Here is something that
we all remember
Submitted by Gar Austin
You're Not A Cop Until You Taste Them:
Author Unknown
The department was all astir, there was a lot of laughing and joking due to all
the new officers, myself included, hitting the streets today for the first
time. After months of seemingly endless amounts of classes, paperwork, and
lectures we were finally done with the
All you could see were rows of cadets with huge smiles and polished badges. As
we sat in the briefing room, we could barely sit still anxiously awaiting our
turn to be introduced and given our beat assignment or, for the lay person, our
own portion of the city to "serve and protect."
It was then that he walked in. A statue of a man - 6 foot 3 and 230 pounds of
solid muscle, he had black hair with highlights of gray and steely eyes that
make you feel nervous even when he wasn't looking at you. He had a reputation
for being the biggest and the smartest officer to ever work our fair city. He
had been on the department for longer than anyone could remember and those
years of service had made him into somewhat of a legend.
The new guys, or "rookies" as he called us, both respected and feared
him. When he spoke, even the most seasoned
officers paid attention. It was almost a privilege when one the rookies got to
be around when he would tell one of his police stories about the old days. But
we knew our place and never interrupted for fear of being shooed away. He was
respected and revered by all who knew him.
After my first year on the department I still had never heard or saw him speak
to any of the rookies for any length of time. When he did speak to them all he
would say was, "So, you want to be a policeman do you hero?"
I'll tell you what, when you can tell me what they taste like, then you can
call yourself a real policeman."
This particular phrase I had heard dozens of times. Me and my buddies all had
bets about "what they taste like" actually referred to. Some believed
it referred to the taste of your own blood after a hard fight. Others thought
it referred to the taste of sweat after a long day's work. Being on the
department for a year, I thought I knew just about everyone and everything.
So one afternoon, I mustered up the courage and walked up to him. When he
looked down at me, I said "You know, I think I've paid my dues. I've been
in plenty of fights, made dozens of arrests, and sweated my butt off just like
everyone else. So what does that little saying of yours mean anyway?" With
that, he merely stated, "Well, seeing as how you've said and done it all,
you tell me what it means, hero." When I had no answer, he shook his head
and snickered, "rookies," and walked away.
The next evening was to be the worst one to date. The night started out slow,
but as the evening wore on, the calls became more frequent and dangerous. I
made several small arrests and then had a real knock down drag out fight.
However, I was able to make the arrest without hurting the suspect or myself.
After that, I was looking forward to just letting the shift wind down and
getting home to my wife and daughter.
I had just glanced at my watch and it was 11:55, five more minutes and I would
be on my way to the house. I don't know if it was fatigue or just my
imagination, but as I drove down one of the streets on my beat, I thought I saw
my daughter standing on someone else's porch. I looked again but it was not my
daughter as I had first thought but merely a small child about her age. She was
probably only six or seven years old and dressed in an oversized shirt that
hung to her feet. She was clutching an old rag doll in her arms that looked
older than me.
I immediately stopped my patrol car to see what she was doing outside her house
at such an hour by herself. When I approached, there seemed to be a sigh of
relief on her face. I had to laugh to myself, thinking she sees the hero
policeman come to save the day. I knelt at her side and asked what she was
doing outside.
She said "My mommy and daddy just had a really big fight and now mommy
won't wake up." My mind was reeling. Now what do I do? I instantly called
for backup and ran to the nearest window. As I looked inside I saw a man
standing over a lady with his hands covered in blood, her blood. I kicked open
the door, pushed the man aside and checked for a pulse, but unable to find one.
I immediately cuffed the man and began doing CPR on the lady.
It was then I heard a small voice from behind me, "Mr. Policeman, please
make my mommy wake up." I continued to perform CPR until my backup and
medics arrived but they said it was too late. She was dead.
I then looked at the man. He said, "I don't know what happened. She was
yelling at me to stop drinking and go get a job and I had just had enough. I
just shoved her so she would leave me alone and she fell and hit her
head."
As I walked the man out to the car in handcuffs, I again saw that little girl.
In the five minutes that has passed, I went from hero to monster. Not only was
I unable to wake up her mommy, but now I was taking daddy away too.
Before I left the scene, I thought I would talk to the little girl. To say
what, I don't know. Maybe just to tell her I was sorry about her mommy and
daddy. But as I approached, she turned away and I knew it was useless and I
would probably make it worse.
As I sat in the locker room at the station, I kept replaying the whole thing in
my mind. Maybe if I would have been faster or done something different, just
maybe that little girl would still have her mother. And even though it may
sound selfish, I would still be the hero.
It was then that I felt a large hand on my shoulder. I heard that all too
familiar question again, "Well, hero, what do they taste like?"
But before I could get mad or shout some sarcastic remark, I realized that all
the pent up emotions had flooded the surface and there was a steady stream of
tears cascading down my face. It was at that moment that I realized what the
answer to his question was.
Tears.
With that, he began to walk away, but he stopped. "You know, there was
nothing you could have done differently," he said. "Sometimes you can
do everything right and still the outcome is the same.
You may not be the hero you once thought you were, but now you ARE a police
officer."
STAY SAFE OUT THERE