An ugly shift did have a nice moment...

[Roland99]

Link to tweet

https://t.co/iovbuHpZaL?amp=1

An ugly shift did have a nice moment. 14 year old kid walks up to my patrol car in a parking lot as I’m trying to write reports. I ask how I can help. He says his phone died & he’s trying to get in touch with his grandmother to pick him up...

I let him use my phone. No answer. He calls his grandfather. He answers but can’t drive to get him. Kid lives in my old precinct IN MY OLD BEAT!! So I say ‘hop in, I’ll take you home.’ We talk. He goes to the same middle school I went to. Hates school. Hates a lot of stuff...

I empathize that being in 8th grade sucked. No way around it. Gets kinda better around 10th grade but it’s worth it. He asks me about shootings. His biological dad was shot and paralyzed. He said ‘I don’t want to be paralyzed.’ I got nothing to say but ‘me either’...

I talk about the problems in his neighborhood & he’s happy I know a smidgen of what he knows about the drama there. He talks about local rappers with rap sheets and says he doesn’t like violence. I say me neither....

He says he’s never been in the back of a cop car & we both agree that’s a good thing. I ask what he did at the mall and he had the greatest answer. He went to a movie. Aquaman. I ask how it was & he says ‘i didn’t want to see aquaman & didn’t pay attention. I went for a girl’.

He speaks so softly but directly. ‘Don’t care about aquaman. I guess it was ok’. I ask about the girl and he says ‘oh she’s great.’ I say ‘you’re a wise kid.’ Only smile of the ride.

I drop him off in my old beat and say hi to his grandpa, great guy. And tell the kid ‘I’m so glad you trusted me to walk up and ask for help’. He said ‘just wanted to use your phone but this is way better.’

Happy New Year’s indeed

I’m not a sheep dog cuz my neighbors aren’t sheep.

I’m not a warrior cuz I’m not at war with my neighbors.

I’m not a Spartan logo t-shirt.

I’m not a thin blue line.

I’m a very lucky person with great colleagues & neighbors & we live & we work right here
shift ended w/ colleagues facing real bad calls.
I mean bad.
And my colleagues were awesome. Are awesome.

But my takeaway is seeing that kid walk around the parking lot uncertain about talking to me. & me making sure my window was down & waving him over. The rest is noise

I need to make clear that the kid is the ‘hero’ of this thread. I’m at best a well-intended tourist in his life, always at not good times. He bucked history & perhaps his own experience to see my open window & say ‘I’ll give it a chance’ That’s all i am. An open window. A chance

I never talk about arrests, of which I do a lot. Legally cuz duh. But I like non arrests. I’m pretty good at arrests. I build solid solid solid cases. But I very much like the cases trending towards drama where we find an off ramp. And then follow up and keep it going.

[Squinch]

1. Wow. Imagine if it was always like that...

[bmpbmp]

2. Thanks for sharing this!

[trev]

3. You're the kind of

institutional person that I have to admire. My own experiences with the police have been less than adequate. But what you did is wonderful.

I would like to think that, had I approached you in my teen years, you would have accepted my Flower Power offering.

[tblue37]

8. Great article about Patrick Skinner, the author of that piece:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/07/the-spy-who-came-home

The Spy Who Came Home
Why an expert in counterterrorism became a beat cop

He truly believes in community policing and de-escalation.

[trev]

13. Yes, I got that.

[Roland99]

16. Thanks for that link

[NJCher]

19. Really enjoyed reading this

He is a remarkable individual, indeed.

Cher

[democrank]

4. Kicking for that 14 year old kid and

the “well-intended tourist in his life”

[Clash City Rocker]

5. This illustrates why we need more beat cops

So many problems in America could be solved if police knew the people around them and people knew the police.

[SCantiGOP]

6. Kick

for a good story.

[Moebym]

7. We need more policemen like this.

This was so heartwarming.

[tblue37]

9. See my post #8 above. nt

[lunatica]

10. This made me cry.

I’m such a pushover for stories that have heart, kindness, hope where you least expect it.

[firstwife]

11. Oh wow, my heart swelled at this, beautiful and inspiring.

[Icanthinkformyself]

12. Change

happens one person at a time. Thank you.

[KT2000]

14. He's a writer!

Well told story and he had me the whole way. Lovely story and well told. Maybe the cop can write a book some day or submit a short to the New Yorker!

[PatrickforO]

15. This is beautiful writing by Patrick Skinner, who is presumably

a cop. I read some of his other threads. He has a beautiful 'stream of consciousness' writing style, but what is really beautiful is the spirit behind the written word.

[kimbutgar]

17. I grew up knowing nice policemen

It always shocks me hearing of police brutality.

Thank you for being a protect and serve law enforcement officer,

[WhiskeyGrinder]

18. I'm more interested in the kid's account of the evening.