As we arrived at the PD tonight, little did we know of the situations we were going to face. The air was hot and sticky, inside the PD it was a mad house, the calls bombarded the dispatchers, duty officers and patrol officers. Little did we know there would be no rest this night. We made our way to our positions and began to fulfill our duty to protect and serve.

I sat down to boot up my computer, turning up the Police Radio as I waited, Finally the screen pops up, I am able to enter a call. All five lines are ringing, I answer one of the lines... Police Department may I help you. Its a young man, his name is Sean, he is concerned about his brother in law, Sam. Sam was at the house only a week ago, they had discussed his financial situation and decided it was time for Sam to get a job. He'd been depressed lately, so his sister Robin, Sean's wife was concerned when he wasn't answering the phone, she'd been calling all week and his voice mail kept answering his cell phone. She called Sam's friend, no one had seen or heard from him all week. Was Sam mad at them, were they too hard on him? She thought to herself maybe we shouldn't have pushed him.

Sean was still on the line... he asked if we could go to Sam's home on Oak Street and ck his welfare. I got all of the pertinent information on Sam, his full name, hgt, wgt, date of birth, the clothes he was last seen wearing. Did he have any scars, marks or tattoos? What about piercings I asked? Is he on any Meds? Are there drugs involved? Where does he hang out. Then I advised Sean to call us back within the hour, we would dispatch an officer to the location.

Upon arrival, 4X22 called on the radio reporting a Green Toyota Tundra was in the driveway. He called out the license plate, victor, sam, three, seven, paul, boy VS37PB. Dispatch verified the vehicle belonged to Sam. 4X22 approached the door, knocking loudly he waited. No one responded, dispatch advised Sam's sister had given permission to break into the house. 4X23 was dispatched to the scene, upon arrival, both officers searched the outside perimeter, only to find no one there and all doors and windows locked. The next step would be to break in the door, Kicking the door in was no problem for 4 X22, he was 6ft, 5in, weighed 325 lbs, pure muscle. One kick and they were in, 4X22 was in command, he called out POLICE, is anyone home, no answer. They searched room to room, 4X23 went one way down the hall, 4X22 the other, then they see him.

Blood seemed to be on everything in the room. The bed was soaked, brains were spattered on the wall, it looked as if he'd been there for days, 4X23 was a rookie, the whole scene was too much, he bolted out the door, hovering over the bushes outside, he felt overwhelmed. Calling for help on the radio, dispatch patched them to their own radio channel, no longer was this a welfare ck, but it was now classified as an unconscious person, paramedics would verify and change it to a DOA when they arrived. Dispatchers were working frantically, they sent out a critical incident page to detecives, now it was time to call the Medical Examiner. Firefighters and Paramedics arrived, people were gathering, the firefighters were getting out the pumps to pump fresh air into the house, so they could bear the smell of death. Then someone screams and begs to go in, it's Sam's mother, she only lived a few blocks away. Police officers are arriving, detectives, they are putting up yellow tape around the crime scene, family services is paged to assist the family. It will be hours now before officers and detectives are allowed to leave the scene, they will work thru the night until the morning. Calls are still coming in, panic alarms, robbery alarms, silent alarms, holdup alarms, domestic disturbances, fights, loud music calls and more. There is not enough time or manpower to meet the needs of the city.

As the night closes for me, the images still haunt my mind. What were Sam's last thoughts? Did he feel alone, hopeless, like there was no way out? Did he feel taking his life was his only option, did he know there were people who loved him, who cared, then I ask myself, did he know Christ? Did he leave this life to face a different kind of horror, one that can not even be imagined by our human minds. Lord, I hope not. I will go home now, the city never sleeps, the calls will be coming in as I lay my head on my pillow, the night shift will man their positions, all night long calls will come in, people unaware of the tradegy of a life cut short, going about life in their own ways, demanding we get to their homes right now to silence the neighbors barking dog or loud music...it's as if no one else in the City mattered. I drift off to sleep and pray for peace and for Sam's family as they embrace thier grief. Please God have mercy on us all and be with us this night, let us remember there are people out there who feel all alone, allow us to reach out to them, to hopefully stop a life from ending too soon. Amen.