In continuing with my cop theme started in the last post, I have to confess that I didn’t really mean to make a cop theme at all.. it’s just that in the eighties I used to listen to cops on a scanner because I was bored out of my freakin’ skull due to the internet not existing yet, and I was telling this story to someone the other day and it occurred to me that it’d make a halfway interesting blog post, now that the internet exists.
At least I hoped it would.
I lived in San Diego, so I’d listen to San Diego cops on one of the five dispatch channels they used at the time. I’d be listening to whatever channel covered whatever area I happened to be in and I’d think, “Whoa, that’s going on right down the block!” or “Hey, that’s only up the street and over around the bend!”
Yes, I actually say “whoa” and “hey” in my thoughts.
So, this one time years ago, I was listening as some female officer was either pursuing a suspect or answering some kind of burglary call – I forget exactly what was going on because it was almost 20 years ago and I can’t remember what I had for breakfast – but I DO remember that she cornered the suspect, or “perp” as they’re known in the biz, and she radioed dispatch to inform them that she had him at gunpoint.
She said..
“One thirty two and Bush, I’ve got him at gunpoint.”
To which the dispatcher responded..
“Okay gunpoint.. one thirty two and Bush.. cover’s code three.”
I was in the area that night and heard the whole thing as it unfolded, all the way up to the arrest at gunpoint. I thought, “Whew, I’m glad they got that guy!”
Yes, I thought “whew”.. what of it?
A month or so later I was watching the Fox TV show “COPS” with my roommate, and the camera crew was following around this female officer in San Diego. We were digging on seeing scenes they shot of familiar territory when something resonated with me.. the action taking place was familiar too.
Damn, wait a minute! HEY! I heard this entire thing on my scanner one night.. LIVE!
We watched as the cop cornered the “perp”, and then informed dispatch that she had him at gunpoint.
“One thirty two and Bush, I’ve got him at gunpoint.”
To which the dispatcher responded..
“Okay gunpoint.. one thirty two and Bush.. cover’s code three.”
Okay, THAT was weird!
And not only that, but the show has been around for a couple of decades now and they’ve decided that..
“One thirty two and Bush, I’ve got him at gunpoint.”
..is a great little tag to put at the end of each episode as it rolls into the credits. That lady cop has been announcing that she has her perp at gunpoint since 1989, and every time I hear it I think back to that night when I was listening to San Diego police officers gallivant around town arresting perps at gunpoints and I remember how I wished at the time that the darned internet would just hurry up and make itself available to the general public already.
I mentioned HULU.COM in my last post too, because it carries ADAM-12, which I mentioned but it also carries COPS, so if you want to hear that tag then check out this random episode of COPS and pay attention to the end of it, at exactly 20:56 as the cop arrests the scary bald tweaker dude and the scene fades into the credits.
I promise that my next post shall mention neither COPS nor HULU.COM, unless I get arrested for watching HULU or something, because that would be a helluva story wouldn’t it?
UPDATE – the video expired on Hulu, so disregard and go ten-eight.
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