Small Town Cops

I was having a last cup of coffee the other morning when the phone rang.  Glancing at the caller ID (isn't that the handiest thing-knowing who you are going to talk to?) I saw that it was hubby.  "Are you going to exercise this morning?" he asked.  "Well, yes, I just haven't quite gotten up the energy to get to the gym yet", I replied.  "When you go, be sure and keep your speed down." he laughed," Donnie is on the prowl!" 

It seems the coffee group had met, as usual, at the local Hardee's which is on the corner of our busy intersection. They had been highly entertained by watching one of the local policemen pulling over cars as they approached the congested area around the shopping center and intersection.  He would pull them over  and then drive around the "loop" and come back and park again, ready for the next one.  Admittedly, most were exceeding the 45 mph speed limit by 15 to 20 miles and needed to slow down, but it is in an area that changes to a lower speed limit and catches a lot of us off guard. 

He stopped by hubby's office later that morning and was telling about his efforts.  It seems that he wasn't writing tickets just giving a warning, wanting more to make people aware of the speed limit and slow them down.  However, one guy when stopped, rolled his window down and snapped, "Just give me the ticket!  I'm in a hurry!"  Donnie, politely, obliged.  It took about 10 minutes to do the paperwork and all the formalities.  The warning takes about 2 minutes.

It seems that sometimes it pays to keep your mouth shut.

Before you get the idea that Donnie is just another "Barney" cop, let me set you straight.  Our local police have a big job that is getting bigger as the large city crimes are coming to our little towns.  They not only have to deal with the real crimes of the area, but they also have to do all the things that we expect of our small town police.  That means responding to strange beeping noises in the house (a smoke alarm with a low battery), the occasional cat up a tree (yes they still do that), blocking traffic for funerals, providing security for local activities, and just generally being nice guys (and women). 

Donnie over the years has ridden herd over our kids as teens.  Slowing them down by giving them warnings, keeping an eye out for them as they tested the boundaries growing up, and being comfortable enough for them to call on him if they needed help.  However, the time that stands out in my mind was the night he was the one to help us.

When our daughter was 19 she was involved in a head on collision when the other driver went to sleep.  We were leaving town for a night out with friends and actually drove up on the accident scene.  By that time, the ambulance had left and the State Police were working the scene.  Recognizing her car, we attempted to get some information out of the officer.  He stonewalled us, probably because he thought he was working what would be a fatality scene.  All we wanted to know is where she was and he kept telling us to go ask downtown.  Just when the frustration and fear had built up to explosive levels, Donnie pulled up.  Unlike the State officer, he knew us, knew our daughter and knew that we needed to know where she was.  He flagged us over and told us that they had taken her to the local hospital and were STAT flighting her to Louisville.  If we wanted to see her we needed to get to the hospital. 

I've never forgotten his kindness and understanding that night to some very frightened parents.