It was 1997. East Harris County. Around midnight.
I got dispatched to a family disturbance call. I was a field training officer but my rookie had called in sick. It was the weekend, and as always, we were short-handed.
Caller said the neighbors next door were using meth and fighting. And there was a lot of screaming coming out of the house. I got there in about 5 minutes.
I walked up to the door, stepped to the side, and listened quietly for a few seconds to see what I could hear. All I heard was a baby crying. I knocked but there was no answer.
Another deputy showed up and I directed him to the rear of the house to cover the back door. I tried the front door knob and it was unlocked. I pushed it open slightly and called out “Sheriff's Office, anybody home?”.
The cries of the baby got louder.
I drew my SIG P220 and my Streamlight and started clearing the wood-framed house. Room to room to room. Nobody was in the house except for a baby lying on the floor of the living room. I stepped over her, checking the back rooms.
The house reeked of animal pee and crap. There was rotten garbage in the kitchen and dirty dishes piled up in the sink. I went back and picked up the baby and immediately noticed that she was burning up with fever. I was thinking 104-105 degrees. She also had what appeared to be flea bites all over her body. No diaper. No blanket. She appeared to be about 6 to 8 months old.
I tried to comfort her by picking her up and patting her back. She went from crying to screaming and was inconsolable.
I looked in the fridge for a bottle or some milk but it was empty. I told the other deputy to call for an ambulance and to get dispatch to call CPS and get somebody en route to the scene.
You see a lot of things as an officer, but the calls that bother you the most always involve children. I was a father of young boys at the time and this one really hit hard.
I kept bouncing and patting her back but she screamed like she was in pain...or scared. I would be lying if I said I prayed for her. But I did cry for her.
All I could think about was finding the parents and beating them to a bloody pulp with my ASP baton.
It seemed like forever but it was probably only 15 to 20 minutes before the ambulance showed up. I handed the baby off to an EMT and told him that she had a high fever and was covered with insect bites. I also told him she was probably hungry since there was no baby food in the house.
They put her in the ambulance and a few minutes later drove off.
I stood in the driveway watching the lights fade away. I meant to follow up the next day and check on her, but there were another 20 calls to run the next night and not enough time to to see how the baby was doing.
More often than not when I hear a baby crying somewhere, I wonder what happened to baby Doe. She should be around 20 years old now. I hope she's doing well. The odds are against it but you never know.
Matthew 5:9
I got dispatched to a family disturbance call. I was a field training officer but my rookie had called in sick. It was the weekend, and as always, we were short-handed.
Caller said the neighbors next door were using meth and fighting. And there was a lot of screaming coming out of the house. I got there in about 5 minutes.
I walked up to the door, stepped to the side, and listened quietly for a few seconds to see what I could hear. All I heard was a baby crying. I knocked but there was no answer.
Another deputy showed up and I directed him to the rear of the house to cover the back door. I tried the front door knob and it was unlocked. I pushed it open slightly and called out “Sheriff's Office, anybody home?”.
The cries of the baby got louder.
I drew my SIG P220 and my Streamlight and started clearing the wood-framed house. Room to room to room. Nobody was in the house except for a baby lying on the floor of the living room. I stepped over her, checking the back rooms.
The house reeked of animal pee and crap. There was rotten garbage in the kitchen and dirty dishes piled up in the sink. I went back and picked up the baby and immediately noticed that she was burning up with fever. I was thinking 104-105 degrees. She also had what appeared to be flea bites all over her body. No diaper. No blanket. She appeared to be about 6 to 8 months old.
I tried to comfort her by picking her up and patting her back. She went from crying to screaming and was inconsolable.
I looked in the fridge for a bottle or some milk but it was empty. I told the other deputy to call for an ambulance and to get dispatch to call CPS and get somebody en route to the scene.
You see a lot of things as an officer, but the calls that bother you the most always involve children. I was a father of young boys at the time and this one really hit hard.
I kept bouncing and patting her back but she screamed like she was in pain...or scared. I would be lying if I said I prayed for her. But I did cry for her.
All I could think about was finding the parents and beating them to a bloody pulp with my ASP baton.
It seemed like forever but it was probably only 15 to 20 minutes before the ambulance showed up. I handed the baby off to an EMT and told him that she had a high fever and was covered with insect bites. I also told him she was probably hungry since there was no baby food in the house.
They put her in the ambulance and a few minutes later drove off.
I stood in the driveway watching the lights fade away. I meant to follow up the next day and check on her, but there were another 20 calls to run the next night and not enough time to to see how the baby was doing.
More often than not when I hear a baby crying somewhere, I wonder what happened to baby Doe. She should be around 20 years old now. I hope she's doing well. The odds are against it but you never know.
Matthew 5:9
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