While working a swing shift one afternoon and patrolling a field area on the northeast side of town I heard a small voice tell me to stop the car along a ridge area. For reasons unknown I did stop the car and I got out. Not really understanding why I was doing this I did it anyway and I walked to the top of the berm and looked over the edge. To my utter surprise I found a stash of motorcycles. I stumbled down to them and began checking the license plate numbers or the vehicle identification numbers, if there was no plate. The majority of these were reported stolen. This had to be the dump site for the people who took them to come back and recover them at a later time. When my Sergeant got to my location he was astonished and he asked me how I knew to look there? All I could say was that I just had a 'feeling'. How could I tell him that a still small voice told me to stop and look.
While working a graveyard shift I started at 11 pm and I was assigned the area of town in the northwest corner. My first call was a Burglary of a Habitation. The complainant was a meek young lady that had 2 small children about 2 & 3 yrs old and a newborn baby. She and her husband had just moved to this part of town from the south side where they had lived in a trailer park that was always flooding when it rained hard, which it does once in a while. They were in a duplex that had been converted to a big house. The main door led to the bedroom where the children slept and it was from this room that the only television they owned had been taken. The door was forced open by unknown means but it really wasn't all that secure to start with and she was worried about the safety of herself and her babies.
I stayed there with her for quite a while trying to reassure her that I would be driving by periodically during the night to make sure there was no one prowling around. This lady's husband also worked deep nights and would not be home. She seemed to accept this as I left to respond to another call. I tried to get by the house again during the night as much as I could and I noticed that the lights were on throughout the night. This was not unusual as I knew she was pretty shaken by the events.
At approximately 5 am another patrol unit found a car stopped on the railroad tracks on the northeast side of town. There was no one in the car and the keys were missing. Unfortunately, this was right about the time that the daily train would be passing through town. The officer ran a registration check on the license plates and found that the owner was listed as the lady that lived in the house where the television was stolen from. Finding this odd I went to the house and knocked but no one answered. So I figured she must have been in the car with her kids and it broke down or something. After about 45 minutes of searching it was determined that we needed to just have the car towed or the train would be striking it real soon.
This incident didn't seem quite right to me so about 10 minutes before the end of my shift I again went back to the house. As I was walking up the stairs to the door I noticed a large pair of black shoes on the porch that were not there the previous time. On the shoes I observed specks of red that could have been paint or blood. I noticed the door was slightly ajar..not opened but not closed all the way. I knocked on the door and it appeared that there were lights on inside but due to the sun also coming up and shining brightly I could not be sure. I was sure that I had probable cause to enter but a still small voice told me 'do not go in'. This voice was very adamant that I not enter the residence so I decided to write a note on my business card and leave it on the door. This I did and I left.
I went straight to the police department and after unloading my car and walking in to the back of the station, the desk officer began calling for me to come to the front of the station for a distraught person.
My Sergeant and I both responded and found a male with my business card in his hand. He was nearly hysterical as he related to us that he found my card on the door of his house and as he entered his home his kids were sleeping and he found his wife in the living room lying in a pool of blood and she was dead! Needless to say, myself, the sergeant and other officers went back to the house immediately. Upon our arrival I noted that the pair of shoes that had been on the porch were gone.
My heart dropped. This investigation of the death of Libby Rhymes would encompass several months.
The following year a couple of guys were arrested in Georgetown, Texas, south of Killeen for the murder of a girl named 'orange socks' along I-35.
During the interrogation of these two they related to investigators of another homicide they'd committed in Killeen the previous year. One of our investigators went to the Williamson County Jail to question them about the Libby Rhymes case. They told Captain Coats that they had killed her with an ice pick to the jugular and watched her die as she bled out. One of them killed her because he was jealous of the attention she gave his partner. He relayed also that shortly after they drove her car to the railroad tracks and left it they came back to the house to clean up and it was then that a female police officer came to the door. They were on the other side of the door waiting for me to come in and they were going to kill me too.
