THE NIGHT I ALMOST SHOT MICHAEL JORDAN

I was working patrol on the midnight shift. At roll call we were advised that several area departments had been experiencing a rash of burglaries at dental offices. The suspicion was that the offender(s) were looking for drugs. Our supervisor admonished us to give all such locations an extra patrol and use an abundance of caution if we were dispatched to an alarm call in our town or as a backup in a bordering jurisdiction.

Our shift ran from 10:30 pm to 06:30. It was about 2 in the morning when I got the call. “Zone 4 (Me) and a unit to back for a glass break alarm at…” droned the dispatcher. NOTE: Dispatchers were trained to maintain their calm when sending officers to anything from a lost puppy to a major violent crime in progress. Our team was good at it, besides, for every “real deal” there were several, if not hundreds, of false alarms. The “Glass break” alarm is a very effective way to alert local police of a broken window or kicked in door entry. Unfortunately, these alarms can also be triggered by a car engine backfiring or any other loud noise.

I responded with my close friend Scott.

The office was in a strip mall. Scott and I met at a spot where we couldn’t be seen by possible offenders inside the building. It was an older structure, built in the 1960’s. A part of our job was, even before this “extra patrol,” to pull-on doors and windows of businesses trying to find any unsecure locations before some opportunistic criminal or vagrant could. The sergeant that was our supervisor that night was known for putting his calling card on doors to encourage us to check them. If we brought his cards back to him he knew we were following his orders.

Scott and I had both located unsecured businesses in this area previously.

I tried the handle of the back door. The handle was locked, it did not turn, but the door was not completely closed, and I pushed it open- very quietly. I called in to alert dispatch, and the other officers, that we had found an open door and would be searching the building.

Scott and I had been to many building search/Active shooter trainings that recommended searching officers move quickly and stay together to limit the chances of a “friendly fire” tragedy (A situation where a police officer accidentally shoots another officer) and also to allow the backup officer to be very close.

For every rule there is an exception.

This office presented several challenges. It was much larger than it appeared to be from the outside. There were several “half walls” that prevented us from moving freely within the office without being seen by a potential assailant hidden in a different room. It was very dark inside and certain areas were cluttered with boxes, magazine racks and other obstacles. For this reason, Scott and I agreed to break from the protocol and separate.

I worked through exam rooms on the East side of the office while Scott was doing the same on the West. I observed no signs of a break in such as open cabinets or drawers, items of value moved or missing, or valuables piled in one area. There was a lot of searching left to go. I had not gotten to the office area or the areas where a criminal might hope to find drugs.

Scott and I couldn’t communicate because we had not secured the building. We had no way of knowing if we were alone. The safest thing to do was complete a thorough search and either confirm it was safe or locate and arrest an offender. At this point chances were, as they say, “Six of one, a half dozen of the other.” We could be on another false alarm; the rest of our shift might be consumed with action followed closely by reports.

As I approached the office area I found a door with the doctor’s name on it. The door was closed, but not locked. When I opened it I would, momentarily, be illuminated by the soft light behind me. I needed to get through that door as quickly as possible, while spraying the room with my flashlight to, hopefully, temporarily blind anyone waiting to attack me and to allow me to see what danger might be waiting in the darkness.

I flung the door open while keeping my body close to the wall and moving quickly. I did not leave my flashlight lit. I blinked it on and off to give me an idea of what I would have to deal with while trying not to make myself a target by leaving my flashlight on.

To my left, the direction I was moving, there was a large heavy desk- easily large enough to hide a large man (I’ll have to move fast and check that out I thought). Moving my gaze around the room as I was seeking cover there was a bookshelf, continuing a scan to the right there was the silhouette of a large, dark-skinned male wearing a sleeveless t-shirt/jersey and shorts, I saw the couch next to him but I was already raising my gun to attempt to control that man while I yelled, “Get down and put your hands behind your head! Do it now! I was about to yell for the man to put his hands up again when I realized he was smiling. His expression hadn’t changed at all!

Is he crazy? Is his accomplice behind the desk? Does he know I’m about to die and my orders mean nothing?

Scott was coming into the room now, he was yelling, “What have you got? Where is he? We realized together that my suspect was a cardboard, life-size, cut out of Michael Jordan.

Training, and my guardian angel, stopped me from shooting. I was assessing the situation as it was unfolding and made the right choice not to shoot. I was also very embarrassed when Scott started to laugh as he took out his handcuffs and read Michael his Miranda rights.

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I hope you enjoyed the story.

Phil