Police Presence a Gift

On the week-end, our family was at Birds Hill, enjoying the outdoors and the companionship of friends--even got to sing around the campfire.  We returned to Winnipeg just as it was getting dark, all tired and happy.  As we approached our street, a police cruiser, which had been blocking entrance moved, so we were relieved to be able to turn in.  What we saw after was unlike anything we’d ever seen.  For blocks around, cars with flashing lights blocked off every street and back alley, and an officer, hand on holster, stood at every corner.  We were unable to go home, as a police dog was still tracking in our back alley.  A manhunt like no other was underway.

At first we thought we’d just wait around until we got the signal, but it was too disconcerting to be parked in the middle of whirling lights and police at-the-ready.  So we drove north past at least eight cars.  It was incredible.  Finally, we drove far enough out of the action and ended up buying frozen treats for the kids at Safeway to lift their spirits and distract them a little.

What do you say to your kids when their home seems to be in the middle of a danger zone and the police have come out in full force to catch a “bad guy” who’s somewhere in your neighbourhood?  We tried to focus on the positive:  how thankful we are that so many police officers came to help, and how wonderful that all those officers want to protect us and our community.  It worked—somewhat.

Our alley was still blocked off when we returned.  We decided to park out front and asked if we could use our front door.  After an officer shone his flashlight in our yard and the neighbour’s, he motioned for us to enter.  I accompanied the kids upstairs to get their pajamas on and my husband stayed to talk to the officer.  After learning more, he encouraged us to have our ice cream treats upstairs.  The kids watched as two officers and the police dog searched our yard and the neighbours’.  A ghost car was still out front when we went to bed.

In the morning, everything was bright and sunny, and we hurried off to Birds Hill for a church service at the beach.  We stayed there until afternoon and got sunburns.  I still haven’t heard if the police “got their man”, who apparently was involved in a car theft with another person who was arrested earlier that night.  Other than a conversation with a neighbour to hear her experience that night, life is back to normal and until writing this, I’ve hardly even thought about it.

It was quite a sight to see those red-and-blue lights blanketing our community block after block.  Even though the need for such a police presence was anxiety-producing, I was proud of our city’s police force and comforted by the effort they made to keep our neighbourhood safe.