When Captain Coats relayed this to me I began to have nightmares and needed to be hypnotized to fully recall everything then to be able to fully let it all go. This team of killers are better known as HENRY LEE LUCAS and OTIS TOOLE. Lucas died in prison and Toole died awaiting execution on death row. Otis Toole also killed the son of John Walsh, Adam Walsh, in 1981. In this murder he kidnapped the 6 year child and decapitated him. Authorities found the boy's head but they never found his body.
I never really knew where that still small voice came from until now.
Now I know that it is that of the HOLY GHOST and it served as my salvation in a very poignant way.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
Stakeouts....
When working the graveyard shift it sometimes got real boring. So the patrol units began to look for things to do after 4 hours and in the deep nights. A couple of units would have a signal via the radio that would tell us where to go when it was dragging. One night we decided to do a stakeout. So we loaded up our trunks with fishing poles and bait. There was a new school being built on the edge of town that used to have a fish pond on it and it hadn't been covered up yet. So 3 of us met at this location and drowned a worm or two. We laughed and we had one of the best shifts for a long time. We answered the dispatcher when she'd call if we missed a time check. The only thing we really caught these nights was bites from mosquitoes that also liked to hang around the pond. It was disheartening when the pond was drained and the concrete slab was placed over it. Things change when progress moves forward, however it was fun while it lasted.
On the northeast side of town was a huge public park named Long branch. There were several sections of it with many pavilions, tennis courts, picnic tables, and a playground for kids. This park was DARK in the middle of the night. There was a curfew but I don't recall what time it was. The park also border a large cemetery so normally there wasn't a lot of people around the upper portion of the park. One cold night a Sergeant called me to meet him close by as he needed a back up unit for a car he spotted down near the creek bed and he was so sure it was kids parking down there. So he told me to walk towards the tail lights that were reflecting back at us when we turned our flashlights toward the creek. OF COURSE I had to go first from the east side as I had the furthest to go. Well, after about 10 minutes I found the 'tail light' and I let the Sergeant know I was on location and it was safe for him to come down as it wasn't going anywhere. So he comes flying in, running down to see what I had found. I was laughing so hard because this 'tail light' that he saw was a reflector nailed to a tree!! He was so disappointed. Lesson was that some things are just not what they seem to be!
Our badges were issued to us by the city and they were as important as our duty weapons. We always had to know where they were. If we lost either one it resulted in a disciplinary action, usually a suspension.
After working the uniformed patrol division for 4 years I was ready for an investigator job. So I started in the burglary and theft division of the detective unit. My partner was a seasoned detective named Jim Schultz. Jim was a mild mannered guy that never let his feelings show. He was always precise and calm. It seemed that I was the only one that could make him laugh to tears! One night we had to do surveillance on a building near the high school. We had parked so far away that neither of us could see the back door of the building because of darkness. So we had to get out of the car and prowl closer and try to stay quiet and hidden. It was about 3 a.m. and we'd been there for about 4 hours and there was nothing suspicious, but us. It was cool and off course I had to go to the bathroom. I am doing everything I can to keep from wetting myself, when Jim finally looked at me and said, 'I'll race you to the car.' and off he goes. I tried to run but my kidneys just said WHOA! He beat me and he thought that was just great fun.
The next morning as I am getting ready for work I can't find my badge. I am panic stricken. I go to the office and ask Jim if he has it and his answer is NO. I check the car and it's not there either. So I go back to the office and tell Jim I can't find it. He says we have to go back to where we were last night and look.
Of course he is giving me the devil for losing it and scaring me about what the Chief is gonna do if it is gone.
When we get to our destination he sends me out to the wooded area to search. He goes into the building we'd been watching and after about 30 minutes he comes out with a cup of coffee and shows me my badge.
I just look at it and him and ask what the ????
He said the owners of the building call the PD this morning and told him they found your badge when they were sweeping the parking lot. He just wanted to watch me worry a bit!! He laughed and laughed until he wore his cup of coffee then it was my turn to laugh.
In all 3 of these situations, laughter became a form of salvation for our peace of mind and sanity. There would be days when laughter was not an option and crying would show weakness.
