Um...That Got Intense...Quickly

In the crime beat, things get intense. Quick. So that's obviously on my mind when I out at scenes or even doing interviews with people involved. It has to be, if I ever neglect that, it could get ugly.

Mom, if you're reading. Stop now.

Case in point, on Tuesday I had to handle a story where CPS took kids away from a family...As you can imagine, the last thing the family wants to see is me, with a camera aimed at them. So naturally I do my best to be respectful of what they're going through but also do my job to report the scene to you, at home.

So let's fast forward to late Tuesday evening. I've spoken with neighbors nearby who express their concern over the condition of the house and the kids. Although, to be fair I have to go and give the family a chance to speak for themselves. So I take our AP, Marchita, to point the camera on me, because I just have a hunch that they probably won't comment. In fact, I'm expecting a door to be slammed in my face. Well that happened...and more!

I knock on the door, and the family inside yells, "Who is it!?" I respond telling them I was with the news, I then hear them tell me to go away. I get it..I actually anticipated it. Before I could leave the porch a door is opened only to be slammed. "Good. You've made your point," I thought.

So I turn to leave, when I hear a lot of talk behind the door, where I hear something along the lines of "No. I'm gonna say something.." So, I paused to see if they did, then I asked, "Is there something you want to say?"

Oops.

I then hear, "That's it!" Followed by a "No, don't do it!"

Side note: Not what you want to hear when people are already yelling at you through a door. It was at that point that my mind and Marchita's quickly thought, "Look out for a weapon!"

So, back to the show, the door swings wide open and it felt like four (I didn't think to count them out) men burst out of the home and onto the porch just a few feet from me. One bolts past me, towards Marchita. Now, I'm an older brother, I have what I like to call the "Herd dog" instinct and that is to protect everyone around me. I spun around to make sure Marchita was okay, but only for a second because the people started yelling at me.

I heard, "You need to get out of here!" "I'm not telling Abilene any of my business!" "You need to shut that camera off!"

Um...That got intense. QUICK!

As they're shouting, I begin to calm them down. Speaking in a hushed tone, I assured them I wasn't looking to call anyone out, nor was I there to rub it in their face. Look, I know that this was the worst possible time for me to show up...some may argue there's never a good time for me to show up. All the same, I explained that I was sorry for what they went through, and how I hoped they understood that I only came by to give them a chance to speak for themselves, not to throw it in their face.

Well once that was out there, then they started in on telling me their life's story. All of them. At once. It was a lot to take in.

Thankfully, we ended on a much more level attitude, and I even got them to say they might talk to me when everything calms down.

As for Marchita, she was caught up in the rush and had never experienced that. I have to admit, I've been close to that...but never to the point where I was anticipating hostility. Thankfully, we were okay, though it reinforced the idea to be mindful of people's emotions and the situation around us.