The Worldly Woes of a Semi-Pro Football Player/University District/ Sat Sept 2/8:00 pm: Soon after sunset, a semi-pro football player reported to Officer Henderson that another semi-pro football player had stolen $400 he stashed in a secret hole in his home. Not explaining why he kept his money in little secret places instead of a bank, the semi-pro football player--who was about to leave for Las Vegas to play a game of semi-pro football--stated that he knew he could never prove that his colleague had stolen his money. He said he just wanted the incident documented. The suspect is described as hick-set, weighing 300 pounds, and having a shaved head.

Disorder, Depression, Paranoia/Rainier Valley/Sat Sept 2/11:55 pm: Four hours after the semi-pro football player made his report and turned his thoughts toward the game he was about to play in Las Vegas, Officer Carpenter arrived at an apartment on Rainier Avenue S and found a man with a gunshot wound to the leg who was lying on the floor of the entry foyer. An empty wheelchair stood behind the bleeding man, who described himself to Officer Carpenter as a war veteran who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, and paranoia. He also lives alone. Tonight he heard noises outside his apartment and became fearful. He backed his wheelchair into the entryway to command a full view of the hostile world, a cocked handgun on his lap. Another gun, a Ruger, was in a bag behind his wheelchair. He realized after a while that he was just being paranoid; the world was safe, the shadows harmless. But while wheeling back into his room, his chair hit the threshold with such force that the gun on his lap went off, firing a round into his leg. Officer Carpenter examined the scene; he looked at the blood in the apartment, the blood in the elevator, and the blood on the floor of the foyer, and concluded that the vet's story was consistent.

Another Language, Another World/Rainier Valley/Mon Sept 4/Midnight: As the vet healed from the accidental discharge, a Mexican man was dying from a stab wound to the abdomen. The dying man spoke no English, but even after the police brought in a translator to extract the truth from the man, they didn't get a clear story. All the cops discovered was that the dying man had returned home from a party where he'd sustained the fatal injuries.

Second Thoughts, Third Thoughts/Central District/Mon Sept 4/12:45 am: During the final moments of the Mexican's life, a young man approached an older man pumping gas into his car at an AM/PM Minimart on MLK Way S, and jammed an index finger into the other's back. The older man wasn't sure whether the young man had a hard finger or soft pistol, so he turned over his money--$5. The young man took the money, thought for a moment, felt guilty, and gave the money back, explaining that he normally did not do this sort of thing. Then the young man changed his mind again and demanded the money back. The young man fled the scene, $5 in hand, before he changed his mind again.