Red and Blue Make Purple

She caught my attention because of her amazing French twist.

“Did she do that herself or did someone do it for her?”, I thought to myself. I knew that female police officers must always have their hair pulled back and secure when on duty. It’s due to safety reasons and creates a more uniform look. This woman, however, had turned the mundane into style.

I was out later than usual. It was almost 9 o’clock and I was ready to get home. One more stop. I typically stopped at this gas station because they had my energy drinks on sale and I needed them for the next day. I don’t even pretend anymore that I’ll get up early enough to make a stop on the way to work.

The officer held the door open behind her as we both walked into the store. I thanked her and headed for the drink coolers. As she perused the candy aisle, I wondered if she was getting off duty or just heading in for her shift.

I heard the ding of the front door welcoming another customer entering the store. I was trying to hurry up and make my selection so that I could pay and go. I grabbed my drinks and headed for the cash register.

As I was making my way towards the front of the store, a loud thump caught my attention. I glanced over my shoulder to see four young guys a couple of aisles over that had obviously dropped something. It caught the officer’s attention too. She glanced up at the guys on the next aisle and then went back to her candy.

One of the guys yells out “What are you looking at bitch?” in the direction of the officer.

“Excuse me?”, she responded, appearing confused.

“I said what the fuck you looking at BITCH?” with a heavy emphasis on the bitch.

“I just heard something fall and was looking to make sure everyone was ok”, she calmly replied.

The guy mumbled something under his breath and walked over to the coolers.

Everything appeared to be fine after the outburst. I paid for my items and headed out the door as the officer made her way to the register.

When I got to my car, my phone dinged, indicating that I had a text message. I pulled out my phone and saw it was my husband asking, “Where are you?” I replied that I stopped by the store and would be home shortly. I turned on my car, put on my seatbelt, and plugged my phone into the charger.

As I put my car into reverse to back out of the parking spot, I glanced in my review mirror to check for cars and pedestrians. As I looked, I noticed that the officer had come out of the store and was walking to her patrol car parked on the side of the store. However, she wasn’t alone.

The same juveniles that had yelled at her inside the store were now following her. The officer began walking backward toward her vehicle at this point, so I could tell she was getting into a more defensive position. They were yelling at her and making gestures with their hands. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, so I rolled down my window. I heard an owl hoot from the direction of the old dilapidated barn that sat beside the store. However, it was drowned out by the four guys hollering and cursing at the officer.

“Shouldn’t your bitch ass be in the kitchen making sandwiches or letting a baby suck on your tit somewhere”, one of them yelled.

“Nah man, she’d rather be out here harassing folks and taking their money for stupid shit like having an expired tag”, another one said.

The first one came back with, “Wasn’t it some woman pig that took your old man to jail when they found that nasty kid shit on his computer?”

“Yeah, dude -- probably this bitch. She probably watched it with him in the jail. She looks like she’d be a nasty slut.”

The guys continued to make crude comments about her, her family, her job, and anything else they thought would get a rise out of her. They also continued to advance. I sat watching in my car. The officer’s only reply to all of the obscene comments was, “Ok guys, you had your fun, now go about your business. I’ve got to get to the station.”

As she turned to open her car door, one of the guys ran up to her, place his hand in the fold of her French twist, snapped her head back, and then pummeled it into the side of her car door. Blindsided, one hand went up to protect herself from a second blow, and the other went to her duty belt. As she wrapped her hand around her pepper spray, two of the guys ran forward and grabbed each arm, pulling them away from her body. Her pepper spray dropped to the ground and rolled under her car. With her torso left unprotected and facing toward the other two, they began taking turns punching her in the stomach and chest.

As I saw what was happening, adrenaline filled my body and I did the dumbest thing I could have possibly done. I threw open my car door, launched myself from the car, and began running towards these bastards. I began yelling at them to stop and to leave her alone.

Just before I got to her, one of the guys grabbed me and pushed me back. “This don’t concern you bitch”, he said.

I got back up and rushed him a second time. He threw me again. This time, one of the parking pillars stopped my fall but knocked my breath away.

