Last night wasn't too bad but there were some who had it far worse then me. First little guy, he's a raccoon and he's stuck on a pole. Nice, he'll come down, he got up there is my initial stance on that. It goes back to the whole you don't find cat skeleton in trees debate (or chip bags but I'll get to that). Well turns out, not only is the raccoon stuck on a pole, the very tip top of it, he has a glass jar stuck on his head. He's spent the entire day crying. It's breaking the peoples hearts and they keep calling us about him. Well, we don't really go out for raccoons (another story, will get to that too.) so I called DNR who is on the way yey! So he will get rescued and hopefully will lay off the bottle for awhile.
The call prompted a little pod meeting as we didn't have calls so turned our chairs around and so began the normal, chit chat/card game. A co-worker remembered the time he put in a call for a woman because there was a kitten stuck in a chip bag. At first I thought he was joking, come on a chip bag, big ole opening right there, but he was serious. The woman sounded more upset then the cat so we did put a call in (thoughts about an ambulance for her near breakdown). My coworker was laughing when he told us the closing remarks put on the call. "Officer heroically extracted kitten from chip bag. All in order." Which reminded us of another closing remarks put on a noise complaint call. That one had been for a group of youth, 'talking loudly' near an intersection. Closing remarks were. "YO GOA. (youth gone on arrival) Told noisy crows to be quiet, they did not listen." Sometimes I think they close them that way just to give us a laugh.
The last story told before our 911 blew up was of how one coworker was coming back from lunch and could overhear the Sergeant on the radio talking to a Constable, seeing he if he could see the suspect. Constable said he had him in his sight. From the dispatcher chatter it was determined the suspect was on the roof of some panicked lady's house. So my coworker rushes to her desk to see what is going on but can't find the call. She's given the call number and pulls up an animal complaint. Seems there was a raccoon on this lady's roof and she was having a conniption fit. It had been a very slow night so the Sergeant and Constable were having some fun on the radio as they 'tracked' the suspect along the roof and then went into a foot pursuit. Apparently when they read the raccoons it's rights it was funny but that's when 911 blew up and we had to talk to the other animals.
Freaked out lady: He's from Alberta but he said he'd send his boys from here to my house.
Me: Did he give any names or when this would happen?
Freaked out lady: Just the crazytown boys from the hood.
Me: The hood eh?
Freaked out lady: Do you know what they plan to do when they get to my house?
Me: I doubt it's for tea and cookies.
Okay, so maybe by this part her half-shrill/crying/over the top was getting on my nerves. All this wasn't even directed towards her, it was to her son who didn't give a shit. No one came either. I seemed to have a night full of me saying something and then going shit, I probably shouldn't have said that.
Supervisor Plaid Jacket: The woman has skitzophrenia
Me: At least she's not alone.
Supervisor Plaid Jacket: She had a knife too.
Me: Was it a hostage situation?
Supervisor Plaid Jacket: Have you had your caffeine today?
Me: No and my locker bit me too.
Supervisor Plaid Jacket backed away to his fire pod.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
My hat goes off
I saw this link on Facebook and I'll admit, I'm a sappy person at times. *Sigh* no cure for it either I hear. http://www.davecarrollmusic.com/911song/ Okay there were a few points when I held my breath. It reminded me of when one of our booking officers (who wasn't carrying a gun) was coming off duty and went into the main lobby to help a motorist out front and a guy came in with a knife and demanded the officer shoot him. The booking officer couldn't get away really, guy was by the front door and the door he came out of locks from this side after 17:00. Since the officer never came out this way, only doing so today to help the motorist, he didn't know that.
