The Countybear rant - Father's Day

[countybear]

Back by popular demand...

The start of my morning shift Friday actually began before it was supposed to, on a darkened stretch of an Interstate in a neighboring Parish to my department's jurisdiction. While travelling to my zone in my unit, I noticed a pair of headlights pop out ahead of me, closing fast. I could almost feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck when I realized that those headlights popped out of the wrong side of the median treeline... the vehicle was travelling EAST in the WESTBOUND lanes of traffic, and doing it in one hell of a hurry. I immediately looked in my rearview, realizing that other traffic behind me was sparse, but it was there, nevertheless. As the vehicle closed, I turned on my emergency lights and siren. In the rear deck, I switched my LED traffic advisor to flashing an in-out pattern, and began to brake as much as possible to slow and warn traffic inbound from behind. I grabbed up the radio mic and informed my dispatcher of the matter, requesting that the State Police and local Sheriff's Office be alerted. As I moved left, the errant vehicle moved left. As I moved right; same reaction. I finally hit the shoulder of the roadway, and watched as the wrong-way driver passed me on a near miss of my driver's side. Belting out a description and a tag number as quickly as I could over the radio, I checked traffic again and found some clearance behind (evidently from their wondering what in the hell I was doing, suddenly going code and braking like I had).

I spun around behind the suspect vehicle and the chase was on, into the oncoming traffic lanes. Over the course of the next 2+ miles, I watched as traffic was rapidly parting for us. My lights and siren were definitely having the effect I had hoped for, warning drivers of the impending danger, and causing them to open a wide path for the suspect vehicle. Tire smoke was rising from a couple of eighteen-wheelers, who had literally driven off of the right shoulder onto the grass. One was locking up brakes hard between the right lane and the right shoulder. I thought of just bulldozing the suspect vehicle out onto the median, but he began slowing some and I was hoping he'd just shut down. I considered other options, rather than attempting a maneuver that was sure to bend up some taxpayer's metal, and possibly cause a worse situation: the loss of control of one or both vehicles. With the Mississippi River bridge only about 4 miles ahead, I knew I couldn't afford to allow an opposing lanes pursuit with no escape route for oncoming traffic. My mind raced.

I was thankful for a clear morning, free of fog or rain. My dispatch was keeping pace of our progress, and informed me that other agencies were rolling to assist. Then, almost without warning, it ended. The driver simply pulled to his right side of the roadway and stopped. We were actually in the fast lane and center fogline, since we were on the Westbound stretch. I positioned my car on an angle, hoping the oncoming traffic could see my lights better from behind the suspect car. Ordering the driver out, I observed him from cover as he literally fell out of the driver's side, stumbled towards my car, and politely asked my reason for stopping him, (in speech so thick I could have walked on it). Fearing traffic still, I advanced and pulled him into a quick patdown (attempting to explain the problem as I worked). I secured him in the back seat of my car rather 'unceremoniously'. To say he reeked of alcoholic beverages would be an historical understatement.

As I advanced to clear his car, I saw something that literally caused me to catch my breath... a precious little two year-old boy. He was peacefully asleep, curled up on the passenger-side front seat of the black convertible. I heard the suspect behind me in my car, yelling that it was "(his) son in there"...

Seeing more traffic coming, I ran back to my car, jumped in and overshot the suspect vehicle, placing my emergency lighting ahead of the downed car (he had turned his headlights off as he stopped), and I then realized that the headlights incoming from the distance were Sheriff's units. They pulled up, and I quickly shouted to them as they arrived, "Shut down all traffic for me, I'll get this car and mine to the shoulder. There's a baby in here." They did, without hesitating and within a few seconds, we were all on the right hand side of the road, out of traffic lanes. I surrendered the suspect (and the child) to the responding deputies (and the trooper who arrived), turned, and rolled into my zone to start my real shift. I am confident that this "Dad" would be spending Father's Day incarcerated, as right before I left, we were told that records checks showed that this wasn't his first rodeo behind the wheel while impared. He was a real cowboy when it came to that.

For Father's Day, I will be working. I'll be plodding through the domestic disturbance calls, just like we do every year (on nearly every holiday, but somehow especially the ones set aside for the reunion of families). By the latter hours of our day shift, the calls for service will likely be made from more and more complainants who are slurring their speech as they give their concerns to communications... such seems to have become the norm, I find it terribly sad...

