Shame

A man having dinner with his son was called by his ex-wife who told him, "I'm having an anxiety attack; If you don't let me see my son, I'm going to take some pills." She had attempted suicide in the past so the man called police to check on her. I arrived at her newly renovated house with a fellow officer and looked through the front window. I could see a woman lying on the couch with a glass of wine on the table in front of her. I knocked on the door, announced 'police' and asked her to open the door.

She got up slowly, staggered to the door and opened it. "Are you allright?", I asked. "I'm fine", she whispered hoarsely. I asked if she had taken some pills and she nodded. I found two empty bottles of painkillers in her bathroom and an empty bottle of wine on the counter. There were 90 pills missing but she had the bottles for a week so we didn't know how many she had ingested. She was groggy and returned to the couch. Judging by her nice house, car, and business card, she appeared to be successful.

The fire department soon arrived and transported her to the hospital for treatment. I followed her to the hospital and stood by until the doctor told me she would make a full recovery (with possible liver damage.)

The ex-husband told us they divorced after he caught her cheating and that her recent reckless behavior was causing her to lose custody of their son. The man she was having an affair with cut off the relationship and she was struggling with her change of lifestyle. I can't verify the truth of his story but I thought to myself, 'what a shame to lose your family over a physical affair.'

Don't ticket the wealthy:
I issued a parking ticket on a vehicle parked on a dirt lot in my patrol area. This is something I do when it's not busy. Only a few of the guys on my squad issue these and many feel it's not 'real' police work. I admit it's not the same as making felony arrests but I'm sure there are people who support the enforcement of city codes. How many times have you seen lazy people park in handicap parking spaces because they know the chance of getting a ticket is rare?

Anyway, the owner of the car parked on the dirt lot was furious over this ticket. He called my sergeant and demanded an explanation. She explained the city code prevents anyone from parking a vehicle on a non-dust free lot (a lot that is not concrete or asphalt). Well, this guy owns the lot and lives in a very expensive part of town so he would not stand for it. He's convinced if you own the lot it's okay to park on it (wrong!). He even had a sign placed on the lot stating 'no parking; police will tow any vehicles parked on this lot'. My sergeant explained he could request a court hearing to contest the citation. He told her he would continue to park on the lot and wanted a guarantee no more tickets would be issued. She did not give him any guarantees. I am now expecting to go to court over the $135 ticket so I took plenty of photographs to document the violation. I eagerly await the day I meet the millionaire in court.