Backup was called. Other officers used their knowledge of the area to try to cut the driver off, but he kept going, surprising everyone with his wild detours. At one point, he cut into a large shopping center parking lot, driving over curbs and grassy areas to avoid being stopped by the parked cars. The driver outsmarted us, busting through a locked gate not meant to hold back thousands of pounds of steel, jumping right back on the road and heading toward a residential area.
My radio kept me up to date. I talked to other officers and they talked to me as we worked together to bring the speeding car to a stop. Several streets had been blocked off and spike strips laid, hoping the car would continue on the assumed path. Going straight would lead to my old stomping grounds, which I knew well, but venturing off on one of the side streets would put the car on the highway in seconds, making it harder to catch.
As expected, he went straight, telling me everything I needed to know. Whoever was behind the wheel wanted to stay in the area, making it highly probable that the driver lived nearby. Anyone with sense would have tried to take a different route because eventually the car would be boxed in.
We didn’t get there though.
A spike strip deflated the passenger side tires. The driver kept going, slower, seemingly unfazed by riding on flats. Eventually, the back tire came apart and a strategically positioned police car popped out right in time to perform a pit move. The car began to spin, coming to a stop facing the opposite direction. Squad cars moved in, blocking the car before it could try to take off again in its broken-down state.
Then the driver had the bright idea to try to flee on foot, receiving a two for one tackle by some of Diamond Falls finest.
Rookies.
I wasn’t chasing no damn body when I had two options on my hip to do the chasing for me, one permanently if I aimed right.
I heard, “Stop resisting,” after walking up on the action.
“Ain’t nobody fucking resisting,” a vaguely familiar voice barked back. “It’s all y’all and just one of me. Y’all niggas just weak.”
Four officers had a Black man with a thin build pinned down, struggling to get the cuffs on him. I laughed at the sight, leaning back on my vehicle to see how long the circus would go on. It took almost a minute for the man to be cuffed and another two to be forced to his feet.
“Name?” one of the officers requested.
“I don’t know. I forgot.”
“Don’t worry,” Gerald, the most senior officer on the force, assured him. “You’ll have plenty of time to remember it where you’re going.” He pointed to one of the rookies. “Put his ass in the car.”
“That won’t be necessary.” I pushed off my car. “I’ll take him.”
“You sure?” Gerald quizzed with a raised brow. “I can have one of these fools?—”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m headed back there anyway.”
Nobody really liked jail drop-offs. They required too much time and paperwork. But as someone who loved to talk and interact with just about everyone, I was one of the few who didn’t complain. It was just another part of the job for me. I didn’t mind.
“Put him in Green’s car,” Gerald instructed.
He was tossed in the back seat of my SUV, threatening everyone who touched him with a lawsuit. He was still running his mouth when I pulled off, talking to the rolled-up window.
“I don’t think they can hear you.”
“Fuck ’em,” he scoffed. “And fuck you too. You stood there and watched them beat my ass.”
I laughed. “You callthatan ass beating?”
“Yep. And I’m ’bout to call it a pay day. They didn’t have to do me like that. I’m only a hundred and sixty pounds.”
More like one-forty.
“I was there, Domani. I saw the whole thing. Nobody did nothing to you.”
“Oh,” he dragged out. “I forgot. I’m dealing with Dudley Do-Right.”
“Who?”
Domani had been saying weird shit since I met him. He had a vivid imagination and could think of a lie in a heartbeat. But that described many teenagers living in Diamond Falls. What he wasn’t though, was a criminal. At least not that I knew of.
“Never mind, nigga,” he mumbled. “I don’t even know why I expected you to be on my side.”
