My Partner - My Friend
When two cops work well together they try to ensure they work together as much as possible. Usually, it will start out that you have the same work ethic and that your “style” of policing is very similar, or if not similar, complimentary.
I was fortunate have such a partnership with another female officer whose name also happens to be Kathy. We were “regular patrol cops,” also known as P-2 dogs…because regular patrol cops work like dogs. We were known to other officers as, “The “K” car”, “Cagney and Lacey”, and “The Kathy Car”. A suspect once told us we were known on the street as Batman and Robin because we were “seen everywhere arresting everybody.” The two of us laughed about that for quite some time. Kathy and I did arrest a lot of people. We were known to other cops as “magnets” because weird, complicated, stuff just dropped in our laps and usually turned into good arrests - or at the least, very good stories.
Eventually, the sergeants started splitting us up to work with rookie officers who were without training officers for a few days. We weren’t getting paid to be training officers…we were still P-2 dogs, but decided if we were going to do the work, we were going to promote and earn the money to go with it. So we did.
While we both moved on with our careers, I think we both recognized those five+ years we spent together in the wee hours of the morning arresting burglars, car thieves, narco suspects, and yes, even murderers, were the best of our careers. We were so dedicated to each other we would go to work sick, just so the other wouldn’t have to work with someone else. We had SO much fun together.
I’m sure we got on each other’s nerves from time to time, but the only time I can remember us really having a fight was the time I volunteered for a radio call that involved a dog. It’s been a long time, and I don’t remember what the call was, (probably something like ’vicious animal attacking people’) but Kathy doesn’t really like dogs, and I knew it, but the call was in our area and I felt obligated to handle the incident. She was so mad at me! I don’t think she talked to me for a couple of days. The call turned out okay, but I should have let the call go to another unit rather than have her mad at me.
Eventually, our paths split and we went our seperate ways. She now has six kids and I have my family and my writing. But when I pick up the phone and call her, or send her an e-mail, we’re right on track as if we’d never left that black and white patrol car. In fact, with just the smallest communication we’re once again partners…and always friends.
