ArcaMax

I stood next to a pile of bagged possessions, and in the three see-through bags on top, each had its own rosary.

Back in her unit, she showed me the active calls. We headed to a park; there was a report of a man with knives that turned out to be a domestic dispute. We parked to be a police presence in an area I had received a call about earlier in the week, and she made some follow-up calls.

She then got wind that she might be able to check on the warrant for someone, and as we arrived at the location, three other units showed up to back her up. One officer headed to watch the back, and the other two stood behind Casteneda as she knocked on the door, her body to the side of the door. A woman got out of a car in the parking lot: The person was already in jail. And so we went back to the detention center.

It was the "blues" that were mentioned over and over: fentanyl. The blues used at the park near the bathroom. The blues used behind the run-down apartment. The person who, when delivered the new charge at the detention center, was so much more "there since they were now off the blues."

One report of a man in a car with a band on his arm mixed it up slightly. So did another call for a domestic dispute that ended with a banged-up person being checked out by the fire department and sent off with the ambulance.

At quarter to 4, I left with Castenada as she headed in to do five reports, which would summarize her day. It would take her more than a half-hour to finish, and by then, she hadn't been able to eat more than a Rice Krispies Treat for lunch.

========

Cassie McClure is a writer, millennial, and unapologetic fan of the Oxford comma. She can be contacted at cassie@mcclurepublications.com. To find out more about Cassie McClure and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Copyright 2024 Creators Syndicate Inc.