rescue 911
so, i had just gotten off work. the apartment was really hot because the sun was setting, so we opened the windows all the way and were just relaxing and watching the end of a voyager episode that we had started this morning. we were just talking about wine alcohol content and they way it affects the flavor, actually. what assholes. it was maybe 7:20. then we hear a car peel down the alley and into the driveway next door. it's a shitty little house squeezed between our apartment building and some new condos. there are shouts and crashes, and jason goes off to snoop from the bedroom.
suddenly, jason runs out of the bedroom and waves me over. the guy and his girlfriend are shouting about something. she's drunk and crying. they are arguing about going to mexico or something and he is loading camping gear (propane tanks, a grill) into the back of a truck. then, he throws a set of keys at the girl. she starts screaming and trying to take things out of the truck. then, he grabs her by the throat and throws her against another truck. i was like OH SHIT and went into the livnig room to call 911. i've never called 911. i was so scared. i think that i did a pretty good job of giving details... it was freaking me out that it was a conference call with the officers and the 911 operator. i went back into the bedroom just in time to see her on the fence and him kicking her when she tried to get up. the operator kept asking me to give her info on what was happening. "i know it's unconfortable, but you have to keep watching." what an uncomfortable thing to be told.
so she's still screaming and he's shouting things at her, calling her a cunt, slamming things around in his truck, etc. give a description of the man (average height, late 20s, brown hair, brown shirt, brown pants) and of the woman (heavy-set, shorter-than-average, black hair, light shirt, intoxicated). are they armed? (no). the operator tells me that she needs me to stay on the line, because i'm the only call reporting on this incident. seriously? what the fuck? this is like, one of the most violent things that i have seen in my life, and no one else in our alley is calling this in? a car finally pulls up and the operator tells me that they have arrived and waiting go backup. before long, the other cops show up and the operator says i can hang up, but to please call back if anything changes. once the cops show up, THEN the neighbors decide to come out. assholes. what if we hadn't called? what if we had gone up to mountlake terrace instead of staying in? what if i hadn't asked jason to open up the windows?
they arrested the dude, despite drunk girl's best attempts to convince them that it was a misunderstanding. jason comes in and tells me that an officer needs to take my statement. it was just so weird. she kept reassuring us that our information was confidential and that they'd never know who called 911.
i feel strange. did i overstep a boundary? violate a social norm? why didn't anyone else call, when they were obviously watching and knew when the police showed up? AHHHH so weird. i keep trying to tell myself that he could have killed her, and that i had no choice in calling the police. like, it was my duty as a citizen and human to do what i had to do. but is that accurate? i don't know. all i know is that fight would have happened no matter what. maybe i have been watching too much sci-fi lately, but i keep thinking of all of the possible ways that this could have been different... if i had gone to libby's, or maybe gone to safeway or qfc after work, or stayed later and kept talking to liz... would he have killed her? would someone else have called the police? would jason have called the police, or would he have fallen asleep while watching the simpsons? or if i had gotten stoned first thing after work, or maybe just gone to bed?
it's just a lot to think about.
suddenly, jason runs out of the bedroom and waves me over. the guy and his girlfriend are shouting about something. she's drunk and crying. they are arguing about going to mexico or something and he is loading camping gear (propane tanks, a grill) into the back of a truck. then, he throws a set of keys at the girl. she starts screaming and trying to take things out of the truck. then, he grabs her by the throat and throws her against another truck. i was like OH SHIT and went into the livnig room to call 911. i've never called 911. i was so scared. i think that i did a pretty good job of giving details... it was freaking me out that it was a conference call with the officers and the 911 operator. i went back into the bedroom just in time to see her on the fence and him kicking her when she tried to get up. the operator kept asking me to give her info on what was happening. "i know it's unconfortable, but you have to keep watching." what an uncomfortable thing to be told.
so she's still screaming and he's shouting things at her, calling her a cunt, slamming things around in his truck, etc. give a description of the man (average height, late 20s, brown hair, brown shirt, brown pants) and of the woman (heavy-set, shorter-than-average, black hair, light shirt, intoxicated). are they armed? (no). the operator tells me that she needs me to stay on the line, because i'm the only call reporting on this incident. seriously? what the fuck? this is like, one of the most violent things that i have seen in my life, and no one else in our alley is calling this in? a car finally pulls up and the operator tells me that they have arrived and waiting go backup. before long, the other cops show up and the operator says i can hang up, but to please call back if anything changes. once the cops show up, THEN the neighbors decide to come out. assholes. what if we hadn't called? what if we had gone up to mountlake terrace instead of staying in? what if i hadn't asked jason to open up the windows?
they arrested the dude, despite drunk girl's best attempts to convince them that it was a misunderstanding. jason comes in and tells me that an officer needs to take my statement. it was just so weird. she kept reassuring us that our information was confidential and that they'd never know who called 911.
i feel strange. did i overstep a boundary? violate a social norm? why didn't anyone else call, when they were obviously watching and knew when the police showed up? AHHHH so weird. i keep trying to tell myself that he could have killed her, and that i had no choice in calling the police. like, it was my duty as a citizen and human to do what i had to do. but is that accurate? i don't know. all i know is that fight would have happened no matter what. maybe i have been watching too much sci-fi lately, but i keep thinking of all of the possible ways that this could have been different... if i had gone to libby's, or maybe gone to safeway or qfc after work, or stayed later and kept talking to liz... would he have killed her? would someone else have called the police? would jason have called the police, or would he have fallen asleep while watching the simpsons? or if i had gotten stoned first thing after work, or maybe just gone to bed?
it's just a lot to think about.