What was your most anxious and concerned moment?

[ChesCopPodz]

I've been pretty lucky. I haven't had any real personal tragedies in my life so far

On duty my worst moment was having the thug I was wrestling pull a knife on me while we were rolling around on the ground.

When I was a kid my dad had a tumor and it was a real anxious time until we found out it wasn't cancer, a rare disease that causes benign tumors. I can't even remember what it's called.

Back in November my mom called and was pretty upset. My dad and brother were at hunting camp with no phones or means of communication and a lifer in prison for murder excaped from the state pen 3 miles from my parents house. I talked her through how to load, unload and work my dads Ruger security six revolver. It had me worried for the couple of days until my dad got home.

[ferriscj24]

Every time I hear "You're wanted in the Sgt's Office" or "They need to see you up front."

[pafindr]

I was on a 3 day spearfishing trip in the Dry Tortugas off of the FL Keys.
After one particular dive my dive buddy and I were going to the surface and I noticed a dark shadow moving towards us on the bottom. I finally could make it out, it was a somewhat large Caribbean reef shark (about 6 feet long). :eek:
This shark was zigzagging back and forth and when it got directly underneath us it headed straight up to get to the fish we had hanging on our stringers.
Now I had a choice. Let the dead fish loose, fight for my fish, or get bit. Well my buddy finally saw the shark heading for us and freaked. He had already unloaded his gun and was basically helpless against the shark. My gun was still loaded and I decided that I worked to hard for these fish and I was going to keep them.


They call me lefty now by the way


JUST KIDDING :D

I won the fish by turning upside down and heading straight for the shark. I poked it in the nose with my spear and it turned away. It headed back to the bottom and moved away from us. My buddy and I finished our assent and kept our faces in the water until the boat came to pick us up. When the captain saw us he asked what was wrong. After telling them about a shark in the water his 1st mate jumped in to provide backup until we got out of the water.

I really didn't have much time to think about and if the shark would have been any bigger I would have released the fish and let him have an easy lunch.

pafindr

[retdetsgt]

Every time I hear "You're wanted in the Sgt's Office" or "They need to see you up front."

Oh yeah, lotsa them. An interoffice envelope from Internal Affairs, a radio call to return to station in the middle of a shift (they never had good news or a fun project for me:mad.

Or when you're a Sgt and one of your guys walks up and says, " You're gonna laugh when you hear this, Sarge". I don't think I ever did....:rolleyes:

[JakeLock]

I was at a funeral, our ACO who had suffered through cancer around the same time my dad was. I had recieved 3 calls while I was in the funeral. The 4th on I finally looked at, it was from my moms phone.

I answered it, the voice on the other end was my uncles... he said you need to get here right now.

I was in full uniform, I will still active duty at the time and had taken the afternoon off to go to Bill's funeral. Now I'm sprinting out of the church. Worse thing about it, to me, was it was at the end when they were getting ready to roll the casket past the line of cops.

I sprinted full bore past 20 cops, all of whom (I could see it in their faces knew where I was going. They all knew my dad was in the end stages) could see the panic and fear on my face.

I'm allowed to drive as fast as I need and as recklessly as I need now, I've never broken 70 within city limits. The church I was at was 11 blocks from my mothers house, I drove 90+ the whole way... There are still black marks on the road in front of my moms house where I slammed the brakes as I was coming to the house. This was over 3 years ago...

I think my car ended up part on the road, part in my moms front yard. Running from my car to the door was the most horrible thing I've ever experienced. I was sure he would be dead when I made it up the stairs.

I smashed a hole in the wall when I threw the door open as I ran in the house, and flew up the stairs as fast as I could. I was greeted by half of my living family standing around my father who was laying on his back in the bed not moving, not responsive and not breathing. I feel horrible to say it, but I shoved passed my mother and ran to my fathers side.

I crawled into bed with him and held him. I felt nothing, I knew he was gone. I kissed his forehead and told him to not to worry, he can go, we'll be ok, end the pain.

My brother, who'd made the 40 min trip from where he was living in about 10 mins, ran into the room and grabbed my arm. I don't think I felt anything... I don't rememeber. He jumped on the other side and held onto my father. We all knew it was the end, he was gone. It was time to start moving on.

Crying, freaking, losing my mind, I was doing all of that. Next thing I realize my father is sitting up...

Wanna be freaked? Ya that'd be the moment... we all freak and pull back, he's sitting up staring at all of us. I'm thinking, I just watched Day of the Dead... holy crap... he looks around the room and says... "What?"...

He couldn't figure out why we all laughed so hard when he said that.

[Cat_Doc]

On duty my worst moment was having the thug I was wrestling pull a knife on me while we were rolling around on the ground.

I had a similar encounter, but we were both standing and in close quarters. I grabbed his wrist holding the switchblade, twisted so I was side by side and pushed his arm out in front of me. We "danced" for a few seconds before I was able to snap his wrist until he dropped the knife and I kicked it down the sidewalk.

