Sounds in the Night

What bliss! Sleep. The blessed joy of sleep. At 10:30 PM I was fast asleep.

At 10:58 my pager sounded. I haven’t had this pager for very long and we are not used to the sound it makes yet. Donna asked what it was. When I figured it out, I told her it was the police department.

There had been a single car accident at I-69 and I-469. The driver was alone and critically injured. I went to the scene.

There wasn’t much for me to do. I talked to officers who were blocking traffic. I tried to stay out of the way.

Before leaving, I phoned the hospital Chaplain to see if I could help there. The answer was, yes, I could help. They needed help finding a next of kin.

I found a police sergeant and we went looking. We knocked on the door of the victim. No one there. We tried a neighbor’s house. Now it was 1:00 AM. He was kind, but didn’t know much – except that the neighbor on the other side worked with the injured man.

The co-worker gave us the name of an ex-wife and we were off to New Haven. We told the mother of his children and she was off to the hospital.

Our good deed done.

I am increasing impressed with the men and women of the Fort Wayne Police Department. Two officers went out of their way and out of their jurisdiction to be kind. We were not doing a death notification. Most police agencies would deliver the message of an injury over the phone. But these people went out of their way trying to make a difficult situation a little easier to bear.

So I went home. Back in bed about 2:30. I was instantly asleep. Bliss!

Donna asked, “What is that?” I said, “It’s my pager.” She said, “I thought you already got up.” I responded, “I did. Now it’s 5:30 and a pedestrian was hit on Reed Road.” So I was up and getting dressed again.

After a stop for coffee, I went under the tape again. Talking to officers and trying to stay out of the way. I talked with the driver of the car. I listened to his story. Telling our stories is always important. I prayed with him before he was transported to the hospital for a blood draw.

Once again, it took some time to identify the deceased woman. We are so careful.

And again, some people said they knew who she was, but the coroner’s investigator had to be sure. Eventually, we went to see a relative and confirmed what the grapevine had already told him.

There was another break from 8:30 to 13:00 (1:00 PM.) I don’t usually go to the scene of a natural death, but I heard about one on my police radio and it was just a few blocks away from where I had lunch – so I went.

I gave the surviving mother a copy of a little booklet I developed that is packed with helpful information and phone numbers. I prayed with her. I held her hand and listened as she cried for her grown son.

The rest of the day was productive. I visited with people, made phone calls, planned and prepared.

Two pages in the night is unusual. Three responses in one day is rare. Did anyone check the cycle of the moon today?

Just by Looking

Another human life was senselessly taken in a downtown neighborhood about 3:00 PM Friday. I was near the scene where a man lay dead in the grass between two houses shortly after the report was first called in. I was not inside the inner perimeter, but I was close enough to talk to uniformed officers and detectives who were working the scene.

They were interviewing everyone they could find who had seen or heard anything. They were told about a car that was green, or maybe gray, seen leaving the area. Someone heard loud pops. Someone else saw something. Like working a jigsaw puzzle, the detectives labor to put the pieces together.

One of the missing pieces was the identity of the deceased.

They are very particular about this piece of the puzzle. You might remember that earlier this year one blond white female was mistake for another blond white female following a tragic highway accident. One survived; one did not. It was heartbreaking.

The Sunday morning paper noted that the man killed Friday still had not been identified.

Sure, there were people who said, “Yea, I know him.” “I’ve seen him around.” “I can tell you who he hangs with.”

But identity of the deceased is too important to leave to guess work, supposition or hearsay. They have to be sure. Very sure. Absolutely positive.

I’d like to know. The detectives want to know. The coroner wants to know. But we wait. We don’t guess. This is essential information.

Who are you?

Have you asked lately? Have you wondered? Are you satisfied with the answer?

Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure of your identity? What is the source of your information? Are you confident of the source?

Please answer the question for me. I’d like to hear from you.

cameraandradar@yahoo.com

The Inside Man

I was invited in last night.

Not in from the cold or into a popular night spot. A police captain invited me inside the yellow tape stretched across the intersection at Sherbourne and Vance where a man barricaded himself inside a house.

Next I was invited by a police sergeant to sit in the mini-van where the father of the barricaded man was sitting. It was hot. It was 12:30 in the morning. It was strange. It was confusing.

I invited myself to try to help him understand what was happening. I told him I knew the officers involved. They did not want to hurt his son, they wanted to help him. (I didn’t mention that they wanted to help him into a matching set of shiny bracelets.)

It was exciting to be on the inside when others were kept out. Kept out of the yellow tape. Out of the privacy (and air conditioning) of the mini-van. I was on the inside figuratively because I know something about police officers and police procedures.

As a Christian, I even had an inside connection with God. *

I was in the right place at the right time. I had all the right answers to his concerns.

With all my inside connections, he still kept me out. My explanations were rebutted; my answers were rejected; my attempts to pacify him only stirred his impatience.

