Judy walked into the ZPD as she normally did when she was in uniform. There was a certain swagger that came with rank, a kind of presence that was hard to ignore. It was the sort of thing that would give most individuals a considerable gravitas as they entered the room. With Judy Wilde though, it looked more adorable than anything else. However, no one would ever say that to her face. No, Assistant Superintendent Judy Wilde was one of the most respected, and feared, members of the force. She did not accept incompetence and did not tolerate abuse of power in any form, regardless of the costs to her politically.
Judy passed by Clawhauser and walked straight to her office, located just across from that of Chief Bogo. Plastered across the walls were photos of her crowning moments at the ZPD, as well as her diploma's and other professional pieces of paper that didn't really mean very much to her. On her desk, facing her, were her most important photos. Those of her family, of her parents and of Nick back when she and him were both on the force. Right next to that photo was the one of their wedding day, and consequently, the day that Nick resigned from the force. She still sometimes wondered where life would have taken her if she and Nick had continued to work together, but she knew that Nick had to stay at home. He simply hated the idea of their children not having the kind of one on one attention that he felt all kits needed. His best argument of course was simply 'well look at how I turned out.' She couldn't argue with him, and in all honesty she was thankful that he had been the one willing to give up on his career to be a stay at home dad.
Judy stopped looking at the photos that sat around the edge of her desk and positioned herself in her enormous chair to begin the day's work by logging into her computer. It wasn't a minute later though that Chief Bogo came busting in through the door to her office, obviously flustered and a little dazed. Judy steeled herself for what she knew was going to be a tough assignment, but kept her face focused on the screen, refusing to look up until she had been addressed.
"Assistant Superintendent Hopps I-" Judy coughed audibly and absentmindedly pointed at the name tag on her desk. Bogo looked up to see this and sighed, quickly correcting himself.
"Sorry, Assistant Superintendent Wilde. That will just never sit right with me and you know it."
"I know, and I don't care. Now, what is it that I have to deal with today." Chief Bogo adjusted his glasses as he looked down at his tablet.
"Seems that we have a situation in the Canidae neighborhood today." Judy sank into her chair, her paws moving to massage her temples.
"Let me guess, there was another robbery?"
"Nope."
"Mass carjacking?"
"Guess Again."
"Arson?"
"Give up?"
"Yeah, sure. Hit me." Bogo swiped on his tablet and sent a document over to Judy's screen.
"Mass demonstrations. They didn't tell the city about this ahead of time and we've got to find a way to break this up before it gets all over the six o'clock news." Judy stared at the screen, slightly perplexed at what she was seeing.
"I don't get it. This is a neighborhood known for crime and poverty, not political action. What's going on?" Bogo shrugged as removed his glasses and tried to explain.
"Well… Wilde… Mammals tend to get a bit restless when they are threatened with mass eviction from their homes. Seems that it's the only thing that can get these folks organized enough to put together a rally. Sadly, that rally is illegal and I need you to take a task force and shut it down as peacefully as possible. Understood?" Judy nodded towards Bogo.
"Right chief. I'll have a task force assembled and down there within the next two hours."
"Good, I know I can count on you… Wilde…"
With that Bogo left the room shaking his head ever so slightly, and Judy was left to put together a force to try and deescalate what could very easily turn into a violent situation. Judy mused to herself how it seemed that Bogo always left the thorniest jobs to her.
"As usual, only the simplest jobs are left to the assistant superintendent." Judy allowed herself a long sigh as she moved her back into her chair, taking just a minute to collect her thoughts as she stared at the ceiling fan above her.
Closing her eyes and breathing deeply Judy snapped right back to work, reaching for the keyboard and strapping on a headset to start making the necessary calls to assemble her task force. Her keyboard was a blur of action as she opened and edited multiple windows on her monitor, whilst simultaneously talking to various officers and secretaries across the ZPD to figure out just who was available, and out of that group, which would be the most suited to the task at hand.
