we were in. his wife had gone to the car to sleep off the bar trip. he decided he was good enough to drive. he rolls the explorer, she is completely messed up and moaning, slurring everything she trys to say, he can talk. they had been there about 30 minutes by my estimations when me and the wife rolled up. I started first responder stuff on her.....cover her up to keep her warm, get her talking to try to keep her awake, etc. get him to talk to me to keep him somewhat calm. 911 was called and on the phone as soon as we arrived. 35 minutes later, fire/rescue (volunteer department) was on scene. still no police. i am friends with the guys that responded, so i said i was leaving and if they needed anything, i would be at mom and dads house less than a mile away (i was on leave from Washington at the time).

later found out his wife would have died if we had not shown up, according to the hospital and the rescue guys, and the driver got off scott free, although he had another incident about 8 months later from what i am told, and i dont know what happened with that one.

and i still know the exact spot that it happened at, and can point it out even though that was 4 years ago and it has overgrown since then.

 

[Elza]

About 20 years ago we heard a couple (?) of guys right outside our home. They sounded drunk or stoned. My wife called the cops and I picked up an AR15.

The first cop was at our door in three (that’s 3) minutes! I was duly impressed! After looking out and confirming the presence of a cop I unloaded the AR, laid it on the table, and opened the door. About 20 or 30 seconds later two more showed up and started searching the neighborhood.

After the first cop finished taking the report he looked at the AR.

Cop: “AR15?”
Me: “Yup.”
Cop: “Twenty round magazine?”
Me: “Thirty”

The cop smiled and nodded his head in approval. Circumstances notwithstanding, it was a very pleasant encounter with the local LEO’s. Of course this was 20 years ago. Now (if and when they showed up) I’d get a butt chewing over having the AR out. Times have changed, unfortunately.

 

[AlaskaErik]

I rather bluntly told them that if I had to call them again it would be to collect a GSV from my porch, and they basically let me know I'd have to do whatever I would have to do.

I think you have that backwards. You would have been the (intended) victim. He would have been the gunshot perp, or GSP.

 

[chaim]

All of these situations involve the Howard County Police in MD (and only cases where we wanted them), I do not mean to imply anything about the professionalism of police from other jurisdictions:

-1982, I am 12 years old and hanging out throwing a ball with a friend of mine. Some local kids from a nearby street are walking by, one playing with a gun under his coat. He noticed that I saw the gun and immediately draws it, threatening to shoot us. My parents call the cops, it takes them an hour or more to show up. The next day one of the kids comes to the house (he was spooked when he saw a bunch of police cars) and claims it was only a pellet gun but the police collect a .22lr pistol from his friends house and they didn't have any pellet guns. I have no knowledge about charges (it was 1982 and they were probably 13 or 14 so they probably were just given a good talking to).

-1990 (20 years old), a friend and I were jumped by 5 guys. I was taken by surprise, and not being a fighter (this was my 2nd "fight", and my last was at 12) I went down fast. While coming in and out of consciousness I hear "kill the n*er lover" as I'm being kicked in the head and face. Attackers leave, my face swells to about double its normal size, I'm dizzy, cops show up and decide it was just a fight between kids and I'm just sore that I lost. Since we got a plate number, it is radioed in and another cop finds them. Instead of taking me to the hospital (which is 100 yards away) the cop drives me out 10 minutes to identify the attackers, and then totally butchers the police report (which is used as gospel in court, allowing most of them to get off with nothing, and one threatened to sue me for having him charged).

-1991 (21), I wasn't religious yet and had a party with about 20 of my closest friends (seriously, every invited guest was a good friend at the time). A group of people (4 I think) we don't know shows up and starts causing trouble (I had about $200 of music CDs and a few other items "disappear"), and they actually chase off a couple of my friends. This group leaves for more beer since we didn't have enough, and when they try to return I don't let them in. They scream that they'll be back and we'll be sorry. About 30min later about 5 car loads of people show up and start banging on the sides of the house. A friend calls the cops. After 15-20min they haven't shown up (even though, as I find out the next day, most of the neighbors on my court also called the cops about the mob scene outside, especially after all the cars on the court start getting targeted by the group). So, a few of my friends stupidly decide to take matters into their own hands, and if we get pounded, we get pounded. Luckily, a few of the thugs knew and liked a few of my friends and the group of thugs leave, leaving the very angry original group of unwanted guests very upset. About an hour or two later the cops come by and hassle me and my friends checking all our IDs to be sure we are legal (we are) and telling us the situation was our fault (shouldn't have social gatherings that include beer if you are under 50 I guess).

