[Con1]

I can't recall the exact year but the 1st time was probably between 1988 and 1991. This was out in the county, I was a deputy at the time. It was a Sunday morning and the weather was cool. Dispatch told me there were two male subjects standing next to a sedan which was parked along the road's shoulder in front of a row of homes which sat off the roadway maybe 20 to 30 yards. The subjects were firing a weapon described as an AR15, into a row of pecan trees on the opposite side of the road. This area is just outside of the city limits and is fairly populated, more so today.

I asked dispatch to send a city unit for back-up. There were none available she replied so I asked for a BP unit and again, there were none available.

(BP always had an AR or M14 on board. This was prior to the North Hollywood shoot-out and very few cop cars were equipped with rifles. Now nearly every patrolman in the country carries a patrol rifle of some kind.)

I finally asked for a DPS unit. None available. As I approached the location I could see the vehicle and the two subjects.

There was no cover, it was just a long stretch of county roadway. To the west of them the road spanned a canal about maybe 200 yards away. The intersection from where I was watching them was maybe another 200 yards. There was just no cover anywhere to be had.

Now back in the day, almost everyone had a home scanner and listened all the time. On this Sunday, a resident was listening and realized what I was dealing with. Today most police agencies communications systems can't be scanned. Ours can't today.

I had sat there for several minutes watching these guys pointing that rifle in every direction. It appeared they were role playing i.e. firing from the hip, bayonet thrusts, taking cover from their vehicle etc but I never heard a shot fired. Anyway, I gunned my vehicle straight for the two subjects and came to a screeching halt about 20 to 30 yards away from the two. I angled my vehicle as taught and bailed out with my sidearm in one hand and the PA mic in the other and began shouting commands, while taking cover behind the engine block and door frame. I'm right handed which makes it all very difficult.

While I was shouting commands, the two subjects appeared to be having trouble deciding whether or not to follow my orders. Suddenly I heard a voice from behind me that said something to the effect of; "Don't worry deputy, I've got your back!" Needless to say, this startled the living daylights out of me and I instantly turned to face the voice as the older guy placed one hand on my left shoulder. In his other hand was a 1911 race gun. The guy was stooped down and then moved around to the passenger side of my vehicle. It's a little thing called; "Tunnel Vision".

The two guys with the AR then placed the rifle on the trunk lid, backed away and proned out as ordered. I checked with my back-up that he knew what to do and I moved in, cuffed both, patted both, cleared the sedan and then cleared the rifle. It was a BB gun. The two had stayed the night with a friend and as they were going home, they saw blackbirds in the bare pecan trees and were shooting the birds. I don't remember their ages but they were in their late teens.

My back-up was a guy named TC Canterbury and he had been listening to his scanner and responded to my call for help.

Twice in my law enforcement career, I've been lucky enough to have armed citizens respond to assist me (Just a cop to them. They didn't know me from the next cop.)

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND . . . THIS IS NOT A GAME. PLEASE DO NOT RUSH OR SNEAK UP ON A POLICE OFFICER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. THIS CAN BE VERY HAZARDOUS FOR EVERYONE. IT'S ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS IF YOU'RE ARMED.

I'll save the other (a gang related drive-by) for later.
Con1