Trent Ruble's Blog: The Other Way It Is - Posts Tagged "suicidal"

It was about 20 years ago when Officer Terry Stoffel and I, as well as another officer who wishes to remain unidentified, were called to Valley View Estates where a resident named Carl claimed he was going to kill himself. We were told he had a gun and that he was alone in his mobile home. At the time, the three of us were working as second shift patrol officers in the small Northeast Indiana city that is home to Valley View. My two partners and I had been police officers for about ten years and we'd been to these kinds of calls several times by then.



When we arrived at the park we made our way to the address provided by the dispatcher. I cautiously knocked on the door with no answer. We could hear Carl inside so we knew he was there. There was no indication that anyone other than Carl was in danger so we decided it was best not to risk our safety by forcing our way in. We backed away and just watched.

After about 20 minutes the door to the trailer popped open and out came Carl. Apparently, he thought we'd left. He had both hands full of boxes and was headed toward a car parked in the driveway. We didn't see a weapon on him so, with his hands occupied, we decided it was a good time to approach him. My partners and I rushed toward him, surprising him and causing him to drop his boxes. As I neared him, Carl struck me square in the cheek bone. Myself and the other officers tackled him and attempted to gain control. As we wrestled on the ground, my unidentified partner yelled, "I'm going to spray him!" At once, Carl moved his head to avoid the hot pepper spray which revealed Terry who was directly under him. When the first officer sprayed, the fiery liquid went right down the future sheriff's throat! Terry immediately got up, ran to the street and threw up (the average pepper spray is about 40 times hotter than Tabasco Sauce). Meanwhile, the other two of us were able to take Carl into custody and he was eventually transported to a nearby mental health facility. The next day Terry came to work and said, "That pepper spray is just as hot coming out as it is going in!" Years later he told me the irritation was so bad he had to seek medical attention.

I decided not to charge Carl for battering a police officer due to his many other issues. A few days after the incident, he called me to apologize and to thank me for not charging him. I was especially grateful for that phone call because, while we often receive calls from unhappy "customers," it's rare to hear from those who appreciate what we've done.

Though the three of us have since retired from that small police department, Terry and I have remained in law enforcement. In fact, Terry was later elected county sheriff and continues to serve well in that capacity today.

I've since lost track of Carl but wish him well.