You know what’s crazy? I’ll tell you what’s crazy.™
Driving up on a felony bust.
I’ve done it a hundred, maybe a thousand times in my career, but it’s still a rush.
Thursday afternoon I’m checking out some scanner traffic about a man reportedly shot in the head.
I’m at the apartment complex. Crime tape is strung across the driveway. There are a handful of police cars on scene. I haven’t even begun working this scene yet when the phone rings.
It’s the assignment editor.
“I need you to break off on a bank robbery that just went down near you .”
“Where?,” I ask watching detectives take pictures from the breeze way.
“On nolensville road,” he says. “And it sounds like they are coming right at you.”
Just then I look up and see 3 squad cars flying down Harding Pke.
The sirens are whaling as the cars zoom by.
“I’m on it.”
Like a coffee pot starting to percolate, I feel that jerk of adrenaline shoot into the back of my neck.
I jump in the car and hand the camera to the intern.
“keep it rolling,” I say to the wide eyed kid.
VROOOOM
we make a left turn and travel all of 500 yards.
BAM
It’s all right there in front of me. There are blue lights and motorists stopped on the road.
“You think this is it? the intern asks neshiently.
I cast him a glance, as if to say, “of course this it, kid.”
I go into the turn lane, driving past dozens of stopped cars. I get to the crest of the hill and stop.
There in my windsheld is crime scene nirvana. There are a dozen cops out of their cruisers. I see blue lights swirling against the cold January sky. I see a myriad of glocks and assault shot guns trained on a red “hooptee” car.
I get my bearings, sense that I need to get out and grab for the camera.
I get in front of my news vehicle and stay low. Guns are drawn, the air is electric. I don’t know if shots are about to be fired or what.
I zoom in to the chaotic scene around me.
Then I hear a cop screaming through a bull horn.
PASSENGER INTHE REAR SEAT EXIT THE VEHICLE
I see a young man with his shirt off being frisked by cops.
I see officers tensing up, their hand guns at the ready.
I tell the intern to stay back.
Just then a young woman named Jasmine gets out of her car and stands beside me.
“This is crazy,” she says over and over again.
“It’s like COPS on TV,” I say.
She laughs. “Yeah, it’s crazy,” she says smiling.
Within a few minutes the crime scene goes from percolating unpredictable to secure. All three suspects are in the back of any number of police cars.
Authoroities will later say that two of the men went into the Bank of America up the street, pulled a hand gun and made off with the cash.
Cops give credit to a witness who followed the bad guys and called 911 reporting their position. The men were taken into custody easilly, without incident, without a shot fired.
I drive by one of the suspects while parking my vehicle, and I hear him angrily sneer. “someone snitched us out.”
I will later walk up to the officers on the scene and we will share a smile. I know these guys. I have been on raids with them in the past. They are good men and work hard.
We set up our camera on a nearby parking lot to get a few lock down shots.
I all ready got the gold, so I let the intern shoot.
“Practice kid,” I say giving him the camera.
The kid is thrilled, later telling me this is the greatest day ever.
I’m glad he is having fun. He should be having fun. It is fun. I told him that 30 years later and I still get a rush off this.
If he wants to do this job, he needs to feel that feeling, or get out now. Go sell F**king insurance.
He seems to understand.
Just then another photographer from the competition shows up.
I say hello to this grizzled vet and then wink at the intern.
“He has cops standing around,” I say. “We got cops with guns screaming and laying dudes on the Earth. We win!”
The inern smiles. He knows the action is gone, and the perps are all ready back at the station house being interrogated. You only get one shot at this moment and we owned it, exclusively.
He smiles back understanding a little of what goes into making this job so cool, so competitive.
“See ya on TV boys,” I say waiving to the officers.
They wave back, as we drive away.
By the way. The guy who was reportedly shot in the head? He fell off the 2nd floor by accident.
Never report scanner traffic they say.
And that is crazy.