Serving Warrants

Serving arrest warrants can be one of the most dangerous jobs for police officers, constables, and bounty hunters.  Warrants can be issued for anything from searches of homes, cars or people.  There must be a lot of information before a judge issues a warrant and the wording must be specific as to what exactly the executing agent is looking for.  When that specific thing is found the warrant is concluded and considered served.  Most warrants are served by a minimum of two officers for their protection as well as the person being arrested or property owners if it is a search warrant.


While working with a narcotics task force of officers from several agencies we served warrants on meth labs, marijuana growers, and dealers  in various locations covering 3 counties in Central Texas.  Being one of only two female officers on this task force we always got to go in after the guys announced our presence and knocked the door in with a ramming bar or they got to kick the door in so we could run inside and stop the destruction of any drugs inside.  We also caught the bad guys off guard and at a disadvantage (we hoped) so the only ones with guns would be us.
After numerous search warrants served successfully I finally convinced the leader of the team to let me be the one to kick the door in on the next raid.  I was so pumped for this and I had something to prove.  As per the plan we were going to be entering the door at the back of the house.  It was early in the morning and as the sun was rising I heard the word, 'GO'!  So as I ran towards the door I raised my right foot and smashed it through the door.  The door swung open with me still hanging in it.  All the rest of my team ran passed me into the house yelling, 'Search warrant, task force.'  As they started the search I am still struggling to get out of the door.  I decided it would be easier to go through the door rather than trying to get out the way I came in.  That was a smart move.  I finally got my turn and boy did I show 'em.
In the debriefing it was a comedy show at my expense.  They all swore they didn't know it was a hollow core door but the more I thought about it the boss said yes to me too quick upon my request.
The next time we planned a search warrant we decided to hit a house that I was real familiar with and I didn't volunteer to kick the door in on this trip.  The informant that had been in the residence just hours before we were to raid it didn't have a chance to tell us that the door was blocked on the inside by a large refrigerator.  The occupants of the home had been evicted the day before and the home owner had moved the refrigerator to clean.  As was normal for radio silence prior to the announcement of the raid I also was unable to tell the team about the new development.  They hit the door with a battering ram, once, twice, and they were about to hit it again when I opened a front window and told them it would be easier if they came in the back door.  The team was completely dumbfounded.  It was my turn to have the laugh. The boss figured this was my way to get back at them for the hollow core door.  It wasn't of course but I wished I had thought of it!
Laughing at each other really was our salvation in difficult situations.


As I began a swing shift at 3pm I was given a warrant for an individual for arrest on the charge of rape.  I contacted another officer and showed him the warrant and asked him to back me up. 
As we approached the residence of the suspect we noticed someone was home.  A male came to the door after we knocked.  I asked him if he was the name on the warrant and he told me he was.  I then requested a driver's license or ID card to verify his claim.  He presented his license which did in fact identify him as the person we were looking for.  I then explained to him that we had an arrest warrant for him for the charge and I showed him the warrant.  He wanted to discuss the charges right there and he was told this was not the time or the place to do that.  He was advised to cooperate and after his bond was set he could obtain an attorney and work it all out. This individual became very indignant and reluctant to follow my directions as I placed him under arrest.  I walked him out side to my patrol car and I opened the back door for him to get in and sit.  At this point the backup officer left.  The suspect sat in the backseat with his legs and feet outside the car.  He refused to put his feet inside so the door could be closed.  I stood there with him refusing to cooperate for about 15 minutes.  Finally, I bent over and picked up his feet to place them in the car.  It was at this point that he lifted his right foot and kicked me very hard on my left arm above the elbow.  My reaction was to immediately pop him in the nose with the back of my right hand.  He yelled and immediately put his feet in the car and I slammed the door shut!
I took him to the city jail and he was booked.  Afterwards he was given medical care for his bloodied nose.  I went to my Sergeant and told him what had happened.  I wrote another report about the assault on me by this individual and we took several photos.  The photos showed a very clear imprint of the shoe this guy was wearing in a bruise.
About 9 months later an agent with the FBI came to the police department and spoke with our legal adviser about a civil rights violation charge that had been filed on me.  The FBI agent was brought to the patrol division and I was called in to meet with him.  When I walked in to the office this agent was surprised to see that Officer T was a female.  This was not stated in his report from the complaining party.  So he read me my rights and proceeded to tell me about the complaint.  When he told me the complainant's name I knew then it was the guy I had arrested on the Rape warrant.  I brought the photographs to the agent of the bruise I received from him on my arm.  I told him that when I hit him it was simply a reactive movement after he kicked me.  This agent was totally appalled at these pictures and he told me that his broken nose was justified as far as he was concerned.  The agent closed the complaint as UNFOUNDED.
Thank You, Jesus.

to be continued......

