and pushed a gray button. I waited to hear a voice through some speaker but the door buzzed and I pulled it open. I walked into the lobby, where a young man sat at the reception desk with his arms folded.
“Can I help you?”
“Yeah, I am here to see Sergeant Conroy? Javin Conroy?”
“Is he expecting you?”
“Yeah, I talked to him on the phone.”
“Just sit over there,” said the receptionist.
I took a seat and waited for the Sergeant. The receptionist kept his arms folded and a sour look on his face. “I’m not a receptionist, just so you know,” he said.
“What?”
“I’m not a receptionist.”
“Why are you working the desk?”
“Because of a bunch of bullshit.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t belong behind a desk, okay? If that’s what you’re thinking, then you’re wrong.”
“I wasn’t thinking any-”
“Let me ask you a question, okay? Wouldn’t you want a police officer to go the extra mile to protect the public? You’d like that, right?”
“Uh…yes.”
“See there you go, thank you. You should tell that asshat Conroy that when you meet with him.”
“Okay.”
“I mean, the fucking orders were to disperse the crowd. If you were going to disperse a crowd how would you do it?”
“Uh…I don’t know…”
“I mean I got the job done, didn’t I? So I guess there is a special rule somewhere that says you can’t fire your gun in the air in the middle of a crowd. It’s not like I was fucking pointing at anybody. I would totally understand them getting all bent out of shape if I actually shot someone but let’s look at the bottom line…what did you say your name was?”
“Greg.”
“Let me ask you Greg, don’t you think that the bottom line should be: Did I disperse the crowd? I did. They left really fast. So I got the job done. Why the fuck do I have to be on suspension for doing my job? Can you answer that for me?”
“…”
“Right, you can’t. We are supposed to disperse crowds and I dispersed that goddamn crowd. I mean, what the fuck? Should I just assume every crowd has a permit? What if that crowd was actually a crowd of criminals DRESSED like a crowd of protesters? Greg, seriously, have you ever heard of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving?”
“Uh…”
“Right, me neither. I guess asshat Conroy thinks that everyone’s heard of them. I saw a crowd of people gathered in a park and they were carrying signs saying ‘MADD.’ What the fuck was I supposed to do? Ignore my job? Of course not, it’s PROTECT and serve. And now I’m on fucking suspension for doing my job.”
A man with gray hair and a dominant chin walked out from the back. “You must be Greg,” the man said, “I am Sergeant Conroy, Javin Conroy.” He held out a meaty hand.
“Nice to meet ya,” I said, relieved to talk to someone else other than the receptionist that wasn’t a receptionist.
“Nice to finally put a face to the name. Do you want to come back to my office?”
“Yes please,” I said. I nodded at the man behind the desk. “Nice meeting you.”
The receptionist stuck his tongue out at Conroy when he turned his back.
We walked back to Conroy’s office. It was small with enough room for a desk and couple of chairs. Conroy sat down, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Greg. Hope Lewis didn’t chew your ear off. We would fire him but it’s a union thing.”
“It’s okay.”
Conroy had a manila envelope in his hand. “You’re here for this? I need you to keep that to yourself. I mean the specifics. If you are going to use any of that just make sure that you leave the victim’s name out of it.”
“Is this everything?”
“All of the evidence collected at the scene. Like I said, it was a DRT case so it was all pretty self-evident. Obviously if you want to look at the actual items found in the cab or whatever, you have to fill out the paperwork, but there are pictures of everything in there. We haven’t get the toxicology back yet but I can say for
“Can I help you?”
“Yeah, I am here to see Sergeant Conroy? Javin Conroy?”
“Is he expecting you?”
“Yeah, I talked to him on the phone.”
“Just sit over there,” said the receptionist.
I took a seat and waited for the Sergeant. The receptionist kept his arms folded and a sour look on his face. “I’m not a receptionist, just so you know,” he said.
“What?”
“I’m not a receptionist.”
“Why are you working the desk?”
“Because of a bunch of bullshit.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t belong behind a desk, okay? If that’s what you’re thinking, then you’re wrong.”
“I wasn’t thinking any-”
“Let me ask you a question, okay? Wouldn’t you want a police officer to go the extra mile to protect the public? You’d like that, right?”
“Uh…yes.”
“See there you go, thank you. You should tell that asshat Conroy that when you meet with him.”
“Okay.”
“I mean, the fucking orders were to disperse the crowd. If you were going to disperse a crowd how would you do it?”
“Uh…I don’t know…”
“I mean I got the job done, didn’t I? So I guess there is a special rule somewhere that says you can’t fire your gun in the air in the middle of a crowd. It’s not like I was fucking pointing at anybody. I would totally understand them getting all bent out of shape if I actually shot someone but let’s look at the bottom line…what did you say your name was?”
“Greg.”
“Let me ask you Greg, don’t you think that the bottom line should be: Did I disperse the crowd? I did. They left really fast. So I got the job done. Why the fuck do I have to be on suspension for doing my job? Can you answer that for me?”
“…”
“Right, you can’t. We are supposed to disperse crowds and I dispersed that goddamn crowd. I mean, what the fuck? Should I just assume every crowd has a permit? What if that crowd was actually a crowd of criminals DRESSED like a crowd of protesters? Greg, seriously, have you ever heard of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving?”
“Uh…”
“Right, me neither. I guess asshat Conroy thinks that everyone’s heard of them. I saw a crowd of people gathered in a park and they were carrying signs saying ‘MADD.’ What the fuck was I supposed to do? Ignore my job? Of course not, it’s PROTECT and serve. And now I’m on fucking suspension for doing my job.”
A man with gray hair and a dominant chin walked out from the back. “You must be Greg,” the man said, “I am Sergeant Conroy, Javin Conroy.” He held out a meaty hand.
“Nice to meet ya,” I said, relieved to talk to someone else other than the receptionist that wasn’t a receptionist.
“Nice to finally put a face to the name. Do you want to come back to my office?”
“Yes please,” I said. I nodded at the man behind the desk. “Nice meeting you.”
The receptionist stuck his tongue out at Conroy when he turned his back.
We walked back to Conroy’s office. It was small with enough room for a desk and couple of chairs. Conroy sat down, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Greg. Hope Lewis didn’t chew your ear off. We would fire him but it’s a union thing.”
“It’s okay.”
Conroy had a manila envelope in his hand. “You’re here for this? I need you to keep that to yourself. I mean the specifics. If you are going to use any of that just make sure that you leave the victim’s name out of it.”
“Is this everything?”
“All of the evidence collected at the scene. Like I said, it was a DRT case so it was all pretty self-evident. Obviously if you want to look at the actual items found in the cab or whatever, you have to fill out the paperwork, but there are pictures of everything in there. We haven’t get the toxicology back yet but I can say for
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