Bullets fly, and according to initial reports five Douglas County officers are hit. Early information suggests that there is at least one fatality (A source tells press representatives "It doesn't look good for us"). Two citizens are also wounded. Again, no definitive word. I check in with a buddy, a deputy for DCSO. He's fine, on his way in. Everyone there is on their way in.
I don't feel sad, or somber. I'm angry. Whatever this asshole's malfunction, shooting five cops is no solution. It's never going to be a solution. A disturbance? Offer your explanation, take your ticket, fight it out (or plead it out) in court. Yeah, but not this guy. Five cops and two citizens hit.
I could sit down and write, but they will be angry words, undisciplined, unfocused, a string of variations on a theme...fuck you, strong memo to follow. None of the news channels have additional information - why would they. Douglas County is still trying to get control, account for their people, reach the loved ones of those who were hit. Then, confirmation that one of the officers didn't make it. I head for the gym.
At W. 1st Ave, I pass a fire station. Two firefighters are making haste toward the flag pole in front of their building. Both are wearing shorts (in fifteen degree weather). They have been informed by their command to put the flag at half mast, and they were not wasting time doing it. Out of the mutual respect firefighters and cops share, it's going to get done...now.
Further along toward the gym, a marked Lakewood PD Tahoe pulls up beside me at a light. I'm sure I know the officer, but the angle is wrong. All I see is a grimness of purpose, that unamused look we all get on the way to a meaningful call. Maybe, he's on the way to a disturbance...
Because, it never stops. The phones rarely stop ringing. Hell, nowadays they barely slow down. There is always another call, always another crisis. The reason my friend came in to work, that the surrounding PDs took some of Douglas County's "routine" load, is because the pace is unrelenting.
Some years ago, two of our officers were shot by a sniper. He knew they were coming and laid in wait. I went in to work, having been woken by a phone call from a friend. "Do you know what happened?" she asked. My job when I arrived? Put together shift schedules for the next day. Because, it never stops.
Additional information is now available, in the calm that overtakes the investigation of a major incident. The officer - Zack Parrish - was a stand-up dude, a dad and husband. The others who were shot - all good people. One, a Castle Rock PD SWAT officer. Dispatch traffic was released. "Be sure you're kitted up," someone says. That means helmets, rifle plates. One of the officers is down inside the apartment. One hundred rounds. An ambush. The Sheriff says "He knew we were coming."
Of course he did. And, I'm angry all over again.
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