-1997- I am working as a bank teller. A customer has his account frozen (could be a number of things, all involving the courts or IRS) and I notice that there is a note that he threatened the life of the manager of another branch over it. I explain I can't give him his money and he becomes very belligerent. He threatens to kill me and pulls his truck where he is looking right at my window (I am working the evening drive through window and I'm in the bank alone). I call my manager (bank rules require it) and he absolutely forbids me from calling the cops (the guy may have friends with accounts and we don't want him telling them we had him arrested), so I call the shopping center security guard (eventually my manager allows this). The security guard is a retired cop who still carries. He takes out his weapon and calls for the police. The customer sees this and burns rubber out of the parking lot. The guard and I give the police a good description of the vehicle, and the guy's name and address (from his account info). I hear nothing else about it.

-1997- Again, same bank. We've recently been bought out by another bank but still have the old name. Things are slowly being changed over to their system. Apparently, their alarms automatically arm at 6pm, but we are open until 7pm (and don't leave until 7:15 or 7:30). So, to respond to a call from our security office about a silent alarm which is supposed to mean there is an intruder in the bank, the cop walks right up and knocks on the window. If there was an intruder he probably would have shot us then and there, but it was only me and the girl I was training.

-2002, my car is rear ended. I know enough about car accidents and car insurance to know I want a police report. I call the police, instead of coming to the scene they tell me they'll meet me at my house to take a statement. After about 2 hours someone shows up and takes a report.

-About a year ago, no one called, but we get a knock at the door at 0 dark 30 (probably 1 or 2am). It is a Howard County Police officer. Apparently, some kids with red spraypaint have been marking cars and several on the court were hit (including my dad's). Police take a statement and write a report for insurance purposes, and include the cars on our court in the investigation. I think they find the kids responsible, gang wannabes.

 

[Deanimator]

All of these situations involve the Howard County Police in MD (and only cases where we wanted them), I do not mean to imply anything about the professionalism of police from other jurisdictions:

This is absolutely true.

I grew up in Chicago and have NEVER had (or seen) a favorable or even a professional encounter with the Chicago PD. I read yesterday that their "SOS" unit, already under state investigation for thefts, home invasions, kidnappings, etc. is now under federal investigation; they're going back a long time and investigating a lot more officers; AND RICO prosecutions are a real possibility. There have been a series of assaults and even a VIDEOTAPED MURDER by Chicago cops. Collusion and coverup is the rule. It's not a matter of individual bad cops; the entire SYSTEM is irredeemably corrupt. Chicago cops themselves complain about gang infilitration within the ranks. You could swap the Chicago and Mexico City PDs and never notice the difference.

The Fulton, Mo PD where I went to college were mostly the Keystone Cops. They didn't do any harm, but rarely did any good. The one time I saw them accomplish something, it took shouted suggestions from a bunch of college students.

I have nothing but respect for the Berea, Oh PD. I never saw them act in anything less than a professional fashion. Sometimes they even did things not required of them.

My one personal experience with the Cleveland PD was negative. They've had corruption problems in the past and have employed White supremacists. Unlike the Chicago PD, they fire "problem children". They just terminated a couple of cops who started a racially motivated bar fight (which they lost). Off duty Cleveland cops volunteered to protect the home of a man who shot and killed an armed robber, after the man's home was vandalized. Unlike the Norfolk PD, they're smart enough to REFUSE to knowingly enforce invalid preempted city gun control laws. They've said so to the Mayor of Cleveland. They've been iffy in the past, but they seem to be getting better.

The Rocky River, Oh PD seems very professional. They have quick response times, even for non-life-threatening 911 calls.

