Officers have a duty to protect and they take that seriously. I have experienced this many times when I’ve been out riding. If the officers are at all uncertain about what they are walking up to, they will tell me to stay in the car so there is less chance of anything happening to me. There have also been a couple of times when the scene did not sound dangerous at all, but when we got closer there were guns or something and the officers instantly instructed me to get somewhere that I was safe. One night I was called out to help officers notify someone that a loved one had passed away. The guy was heartbroken by the news and did not have anyone else at the house with him. A friend was on the way, but had not arrived yet. The officers needed to be available to answer calls again soon, so I told them that I was fine staying and waiting with him. One of the officers told the other to go back in service and that he would wait there with me. He looked at me and said there was no way that he was leaving me there by myself with the man. Those moments of them looking out for me always mean so much and are greatly appreciated.
That same care is shown when they are on a scene. The most recent example comes from when I was riding the other night and there was a call about a suicidal male. A friend had received a text message that concerned him, so he called GPD to go and check on him. When we arrived at his home, the officers went up to the door and attempted to get the male to answer. He looked out of the window, saw the police, yelled for them to go away, and then promptly turned off his lights. I imagine at this point there are some that would have walked away and said they tried. The officers that I was with did not give up at that. They continued to knock on the door telling the guy that they needed to know that he was ok. The guy inside the home finally told the officer that he had a warrant and he was afraid to open the door to the officers. The officer reassured him that he was not concerned about the warrant and that he had to make sure he was ok. We could never get the guy to come out of his home, but the officers did finally get him to go to the window and show that he had not done anything to harm himself. The officers exercised great wisdom in making a point to ensure the man was not a danger to himself, but also not pushing so much that they agitated him. They really did want to know that he was going to be ok.
I was with another officer one night and we got a call to go to one of the local hotels because a husband was concerned about his wife. The couple had been living in the hotel after Hurricane Harvey and it had been 9-10 months at this point. I cannot imagine how they must have been feeling after all that time. The husband said his wife was “crazy” and that she had mentioned hurting herself. He wanted her to go to the hospital to get checked out. The officer that I was with listened to the husband and heard his concerns, but then turned to the wife and gave her an opportunity to speak. At first she said she was not going and her husband continued to argue with her. Very patiently the officer spoke with the wife and eventually helped her to realize that going to the hospital was a good decision because she could get the help she needed to feel like herself again. He walked her out to the car and gave her husband directions to get to the hospital to go and meet her. He encouraged the husband to be patient with her and supportive of her during this time.
One story that really shows officers going out of their way to make sure someone is ok is with a woman named Mary. One of the female officers, now a sergeant, responded to a call at Mary’s home in May of 2009. Mary called because her brother needed an ambulance, but she did not want sirens or the ambulance to park in front of her home. She did not want the neighbors to be concerned about what was going on. Her brother was transported to the hospital that day and the officer took Mary to the police station to get her some further assistance. Mary was a frail, elderly woman who had been caring for her brother, which she was not physically capable of doing. During their time together Mary stole the female officer’s heart. The officer introduced her to another female officer who also fell in love with her. Mary’s brother passed away a few days later and the officers saw to it that Mary was cared for. They brought groceries for her, made sure repairs were handled on her home and celebrated holidays with her. These ladies did not just need to know that Mary was ok, they made Mary a part of their family. This easily could have been just another routine call, but the officers going out of their way to make sure she was ok turned it into a beautiful friendship. The officers continued to care for Mary until she passed away earlier this year.
There are many people that the officers go by and check on each night because they know it makes the people feel better. There are many people that the officers know their situations and know exactly what to do to help them. The officers work so hard on each shift to make sure the island is a better place for the people who visit and who live here. Protect and Serve is not just a nice thought for them, but it truly is the reason that they put on the uniform each day. Just like any of the rest of us, they may be a little grumpy about coming into work some days, but they take each call seriously because people matter to them. Calls that deal with people’s wellbeing are not just calls that they try to get over with, but they are handled with care because they really do want to know that everyone is ok.