018 The first arrest

"Noah, are you sure what you just said is the correct procedure? Shouldn't first aid take priority? Saving lives is the most urgent matter to attend to,"

"Jimmy, I know you're a good person, compassionate, and caring about others, but as police officers, we must first protect ourselves and eliminate all risks before rescuing others. Police don't have a duty to protect specific individuals; our duty is to ensure public safety."

The impact of Noah's words on Jimmy was significant. The standard domestic procedure prioritizes the rescue and evacuation of victims, placing the safety of people's lives and property first. Yet in the United States, it became police safety first, and police didn't have a duty to protect individuals???

Jimmy drove thinking, his speed a crawl. Noah didn't urge him to go faster either. After several months of working with Jimmy, he understood his partner's nature. This entirely professional, procedural approach indeed took some time to get used to. Jimmy had not undergone extensive police academy training and had to be taught bit by bit while handling cases.

"Adam47: robbery at the intersection of West 12th Street and South College Avenue. Pedestrians report a black male has robbed a female and is headed west on West 12th Street."

"Adam47 received."

Jimmy turned on the siren and lights and accelerated towards West 12th Street. Upon arrival, he started looking out for pedestrians and then spotted a commotion up ahead. Jimmy drove the patrol car into the crowd, got out and shut the door, pulled out his baton, and shouted for people to clear the way. He spotted a black man turning the corner at the intersection, running down Cleveland Street, while a woman yelled "help!"

He called Noah on the radio, telling him to take the car ahead to Cleveland Street, then put away his baton and started running after the suspect.

Jimmy was in good physical shape, and though laden with equipment, his speed didn't drop much over a short distance. He trailed the suspect by dozens of meters, shouting "Plaskey County Police, stop," as he ran. Of course, shouting did nothing; it was mainly to complete the process, then he kept up the chase.

After running about a block, Academy Park lay ahead. Jimmy picked up the pace. If the suspect went into the park, the foliage and trees would severely limit visibility and potentially enable the suspect's escape. This was essentially Jimmy's first solo case. As for Noah, he had already replied over the radio that he wouldn't get involved in the capture unless there was no danger and would just follow in the car.

"Plaskey County Police, move aside."

Rushing past pedestrians on the side of the road, Jimmy followed the suspect into the park, only to despair at the sight of the numerous trees and winding walking paths interspersed with several lawns. In such an environment, the suspect would likely get away unless caught quickly—even before reaching the woods.

Jimmy continued the pursuit, closing the distance from dozens of meters to about 30 or 40 meters. The suspect, clear on the destination, headed straight for the woods, blasting through the flowerbeds on either side of the path. Jimmy followed closely, stepping over the flowers as well.

Upon nearing the woods, a stroke of luck occurred. The suspect tripped over a groundsheet left out by campers and tumbled onto the grass. Before he could get up, Jimmy arrived from behind, pounced, and pinned the suspect down.

"Plaskey County Police, don't move." Jimmy grabbed the suspect's right arm, bent it forcefully backward, pulled out his handcuffs from behind, and clamped them on. He then pressed his arm against the suspect's body, pulled the left hand behind as well, and cuffed it too. The suspect then stopped struggling altogether. Jimmy took the opportunity to conduct a quick search to ensure the suspect had no hidden weapons.

"Noah, the suspect is caught. Where are you?" "At the park entrance, come over."

Jimmy pulled the suspect up, picked up a lady's handbag from the ground, and walked back along the path to the park entrance. People in the park pointed and commented, but no one came over to gawk.

Jimmy threw the suspect into the cage in the back seat, returned to the driver's seat, and drove back along the road to West 12th Street. He still needed to meet with the victim and conduct a brief interrogation of the caller to complete the procedure.

Jimmy found the owner and the person who reported the incident on the street, prepared a written record at the scene, and asked the owner to come to the police station in the afternoon to verify the lost items, before driving back to the police station with the suspect.

After the detention process was complete, Jimmy and Noah headed out of the police station to the nearby food truck, a Mexican-style fast food van that was the most convenient lunch spot close to the station.

"Noah, how did I do today?"

"Not bad, there were a few small issues, but they won't affect my evaluation. Let's continue in the afternoon."

After lunch, Jimmy and his partner set off again. Noah was still in plain clothes, his badge hanging on his belt and covered by his shirt, apparently planning to keep the Field Training Officer's plainclothes day going.

The monotonous patrol continued, dispersing a gang of troublesome youths from their street "gathering", which was really just some shoving around, not even amounting to a fight. If it had escalated to brawling, that would have been an opportunity to gain some case handling experience. However, since it was just a bit of shoving, dispersing them directly was easier.

Around 3 p.m., Jimmy received a dispatch about a domestic violence case and drove to the location.

Jimmy got out of the car and stood outside the wooden fence, eying the target house. Something was off: there were pieces of broken furniture scattered on the lawn, seemingly thrown down from a second-floor window. The front door was shut, and no sounds could be heard from outside.

He walked over to the door and knocked, "Plaskey County Police, open the door."

After knocking several times with no response, he moved to the side to look through a window, finding no one in the dining room or kitchen.

"Adam47 to dispatch, no response from inside the house, there's damaged furniture on the lawn, possibly thrown from the second floor. Can you make contact with the person who reported the incident? I need to verify some information."

"The reporter is their neighbor, Mary."

"Adam47, copy that."

Jimmy turned to go ask the neighbor for information. He hadn't walked far when suddenly he heard a crash and a thick book fell from the second floor, narrowly missing his head.

"Adam47 to dispatch, a book has been thrown from the second floor, there appears to be someone inside. I'm going to check it out."

Jimmy drew his gun, kicked the door open, and slowly entered the room. After checking the first floor and finding no one, he cautiously went up the stairs. At the turn in the middle of the staircase, he checked upstairs for safety before proceeding. After examining two rooms, he found a young person sitting against the wall, with blood on his head and a limp arm.

"Plaskey County Police, what happened here?" Jimmy put away his gun and approached the young man for a basic examination: head injury, possible dislocation of the left arm, no fractures, but it seemed like he couldn't lift it.

"My stepfather got drunk and beat me, he just left," the young man said simply, recounting what had happened.