10-00–Given as “double zero”. Officer needs all possible assistance.

The “double zero” code isn’t called very often. I have only heard it used a few times in my entire career. It is the sacred all-call of police code. Say it on the radio, and cops will show up from other planets. Double zero means you need everybody’s help. It’s only said when the world is on fire, and you are fighting it alone. Say it when you don’t need it, however, and you will be roasted.

In all fairness, Cletus says he didn’t call a double zero. He claims he just asked for help. Perhaps the tone of his panicked voice, or his breathlessness over the radio, prompted the dispatcher to call it for him. Either way, a double zero went out over the air, and Cletus got roasted. Not so much for the call, but for the circumstances that prompted it.

Cletus enjoyed serving arrest warrants. He went to Holt to arrest a middle-aged woman who should not have been a problem. Turns out she was. Cletus told her she was going to jail. She said she had other plans. So, Cletus reached out to grab her arm. The fight began there. Instead of taking hold of her arm, the lady took hold of Cletus’s head.

When Cletus radioed for help, the lady had her baby in one arm and Cletus’s head in the other. She put Cletus’s head through the sheet rock wall of her home. The baby remained unscathed. That’s why Cletus sounded out of breath. His head was in the wall. Whoever called it, a double zero went out, and the whole world responded. That’s how a lot of cops found Cletus with his head in the wall.

We don’t know if Cletus needed a double zero or not. He wasn’t in the best condition to make that decision. (Not with his head in a wall) Sometimes life gets hard for us all. My head may feel like it’s in a wall, and I don’t know what to ask for either. Thankfully, when I pray, I have an advocate who does. “Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;” (Romans 8:26)

When everything falls apart, and the words won’t come, the Holy Spirit steps in and prays for me. His intercession is on a level that words cannot attain. He understands my circumstances, “and intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” (Romans 8:3) Whatever the crisis or the need, He calls to the Father on my behalf. That’s better than a double zero!

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So, we will not fear when earthquakes come, and the mountains crumble into the sea.” (Psalm 46:1,2)