SWAT teams in my neighborhood
I was trying to 1) run a book over to my friend’s house. My friend who lives five blocks from me, 2) drop off videos at Hollywood Video, because apparently Netflix and the library and its awesome DVD three-week check-out are not enough for us, we need Hollywood, too and, 3) get my daughter to her swimming class.
Then I saw 1) two cop cars blocking the intersection where I needed to turn and 2) another cop car, who let me through and 3) a SWAT team set up three blocks from my house and 4) another SWAT team? aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I hate this shit! Let me out of my neighborhood!
Do you want to read what happened? Here it is. The short story: Three guys steal a car, rob a liquor store, try to get away, ditch the car, run. So here’s what kills me — they interviewed a woman from the neighborhood who said something like, yeah, I saw them ditch, then they ran through my neighbors’ gate and hid in the backyard.
I’m assuming that since she was willing to share this with the media, she had probably already told the cops.
From the news footage, it looked like the backyard where they were hiding was right next to where they ditched the car. Durrr. So why all the SWAT vehicles? Why did they have to scare all the little kids in the neighborhood? Plus, it really kind of re-traumatized some of the mommies, too. (I ended up getting my girl to swimming, then I took the kids to my mom’s. We went for dinner and I left them at her house for the night).
It took the police two hours to find these guys. Why? They were right there. They weren’t even in a house, needing to be shot to death along with their hostages or potential hostages. Oh, I’m sorry. That isn’t how they do it in your neighborhood?
I’m sorry to be second-guessing here, but it doesn’t seem like frickin’ surgery to me. Let’s have a re-cap of all the things that have shook me up lately, over here:
1) SWAT teams yesterday
2) Two shootings day before yesterday
3) The time I yelled, “Move, bitch!” at that guy
4) Several shootings recently, come to think of it
5) a homeless man, God rest his soul, murdered in May. Neighborhood in lockdown.
6) same day, more gunshots (a suicide), elementary school in lockdown (this was five minutes from us, so technically not in our neighborhood)
7) someone murdered and left in a car down the street
And it all makes me think of another time, about five years ago, when we were trying to get home. But couldn’t, because there were sharpshooters on the corners of my block. Not that we wanted to be anywhere near our house, once we saw the guns. The bad guy was in our driveway, that time. The neighbors were going crazy because they couldn’t get ahold of us.
I want my kids to be safe. And my neighbors. And all of us, okay? It was two gin and tonics (four, actually — Hockey God makes doubles), seven hands of cards and midnight before I calmed down.
Life can really suck sometimes, eh?
, 
.
OMG, it’s time to move out of the neighborhood, and probably out of your city!
July 25th, 2007 | #
It keeps life interesting. Before my neighbors put up their privacy fence, criminals would run from Lombard, down our street, jump the smaller fence and head for my yard. More than once I was sitting on the back porch and looked up to see this happen, then stared down the barrel of a policeman’s gun. We’ve had the K-9 unit swooping thru with no warning numerous times. Once a guy hid under our back crawl space. Oh..well….What would life be without a little excitement? I think I’m addicted.
July 25th, 2007 | #
Ak! What’s in the Wacky water? I lived oh, 1 mi from you and we never had much to worry about. (Although Mr. Homeless Guy was murdered at the Plaid Pantry by my old house. Poor man.) I blame Bush. Seriously, this war and economy has everyone in a murderous rage. I am so glad you are all ok!
July 25th, 2007 | #
Two years ago, the cops were looking for someone to talk to about a shooting that had happened. My roommate was smoking on the porch and saw a guy run into our backyard. So she told the cops, “hey there’s a dude who ran into our back yard!”
So the cops search our back yard and search. And they bring a dog and find nothing. I try to go out there and tell them to look in our sauna (the door is on the side of the garage.) but the cops yell at me to stay inside. So I do and forget to tell them about the sauna.
The cops don’t find the guy but they come back later and open the sauna door and there’s the dude who ran from the cops. He wasn’t the guy involved in the shooting, but he had drugs or a warrant or something.
We’ve had other dudes run through our yard in the past. Now that the bar near us closed down we don’t have the same amount of bad dudes hanging around.
July 26th, 2007 | #