You did what?????

During the tenure of my police career I found myself in the darnedest predicaments.  Looking back now I can only shake my head and have a great laugh at myself.

In order to maintain our employment we had to qualify quarterly with our firearms.  This included shotguns and all side arms we may carry during our off duty hours.  The firing range owned by the City was about 6 miles south of the city limits at that time and it was on the outskirts of our landfill area.  So to arrive at the range you had to traverse the landfill and enter a gate to then proceed to a gulley area where the targets and the actually shooting area was located.
Since there was not a female officer on the force when this area was built there were no facilities for me to use the restroom.  I was expected to go out into the bushes.  Even though we were scheduled as when we had to appear at the range sometimes it would take hours to finish the qualifications.  I always tried to be first to get in and get it done BUT it didn't always happen that way. As my luck would have it one particular day I had to go to the bathroom and many of the guys were busy talking about their scores or their weapons so I went in to the bushy wooded area and squatted to relieve myself.  I had to use leaves of nearby bushes in place of toilet paper.  I did not think twice about it UNTIL later that evening when I discovered large red welts along the inside of my thighs and my pubic area.  Oh My Goodness how it itched and was so inflamed that I could not even wear my polyester uniform pants.  I had to call my Sergeant and try to explain to him why I was unable to come to work.  That was quite an interesting conversation, let  me tell you.  Before the night was over I ended up going to the Emergency Room and found out that I had used POISON IVY as toilet paper.  I was off work for a few days  so treatment could be done.  Everybody thought it was funny except me!   Soon after we installed portable potties.
In this case, training in the field of botany would have been a great salvation to me!

Whenever we were dispatched to residences for calls we were taught to not display personal disgust or angst over the living conditions of the complainants.  This was really tough in some cases.  One particular call was for a Burglary of a Habitation.  Someone had broken in to a house and left some items inside the home that did not belong to the homeowner.  So while there I was retrieving some items from under a table and I had to get down on the carpeted floor to reach it.
I spent a great deal of time at this house......dusting for fingerprints and taking photographs.
The house was not the cleanest and my investigation sure didn't help any.  The homeowner was happy though that I took the time to gather information.  I couldn't tell them that I couldn't find the burglars with the prints I'd lifted unless they had already been arrested at some time and their prints were in the system.  Sometimes it didn't pay to be so specific, most people don't understand the process anyway.
While in the residence I began to experience itching.  Not just my arms but my legs as well.  I couldn't figure out why.  I had a partner with me that night and he seemed to be okay.  The itching became worse as the shift wore on.  By the end of my watch I couldn't wait to get my uniform off.  At home I took my clothes off and found them to be completely covered with FLEAS!
The carpet in the home where the burglary had taken place was infested with fleas.  I came to discover that the polyester uniform completely absorbed them so they nibbled on me all night long.
The local Emergency Room was getting to know me fairly well and never knew what to expect when I came in.  Unfortunately, I was allergic to fleas and I began to have a real bad reaction to the bites.  My tongue swelled and so did my fingers and legs.  A night in the hospital and lots of medication finally got me back to life size as opposed to the size of a blimp.  Another valuable lesson learned.
 
