Why the cops came to my door...

I have told Brian many times that if he ever gets arrested I will NOT post bail. Because if he get arrested it will be for doing something pathetic, like this...

Sunday nite, around 9:40 pm I was up in my bedroom drawing. AnnaMae was asleep, my nephew was downstairs, and Luke had taken a late, long nap so he and daddy were in the office playing Super Mario 3. Or so I thought...

"POUND! POUND! POUND!"

Who in the world would be knocking on my door at this time of nite?

"POUND! POUND! POUND!"

Then I knew that the only people who pound on doors like this are the police.

"POUND! POUND! POUND!"

So I gingerly trudge downstairs and open the door. At this point my nephew has pulled off his headphones and is sitting on his bed, listening to the whole event. I open the door, and sure enough it is a couple of Cops, with those flashlights that you know could take out a rhino at 50 paces.

"Sorry to bother you ma'm, but how many people live in this residence?" the officer asks, noting my pajamas and sweet/dazed demeanor.
"Ummm, Me, my husband, my nephew, and two children" I reply, slightly bewildered.
"How old is your nephew?"
"19"
"And your children?"
right on cue, AnnaMae wakes up, wailing.
"Small, I see. Sorry about that" this was a nice officer, and he recognized that my kiddos were little and sleepy. I'm getting perplexed.
"Where is your nephew now?" Ummm, strange question...
"he's down here, in the living room" I'm still not seeing any reason for this nice public servant to be attacking my innocuous door at this hour. Until his next question -

"Does anyone in your home have access to a laser pointer?" OK, now I have a clue and a strong suspicion about what's going on. With a sigh, a roll of my eyes, and a knowing heart I invite the officer in.
"Let me go see what The Boys are up to." I snag AM as she comes down the stairs, and I go open the office door. Sure enough, Luke and Brian come bounding out. I tell him there's a cop to see him, downstairs. I just go back in my bedroom to get AM back to sleep and ponder what Brian has done now.

I hear them talking for a while downstairs, then the parting "Luke, tell them what your name is..." "Goodbye officer!!" and the door closes. They come back up and I get the "full" story.

Brian and Luke, getting bored, had pulled out my laser pointer I use for lectures and were waving it around the field behind our house. Brian says they were only doing it for a couple minutes (probably closer to 10, I'm sure). Anyways, they were goofing off and pointing it at things, trees, cars, (he said something about "I thought it was a taxi" so I'm guessing I don't want to know if he was aiming the darn thing at the police car) etc. They saw some dude in black moving around in the field. If they pointed it on him or not, who knows. From their perspective, clean, harmless fun at night.

Not so for the policeman.

They were busy staking out a house across the field where there had been a report of a firearm. They were sneaking around, scoping out the place, when all of a sudden they see a laser dot (just like the dots from a scope) near them, their car, etc. They think the person they're scouting out has an accomplice waiting in a top window across the field ready to take them out. Needless to say, the police dove for cover under a tree and out of sight from the laser scope. Then, he and his police buddy come pounding on my door to find out who the second gunman is that got Kennedy.

Great. This is why I told Brian again, that if he ever gets arrested I'm not posting bail. AND I would NOT appreciate my laser pointer getting confiscated (it was a gift from my Dad and I need it for lectures). Brian has a knack for doing stupid, harmless things at EXACTLY the wrong time and getting caught for it.

Luckily, the officer just got his name, birthday, and all the other vital info on Brian. He was pleasant and I think he could tell that the two in front of him were harmless. According to my nephew, Brian was telling the officer how much of a good citizen he was and how he's called the police a few times over things in the neighborhood, and how he thinks they're underpaid, etc. etc. Brian and Luke would have talked his ear off if they'd had the chance, and Luke could have probably got a ride in a police car if they kept it up long enough.

Brian was freaking out that he was going to get in serious trouble. I'm sure they're not going to do anything more than write it up and put it in his file. I just laughed it off since I know the system is overworked and the officer doesn't have the time to follow up on harmless people like Brian. Luke had some interesting comments, though none were relevant enough to write down.

I am truly grateful that we live in a safe society where the police do follow-up on minor things, so the big things don't fall through the cracks. So many minor events each day that we are totally unaware of, yet they all add up to a relatively safe community.

Except for the second gunman in the upstairs window with a laser sight on his semi-automatic Duck Hunt gun... sheesh.