Page 167 - NIXBOOK

A shoplifter ran out of WalMart into the parking lot with three undercover loss prevention store associates in hot pursuit. I’m
just around the corner in my police car, on the phone with them as I come into the area and I hit the lights and sirens and arrive
where the action is. I pass the running store employees and close in on the fleeing suspect. A citizen in the parking lot, seeing
what is happening, decides to help out and quickly realizes he is close enough to stick a foot out and trip the running suspect.
He doesn’t succeed, but he definitely slows down the bad guy who manages somehow to recover from an almost wipe out. But
my siren freaks him out badly; he decides to stop running and he throws his hands up in the air in defeat. I jump out of my car
and approach him on foot. “I’m an idiot!” he announces loudly to me. I guess as an apology? He then adds “I’m addicted to
heroin!” Which is not news; most of the thieves caught there are heroin addicts. I yell at the guy to get down on the ground,
since I have trust issues with him running from authority. He readily complies, even though it is raining and the pavement is
completely wet. I question the guy about his motives and tactics, but do so while he’s laying down in the rain, getting really,
really wet. Oh but first I advise him of his Miranda Rights, which takes a little bit of time. Then I have to pat him down for
weapons. I suppose I could have stood him up first, but my technique that day was to check his pockets while he was face down,
then I rolled him over and checked his front pockets. After I handcuffed him, of course. Boy was he wet when I finally stood him
up. Both front and back. We take him into the security office, he fully confesses, and the dollar amount of the theft was not
enough to really warrant a booking into the jail so we decide to release him. We tell him to watch the mail for a court summons
that the prosecutor will send to him for being a thief, and he understands. But before I let him go, I make him call his mommy.
He’s 26 years old but I feel this guys’ parents need to be enlightened about what he’s doing. He calls home and tearfully admits
everything to his mother. There, now his humiliation is complete. Sounds cruel I know, but like I said sometimes it really helps
these folks when relatives are informed about what kind of problems they have. Then he got banished from the WalMart.
Forever. Actually all WalMarts everywhere, forever. So he walked off into the rain to get off the WalMart property while I
watched. I hope it was a good learning experience for him.

I came across a crashed car in the woods once; the driver just had gone off the road not 30 seconds earlier. There was still dust
in the air kicked up from his tires spinning off the road. The driver – who had neglected to use his seat belt- had gotten thrown
out of the car through the drivers side open window and somehow managed to avoid getting run over or crushed or thrown into
any trees as the car rolled and flipped. He was a little dazed but otherwise okay. He was one lucky bastard.

I once caught a guy stealing rocks.