School Cop
10-18-2008, 02:32 AM
First, I'll say that was a great post, Keith. Ditto what everybody else said. I thought I might show another kind of courage I witnessed last night, in the mental abilities genre. Please understand, while I found this pretty funny, I have the utmost respect for the guy and am not laughing at him. I can't even approach Keith's eloquence, so I'll just let 'er rip.
My FTO and I (I'm still in training at my new agency) were patrolling at about 0445 when we were flagged down by an SO employee on his way to work. He explained he had picked up his passenger wandering the streets and asked if we could help the guy.
Ed (not his name) cheerfully told us of his condition. He explained he had been in a motorcycle wreck 11 years ago, sustaining brain damage. He admitted he had a lot of trouble remembering things; in this case, the name and location of the nursing home where he resides. Now, Ed's a healthy enough guy for 50, but he was not dressed to walk the streets for 7 hours in 50-degree weather. It was pretty obvious to me that he could have come from just about anywhere in the city, because he thought it's about 0100.
So, we started asking Ed some questions about where he lives. We finally got the detail that it's near a water tower, and my FTO got with dispatch to call places. While waiting, Ed and I chatted about Vietnam (he's a vet), city politics (he used to work for a city manager), and beer. Turns out, beer was the reason for the little walk. Ed, who has the freedom to leave the home when he wants, decided to find a bar.
My first belly laugh came when Ed explained he had had a few satisfactory beers with "some really nice Spanish girls!" After just the right pause for effect, he added with a grin, "Man, I sure wish I could remember where that bar was!" After I stopped laughing, I was touched at how matter-of-fact he was with his memory loss, that he could joke about it.
Later, after taking him to his home, I got a little disgusted with the nurse. She was pretty tacky about the whole thing; she informed us (as if Ed wasn't standing right there) that she was "writing him up for this" and that he "will probably get kicked out." He looked at me, looked at the nurse and said, "That's why no one likes you." I just have to admire the guy for keeping his dignity through the whole thing. As they went inside, she was still talking to Ed, and he turned and asked, "Do ya'll have any good earphones?" Really made my week.
The thing that really bothers me is:
1. Ed had been gone since about 2200 by his reckoning. At best, he was on the way home at 0200, since the bars close then. But there was no missing person alert issued on behalf of the nursing home. That's between 4 and 7 hours he was gone and we never got a call.
2. If you've got a guy who has a tendency to go off the property, and has trouble finding his way back, how about putting a little card in his wallet to alert LEOs who might come in contact with him? Kind of a "duh" moment, huh? We took care of it by entering him in the MDT, so if he's ever ran, his address will pop up.
I definitely found one nursing home I DON'T want my grandparents in when the time gets here. If their health holds, it's coming very soon.
My FTO and I (I'm still in training at my new agency) were patrolling at about 0445 when we were flagged down by an SO employee on his way to work. He explained he had picked up his passenger wandering the streets and asked if we could help the guy.
Ed (not his name) cheerfully told us of his condition. He explained he had been in a motorcycle wreck 11 years ago, sustaining brain damage. He admitted he had a lot of trouble remembering things; in this case, the name and location of the nursing home where he resides. Now, Ed's a healthy enough guy for 50, but he was not dressed to walk the streets for 7 hours in 50-degree weather. It was pretty obvious to me that he could have come from just about anywhere in the city, because he thought it's about 0100.
So, we started asking Ed some questions about where he lives. We finally got the detail that it's near a water tower, and my FTO got with dispatch to call places. While waiting, Ed and I chatted about Vietnam (he's a vet), city politics (he used to work for a city manager), and beer. Turns out, beer was the reason for the little walk. Ed, who has the freedom to leave the home when he wants, decided to find a bar.
My first belly laugh came when Ed explained he had had a few satisfactory beers with "some really nice Spanish girls!" After just the right pause for effect, he added with a grin, "Man, I sure wish I could remember where that bar was!" After I stopped laughing, I was touched at how matter-of-fact he was with his memory loss, that he could joke about it.
Later, after taking him to his home, I got a little disgusted with the nurse. She was pretty tacky about the whole thing; she informed us (as if Ed wasn't standing right there) that she was "writing him up for this" and that he "will probably get kicked out." He looked at me, looked at the nurse and said, "That's why no one likes you." I just have to admire the guy for keeping his dignity through the whole thing. As they went inside, she was still talking to Ed, and he turned and asked, "Do ya'll have any good earphones?" Really made my week.
The thing that really bothers me is:
1. Ed had been gone since about 2200 by his reckoning. At best, he was on the way home at 0200, since the bars close then. But there was no missing person alert issued on behalf of the nursing home. That's between 4 and 7 hours he was gone and we never got a call.
2. If you've got a guy who has a tendency to go off the property, and has trouble finding his way back, how about putting a little card in his wallet to alert LEOs who might come in contact with him? Kind of a "duh" moment, huh? We took care of it by entering him in the MDT, so if he's ever ran, his address will pop up.
I definitely found one nursing home I DON'T want my grandparents in when the time gets here. If their health holds, it's coming very soon.