I Could Have Done That

We were being dispatched to assist PD with a wellness check. A wellness check is when a neighbor a family member calls 911 and asks that we check on someone. Usually it's because they haven't been heard from in a while. Sometimes it's because of a smell. Thank goodness for SCBAs. This time the old man that lived at that address hadn't been seen in several days and his garage door was open.

In front of the house we met the sergeant. According to him his officers had been around the house and checked every window and door. All were locked. We were called to force open one of the doors.

The officer in charge said that after we made entry his guys would clear the house and make sure everything was safe. I was ok with that. I grabbed the irons and headed for the garage.

I sized up the door. It was a hollow core wood door. Easily forced. I handed the irons to my captain and set up to kick the door in. With a good kick the door flew open. The officers announced themselves and asked that anyone inside do the same. An old man asked what was going on.

After a short conversation with the home owner the police cleared us. The sergeant pulled me aside and said that he could have opened the door that way. He further explained that they had called us because they thought we would do less damage. I showed him the irons and said that I had a flat head axe and a mid-evil weapon looking tool called a halligan. Did he really think I would cause less damage with those?