Concern

I have noticed that as the months go by, the less I hear about CA Cop's job.  The day to day cop routine has become just that...day to day routine.  I only hear of the stories that impact him in some way.  Whether it be humor, shock, frustration, sadness, anger, joy.  As we sat at the kitchen table several weeks ago one story came pouring out of him.  In short sentences at first, I don't think he was planning on going into detail, but the words continued to flow so he went with it.  The way he was telling me was different than he typically talked about work.  And after a few seconds I began to see what was different. He was concerned, so I listened even more intently trying to share in his emotion.  Of course situations at work have previously concerned him. But this was different, he was worried almost. He had a domestic case that had been weighing on the back of his mind for some time. 
It started out as a routine call (I'm learning that is how they all start). She has a restraining order on him, they are getting a divorce, she's pregnant with his kid, and on it goes right?

Right. But CA Cop had an eerie feeling about this situation.  It was a feeling he could not ignore and one that was ever so subtly nagging at him.

The conversations CA Cop had with the husband took on an unfamiliar emotion.  There was undeniable desperation in the man's voice, undertones of a grim future. The restraining order violations seemed to be escalating, stalking, property damage, phone calls. CA Cop told me that he warned the female about what his instincts were telling him.
So he got to work.  He drove by her residence on his shifts to try and catch the husband's vehicle in the vicinity.  He literally took out a tape measure to mark to the very inch whether or not the restraining order had been violated from where he saw said vehicle. And then he wrote every report he could possibly write on every action he could prove was done by the husband.

He came downstairs the other day and announced to me that the husband was picked up on a couple of no bail warrants due to the reports written by CA Cop which put the husband in violation of his probation.

I saw the relief in his face and watched the concern in his brow neutralize.

I am grateful that he not only listens to those "feelings" but also acts on them. I hope he never loses that.

At least one person in Baytown will sleep more peacefully tonight.