As soon as the burglary call had hit the radio, Amanda had turned her black and white to head toward the foothills. The problem was, she was at the south end of the division and the action was to the north.
Driving boldly, she listened as the pursuit began, and cringed when she heard the suspects had crashed into another vehicle. Those situations almost always resulted in the officers and the department being sued.
She arrived at the termination of the pursuit to see the new rookie Price, conducting a pat-down search of one of the suspects, then placing him into the back of a patrol car.
The suspect’s silver Honda was halfway up the curb on the opposite side of the street, and a white SUV had major damage on the front of the vehicle and the driver’s door.
17A27, Hopkins and Lolo Paloma were trying to get information from the driver of the SUV while paramedics prepared the middle-aged man for transport.
She caught Hopkin’s eye and motioned for him to come to her.
“How bad are his injuries?”
“All complained of…mostly his arms and hands. I don’t think it’s too bad. I assume they’re transporting more for CYA rather than need.”
She nodded, understanding that everyone, including paramedics, utilized ‘cover your ass’ these days trying to ward off possible lawsuits.
“Okay. You guys do a follow-up to the hospital and get this guy’s statement. I’m going to check on Bender and Price.”
“Roger that, Sarge.”
Hopkins strolled back to where the paramedics were loading the injured man into the ambulance.
She turned her attention to the primary unit in the pursuit.
Bender glanced at her but kept his focus on Price and the suspect.
Amanda approached but kept her distance to observe the probationary officer.
Once the suspect was belted into the back seat of their patrol car, Bender came up to her.
“How’s the driver of the SUV?”
“Complained of injuries to his arms and hands.”
He eyed the vehicle. “Could have been a hell-of-a-lot worse.”
“You got that right,” she said.
“How did Price do during the pursuit?”
“Pretty good. She spotted the gun toss and told me immediately.”
“Did she have any problems with the suspect?”
He shook his head. “I was close by. No point in trying to test the P-1, cause I’d already rung his bell when I tackled him to get him to stop running.” He shrugged. “I’m willing to bet this asshole is a frequent flier—he’s got a number of prison tattoos. He knows we have him locked in on the evading, and we should know soon if a 459 actually occurred up on Shearling. McKenzie and 17A1 are up there talking to the PR now.”
“Okay. I’m going to head for the station. Get ahold of me if you need anything.”
As she returned to her car, she knew she should be glad that the new P-1, Price, seemed to have her act together…but for some reason, it irritated her to no end.