On the northeast side of town was a huge public park named Long branch. There were several sections of it with many pavilions, tennis courts, picnic tables, and a playground for kids. This park was DARK in the middle of the night. There was a curfew but I don't recall what time it was. The park also border a large cemetery so normally there wasn't a lot of people around the upper portion of the park. One cold night a Sergeant called me to meet him close by as he needed a back up unit for a car he spotted down near the creek bed and he was so sure it was kids parking down there. So he told me to walk towards the tail lights that were reflecting back at us when we turned our flashlights toward the creek. OF COURSE I had to go first from the east side as I had the furthest to go. Well, after about 10 minutes I found the 'tail light' and I let the Sergeant know I was on location and it was safe for him to come down as it wasn't going anywhere. So he comes flying in, running down to see what I had found. I was laughing so hard because this 'tail light' that he saw was a reflector nailed to a tree!! He was so disappointed. Lesson was that some things are just not what they seem to be!
Our badges were issued to us by the city and they were as important as our duty weapons. We always had to know where they were. If we lost either one it resulted in a disciplinary action, usually a suspension.
After working the uniformed patrol division for 4 years I was ready for an investigator job. So I started in the burglary and theft division of the detective unit. My partner was a seasoned detective named Jim Schultz. Jim was a mild mannered guy that never let his feelings show. He was always precise and calm. It seemed that I was the only one that could make him laugh to tears! One night we had to do surveillance on a building near the high school. We had parked so far away that neither of us could see the back door of the building because of darkness. So we had to get out of the car and prowl closer and try to stay quiet and hidden. It was about 3 a.m. and we'd been there for about 4 hours and there was nothing suspicious, but us. It was cool and off course I had to go to the bathroom. I am doing everything I can to keep from wetting myself, when Jim finally looked at me and said, 'I'll race you to the car.' and off he goes. I tried to run but my kidneys just said WHOA! He beat me and he thought that was just great fun.
The next morning as I am getting ready for work I can't find my badge. I am panic stricken. I go to the office and ask Jim if he has it and his answer is NO. I check the car and it's not there either. So I go back to the office and tell Jim I can't find it. He says we have to go back to where we were last night and look.
Of course he is giving me the devil for losing it and scaring me about what the Chief is gonna do if it is gone.
When we get to our destination he sends me out to the wooded area to search. He goes into the building we'd been watching and after about 30 minutes he comes out with a cup of coffee and shows me my badge.
I just look at it and him and ask what the ????
He said the owners of the building call the PD this morning and told him they found your badge when they were sweeping the parking lot. He just wanted to watch me worry a bit!! He laughed and laughed until he wore his cup of coffee then it was my turn to laugh.
In all 3 of these situations, laughter became a form of salvation for our peace of mind and sanity. There would be days when laughter was not an option and crying would show weakness.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Firsts...
I have had several first things in my life; first born, first to be a sibling, first to graduate, first to go to college and graduate, first female police officer in Killeen, Texas, was the first to marry and move away from home.
The part of being first isn't all that much fun as there are no examples before me to learn how to not make mistakes from. I guess it is to be compared to being the 'guinea pig'. Sometimes there was a lot of fun having the new clothes first. The #1 spot was not my favorite when it came to getting a spanking though, that was painful when I knew I didn't deserve it but no one would confess so we all got one!! Share and share alike I guess.
After returning from my son's wedding in March I was really ready to move back there. The weather was warm and sunny, all my friends were there, my son's new family was there. And I was here. I prayed that the Lord would lead me to my purpose for being here as He is the one that sent me here to begin with. I felt I had failed in my mission to bring my family close together again. None of them are willing to forgive each other and move on as a family unit. I want and need to belong to a 'family'. As I continued looking for the answer to my question from God one day after work there was a knock on my door. I opened the door and there stood 2 young men that identified themselves as missionaries. For some reason we began to discuss my relationship with the Lord. They inquired if I had ever read the Book of Mormon and I replied that no, I had not ever had the opportunity to do that. One of them handed me this book and asked me if I would read it. I told him that yes, I would. He requested a phone number so he could call me to see if I had any questions about the contents of the book. I gave it to him without even thinking.
