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Ding dong. Ding dong. Ding dong.
Was that a doorbell I hear or am I asleep and dreaming. Ding dong.
Sure sounds like my doorbell, though I don’t know who in the world is ringing it at 12:30 am on a weekday evening.
Having gone to bed later than usual after helping my son with some homework, I wasn’t anxious to jump out of bed now that I was cozily settled in. But perhaps one of my children had slipped out and was locked out. Or a neighbor had an emergency need. As I gathered my clothes the ringing continued. My this must be important I thought….they are relentless.
As I headed down the stairs a beam from a very large flashlight criss cross the wall in front of me. My first thought was is this the police? Uh oh, I worried . . . something isn’t right.
I carefully proceeded down the stairs to the front door where the light continued to stream through the side window. I could see through the glass what I thought was a uniformed police officer. But it was after midnight and I had no assurances this wasn’t the going to be the start of a home invasion.
Bravely I approached the door and looked out the window. The man on the other side looked at me and said, “police, please open the door.” I still hesitated. He looked the part, but I didn’t want to expose my family to potential harm. I looked beyond him to see the headlights of a car and as I quickly scanned the vehicle confirmed it was indeed the local police.
So, I cautiously opened the door about a foot, looked the office in the eye and said, “what?” His response to me both shocked me and calmed me down all at once for never before had I encountered attention for something like this. At least I knew my kids were safe and this wasn’t about them.
“Sir,” he said. “Did you mean to leave your garage door open?”
Huh? I thought. Was something stolen? Had they caught someone driving one of my cars? Was something leaking out? “No officer,” I replied groggily. “I don’t usually leave it open.” He replied like a food server annoyed with having to deliver a recooked steak. “Well, it’s not safe to leave it open over night.”
“My cat probably trip the emergency trigger when we shut it before going to bed,” I replied just as joyfully. “You should close it,” he said, and abruptly turned and walked away. “Good night and thank you,” I said as I shut the door.
On my best days I try to learn from every experience. In this case I chose to give him the benefit of the doubt. His intention was to project me and my belongings in spite of what I perceived as annoyance. Working the late shift and having to stand on a strangers doorstep at 12:30 am repeatedly ringing their doorbell can’t be what he thought he was signing up for when he joined on the force. There must be more stimulating activities to pursue.
So as I headed back up the stairs to bed, I chose to be grateful instead of being bothered by his less than friendly attitude.
The entire experience caused me to again evaluate how I think about law enforcement. Through my involvement in local business organizations, I know a few of the local officers and they seem like pretty good people. But, on the one hand having grown up in a community where crime is relatively low and the local police blogs are more humorous than scary, my inclination is to be annoyed when I get pulled over because I forgot to put my new tags on my license plate (that’s another story).
Sometimes it seems like there are too many police cars looking for someone to bust vs. reacting to real criminal issues. On the other hand, perhaps it is their very visible presence that allows our community to be so safe.
Candidly, I’ve never understood the attraction to law enforcement. Some who choose this path seem to embrace the power that comes with wearing a badge. But they aren’t all this way I have learned, so I am grateful that there are those who choose this profession because they want to serve others.
After my latest police protection experience, my inclination is to remain grateful for the support of law enforcers. But I am sure to be more careful about complying with the law and being more diligent about protecting myself. After all, it was just three months ago in this community that someone tried to a home invasion kidnapping of a prominent business owner. Which ironically is what created caution when opening the door late at night for this police officer.
Choiceology Blog 