Strange thing was that I know it only lasted seconds but it seemed like minutes, and I was not scared during the event, just intense and focused.

I got scared a while after, thinking about the "what if" stuff.

I heard plenty of “I would have…why didn’t you…” from the guys.

While Monday Morning Quarterbacking I thought of different tactics I could have used, but it was what it was. I committed more out of instinct and got lucky on that one.

Same thing with a shooting I was in, not scared as it rapidly unfolded; knees shaking afterwards.

[retdetsgt]

While Monday Morning Quarterbacking I thought of different tactics I could have used, but it was what it was. I committed more out of instinct and got lucky on that one.

Same thing with a shooting I was in, not scared as it rapidly unfolded; knees shaking afterwards.

Yep, after all sorts of training in defensive tactics, I seem to always go to what I know best, a good right cross or a knee in the groin. :rolleyes:

One summer (1976), I had four different occasions where I walked into a situation where a guy had a gun on me. Each one was off the wall and not calls where anyone would have expected this to happen. And that was before we had protective armor and the dept made us wear this holsters with flaps over the gun grip that snapped. We called them "7th Calvary holsters". No chance of getting my gun out in a hurry. I've always been sorta quick with a cute remark, but it was amazing how glib I got then. By the fact I'm writing this tells you that I talked each of them out of blowing me to Kingdom Come and handing me their guns, and I still thank my days as a car salesman for those times.:D

As far as the shootings, thank God for adrenaline. The focus narrows and the brain is on hyperspeed or something. I don't know how, but I was able to debate pros and cons, make decisions and take action, all in microseconds. I was more amazed at how it went down each time.

The most confusing and frustrating situation I ever had as a cop was one night about 1 a.m., I had arrested a woman and was taking her out of an apartment above a bar. As we were coming down the stairs in the back, I saw two guys standing on a corner about a block away. She was drunk and I was concentrating on getting her down this rickity stairs when I heard a gunshot and a piece of ceramic siding exploded near me. One of those guys shot at me!

We were at the bottom of the stairs and no cover in a gravel parking lot, so I put the woman on the ground and called for backup. The nearest, of course was about 4 miles away in the city. By the time I got her secured in the back of the car and safe, the shooter was long gone. Afterwards, I wasn't so much scared as just pissed. :mad:

[Cat_Doc]

Back in the late 70's, early 80's, we had one hell of a gang war going on between the Somos Poco Loco's and Hollywood Techniques. Even though it was a relatively small town at that time, we stayed busy with drive-by shootings.

An awful lot of gang bangers (oops, sorry…car club members) were getting shot in the ***, I guess they were ducking and running when they got hit and we would arrive to find them rolling around in the front yard, literally butt hurt.

In the meantime, while we tried to get witness statements from people who didn't see a thing, some of the vatos had gone over for some payback and we would hear the retaliatory drive-by, a times getting there in time to still smell the cordite in the area.

So, one idiot adversary decides to throw a "club" party right behind and kitty corner from one of the opposing "'club president's" house. Soon after, the mother of the club president calls in that someone just shot up the back of her house and it came from the area of the party.

There was a vacant lot right next to the party house as two of us pulled up, with the "victim" house directly north of us across the alley.

A third cruiser pulls up as we are beginning to approach the clowns now standing in the driveway with their baggy khaki pants and flannel shirts, tails out, nicely starched and buttoned all the up the neck, bandana's just over the eyes, acting as though they are having a church service.

Boom! Boom! Boom!... bumblebees zipping by. It must have only been inches as those rounds cut the air just inches above our heads, or by them, hard to tell. (I know you know the sound, Sarge.)

Anyway, everything goes slow mo as I turn and see the shooter, standing in the alley. He was holding a dark revolver, two hand combat style, nice bent knee, feet shoulder width stance, pointing it right at us. NOT at the turds in the driveway who had just shot up his house, but at the police. (Later found out he was pissed that we went to the party before checking on his mom's house first.)

My partner pops off a couple of rapid fire rounds at the shooter. I will never forget that in the middle of all this, I was thinking how funny the shooter looked as he was side stepping to get back through his backyard gate. For whatever reason, I thought he was walking just like they have depicted that elusive Bigfoot gait. Right in the middle of shots being fired, I am thinking, "He is walking like Bigfoot."

Strange, ain't it?

[retdetsgt]

My partner pops off a couple of rapid fire rounds at the shooter. I will never forget that in the middle of all this, I was thinking how funny the shooter looked as he was side stepping to get back through his backyard gate. For whatever reason, I thought he was walking just like they have depicted that elusive Bigfoot gate. Right in the middle of shots being fired, I am thinking, "He is walking like Bigfoot."

Strange, ain't it?

