Creepy Police Calls: Unforgettable Experiences of an Officer
Every police officer has their own stories of eerie calls they've had to take. My career has been filled with unusual and unsettling experiences, but two in particular stand out as both disturbing and profoundly affected my understanding of the human condition.
The Tragic Suicide of a Doctor
One of the most disturbing calls I received was to a doctor's residence. A wife had reported that her husband, a practicing physician, had tragically taken his own life in the garage. What made this situation even more harrowing was the reason behind his actions. The doctor's teenage son had tragically taken his own life several months earlier, and the father's depression and guilt over failing to prevent his son's suicide had built to a tragic breaking point.
The doctor's medical practice was located in a medical park just behind our precinct. About a few hours after the discovery, we received a probationary burglary alarm at his office. Upon investigation, we found that the building was secure with no signs of unauthorized entry. Dispatch informed us that this office had never registered a false alarm before, and it was presumed that the doctor had to tie up some of his business affairs before ending his life.
This experience deeply affected me. The haunting reminder of suicide and the personal impact it had on the doctor served as a stark wake-up call about the importance of mental health awareness and early intervention in communities.
The Eerily Uncovered Situation
Another memorable call that left a lasting impression on me involved an outstanding warrant for non-appearance in court. Our task was to arrest a man at his residence. We arrived and knocked on the front door. An elderly woman answered, and upon being asked, she informed us that the man was sleeping in the back room. She allowed us inside, and we went to the back room. There, we found a mattress on the floor with a large lump, entirely covered by a blanket.
When we called out to the man, he abruptly pulled back the blanket, revealing that he and his sister, who was also present, were completely naked under the blanket. Both were adults, and we had to handle the situation with the utmost professionalism and respect for their privacy. This experience served as a humbling reminder of the different lives people live and the importance of handling sensitive situations with care and understanding.
These experiences have been etched in my memory as the kinds of calls where the line between life and death, between mental and physical health, and between public safety and domestic privacy is blurred in the most unpredictable ways. They are part of the fabric of my career as a police officer, and they continue to shape and remind me of the complex and often unsettling human equation that I serve.