It was a Monday and roll call was at 0600 hours sharp. The morning always starts out dreary due to the lack of good news. Everything major that happened recently is gone over in extreme detail; a depressing way to start off the day. Once I finally hit the road at 0630, I can make the day what I want it to be. My city is impoverished. It is full of people who are uneducated, people who don’t understand what is happening around them making them susceptible to being a victim. It is filled with the homeless and drug dealers from everyday users all the way to kingpins of the region. Although there is a lot of crime in my city, most are repeat offenders, the same usual suspects. But I would say one of the most difficult parts of my job is handling domestic violence calls. In my state, law enforcement is required to make an arrest of somebody in all domestic living situations, defined as having a child together, living together, or have been married.

1. Angel Next Door
It was a Monday and roll call was at 0600 hours sharp. The morning always starts out dreary due to the
lack of good news. Everything major that happened recently is gone over in extreme detail; a depressing
way to start off the day. Once I finally hit the road at 0630, I can make the day what I want it to be.
My city is impoverished. It is full of people who are uneducated, people who don’t understand what is
happening around them making them susceptible to being a victim. It is filled with the homeless and
drug dealers from everyday users all the way to kingpins of the region. Although there is a lot of crime in
my city, most are repeat offenders, the same usual suspects. But I would say one of the most difficult
parts of my job is handling domestic violence calls. In my state, law enforcement is required to make an
arrest of somebody in all domestic living situations, defined as having a child together, living together, or
have been married.
On that Monday morning, I was called to one of the worst cases I have seen: A woman named Nancy in
her thirties with two children by a man named Marco in his twenties. Marco had been beating his wife
for almost eight years, and many of those times he had been arrested as a result of neighbors calling in.
However, Nancy refused to help the police each time stating that she loved Marco - not the kind of love

2. I’d wish anyone to be in. Marco decided he would hurt Nancy while she was on the phone with her
father. He strangled her and slammed her head repeatedly into the door frame. Not knowing what was
going on, Nancy’s father called 9-1-1 and rushed to her house. Aroundthe same time, her neighbor,who
was also alerted by the commotion, went to see what was going on. Just as he left his house, he saw
Marco drive off. He rushed over next door and saw Nancy lying on the floor, motionless;he ran through
the front door and slipped on the wood floor covered in Nancy’s blood. When he got to Nancy, he held
her in his arms and talked to her while she drifted in and out of consciousness. While struggling to
breathe, Nancy said that she had had enough and vowed to fight back. She then fell unconscious. As
soon as I arrived on the scene, firemen were already performing CPR on Nancy who was fighting for her
life. Nancy’s father was also by her side.
I gave Nancy’s father and neighbor a ride to the hospital. While on our way there, I asked the neighbor
how he knew Nancy. He explained that he lived next door to her for years, and every time something
was going on, he was the one who called the police. The neighbor was a lonely man in his forties who
never married. He and Nancy would make conversation when they could, when Marco wasn’t around.
He told me he loved Nancy and always wished for a better life for her away from Marco’s abuse.
I waited for what seemed to be hours in the waiting room. Nancy came out of surgery around 1130 and I
let her father and neighbor go see her. Nancy’s eyes lit up when she saw her neighbor enter the room. It
was as if they had been lovers for years. I could tell at that very moment she was as much attracted to
him as he was to her. He kissed her with a deep passion and held her tight, never wanting their love to
be concealed or separated ever again. At that moment, it was as if I was watching a soap opera. It was a
love so pure that not even her baggage, her children or her abusive ex-husband could keep away any
longer. It was perfect. Her father I left them to their privacy.
A few months after the call, I was on patrol in the same area and drove by the house. The front yard was
unkempt. The grass had grown so long and wild that you could barely make out the outline of a porch.
Upon closer inspection, the house was rundown and had been vacant for some time and marked as
condemned. I walked next door and there in front sat Nancy with her two children and her neighbor.
She had since moved in with him, so I learned over a nice glass of lemonade. They agreed they wanted
to sort everything out and take it slow, but I knew by the way they looked into each other’s eyes, there
was a future there. There was love.
Before I left, Nancy couldn’t thank me enough for helping them that day.
“I didn’t do anything,” I explained, “I was just there.”
“It was your neighbor who went above and beyond to protect you and help you in your time of need. He
is the one you should be thanking.”
Nancy smiled at my words and turned towards her neighbor.
“Before, I thanked God every night for the blessings He had given me,” she confessed.
“Never before did I think that His blessing lay next door.”

3. Story by: Dan Daniels
From: USA
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