LC, I guess you will be laying on the couch for the next few days watching reruns of Perry Mason. I hope you're feeling better soon, and I'm so glad that your niece is ok.
I thought of you last night. My bf, my son, and I were driving around town, and my son starts giving a "crime tour".
He was telling us about the various shootouts, and pointing to the area where it happened as we drove by. We weren't in a bad neighborhood, either! Sheesh, the things that happen while I'm sleeping!
Anyway, my son said that a man stole a pickup truck at 12:30am. The owner heard the theft, and reported it immediately. The police were looking for the pickup, and found it at 12:56 or something (pretty fast, eh?). The thief sped off, the police chased him, and he finally crashing into someone's front porch. He hopped out of the truck and opened fire on the police. They fired back, but the guy just wasn't going down. I guess over 30 shots were fired. They tased him, and he was shot 13 times (?) before they could get him under control. He later died. My son isn't sure what the guy was on to make him act this way.
I thought...my god, I would be pretty freaked to wake up with a pickup truck on my front porch, and police firing at my house. Then I thought, I wonder what LC would do? Now I know - you'd jump in and nail the guy!
By the way, the residents of the house are fine. The husband woke up and grabbed the wife, threw her on the floor, and they laid there until everything was over.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle
i reminded him at one point i was ARMED! and he kind of laughed heh heh so it seems i will live, 
and i have to drive cruiser back to sheriff office with paperwork from hospital. i have to stay off leg until at least wednesday. so my sgt. tells me my brother from up north had called, this scared me , he has NEVER called me at work! i knew it had to be bad. well it seems his niece, age 20, had been a missing person down here in florida for 17 hours, her car found at a shopping mall and no sign of her. but no missing person report can be taken for 24 hours and this family was paralyzed with fear and terror. i knew from experience this was not going to be good. we call LT. in charge of our area and have him call the other sheriff, who wants no interference! 
but did say he would check hospitals and jails. as it turned out, she was in jail, had been arrested for shoplifting and was too ashamed to call anyone! with relief we knew she was safe and i came home and had a very large and stiff drink at 0430. and went to bed. and my knee is killing me :-1 . so....how was your night?? and please, no sympathy, it could have been much worse!