After only a half hour she had fully fleshed out a spreadsheet full of the officers that she would need as well as the radio channels for them to use. She had divided them up to their various teams and had sent them all their corresponding emails with the relevant information. Judy Wilde was known as many things in the ZPD, but inefficient was certainly not one of them. Looking at the clock she figured that she should start heading downstairs to the bullpen to organize the officers.
Still got an hour and a half to go.
Grabbing a tablet, she jumped from her chair and adjusted her hat. She was now ready to face her fellow officers and give them their marching orders. Arriving at the bullpen exactly three minutes before the start of the meeting she tapped lightly on the door to announce her presence. The officers all stood at attention as she entered the room, giving them a crisp salute before moving to the podium to begin the briefing.
Judy explained in simple terms the situation as it stood. There was an unannounced rally in the Canidae neighborhood and they were being sent in to deescalate the situation. She listed off everyone's commanding officers and the radio frequencies that they were going to be using for the operation. Concluding her portion of the briefing she decided to ask the officers if they had any questions.
"So, anyone have any questions about this operation?" One of the officers in the back raised her hoof.
"Yes. You said we're supposed to leave out riot gear in our cars when we arrive. That seems… Unwise, given the neighborhood and all." Judy nodded towards the officer.
"That's right. We want to be prepared for any situation, at the same time though we need to make sure that we don't cause the protesters to feel unduly threatened. Ideally, no one has to get arrested today, and no store fronts need to be vandalized." A few snickers could be heard from some of the officers in the room. Judy glowered towards the back and locked eyes with one of the offenders.
"Something funny officer Marino?" The wolf chuckled a little before straightening up when he noticed that he was being stared down.
"No! Well, it's just that this is the Canidae neighborhood. This is one of the most violent neighborhoods in the city, we can't honestly expect them to behave peacefully can we?" Judy tried not to let her annoyance show.
"If you want individuals to follow the law, you must first trust them to do so. Wearing our uniforms as opposed to the riot gear is a sign of trust. We'll only react if that trust is broken. Until that point, we'll treat them no different than members from any other neighborhood within the city. That means all of you. Understood?" The officers, sensing that the time for conversation was over now responded in unison.
"Yes Ma'am!"
"Good. Now, let's get going."
Judy hopped down from the podium, exiting the door at the front of the bullpen. Clawhauser was waiting outside for her.
"Nice speech Judy!" Judy motioned for them to walk and talk.
"Thanks Clawhauser. I really don't have a good feeling about this. I've seen a lot of things in the Canidae neighborhood, but an organized demonstration isn't one of them. Hey, you want to drive the command center?" Clawhauser nodded in agreement.
"Sure! Wait, how come you don't want to drive? I thought you loved the command center." Judy sighed, she was beginning to suspect that dissatisfaction would be a running theme today.
"Yeah, but I don't think I can leave the comms for a second today. This is going to be a delicate situation and I don't want anything happening without me knowing about it."
They talked about a few other things on the way to the parking garage. Judy's weekend, how the kits were doing and, as usual, Nick's cooking. Clawhauser gave Judy a look of admiration as she described the blueberry pancakes that she had had for breakfast as they started out on the road.
"Wow… I'm so jealous, you see Tyler and I can barely throw together a grilled cheese sandwich. Usually we just eat out."
"You could save a lot of money if you learned how to cook you know."
"Probably, but for now I think we'll be happy with the pizza place down the block."
Judy decided that she couldn't keep the polite conversation up any longer at this point. She had a job to do, and if she had guessed correctly, the first teams would be arriving near the protesters now. She put on her headset and carefully arranged the radios around her as she set up her position in front of the laptop in the command truck. As expected, the officers that arrived on the scene first were mostly ignored by the protesters. They weren't a significant force and so didn't really register to the mob as a whole. As more officers started to arrive though she could tell from the radio chatter that the protesters were taking note, and they weren't happy. It was around noon that the officers began to arrive in force.