The quality of the police is entirely dependent upon where you live. They might actually contribute to your safety, or they might be as much danger to you as private sector criminals. It's all luck of the draw.

 

[Bubbles]

Two guys, not community residents, doing dope in a car in the parking lot behind my townhouse a few years ago. Deputies arrived in five minutes, two arrests, one deportation (found out later thanks to our neighborhood-watch deputy).

I'm so glad I moved.

 

[StuckInMA]

The Good
I used to live in a 3rd floor apt. People on 2nd floor smoked and sold herb. Usually I'd mind my own business when it comes to that stuff but smoke rises and would fill my apt. Didn't think it was good for the wife and young child to have to smell it. Landlord did nothing because "girl says it's candles."

Next time I smelled it I called the police and they were there within 10 minutes (quite fast for the area and nature of the call). Didn't make an arrest but gave a warning.

Didn't know it but it sparked a sting. A few weeks later the parking lot was filled with unmarked and marked cruisers and several occupants were brought out in handcuffs by local and state PD. Found out as part of the sting they hit a least one more place the same way at the same time two towns over.

Problem solved.

The Bad
I was 17 and still living at home. My parents lived right off a highway on/off ramp and had been broken into several times so LEO was familiar with the location. Town has under 5,000 residents and LEO was seriously understaffed at the time.

My parents were out of town and the only people there were myself and a hunting buddy. At about 11pm a car full of teens pulls up in front of the house and sits there for over 20 minutes with everyone shuffling around. Called LEO to report the incident. 15 minutes later the car was still there. Called again and dispatch said they had sent someone out.

Waited another 20 minutes or so and was just about to call again when 3 additional cars full of kids pull off the highway and directly into my parents' driveway with the car that was parked on the road in tow.

"He-Man" hunting buddy heads outside (unarmed) to confront them before I can say anything. They see him coming and pay no attention. I decide 4 carloads of kids versus my unarmed hunting buddy was a bad idea and grabbed the shotgun. Stepped onto the well lit second story porch and racked the slide. Never saw 4 cars disappear so quickly.

LEO never showed up.

The Ugly
Was target practicing in the middle of the woods on my parents' legally posted property. 100% legal as far as distance, license, etc. After emptying my last magazine I took off my ear protection to reload and a LEO pops up in the brush to my right blowing a whistle and yelling "cease fire." Scared the living daylights out of me. No orange vest or any other color that would make him stand out.

He approaches me and with a major attitude (probably from having to make his way through about 1000ft of briars and brush) asks me what I'm doing and tells me I have to stop because they are receiving complaints from all over the place. I politely tell him I'm perfectly legal and can retrieve the plot plans to prove it if he wants me to. He says "No I just need you to stop." Feeling a bit po'd with his attitude I politely say "Are you telling me to stop or are you asking me to stop?" He repeats the fact that they are getting complaints and says he wants me to stop. I say "I understand that, but since I'm 100% legal I want to know if you're telling me I have to stop or if you're asking me to stop." He finally breaks down and says "Can you just stop shooting for the rest of the day for me please?" I politely tell him I will, ask where he parked and send him in the direction of the cleared path that will lead right back to his squad car.

I'm so happy that I have a good backstop because he could have come from any direction. God only knows what would have happened if he came from directly behind a poorly prepared backstop. It could have been real ugly.

Dad called the chief the next day and explained the situation. Now I have to call Dispatch when I go shooting so they can tell the callers I'm 100% legal and not shooting in their direction.

911 Related
I was fishing in a boat and noticed flames and smoke coming from the woods near some homes. Called 911 and was actually put on hold. I thought the whole "911 puts you on hold" was just a joke. Guess not. Turned into a forest fire. Luckily a resident had called the FD directly because the FD showed up about 20 minutes later while I was still on hold. :banghead:

The next day I went through the phonebook and put the direct lines to all the area PD's and FD's into my cell phone contact list so I could avoid using 911 again.

 

[TallPine]

The next day I went through the phonebook and put the direct lines to all the area PD's and FD's into my cell phone contact list so I could avoid using 911 again.

In our county, you talk to the same person regardless of whether you dial 911 or the xxx-xxxx number. LEO/FD/Ambulance dispatch is the same person (whoever is on duty) too.

