How my lunchtime decided to look like an episode of "COPS"

[matrixrefugee]

Had a much-needed day off (the calm before the storm that starts tomorrow), so I took care of a few errands, specifically some bank stuff and getting vitamins at Wal-Mart.

On my way back, I had lunch at the Dunkin Donuts here in town. And as I walked in, this teenaged couple at a table in the back were arguing noisily. I wasn't sure, but I heard a sound like someone's face getting slapped. One of the clerks behind the counter went for the phone, and within the time it took for my order to arrive, a police car and a plain wrapper (unmarked vehicle with a dome light in the back window) pull up, followed by a third police car, all with their lights going like mad (it's a small, quiet town: anything that happens usually winds up looking like the Crime of the Century for the sheer amount of police cars that show up). First a plain clothes cop steps in and assesses the situation, asking a few questions of two girls who'd seen everything that went on. Then the two uniformed cops come in, one a younger guy with a crew cut, the other an older fellow with a white mustache.

Mustached cop: (To the punk who slapped his girl) "Hey, what are you doing? We got a call that you slapped this young lady."

Punk kid: "I ain't doin' nothin', [expletive]."

Mustached cop: "Oh yeah? Does that make you feel like a big man when you slap your lady, you piece of [deleted]? Does that make you feel like a *man*?"

Punk kid: :: Lunges at the cop's throat::

Mustached cop: :: Pins him to the wall::

Punk kid: :: Tries to grapple the cop::

Crewcut cop: :: Grabs the punk kid by the arm with one hand, has handcuffs in the other::

Punk kid: :: Still tries to grapple, now tries dodging to the side and slams into a small table::

Table tips over with a loud clang, cops shove the kid's skinny toushe down onto one of the chairs.

Crewcut cop: :: Succeeds in somehow cuffing the punk kid, whom he and the mustached cop drag out the door::

Somewhere in this mess, two more cops came in to assess the situation and run interviews with witnesses. Somehow they didn't notice me, not that I could have given them anything useful other than hearing the argument. The punk kid got stuffed into the back of one of the police cars; at some point, the mustached cop came back in and had a talk with the girl, whom we'll call Bella for reasons that will become clear.

"Bella": "He never did anything like this before. I mean, he gets tough with people, but he's just trying to protect me."

Mustached cop: "You're lucky all he did was slap you, he could have sent you to the hospital with broken bones or a concussion. You're young, you have your whole life ahead of you."

"Bella": "But I love him. I've been with him for three years."

Mustached cop: "But does he really love you back if he slaps you in front of all these people? You need to respect yourself more and you need to find someone who will respect you back."

Needless to say... this incident snapped me out of the funk I'd gotten myself into: I might feel like a failure, but at least I respect myself...

Comments

[koemiko.livejournal.com]

That's good. Some of these abused people (not just women, but men and children) just won't listen.

I too hope she listens.