Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Just Some Random Stuff...


Well, I wish I had an amazing story of what happened to follow my last rant, er, I mean post. But, I don't. We went to the party, which was fun, talked to some Local PD cops who all said, "Him?????" "He did that?" "That doesn't sound like him at all." And one of them gladly signed off on the ticket without even looking at the truck parked out front. They are going to ask the offending officer, see what's up and get back to us. Chris said to also remind him of officer safety issues. Turns out before the Local Cop knew Chris was PD, he failed to notice the large Glock sitting out in plain view on the front passenger seat... At least if the guy had seen the gun and then stuck his own in Chris' face, Chris could've respected the guy! Oh, that reminds me of a question I would love an answer from all y'all. Which side of the car does the officer approach from at your agency? What about when you, or your officers are on a freeway/in heavy traffic. Also does your agency carry tasers? Or only certain officers specially trained? Or like Chris' agency can your management only cough up enough dough to furnish one lousy taser they all pass around? What about dashboard cameras? Who has them, likes them, uses them? Ok, that was more like 20 questions. Told you in the title of this post: Random. Continuing in that theme, here are some recent fun 911 calls: (Evil Me only answered in my head. I was (mostly) a consumate professional)
Caller: Come quick, there are some teens and they are drinking out of the trunk.
Evil Me: Like the whole trunk is filled with beer and they are using it like a trough? Cool, I'll send someone right out...to take pictures.
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Caller: I am at my sister's house and she was broken into.
Me: Someone broke into your sister???? ( I just couldn't resist, that one was too easy.)
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Caller (With thick hispanic accent): There were over 10 shots fired, please come quick.
Me: (After asking many questions,) Can you tell what race the suspects are?
Caller: Mexican! They are all Mexican!
Me: How many suspects are there?
Caller: I don't know, it's too dark! It's too far! And there are just so many Mexicans! I think 30! Yes, 30 Mexicans!
(This wasn't hilarious, it was just that I found it funny that this guy was way more upset by the fact that the suspects were Mexican, than that shots were fired. And where did he get the exact number "30"? Strange.
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And my last and personal favorite:
Caller: My neighbor, Jane Smith, kicked down my fence!
Me: Did you see her do it, or are you assuming....
Caller: I didn't see her do it but, I have her shoe in evidence!!!!!!!
Me: There are....no .....words.....

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Oh No He DIDN'T! ! ! ! !


