The walls and floors were MOVING....

[shooter1201]

The other night, myself and another unit responded to a 'welfare check' call. Seems the daughter of the woman living at the address hadn't been able to contact her all day.

The other officer arrived first and was beating on the door, shouting out 'Police!'. No answer. So...I go around back and find the back door open. I radioed for the officer in front to come around back.

Shining my light inside before entering, I turned to my friend and said 'You'll want a shower after leaving here.' He replied 'Why?'. I opened the door a bit more and played my light around the kitchen.

The floor was literally MOVING...with roaches! They were streaming up and down the walls...across the ceiling....a loaf of bread on the counter seemed ALIVE, so many roaches were scurrying in and out of a hole in its side.

We entered farther, weapons drawn....the house smelling of rotting garbage....roaches crunching under our feet, clearing the house room by room. We came to the last room, finding the door shut. I tell my buddy that I don't really want to open the door...but do. Shining our lights inside the room, we see a pair of feet protruding from beneath a blanket on the bed.

My buddy shouts 'Police!' one last time. To our surprise, the woman in the bed SITS UP and says 'Whaaa...?'

Orkin could have spent a WEEK in that house....and STILL not have killed all the roaches! How can people LIVE like that?!?

[ 10-01-2001: Message edited by: shooter1201 ]

[policewebdev]

Originally posted by shooter1201:
I tell my buddy that I don't really want to open the door

I can only imagine what you were thinking.

How can people LIVE like that?!?

That's what I would like to know. Everytime I hear about something like that, I wonder the same thing. These people are nuts.

[kateykakes]

shooter! UGH! That was revolting! I don't know how you went in that house. There is no way I would have done it. Like I told Artie in another thread, roaches skeeve me. My skin is crawling now just thinking about you walking in that house; the bugs crunching under your feet. Oh God, I feel sick.

[grum]

My dad tells a similar story of a "welfare check" call, except in his experience the place is stuffed with at least a years supply of dirty diapers. The only time he every barfed on duty!

[SGT Dave]

I know...this is one of those areas we ought to be able to leave and immediately get a partial "lump sum" disability for the memories we'll have to carry. I've read 1201's posts enough to know he's been around a while and probably deals with it and is JUST referring to the sadness that a human in this country can be lowered to living like that. To those that wonder how we do this on a semi-regular basis, I just apply the motto I was taught in the NG- F.I.D.O. ("F*** IT-DRIVE ON!") We don't have the luxury of stopping from the objective.

(NOTE: This is graphic, so if you were bothered by 1201's story, you might need to bypass this one)

I'm pretty tough, but a fairly new local officer with another department just had his first. A "check welfare" call-he gains entry, does tactical search first, noticed blood and feces EVERYWHERE, continues tactical search, turns corner, lights up room, and is staring directly at the decedent from about 10 feet, whose "eyes" ("eye sockets" is a more appropriate term) and mouth are open, and is being eaten by cats and maggots. He's really dwelling on it. He's an excellent officer, and I know he'll get over it, but I know it's bothering him a tad.

1. Had an abandoned house where the occupants (both elderly) had been removed and placed in a state mental hospital just prior to my coming to work there. Older officers told me about how "crazy" they were, and that they'd never leave the house, even for mail, or to take the garbage out-under any circumstances. They said they had been in there and seen garbage piled to the ceiling and STINKING! About a year later, we got a call there from a neighbor of a "B & E In Progress." This was textbook-we came in from a side street with no lights, and whipped in. A lookout took off running, and I put my hi beams and takedowns on the window he was standing at. Another guy comes out with a TV in his hands-JUST LIKE THE MOVIES. Mega foot pursuits-recovered all evidence, but neither subject. Went back and done a "walk through." I had ASSUMED someone had cleaned out the aforementioned garbage-oooooooooh nooooooooo! Now we had to deal with YEAR OLD ROTTEN garbage stacked to the ceiling. It was MONTHS before I could not drive down that street and not remember the smell.

2. Another house was a decent looking brick house in a decent neighborhood, but it was a rental. We couldn't stand to go in it-on domestics or other calls for service, we asked everyone outside to talk to us, even in the dead of winter. Problems were EVERYBODY (and they'd moved the whole clan in too-grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, aunt, uncle, adult sons, adult son's BOYFRIEND, etc.) smoked like freight trains (probably because they couldn't stand it either) and must have emptied ashtrays once a year, whether they needed it or not. They had dogs and cats in the house, and never cleaned up after them (one officer swears he saw a pile of dog doo they just shoved a couple of cigarettes into to extinguish, and left in it, and I don't doubt him.) And the worst thing was this: (you ready?) Every Friday night the family got a huge take out order of fried fish. After eating, they always threw their bones and left-overs behind the refrigerator, "so the cats can just go in and eat them when they want."

Heck I've got others, but I've used up enough board. These people just don't know any better, or they've lived in it so long, they've gotten used to it I guessed. I will call DSS in a heartbeat over this if there are minor children involved (getting one out is another story…"just do a report and we'll look at it tomorrow…"-anybody ever heard that????)

