Page 325 - NIXBOOK

911 call to a fire: I responded to the scene before the fire department did; because I was already out on patrol and in the area. I
got out of my car and looked into the sewer/storm drain. It was easy to find; I just looked for the one that had smoke pouring
out of it. I got on my radio and gave dispatch an update: “Yep, confirmed fire in the sewer.” Because under all the smoke, orange
flames.

A hit and run accident happened in a parking lot. Property damage only; no injury. Good news; there were a lot of witnesses
watching from the deck of a nearby restaurant. Too bad none of the witnesses could agree on the suspect vehicle or driver; when
I eventually tracked down the driver, she had different hair color, was a very different ethnicity than described, and even the car
color was different than what some of the witnesses had told me. Moral of the story: eyewitness accounts can be pretty unreliable
sometimes.

Me, off duty. Shopping in the WalMart. I spot at the end of an aisle one of my customers from work; I recognize the guy because
I had booked him into the jail the week before for an assault charge. Me, being suddenly uncomfortable in the store. Because I
don’t have my uniform and gear on, I’m dressed normally like just anybody else. Me, heading for another part of the store before
he sees me. I’m not scared of him; it just feels awkward to run into people like that when I’m not on duty. But I never felt anxious
or vulnerable enough to compensate and carry a concealed weapon or even my badge with me off duty; I never even carried my
police ID card with me off duty.