Catching Up with a Good Friend

A few weeks ago, I was having a cup of coffee around lunchtime with a good friend who also happens to be an Albany police officer, and a darn good one. He's also a tremendous family man who loves his wife and the best dad to their three amazing daughters.  His youngest daughter shares the same birthday (date and year) as my soon-to-be 9-year-old son Brody.  They're good friends, too.

My buddy (who was in uniform while we were having coffee) has been with the Albany police for almost 20 years, patrolling some of the seediest streets downtown, and he's quite literally seen it all.  So, what happened the other day while we were grabbing coffee didn't bother him, but it made me pretty much sick to my stomach.

The Guy Sitting Behind Us

While we were talking and catching up, a guy sat behind us, but I barely noticed him.  I had my back to him, but he faced my officer friend. After about 15 minutes, I watched him get up and leave the shop. A few minutes later, a worker inside the cafe approached my buddy and me and almost sheepishly showed us what the man had left behind.

"Hey guys, I'm not sure if I should show you this, but it would feel strange not to."

Now, this guy who was seated behind us must have some deep-rooted anti-cop sentiment, or he was just a complete nutbag.  Either way, the worker showed us what the guy doodled on a napkin and strategically left for my cop friend to see.

Weird Note Left for an Albany Cop

While we were talking, this nutcase was doodling a drawing on his napkin and left this behind for us to see. It's crumpled up because after the worker showed it to us, we told him to throw it in the trash.  But I later retrieved it because I wanted a photo in case I felt like showing it to the Capital Region.

In pencil, he wrote "Loud Ass Bald Pig" and even added a sociopathic drawing of the animal that people sometimes use to disparage a police officer.

Disturbing note left for an Albany cop, 518-news, 518news
The note was left behind for us to see. In pencil, he doodled "Loud Ass Bald Pig" and even drew a picture because that's what "normal" people do. Photo: Brian Cody TSM Albany
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The crazy part is that my buddy was completely unfazed; he laughed it off while saying, "I may be bald, but there's not anything I can do about that!"

I didn't find it funny.  It felt like a hate crime to me, and I even encouraged him to check the city of Albany's video cameras so we could talk with the guy.  My buddy shot that down, insisting that it's just part of the job and that they always see and hear things like that from people.

Coward and a Weasel

That sucks if you ask me. People like him make my stomach churn. They're the first to hate on police officers, calling them names like "Pig" or insulting their genetics, and surely, if my buddy were to respond or defend himself, he'd automatically be the bad guy.

Weasels like the man sitting behind us pretend to be tough, but if my bald-ass buddy asked him his problem, he'd play the 'victim card' so quickly that the precious locks on his weasel head would fall out. Coward.

After a few minutes, my friend heard a call on the radio, and he needed to leave abruptly to tend to a large fight that was breaking out in downtown Albany.  He barely left without saying goodbye; he hit the flashers on his patrol car and was gone.

He later told me that when officers went to break up the fight, some of the people started fighting with the cops, but that he was fine.  It was just another day in the life of an Albany Police officer, something that all law enforcement must deal with occasionally.

The reality is my buddy probably isn't comfortable with me posting about this fool.  He's got bigger fish to fry, like trying to keep our city streets safe.  Or, tend to a 3-year-old who got shot while inside an Albany daycare (which he did a few years ago) or solve another homicide despite the narrative that "crime is down" in Albany.  Anyway, I digress.

Who Was This Man?

I don't know who this man is who left the unnerving note, and it's probably best that way.  It wouldn't change anything.  My friend, just like all good first responders, put their differences aside to protect and serve a community that, on occasion, treats them like crap.  Not all people, just the weasels.

And one more thing, my friend may have been a little loud while talking that day. He tends to get slightly animated when discussing his pride in his daughters - something the weasel's parents probably never did.

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