Very Specific Question about procedure

[Madink]

hello my name is Kalman Spigel. I'm a writer based out of New York city. and i'm certain that you folks get writer's popping in asking you questions all the time, so i'll try to be brief and as noninvasive as possible.

i'm writing a story about the average day of a beat cop, in a crowed understaffed city (like New Orleans in the 1920s) He's not a bad person, but he's tired, and due to regulations and loopholes his retirement has been put off twice. He's an older man.

in the course of the Story, he is sent to investigate a domestic disturbance. He is alone in his patrol car, and while backup is on the way, and relatively close, he arrives at the scene first. while waiting for his backup, he hears a gunshot, coming from the scene of the disturbance..

Now i understand that he is to radio it in, and i know the various laws and regulations for what he is supposed to do with anyone who's fired a shot, and how to handle domestic disturbances change from state to state.

what i need to know is, right then and there, he's heard sounds of fighting followed by the shot. backup of one man is less than a minute away. Does standard procedure tell you to wait the 60 seconds? or to investigate now.
it's a simple domestic disturbance called in by a nosy landlady.

whether he follows the procedure or not is a separate matter. but if he breaks procedure i want to be aware of it.

thank you all in advance.

(for those of you curious, it's not actually a shot, it's popcorn in the microwave that he mishears. the old cop has a relatively uneventful day, just very trying. it's a story about an old man who has been cheated out of old age, still trying to honor his commitments)

[Citicop]

Welcome to the forum.

Leaving aside the specific question about procedure for a moment...

...Any cop who is so far gone as to mistake popcorn in a microwave for gunfire would have been forced out of the job long ago.

No one who has ever heard gunfire up close and personal would mistake it for microwave popcorn.

-Citicop.

[Samuel]

1. Is this taking place current day or back in history some time?
2. How do you KNOW what New Orleans was like in the 1920's?
3. Procedure and policies vary from department to department (and you won't get an answer if it has anything to do with tactics/officer safety).

[Madink]

i do love that you are both more concerned with the parts of my story that is open to personal interpretation and not about what i actually came here for. if you would like to get into a debate with me about the relevance of my story, how realistic it is, or how i could possibly know what it was like at any time in history, i'll gladly do so but this doesn't strike me as the place to do it.

if you would instead like to be helpful, by suggesting something which sounds closer to gunfire, i'd be open to suggestion. but your telling me i'm wrong or questioning my ability to research is not constructive.

but yes the point is that he's no-longer fit for duty.

[Madink]

as far as tactics vs officer safety, i'm just trying to figure out if when a cop hears a gunshot is it standard for them to investigate immediately or wait for backup. after radioing it in, of course.

are you telling me i won't get an answer here?

[Citicop]

i do love that you are both more concerned with the parts of my story that is open to personal interpretation and not about what i actually came here for. if you would like to get into a debate with me about the relevance of my story, how realistic it is, or how i could possibly know what it was like at any time in history, i'll gladly do so but this doesn't strike me as the place to do it.

if you would instead like to be helpful, by suggesting something which sounds closer to gunfire, i'd be open to suggestion. but your telling me i'm wrong or questioning my ability to research is not constructive.

but yes the point is that he's no-longer fit for duty.

You are going to have a short and unpleasant stay here with that attitude.

It is not my job to write your story for you. I don't know what the bigger picture is. Maybe the fact that it was popcorn was supposed to be relevant in some other way.

I offered you my advice, which was to let you know that what you had was not realistic in any way. I knew that others would be along to address other parts of your question.

A car backfiring, for instance, would be much more likely to be confused for gunfire, as would fireworks.

You are concerned enough about your story's accuracy that you asked a question about procedure, but when I point out another potential shortcoming, you cop an attitude.

Samuel's question about the setting of the story is very relevant. Tactics have changed over time, and in the 1920's cars and radios would likely not be a part of the story at all.

So before you dig yourself a deeper hole here, how about you check your attitude and help us help you?

