Saturday Story

Working Alone Probably the worst thing a cop can do is arrest or testify against another cop. Or make a case against another cop, or a favorite ex/retired cop. That story has already been told, but not the repercussions. After something like this breaks, you start to understand how well liked you were or weren’t. I know of guys that were not that well liked and after they were arrested, nobody cared who made the case. But after I was instrumental in another officer’s arrest, an officer much better liked and well connected, I found out how ugly that Blue Line can be. This arrest was just the beginning. I suddenly wasn’t real welcomed at the after-shift bar sessions, card games that I used to be invited to every week and even the bowling league was stand offish. When I made traffic stops at night, there was no back-up. Basically, I was an officer alone. But nothing brought that more to home than that Thanksgiving. I was sharing an apartment with my best friend Paul’s sister-in-law, yes, sometimes it did get a bit complicated and stressful, but it was worth it. She had a 14-year-old son that also lived with us and I tried not to be a Dad, but rather an older uncle. It was one of those weekends, right after the arrest, the boy was with his father, and she and I were having a romantic evening together. When I get a call at about 10:30 pm, on my night off, ordering me to the station “immediately” , I know it can’t be good. Since I was in the middle of a date it was inconvenient to say the least. The news was even more inconvenient. The FBI had notified the department that they had intercepted a phone call from “a known criminal character” soliciting another known character to have me killed. So, at 10:30 on my night off, the department calls me into the station to tell me someone has taken out a contract on my life. The F.B.I. SA (special agent) was there to let everyone know it was for real and the chances of my being killed were very real. And the individuals involved, including the cop I had just “set up”, were known and fully capable of completing this assignment. Upon my returning to my apartment, after being told to watch myself, I had to explain to her what the call was about, it didn’t set well. It did end the “romance” of the evening. Later that month was Thanksgiving and my best friend, and his sister-in-law (my girlfriend) wanted to invite me to the family holiday dinner but were told; “What if something happened and there’s shooting or something?” In other words, he’d be a danger to the family. Don’t bring him. I spent that and many other evening dinners, with Mrs. Swanson. The Lady and I later broke up. Paul remained my best friend. It never really got better.