The Policeman who heard too Much


fiction
edward w pritchard

Officer Lins Sake wore the two way radio on the epaulet of his left shoulder and it became second nature to listen to the flowing melody of dispatch codes that Mavis Cims disclosed throughout his eight hour shift. Officer Sake had been in the field for six years and by now the codes were second nature and the running commentary by dispatcher Cims was his link with the 60 others police officers on second shift in Youngstown, Ohio on any given week day.

There were over 750 major dispatch codes and Mavis could string codes in sequence to cryptically communicate degrees of terror to fellow officers or on a slow day drolly editorialize on the folly of human nature. The day Charlie Yates was shot she frantically shouted 10-54d, 11-8, 26-29 and then as 58 officers hung on her next words as she whispered officer Charley Yates and a collective groan acknowledged immediate acceptance of 11-8 person down, then 1054d possible dead body , and with horror police officer-26, and Charlie's Death-29. The officer who had two kids less than eight years old, their buddy in the bowling league, and the guy with the red 1967 Camaro had been shot. Only one officer knew without the string of codes, Charlie's partner who was hit in the leg but hadn't mentioned that yet to Mavis as he had called in the report slumping over his partner's body in a pile of broken cement near the old football stadium.

Mavis was the officer's link to each other in such situations and in her 17 years on dispatch she did her best to keep her boys safe, informed and once in a while when she was full of the devil amused.
One of her best was car 18, which is Wayne and Carolyn Colton , 10-97 arrived at scene, 653 wine or champagne, 431 value greater than $1000., 1045b condition of patient is critical, 1061 miscellaneous public service, 1064- found property, 11-52 funeral detail, 329- smashed on street. More than a few officers were able to piece together that Car 18 had arrived on the scene to find some do gooders, who were against others drinking , smashing over $1000 worth of vintage champagne, on the streets of Youngstown.

Officer Sake had taken over a year to learn the dispatch codes and sometimes when his wife or kids weren't around even listened at home when he was off the clock. The dialogue was just too intense and violent at times for his family for the guy on the weekend shift was more blunt than Mavis and often skipped the codes and just gave the brutal details. That dispatcher was an ex- police officer and had a habit of leaving the mike open to the entire field if he felt an officer was in trouble to expedite the speed which with back-up arrived.

One Saturday about four in the afternoon, while washing his truck with the two way radio on Lins had received communication under his officer number, signifying personal confidential information 688-689-333-7
meaning Father/Son, communication, requested. It wasn't the usual weekend dispatcher Otter Haines and Lins didn't recognize the voice. When he called in Otter who didn't have much of a sense of humor, Otter thought it was some kind of joke. Lins and a few officers had often teased Otter a lot just before Otter retired and Otter was suspicious of Officer Sake. That Monday Lins had Mavis check the log and back-up tape but there was no record of the 688-689-333-7. Some-one was horsing around and it was a stupid thing to do. There were numerous regulations about communications over the secured airways and men had been suspended or fired for minor infractions.

Ten days later Lin's partner was off and Lins was driving alone to Youngstown State University to do some leg work for the chief. Often when only one officer was in a car the chief who had come up through the ranks would give them something clerical to do. Lins was off to the University's registrars office to pick up some transcripts for an upcoming trial for the chief. After he got the papers Lins was having lunch at the student center, like the days when he had been a student here; and he got another confidential information code 688-689-333-7. He immediately called Mavis who did a backward search through all the dispatch radios currently on the system and found nothing. She said she would complete an incident report for Lins to sign.

end part 1

The Policeman who heard too Much

fiction
edward w pritchard

part 2

Mavis had called officer Sake twice to complete the incident report on the strange codes that had mysteriously came across his dispatch radio before he finally came into her office. It was a Thursday and officer Sake had a rare weekday off. Mavis kept the dispatch radio on as they talked but turned off the outgoing volume as they sat across from each other at her small cluttered desk. She grew wild flowers as a hobby and the desk was neatly disheveled with back editions of several gardening magazines that she could easily thumb through as she wrote with her other hand and talked on the two way radio.

Lins Sake liked Mavis but he was growing impatient because it seemed like she was stalling. She straightened a few more magazines and then visibly perked up as code 10-8 came in, In service, code 10-35 confidential information, 10-40 advise if officer 44 is in, 44 was Lins, Mavis answered laconically yes, and then came code 688-689-333-7, the previously unidentified sequence of father/son communication requested. With that Mavis handed Lins an envelope and said the calls were coming from Otter Haines and that Otter needed to talk with Lins and the envelope would explain.

Mavis for some one who talked all day could be stubborn and refused to discuss the situation further. Lins who had kind of a short fuse was fighting to stay calm for he was not used to being put off and he didn't like it. At length his good judgment prevailed and he left the station and went out
to his car and opened the letter. It said:

Meet me at Smith Junior High Friday at 9:00 AM out of uniform room 304.
Officer Haines
urgent

Officer Sake didn't sleep well that night. What the hell was going on and why were Mavis and Otter conspiring against him? He finally fell to sleep after two and was up by 6:30 and to relax was off before the wife and kids were up and went out to the Lake to watch the sun come up which he liked to do.

He had went to this school and had a son here now in eighth grade, so it was easy for him to find room 304 which was for school security. It was a combination work room and a lounge with a few chairs a couch a TV and a couple computers and a half sized fridge. The work part was a desk and a couple of monitors recording the halls, which were now empty.

Otter just nodded and offered Lins a seat at the small desk and stood over him and pushed a few buttons to change the location of one of the camera so Lins was watching a large auditorium style theater that was being used as a study hall, and had been since Lins went here.

For the next 40 minutes Lins watched the worse student of about 75 in the room. It was his son Tim. There were 2 teachers and one younger girl who might have been a student teacher or helper of some kind and they spent about half of their time trying to control the students. The worse obviously was Tim and Lins felt like he was being punched in the stomach as he watched the disrespect and arrogance displayed by his son. Fortunately there was no volume but the body language was apparent. The sad part was the teachers were trying so hard to be patient and Tim just kept pushing the envelope.

Otter said, " I have talked to Tim three times in the last month and he just glares at me. Of course here I am just the rent a cop, with a sloppy uniform, working here in my retirement; but I swear Lins, looking Lins in the eye, 20 years ago when I was your age if someone treated me like that and was that incorrigible I would have cuffed him. Your boy doesn't know when to back down. The other students start things and egg him on, and he's the only one that keeps going, he can't restrain himself. I am worried for him Lins, he doesn't respect authority and he is just getting worse. The teachers tell me that in class he isn't really that bad but won't do anything. He's bright enough but he is never going to make it unless he changes NOW, YOU have to do something.

There was nothing I could say, I stood up, hugged Otter and left the room trying not to cry and feeling like I had been punched in the stomach.