Category: Salvation
-
In my office, a framed newspaper photo hangs, depicting a much younger version of me. In it, I’m standing in the bed of a pickup truck that is loaded with 50 tall marijuana plants. Sporting a classic 1980s cop look, I wear a thick mustache, a tight polyester uniform, and aviator sunglasses. And, I’m basking…
-
Every cop I know is bilingual. They all speak English and another language unique to law enforcement, called the Ten Code. The radio abbreviations we use daily aren’t something we have to translate. The ten codes are words to us, just like their English equivalents. If my partner told me he was “10-39 on a…
-
Incredible – so extraordinary as to seem impossible Several years ago, a Georgia man showed up here saying he had been kidnapped. He told a rather incredible story, and I wasn’t buying it. In my defense, most of the kidnapping cases I had investigated thus far were bogus. Not all, but most. Some people used…
-
Late one night in 1989, a shot rang out from a nice home in a quiet neighborhood. It occurred in a place where nothing bad was supposed to happen. A woman lay bleeding on her kitchen floor as an unknown male fled the scene. The suspect had forced his way into her house and shot…
-
I’ve spent many hours testifying in court during my career. There have been times when I left the witness stand feeling like I’d been beaten up. Examination by a criminal defense attorney can be exhausting, so it is especially satisfying when I score a win. I once testified in a case where an intoxicated woman…
-
I received an interesting telephone call at the office one day. A mom I knew asked me about a certain neighborhood. Her son had just bought a house there, and she wanted to know if it was a safe area. I paused a moment and stared at the phone. “Safe? Compared to what?” I asked.…
-
“The Judge is standing at the door!” (James 5:9) When I was a patrol sergeant, another agency called me to the scene of a barricaded suspect in their jurisdiction. A patrol officer tried to stop a vehicle occupied by a wanted suspect. Instead of stopping, the guy drove home, got out of the car, and…
-
Last week I celebrated 39 years in a career that almost didn’t happen. In 1986, I was scheduled to take an entrance exam for the Sheriff’s Office. I woke up from an afternoon nap ten minutes before my appointment. I didn’t think I had time to get there. So, I gave up on the idea.…
-
In April 1979, as a result of some stellar driving in my dad’s Ford Thunderbird, I proudly received an Alabama Drivers License from the Department of Public Safety. Less than two months later, as a result of some horrendous driving in my mom’s Pontiac station wagon, I handed that license back to them. I was…
