Final Meeting with the Barber/Sand Point/Thurs Sept 20/ 10:04 pm: When Officer Witmer arrived at the home of a retired fireman, he was led into the living room. There the retired fireman explained to the officer that since the day before he had received several disturbing phone messages from his barber. The former fireman then played the messages for the officer's benefit. Police Beat will blend the five messages into one for the reader's convenience. The barber said he wanted to meet with the former fireman for a "one on one." He had a shotgun with him, and would use it during the meeting. Also, the barber was injured in Vietnam and wanted to talk about his injury during the all-important meeting. After playing the last message, the former fireman explained to Officer Witmer that he was an officer in the military during the time when the barber served in Vietnam, and believed the meeting was somehow connected to that distant but not faded past. Officer Witmer gave the Vietnam victim information on how to get a protection order.
Street of Disbelief/Greenwood/Fri Sept 21/2:29 am: Officer Street writes: "I was traveling eastbound in the 11000 block of N 90th when I was flagged down by a suspect. She ran up to me and advised that she had a problem with a man who was refusing to pay her for her services. I looked at her in disbelief and asked her what was she talking about?" The lady explained again that she and the gentleman standing next to her had made an agreement: She would perform a sex act, and he would pay for it. She'd fulfilled her part of the agreement, but the gentleman had not. He still owed her $40. "What do you want me to do about that?" asked the officer, who was still locked in a state of disbelief. The woman wanted her payment, and felt it was the officer's duty to resolve the matter. Officer Street arrested both the lady and the cheap gentleman and transported them to the precinct.
This Goes Out to All My Nizzers/North Seattle/Sat Sept 22/3:09 am: A man was sleeping in the bed of his pickup truck, which was parked in front of his house, when he was awoken by a disturbance. The white man looked up and saw two black men arguing under a bright porch light at the home next-door. One of the black men walked up to him and asked for a cigarette. The man in the pickup gave him a cigarette. The black man returned to the house next-door and resumed the argument with the other black man. The man in the pickup tried to re-enter sleep but was kept awake by the loud argument. Finally he rose up from the bed of the truck and asked the black men to "keep quiet." But the black men who bummed the cigarette heard the white man say, "Keep quiet, you nizzers," and thought "nizzer" was a new configuration for "nigger." The black man grabbed a club, then walked over to the white man and whacked his left arm. The white man responded by punching his attacker in the mouth. When Officer Smith arrived, it was evident to him that the man from the truck and the man who was called a nizzer were both intoxicated. The parties agreed with Officer Smith's decision not to make an arrest. (Quick note: Police Beat is aware of only two variations of the word nigger: One, "niggaz," is used by American hiphop acts, and the other, "naggas," is used by South African hiphop acts.)
