COPS

Have you ever seen a live drug bust?  After last night, I can say that I have.  And not just those times when you see a bunch of cop cars with handcuffed guys sitting on the hood of the cars.  I'm talking about THE WHOLE SHEBANG! 

Here's the story.

I was driving home from my evening CNA class in Murray.  It was about 10:15pm.  I typically choose not to fill up my car this late at night, but I knew I didn't want to think about it in the morning when I would be hurrying to work.  So, I stopped at 7-11 on 4800 S. State Street (not the smartest/safest thing this late, I know).  There were a couple other cars at pumps so I had to pull around a car to get to the available front pump.  I'm now sitting halfway in my car, with the driver door wide open and my legs out the side while waiting for the pump to finish.  I see a K-9 Cop truck zoom up to the opposite side of my pump.  The driver flew in and parked so quickly I wondered what was going on.  I'd seen this truck a couple times already... I was behind it on State Street before I turned into the gas station and then I'd seen it pull through the station once already.  What was going on?

As I turned to look behind me, I realized there were already 10 cop cars parked with their flashing lights brightening the station!  I counted them, so this is an honest number.
There were probably 6-7 men and women standing around two cars with their hands in the air.  I have a clear view of several cops with their guns out, aimed at these alleged criminals.  After only a split second, the K9 cop was out of his truck with his police dog and passing between MY pump and the pole next to it.  This guy was literally next to my car!!! I could hear the cop say to his dog, "Watch him...watch him.  Keep you eyes on the guy in the black."  That dog was ready to pounce at the earliest command!  His back legs were straight, his head up watching the guy in the black for any quick movement, ready to just go!

Are you kidding me?  I am seriously seeing this go down? Yep.

I probably have the only citizen view possible during this showdown.  The station parking lot is a pretty small one and the 10 Cop vehicles have filled almost all available asphalt, with the exception of my car.  In fact, I had helped block in the two drug cars.  Go me!

Then I heard the mega phone. "Red shirt, down on your knees.  Crawl this way."  I watch the guy in the red shirt crawl to the opposite side of his pump where he was handcuffed and pulled back up to his feet.  The mega phone again, "Step out of the car with your hands in the air."  Oh my gosh, this is just like the show COPS!  The car door opened and I see two hands peek out above the frame.

Its probably only been 1-2 minutes at the most.  So much has happened and so many thoughts have run through my head in such a quick time.  Should I take a picture with my phone?  Would there be legal reprocusions if I did? ... What if gunfire starts and I'm sitting here halfway out of my car?  What if my car gets hit and the pump is still in the side of it? ... These 'criminals' are staring at me ...  Man, where did all these cops come from? ... Should I just leave?

Final thought.  I should leave.  I get out of my car (yet another dumb idea) to put the pump back on the handle and get my receipt.  I get back in my car, turn it on and pull away.  As I drove away, I realized just how dumb I was.  Who in their right mind gets OUT of their car when guns are pointed at people?  That was stupid.  But its what I did. 

I have no idea how many arrest were made last night, or where all those cops had stashed themselves or how they simultaneously appeared out of what seemed like thin air.  I figure they had been tipped off and were waiting in alleys, on the side of State, in the parking lot behind the gas station that services Desert Star Play house.  They could have been anywhere just waiting for the deal to go down so they could attack!

I felt like I was smack dab in the middle of a COPS episode.  Everything in that show is apparently real.  The phrases they use, their tactics, their precautions.  It was freaking awesome!  Overall, I'm just glad I made it home safe and have a rad story to tell. 

Hope your week has been just as exciting! :)
xoxo, Rachel