After closing the door I sat down and said a prayer asking God to give me a sign that this Book of Mormon that I was about to start reading was true and that this was something He wanted me to read. As I began to read the book it struck me that I found it so enlightening that I could not and did not want to stop. I felt a strong warmth of the Holy Spirit present as I read the words of the prophets. I had the feeling of total peace and a strong desire to follow this written word. I am still reading the book at a minimum of twice a day. I could not wait for the missionaries to come back so we could talk. When they came they invited me to church where I was introduced to several members. I truly feel that I belong there. Everyone treats me like a member of a large family. They still do and the overwhelming feeling of complete and unconditional love is so great. For the last several weeks for 3 days a week and on Sunday I have been in lessons so that I can be baptized. Being baptized is the beginning of cleansing my body, mind, and spirit to be Saved so that I can live an everlasting life with Jesus Christ. I will then be a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints and I am so excited. The Holy Spirit is in my home and I can feel His presence everyday. I am a very blessed person!
I have already encouraged others to at least read the Book of Mormon to experience the joy in the words written by the prophets that received the gospel from God. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and like the Bible it contains the everlasting gospel. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World and that I will be with Him forever when He returns for the second resurrection.
This feeling of immense faith is another first for me. So now I know that when there is a knock on the door it may be SALVATION looking for me!
The part of being first isn't all that much fun as there are no examples before me to learn how to not make mistakes from. I guess it is to be compared to being the 'guinea pig'. Sometimes there was a lot of fun having the new clothes first. The #1 spot was not my favorite when it came to getting a spanking though, that was painful when I knew I didn't deserve it but no one would confess so we all got one!! Share and share alike I guess.
After returning from my son's wedding in March I was really ready to move back there. The weather was warm and sunny, all my friends were there, my son's new family was there. And I was here. I prayed that the Lord would lead me to my purpose for being here as He is the one that sent me here to begin with. I felt I had failed in my mission to bring my family close together again. None of them are willing to forgive each other and move on as a family unit. I want and need to belong to a 'family'. As I continued looking for the answer to my question from God one day after work there was a knock on my door. I opened the door and there stood 2 young men that identified themselves as missionaries. For some reason we began to discuss my relationship with the Lord. They inquired if I had ever read the Book of Mormon and I replied that no, I had not ever had the opportunity to do that. One of them handed me this book and asked me if I would read it. I told him that yes, I would. He requested a phone number so he could call me to see if I had any questions about the contents of the book. I gave it to him without even thinking.
After closing the door I sat down and said a prayer asking God to give me a sign that this Book of Mormon that I was about to start reading was true and that this was something He wanted me to read. As I began to read the book it struck me that I found it so enlightening that I could not and did not want to stop. I felt a strong warmth of the Holy Spirit present as I read the words of the prophets. I had the feeling of total peace and a strong desire to follow this written word. I am still reading the book at a minimum of twice a day. I could not wait for the missionaries to come back so we could talk. When they came they invited me to church where I was introduced to several members. I truly feel that I belong there. Everyone treats me like a member of a large family. They still do and the overwhelming feeling of complete and unconditional love is so great. For the last several weeks for 3 days a week and on Sunday I have been in lessons so that I can be baptized. Being baptized is the beginning of cleansing my body, mind, and spirit to be Saved so that I can live an everlasting life with Jesus Christ. I will then be a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints and I am so excited. The Holy Spirit is in my home and I can feel His presence everyday. I am a very blessed person!
I have already encouraged others to at least read the Book of Mormon to experience the joy in the words written by the prophets that received the gospel from God. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and like the Bible it contains the everlasting gospel. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World and that I will be with Him forever when He returns for the second resurrection.
This feeling of immense faith is another first for me. So now I know that when there is a knock on the door it may be SALVATION looking for me!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Bloopers....
