While working the afternoon shift one warm summer evening, in a two-man squad car, my partner and I got a call for help from a woman who was afraid she was about to be assaulted by her drunk husband. We parked our prowl car about a block away and walked quietly to their home to hear and view what was happening before we made our presence known. As we approached the house, we could hear screams for help from the wife and loud shouts from the husband demanding she get him another beer or he would beat her up. They were both standing outside their residence on a large covered porch.
We stepped onto the porch and positioned ourselves between the man and woman while we stayed close together. As we attempted to calm the volatile situation down the husband slipped quietly into the darkness of the night and I saw him enter a side door of the house. Immediately, my unseen partner (the Holy Ghost) warned me the man was going for a gun. I told my fellow officer I felt we were in danger and that the husband may be getting a weapon to harm us.
My partner pointed out that we did not have enough probable cause to enter the private home without a warrant because he had calmed down and retreated into his house. I agreed and then asked his wife if he owned a gun. She stated he did own a shotgun.
My unseen partner prompted me to follow after him to prevent a possible deadly situation from occurring. So, I again told my partner I felt we were in danger and I was going to enter the home to prevent harm to one or all of us. My partner was hesitant but followed me into the residence.
As we entered the front room the husband was marching towards us while beginning to swing a shotgun into position to shoot us. We quickly drew our service revolvers and moved into a tactical position so we both could not be shot at once. I shouted for him to put the weapon down, as the hammer on my pistol was moving backward to fire. He saw he could shoot one of us, but that the other one would kill him, so he lowered his loaded weapon and submitted to arrest.
The Holy Ghost was my companion in this instance, because I was living worthy of this blessing. We lost this case in court because the judged ruled we did not have sufficient probable cause to enter the home without the wife’s testimony, which she withheld. One spouse cannot be compelled to testify against their partner. At this point I just smiled and thanked the Lord that I was alive and would work another day as a peace keeper in the big city. I know the Holy Ghost warned me of trouble and preserved my life. To learn more about having the Holy Ghost as your constant companion see mormon.org or lds.org
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