The Last Radio Call
Chapter 1
( Normal day)
“Fifty-five to dispatch. Show me 10-8 from that call, put out on Highway 35 near mile marker 157 for radar.” I said into my patrol car’s radio.
“10-4 fifty-five, I have you cleared from the call and out at 35 for radar,” the dispatcher replied in her always calm demeanor.
I sat in the median running radar, with the speed locked to ten over the posted limit. The constant low warble of the radar unit was just background noise to me at this point. I just opened up CAD, that’s Computer Aided Dispatch or as the general public like to call it, ‘the laptop in the cop car.’ I just opened up the program to start my report when my cell phone started to ring. The screen said Erica.
I answered. “Hey babe, how are you doing? …That’s good. I’m fine.” I looked over at the clock. It was 1621 hours and my shift ended at 1700 hours. “I have just over a half an hour left pending any last minute calls that come in. I love you too, have fun on your girls’ trip. Let me know when you get there. I’ll miss you too but don’t worry I’ll be fine. I’m going to see if I can pick up an extra shift this weekend. I’ve got to help pay for our wedding that is only three months away. Ok, I’ve got to finish up some paperwork. I love you too, bye.” I put the phone back in my pocket and started my report.
On *date redacted* at approximately 1610 I, reserve deputy Alex (Badge #55), got dispatched via radio to **address redacted** in district two for a report for a battery in process. When I arrived on scene, deputies Kurby (Badge #26) and Welch (Badge #9) had already arrived and had the suspect in custody and were waiting for a transport to the jail. I spoke to the victim, *name redacted* who I later identified by his state driver’s license. He informed me that he was just out for a jog when someone attacked him and bit him on the arm twice and leg once. The victim was able to get away and call 911. SunBurst FireDepartment arrived to take him to Mercy Medical Hospital for treatment. **see form 5910-79 for full report**
I just clicked on the report form after finishing my synopsis report when a call came over the radio, “52-80, 52-90 respond to 618 chatterton. 618 chatterton for a group of five fighting”.
I laughed and thought, Have fun with that SunBurst PD. I alway like to keep the radio in my squad car set to scan to listen for SBPD frequencies. I work for district two in the county of Bear Creek. The biggest city in my area is SunBurst with a population of 91,170 and employs 153 police officers. There are other smaller towns in my district with no more than a few thousand people at the most. SunBurst is surrounded by mountains on three sides and the Cook Cook river a mile long on the fourth side. The main way in and out was over the Cook Cook bridge or the Big-C as we called it. That is why I normally write reports on highway thirty-five; If anyone was going to run from SBPD, this was the only way out of the city. I’ve gotten a car with my spike strip on more than one occasion. My radar went from a low warble to a high pitch ping. I looked up on the display screen- 90 miles per hour.
I let out a soft, “Ffffuuuuucccccckkkkkk,” under my breath. I looked in the rearview mirror to see a Toyota Corolla flying up on me. I closed my laptop and put my squad in drive.With my foot on the brake and hand over the light bar control, I really did not want to stop any car this close to the end of watch, but ninety in a sixty-five is something I just can’t overlook. The Toyota blew past me. I activated my emergency light, checked to make sure it was safe to pull out into traffic and floored it. The growl of the crown Vic’s V8 rumbled to life as I took off down the highway in pursuit of the speeder.
As I sped away, I could hear my radio, “Dispatch this is 52-90. Myself and 52-80 have five individuals at gunpoint, send backup.”
The dispatcher replied with “10-4 52-70, 52-60, 52-50 respond 10-33 to 618 chatterton. 618 chatterton to back up 52-80 and 90 all other officers stay off the air until I hear back from 52-80.”
I just caught up with the speeding vehicle and pulled it over. Our dispatcher for the county is different then the city so I was able to radio my information to dispatch. “55 to dispatch,” I said.
“Go ahead 55,” replied the dispatcher.
“Dispatch can you run a twenty-eight on a Toyota Corolla, license plate Boy, Victor, Adam 2-7-9, B-V-A-2-7-9, silver in color occupied times three.” A few moments later Dispatch came back with “10-4. The vehicle is clean.” Which means it’s not stolen, the tags are current, and the owner of the vehicle is not wanted in connection with a crime. I walked up to the vehicle and pressed my thumb onto the taillight so if anything were to happen to me they could dust the car for prints and find I was there. I walked up to the driver door but stopped short just behind the A-Pillar or the car. You never want to get right up in front of the window, that makes it way too easy to get killed. The driver rolled down his window and I did my introduction.
“Hi, I’m Deputy Alex with the Bear Creek County Sheriff Department. The reason for my traffic stop is that you were going 90 in a posted 65. Any reason why you are speeding today? Also, can I see your driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance?” I always like to have the driver talk to me and look for stuff at the same time. If they are drunk or nervous they typically can’t do both at the same time.
