The Pitbull
I believe my fellow members would attest to the fact that when I dealt with individuals I was usually fairly patient and calm. There were occasions, however, when pressed into unique situations, I responded with swift and determined action, thereby being anointed with the nicknames “Chucky Beaver” or “The Pit Bull”. The following stories give a good example of the Pit Bull in action.
The Whitehorse RCMP Telecom operator received a 911 call from a distraught woman stating that there were two men fighting in her home and that she was fearful for her children and herself. The operator, in dispatching the call to the members, advised she was still on line and could hear children screaming and the sounds of fighting in the background.
I was the first responder and arrived at the residence in short order, with other members en route. Stepping out of my marked police car, I could hear fighting and swearing coming from the interior of the house. With two men fighting in a home, police procedure dictated I should await backup, but when I observed through the window the young children and distressed mother cowering in the corner of the living room, my adrenalin kicked in. I pounded on the front door, shouting “police” and tried turning the doorknob. It didn’t budge.
From inside, a lady’s voice yelled out that the back door was open so I rushed around to the rear of the house and scrambled up the stairs. The door was closed. I tried the doorknob; it turned, but pulling on the door it wouldn’t open. The anguished cries of young ones continued to resonate in my ears.
I jumped down the rear stairs and raced back to the front door. I could hear the fracas adjacent to it. Trying the doorknob again, and noting it was still locked, I took two steps back and with all my might propelled myself into the door. To my surprise, and to the astonishment of the men fighting behind the door, the mother and children viewing the scene from the corner of the living room, and to the members just arriving, the door, along with the entire rectangular doorframe, crashed into the house, flattening the two combatants. For a mini second, our world stalled, as everyone gawked in disbelief at what had just happened.
I scrambled onto the door, which became a teetering seesaw, with the two men serving as the reluctant fulcrum. My stunned partners, now ascending the front steps, viewing the absurd sight, began to titter.
Stepping off, I knelt down and observed two men wedged between the door and the floor. As I began to raise the door and frame to alleviate their discomfort, the two, gaining their senses, started spewing obscenities, to which I simply let the door and frame descend in a manner that effectively shut them up.
“Looks like everything is under control here,” one officer stated. “The Pit Bull has arrived.”
The bewildered lady of the house, realizing there was no longer a doorframe, let alone a door, told the other officers she had hollered for me to use the back door, as it was open. She wondered why I hadn’t come in that way. I quickly responded that I had tried the door but it wouldn’t open.
One of the members went outside to the back door to verify. He simply turned the knob and pushing the door, entered. Apparently, in my exuberance, I must have pulled instead of pushed. That darn adrenalin!
After we arrested the two chaps and escorted them into the police cars, another member and I jimmied the doorframe into place, temporarily securing it. I apologized to the lady of the house for the damage, and indicated that we would have a carpenter come by the following day to repair the door and frame properly. Although thankful for our prompt response, she still appeared to be somewhat mesmerized by the entire door episode.
Later, back at the office, the pit bull story was on a roll. One member stated, “You could only see a scene like this, with a police officer straddling a door with two criminals pinned underneath, in a Charlie Chaplin movie.”
Another member piped up, “Or working with Chuck.”
The Whitehorse RCMP Telecom operator received a 911 call from a distraught woman stating that there were two men fighting in her home and that she was fearful for her children and herself. The operator, in dispatching the call to the members, advised she was still on line and could hear children screaming and the sounds of fighting in the background.
I was the first responder and arrived at the residence in short order, with other members en route. Stepping out of my marked police car, I could hear fighting and swearing coming from the interior of the house. With two men fighting in a home, police procedure dictated I should await backup, but when I observed through the window the young children and distressed mother cowering in the corner of the living room, my adrenalin kicked in. I pounded on the front door, shouting “police” and tried turning the doorknob. It didn’t budge.
From inside, a lady’s voice yelled out that the back door was open so I rushed around to the rear of the house and scrambled up the stairs. The door was closed. I tried the doorknob; it turned, but pulling on the door it wouldn’t open. The anguished cries of young ones continued to resonate in my ears.
I jumped down the rear stairs and raced back to the front door. I could hear the fracas adjacent to it. Trying the doorknob again, and noting it was still locked, I took two steps back and with all my might propelled myself into the door. To my surprise, and to the astonishment of the men fighting behind the door, the mother and children viewing the scene from the corner of the living room, and to the members just arriving, the door, along with the entire rectangular doorframe, crashed into the house, flattening the two combatants. For a mini second, our world stalled, as everyone gawked in disbelief at what had just happened.
I scrambled onto the door, which became a teetering seesaw, with the two men serving as the reluctant fulcrum. My stunned partners, now ascending the front steps, viewing the absurd sight, began to titter.
Stepping off, I knelt down and observed two men wedged between the door and the floor. As I began to raise the door and frame to alleviate their discomfort, the two, gaining their senses, started spewing obscenities, to which I simply let the door and frame descend in a manner that effectively shut them up.
“Looks like everything is under control here,” one officer stated. “The Pit Bull has arrived.”
The bewildered lady of the house, realizing there was no longer a doorframe, let alone a door, told the other officers she had hollered for me to use the back door, as it was open. She wondered why I hadn’t come in that way. I quickly responded that I had tried the door but it wouldn’t open.
One of the members went outside to the back door to verify. He simply turned the knob and pushing the door, entered. Apparently, in my exuberance, I must have pulled instead of pushed. That darn adrenalin!
After we arrested the two chaps and escorted them into the police cars, another member and I jimmied the doorframe into place, temporarily securing it. I apologized to the lady of the house for the damage, and indicated that we would have a carpenter come by the following day to repair the door and frame properly. Although thankful for our prompt response, she still appeared to be somewhat mesmerized by the entire door episode.
Later, back at the office, the pit bull story was on a roll. One member stated, “You could only see a scene like this, with a police officer straddling a door with two criminals pinned underneath, in a Charlie Chaplin movie.”
Another member piped up, “Or working with Chuck.”