 

[Deanimator]

911 Related
I was fishing in a boat and noticed flames and smoke coming from the woods near some homes. Called 911 and was actually put on hold. I thought the whole "911 puts you on hold" was just a joke. Guess not. Turned into a forest fire. Luckily a resident had called the FD directly because the FD showed up about 20 minutes later while I was still on hold.

The year before last(?) I was going with a friend and his wife to a chicken wing cook-off in Lakewood, Oh.

Traveling down Detroit Rd., my friend saw a guy stagger (or be pushed) out of the front door of a bar and collapse face down in the gutter. My friend turned around and came back. The guy remained motionless in the gutter. My friend's wife, an ex-nurse, checked the guy's vital signs while I dialed 911. I'm not sure why, but I talked to TWO 911 dispatchers. It might be because of the two area codes in Cuyahoga County. The first dispatcher was professional and took the call efficiently. I was then transferred to Lakewood dispatch. I got what sounded like a 16 year old Kelly Bundy clone. I repeated my previous concise description of the emergency, again noting that the victim was "in the gutter, in front of X bar". She responded, "He's in the gutter? He's on the roof?"

I then spent ten minutes explaining to her the difference between a street gutter and a gutter and downspout on a house, and why a person unconscious and unresponsive in front of a bar was unlikely to be found in the latter. She then asked, "He's in the storm drain?" I resisted the overpowering temptation to tell her, "Yes, he was carried there by giant radioactive ants, please send James Arness and the Army!!!" She then spent more time asking me MY personal information than she had asking about the condition of the victim. Lakewood EMS eventually showed up a few minutes later.

I guess it's still not as bad as the Detroit 911 operator who demanded that a caller put the man who shot her on the line.

 

[.cheese.]

I call most often to report things like accidents that I witnessed.

For example, I live on a lake that connects to the Atlantic ocean, there is a road though about a mile east of me that runs along the actual ocean, and I can see about 3 miles of it going north to south.

Often times I'll be on my balcony having a cigarette at say 3 AM, and some drunk driver will be going 50 mph and smash into a light-pole.

Since there's nobody else on that road, and the driver is likely unconcsious or something, I always call those in.

Happens more often than I'd like. I've called in at least 5 in the last month and a half.

 

[StuckInMA]

In our county, you talk to the same person regardless of whether you dial 911 or the xxx-xxxx number. LEO/FD/Ambulance dispatch is the same person (whoever is on duty) too.

Our landlines work that way too but calls from cell phones are routed differently.

I'm not sure if carriers have come up with a better system that connects you with the local PD/FD via GPS coordinates or not nowadays.

 

[Scorpiusdeus]

I guess I should feel lucky. I've had more citizen interaction with LE than I can recall. In two cases that I can recall, they were right there before I could even call them. In my small town of 73K the average response time is about 2-4 minutes. They respond to anything and everything.

In L.A. It's a bit different, but getting much better since Bill Bratton took over. Myself and a few employees recently took a theft suspect into custody after he stole a bike from in front of our offices. We held him for PD and the responded with lights and sirens in about ten minutes.

 

[Noxx]

I forgot to add a favorable (sorta) encounter to my list.

2002, I got popped for a DUI by the CHP. I was honest and polite to the officers, and got the same in return. I was arrested (of course) but one of the officers even drove my truck into a nearby parking lot for me, rather than hitting me with the impound.

FWIW, took the standard first offender deal and quit drinking so much. Jail sucks, no interest in going back.

 

[41magsnub]

Last year driving down Reserve street at night in Missoula a little Japenese car with the coffee can exhaust cut me off, then starts swerving around. In it looked like 4 young guys with shaved heads and black cloths. I honk the horn once as they panic brake in front. That was when one of them pointed a gun at me. I memorized their license plate and then took the next turn and called the cops. The cops took the info and I never heard anything else about it. I should have gotten a police report number or something, called back the next day to see if anything had been done and nobody knew anything about it. I seriously doubt it made it out of the 911 dispatch center.

 

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

I've called in drunk drivers and such. Also for DV (mom loves to hit the bottle). Never had a bad experience.