FUGITIVE

CHAPTER 18

Day 2

08:57 am

"Good morning, recruits. I hope you're all well rested after an excruciatingly long day yesterday. Today is going to be a physically easy day, but mentally, you're going to be pushed and tested. Being a police officer does not always mean you have to assert force. Some situations call for empathy, understanding and the ability to effectively communicate with the public."

"Today you will be, what we call here Victim Advocates. You will be given 4 scenes. Each of you will be tested and graded, based on your ability to handle, contain and diffuse them if necessary."

As Lieutenant Alexander explains our task for the day, I fiddle with my fingers. How can I be expected to comfort another's pain, when I am a broken vase myself?

Is lightly nudges my elbow. "What are you thinking about?", she whispers. "Your eyebrows are furrowed and you do that only when you are worried."

"Nothing", I tell her as I shake my head and lay my clammy palms flat on my thigh. "I'm fine."

~

We're each handed a paper with the scenarios written on it. 1 out of the 4, is just written work. We must read it, plan our course of action and write how we plan on handling the situation. 3 scenarios, on the other hand must be played out like a simulation. There are 6 rooms, each holding one victim. You choose your room, comfort the victim and diffuse the situation.

As I read my paper, my eyes nearly fall out of my socket. Some of these scenes are the most horrific instances of the world being devoid of humanity.

Lieutenant Alexander clears his throat, pulling me away from my thoughts. "The cases that are acted out, contain dialogues and conversations from the original transcript. Meaning whatever you experience in there is what happened in real life. Remember, when you are an officer of the law, you must be able to convince the victim, that you are completely trustworthy and have nothing but their best interests at heart. They must be able to trust you, believe you and be able to tell you nothing but the truth. Ask the right questions. Good luck, recruits."

Clearing my head and pushing all thoughts away, I fix my focus on the first case and rest my pen on my chin.

Case scenario 1:

You have received a call regarding a house robbery. Upon reaching the scene, you see the victim, an elderly lady roughly 60 years of age, with a look of pain and distraught on her face. During questioning, she rests her head on your shoulder and confides to you that the thief was a drug dealer who stole from her because he didn't receive payment for the latest batch of drugs, that her son bought. She begs you not to tell the other officers about the drugs or the dealer, fearing her son's life. How would you handle this situation?

I would first assure her that her cooperation with us would only help her case and not endanger her son. In the light of events, I would give her some time to calm down, before going into further questioning. With her age and vulnerability in mind, I would make sure not to cause her any more distress. I would confide in my superior the sensitivity of the case and follow further orders.

Case scenario 2: (simulation)

There has been a recent attack in one of the neighbourhoods which is covered by your station. Among the victims is an 8-year old boy, who was held hostage by the attacker in exchange for certain demands. The boy is quite shaken up when you reach the scene, but you must question him as he is only one who saw the attacker before he put on his mask. How will you handle it?

Case scenario 3: (simulation)

You have received a complaint pertaining to domestic violence and abuse. The victim is a 28-year old, newly married woman. Prior to questioning, she had been examined by the medical officers on the case and reports show that the victim's body was cleansed to remove any traces of bodily fluids or DNA. How would you question the victim without inflicting further trauma but gather enough evidence at the same time?

Case scenario 4: (simulation)

There has been a murder on 44th street and the only witness is a 35-year old male, a friend of the victim. At the time of the murder, the witness was bound and gagged and forced to watch his friend being stabbed to death. In order to catch the killer, you must be able to go beyond the trauma and gather information about the killer from the witness. How would you go about questioning the witness without overwhelming him?

As I finish reading the cases, all the hairs on the back of my neck are standing. It is truly horrifying to even imagine going through any one of these scenarios. As I prepare my mind to tackle the three simulated cases, I walk over to choose my room. I first choose the 3rd case and as I walk into the room, I'm shocked to see the scene of the crime.

I find the lady playing the victim, sitting on a couch near a window, her hair dishevelled, makeup running down her face, her eyes puffy from crying and  bruises all over the exposed part of her body.

As soon as I enter the room, she starts crying and for a minute I forget that I'm in a simulation. As I walk over to her, I rest my hand on her shoulder and she flinches in fear. I look into her eyes and see the fear swirling in it. I feel my eyes tear up and quickly evert my eyes to prevent her from seeing me cry.

I clear my throat as sit facing her, but with no contact. Before I can begin to ask her any questions, she lifts her eyes up at me with a questioning look. I motion towards her hands and ask her if I can hold it. She softly nods her head and I place my hands over her own.

"Hello. I'm officer Marie. I've been assigned to your case. I know it must be difficult for you to talk to me about this, so take your time, but whatever you can tell me would be really helpful."

She takes a deep breath before she opens her mouth to speak. "It started a week after the wedding. We knew each other for 2 years before we got married and in all that time, he never even raised his voice against me. He was a perfect gentleman."

She smiles as if remembering a fond memory. "I fell in love with him and when he proposed 2 years later, I instinctively said yes. A week after the wedding, he came home drunk and started yelling at me and smashing things around. Eventually he became so mad, he threw a vase at me and it ripped my forehead open."

There's a brief pause as she picks at her nails. "Every time, I told myself that this wasn't him and it was just the stress of the job. But only when he started forcing himself on me when I wasn't interested in having sex, I realized that no matter how much I tried convincing myself, he was a monster who enjoyed abusing me. When I tried calling the cops one time, he threatened me and told me he'd kill me if anyone ever found out."

She wipes a stray tear off her cheek. "After a year, I confided in my sister-in-law who told me that it was probably my fault and that her brother was the best man she'd ever known. After coming to the painful realization that nobody would believe me, I decided to call the cops when my husband went out of town on business. Two days back, I called the local police station, but the officer on duty was a friend of my husband's and he wouldn't register my case. That is when I reached out to you. Please help me."

Her voice breaks as tears escape her eyes. As she tells me more, sobbing in the pain and memory of her trauma, her hold on me tightens. I write it all down and when she finishes her story, I look up at her.

"We are looking for your husband right now. He couldn't have gone far. If you have any other information about your husband that might be useful to us, you can tell me."

She looks around at the other officers before moving closer to me. "He writes. He has a journal and he writes. I don't know what he writes in it, but it might be of some use to you."

I nod my head and before I leave, I squeeze her hand. "This is your chance. Leave this place and don't look back. Your past does not define you, remember that."