It’s dark. You have a heavy five cell maglight to illuminate immediately in front of you. Otherwise no porch light. The fact that no dogs are barking simplifies things. It’s common for people to open the door and release their less than friendly dogs out first. You’ve learned to be close enough to the door to lean on it or place your foot against the bottom preventing this from happening. Then you tell the owner to secure their dog. Unfortunately youve destroyed two dogs that have attacked you in the past. This time no such problem. The maglight doubles as a blunt instrument with which to defend yourself. It’s in your left hand, gun in your right. You search to identify everything as quickly as possible.
The man who exits has a cigarette in his hand and is drunk. In the background you flash your light and can see into the living room. A television is on, beer cans are tossed haphazardly on the floor and their is a familiar stench. Everything seems about right. You holster your gun and begin sorting things out on the porch.
By his account, the man was outside with a rifle, a .22 caliber Marlin 25N bolt action small game firearm. A common possession. He produces it from just inside the door of the trailer. You ask to have the bolt opened. A live round jumps out of the breach, bounces across the porch and comes to rest in the corner. For the first time you see two empty casings in the same general vicinity. He tells you that he has been shooting at skunks from his porch. From this point on everything works out to be routine. Discharging a rifle in a crowded trailer court at night while intoxicated is about par for the course. The man gets a summons for disorderly conduct and you leave.
This is the way most interactions happen. Give or take some aggressive behavior, a tense stand-off with a belligerent drunk or a downright nasty criminal resisting arrest. You learn to apply the right amount of force to overcome the resistance you are faced with. But every minute of every hour of every day while on duty you carry a reminder in your holster that not all people will hesitate to use deadly force against you to keep you from doing your job. And when you or other officers are placed in the situation that forces you to apply deadly force, it is a lesson not ever forgotten. To take a life in the performance of your duty sets into motion a whirlwind of emotion and a replaying of events over and over. To have someone attempt to take your life forces you to examine your life and all that led up to the moment. Thankfully, routine defines most of your days and these types of challenges are few and far between.
You finish up the end of your shift. Mostly glad to have survived riding with a partner you’d rather have called in sick. You stay long enough to submit the paperwork required and before leaving....stuff a snickers bar wrapper in his mailbox.