HYANNIS – I took over 200 images last evening, which is a typical night for me…

Most of the images I capture come out a lot better than the one shown above. They’re typically crisper and clearer… well framed, etc…

I pour over each image sometimes for hours as the wee hours wear on.

I have a process of elimination which cannot be explained or codified.

I’m looking for that special image which sums up and encapsulates the entire evening.

Whenever it’s a “slow news night,” I sometimes publish the evening’s favorite image on HN.

Tonight is one of those occassions…

There’s a definite “Yin and Yang” to every photo I take.

And by “Yin and Yang,” loosely translated, I simply mean the range between opposing quantifiers of what I deem to be “good and bad…”

The above image shows two young brothers. A short distance out of frame, their beloved mom is speaking with additional police officers.

Mom had been drinking, and they all were in the process of leaving a local movie theater together as a family.

Witnesses became concerned when the family of three approached their parked vehicle.

In short, police arrived before mom could get behind the wheel (if that, indeed, was her intention…)

Officers took great care in this particular situation. They were looking out for the best interests of everyone involved.

They checked and learned the young mom had absolutely no history of negative involvement with police. They also learned about some mitigating circumstances which explained her recent change in behavior. Those circumstances in no way excused the mom’s behavior, but they did give the officers insight as to what they should do next…

In the meantime, a young Barnstable Patrolman completed the above photo which encompasses the real story… the heart of the matter.

The woman out of frame was their mother.  They have, up to this point, been a family which has never ever come into contact with police in a negative way.

Officers quickly realized that every move they made could possibly effect the two young boys for the remainder of their lives.

The good news was that mom had not tried, nor showed any indication of trying, to get behind the wheel and drive away. It gave officers something to consider. Despite what many would believe, making an arrest is the last thing any officer would want to do in the above situation, where two young boys stood footsteps away, watching after a night at the movies, eyes glued on their mom…

[But lets be clear… had mom decided to even sit behind the wheel and insert the key, she would have most definitely been arrested… had she done that, she would have traveled past the “tipping point…” and there would be nothing anyone could do about it…]

But in short, and likely very fortunate for all involved, officers were able to contact extended family to come and retrieve the boys, along with their mom.

Officers could have taken the mother into protective custody, but after a long talk, they had every reason to believe last evening’s encounter would be the wake-up call she needed before falling too far past the proverbial ‘tipping point,’ where actions plow way past discretion… becoming much harder to undo or take back.

I carefully chose the above photo, because it illustrates, in my humble opinion, the world of responsible law enforcement… a realistic and stark world where things are not always black and white.

It takes a special person to even come close to doing police work correctly… and even then, the best officers will still be second guessed and criticized.

One is often damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.

Yet, there are still so many who willingly step up and accept that challenge.  It’s a thought which boggles the mind.

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