“Do it again cunt and see what happens. I’ll break your fucking face like this other bitch”, he yelled over his shoulder as he went back to the officer. When he got close, he hocked back and spit right in her face.

I realized that there was no way that we could fight off these guys. They were much younger, muscular, probably on drugs, and there were four of them.

I pulled my phone from my back pocket and began dialing 911. I had to get help before they killed her. The phone seemed to ring forever. As soon as I heard “9-1-1, where is your emergency?” I began shouting information, “You need to get officers to the Jones’ Store on Hwy 59 immediately! One of your officers is being attacked!”

At that, the guy who spat in the officer’s face turned around and saw me on the phone. He started towards me, and I began to run. I jumped in my car and locked it as fast as I could. My damn window was still down. I turned on the car and it rose to the top just as the guy rounded the hood of my car.

“Hello, hello! Ma’am!”, the 9-1-1 operator impatiently said.

“I’m sorry, one of the guys who was beating the officer saw that I had my phone and chased me. I’m in my car now, but ----

The guy punched the window. It cracked but didn’t break. I screamed.

“Holy shit, he’s trying to break my window to get to me”, I told the dispatcher.

“It’s ok, just try to stay on the phone. We have help coming. They’re running lights and siren”, she responded.

“Ok, he’s just standing there looking around right now.”

Apparently, he was looking for something to break the window with, because he walked toward the gas pumps and came running back with what looked like some kind of shovel. Just before he reached the car, I put the car in reverse and slammed on the gas. He chucked the shovel toward my car. It landed with a crash against my windshield and cracks stretched outward from the point of impact.

It was obvious that I couldn’t help the officer by myself. All I could do was give the dispatcher as much information as possible to help them there faster and hopefully catch the assholes. I could only do that, however, if I was able to stay on the phone, which wouldn’t happen if this guy busted my window and was able to get to me.

He chased after my car, but I was far enough back to brake and put the car in drive. I drove out of the parking lot and down the road. I saw him stop and turn back around.

I made a U-turn and came back to the gas station so that I could update 911. When I returned, the officer was laying on the ground, unconscious. They were kicking her, over and over and over. I could see blood running from her nose and mouth. Her uniform shirt that was originally blue was now a deep shade of purple as her red blood soaked the fabric.

All I could hear was the whopping sound as the toes of their boots struck her, the crackling of the gravel as their heels slid over it mid- kick, and the owl. The owl that I heard earlier was now hooting every few seconds. Did it know what was happening? Could it see the violent inhumanity that taking place right in front of us? Did it feel as helpless as I did?

Help Arrived

Patrol cars slide in sideways, lights blinding and sirens blaring. As the sirens filled the cool night air, the juveniles took off into the woods behind the store. I stayed in my car. My legs felt numb. My chest felt hollow.

The officers that arrived immediately went to the officer’s side. I could tell it wasn’t good by their reactions. Once the ambulance crew arrived, a couple of officers came to talk to me. Several more took out their flashlights and began searching the wood line for the suspects.

Shortly after the ambulance’s arrival, I saw a paramedic step out of the back with a white sheet, which they placed over the officer.

She was gone.

She was gone because of the uniform she wore. She was gone because she had dedicated her life to helping others. She was gone because she had been made out to be a villain, even after all her sacrifices.

The owl gave one lone hoot.

3 Days Later

Three days later, my husband and I walked up the small hill that led to the graveside. I didn’t know the officer, but her family had asked if I would attend her funeral. They said that they appreciated what I tried to do and they feel that Elisa knew that I tried to help her. That was her name, Sgt Elisa Clark. She had been with the police department for eight years. She loved her job and her community.

She left behind her mother, father, husband, and three children, two boys and a girl. They were seated in the front near the casket, which was draped with the American flag.

My husband and I stood in the back during the service. Echo taps played and the honor guard stepped up to the casket. They ceremoniously lifted the flag, folded it, and presented it to Elisa’s husband and children.

They stepped back and the taps ceased.

Somewhere in the distance, amid the bright, shining sun, I swear I heard the hoot of an owl.