The driver said to me, “Hey man, sorry I did not realize I was going that fast.” There were two girls in the backseat of the car, maybe no older than twelve or fourteen.
The blond girl spoke up, “Yes you did daddy. You said if we don’t get up to the cabin before sundown mommy was going to tear you a new one.”
I was trying to keep the grin off my face at this. The driver said to me, “Here’s my driver’s license sir.”
I took his license and asked, “Mr. *Name redacted* is this your current address?”
“Yes, let me just get you my insurance card.”
The blond girl started talking to me, “Hi officer, how are you?”
I kept one eye on her dad, to make sure he wasn’t reaching for something he shouldn’t be. I turned to her and replied, “Not too bad, how are you? How’s school going?”
“It’s good. This is my friend, Jessica, but she is sleeping right now.”
The girl next to her had jet black hair covering her face. Her head was wedged in between the door and the headrest which is the most comfortable position one can get in a car. “Are you staying out of trouble?” I said in a joking manner.
“I’m trying to but my dad says if I develop early like me mom, it will be hard for me to stay out of trouble.”
I coughed, trying to hold back a laugh. I glanced at the dad who was red in the face from embarrassment. “Officer, I found my insurance card.” I took it from him and walked back to my patrol car.
“Fifty-five to Dispatch. Can you run a twenty-seven for me?”
“10-4, 55 go ahead with your 27,” Dispatch responded.
I was just about to read off the name on the driver’s license when the emergency tone on my radio went off. I looked down at the small digital display on my patrol car’s radio reading Channel 4 SBPD. It was flashing red. Someone must have hit the emergency button on their police radio. When pressed, it gives the officer who pressed the button thirty seconds of open mic time to say whatever they need to say with no interruption. What I heard next is something no officer ever wants to hear.
“Officer down, officer down. Shots fired, 52-80 is down. We got a mob coming after us. Two additional people have been shot. I’m dragging 52-80 down Chatterton Street. I need backup now.”
There were some noises coming through the radio. It sounded like dragging on pavement and then yelling. “STAY BACK!” Two pistol shots rang out over the radio. Then there was silence for exactly one heartbeat.
Dispatch came on with a calm voice, but it was traced with a hint of panic. “Tac-Alert Tac-Alert, Tac-Alert. Officers need immediate assistance. 618 Chatterton, 618 Chatterton. Officers down, shots fired, this is an all units respond. 10-33 Tac-Alert, unknown conditions of the officer. Unknown number of assailants. 618 Chatterton Tac-Alert, Tac-Alert, Tac-Alert.”
I jumped out the door of my cruiser and ran up to the car I stopped. “It’s your lucky day buddy. Here’s your information.” I threw it all in the front seat of his car. “I have to go. Slow it down and drive safely.”
Jessica, the girl in the back, was awake. Our eyes locked for only a few seconds. She had the prettiest emerald green eyes I think I have ever seen. I knew I would never forget them. I stumbled for a second.
“Bye Officer,” she said. That traffic stop would be the last normal thing that would ever happen to me.
I jumped back into my police car, slammed it into drive, and pushed the gas pedal to the floorboard. This was an officer down, a brother in blue, and I was going to go balls to the wall to get there. I grabbed my radio and called dispatch.
“55 to dispatch, clear me for that traffic stop. Show me 10-17 in route to that Tac-Alert at 618 Chatterton. I’m going off frequency and will be on Mutual-Aid 1 if you need me.”
Before I got a response back from dispatch I changed to Mutual-Aid 1 on my police radio. I did all this while driving at 120 miles per hour. I took the closest off ramp, crossed over the highway and got back on the highway, this time driving towards the City of Sunburst. In my rearview mirror I saw the lights of another police vehicle. I slowed down so we could travel together. The police SUV was a state police vehicle. I quickly switched to the state police frequency and pressed the push to talk button on the radio.
“State police on 35 this is Deputy Alex from BCSD are you responding to the tac-alert?”
“10-4. Do I need to take the lead?” asked the trooper.
“If you could, I’m not familiar enough with the area.”
“10-4, taking the lead now,” replied the trooper. The trooper honked his air horn twice and passed me on the left.
“10-4, FYI we are on Mutual-aid 1 frequency,” I said before switching back over. Two more squad cars fell in line behind us. One was a City of Bellevue Police squad, which is a small city a few miles away from SunBurst. The other was a Bear Creek County Deputy. Our convoy of four squad cars surged ahead with the emergency lights flashing and sirens wailing.
We drove at approximately 100 to 120 miles an hour for about five minutes when a voice came over Mutual-Aid 1. “This is Caption Kent of Sunburst PD. I’m the incident commander for this Tac-Alert. All SBPD officers form up in your civil control team leaders. BCSD deputies, state police, and other responding agencies are staging six blocks west of Chatterton, forming up and heading downtown.”