As you can well imagine this new world was quite a challenge to me. One of my first assignments was as a downtown walking patrol. This meant that I was on my feet all day and there was no carrying anything but a ticket book. And I also had to wear one of those saucer hats whenever I was not in the car. My hair was long and thick so it was a challenge to keep that hat on and still look presentable. The ticket book was not in a metal holder it was just placed in the back pocket of my pants. Besides carrying the leather belt, gun, handcuffs, radio and holder, flashlight and case and baton and holder around my waist I had to carry the ticket book. One particular cold morning I went to the ladies room and took off the leather belt and went in to the stall and forgot about the ticket book. As I started to sit down I heard a 'PLOP' in the toilet. I turned around and OMG it was my ticket book! I fished it out and it was sopping wet through and through. Since we were accountable for all the tickets we signed out I placed this book in my locker and hung it up in hopes that it would dry and I could use the remaining tickets. After all it was only water. After a couple of days the book was dry enough to use. My training officer asked me why they were so wrinkled? I told him what had happened in a short and sweet statement. After he stopped laughing and with tears in his eyes he said I was the first officer ever to issue Scratch and Sniff tickets!
I never spent a lot of time around guns growing up. Handguns nor rifles nor shotguns as I was raised in the city.
Although I was a decent shot with the handgun I was afraid of the shotgun. To load and unload it was not something I enjoyed. One early morning as I was finishing up a graveyard shift at 6am I had parked my patrol unit and was unloading the shotgun by ejecting them one at a time. I had the barrel of the gun pointing at the driver's side window. Once all the rounds are ejected you were supposed to pull the trigger to release the tension on it before storing it. Usually we kept 4 rounds in the gun and as I looked in my lap I thought I counted 4. Unfortunately, there was only 3 which meant there was one in the chamber. So as I pulled the trigger it went off and I watched every single piece of glass fall out of the driver's window in slow motion. I also blew buckshot onto the patrol unit parked next to me and damaged the overhead light bar. I calmly radioed for the dispatcher to send my Sergeant outside to my location. I didn't know whether to cry or just what to do. I could not hear anything and I was scared.
Most days one of my fellow officers would stand beside the door and chat with me before we finished our shift. This morning thankfully he did not do it.
I was suspended a day without pay and I went for extensive training with the shotgun. Then it became a friend and would one day be the catalyst behind keeping me safe as I encountered two burglars in the middle of the night.
It doesn't rain much in Texas but when it does there is usually puddles everywhere as it is mostly rock and it doesn't absorb water very well if at all. One night myself and another officer were chasing a suspect through an apartment complex. The other officer was behind the suspect a few feet and I was coming at them from the left side hoping to distract him. As I was running across the courtyard my feet slipped on the wet grass and I fell face first in to a huge mud puddle. The suspect stopped running to watch me fall and the other officer was able to arrest him. They both were laughing so hard at my expense. It was a collar for the both of us even though I never touched the suspect or came close to him!
Quarterly the entire department had to qualify at a firing range with our duty weapons. This particular time they decided we would run an obstacle course. Climbing a small fence was the first obstacle. I got up one side of the fence but as I went over it my leg of my jeans hung up on the top of the fence. Needless to say, I was left hanging there for several minutes while all the guys had a good laugh at my expense. When I did it again I got right to the fence and simply ran around it. As long as I got to the other side was all that mattered.
When ever the dispatcher sent us to a major call we normally responded with overhead lights and sirens.
I was sent to a major accident in the rain one afternoon on the main road through town. As I got to the scene and exited my car the lights and the siren was still on. Much to my chagrin I locked the doors of the car when I exited. I had to humble myself and call for another officer with the same model patrol car to come and unlock my unit. So my car sat in the middle of the road with the siren going and the overhead lights revolving for about 15-20 minutes. Traffic was backed up so it took the responding help a little longer to get to me. Talk about embarrassing!
These are just a small sample of some of dumb things I did over my career. If these stories brought a smile or a chuckle to you then I have brightened your day. In another segment I will reveal more to show that being a street officer has to have some comedy to offset some of the horror you see everyday.
I never spent a lot of time around guns growing up. Handguns nor rifles nor shotguns as I was raised in the city.
Although I was a decent shot with the handgun I was afraid of the shotgun. To load and unload it was not something I enjoyed. One early morning as I was finishing up a graveyard shift at 6am I had parked my patrol unit and was unloading the shotgun by ejecting them one at a time. I had the barrel of the gun pointing at the driver's side window. Once all the rounds are ejected you were supposed to pull the trigger to release the tension on it before storing it. Usually we kept 4 rounds in the gun and as I looked in my lap I thought I counted 4. Unfortunately, there was only 3 which meant there was one in the chamber. So as I pulled the trigger it went off and I watched every single piece of glass fall out of the driver's window in slow motion. I also blew buckshot onto the patrol unit parked next to me and damaged the overhead light bar. I calmly radioed for the dispatcher to send my Sergeant outside to my location. I didn't know whether to cry or just what to do. I could not hear anything and I was scared.
