I thought a serial killer was being apprehended in my usually quiet neighborhood late on Saturday morning. There were helicopters swooping up and down the block, and about a dozen police cars on the street.
It seems that a man was trying to break into a house that is for sale, but that happens to still be owned by a member of the local police force. The neighbors spotted him as he tried to wriggle his way into a basement window.
Dan went out to see what was happening. His chat with the neighbors went something like this:
Dan: So what happened?
Neighbor #1: Someone was trying to break into that house, which is owned by a police officer.
Dan: In the middle of the day?
Neighbor #2: That’s when break-ins happen. They do it during the day, when no one is home.
Neighbor #1: Uh, people are usually home on Saturday.
The men laughed. Then a police officer drove his cruiser the wrong way down our one way street, and several of his colleagues laughed and jeered.
What a jovial crime scene!
When I was just a baby bird of a reporter, I used to dig through high stacks of downtown police reports for a local rag in order to write a column about dumb and bizarre crimes on these fair streets of Columbus.
Ah, Naked City, you’ve returned to me.
I used to live downtown–Olde Towne East. I do not miss those helicopter search lights at 2am or the gunfire or the drug deals on the corner in front of my house or knowing the police dispatch number from memory or…..
Ah–fresh air!
Kinda scary – but then humans are the most adaptable animal there is. Best of luck.
Ed – Oh yeah! I was accustomed to the helicopters when I lived in the campus area, and the drunk football fans. Things out here are usually a bit more neighborhood-ish and mellow, so the crime sweep was a bit of a surprise.