After about 5 years on patrol by myself the Chief decided that Ft. Hood military police officers would be pairing up with some of us to help develop a rapport with members of the military that we dealt with off post.  These guys couldn't enforce the State laws but they could enforce military laws with any member of the Army.  So sometimes they came in quite handy.  They also could respond as directed by any officer they were riding with.  This was also true with any civilians we 'deputized' in an emergency incident.  One graveyard shift I worked, I was assigned to the downtown area where all the businesses were located.  We didn't have big malls at this time but they were coming.  The MP I had with me had been working with me on several ocasions  so I knew what to expect from him.  We were dispatched to a block of buildings that ran alongside the police department for a report of a burglary in progress.  Being that it was downtown we did not use the audible siren or lights and we parked in an alley and exited the car and walked to the backside of the building.  We could hear the voices of the burglars as they were attempting to gain entry via a back door.  As we approached their location quietly they did not hear us.  Other units were responding as well to the front of the building.  Once I knew they were on site I yelled real loud, 'POLICE.  COME OUT OF THE BUILDING WITH YOUR HANDS UP!'  Of course being a female voice they began to laugh out loud as they thought I was alone.  They told me to come in and get them.  So I walked to the backdoor and knew that I was in an area that echoed any movement loudly and I had a shotgun so I racked a live round in to the chamber.  There was no doubt that I was coming and I had a big GUN.  As the echo stopped one of the burglars yelled out that he was on his way out the door...please do not shoot!  As he stepped out the door he was grabbed by the MP and thrown up against the wall and handcuffed.  The suspect was screaming his fool head off.  I guess the second guy figured he'd rather give up than get buckshot in his behind and he too shouted he was coming out.  The MP had stepped away from the building as he exited and saw his com-padre bleeding and all tied up.  He began to cry begging me not to hurt him!  He figured I had done this all by myself and I let him think it.  He did everything I told him to as a strict troop should do when given orders.  All I had to do was handcuff him.  They both later told me it was the shotgun that scared them and they decided to give it up.  It worked for me!  The shotgun became my salvation on more than one incident after that.

All my life I had a fear of heights.  So having to get up on rooftops was not a favorite thing to do.
It was however required on numerous business because access to the inside could be gained from various locations on the roof.  When alarms sounded on the library the roof was the first place we'd usually check.  Climbing up usually wasn't too bad but getting down was always tough for me.  I had to look down to get down!  One night we were on the top and it was pitch black up there.  I had a flashlight but it was small and I couldn't really see where I was going.  I was talking to one of the guys on the opposite side of the roof one minute and the next I was falling off the roof.  I had simply walked off the roof and fell on the bushes that were along the side of the building.  That was one rude awakening!
I really dreaded those calls after that and one time the city fire department felt sorry for my fears and sent a ladder truck to assist me in my descent.  There was no salvation from the laughter after those events.