Those of you who have read my previous posts know, I am unsympathetic with deadbeat parents. On the street, I consider anyone who injures, molests, endangers, or threatens a child to be something of a sub-human. In the years since I began dealing with people at their very worst, I have seen some horrid abuse cases, but perhaps what disturbs me just as much is the neglect and the apathetic attitudes that I see so many so-called "parents" portray regarding their children. The impact that I see such attitudes have on those children is nothing short of staggering.

This interstate highway drunk I ran down probably would have never dreamed of striking, physically brutalizing, or otherwise intentionally harming his kid, at least, certainly not in the eyes of his family. Nevertheless, his sheerly self-centered action of saddling that beautiful little boy up in a car which he wasn't able to safely operate was something he did most likely without giving it a second thought. I feel secure in the knowlege that had things not gone exactly as they did, both (probably along with another unfortunate soul), would have become a statistic on some traffic safety awareness billboard somewhere. 140 mile-per-hour combined velocity impacts tend to cause more than bruises, I don't care how many "stars" NHTSA or IIHS awards a car's overall frontal impact safety. But while we ponder just how bad that impact could be, lets look in the mirror... Even though most of us certainly wouldn't be as negligent as this anti-intellectual was, there are a few questions we might just have to ask ourselves:

How much of an impact are we having when we go to bed and without knowing, the wide eyes of our teenage boys watch "The Red Shoe Diaries" on the living room television? How much of an impact are we having when any one of our kids hear us making racial slurs, telling dirty jokes, or remarking about how we beat out paying some taxes last year? How much of an impact are we having, when we choose our own social, professional, or romantic pursuits over their raising? How big an impact are we making when they see us staggering in from a party and leaving a trail of clothing down the hallway to the bedroom? How much impact are we having when we behave rudely with a smile on our face, or violently curse another driver on the highway?

Our kids have access to the greatest single repository of information in history; the internet. We read shocking stories everyday about how some demented animal has lured a child away from home and involved them in acting out some sick fantasy. When violence erupts at a school, the parents are always seemingly the most stunned of all...

This Father's Day, celebrate being a Father, rather than wearing the title. Celebrate the wonderful gift of human life, given to each of us who are parents. Realize that there are no second chances to raise our children, it has to be done right the first time. Most of all, remember that love is a verb to kids, its only later in life as adults that its definition is perverted into being a noun.

/rant off...

[Terminator]

Soon, you will be able to hear CountyBear on www.TermSoundsOff.com. Stay tuned for details.

[Jackalope]

Amazing writing.

[Virginian]

ha, I was just about to suggest that. Excellent writing and excellent work, CB!

[Autumn2009]

Wow, nice post.

When's the book coming out?

[Terminator]

Wow, nice post.

When's the book coming out?

Refer all questions reguarding his book, to his manager...ME!

[Autumn2009]

Refer all questions reguarding his book, to his manager...ME!

Ok, when is the book coming out?

[Trojan 42]

.

When's the book coming out?

I thought that post WAS a book.

[Jenna]

You're deeper than the Mississippi River, countybear! You're the Garrison Keillor of Louisiana cops!

[CHARTOTO]

good post sir, I do enjoy being not only a father but a step-father too. We have 5 between us, all well rounded (for the most part) kids.. well the youngest is 16, boy just got his license. All have been without major trouble with LEO'S of which we are very proud and blessed. I am sure they (two of them home, one with his dad, one lives on his own in TX, one lives on her own in CA) have something cooked up for me on Fathers day. For all of you folks that have kids, enjoy them they grow up so fast!!
HAPPY FATHERS DAY. be safe!!

[jcsdscott]

Deep writing with an all too true message. I hope someone gets to see it and takes it to heart.

[Tony]

10/10 mate, very nicely put and amazing job on the pre-shift.

[Buttercup]

Amazing and wonderful as always, countybear.

[countybear]

I just got the subpoena on this guy. I have to be in court on him tomorrow. I can't wait to hear what he has to say now.

[Cidp24]

Great post CB, keep it up!

[Pudge]

Hey man, I somehow missed this when you first posted it. Fantastic post, and have fun watching this moron trying to wiggle free from anything he can. Let us know how it turns out, I hope he gets what he deserves.

[Pinki]

Just WOW...

[SaraJ]

Awsome. It takes more to be a father than just some biological stuff. Pity so few are ready for the responsibility.