Once on scene, we were directed to a side street to park our squad cars. I was confused on why we were staging six blocks away from the original call. Also, why were we supposed to head downtown in the opposite direction? I found a group of six deputies from my department and one lieutenant, standing around talking.
I walked up and asked, “What’s going on?”
Lieutenant O’Connor turned around to answer, “How nice of you to join us. I was just about to tell everyone.” He looked at me and said, “You are a Reserve Deputy, aren’t you?”
I pointed to my shoulder patch. Underneath the sheriff department logo was a small tap that said, Reserve on it. “Yes sir, but I’m looking to be a good fit for full time when there is an opening in the department.”
LieutenantO’Connor waved the answer away and asked, “ Have you ever done any riot control?”
“I was trained and certified in crowd control, including pepperball and beanbags usage sir.”
“Good, now listen up everyone,” Lieutenant O’Connor said. “The mob that attacked the two officers have turned into a riot and have moved to the downtown area where they have been attacking anyone and damaging property. Their numbers have swollen up to five hundred or so. The mayor said that this is unlawful assembly and rumors have it, the governor has declared a state emergency and is calling in the National Guard.
“Why are they doing this?” A young female deputy asked.
Lieutenant O’ Connor replied, “There are three facts about riots. One: Crowds are anonymous. Two: Anonymity breeds violence. Three: Violence lowers consequences. You need a catalyst to set off the violence. I’m guessing the two officers shot someone who was well liked in the community.”
“Do we know the status of the two officers?” asked the same female deputy.
“Last I heard, their backup showed up and pulled both of them out of there. They were in tough condition, lots of bad cuts and people even bit them. They were transported to Mercy Medical Hospital for treatment.” answered the Lieutenant.
There were a few murmurs from the deputies. One even did the sign of the cross over his chest. “Now let’s get down to brass tacks and discuss our role in restoring peace.” Lieutenant O’connor announced. “The front and second echelon of officers will be made up of SBPD and some of the smaller townships. SBPD has six of their C.R.T or Crisis Response Team aka SWAT with us. Their captain will be the team leader for the riot team. Three of the C.R.T officers will be the gas officers in charge of using smoke and gas grenades. If needed, the last two will provide deadly force overwatch on top of the BearCat. If one of the protesters gets ready to throw a molotov cocktail or pull a firearm, these guys will be ready to shoot. State police along with our K-9 and SBPD K-9 will be on the arrest team. The sheriff department (that’s us) will be rear guard and transport. We have two of our paddy wagons here that will be used for transport. Our job is to make sure no one slips in behind the group and tries to attack us from the rear. We will also swap out with the arrest team if needed. Now everyone don your riot gear. If you have less lethals with you, like the large cans of pepper spray, or pepper ball guns, break them out now. Meet back here in ten minutes. I’m going to check in with the incident commander and let him know the number of deputies I have.”
I walked back to my squad car, a little confused on how a riot could form so quickly. Emergency vehicles with their sirens balaring could be heard racing around the city in all different directions, no doubt answering 911 calls and doing their best to keep the city from falling apart. The C.R.T BearCat armored car rolled past me as I got to my car. The throaty rumble of its diesel engine passed me. Its weight shook the ground, giving me a surge of confidence that we could restore order.
I got into my riot gear as quickly as I could. Think of a suit of armor made of hard plastic plating with thick foam padding underneath, and then covered by Nomex, which is a very flame resistant material. I clipped my Drop Leg gas mask pouch on my left side. I then holstered my Monadnock Hardwood twent-eight hundred. That might sound fancy, but it’s just a wooden riot baton. I had to do some digging around the truck of my squad but found the hard plastic case and flipped it open. Inside, protected by foam, was a Tippmann 98 custom paintball gun in bright yellow.
I assembled the gun and loaded it with pepperball rounds. Unlike normal paintball rounds, they were filled with pepper spray instead of paint. When the round hits someone or something, it breaks apart and sends pepper spray in a powder form everywhere. I put on my belt with four reloads for the pepperball gun. Each reload holds two hundred rounds of pepperball. I checked to make sure the CO2 tank was screwed into the pistol grip of the gun and working properly. After ensuring that it was in correct working order, the other deputies and I returned to the staging area. SBPD took over a parking ramp for the staging area or rally point. Their mobile Command and Control unit was heavily modified with an RV complete with antennae, satellite dishes, and cameras protruding from all areas along with a flushable toilet trailer, and a large tractor trailer with an OWI/arrest processing center.
I asked one of the local cops why there was a processing center. He told me it was for processing large amounts of people without overloading the jails. They can fingerprint, photograph, run names to search for warrants, and either give a citation and cut them loose or load them directly onto the prison bus to be taken to the local jail. There were several ambulances staged here as well to treat both protesters and officers.
As we began to move out, one of the EMTs holding a cup of coffee in a styrofoam cup gave the passing officers a two finger salute and said, “Good luck out there.”