continue...Unknown Nature calls #2

On another Saturday morning I had just started my shift at 7 a.m. and had just arrived within the boundaries of the 305 area, which was where I usually worked after we were assigned specific areas of the city to patrol.  This way we became aware of who belonged in a neighborhood and who didn't.  We also got to know the citizens better and formed a bond with them.  At about 7:30 a.m. the dispatcher sent me to a residence for an unknown nature.  She further advised that there would be a language barrier as the calling party was of Asian decent.  I hurriedly arrived at the residence which was partially hidden from the roadway by several trees and bushes.   There was no one outside to meet me so I figured whatever was wrong was inside the house.  As I knocked on the front door I waited for my complainant to open it.  I was about to knock again when the door opened and a male voice invited me in.  This was highly unusual until I walked cautiously inside.  I was met by a man in a wheelchair.  He identified himself as Mr. Floyd and directed me to where his wife was which was in a back bedroom.  When I inquired as to what was wrong all he'd say was that his wife would explain.  So I walked down a short hall then turned right and observed a small asian female sitting on a bed with her back to me.  I spoke to her as I entered the room by identifying myself.  As she turned around I saw the body of a small child lying in front of her on the bed.  The lady was weeping and she told me the child would not wake up.  I immediately asked her to leave the room so I could check the child.  She refused at which time I insisted she go to the living room and stay with her husband.  As she left (reluctantly) I felt the child's neck for a pulse.  I really didn't expect to find one as she already had a waxen look to her face which is normal for deceased people of oriental decent.  Not only did she not have a pulse but she was cold as ice.  This child had been dead for several hours.  I immediately called for an ambulance, supervisor, and detective to come to my location.  As we were waiting for these people to show up I made notes of things that seemed out of place.  The little girl was fully dressed in clean clothes that she obviously had not slept in.  Very strange.
When the paramedics arrived they confirmed what I already knew.  They also told me that the Justice of the Peace had just pronounced the child deceased and the funeral home would be coming to get her body.  It was at this time that I went to Mrs Floyd and told her, "Ma'am I am sorry to have to tell you but your daughter is dead.'  She turned around and looked me straight in the eye and VERY calmly said, 'She not my daughter.'  Shocked, I then asked her who the little girl was to her?  She tells me in very broken english that she is babysitting the girl while her mama is in Houston having a second child.  Mrs. Floyd is so calm that I immediately began to be angry at her for her lack of concern that the child is dead.  I remain cool until I find out what happened.  My supervisors were speaking with Mr. Floyd at the same time as I was talking to his wife.
Mrs Thu Floyd  began to tell me the following events;  The night before when the child first arrived she sat her in a bar stool at the bar and she began reading the book, 'The Little Train that Could'.  After Mrs Floyd finished reading a page in the book she'd give the book to the 5 year old child and tell her to read it back to her.  This little girl had never been to school and was unable to read.  When she couldn't read back the page as Mrs Floyd did she would slap the girl so hard that she'd fall out of the stool on to the floor.  She'd pick her up and put her back in the chair and they'd do this over and over again.  The bar stool was a minimum of 2-3 foot off the floor.  The last time the little girl was slapped it was so hard that both she and the stool were knocked over onto the floor and this time she was bleeding from a split lip.  Mrs Floyd became upset and told the child to go to bed.  The child went straight to the room she was sleeping in and went to bed still crying.
Mrs. Floyd related that she heard the girl get up about midnight and get sick in the bathroom.  She was vomiting and she told Mrs Floyd she had a headache.  Non-sympathetic Mrs Floyd sent her back to bed.  About 4 hours later she heard the girl in the bathroom again so she went to see about her and the child told her she was not able to stand up.  Mrs. Floyd insisted she stand up and when she did the girl fell in her arms and she stopped breathing.  Mrs. Floyd panicked and so she remove the bloody nightgown from the dead child, bathed her and re-dressed her.  She then made the bed and laid her on it.  When Mr. Floyd woke up he instructed her call the police. 
By the end of her story I was ready to strangle this woman.  She showed no compassion or remorse for what had happened.  It seemed that in her native culture in Vietnam this was how they taught their children to read.  Their son was taught this same way according to Mr. Floyd and he survived to be normal.  Well, their son was not present to attest to this.  My supervisors knew me so well that they ordered me to go outside and wait for the funeral home to arrive to give me time to calm down so I wouldn't do something stupid to Mrs. Floyd.
After the child's body was removed from the house and Mrs. Floyd was arrested and taken to the police department jail I re-entered the house and began searching for the nightgown the child wore the night before.  We searched the entire house and could not find it until a small voice prompted me to check in the washer. Lo and behold there it was and it was the bloody gown we needed to support the claim of the bloody lip from her falling off the chair.  I swore that I'd make sure this case was open and shut and this woman would go to prison.
I finally had the chance to talk to Mr. Floyd and find out where he was during the entire reading lesson.  He told me he was in the living room listening to it.  He is confined to the wheelchair as a quadriplegic and  he was no help. He tried to encourage his wife to stop but his voice fell on deaf ears.  
The hard part was yet to come which was to tell the child's mother that her oldest daughter was dead.  I needed divine intervention to aid me and give me strength to have the correct words to tell this mother what a mom never wants to hear.  The Lord alleviated my part in this as we contacted Houston Police to make contact with her.
I worked this case with a passion and testified in the court case against Thu Floyd.  This innocent child deserved justice.  Thu Floyd was found guilty of aggravated murder  and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
The justice system in its infinite wisdom of blind justice served as my salvation in this case.  I became an advocate for justice on earth and accountability after death. 
The autopsy showed the child received a hard slam of her head on the floor which cause a sub dermal hematoma better known as a blood clot at the base of her skull.  As her brain swelled during the night she became sick and probably dizzy.  The swelling eventually went to the area at the top of her spinal cord and the base of her brain and it cut off her ability to breathe or move and she died.
Learning to read should not be deadly.  

 
  
 
 

Unknown Nature calls...

