The lights of the bustling downtown area streamed by as the black and white police cruiser strolled by. Sergeant Smith, a strong, diligent, and honest man on the force for 20+ years observed the streets of his district in search for any disturbances. Young couples, singles, and cliques leisurely ambled themselves along the pavement. It appeared this shift would be a slow one, occasionally fellow comrades would call in on the radio, which would peak Sergeant Smith’s attention at first, only to alert the men on the other end that they’re issuing a ticket for speeding, or running a red light.
Nothing of true interest to anyone, until suddenly a Signal 36 was issued, or an armed robbery. Sergeant Smith snapped his hand towards his radio and called in, being only a few blocks away from the scene. The sirens blared as the red and blue strobe lights lit up the surrounding areas. The Sergeant realized he was very close to the scene, for the earsplitting sirens couldn’t even drown out the deafening screams of the terrified civilians. As the cruiser came to screeching halt, mobs of people ran by the Sergeant. As he lunged out of his vehicle, Sergeant Smith spotted the source of all the commotion. A toned, mid-twenties African-American man came busting out of the public restroom of the popular sports club.
Normally Sergeant Smith would be able to handle this kind of thing real simply, by using his favorite non-lethal but effective weapon. The taser. Though in this circumstance, what was unexpected and highly unwanted was that the criminal had a hostage. The rules of this situation had suddenly changed, as the even younger, blonde, attractive female in skimpy clothes yelled Bloody Mary. Sergeant Smith immediately flicked out his standard issued pistol, as he cautiously moved in on the suspect. As the hostage holder threatened the young lady’s life every second with his small caliber pistol held to her head, the Sergeant repeatedly ordered the girl to duck down, only to be drowned out by her own screams. After several direct orders to the woman, she finally received the message and dropped her head. Several thoughts raced through the officer’s mind as he pulled the trigger, “Will I miss?”, “Am I justified?”, “How much time off will I be forced to take?”, “There’s so much paperwork for just firing my weapon, how much will I have for neutralizing someone?”. Then he noticed the woman’s look of terror and she attempted to get out of the line of sight, and thought “it’s worth the consequences.” The bullet blazed through the barrel, several yards away, to the target, and right between the eyes. Not even a centimeter off, as it struck the tip of the spinal cord, the hostage taker fell to the rough pavement below.
Several months later, all the talk at the office still hasn’t died down of Sergeant Smith taking out the criminal. Of course, many anti-police and anti-white protestors claimed it was a racial act and shooting the African-American wasn’t necessary. Though what’s done is done, and for his actions, the Sergeant was greeted by John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted in Washington D.C. and awarded the “Top Cops” award for acts of heroism. Several people claim Sergeant Smith doesn’t deserve the award, for police should save lives not end them, then again several people, such as the hostage’s family, praise Sergeant Smith for being that hero. Though as Sergeant Smith put it, he was just at the right place at the right time, and any other Police Officer would have done the same thing.