The poor front desk commissionaire, who is safe behind the glass is frantically dialing our dispatch center for back up as this guy is pacing now. They showed us the video surveillance in our block training. You can see the booking officer, opening up his jacket to show that he doesn't have a gun. Now the suspect is pacing even more and starting to cut his own wrists and eventually has our officer cornered. I think while watching the video in block training, no one breathed. I know I didn't and I even knew how it ended. I could remember thinking, not him, not my charming, flirting, sarcastic, loving, caring, french booking officer. (not that I wanted it to be anyone cause I would have been able to come up with almost as many verbs to describe them)
There is a bit of a time delay cause even though we have officers in the building even ... we were told this, "there's a guy with a knife trying to kill the booking officer. OH MY GOD!" Where do you think we went? Booking. Our guys fly in and .... there's no one there. Well one booking officer who is a little confused at the sudden flood of blue and guns.
So then we call back and ouuu front door. Race of blue and guns to the front door. I can't imagine what is going through the officers head as they burst through a door with their guns while they know one of their own is in peril. But to have to do it twice in 10 mins. You see in the camera the guns first, they make it first, just the guns and they are wavering a bit, then you see the arms and the suspect pretty much raise the knife at them. He's so wired and suicidal, death by cop, not the way I'd want to go out.
One officer tries to taser him but it doesn't work. It's failed. Fuck. We're told that another officer was less then milliseconds from pulling his trigger when another officer burst in and used his taser which worked and took the guy down. My poor french guy is still in the corner and they get him out. They get the suspect a paramedic and that is the end of that. I started to breath about 5 minutes later.
So that's what that video, the link I shared, reminded me of. So needless to say I didn't breathe while watching it, but felt the same relief at the end. Kudos to all that go into the danger when everyone else is running the other way. My hat goes off!
The poor front desk commissionaire, who is safe behind the glass is frantically dialing our dispatch center for back up as this guy is pacing now. They showed us the video surveillance in our block training. You can see the booking officer, opening up his jacket to show that he doesn't have a gun. Now the suspect is pacing even more and starting to cut his own wrists and eventually has our officer cornered. I think while watching the video in block training, no one breathed. I know I didn't and I even knew how it ended. I could remember thinking, not him, not my charming, flirting, sarcastic, loving, caring, french booking officer. (not that I wanted it to be anyone cause I would have been able to come up with almost as many verbs to describe them)
There is a bit of a time delay cause even though we have officers in the building even ... we were told this, "there's a guy with a knife trying to kill the booking officer. OH MY GOD!" Where do you think we went? Booking. Our guys fly in and .... there's no one there. Well one booking officer who is a little confused at the sudden flood of blue and guns.
So then we call back and ouuu front door. Race of blue and guns to the front door. I can't imagine what is going through the officers head as they burst through a door with their guns while they know one of their own is in peril. But to have to do it twice in 10 mins. You see in the camera the guns first, they make it first, just the guns and they are wavering a bit, then you see the arms and the suspect pretty much raise the knife at them. He's so wired and suicidal, death by cop, not the way I'd want to go out.
One officer tries to taser him but it doesn't work. It's failed. Fuck. We're told that another officer was less then milliseconds from pulling his trigger when another officer burst in and used his taser which worked and took the guy down. My poor french guy is still in the corner and they get him out. They get the suspect a paramedic and that is the end of that. I started to breath about 5 minutes later.
So that's what that video, the link I shared, reminded me of. So needless to say I didn't breathe while watching it, but felt the same relief at the end. Kudos to all that go into the danger when everyone else is running the other way. My hat goes off!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The many ways to skin a Kat (Vent warning)
What a cycle, whew it was a tiring one, one that pretty much beat you up repeatedly in every which way possible. God, it was a long 4 days. Talking to a suicidal woman who, while talking to me just realized the severity of what she had done (overdosed) and lost her mind. She was throwing up, hyperventilating, screaming, balling and there was just no doing with her. All of this, at the highest volume possible for about 15 minutes. I needed a five minute break after her, just to get my hearing back. Lets see after that what was it ... not the 'fuck you, I'm going to kill you bitch' no I tried not to laugh at him. Next day was a 13 month that was foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back and not breathing, listening to the mother lose her mind, sobbing and just gone. Husband was the only one that could speak and that was through mumbled 'oh my god'. And tonight, hmmm oh yes, 4 complaints lodged against me from 1 coworker, 3 completely bullshit. But I got hauled into the office anyways, I sit down. I know what it's about. I'd like to believe I'm over the teenage mentality of 'they're out to get me' but this coworker is making me doubt my stance.