Responding to calls of 'unknown nature' were the worst kind of calls.  The dispatcher had very sketchy details for us as she'd send us to a specific address.  The callers were usually panic stricken, crying, making demands that the police be at their location right away.  Little did they know how far away we usually were but they could at least hear our responding units sirens as we approached the neighborhoods. 
Then there were those calls from third party callers that weren't close by and knew even less.
One Saturday morning as the day was beginning to show activity with shoppers, baseball fields filling with players and parents, dogs walking their owners in the park.  It was about 11 a.m. when I was dispatched to an address on the northeast corner of town.  This was a brand new housing area that was just beginning to populate with families.  The call came from a young teenage girl.  She related to the dispatcher that she was talking to her boyfriend on the telephone and he was playing 'their song' really loud.  She stated that he and she had recently broken off a dating relationship and he was begging her to come back to him.  She tried to tell him that she could not as her father insisted that they both were too young to be so serious.  She knew this upset him as she could hear it in his voice.  The music was so loud that a lot of what he had said to her she could not hear or understand.  The parents of this young male was not at home according to him as they had taken his sister shopping, so he was home alone.  After a few moments of no conversation the caller heard a very loud noise.  She kept calling the young man's name to get a response.  When he failed to answer she panicked and call the police department.

As I was working the area of the residence I was the first officer on scene.  My back up was still quite far away.  I went to the front door and found it locked so I walked around to the backyard and found a sliding glass door that was unlocked.  Not knowing exactly what I was about to enter in to I notified the dispatcher that I was entering the house. As I entered the dining room area I was yelling, 'Killeen Police, any one here?'  There was an eery quiet within this house.  As I walked into the living room I yelled again the same thing and asked if anyone was here to please respond.  Again.....nothing.  There was a long hallway leading away from the living room and all the doors were closed.  Apprehensive but knowing I had to open them all I began opening doors.  Bedrooms, bathroom, and closets produced no one.  One door to go at the very end of the hallway where I heard a faint sound of music so I again announced myself, knocked on the door and heard no movement inside.  Fearing the worst that someone was hurt inside I began to open the door.  As the door opened slightly I saw 2 legs in jeans over the side of the bed directly in front of a stereo so I pushed the door open all the way.  I could not believe what I was seeing.
On the bed on his back was the body of a 15 year old male child, he had shot himself with a shotgun under the chin and literally blew his brains out all over the wall behind him and the ceiling.  The gun was still lying on his chest.  He was obviously dead.  I could literally smell 'death' in the air.  I left everything as it was and called for an ambulance, my supervisor, and a detective to come to the scene.  Shortly thereafter, my backup showed up and I met him outside.  I explained to him what I had found and he went inside to check what I told him.  When the paramedics arrived they went in and confirmed what I knew.  The Justice of the Peace was also called to pronounce the boy deceased.
In Texas where there is an unattended death there is always an autopsy done to confirm the cause of a death.
The hard part now was trying to find this boy's parents to notify them.  Of course there was no cell phone number as these weren't available as they are today.  We eventually found a family member that knew where they were shopping and they would find them and get them home right away.
After about 30 minutes the family returned home and of course were questioning us as why we were there.  This was the hardest notification I ever had to do.  This family was of Asian decent and they were simply devastated.  They wanted to see their son but I could not allow that.  Eventually, our police chaplain arrived and he removed the family from the home so we could complete our job and remove the boy's body.
As I finished and drove to the station the shock was beginning to wear off and as a I pulled into the parking lot and parked I began to cry.  My cry was in agony over the loss of a 15 year old child.  I wondered what could be so bad in the life of a 15 year old to cause him to use a shotgun to end his life.
Here I was a police officer showing human emotions.  My badge and my gun did not stop me from mourning and showing outward emotions for this boy and his family.
 I prayed for strength to get through the complete investigation and be strong for the family.  My salvation was Lieutenant Stephens who emphasized that being human and having human feelings was okay in this particular situation.  He encouraged me to vent by whatever means  I needed to. To this day this scene is clear in my mind's eye.  I will never forget it.


Now, that I look back I see this was the prelude for works of Satan, yet to come.  

         

Brotherhood behind the badge....