Teams three and four had at this point started to form a thin line in front of the protesters, acting as a kind of breakwater to try and slow their march and contain them. Meanwhile, teams one and two had begun to set up barricades around the block, preventing the protesters from moving forward or backward, but allowing them to move to the sides if necessary. Everything was going by the book and Judy felt that the situation at the moment was manageable. The phrases that she heard over the radios from the protesters though were more than a bit concerning.
"You going to arrest me for peacefully demonstrating?"
"Sir this is an illegal rally; you need to go home."
"Go home? I am home, why are you guys trying to stop us from saving it?"
"Sir, please, your neighborhood can file for an investigation to be carried out by th-"
"Forget you! You cops are all the same, defending the wealthy while letting us sit out in the cold!
Judy could hear similar conversations occurring over all channels. This wasn't good, and based on the tone of the voices things were only going downhill. Judy decided to take a moment to step out of the truck and try and get a look at the situation. Jumping from car to car she eventually got to the top of the command truck from where she could get a good look at the protesters arrayed half a block in front of her. Some of them looked like they were starting to get a little pushy.
Strike one. Judy picked up her radio to address teams one and two.
"Team one and team two, switch to riot gear. Teams three and four, hold your positions, teams one and two will be moving to assist over."
Grabbing her binoculars, she started to scan the crowd for individual trouble makers. Noting their positions and sending officers to intercept them before they created a larger ripple effect. With just a little luck she might just be able to keep the situation from boiling over, but then she saw something that made her heart sink. A green Hawaiian shirt. She focused the binoculars on the individual in question, there was no doubt about it, it was Nick. Reaching for her phone and putting the radio on her belt she quickly dialed Nick's number. She watched as he looked he noticed his phone and recognize the number. The smile that lighted upon his face made her feel a little better, though she was still more than a little annoyed.
"Hey carrots, how's work?"
"Why are you in the middle of an illegal protest!?"
"Oh, you're here too?"
"Yes I'm here. I was sent to disband this unlawful gathering, also, why aren't you with Marcus!?"
"Well sweetie, after picking up Marcus from pre-school I took him over to his piano lesson, which is two blocks south of here, and seeing that I was in the neighborhood I figured that I would join in on the local civil disobedience. You know, with the hour I have free before I have to go pick up the girls from school."
"Nick, you need to get out of here now! This protest wasn't cleared ahead of time and is illegal! I can't guarantee that you won't be arrested if things get ugly." She heard Nick let out a sigh on the other end of the line.
"Funny rule that, how would you protest the law that says you have to schedule a protest to protest? Maybe not announcing it would be the best way." Judy was losing patience.
"Nick!"
"Alright, alright carrots. Don't worry, I have to get going back to Marcus' piano lesson soon anyway. I'll be gone in ten minutes, promise." Judy didn't like it, then again she couldn't keep this conversation up much longer.
"Thank you."
"No problem carrots, love you."
"Love you too."
With that the conversation ended and Judy put the phone back in her pocket. She now started to notice that the radio on her belt was squawking at her quite aggressively.
"Judy, come in Judy we have a situation here." Judy picked up the radio and opened the channel, feeling slightly embarrassed that she had let a personal matter interfere with work.
"Judy here! What's the problem over?"
"Group three here, a group of protesters look like they're getting ready to rush us. We need support over."
"Roger. Group one, move to reinforce group two. I'll get on the loudspeakers and try and calm things down over."
Judy swung down from the top of the truck and jumped back into her chair in the command truck. Flipping a few switches she started up the massive loudspeaker system that was fitted to some of the cars in the taskforce. Echoing between the buildings, the sound of her voice overpowered that of the crowd.
"Citizens, please disperse. This is an illegal gathering and you are in violation of city laws. Please seek a permit to organize a protest at a later date." The crowd shouted in response to this order, apparently slightly enraged at her request. Clawhauser made sure to relay his interpretation to Judy.
"I think they disagree."