I was so furious about the following incident I had to calm waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down before I could write about it. I keep this blog clean and I was going to wreak havoc on it dropping no-no 4 letter words. Big deep breath, trying to stay calm, here goes:
After working an extra long shift and driving over an hour just to get home, my husband Chris got pulled over by a Local Town PD officer for having no plates on the truck. Chris stated immediately that he was a cop since he was carrying. The officer lectured Chris, and wanted to know why, since he is a cop, didn't he know better and didn't he know the CA vehicle code about licence plates? Chris explained that there is a local gang that hangs out, outside his police station writing down officer plates and then they attempt to locate the cop's home address. Chris makes a lot of arrests, so he's not too popular with that gang. The cop stares blankly at Chris. The he proceeds to ask Chris, "All right, Christopher, but why don't you have any licence plates on your truck, you should know better." Let me note that at no time did Chris have a bad attitude. Here is a little side plot/sub story. Chris has a right to be a bit short with the Local Town Cop. Not long ago, this same local PD came into my yard while Chris and I were both working nights, and impounded all of my dogs for killing a Chihuahua, that, by the way, had come into our yard. Sad and unfortunate, yes. Dramatic enough for the Local PD Sgt. to comment he had "Never seen any thing so horrible" as the slaughtered dog. Puh-leez! Get out more! A dead dog is the worst a SGT. had ever seen????? That gets me off onto a tangent on how Chris gets into knock down drag'em out fights for his LIFE on a nightly basis, and this is what he comes home to??? Same local PD tried to get Chris in trouble after aforementioned dog incident occurred by filing a complaint against Chris at his job! It's not like Chris killed the Chihuahua for pete's sake! If he did, by all means file a complaint!!!!! This same Local PD issued no apology when they lost one of my dogs during the impound, nor did they pay the vet bills when she was later hit by a car, while out running in traffic--specifically she was running in traffic, because THEY LOST HER. Let me also not get into a diatribe of how when we finally jumped through all of the Local PD's lengthy and ridiculous requirements to get our dogs released ($2000 later), we overheard a lady at the front counter saying ,"But why did they come on our property and take our dogs, for barking?" and heard the officer respond : The police chief in Local Town felt cops should be held to a HIGHER standard than the general public." You can't do that!!! Equal yes, but higher? Absolutely not! OK, I am getting worked up again. Deep breath. I digress, back to this morning:
Chris gave up trying to explain and waited patiently for his ID and paperwork to be returned to him. Chris was then handed his ticket. A TICKET! Not just any ticket but a stupid, minor vehicle code FIX-IT TICKET that means Chris has to jump through a bunch of hoops, track down a Local Town cop for a sign off, go to court etc. All in the middle of his night when if Chris had been a private citizen, who was polite, and on his way home from a grave yard shift about 90% of all cops, certainly 100% of the cops I know, would have given him a verbal warning. If you are a cop or a family member of a cop then you get why I am so pissed off. If you are not, I hope I explained well enough. There are some things you just DO NOT DO!: You don't date your best friend's ex wife, you don't fart loudly during church, you don't go to the doctors office with a cough and announce loudly that you have TB and you definitely don't write another cop a ticket. That's what I call canabalism; like attacking one of your own! It's just wrong. Chris pulled over one of my agencies' guys for going 90 mph. Did he write him a ticket? Of course not. Now some citizens may say this was perfectly fair, but truth is, there are certain unsaid perks to being a PD officer. Big stuff, like felonies? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But tinted windows, minor speeding, broken tail light---you just don't go there. Chris has, and would, still back up a Local PD cop if he was off duty, that is part of the unspoken understanding between cops too. Oh I am all mad again. OOOOOOH!!!! That just chaps my hide. Deep breath.......
But their will be payback. This Sunday. We are going to the party of a cop down the street, a friend and co-worker of Chris', who knows 80% or more of the Local PD guys. And the Local PD guys will be stopping by, both on and off duty. And Chris will have the truck parked outside with the plates on it. And Chris will say loudly in a room full of Local Town PD cops, " Is Officer M---L here? I need him to sign off the ticket he gave me for no licence plates." And Officer M------, whether or not he is there, will be looked down upon and he will be ridiculed....... and it will be beautiful.
I welcome all comments on this one but I really want to hear some cop's opinions, too. Back me up?

Thursday, February 08, 2007

24 Beers in a Case, 24 Hours in a Day---Coincidence? I Think Not!


I always find it funny when Chris comes home at 7 in the morning with a six pack and has a couple beers with like, really spicy tacos or a hamburger. I am just waking up and am in "breakfast mode," and he'll hand me the Western Bacon cheeseburger he so thoughtfully picked up for me. That is the life of a graveyard worker; all backwards. When I worked graves, I put tinfoil on the windows or wore a sleep mask. Chris doesn't need any of that. What he does need is for me to stay out of the bedroom, which for some reason, I seem to find impossible. I can plan to stay out, intend to stay out and really want to stay out, but first I gotta shower. And I have to have the door open so I can hear Little Man in his crib, at which time the dogs (all 4) will sneak in; one that farts loudly, another snores like a lumberjack. Then when I am finished I shoo them all out, close the door behind me and remember I have to go back in and brush my teeth. Oops I gotta go back in for my glasses and for some deodorant. Hey, today's laundry day isn't it? He won't mind as long as I do his stuff too. "Little man, psst, Little man, you can't be in here! Your going to wake...." "DAAAAADAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!" " Sorry, Chris, I'll be out in just a second. Dogs, out! Almost finished....[whispering loudly like that helps] Did you want me to wash the cover for your vest and some undershirts?" Chris: "Mmmmph!" "Right, sorry, OK, I'm out of here." Crap I forgot my shoes, I gotta go back in, and I can't find any socks. Got them, I'll just sit on the edge of the bed to put them on real quick. [Look of death from Chris.] "What? I'm just putting my shoes on!" Chris: "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE LEAVE!!!!!" "Ok, ok, I really thought I was being quiet, sorry!" Now, repeat that times pretty much every morning and that's our routine. What can I say, I mean to stay out, I really do, but I miss him when he works graves!