So I did what my training and experience told me to do. I listened. I offered a few words acknowledging his difficulty and offering my sympathy. And I listened.

I suppose that is usually why we are invited in. Into someone’s circle of friends or someone’s home or someone’s heart. To listen, to acknowledge the pain, to sympathize. When you and I are all invited in it is usually because we care.

* 1 John 5:15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

The Inside Man

I was invited in last night.

Not in from the cold or into a popular night spot. A police captain invited me inside the yellow tape stretched across the intersection at Sherbourne and Vance where a man barricaded himself inside a house.

Next I was invited by a police sergeant to sit in the mini-van where the father of the barricaded man was sitting. It was hot. It was 12:30 in the morning. It was strange. It was confusing.

I invited myself to try to help him understand what was happening. I told him I knew the officers involved. They did not want to hurt his son, they wanted to help him. (I didn’t mention that they wanted to help him into a matching set of shiny bracelets.)

It was exciting to be on the inside when others were kept out. Kept out of the yellow tape. Out of the privacy (and air conditioning) of the mini-van. I was on the inside figuratively because I know something about police officers and police procedures.

As a Christian, I even had an inside connection with God. *

I was in the right place at the right time. I had all the right answers to his concerns.

With all my inside connections, he still kept me out. My explanations were rebutted; my answers were rejected; my attempts to pacify him only stirred his impatience.

So I did what my training and experience told me to do. I listened. I offered a few words acknowledging his difficulty and offering my sympathy. And I listened.

I suppose that is usually why we are invited in. Into someone’s circle of friends or someone’s home or someone’s heart. To listen, to acknowledge the pain, to sympathize. When you and I are all invited in it is usually because we care.

* 1 John 5:15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

The Inside Man

I was invited in last night.

Not in from the cold or into a popular night spot. A police captain invited me inside the yellow tape stretched across the intersection at Sherbourne and Vance where a man barricaded himself inside a house.

Next I was invited by a police sergeant to sit in the mini-van where the father of the barricaded man was sitting. It was hot. It was 12:30 in the morning. It was strange. It was confusing.

I invited myself to try to help him understand what was happening. I told him I knew the officers involved. They did not want to hurt his son, they wanted to help him. (I didn’t mention that they wanted to help into a matching set of shiny bracelets.)

It was exciting to be on the inside when others were kept out. Kept out of the yellow tape. Out of the privacy (and air conditioning) of the mini-van. I was on the inside figuratively because I know something about police officers and police procedures.

As a Christian, I even had an inside connection with God. *

I was in the right place at the right time. I had all the right answers to his concerns.

With all my inside connections, he still kept me out. My explanations were rebutted; my answers were rejected; my attempts to pacify him only stirred his impatience.

So I did what my training and experience told me to do. I listened. I offered a few words acknowledging his difficulty and offering my sympathy. And I listened.

I suppose that is usually why we are invited in. Into someone’s circle of friends or someone’s home or someone’s heart. To listen, to acknowledge the pain, to sympathize. When you and I are all invited in it is usually because we care.

* 1 John 5:15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Some Fun Stuff

Today I got to do one of the fun things a law enforcement Chaplain gets to do. I saw a healthy baby!

A police department employee is a new mother and I went to the hospital to see mom, dad and the baby. He is a healthy boy who is eating and sleeping.

I went to pray. I prayed for the mother’s recovery. I prayed for the dad to have wisdom. I prayed for the baby to grow up healthy and strong and close to Jesus.

I went to demonstrate to the new parents that the Chaplain genuinely cares about them.

I also went for me. I try not to miss any opportunity. I want to make the best of every moment as a Chaplain, as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as a follower of Jesus Christ. I don’t want to miss anything.

However, being able to do something lighthearted with lots of smiles is a little bit rare for police Chaplains. Much of what we do involves people who are frustrated, sad, in pain or dead. So I made the most of fussing over a healthy baby!

It was part of being obedient to the instruction of Ephesians 5:15-16:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Some Fun Stuff

Today I got to do one of the fun things a law enforcement Chaplain gets to do. I saw a healthy baby!

A police department employee is a new mother and I went to the hospital to see mom, dad and the baby. He is a healthy boy who is eating and sleeping.

I went to pray. I prayed for the mother’s recovery. I prayed for the dad to have wisdom. I prayed for the baby to grow up healthy and strong and close to Jesus.

I went to demonstrate to the new parents that the Chaplain genuinely cares about them.

I also went for me. I try not to miss any opportunity. I want to make the best of every moment as a Chaplain, as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as a follower of Jesus Christ I don’t want to miss anything.

However, being able to do something lighthearted with lots of smiles is a little bit rare for police Chaplains. Much of what we do involves people who are frustrated, sad, in pain or dead. So I made the most of fussing over a healthy baby!

It was part of being obedient to the instruction of Ephesians 5:15-16:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.