All Unhappy Families Are More or Less Alike/Thurs Nov 23/4:50 pm: Today, Officer Kathleen Graves was dispatched to a home on Morgan Street. Upon arrival, she found a large crowd of people standing in front of the home arguing among each other. Officer Graves then separated all the arguers, interviewed them individually, and came up with this story: At about 4 pm, a Federal Way man arrived at the house for Thanksgiving dinner with his wife and youngest son. As he walked toward the home, his youngest son, who was still getting out of the car, accidentally hit his head against the car door. When the father ran toward the car to console his crying son, he pushed a woman out of his way and she fell on the lawn. The sister to this fallen woman was standing in the house when she saw the man hit her beloved sister. So she ran out outside and confronted him. She yelled at the man, threatened him, and then attempted throw a punch. The Federal Way man blocked the punch and pushed her away from him. She also fell on the lawn. When the sister's mother saw all of this happening from a window while inside the house, she became very upset, walked outside, and started to yell at everyone on the lawn. At this point, the remaining members of the family walked outside and joined in the yelling and fighting. In conclusion, Officer Graves writes: "We discussed the situation with all parties and cleared up the misunderstandings. The man, his wife, and his youngest son left and returned to Federal Way, and both families were given case numbers and explained the seriousness of the domestic violence laws for the state of Washington."

Reckless Firecrackers/Downtown/Fri Nov 24/5:45 pm: A horse-drawn carriage driver reported to Officer Bisson that while she was taking a trip around the block with her holiday customers, a man appeared out of nowhere and threw an M-80 firecracker at the feet of her horse. The firecracker exploded with a loud boom and startled the horse. The carriage driver had to stand and command the reins to prevent the crazed horse from racing off. The horse calmed down and nobody was injured. The police quickly located the suspect and arrested him for reckless endangerment.

A Hero of Our Time/Fri Nov 24/10:15 pm: Officer M. Tighe wrote this report on the busiest shopping day in America: "I was working uniformed patrol heading southbound on Rainier Ave S when I noticed a group of four black males kneeling on the ground on the west side of Rainier Ave S and Willow St. Each of the four males was holding money in his hands and there was a single die in between them. All four suspects were gambling on the sidewalk; several citizens where also using this sidewalk. I performed a U-turn and approached all four suspects. When I stepped out of my patrol vehicle, I asked all of them to show me their hands. I then saw one suspect pick the die up off the street and quickly turn away from me. All suspects turned their backs on me and began walking away from me. I ordered them to stop, but the suspects continued to walk away in opposite directions. I immediately called for backup.

"[After making the call], I walked up to one suspect and ordered him to stop. He stopped and turned toward me. I noticed he had no money in his hands. I asked the suspect where he put his money. He said it was in his pockets. I searched his pockets and found the money. I continued the search, and when I felt a hard, small object around the thigh area, I asked the suspect what that was. He said it was a die. He had placed it into his thermal underwear when he saw me approach him. I removed the object from his [thermal underwear] and confirmed it was a single die. I [then] transported the suspect to the South Precinct for booking."