I'm used to my officers and their affinity for their guns. In most cases if you were to tell them to choose between their AR15's and sleeping with their wives, the wives would be out with the pooches on the porches so to speak. What I failed to take into consideration was the officer (a corporal no less) and his admiration for citizens with the same gun-toting, law-respecting, butt-kicking mentality as he had.



On the weekends we have a grant to hire extra officers to keep an eye on our trouble spots, mainly a small area of town with numerous bars/clubs with rampant closing time violence.



We had also had a shooting, so all officers on this particular side of town were tied up on the shooting, while calls were stacking up with no one to respond.



I had gotten in a burglary from a vehicle at an address, the victim was the neighbor of the caller who said that the suspect ran thataway with her boyfriend chasing. Not that I didn't think this was important, but as I said, I had no one to respond. Well, that is until she called back saying that her boyfriend and the neighbor/victim both had the suspect at gunpoint!



I asked for cars to start, got one of the guys from the grant. Ok...um yeah, go ahead. I know he's not supposed to do anything but the grant but who am I, a lowly dispatcher, to tell a Cpl no?



He goes enroute, I tell him I'll get him a backer from....well, somewhere. I tell my partner who starts 2 from her side of town which were oh, only 15 miles or so away. I tell another partner who has the county side of things who starts 2 deputies from about the same distance. I hit the floor pedal and tell the Cpl that I have 5 enroute (forgot one of the K9's) but all were aways away.



Radio goes silent except for the units on the shooting using my main channel to chat about the shooting (just a hint...take it to the chat channel please?). Next thing I hear is the Cpl saying that he's arrived, both 'armed' citizens have taken off in foot pursuit of the suspect and he needs one of his backers asap. "I have one side of the perimeter, the armed citizens have the other two sides, if I can get one backer here, and one here I think that we'll have him boxed in and can have K9 start a track". What?!? Armed citizens holding a perimeter?? Ok, those of you backing copy? This is dispatcher speak for 'I don't care how far away you are, get it in gear boys'!



A few minutes later everyone is there, perimeter is locked down and I hear "Ok, K9, the citizen is gonna lead you to where to start the track". Huh? Then "you officers on perimeter check that citizen...no, no...not that citizen, that one, this one has been checked. Yes I know he has a gun in his waistband, he's ok". What?? "No, not the citizen with the lantern, he's ok too...that one, over there". Ok, time out. I'm trying to document all of this on the call, even though they're not talking to me, but in case the case goes to court, someone gets hurt, whatever. What do I call the armed citizens? Lantern One and Shirtless with a Gun? Under normal circumstances, a citizen, any citizen, within a perimeter would be dog bait, fair game for tackle in the dark football, whatever. I can only picture this in my head....a ADHD candidate frantically pulling and pointing to the K9 officer to start track 'right here' whilst standing in the very spot to ruin the scent, a shirtless wonder with a beer belly and a .357 pointed at his, um, stuff, wiping his nose on his forearm and attempting to look good (or at least less incompetant) for his trailer queen and an old man with a Coleman lantern, bottle bottom glasses and plaid polyester pants pulled up to his pits helping this Cpl direct the operation like Coppola acolytes.

Did I mention the Cpl doesn't get to play in the field very often? That he's normally in HQ?

I tell myself, take a deep breath, let it out, don't have an Irish tempered, red-headed fit here. Whew, ok. I'm better now.

Long and short of it, everyone is ok, suspect is taken into custody, citizens have something to brag about and most importantly....no one gets shot, thank the sweet Lord in Heaven.

What's that saying, about the Lord watching over fools?