Most days one of my fellow officers would stand beside the door and chat with me before we finished our shift. This morning thankfully he did not do it.
I was suspended a day without pay and I went for extensive training with the shotgun. Then it became a friend and would one day be the catalyst behind keeping me safe as I encountered two burglars in the middle of the night.
It doesn't rain much in Texas but when it does there is usually puddles everywhere as it is mostly rock and it doesn't absorb water very well if at all. One night myself and another officer were chasing a suspect through an apartment complex. The other officer was behind the suspect a few feet and I was coming at them from the left side hoping to distract him. As I was running across the courtyard my feet slipped on the wet grass and I fell face first in to a huge mud puddle. The suspect stopped running to watch me fall and the other officer was able to arrest him. They both were laughing so hard at my expense. It was a collar for the both of us even though I never touched the suspect or came close to him!
Quarterly the entire department had to qualify at a firing range with our duty weapons. This particular time they decided we would run an obstacle course. Climbing a small fence was the first obstacle. I got up one side of the fence but as I went over it my leg of my jeans hung up on the top of the fence. Needless to say, I was left hanging there for several minutes while all the guys had a good laugh at my expense. When I did it again I got right to the fence and simply ran around it. As long as I got to the other side was all that mattered.
When ever the dispatcher sent us to a major call we normally responded with overhead lights and sirens.
I was sent to a major accident in the rain one afternoon on the main road through town. As I got to the scene and exited my car the lights and the siren was still on. Much to my chagrin I locked the doors of the car when I exited. I had to humble myself and call for another officer with the same model patrol car to come and unlock my unit. So my car sat in the middle of the road with the siren going and the overhead lights revolving for about 15-20 minutes. Traffic was backed up so it took the responding help a little longer to get to me. Talk about embarrassing!
These are just a small sample of some of dumb things I did over my career. If these stories brought a smile or a chuckle to you then I have brightened your day. In another segment I will reveal more to show that being a street officer has to have some comedy to offset some of the horror you see everyday.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Independence Day attack...
Deciding to excuse medical personnel turned out to be a good idea as shortly after I made this decision I was to need their expertise to save my life.
July 4, 1977 I happened to be off duty so I went to a large outdoor party in a neighboring city. I was with a friend that I had known for many years. Teresa was like a sister to me and her new husband was an acquaintance that I had just met. At this party I noted that there were several attendees and none that I knew. After the bands started to play I got up to dance with Teresa's husband. After about a minute we were attacked. All I remember is that from behind I was hit on the right side of my head with a heavy object. It turned out to have been a camera. After falling to the ground, I was dizzy and hurt, and a large group of people formed a circle around me and began to stomp me and kick me. Cigarettes were also used to burn my arms and legs. Vaguely, I heard the voices of the R&D Security team trying to break up the circle in order to get to me. After what seemed like an eternity I heard a voice I recognized as Ray Garrison, the owner of the Security team. He was finally able to get to me and get the group of men and women who were assaulting me away from me. He stayed with me until the ambulance arrived. I could not move nor consciously understand what had happened. Shortly before being placed in the ambulance I blacked out. The next conscious thing was waking at the hospital Emergency Room.
Per the attending physician I was hurt pretty bad. My face was swollen so that my right eye was black and blue and closed. I hurt all over and I was covered in my own blood, dirt, grass, beer, and who knows what else. My chest hurt the most and the doctor informed me that CPR and the shock paddles had to be used while I was en-route to the hospital as I had basically died. Okay, now I am scared. He reassured me that I was in good hands there at the Army hospital. This hospital was the best trauma center in the area at this time.
After being cleaned up and put in a private room different police dignitaries began visiting me. They were concerned that I wouldn't want to continue my career once I was released. I adamantly informed them that I would be back and I wanted to find who did this to me and why!
