This isn’t Mayberry..

It’s an odd thing. Scary really. Those nights when your husband leaves, and you really aren’t sure if he is going to come back. You don’t know if you’re experiencing your last kiss, or saying the last “I love you.” This happened last week. I’ll share with you how a dangerous 911 call is from the perspective of the responding officers wife.

Reed was at home for a dinner break. I hadn’t even finished cooking it yet when his phone rang. Reed was receiving information to respond to a call. He came rushing out from the hall.

“What do you got?” I asked.
“Man threatening to commit suicide and he has a gun in his hand,” he responded.

My heart sank. With a quick “I love you,” Reed was out the door.

Now is when the worry sets in. Although you try to not think about it, every possible scenario enters your mind. I knew this would end in one of four ways.
1) The guy would surrender and everyone would be safe.
2) The officers would take action and keep everyone safe.
3)The guy would commit suicide.
4)There would be an exchange of gunfire, and someone would end up hurt or dead. That “someone” could be my husband.

First I prayed. Prayed for the protection of Reed and any other responding officer. Prayed for the protection of those around who would come out of their houses with curiosity when they saw the blur of blue lights.

Then I worried. Worried about Reed’s safety on scene. Worried that he would be the only one there as he was the only officer on duty that night. Worried about becoming a 21-year-old widow. Worried that one of his superiors would show up on my porch with news no wife ever wants to hear.

All there was left to do was wait. Wait for his car to return home so he could finish the dinner I had prepared for him. Wait for him to come back in and hug me very tightly. Wait to see which direction life was going to take.

I walked outside with our puppy, and found comfort in seeing Reed’s corporal, who lives next door, on his phone walking to his police car. I heard his end of the conversation.

“Are you there? Are you outside of the house? Good, stay there, I’m on my way.”

One of the upsides to most of his fellow officers living in our town, is that they can get to each other quickly.
Feeling a bit more comforted, I walked back inside and continued to wait. To worry. To pray.

I did this for an hour. A very long hour. I heard a car door outside of the house, and rushed to the window. Walking up to my porch, was Reed’s corporal. My heart sank as I heard him knock on the door.
I was again, comforted when I opened the door to him smiling at me. He gave me thumbs up and said “Reed’s good!” A weight was lifted off my chest, and I thanked God that everything went smoothly. They had taken the guy into custody without anyone getting hurt.

Three hours later, after taking the man to the hospital and waiting around forever, Reed came home to eat his dinner. I hugged him tightly.

A lot of people don’t truly understand the dangers that go  with his job. They think because he works in a small, quiet town, that he’s safe. This isn’t so, as you see above. The things that seem the most simple, can quickly turn to tragedy. Please look at the examples below of the fallen heroes who weren’t so blessed as to have gone back home to their families. Please read each one, as each officer deserves to be rememebered for their heroism:

(Source: www.odmp.org)

Police Officer Richard John Matthews
Wilmington Police Department
North Carolina
Age:28
End of Watch: Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Officer Richard Matthews was killed in an automobile accident while responding to backup another officer. His patrol car struck a tree after he swerved to avoid a box in the roadway on Shipyard Boulevard.
He was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Officer Matthews had served with the Wilmington Police Department for 2 years and had previously served with the New York City Police Department for 3 years.

Police Officer Bill Evans
West Memphis Police Department
Arkansas
Age:38
End of Watch: Thursday, May 20, 2010
Police Officer Bill Evans and Sergeant Brandon Paudert were shot and killed during a vehicle stop.
Officer Evans was on patrol on Interstate-40 when, at 1136 hours, he pulled over a vehicle, occupied by two men, for a violation. Sergeant Paudert arrived shortly after to provide back-up on the stop. During the stop, the officers had the vehicle occupants exit the vehicle. A struggle with one suspect ensued, followed by an exchange of gunfire. Both suspects were armed with AK-47′s. Officer Evans and Sergeant Paudert were both killed in an exchange of gunfire with the suspects.

The suspects fled, and were later located at a nearby store. One suspect was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire with a State Wildlife officer. The second suspect was shot and killed in a shootout with members of the West Memphis Police Department, the Arkansas State Police and the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office. The County Sheriff and the Chief of Patrol were seriously wounded in that exchange.