I sit down and he has a call of mine on his desk. I can read enough of it upside down to know which one it is. 20 minute call goes down like this. 911 rings and a 10 year old girl is hysterical. A friend of her mothers is pounding at the door trying to break it down. She has a knife and is carving the door with it, threatening to kill everyone inside. Lovely. Kid is traumatised but she can tell me her address and her phone number. God love you kid, you brave soul. I enter a call to get help before the worst happens, this little girl is not in a good place in town and I doubt they make good solid doors out there that could take the beating on the door that I could hear. I pound the call in, let's get some help moving. Mother takes the phone and is pissed at the daughter for calling the police, I wanted to slap that woman. I get the mother's name, DOB, the friends name and age and pound her on the call. All the info goes, description everything. Friend is an upstairs neighbor who, when realizing police are being called goes back to her apt where there are 2 kids, 2 and 5. Lovely. Police get there, we handle it. Done. Okay the complaint lodged against that call, well there was 2 actually. 1st one, when I pounded in the call, I didn't put the 10 year old girls name in the call screen. Whoopde fuck. There's a psycho with a knife pounding on her door trying to kill people, girl's name is not top priority. Mother's name goes in on second sup, suspects name goes on the same second sup. Daughters name sixth sup but that is an officer safety issue apparently. I'm sorry. I'm a big advocate for officer's safety, nothing means more to me then keeping our own boys and girls safe, so that really offended me.
2nd complaint, when the address went in there are 2 different endings for the street. It can either be Random Drive or Random Connector. It should have been Random drive but my finger clicked the wrong one. I can understand that issue if I had not caught the mistake myself within 1 min, fixed it and informed the damn dispatcher. I'm human not a machine, I'm doing a million things at once; cut me a little slack.
The other two complaints are just argh, what! Both were for not staying on the phone for two other calls. And each time it wasn't necessary, all info was obtained, nothing could be gained from staying on, callers were not in danger. All four complaints were lodged by the same dispatcher. Well now I know another complaint will be issued from tonight cause I pissed her off. I didn't make, what she considered, a stupid call go away. Suicidal woman, no description, no anything at the casino. Bang that's it. She wanted to close it. I wasn't done with it. I could work something. Give me a chance. The woman had said she was going to kill herself to a help line that has a 888 number. luck upon luck I was able to do a successful trace and I got a payphone that she called from. I then said i could call the casino, dispatcher said don't bother you won't get anywhere. I told her doing something was better then nothing, which really pissed her off. I called the casino and wouldn't you damn well know it, they knew where that payphone was located. Good I have a better location now, the call was placed only a little while ago. They have video cameras. I got a description now. Guess who has to do their job now miss dispatcher. I turned a call you wanted to close into something you have to work on. Hopefully we can find this girl and get her the help she needs, no thanks to the high school mind set that seems to have taken over.
So yeah I figure 1st day back I'll be hauled into the office, maybe I didn't dot an i or cross a t. I don't care, I'm not perfect. I'm human. I make mistakes but I own them. I've been told I'm not the only one she does this too. Our managers are realizing that she is essentially bullying several people. I just joined the club. Sweet. Let's crash the club house eh? Why is that we can do a critical job that truly is about more then us, but we can't deal with each other. Someone can handle a robbery at gun point but they don't know how to tell someone that they work with, hey about that call you put in, do you think that could do this? Or did you know this?'
I don't know. I'm tired. I'm ranting. I'm still mad about the officer safety remark. I don't spread the shit at work so sadly that leaves any readers to hear about. I should add that a coworker seein my mood slide down the crap chute, played this video for me. I hearts it. I came home and found a link, here it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfGBYtc6q_M&feature=related I'll see how my next cycles go, because as we all know, there are many ways to skin a Kat.
