STORY BEHIND THE POEM CODE THREE, APEC
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I know for some agencies code three means different things, for us it means
an emergency response with full lights and sirens. APEC stands for
The Asia Pacific Economic Conference. This is a gathering of 18 World
Leaders, including the Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretian and US President
Bill Clinton. I also realize that this is a security nightmare trying
to protect so many prominent leaders, but it still doesn't stop me poking
some fun at the "overkill" to which some of these precautions are taken.
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Gastown is a touristy area of Vancouver that is very close to the hotel
in which President Clinton was staying. Apparently this evening he
decided to take a "quiet" little stroll. There had to be 200 people
along on this stroll to protect the President. Point men went on
ahead to make sure everything was safe. Well it seems one of the
pointmen came across a drunk in Gastown, near the Steam Clock, that he
wanted removed. We have a law called State of Intoxication in a Public
Place, but we use it when a drunk is falling down passed out and unable
to care for him or herself. So when the Mounty came onto our channel
and called a wagon, it was assumed it was one of our usual down and out
drunks. This is a very low priority call.
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Our wagon, driven by Jim Ann, was on the scene of an alarm call elsewhere
in our area, and he was in the process of checking the building for signs
of a break in. When the call came in, Jim as per usual added it to
his list of things to do. Unknown to the rest of us working regular
patrol, there was a series of frantic phone calls to our communications
center to have this drunk removed. Finally, Colleen Carroll the radio
operator came on the air and advised Jim that this drunk call he was going
to, was an authorized Code Three response. Just that statement brought
a chuckle to all of us on the street.
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Jim responded Code Three and arrived onscene after fighting his way through
the traffic jam caused by the security phalanx around Mr Clinton.
Jim is looking all around for this drunk and can't see anyone resembling
a candidate. Finally a Mounty waves him over and wants him to turn
off his overhead lights so it won't disturb The President. Jim is
even more bemused by this after all the frantic calls to get him there.
The Mounty points out the guy they want removed. This guy has had
a few too many, but he is still upright and mobile and being rather boistrous.
Its finally agreed that he should be removed from the area as a security
risk.
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Right at this point Mr Clinton is now only a half block away and moving
slowly taking in the sights. The Mounty and Jim start to load the
drunk into the wagon, when his equally drunk girlfriend starts wailing,
please don't take him away. She is by now screaming at the top of
her lungs that she wants to go with him. That was quickly agreed
to so they can de-escalate the situation as quickly as possible.
So they start to load her into the secondary compartment (males and females
are never transported in the same compartment for obvious reasons).
However this only makes her wail louder and fight harder to be with her
boyfriend.
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The radio operator by this time is fit to be tied, trying to get her wagon
back for other calls. Unfortunately, Jim is blocked in by traffic
and the wails of the woman could be heard echoing from the inside of the
wagon. Apparently Jim managed to get around the corner and into the
lane, just in the nick of time before Mr Clinton arrived at the Steam Clock,
and thus was born another poem. Hey, I told you nobody was immune,
but I must admit, this is the first time I have picked on the Mounties
or a World Leader for that matter.
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