On Duty

5:15 am; As if slowly emerging out of deep water I begin to hear the repetitive dinging of my alarm gradually getting louder with each ding. I roll over to silence it for 10 more minutes of rest only for it to go off again in what seamed like second later. Reluctantly I roll from the soft warm covers reminding myself it was my last shift for 3 days. But still, my fourth 12 hours shift in a row.

I pulled myself out of bed and into the bathroom. The stark chill of the tile prods me to quickly get dressed. Still half asleep pull on long layers before fastening my vest, buttoning my uniform and pinning my badge and name plate into place on my police uniform. After checking all of my gear is present and accounted for and secure, I kiss my sleeping wife and slowly drag myself out to my patrol vehicle probably looking like a zombie from the way I felt. I slid into the drivers’ seat and began my normal routine of checking on duty and rocking out to some “pump up” music for my short commute into my city.

The gas gauge indicated low on the dash in front of me, and upon entering the city limits I made a stop at my go-to gas station to fill up and then proceeded inside for my daily breakfast burrito. Everyone knows the importance of a good hearty breakfast and I am no different, my day has not truly begun until I’ve had my burrito.

At 5:50 in the morning there were only a handful of people inside the convenience store. I nodded a greeting to the cashier who recognized me and waved back with a “good morning”. I proceeded to the burrito bar lifting the lids of the warm fogged over containers releasing the delicious smells of bacon, sausage, eggs, and cheese. I placed my burrito and hot sauces on a paper tray then wen to fill up a water cup same as I do every morning. I check to see if I got everything I need and made my way back out to my vehicle, now freshly gassed up, I was ready to go and I carried on with the workday just like any other day.

Until about noon…. I got a call from my sergeant simply stating he wanted to speak with me back at the police department.

Unsure of the reason for my sergeant randomly calling me in, I started towards the P.D with a million thoughts rushing around my brain. I wondered what he could possibly need to discuss.

Upon arrival my sergeant directed to my lieutenant’s office, my worries growing slightly. Once I walked in, he gave me a stern command to “close the door". At this point I knew it could not be good and my heart pounded harder with every passing second as I tried to imagine what this could possibly be about.

Once I had taken a seat surrounded by my sergeant and lieutenant, the corporal behind the large intimidating desk in front of me, my sergeant briskly asks me to recall everything that had happened this morning. With that, my confusion and worry grew. I desperately tried to understand what they could be inquiring about. I sat there silently, sweating, my mind racing back to the very beginning of my day from my alarm going off to checking on duty to filling up my car with gas, to getting my break…

My face grew hot with embarrassment. “I forgot to pay for my burrito." I realized.

“Guess what that is, officer.” My sergeant sternly responded, “Theft.”

After an uncomfortable and humiliating lecture from my superiors I left the P.D. and went straight back to the gas station to pay for my burrito. The cashier greeted me with a wide grin. Stifling a chuckle he took my money. Fortunately, everyone was having a good laugh about it, and I was dubbed the “Burrito Bandit” amongst the other officers.

I did not go back to that gas station for my morning breakfast burrito for a long while.