This occurred in the City of Prineville. The town had under 5000 people and a lot of churches and bars. I was an officer in the city from 1971 through 1976.

I was sent to a residence and asked to transport a young man to the hospital because he had an apparent mental illness. Now I knew this young fellow and I can assure you that most of his illness was self inflicted from alcohol and drug abuse. I also knew that the gift of gab would get him to the hospital, because when he was high or drunk he didn’t feel pain and it would take more than me to win a wrestling match. I lied to the young man and talked him into my car and then out of the car and into a “secure” hospital room. I left him in the care of the nursing staff. They gave him an injection of something that was to make him mellow. He was very happy about receiving something in a needle.

A few hours later I was sent to a local church that had a very tall steeple. Inside the church a meeting was in progress when sounds were heard on the roof. It was thought that a giant bird or maybe a giant rat had gotten onto the roof. When the church folks went outside to investigate the strange noises they discovered a man had climbed to the top of the steeple and was cursing the world. When I arrived I discovered the man on the steeple was the same man I had left at the hospital, and he obviously wasn’t mellow any more. I had the dispatcher telephone the hospital personnel and determine why they had released the young man, or maybe he had escaped from their custody, because it was obvious he was still a danger to himself. The hospital said he had torn the heavy metal screen off his hospital room’s windows and had run off. I was informed that the hospital had not reported his unauthorized discharge because they didn’t want him back.

Now I’m standing on the ground looking up toward the young man, who was at least 50 feet up the steeple, singing away, but not in a language that was conducive to being sung from a church steeple, especially on a Sunday. Most of the church people were demanding I climb up on the church, and up the steeple, where I was to gently remove the young man. I was reluctant to make that climb. My wings were not fully developed and I figured I would be dislodged from the steeple and I would not be able to float to the ground gracefully, and besides the ensuing crash would ruin my image and muss my uniform.

I could have employed the talking the person down, but I had not been sent to one of those classes on crises intervention. Heck, I didn’t even know they existed. I was trying to remain professional and not simply curse the idiot. He was talking poorly about me.

As I stood there a deputy drove up in his patrol car. I was thankful for any assistance he might be able to give me. He was the only other officer on duty, besides me, in Crook County. I explained the situation to him and while we were there the church people were yelling at me to climb up the steeple and rescue the man. The deputy looked at me and then walked quietly to the side of the church. He looked up at the young man and yelled until he had his attention. Then to my utter horror he made a statement that I haven’t forgotten. He said, “ You crazy son of a bitch, either climb down off that roof or jump and splatter your guts on the sidewalk because you’re making me late for lunch ”.

All of the church people stood there in stunned silence. Their mouths were the shapes of large “O’s” and their eyes were as big as dinner plates. I knew this was going to be reported to my boss as a large public relations disaster. There was a roar coming from the top of the steeple, the young man was making the unearthly noise. Down he came with speed that would make an antelope jealous. He sounded like an enraged lion or maybe a mad bull, or maybe both at once. When he landed on the ground, it was on both feet, he attacked me, not the insulting deputy. Down to the ground we went. In the scuffle that followed the deputy helped me handcuff the young man and place him in the back of my patrol car. Once in the patrol car he rolled onto his back and kicked all of the back windows out of my patrol unit.

I hauled him to jail in my newly air conditioned car. When he sobered up he was again a calm young man. I must confess that my boss was not impressed about the newly air conditioned car. He was also not pleased about insulting the poor man because of being late to lunch. He still thinks I coached the deputy about what to say to the disturbed young man. By the way my wings still haven’t developed.