Questions Posted to "Ask a Dispatcher"
Q. Yesterday I was driving up Cordova Street to a house I'm housesitting for and there was a couple standing in the road. I kept driving up the hill thinking that they would move and they didn't so I waited... and waited... and eventually honked my horn thinking that would be enough for them to move. Insead of them getting out of the way the guy tried to come attack my car, but his girlfriend was pushing him back until there was enough room for me to go around... my question is, the police could take 5 - 10 minutes to get there, what should a person do if that were to ever happen again (not that people attack cars everyday...)?
Also, I noticed that when I went down the hill later on the police were talking to the man. Did he get arrested?
Dear Juneau Resident,
JPD did contact that gentleman and he agreed that he needed some help with what was going on in his life. We gave him a ride to the hospital to hook him up with the best resources for him.
JPD spends lots of time going to calls where the primary issues are due to substance abuse and/or mental health issues. Those calls don't necessarily lead to criminal charges but can be 'powderkeg' situations and you do not want a piece of them, trust me on this.
Yesterday, you came across a person behaving irrationally, standing in the road and then facing off with a motorist who wants to get by. You probably intuitively knew that there was lots of stuff going on with that person and you had best not join in the crisis. Always listen to those instincts! It's like when an elevator opens and you see a person that just gives you a weird feeling. Don't get in! We are animals like other animals and have self protective instincts that will help us stay safe if we listen to them.
You did the right thing by staying in your car. Cars are relatively safe places once you lock the doors. Then you should move away from a person behaving irrationally without adding energy to the situation. Loud noises or, heaven forbid, negative hand gestures are not good around someone in crisis. Once you are in a safe place give us a call so one or more JPD officers can assess the situation.