After a couple of days I was transferred to a civilian hospital. While completing an exam I discovered that I had no feeling in my legs. I was unable to move them either and I began to scream and cry. I was paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors prepared me that I may not ever walk again. The trauma of being kicked in my lower back numerous times damaged my nerves.
WHY ME? At first I was in total shock and disbelief, then I got angry, and then I became determined to prove the doctors wrong. I began physical therapy in earnest and worked night and day to exercise. By the end of the year I was walking with a cane and back to work, administrative light duty. I had been through depression and much anger to get me back on my feet, literally.
During some of my weakest moments I was encouraged with daily by updates from our detective division that the District Attorney's Office gave Killeen PD jurisdiction over the location of my aggravated assault to investigate and prosecute those that participated as the local jurisdiction was not going to pursue any charges. Eventually, the guilty parties were identified and arrested. By the time the case was to go to court I was walking without aids. I was back.
The case never went to court as all the people involved pled out. One man and one woman went to prison. The others went to a short-termed facility and paid a hefty fine and was on probation for several years. The court also ordered them to pay ALL of my medical bills. The reason for the assault was two fold. One was that I was a police officer and the other was that this family of thugs thought I was married to the man I was dancing with and one of them was jealous as she had had a relationship with him in the past. Being arrested and going to jail was commonplace for this family. Personally, I never heard of them but I was due to interact with them for years to come.
After everything was said and done this whole experience proved to be valuable. I became much more cautious in my everyday work and therefore I felt in a strange way, it served as my salvation.........
July 4, 1977 I happened to be off duty so I went to a large outdoor party in a neighboring city. I was with a friend that I had known for many years. Teresa was like a sister to me and her new husband was an acquaintance that I had just met. At this party I noted that there were several attendees and none that I knew. After the bands started to play I got up to dance with Teresa's husband. After about a minute we were attacked. All I remember is that from behind I was hit on the right side of my head with a heavy object. It turned out to have been a camera. After falling to the ground, I was dizzy and hurt, and a large group of people formed a circle around me and began to stomp me and kick me. Cigarettes were also used to burn my arms and legs. Vaguely, I heard the voices of the R&D Security team trying to break up the circle in order to get to me. After what seemed like an eternity I heard a voice I recognized as Ray Garrison, the owner of the Security team. He was finally able to get to me and get the group of men and women who were assaulting me away from me. He stayed with me until the ambulance arrived. I could not move nor consciously understand what had happened. Shortly before being placed in the ambulance I blacked out. The next conscious thing was waking at the hospital Emergency Room.
Per the attending physician I was hurt pretty bad. My face was swollen so that my right eye was black and blue and closed. I hurt all over and I was covered in my own blood, dirt, grass, beer, and who knows what else. My chest hurt the most and the doctor informed me that CPR and the shock paddles had to be used while I was en-route to the hospital as I had basically died. Okay, now I am scared. He reassured me that I was in good hands there at the Army hospital. This hospital was the best trauma center in the area at this time.
After being cleaned up and put in a private room different police dignitaries began visiting me. They were concerned that I wouldn't want to continue my career once I was released. I adamantly informed them that I would be back and I wanted to find who did this to me and why!
After a couple of days I was transferred to a civilian hospital. While completing an exam I discovered that I had no feeling in my legs. I was unable to move them either and I began to scream and cry. I was paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors prepared me that I may not ever walk again. The trauma of being kicked in my lower back numerous times damaged my nerves.
WHY ME? At first I was in total shock and disbelief, then I got angry, and then I became determined to prove the doctors wrong. I began physical therapy in earnest and worked night and day to exercise. By the end of the year I was walking with a cane and back to work, administrative light duty. I had been through depression and much anger to get me back on my feet, literally.
During some of my weakest moments I was encouraged with daily by updates from our detective division that the District Attorney's Office gave Killeen PD jurisdiction over the location of my aggravated assault to investigate and prosecute those that participated as the local jurisdiction was not going to pursue any charges. Eventually, the guilty parties were identified and arrested. By the time the case was to go to court I was walking without aids. I was back.