-Citicop.

[Sgt. Slaughter]

i do love that you are both more concerned with the parts of my story that is open to personal interpretation and not about what i actually came here for. if you would like to get into a debate with me about the relevance of my story, how realistic it is, or how i could possibly know what it was like at any time in history, i'll gladly do so but this doesn't strike me as the place to do it.

if you would instead like to be helpful, by suggesting something which sounds closer to gunfire, i'd be open to suggestion. but your telling me i'm wrong or questioning my ability to research is not constructive.

I think you mistake the purpose of this forum. It's NOT to be "constructive" and help you write a story based off the expertise contained herein.

Some procedures we do disclose and some we don't. We aren't being paid to do either, so be happy with ANY response you get.

[L-1]

1920's

1. No police radios back then. Many big cities had a flashing light system. If the beat officer saw a flashing police light on a light pole, he went to the nearest call box, phoned the station and was told where the need for service was.

2. Highly unlikely to have patrol cars responding to calls in that era. More likely you had foot beat cops.

Oh, you young kids!

[Madink]

oh dear lord.

i really need to stop telling people why i want the info. and just ask for the info. i have this stupid tendency to like to inform people becasue they often want to know.

and instead of answering my question. my actual question you are nit picking my premise.

i'll say this again. i will be happy to go into my premise with anyone who wants but as you have yourself pointed out, this isn't the place to do it.

i am not asking you to write my story for you. i am merely asking you not to try and tear it aport for no other purpose than to tell me i'm wrong.

i will gladly listen to constructive criticism, but i won't simply indulge all criticism.

i am not asking what it would have been like in the 1920s in New Orleans, i've done my research thank you, and i was merely likening the ratio of police to crimes, stating that the police are understaffed. forget the 1920s and new Orleans it has very little to do with the question. just the police force is understaffed and over taxed.

i am simply asking one simple question.

given the scenario, backup is moments away, you just head a shot though a door, it's already been reported as a domestic disturbance, you radio in the shot. do you wait for backup or do you go in. this is, yes a very specific scenario, but i don't really see how it would vary a lot from district to district. if it would then I'm curious as to the different districts and the like.

i apologize if my attitude towards unsolicited criticism isn't to your liking.

i apologize again for confusing you with what i was asking for.

and i apologize even more if my question cannot be answered here and i'm wasting people's time. my intent was not to waste people's time, but merely to do a little re-search. as my attempts at finding the info i need in various books, and articles has been fruitless.

i'm not trying to be belligerent, or unthankful. i will in-fact be very thankful should anyone be willing to take the time out, read my question thoughtfully and respond to it. as am i incredibly thankful to anyone taking the time to read my question.

the unhelpful, and unasked for advice? i'm not so thankful towards.

[L-1]

oh dear lord.

i really need to stop telling people why i want the info. and just ask for the info. i have this stupid tendency to like to inform people becasue they often want to know.

and instead of answering my question. my actual question you are nit picking my premise.

i'll say this again. i will be happy to go into my premise with anyone who wants but as you have yourself pointed out, this isn't the place to do it.

i am not asking you to write my story for you. i am merely asking you not to try and tear it aport for no other purpose than to tell me i'm wrong.

i will gladly listen to constructive criticism, but i won't simply indulge all criticism.

i am not asking what it would have been like in the 1920s in New Orleans, i've done my research thank you, and i was merely likening the ratio of police to crimes, stating that the police are understaffed. forget the 1920s and new Orleans it has very little to do with the question. just the police force is understaffed and over taxed.

i am simply asking one simple question.

given the scenario, backup is moments away, you just head a shot though a door, it's already been reported as a domestic disturbance, you radio in the shot. do you wait for backup or do you go in. this is, yes a very specific scenario, but i don't really see how it would vary a lot from district to district. if it would then I'm curious as to the different districts and the like.

i apologize if my attitude towards unsolicited criticism isn't to your liking.

i apologize again for confusing you with what i was asking for.

and i apologize even more if my question cannot be answered here and i'm wasting people's time. my intent was not to waste people's time, but merely to do a little re-search. as my attempts at finding the info i need in various books, and articles has been fruitless.

i'm not trying to be belligerent, or unthankful. i will in-fact be very thankful should anyone be willing to take the time out, read my question thoughtfully and respond to it. as am i incredibly thankful to anyone taking the time to read my question.

the unhelpful, and unasked for advice? i'm not so thankful towards.

