Police Work

It was a Friday Afternoon in Baltimore, and the sun was breaking through the clouds after

a small thunderstorm rolled through the city. Calvin Slay, and Earl Carter were sitting in

the 52nd. Street Coffee House, looking and talking through the big plate glass window.

The moment of conversation was about the sudden changes around the police

department. Calvin & Earl both work in the Southern District, which is in South

Baltimore. Both officers are 19-year veterans of the department, and had a very un-

eventful career. They both equally like working for the city, but dislike the changes that

Mayor Martin O’Malley has made to the police department. They feel that other changes

can be made for the department to be more effective, than the ones that have been

implemented. As the men continue to talk, and murmur about what the Mayor & City

Council have done to the moral of the department. Calvin says to Earl, “man I can’t

believe all of the changes the chief wants to make”. Earl replies, “huh, look at the Federal

Government, and George Bush, they will do what they want to do when they want to”.

“The whole damm place is messed up, and it is not only the city”. “It starts with the

Government, the State, and trickles down to the City, with that dumb ass Martin

O’Malley”. “I read the papers everyday and there is something new everywhere, and too

much bullshit going on”. At that moment Earl says, “did you see that”, while all Earl

hears is a chair move and the back of Calvin’s shirt as he runs and turns the corner. Earl

follows in pursuit to advert the action that is going on in the parking lot. There is a

robbery in progress in the parking lot, and three people are getting robbed at gunpoint. In

the broad daylight it is hard to believe that you would ever see a armed strong arm

robbery. As the men gunmen make there way through the parking lot to the rear of the

building to make there getaway, some thing strange happens. Calvin runs and plows

himself into the both of them from the blind side. Instantly they both are knocked down

to the pavement and did not know what had happened. Through there grogginess and

knocking the cobwebs out they both figured out what had happened. Briefly, the other

robber turns and looks at Officer Slay and begins to attempt to get up, and Officer Carter

tackles his leg before he starts to run. All three are taken down and wondered how they

got caught. Officer Slay hit the both of them like Ray Lewis, while knocking them into

the other one, and neither one knew what had hit them. Calvin & earl are partners at the

Shopping Center, and everyone knows them well. If you are from Cherry Hill, you know

Officers Slay & Carter. Those two are the talk of Rusty’s Barber Shop in the Shopping

Center. The best thing about them is that they show you respect, and want it in return.

They are well liked, and equally very well feared in the South Baltimore community.

They both have many commendations, and unit bars on their uniforms. Calvin lives in

Largo, Maryland, and comes into the city to work. He also has one kid and his name is

Kole. As he drives to work each day he thinks about how many Police Departments he

passes just getting to Baltimore. But he finds it more fulfilling that he comes to Baltimore

because no day is the same. After nineteen year, not too much can change now. Earl lives

in Glen Burnie and does not have far to go to get home or to work. They both truly

believe that as a Baltimore Policeman, you are on duty 24/7. The Baltimore Police are so

much different then anywhere else. They go through more bullshit than any other

department in Maryland. They wear navy blue BDU’s, and combat boots, military style

BDU caps. Beyond the glamour and glory of the job in Baltimore, another striking

comparison is among them. This time they were in the Glen Burnie area in Northern

Anne Arundel County, where they took down the robbers. Calvin and Earl are both

African American, and it is highly unusual to see many African Americans in Northern

Anne Arundel County. A crowd starts to gather as the two hold the suspects at gunpoint

on the ground. Moments later, an Anne Arundel County Police arrive on the scene. The

County Officer sits in his car, and calls for back up, while not being sure who the two

black men are guns pointing at the men on the ground. Both Calvin & Earl look at each

other and figured out what was going on. They both have that gleam in their eye, “the

niggar’s got a gun theory”. Finally four other cars roll up on the silent note, and their car

doors slam and the snaps from there holsters pierce the air. A loud and clear deep voice

commands, “ Drop the weapons boys, and tell me what’s going on here”. In the crowd,

someone yell,….”they stopped the robbers”, damn’it”. There is a quivering silence for a

moment in the air, and you hear the breathing of the officers intermittently through their

nostrils. Calvin and Earl have not moved a flinch, but Earl takes the initiative and yells to

the Anne Arundel Officers. “We are Baltimore City Officers and apprehended these three

suspects after we witnessed a robbery of a group of people still in the restaurant”. “These

suspect are still armed, and we are not moving until you take charge of the incident”.

With caution the County Officers move in slowly, because they are still not sure who the

two black men are. Calvin yells to them that he is reaching for his badge with his left

hand, and soon retrieves it. The tense moment is over for both Calvin & Earl, and the

County Officers. As they all stand there in a cold sweat, and blowing, the County

Officers reassure themselves the two are O.K. The County Officers gather the report from

the witnesses, and Baltimore Officers. The victim comes running across the parking lot to

thank Calvin & Earl for putting there lives on the line. They all talk about what went on

in the parking lot. After all of the excitement was over they walked back to the restaurant

to pay for there meal. As they walked in there, the waitress said, “hey mother fuckers, I

had to take money from my check, because you both ran out of the place”. “My boss

made me pay for this chyt, fuck both of you. The waitress was one hot woman, and you

could tell by the looks in her eyes. Calvin looked at Earl as they turned with a glare the

same time. Calvin tells the waitress that they will take care of it, and talk to her boss, as

he was busy behind the counter. Calvin goes over and pays the bill and the owner said he

was going to give the waitress back her money. Calvin comes back over and hands the

waitress a $50.00 bill in her hand, and promises her that her boss would also give her the

money that he took from her. She smiled and said, “this chyt isn’t right”, with tears in her

eyes and went back to cleaning off her tables. Earl looks at Calvin and says, “I wouldn’t

give her chyt the way her ass talked to us. They had left the restaurant laughing and

joking about the waitress who still did not realize that they had left her a $50.00 tip.