The case never went to court as all the people involved pled out. One man and one woman went to prison. The others went to a short-termed facility and paid a hefty fine and was on probation for several years. The court also ordered them to pay ALL of my medical bills. The reason for the assault was two fold. One was that I was a police officer and the other was that this family of thugs thought I was married to the man I was dancing with and one of them was jealous as she had had a relationship with him in the past. Being arrested and going to jail was commonplace for this family. Personally, I never heard of them but I was due to interact with them for years to come.
After everything was said and done this whole experience proved to be valuable. I became much more cautious in my everyday work and therefore I felt in a strange way, it served as my salvation.........
Lack of trust....
Being with a male officer for 3 months should have been an indication that no one had any confidence in a female in uniform. Everyone immediately started talking to him and pretty much ignored me. Being new to the community was another challenge for me as I had to prove myself to them as well. Once I left the 2-person unit and began to patrol as a 1 person patrol unit the public still had a problem relating to me. Making traffic stops were the easiest however as I was all of 6 foot 1 inch as I exited the patrol car and a whopping 235 pounds. Some motorists even commented that, 'I didn't think you would ever stop coming out of that car'. As luck would have it I managed to write a lot of tickets for speeding on a new highway that was becoming speed alley. I wrote a big football star, Earl Campbell who was playing for the then Houston Oilers. He paid it shortly after the stop and my Sergeant was up in arms over it. But I didn't know who he was and he obviously respected the stop as he took care of it right away. After that I decided to not write those that were in the medical field such as doctors, nurses, or EMT. I might need one of them someday!
My non-communication with the people in the community obviously came to the attention of two high ranking officers in the department. On the day that I was assigned an area to patrol, I was excited to start my community policing. At the same time I dreaded having them turn their backs on me. As I prepared my patrol car and was about to leave the lot of the police department there was a knock on the passenger side window. Standing there was the Chief of Police. He asked me if he could ride with me for the first half of my day, well how do tell this guy no? So I accepted him as my partner of the day. Now I am really nervous.
He told me he'd stay in the car so the calling party would have to talk to me but that backfired and he was really surprised when the public came up to his side of the car even though I was standing outside to meet them. At the end of the first 4 hours the Chief commented that I did a good job. He got out and my next partner was standing by. This new person was the head of the Detective Division, Dennis Lewis. The Chief spoke to him in passing and as Detective Lewis got in the car he told me that after today the public WILL NEVER SHUN you again. WHAT?
The first call we responded to was a civil dispute and as soon as the complainant ignored me and went to him he immediately stopped them and instructed them that if they won't talk to Officer T then they will not talk to him either. She is a police officer and here to assist. He told them if they wanted help she is here to do that otherwise the police will leave and not come back! The complainant was surprised and so was I!
After a time it got to where people would call and request me to respond to their homes. Captain Dennis Lewis was my salvation in this situation.......
My non-communication with the people in the community obviously came to the attention of two high ranking officers in the department. On the day that I was assigned an area to patrol, I was excited to start my community policing. At the same time I dreaded having them turn their backs on me. As I prepared my patrol car and was about to leave the lot of the police department there was a knock on the passenger side window. Standing there was the Chief of Police. He asked me if he could ride with me for the first half of my day, well how do tell this guy no? So I accepted him as my partner of the day. Now I am really nervous.
He told me he'd stay in the car so the calling party would have to talk to me but that backfired and he was really surprised when the public came up to his side of the car even though I was standing outside to meet them. At the end of the first 4 hours the Chief commented that I did a good job. He got out and my next partner was standing by. This new person was the head of the Detective Division, Dennis Lewis. The Chief spoke to him in passing and as Detective Lewis got in the car he told me that after today the public WILL NEVER SHUN you again. WHAT?
The first call we responded to was a civil dispute and as soon as the complainant ignored me and went to him he immediately stopped them and instructed them that if they won't talk to Officer T then they will not talk to him either. She is a police officer and here to assist. He told them if they wanted help she is here to do that otherwise the police will leave and not come back! The complainant was surprised and so was I!
After a time it got to where people would call and request me to respond to their homes. Captain Dennis Lewis was my salvation in this situation.......
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