So it's just about 1:30 Sunday morning as I type this.
About 90 minutes ago there were some very loud bangs/booms from another apartment in my building that were very familiar - and unmistakable-- to anyone who has ever spent any time on or near a firing range.
About 10 minutes later there were four more.
A short time later I was dragged out of bed by a frantic pounding at my door. I opened it a crack to find a officer in uniform who leaned in and whispered that there was an emergency. He asked me to please gather my things and leave the building.
"Always make sure your clothes are where you can find them in the dark."-- Some of Robert Heinlein's best advice, given through his character Lazarus Long. It served me well tonight. I was not wearing anything at all when I answered the door, but I knew exactly where to find my robe, my shoes, and my coat. It took me only seconds to be ready.
While I gathered my things the officer stood sentry outside my door, putting himself between me and the BIG-BAD-WHATEVER. I watched him for a moment as I opened the door. His posture made it clear that whatever was out there wasn't getting past him as long as I was in my apartment. As I stepped out his position changed. He put himself between me and the open space at the front of my apartment building and stayed there as he guided me around the back and then to other officers who in turn guided me to our exercise room across the parking lot.
I was the first in, but others soon followed. They cleared the building unit by unit. It didn't take long for word to trickle down as to what was happening. There was a man in one of the apartments with a shotgun. There were three other adults in the apartment with him and two children-- one of them an infant.
We all huddled into the exercise room and the tense wait began. The scene unfolded like any police drama you've seen in the movies. The building was surrounded; warnings were issued over the loud speaker. At one point another shot was fired. We all held our breath, waiting for a storm of return fire. It didn't come.
Suddenly there was a flurry of movement. A few minutes later we were told we could return to our apartments.
As we walked home we all had to go past where they had the guy kneeling and handcuffed on the pavement. Nothing was hidden, nothing was covered up. He was healthy and uninjured and though the were questioning him their voices were calm and they spoke professionally. Upstairs another officer was gathering blankets for the children.
Everything tonight worked with the professional precision of a well oiled machine. Every detail was seen to, every base covered. No one was hurt. No one died.
Our police take a lot of criticism, and truthfully sometimes it's deserved. Not tonight. Tonight every one of the men out there was an example of the shining best of what the police can and should be. I'm proud of every single one of them.
And I told them so.
Ms. Betty
