Yelling at Me
Women have been yelling at me recently.
I got dispatched to a woman's house this afternoon. Upon arriving she launches into an overly detailed and incredibly emotional description of having to avoid a a traffic accident due to a woman on a cell phone, and then states that a man in a different car intentionally tried to run her off the road. She kept saying she wanted to press charges and wanted a report. During her high-volume monologue I felt intense anger and anxiety radiating from her, and more than once had to check my breathing and make sure my heart rate didn't elevate.
She provided the license plate of the vehicle that almost ran her off the road, and said she saw the driver in her apartment complex and believed he lived nearby. As I explained to her that without any evidence or corroborating information, unless he admitted to trying to cause a collision or to hurt her there wouldn't be any charges, a burglary dispatch went out at a neighboring apartment complex. I sprinted out the door as I told her I would be back, and raced down the street.
Three other officers arrived at the apartment at about the same time. Myself and one of the other backup officers waited near the patio at the back of the apartment while the other two went in the front door. Long story short, no burglar. The complainant was going through withdrawal (probably alcohol) and saw a hallucination of a stranger in his home. Your tax payer dollars at work.
I went back to the angry lady's house, and she commented that she was a little scared when I ran out so suddenly. The interruption disrupted her emotional momentum, and I took the opportunity to control the conversation. I resumed my explanation that charges were not likely, but that I would happy to document the incident in a report. She managed to communicate that what she really needed was some validation because the incident upset her so much, and I told her I would be happy to help her by creating a paper trail.
Crazy lady returned to sanity, a short report was written, all's well that ends well. Perhaps tomorrow I can go the day without getting yelled at.
And hopefully the imaginary burglar wasn't a ghost or spook trying to get help in avenging his untimely death. I doubt there is a 911 emergency response for ghosts. Hmm, I think there's a decent story in there somewhere.
I got dispatched to a woman's house this afternoon. Upon arriving she launches into an overly detailed and incredibly emotional description of having to avoid a a traffic accident due to a woman on a cell phone, and then states that a man in a different car intentionally tried to run her off the road. She kept saying she wanted to press charges and wanted a report. During her high-volume monologue I felt intense anger and anxiety radiating from her, and more than once had to check my breathing and make sure my heart rate didn't elevate.
She provided the license plate of the vehicle that almost ran her off the road, and said she saw the driver in her apartment complex and believed he lived nearby. As I explained to her that without any evidence or corroborating information, unless he admitted to trying to cause a collision or to hurt her there wouldn't be any charges, a burglary dispatch went out at a neighboring apartment complex. I sprinted out the door as I told her I would be back, and raced down the street.
Three other officers arrived at the apartment at about the same time. Myself and one of the other backup officers waited near the patio at the back of the apartment while the other two went in the front door. Long story short, no burglar. The complainant was going through withdrawal (probably alcohol) and saw a hallucination of a stranger in his home. Your tax payer dollars at work.
I went back to the angry lady's house, and she commented that she was a little scared when I ran out so suddenly. The interruption disrupted her emotional momentum, and I took the opportunity to control the conversation. I resumed my explanation that charges were not likely, but that I would happy to document the incident in a report. She managed to communicate that what she really needed was some validation because the incident upset her so much, and I told her I would be happy to help her by creating a paper trail.
Crazy lady returned to sanity, a short report was written, all's well that ends well. Perhaps tomorrow I can go the day without getting yelled at.
And hopefully the imaginary burglar wasn't a ghost or spook trying to get help in avenging his untimely death. I doubt there is a 911 emergency response for ghosts. Hmm, I think there's a decent story in there somewhere.