Carrie Petersen

I’ve seen the police in my neighborhood a few times this past week. It’s nice to know someone’s responding to problems. Then again, it’s not so great knowing there are problems to respond to.

When I opened my door yesterday, I saw a patrol car parked in front of my home. Hmmm. Whatever they were doing, it certainly wasn’t covert.

I was off the clock. My pen and paper were stashed away for the day but I still wanted to know what they were up to. I walked to the patrol car, lowered my head to the window and said, “hi.” I think the officer was somewhat surprised to see me. And I have the feeling that most police would rather do their job somewhere other than outside a reporter’s home. I don’t blame them.

I asked the officer was he was doing. He said something about watching for someone and a suspicious circumstance case. I’m a little fuzzy on the details. Since I was in a hurry and didn’t hear the words homicide, robbery or kidnapping, I didn’t listen all that closely (like I said, I was off the clock).

I might be more curious than the average person and that might explain why I have the job I do, but if the police are nearby, I want to know what they’re doing, even when I’m not working. If I come home late and see flashing lights, I want to know that they aren’t scouring the area for a murder suspect (because I’m not going to sleep if they are). It amazes me the number of people – those without warrants – who see police nearby and never ask what’s going on.

So you tell me. Do you ask the police what all the commotion is about or do you just keep walking?

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