Why you need to know Spanish
Close your eyes if you will. Its about 3am and the air is cool. The night
is brightly lit with the full moon and its a brisk 35 degrees out on the
plains of Texas. Im parked on the side of a residental road working on
my logs when I see the figure of a man walking *if you can call it that*
towards me about 2 streets down. Im thinking GREAT another drunk! I'd
already made 5, count em, FIVE public intoxication arrests that night
and here was about to get handed a 6th. Well, I was not in the mood for
more paperwork so I thought to myself, "I bet he lives in one of
these houses. I'll watch him and make sure he gets inside safely."
But oh no! That would have been too easy. Instead of going into one
of the houses he staggars up to my window and in drunken Spanish (which
at the time I didnt know Spanish that well) starts talking to me through
the glass. I tell him in my very best crappy spanish to go home, go
away, go to la casa!
So, what does he do? He pulls out his wallet and fumbles for a few minutes
and finally manages to get his ID out and puts it against my window
and continues in his drunken spanish.
Im thinkin C'mon man! So, I look around to make sure no one is watching
and I descretley drive away, washing my hands of this moron. I put him
out of my mind and find another spot to finish my paperwork and then
get back to patroling.
Now the time is about 5:30am and dispatch sends myself and another
unit over to an address where a guy says he's found a body in his alley
while checking to see what his dogs were barking at. Im thinking COOL!
and drive to the scene and arrive just behind the other unit.
Sure enough from about 20 yards away I see a foot poking out of some
weeds. The other officer approaches first and I ask if the person is
dead to which the officer replies "I dont know, his eyes are half
open and I cant see if he's breathing." So, I walk up and all I
see from my angle is a leg and part of his right arm. I give a gentle
yet firm kick to his thigh and say "Hey! wake up man." And
as a result the person makes a groan and moves a little to get comfortable.
Realizing the person is not dead but just passed out the other officer
sits the man up to check for injuries and to talk to him. AS SOON as
the guy sat up I realized it was my drunk from earlier!!!!!!!!!!!! Uh
oh.
Suddenly the drunk guy starts talking and pointing at me and the other
officer. The 911 caller asks "did one of you guys deal with this
man earlier tonight?" I told him I'd seen him earlier, to which
the 911 caller starts laughing a little and explains to me that the
drunk was telling him in Spanish that he'd tried to show a police officer
his Driver's License in hopes that the cop would tell him how to get
home because he was too drunk and couldnt remember where he lived!!!!!
And that the cop had driven away so he thought the cop was showing him
the way home and tried to follow the police car..... thus ending up
across town in this alley.
Well ladies and gents...I learned a valuable lesson. KNOW SPANISH if
its spoken in your area and DONT LEAVE DRUNK GUYS ON THE SIDE OF THE
ROAD!!
I did take that guy home and made sure he got inside his house safely.
"Law Dog"
Deputy from Texas