"Thanks…"
She checked the time, five minutes, she just had to keep things from getting out of hand for another five minutes. Then Nick wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. Passing the loudspeaker system to Clawhauser she told him to just repeat what she had said. Meanwhile, she got back on the radio and ordered units three and four to get their riot gear and called in the reserve units five and six. With two more units pulled from the front, and two others moving up to replace them, the protesters moved forward steadily towards the arrayed ZPD vehicles and the barricades. Over the radio Judy heard yet more bad news.
"They're trying to rush us; we can't hold our position unless we start using more force. Permission to switch to aggressive tactics over?" Judy was immediately on the channel.
"Negative! De-escalate over!"
"We can't de-escalate this situation ma'am. It's getting rough out here over!" She heard grunting and the sounds of a fight breaking out on the other end of the open channel. She looked again at the time, two minutes.
"All teams, move to the front form a wall over!"
Judy got back out of the truck in time to see that the teams had been pushed back to the barricades. Things were not going well at all. Suddenly, a group of protesters smashed though the line and made a break for the squad cars. It seemed that they were planning on tipping over some of the squad cars in response to their actions. De-escalation had totally failed. Judy swallowed hard, giving the clock one last look. It had been ten minutes; Nick was out of the area if she were to take him by his word. Jumping back into the truck, she closed the door and lock the vehicle. She got back on the radio.
"All teams fall back, use of tear gas is authorized! Repeat, use of tear gas is authorized!"
The truck began to lurch from side to side, slowly at first, then building in tempo as the protesters found a steady rhythm that would eventually help them to tip over the goliath machine. As the tempo increased though she saw a few white flashes outside the windows as clouds of gas began to expand from the canisters that had been launched into the crowd. The rocking of the command center came to a stop as the view outside was replaced with a dense white fog of gas. Judy raised her paws and tried to massage her temples as she rested her elbows on the desk.
Where did I go wrong today?
Judy got back on the radio and started organizing the task force. Switching their priority from managing a protest, to trying to cleanup. The reports came filtering in of the injured officers and civilians, as well as the damaged property around where the protesters had been. They had made several arrests but what really stung her was the sound of the news helicopters overhead. She let out a long groan as she looked out the window only to see a reporter trying to capture the whole scene on camera.
It took another three hours for the whole situation to be cleaned up and the damage documented. Judy found herself back at her desk, tired, stressed out and feeling more than a little defeated. Bogo walked into her office, but Judy didn't bother to look up at him as he entered. He gave her a sorrowful look and came around to her side of the desk, landing a gentle hoof on her shoulder.
"There there Judy. I know you did your best. If this had been an easy assignment I would have handed it off to someone further down the chain of command." Judy didn't look as she responded.
"I know… It's just. Well, I don't come across situations that I can't handle all that often you know?" Bogo nodded.
"I know; we all know in fact. That's the reason that I appointed you to this position. Now, dust yourself off and get back to work. I can't have you sitting around here moping all night now can I?" Judy snapped her head up, 'night?' She took out her phone and checked the time.
"Oh no, if I don't hurry I'll miss dinner! I got to go chief, see you in the morning!"
"But!" It was already too late though, Judy had packed her things and was half way out the door before Bogo could formulate his full objection.
Judy did her best to weave through traffic to get back home in time for dinner. Parking her car and rushing to the building she ran up the stairs to their apartment, stopping just in front of the door to catch her breath and collect herself. Opening the door, she was greeted by the wonderful smell of carrot stew that Nick was preparing to serve. She was still mad at him, but figured that for right now she would simply enjoy his company and a home cooked meal with her family.
She walked over to Nick and gave him a hug and a kiss before she went back to their room to remove her uniform, returning in more casual sweatpants and t-shirt. They sat down and talked about the things that they had done that day. It was exactly the kind of thing that she loved coming home to every night, and she couldn't thank Nick enough for making that the case. Sadly, not even the best carrot soup could make up for the situation that he put her in that day and she was going to have to talk to him about it.
