The Week Before Christmas

So the week before Christmas is always hectic. People rushing to get ready for the holiday and scrambling to get gifts together for loved ones. Sometimes when you're getting ready for a holiday, you lose track of other basic things-and that's how this week's entry get its theme.

I was third in line at a traffic light as it began to turn yellow. The first truck went clearly through the light and then the light turned solid red. A good two seconds after the light turned red, the pickup truck in front of me decided to go through the light also. Now most people paying attention would never try and do that with a cop right behind them. I stopped the guy and he told me he was just trying to follow his friend in front of him and didn't even realize the light was red or the fact that I was right behind him. In my Christmas spirit, I decided to give him a break and sent him on his way. I did tell him that using GSP to coordinate with his friend probably would be the smarter and safer decision and he obliged!

I was out tag running, looking for a vehicle to stop when I came across a tag that had been suspended for about three months. Tags in my state are usually suspended when the vehicle has a lapse in insurance. I pulled the car over and noticed the driver was about 18 years and proudly flaunting that he had JUST come home from basic training. I normally give breaks on moving violations to teachers, military, medical personnel, etc. However for something like this (which is fixable and usually gets the fine dropped), I write the ticket. If the vehicle gets into an accident (when it really shouldn't have been on the roadway), I could be liable for not taking any action. I wrote the guy a ticket and when I went to the window he was incredibly upset I was writing him a ticket. I even broke it down to him and explained EXACTLY how to get the ticket thrown out and he still wasn't having any of it. I even told him what to do to avoid getting another one before his courtdate. Hopefully he listened to me.

I responded to an apartment complex on a call of shots fired and about 30 people gathered around in the back. I was ready for a large crowd as I expected this type of situation in the complex and I got there relatively really quick. However, when I got there, there was nothing going on anywhere. Not even a cat running around.

To close out the week, I had to go to an assisted living home where all the residents have these medical alarms in their room where they can call for help if they need it. They're constantly going off, even in unoccupied rooms (which is really creepy actually), We got two calls simultaneously and both were false alarms. At least the week ended on an easy note!