Underqualified

I had been on the street as a Tucson Police Officer for three days.

I was on a late day shift (1200-2200) and assigned to a Field Training Officer. Most importantly as far as policing goes...I couldn't tell my ass from a clue if I had to.

On this third shift of my career, we were dispatched to city court for a family disturbance call that the court security officer needed assistance with.

Once we arrived, the court security officer explained that a family was at court for traffic tickets when their teenage daughter approached the officer. She explained that her two brothers and she were being abused by their parents and that she needed help. Some investigating by the officer revealed that all three kids had physical abuse in varying forms. The officer needed an extra set of hands to hang out with the kids while he interviewed the parents and waited on Family Crimes Detectives.

My FTO asked me if I could handle three kids so he could help the other officer. I lied and said I could...I was vastly underqualified to supervise three kids. I took the three kids and stopped by a vending machine to get some snacks. At first, all three politely declined anything. The youngest boy, who was probably 5 or 6, was first to break down and asked for a plain Hershey's chocolate bar. Then the other two came around and asked for a bag of chips and a Kit Kat. I put in a few bucks into the vending machine, grabbed the three items, added a Kit Kat for myself, and then took the kids up to the police room on the third floor.

The police room was a large broom closet that had been set up as a workspace for city police officers while they were at city court. Someone managed to cram three chairs, a computer desk, and a tube television into the room. The kids sat down on the chairs and I took a hard lean against one of the walls.

While the older two were able to open their snacks, the youngest struggled with his chocolate bar. I asked, "Do you want some help champ?"

He looked at me confused. I don't think any adults in this guy's orbit had ever offered help. He unsurely handed me the bar and kind of winced like he expected punishment. As I took the bar from him I could see cuts and bruises from being struck repeatedly by an electrical cord up his arms. I could feel a lump working its way out of my stomach into my throat. This was my first interaction as a cop with the dark side of humanity...the side that rationalized hitting a boy with a weapon used by mobsters. I smiled and tried as gingerly as I could to open the bar and hand it back. He cracked a smile, ever so briefly before nibbling at the chocolate bar.

The four of us sat in the police room and I tried my hardest to not suck at hanging out with them. Eventually, I did what any surprise parent would do and turned on the television. I flipped it over to Cartoon Network... I didn't ask but I don't think these kids got a lot of cartoon time at home.

A show called Chowder was on and the premise of the show revolved around a cat who worked in a bakery. This particular episode featured Chowder making too many cupcakes and then trying to mitigate the catastrophe.

It was silly, but it was a well-timed silly.

The kids lit up with laughter as the cartoon cat struggled to keep up with an insurmountable amount of cupcakes. One of my most vivid memories of that day was the main character making too many cupcakes and the kids laughing at the silliness.

Eventually, Child Protective Services showed up and took the kids into their care. As with many cases, I don't know what ever became of them or the parents.

To this day, I can't watch Chowder or eat a Kit Kat without thinking of those kids and hoping things turned out okay for them.

#blog #police #policestories #chowder