Unarmed

Chapter 8

Lucas' POV

We have a 415 at 574 Catherine. Suspect is described as an African-American male, aged 40. Caller says the suspect is a drinker and has a history of domestic violence. Any officers available near Catherine and 7th, copy?

I'm cruising down 7th Avenue when the call comes in over my radio. A 415. Also known as a disturbance and from the description, this will probably be another domestic violence call.

10-4. I hear Deputy Kale respond over the radio. I'm just arriving. Stevenson, you in the area?

"Copy," I respond. "Coming up 7th."

Seconds later, I'm parking my cruiser behind Kale's. "Hey," I nod at him. We both walk towards the house to hear yelling. There's two voices going back and forth, one male and one female.

Kale takes out his baton and knocks on the door. A young boy opens the door and he's crying, hard. I kneel down to talk to him face to face.

"Hey little man. I need you to stay out here, okay? We're here to make sure you're safe."

He nods frantically and sits on the doorstep. Kale and I head inside and the first thing I notice is the heavy smell of marijuana. I look around the living room to see an overturned coffee table, piles of paper and several empty vodka bottles. There's also a pullout bed and used condoms.

Kale and I both rest our hands on our guns as we head towards the screaming.

"I told you not to be smoking my weed!" a man yells from the back room. "I will kill you!"

Kale tries to turn the doorknob to the bedroom but it's locked. I take step back as he kicks down the door. The man, who has his hands wrapped around the neck of the woman immediately freezes. He's holding a knife so Kale and I have no other choice but to pull out our guns.

"Sir," I say. "Put down the knife."

He immediately drops the knife and it falls to the floor.

"Now I'm going to need you to turn around, put your hands up and stand against the wall."

Thankfully, he does exactly as he's told and I handcuff him. I'm about to escort him out to my car when he starts screaming at the woman.

"See what you did hoe?! This is all your fault! Ain't nobody gonna love your ass except me and now you done ruined it!!"

I have to force him out of the house. As we step outside into the cold, night air, he starts screaming at the kid.

"That momma of yours? She's a hoe! A thief! You gone be just like her!"

I push the guy into the car then return to the kid. He's sobbing as I sit down on the step next to him. He looks to be about five, maybe six but he's carrying a blanket and sucking his thumb so it's hard to tell.

"Hey little man," I say. "Were you the one that called the cops?"

He nods.

"Well, you did a good job."

"Is my mommy okay?" he asks around his thumb.

"Yeah. She's fine. We can go see her in a moment but I have to ask you about what happened tonight first. Can you tell me what happened?"

He takes his thumb out of his mouth and balls up his hands. "Mommy was smoking in the kitchen and Darell came out of the bathroom and he saw her and he asked her why she was smoking and she said he was stressed and then he said that the smoke belonged to him and he got mad that Mommy was smoking it and he started hitting her. That's when I called the police and the lady said I should stay away so I stayed in the living room and they were in the kitchen. But then Darell got a knife and said to Mommy to go to the bedroom and he locked the door. I tried to go in but I couldn't and that's when the cops came and helped."

I nod. "Thank you." I scribble some notes onto my notepad then turn my attention back to the kid. "And what's your name?"

"Cameron." His thumb goes back in his mouth.

"Okay Cameron," I stand up then reach for his hand. "Let's go inside and talk to your mom." Cameron graciously takes my hand and follows me back inside the house.

Kale and the woman are standing in the living room. The lady is crying her eyes out. I look at Kale and he gives me the sad look I've become accustomed to whenever there's a kid involved in a domestic violence call: Child Protective Services is coming.

"Cameron, come here," the woman calls to the child. He lets go of my hand and holds onto his mom. "I can't lose my baby," she says.

"I understand that you're upset Ms. Smith," Officer Kale says, "but this is a legal process that you cannot stop. CPS officers are here and will look after Cameron until you can prove that you can provide him with a safe and stable environment."

As if on cue, two CPS caseworkers walk in. I recognize the redheaded woman as Kate Leary. I took a sociology class with her while I was in the academy. The plump guy standing next to her I don't recognize.

"I'm Officer Leary," she says to Cameron's mother. "And this is my partner, Mr. Brown. We will be taking Cameron to a foster home until your home is proven safe." She hands Cameron's mother a thick envelope then bends down to Cameron's height. He immediately hides behind his mom.

"I don't want to go anywhere," he whimpers. "I want to stay with Mommy."

"I know sweetheart," Kate says. "But we need to keep you safe and right now, you're not safe. You'll be back with your mommy soon. I promise."

Cameron's mom grabs him and we instantly know it's going to be fight. Kale and I detain the woman as Kate and the man with her grab Cameron. There's crying from both Cameron and his mom but Kate and her colleague carry Cameron out to there car. His mother sinks to the ground as Kale and I get ready to leave.

"If you would like to file a report against Darell," I say, "you must come to the station within in 24 hours. As for getting your son back, once you clean up your home, contact the local CPS office and they will send someone to assess your home and assess you. Once everything passes, you'll have Cameron back. Any questions?"

She doesn't respond so Kale and I leave her alone. As we're walking outside, I look to my cruiser to see Darell banging his head around inside.

"Why is it always the black ones?" I ask.

Kale chuckles. "Don't ask me."