I apologize if I was unhelpful. I shall not trouble you again.

[Madink]

I apologize if I was unhelpful. I shall not trouble you again.

L-1, i didn't even see your post.

unfortunately i think that by the time you posted that, the original question had been lost. i do appreciate your attempt to help. i actually found an account of a small town reporting writing about his first encounter with the light box system on microfiche a few weeks ago. it was a very fun read.

unfortunately my question relaly has nothing to do with the technology of the 1920s

[Citicop]

You asked a question about police procedure in a specific situation because you want an accurate story.

I pointed out that a large part of your proposed situation is, in itself, not realistic and then I pointed out things you could do to fix it.

If that is not constructive, then I honestly don't know what is.

Your attitude in that post was NOT to my liking.

And any criticism you get here is most certainly solicited, as you CAME HERE AND ASKED FOR OUR HELP.

If our help is not to your liking, then perhaps you are best served by moving on.

If you care enough about your story to make it real in regards to whether or not he waits for backup, why do you not care that the whole setup comes off as completely unrealistic?

I was trying to help you, even if it wasn't the specific help you asked for. If you only would have gotten the one specific answer that you wanted, you would have had a completely unbelievable story with one realistic detail in it. While we are on the subject, if this guy needs to go, who's to say that he even follows the policy/rule/safety tactic?

So, having said all that, let me answer your question the best way I can:

It depends on the situation. Maybe I go in if I think more people are in immediate danger, maybe I wait for backup if I think it's not safe. There are a thousand details that enter into this decision that would be too cumbersome to describe to a person who thinks there is no substantial difference between gunfire and microwave popcorn.

-Citicop.

[Madink]

You asked a question about police procedure in a specific situation because you want an accurate story.

I pointed out that a large part of your proposed situation is, in itself, not realistic and then I pointed out things you could do to fix it.

If that is not constructive, then I honestly don't know what is.

Your attitude in that post was NOT to my liking.

And any criticism you get here is most certainly solicited, as you CAME HERE AND ASKED FOR OUR HELP.

If our help is not to your liking, then perhaps you are best served by moving on.

If you care enough about your story to make it real in regards to whether or not he waits for backup, why do you not care that the whole setup comes off as completely unrealistic?

I was trying to help you, even if it wasn't the specific help you asked for. If you only would have gotten the one specific answer that you wanted, you would have had a completely unbelievable story with one realistic detail in it. While we are on the subject, if this guy needs to go, who's to say that he even follows the policy/rule/safety tactic?

So, having said all that, let me answer your question the best way I can:

It depends on the situation. Maybe I go in if I think more people are in immediate danger, maybe I wait for backup if I think it's not safe. There are a thousand details that enter into this decision that would be too cumbersome to describe to a person who thinks there is no substantial difference between gunfire and microwave popcorn.

-Citicop.

if i look past the insults for a moment.

what you are saying is its entirely up to the individual officer? there is no overall "always wiat for backup if blank" rule of thumb?

[Citicop]

I re-read my post three times and can find not one single insult in it.

Cops have discretion in many ways of how they do their job. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered in making a decision, and my department has not one single policy written to cover every single situation in which I may hear gunfire.

Officer safety is important, and that may dictate waiting for backup, but there is no one rule that must be followed no matter what.

-Citicop.

[txinvestigator1]

Madink. I will help you. Send me a PM and we can discuss my consultation fees. I can help you with police procedures and your atrocious writing.

I am looking forward to working with you.