THIS HAPPENED TO ME
We Heard Breaking Glass and Thought Something Terrible Had Happened
But It Was Just the Police Breaking Into Our House.
With a loud crash of broken glass, both of us, my husband and I, were startled out of our sleep.
Brian!!!
That was my first thought, and that something might have happened to my child while my husband, drowsy, was dealing with anxiety.
He’s not really the fearful type. I can only assume it has to do with where he grew up. He’s from a 3rd world country, plus a very poor, dangerous neighborhood.
I guess he immediately thought of an armed burglar and since Brian was awake in the hallway, he probably figured our son was in danger. When you’re half asleep, you sometimes forget where you actually are.
After all, there is hardly any place in the world that is safer than our little village.
In fact, I could theoretically leave the windows and doors open and go on vacation for 2 weeks. The worst that would likely occur would be for it to rain in.
So we both got up immediately to see what had happened.
Getting Away With Property Damage and a Shock
There were 3 people in the hallway. 2 policemen, accompanied by a paramedic. What on earth had happened?
It turned out that someone had dialed the emergency number. But Brian doesn’t know how to use a phone. And since he can barely speak either — Brian has Down Syndrome — he couldn’t really comment on it, even though he’s already 13. With a mental handicap, age has little meaning.
But turned out, he somehow managed to do it anyway.
Well, no one had responded to the police knocking, which in itself was not surprising. We did what people do at half past three in the morning. Yes, we were asleep. Brian, on the other hand, was apparently awake, but couldn’t open the door because we lock it at night.
I can understand why the police had no choice. And when you think about it, the decision to break down the door was not only courageous, but also the right one. Something COULD have happened.
And I think it’s better to accept unnecessary property damage than to risk that someone gets seriously injured because of a lack of help.
By the way, the police will pay for the damage.
To be honest, I wouldn’t have been surprised if we had been stuck with the costs since we are after all responsible for Brian.
We are prepared for many things. So we not only lock the apartment door in the evening but also all the windows, which are all equipped with a lock. We also take the fuse out of the stove before we go to sleep. You wouldn’t believe the ideas a child can get with his eagerness and curiosity….
However, it would never have occurred to me that Brian would dial 911 (in Germany it’s 112) of all things!
We will now have to take the phone into the bedroom with us in the evenings, in addition to all the other precautions.