It sure is. When I was in the army, I used to wonder if I was crazy because I'd get some of the weirdest thoughts and ideas during fire fights. I never lost my concentration on what was going on, but I guess the adrenaline gives your mind so much energy or something that it looks for things to do with the excess?:confused:

Adrenaline was my drug of choice for years. It's the greatest high in the world. And the worst low when it drains away.

I tried to write some of my most anxious moments, but I'm still not ready to revisit them yet.

[Cat_Doc]

I tried to write some of my most anxious moments, but I'm still not ready to revisit them yet.

If we are anything alike, Sir, you did as I have done.

Started to write them out, sat and stared at the words, muttered "F*** it" then hit delete.

I think we all have some monsters we don't want to fight again. Maybe one of these days, but not right now.

[retdetsgt]

Started to write them out, sat and stared at the words, muttered "F*** it" then hit delete.

I think we all have some monsters we don't want to fight again. Maybe one of these days, but not right now.

Yessir. That's exactly what happened. Usually got about half a sentence done before that happened.

They'll most likely stay with God, me and a therapist who saved me from a life in a rubber lined room.

[ChesCopPodz]

I had a similar encounter, but we were both standing and in close quarters. I grabbed his wrist holding the switchblade, twisted so I was side by side and pushed his arm out in front of me. We "danced" for a few seconds before I was able to snap his wrist until he dropped the knife and I kicked it down the sidewalk.

Strange thing was that I know it only lasted seconds but it seemed like minutes, and I was not scared during the event, just intense and focused.

I got scared a while after, thinking about the "what if" stuff.

I heard plenty of “I would have…why didn’t you…” from the guys.

While Monday Morning Quarterbacking I thought of different tactics I could have used, but it was what it was. I committed more out of instinct and got lucky on that one.

Same thing with a shooting I was in, not scared as it rapidly unfolded; knees shaking afterwards.

I broke the guy's arm. Myself and another officer had tackled him. He had tried to kill his wife, then walked out to us and had that thousand yard stare. He ignored us and walked right past us so we put the habeas grabus on him and took him to the ground. I was laying on top of him with his right hand pinned behind his back. He managed to get his left hand free from the other officer and pulled a knife out of his waistband. I jumped over him and grabbed his left hand and landed my knee on his forearm. Since my knee was there I grabbed his wrist and pulled up until he let go. I didn't snap his arm Steven Segal style or anything, but I broke the uppermost of the two bones in the forearm where my knee was putting pressure.

Had he stabbed over his shoulder I'd have been stabbed in the face or neck.

I got a lot of MMQBing from guys who weren't there that I should have gotten up and shot him. He already had enough time to kill me with the time between him pulling the knife and me grabbing his arm, let alone pushing myself up, drawing and firing.

[Silver Fox]

I'll remember this date till my dying day 8/17/05...My wife had been taking coumadin a bloodthinner and was passing a little blood, so I took her to the local hospital to be checked. Even though she had stopped bleeding and wanted me to take her to a restaurant to get something to eat since she hadn't eaten a bite in 24 hours the doctors said no and admitted her to a room, supposedly for overnight. At about 9:00 a woman called me and said, get to the hospital immediately and then hung up.
I took off for the hospital like a bat out of hades, ran red lights, passed a police car and covered the 6 miles and into the hallway outside her room in less than 15 minutes. When I got there 8-10 nurses, doctors, interns, medics, et al came running out of her room pushing a stretcher with my wife on it, who was as white as a sheet.
I went running with them and was blocked at the ICU door by several nurses and security personnel.
A few minutes later an ER doctor came out and told me my wife had stopped breathing when 2 nurses were giving her a blood plasma transfusion. I asked him why did they give her a transfusion when she had bled only a small amount and had stopped bleeding at the time she was admitted?
He couldn't give a satisfactory explanation and walked back into the ER.
A little later our family physician came in joined by a cardiologist and a gastroenterologist specialist and all 3 of them said we're doing all we can in the way of medicine and it's now in the hands of the good Lord.
The cardiologist gave her less than a 5 percent chance of pulling through the night and the other 2 didn't comment.
At daybreak she was still alive and was taken to Crawford Long hospital in Atlanta where they got her stabilized.
A couple of hours later my 2 daughters and I were allowed into the ICU where my wife was hooked up to what looked like a hundred or more tubes, wires, catheters and who knows what else.
We were shocked to see her awake but with a breathing tube stuck in her mouth couldn't talk but beckoned me over and finally made me understand that she wanted a pad and pencil. After getting the pen and piece of paper she wrote on it. Bring me a clean top, pants, underwear and a pair of shoes from home as I'm not staying here.
After spending almost a month in Crawford Long and 2 weeks in a physical therapy center for not being able to speak above a whisper due to a damaged voice box caused when pushing the breathing tube down her throat; and having to learn to eat, drink liquids without aspirating (choking) she finally came home and that evening I took her to the best restaurant in town.