I sit down and he has a call of mine on his desk. I can read enough of it upside down to know which one it is. 20 minute call goes down like this. 911 rings and a 10 year old girl is hysterical. A friend of her mothers is pounding at the door trying to break it down. She has a knife and is carving the door with it, threatening to kill everyone inside. Lovely. Kid is traumatised but she can tell me her address and her phone number. God love you kid, you brave soul. I enter a call to get help before the worst happens, this little girl is not in a good place in town and I doubt they make good solid doors out there that could take the beating on the door that I could hear. I pound the call in, let's get some help moving. Mother takes the phone and is pissed at the daughter for calling the police, I wanted to slap that woman. I get the mother's name, DOB, the friends name and age and pound her on the call. All the info goes, description everything. Friend is an upstairs neighbor who, when realizing police are being called goes back to her apt where there are 2 kids, 2 and 5. Lovely. Police get there, we handle it. Done. Okay the complaint lodged against that call, well there was 2 actually. 1st one, when I pounded in the call, I didn't put the 10 year old girls name in the call screen. Whoopde fuck. There's a psycho with a knife pounding on her door trying to kill people, girl's name is not top priority. Mother's name goes in on second sup, suspects name goes on the same second sup. Daughters name sixth sup but that is an officer safety issue apparently. I'm sorry. I'm a big advocate for officer's safety, nothing means more to me then keeping our own boys and girls safe, so that really offended me.
2nd complaint, when the address went in there are 2 different endings for the street. It can either be Random Drive or Random Connector. It should have been Random drive but my finger clicked the wrong one. I can understand that issue if I had not caught the mistake myself within 1 min, fixed it and informed the damn dispatcher. I'm human not a machine, I'm doing a million things at once; cut me a little slack.
The other two complaints are just argh, what! Both were for not staying on the phone for two other calls. And each time it wasn't necessary, all info was obtained, nothing could be gained from staying on, callers were not in danger. All four complaints were lodged by the same dispatcher. Well now I know another complaint will be issued from tonight cause I pissed her off. I didn't make, what she considered, a stupid call go away. Suicidal woman, no description, no anything at the casino. Bang that's it. She wanted to close it. I wasn't done with it. I could work something. Give me a chance. The woman had said she was going to kill herself to a help line that has a 888 number. luck upon luck I was able to do a successful trace and I got a payphone that she called from. I then said i could call the casino, dispatcher said don't bother you won't get anywhere. I told her doing something was better then nothing, which really pissed her off. I called the casino and wouldn't you damn well know it, they knew where that payphone was located. Good I have a better location now, the call was placed only a little while ago. They have video cameras. I got a description now. Guess who has to do their job now miss dispatcher. I turned a call you wanted to close into something you have to work on. Hopefully we can find this girl and get her the help she needs, no thanks to the high school mind set that seems to have taken over.
So yeah I figure 1st day back I'll be hauled into the office, maybe I didn't dot an i or cross a t. I don't care, I'm not perfect. I'm human. I make mistakes but I own them. I've been told I'm not the only one she does this too. Our managers are realizing that she is essentially bullying several people. I just joined the club. Sweet. Let's crash the club house eh? Why is that we can do a critical job that truly is about more then us, but we can't deal with each other. Someone can handle a robbery at gun point but they don't know how to tell someone that they work with, hey about that call you put in, do you think that could do this? Or did you know this?'
I don't know. I'm tired. I'm ranting. I'm still mad about the officer safety remark. I don't spread the shit at work so sadly that leaves any readers to hear about. I should add that a coworker seein my mood slide down the crap chute, played this video for me. I hearts it. I came home and found a link, here it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfGBYtc6q_M&feature=related I'll see how my next cycles go, because as we all know, there are many ways to skin a Kat.
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