[kateykakes]

Sgt,

For just one day, I'd love to have someone who complains about everything y'all do, try to even remotely do your job. I think then they may have greater admiration, more respect, and not be so judgemental.

I may be but one voice, but everything y'all do is much appreciated.

kk

[ 10-01-2001: Message edited by: kateykakes ]

[Plaso]

My question is why would a daughter let her mother live in a pig stye like that?

I was on a call last week where both the parents were living in conditions way below my standards. They kept telling us how one daughter works across from the Whitehouse. One works at some big time job in the Bay area. My question is why do they allow there parents to live in a cabin with plywood floors and dirty filty s&*t everywhere. I finally had Adult Protective Services come to the residence for a look.

[SGT Dave]

kkakes,

I think that is WHY so many officers get cynical and get burn out, and get into an "US vs. THEM" mentality. I almost hate to say it, because it starts sounding like COL Markinson (Jack Nicholson) in "A Few Good Men" (not that the sentiment is wrong, just that he was ultimately found to be a liar and a maniac) when he was on the stand:

To HEAVILY paraphrase:

"I don't mind the blood, and I don't mind the bullets, I'd just like like someone to say 'Thank You'."

It is refreshing to hear a heartfelt and sincere "thank you" once and a while. I'm sorry you have to be the representative for the rest of the country, but in any case, THANK YOU (or, more appropriately, YOU'RE WELCOME.)

((((((kkakes))))))

That's one reason I post here. I don't tell my wife or family as much as I post here, for the most part. I feel you guys are friends (Sullivan too )and I vent, but I hope you guys get a better sense of what it's like from us, and less from TV/movies, and that puts you guys ahead of the REST of the human race.

Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to educate them.

You are appreciated.

[Sarge465]

Man, this brings back some bad memories. When I was a rookie, me and my partner went to a welfare call to check on an alcoholic. His neighbor checked on him every day but could not get him to the door on this day. We knocked several times and got no answer so we decided to go in. When we got the door open, the smell hit us in the face and it wasn't the smell of a dead body. Seems the old dude had gotten a bad case of the runs and just didn't bother to use the bathroom. He had literally crapped himself to death. In the living room was a beige sofa, except for the middle cushsion, which was dark brown. You could track him down the hallway because he had it all over him and would glance from wall to wall, smearing it as he went. We made it to the bedroom and found the bed completely covered and when he would fill up his pants, he would take them off and leave'em on the floor. Needless to say, the rest of the house was in the same shape. Found him in the kitchen, dead and covered from head to foot with ****. He died trying to open another beer. Had a homicide investigator tell me one time, if I ever came up on a decaying body or some other situation like this, just take a deep breath and I would be over the smell. Found him a couple days after this and told him what he was full of.

[blondie72]

Oh my. How incredibly sad.

[FLLawdog]

I still can't see how some people can allow their parents to live in filth. We had a case several years ago where a father died at home and was transported by the wife and daughter to the hospital(OBVIOUS signs of death visible-cool to touch, lividity, stiff...). Once they get there, they're told they have to report it to LE. The SO gets the the call and responds first to the ER, then obviously to the house. What they find are bags of trash piled from floor to ceiling with little walkways carved throughout the house. Most of the bags were moving because of rats and roaches. They were going to the bathroom in cans because the toilets were filed with cigarette butts. Daughter lived on the other side of the county and allegedly had no idea that her parents were living like this. I could ALMOST believe this if it wasn't for the obvious signs that that the garbage didn't materialize to this degree overnight.

As part of the shock value(and training value, too, of course), instructors like to show rookie classes photos of death scenes. The images are one thing, but the smell...man, if someone could bottle THAT for use as a training aid!

[Pigskin]

Several years ago I answered a call with another officer on a missing person neighbors hadn't seen in some time. We found the back door & walked in. The house was filthy but he was not there. We then started out of the house & I looked down and asked the other officer if he had seen something moving on the floor. We stopped & started watching the floor, then ran from the house! It was fleas. Thousands of them. We were outside doing the "get-rid-of-the-fleas" dance & practically striping in the street. It was kinda funny afterwards.

The other call concerning how filthy people live was another check welfare call. This time it was a female disc jockey at one of the local radio stations. A very popular person & well-liked, she was missing & her apartment was unlocked. We went in & found a fairly organized & clean livingroom & kitchen. Then we went into the bedroom. It looked like the closet had exploded. Clothes all over the place. Hair care stuff & makeup all over the place. But the gross sight was over a dozen used condoms laying on the floor on both sides of the bed. We found out later that she came home after a couple of days & had been shacked up with a couple of guys. Guess that explains being popular & well-liked.

[SGT Dave]

GDenman;

That reminded me of a search I did a while back for stolen property. We had just showed up unnanounced, arrested the guy on unrelated warrants, and got consent from his wife to check for stolen property (he was a suspect in a B&E of a neighbor.)

I am in the M Br and get down to look under the bed-FIRST THING I SEE is a used condom, and by the "fresh" appearance of it, I know what they were doing when we knocked.

[kateykakes]

GD & SGT,

All I can say is EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

[shooter1201]

This call was NOTHING compared to others I have been on.....try a skydiving accident ....from 16,000 feet....onto a runway.