As members of the law enforcement community we have a very unique perspective on what it means to be part of a team. In baseball, "having each others backs" means pushing and shoving in the midst of a pile of people after a batter is intentionally hit by a pitch; no one willing to throw a punch, but everyone eager to look like they are playing the part. In police work, we literally have each others backs in life and death encounters where the stakes are at their highest. Few other professions experience the kind of bond officers have for one another as a result of knowing we can count on each other in the darkest moments.
This story is not one of bravery or heroism where a fellow officer pulled me from the line of fire or wrestled a gun away from a suspect just before he was about to shoot me. But it nevertheless epitomizes the bond of brotherhood that I share with my fellow officers. As a homicide investigator in a jursidiction that has about 20 murders per year, a great deal of my time is spent investigating unattended deaths (DOA's), to make sure they are not homicides. Often, the challenge in these cases is not so much conducting a complex investigation, as it is dealing with the conditions in which the body is found.
Recently, I was the only investigator in the office when I received a call from a patrol officer on the scene of a DOA requesting me to respond. "You are not going to believe the condition of this place," I was warned by the officer. "We have been airing it out since we got here but it hasn't even made a difference." More specific, I was informed that the body was in advanced stages of decomposition and that the deceased had numerous pets in the home including three cats, two birds and a dog, which was found dead next to the dead man. Apparently, the animals had free reign of the house with no efforts made to clean up after them, no litter boxes for the cats, and the dog was seemingly rarely taken outside. Feces covered the floors of every room in the house. The smell was indescribable. Needless to say, this is not the call you go to work everyday hoping to get.
As I hung up the phone and prepared to respond to the scene, my Sergeant asked what the call was about. I described in detail what I had been told over the phone and without any hesitation, he said, "I will go with you." This is a case that we could typically handle alone and I had no expectation of any of my shift mates going with me, especially considering the circumstances. Yet, the Sarge insisted, "I'll come along, you don't have to handle that alone." We responded to the scene and he was right there next to me, every squalid step of the way. I know that had my shift mates not been tied up with other things and were present when I took that call each of them would have had the same response as Sarge. Partly because we each share the bond found only on the team we play for. Partly because we have a Sargeant that leads by example. I challenge each of you to ask yourself if you are the kind of teammate that would say, "I will go with you." I am very proud to be part of this team!
