PUBLISHED SHORT STORY in True Blue To Protect and To Serve

Deadly Force

Quite frankly, the shot surprised me.  The combination of seeing the muzzle flash, hearing the loud report, and feeling the incredible impact in my chest, caused me to momentarily lose my bearings.  I slumped against the wall and lowered myself to the floor, needing to reassess my situation.  A few seconds later came the second shot…

I was a young Chicago cop, five years on the job, and working the 6pm - 2am power shift on a warm summer night in the Englewood District, one of the highest crime areas on the South Side.  I loved the work; my partner and I responded to high risk felony calls—man with a gun, robbery in progress, etc.  In between calls we made street stops on suspected stolen vehicles, lined up gang members searching for guns and drugs—you know the routine.  It was expected that each team make two or three felony arrests per shift.  We were the Area 2 SOG (Special Operations Unit), and we were routinely deployed in areas experiencing high crime, particularly involving guns and violence.

The night of Friday the 13^th, we had a traffic stop going when the call blared over the radio:  “Robbery in progress, 63^rd & Ashland, Church’s Fried Chicken.”  We looked at each other, recognizing that the location was only a few blocks away and said, “Let’s go!”  That night my regular partner had taken time off, and I was paired with another cop from my unit whose partner was also off.  I had a hunch that this would be a bonafide robbery.  I knew that at this time of night the store was closing; the bad guys would be looking to snatch the day’s receipts.