I Investigate Disturbing Cases: Here Are My Stories - Watchers

When people think of police officers, I think there's a disconnect between our image and the reality of who we are. A lot of people see us as the good guys. Real-life superheroes that jump in at the last moment with shining golden badges ready to stop the "bad guys" from having their way.

But that's not the reality. We don't have superpowers. We aren't capable of seeing all the crime in a given area. And we certainly don't have the ability to respond to everything as fast as we'd like. At the end of the day, we're simply human beings reading and reacting to situations the law says we have to get involved in. When you dig a little deeper, you see the ugliness. The racism, the abuse of power, the violence. Many people see these aspects every day. Others are none the wiser.

What does this mean? That we're monsters disguised as the good guys? To some people? Yeah. And maybe that's fair. To me, I think it means something different. In my view, it means we're a reflection of the good and the bad of society. And much like society at large, we're complicated and nuanced. We can either be what you want to see or what your sight is limited to. As a cop, you struggle with that. Because at the end of the day, you never know if which way someone sees you is the truth.

It was early into my shift when the Chief called me into his office. He was casually working on some documents and chewing away at a toothpick.

I sat quietly for a solid thirty seconds while he scribbled down some notes before finally shoving the papers to the side and giving me a questionable look. "Smith..." He boomed in his usual commanding voice. "I wanted to get your advice on a situation."

"Of course," I replied. "So long as it's not relationship advice because I will definitely lead you down a path to divorce in like... Two months."

I caught the slightest glimpse of a smile before he began to recount the earlier events of the day. "A single mother, Ms. Wilson, I believe the name was. She came in here yesterday begging to talk to one of our higher-ranking officers. I was down in admin to grab some of this paperwork, so I was within earshot of her request. I go over, introduce myself as the Chief, and we get to talking. She tells me that she needs police protection ASAP and wanted to make a direct plea to someone with authority to make that happen."

"Police protection?" I pondered out loud. "This must be something serious."

"That's what I assumed too." He agreed. "But, Ms. Wilson starts spinning this tale about how her little boy is seeing a man outside his window staring at him damn near every night. And that no matter what he does, the man won't go away. Of course, being a good mother, she always goes to check in on him. But every time, there's no one there. The fear in her boy's eyes is real, though. The look in his eyes says he's seen something terrifying, and she believes her kid. To fix the situation, she wants us to keep a guy outside watching her place until we catch the bastard. So, what do you think our move should be?"

I scrunched my face into a look of confusion. "I uh... Don't understand. I mean, do you really need my opinion on this? Seems pretty straightforward, doesn't it? I get that her fear of this mystery man is real, but we can't just loan out officers as bodyguards on request. I'd love for us to help, but if she doesn't have any proof this guy exists, there isn't much we can do, right? I'd suggest that she set up security cameras. Maybe even invest in a gun. If she catches this guy on video, we can do a proper investigation and hopefully find him."

The Chief chuckled, which threw me off because the guy maintains a serious demeanor 99% of the time. "I like the way you think, Detective Smith. Straightforward and logical in every situation. It's a trait that'll either save your life or get you killed. One way or the other, it's gonna make all the difference in your life. But... You're missing something big..."