Officer Evans was a nine year veteran of the department and a member of the Drug Interdiction Unit. He was the nephew of the West Memphis Chief of Police. He is survived by his two children.

Deputy Sheriff Chad Lee Mechels
Turner County Sheriff’s Department
South Dakota
Age:33
End of Watch: Sunday, March 15, 2009
Deputy Chad Mechels was shot and killed while performing a well-being visit.
Deputy Mechels responded to a farmhouse west of Marion, South Dakota, to check on the well-being of an individual. After arriving, he was shot. He was taken to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls where he died from his injuries.
The suspect, a 19-year-old male, called 911 to report he had shot Deputy Mechels and then fled the scene. He was taken into custody later in the day when he turned himself in at the Minnehaha County Law Enforcement Center. He was charged with first degree murder.
Deputy Mechels had served with the Turner County Sheriff’s Department for five months. He had previously served with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Kingsbury County Sheriff’s Department, for a total of five years of law enforcement experience.

Deputy Mechels is survived by his wife, 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.

Officer Tina G. Griswold
Lakewood Police Department
Washington
Age: 40
End of Watch: Sunday, November 29, 2009
Officer Tina Griswold, Sergeant Mark Renninger, Officer Greg Richards, and Officer Ronald Owens were shot and killed in an ambush style attack while sitting inside a coffee shop in Lakewood.
All four officers had parked their marked patrol cars in front of a coffee shop and were inside, in uniform, preparing for their shift. They were sitting at a table with their laptop computers open, completing job related paperwork. The suspect entered the coffee shop and stood in line. When he reached the counter he drew a handgun from his coat, turned toward the officers and opened fire. Two of the officers were shot before they had time to react. A third officer stood up, but was shot before he could draw his weapon. The fourth officer struggled with the suspect, wrestling him out the front door of the shop, before being shot. The fourth officer was able to return fire before he died, wounding the suspect as he fled.

A massive two day manhunt ensued, in an attempt to capture the suspect. He was shot and killed by a Seattle Police Officer, after the Seattle Officer observed the suspect near a stolen car. The officer attempted to take the suspect into custody, but the suspect refused to follow commands and attempted to flee, prompting the Officer to shoot and kill the suspect.
Officer Griswold had served with the Lakewood Police Department for five years and had a total of fourteen years of law enforcement experience.

She is survived by her husband and two children.

 

 

 

Responding to back up another officer, doing a “routine” traffic stop, performing a well-being check, and sitting in a coffee shop preparing for  a shift were the last things these officers ever did. Most people think that unless you work in a place where you have shoot-outs every day or respond to armed robberies at banks or have chases all the time, it isn’t dangerous. They’ve fooled themselves into thinking that small town police work is the same as working in Mayberry. You only need one bullet, everyone respects you, and there is no danger.

The following video is from the dashcam of fallen Hero, Deputy Kyle Dinkheller. This was a “routine” traffic stop. I will warn that the audio on the video is graphic. You don’t see much, but you certainly can hear what is going on. .

During the traffic stop he called in for backup. Before the backup arrived he was shot by the man with a rifle. He was able to return fire, striking the suspect in the stomach. The suspect was found during a search the next morning and taken into custody.
On January 28, 2000, the suspect was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to death two days later.
Deputy Dinkheller was survived by his expectant wife and 22-month-old daughter. Deputy Dinkheller’s son was born in early September 1998.

So, my friends, as you can see, the Mayberry days are long gone. The above is the reality of police work, and the reality is danger. Please consider this and pray for Officers everywhere to be able to return home to their families after their shift. Deputy Dinkheller was someones husband, someones son, and someones brother. Imagine if he had been yours.

As I bring this post to an end, I hope that you have more respect for police officers and what they do. Small town or not, they are all modern-day superheroes. They all face danger. My husband, along with all other police officers, risk not coming home to their families, to protect yours. If nothing else, keep them in your thoughts and prayers, and when you see a police officer on the street, or even in a coffee shop or gas station, it wouldn’t hurt to say a simple “thank you.” May God bless all officers and keep them safe and may He comfort the families who worry about them.