As I proved myself working the streets to the citizens I also proved to the male officers that there was a place and a purpose for me as an officer.  The acceptance finally came after about 2 years.  As I slowly became 'one of the guys' the acceptance grew not only from the men of the Killeen Police Department but from the Sheriffs Department and the Texas Highway Patrol.  Neighboring cities were also keeping an eye on me from afar for their future hiring of women.  I learned about making arrests for Driving Under the Influence of an Intoxicant so well that  I only lost 1 case in 17 years.  Our County Attorney loved receiving my cases as they hardly ever went to court and if they did the County won every time.  The State of Texas incorporated a field sobriety test after arrest and prior to the breath test.  It was done inside the police department in perfect conditions.  The officer conducting the test had to perform the tests prior to giving the alleged intoxicated person the opportunity to do them.  The majority of the guys had problems with standing with their eyes closed, arms stretched out to their sides and touching their noses with designated fingers so usually I'd volunteer to complete them with the arrested person.  There was one incident where the arrested person just couldn't seem to walk a straight line without holding on to the wall or stand on one foot.
He was aware enough though to tell me that he could recite the alphabet backwards!  I stopped and looked at him and told him to go ahead and do it.  He staggered over to the front of the camera and began with ABC...and he abruptly made an about face as he continued to the letter Z.  I was dumbfounded.  He thought he'd be able to go home after that and I hated to tell him that he still had to give a breath test before that decision could be made!  Unfortunately, he stayed in the 4-bar hotel for the night.  The officer that arrested him laughed and said he hoped we got to go to court on this one.  But we didn't.
Before long all the outside agencies were bringing their DUI arrests to our department for processing.

   While I was in the police academy I became real good friends with a co-worker by the name of Carl Levin.  He worked for Killeen about 1 year after the academy before he moved to a neighboring city to work.  Carl was my backup on numerous calls when we first started working the road.  I was happy for him if he was happy but I really missed him.  He had been in Harker Heights for only a few months in 1978 working a graveyard shift when he received a call to investigate an arson at one of the local nightclubs in the city.  Carl was a good officer but there were times that he trusted too easily.  A crook or a con is just that, they make their life conning people.  Carl stopped a suspect named Thomas Andrew Barefoot that had been seen running from the burning club.  He exited his driver's door telling Barefoot he wanted to talk to him.  Barefoot was standing to the immediate left of Carl as he reached inside his car to get something.  As he came out of the car Barefoot shot him in the left temple at point blank range.  Barefoot then ran off.  Carl was killed instantly.  He never knew what hit him.  Thankfully. As is in most officer deaths (on duty) Carl contributed to his own demise.  He failed to pat-down Barefoot or he may have found the .25 cal gun hidden behind his big belt buckle.  Being too trusting can be deadly if you are wearing a badge.
There was the biggest manhunt ever in Central Texas for this cop killer.  I was on vacation in Alabama when this happened.  The department called me and told me to get back to Texas ASAP.  Highway Patrol officers provided escort from Alabama to Texas at lightning speed to insure I was there to participate in the manhunt and the services for Carl.  August 7, 1978 is a date I will never forget as I lost a true brother.
This loss was felt so close to home.  Police funerals are the toughest services to participate in.  With the support of the brotherhood we all got through it with a profound respect for those that made the ultimate sacrifice.
I truly believe the Lord must have a special place in Heaven for fallen peace officers, at least I hope He does so  I can see Carl again one day.  
Barefoot was executed by lethal injection on October 30, 1984 in Huntsville, Texas.

In the early 80's Killeen police worked single officer units.  For the majority of calls the dispatcher would only send 1 car.  If there were weapons involved then a supervisor would also respond or another closer unit.  The shift I worked on soon realized that there weren't too many calls that I needed help with.  As domestic disturbances became more violent it became policy to send 2 units just for our protection.  If both parties were present I usually responded with the guys to assist with the woman.  If only one party was there I would go alone.  There was a time though that while I was counseling a wife that her husband came home and he was so very irate.  He resented me being there as he did not allow me to be there.  He ordered me to leave but his wife begged me to stay as she was afraid that he was going to hurt her.  He went to the phone and picked it up to call his 'buddies' to help get me out of his house.  As he picked up the receiver I went to him and disconnected his call with my finger.  He went off and needless to say the 'fight was on'.  We fought to gain control of my flashlight that he was going to use on me.  At some point I was able to call for help on my radio.  After a second I heard sirens coming from everywhere.....
The backup units had to kick the door down to get in the apartment as I could not release the hold I had on the husband.  I was banged up a little but he was too and he went to jail.  His wife went to a Crisis Center and she was uninjured.  Several others also went to jail that were friends of the husband as they tried to stop my comrades from getting up the stairs.
This was the most excitement we had all night.  Whenever I called for help everyone comes with lights on and sirens blaring.
These guys were always willing to be my salvation because they got to get in on the action!!  I was just glad they were there.  

  

A Still Small Voice...

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.
        

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.