"Give me your name and your stepfather's name," I said. "My name is Assel Grant, and my stepfather is Jasim Grant," he replied.
"Do you know where he went? How did he leave? By car?"
"I don't know where he went, but he owns an F150 Crew Cab."
Jimmy called for an ambulance over the radio, and in about fifteen minutes, the paramedics arrived, took over the care of the injured person, and brought them to the hospital.
Jimmy returned to the police car and reported the case, asking the dispatch center to check Jasim Grant's information and to look up details about his pickup truck.
Jimmy waited in the patrol car for a while and noticed a Ford pickup driving by, but he hadn't familiarized himself with all the makes and models yet, so he couldn't tell if it was Jasim's vehicle or not.
The pickup stopped in front of the police car, right outside Jasim's house, and a man—somewhat unsteady—got out of the driver's side. Jimmy got out of his car and shouted, "Plaskey County Police, stop right there."
Jasim glanced at Jimmy and continued heading toward the house.
"Stop, Jasim! Get down on the ground and put your hands up."
After the warning, seeing that Jasim was still not stopping, Jimmy walked over, grabbed Jasim's right arm, but with a forceful shake, Jasim broke free from Jimmy's hold. "Who the hell are you? Get the fuck out of my yard."
It was clear Jasim was seriously drunk; he completely ignored the police uniform Jimmy was wearing. Jimmy didn't bother trying to communicate further and instead grabbed Jasim's arm, backpedaled, twisted around to Jasim's back, and took him down, handcuffing him.
"Jasim Grant, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?"
While Jasim was still on the ground, Jimmy gave him the famous Miranda warning, patted him down, pulled him up, and put him into the cage in the back seat of the patrol car.
"Adam47 reporting, suspect Jasim has been apprehended, case closed."
Jimmy and Noah drove back to the station, and after detaining Jasim, Jimmy went to complete the case report, adding a charge of driving under the influence on top of the assault.
After patrolling for a while longer, it was time for Jimmy and Noah to end their shift.
"Noah, give me a summary, how did I do today?"
"Overall, not bad, but there were two instances where you put your life at risk."
"The first was during the chase to catch the robber. In the process, you need to be aware of your surroundings, especially in crowded areas like parks. You have to be wary of potential accomplices and dangers. You should have drawn your weapon after entering the park."
"The second time was apprehending the drunk. Before you approached him, you should have ensured he didn't have a gun, which you completely failed to check. With a drunk, we can't predict his actions. If he had a gun, you could have been shot the moment you approached."
"Nevertheless, congratulations on successfully passing your FTO plainclothes day."
Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief; to say he wasn't nervous would be a lie. He had only been patrolling for a few days, and suddenly having to handle a case alone was quite stressful.
"Great, Noah, what's the plan for tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? You'll be patrolling by yourself. Be careful—this time there's no safety line; remember to always protect yourself first."
"What about my training? Is it over?"
"Yes, congratulations." "Alright, then I guess I'll need to make my own arrangements for the shooting range from now on."
Jimmy got back to his apartment. Ever since he quit his job at the restaurant, he had to fend for himself when it came to lunch and dinner. The food truck next to the police station was there during lunchtime but gone by the afternoon. Dinner usually consisted of grabbing a pizza or a burger, maybe a hot dog on the road.
He grabbed a beer from the fridge, turned on the TV, and Jimmy settled into his evening downtime.
The TV had become Jimmy's most important source of external information because his days had been so busy before, especially with his restaurant job, which generally got him home by 11 p.m., leaving him very little time to understand the world.
Being a cop had been some of the most downtime he'd had; getting off work and watching the news gave him a bit of insight into what was happening elsewhere in the United States and helped him assess what kind of world he was living in.
However, the news never featured any content he was intimately familiar with. Luckily, there were also no signs of notorious corporations like the Stark Group or the Umbrella Group. It would be game over if he found himself in a world similar to those in the novels he'd read, like some sort of Resident Evil scenario.
Lately, he and Noah had been on day shifts, which the chief had kindly arranged, since with the current manpower, working the night shift was the norm.
But he figured his luck wouldn't last much longer. Starting tomorrow, patrolling alone, he suspected it would only be a matter of days before he had to start shift work like the other officers.
The next morning, Jimmy entered the station and received some welcome news: it was Friday and payday. He had just found out that the police department pays biweekly; the money he had withdrawn before was not yet banked, so now was the perfect time to take care of opening an account.
Here's a bit about the salary of an American police officer: Typically, rookie officers fresh out of police academy start on the lower end of the pay scale. Depending on the development level of the city they serve in, salaries can be higher in economically vibrant and larger cities, but there are exceptions. For example, taking 2021 data because data from 2000 wasn't available, starting salaries for new cops in California cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco are about $6,000, earning over $70,000 a year which is middle class. But in New York, it's only $3,500, with an annual salary of over $40,000, which is pretty dire considering the city's cost of living. To give another example, in Mississippi—America's poorest state—new officers at the Jackson City Police Department make around $2,500 a month, which comes to an annual salary of $30,000.
Arkansas is also among the poorest states in America, generally ranked fourth or fifth from the bottom, and this ranking hasn't changed much over the past twenty years or so. Hence, I've set the pay based on the standards of Mississippi.
Because of his blank history, Jimmy, who joined the force in his third year, has a salary of $3,500, at an hourly wage of $20, making a little over $40,000 a year.
The police department offers a plethora of benefits for officers, including annual leave, sick leave, insurance, healthcare, and more, but these details are too complex to list extensively.
Police overtime pay can be calculated in two ways: one is by multiplying overtime hours by a factor of 1.5 to determine daily wages; the other is to accumulate overtime hours and convert them into paid leave, which is generally also computed at a 1.5 rate, but policies vary by department, such as the limit on paid leave exchange per year.