Donald Harstad: The Big Thaw

I never told anybody what Volont told me about the devices Gabriel wanted to buy. But I watch the news every night, waiting. Somebody, after all, has probably purchased them by now.

Volont said that when he was at the body of the first surveillance agent, he could hear somebody say, "He's where?" inside the shed. Turned out that Carrie was on the phone to her dad, telling everybody where we were. That's why he jumped over the snow pile. When he did, he just about landed on the second surveillance agent's dead body. Gabriel had apparently killed him just before we got there. As Volont was checking the body, Gabriel was behind him. Must have been quite a surprise.

Oh, one more thing. George told me that Volont was really mad at him. Kept making the claim that he could have gotten the gun away from Gabriel, and it wasn't necessary for George to shoot at all. Right. The thing was that, this way, we all damned well knew where Gabriel was now. For the first time.

The thing that bothered me most, though, was the hurt look on Hester's face when Carrie was yelling at her. She deserves so much better than that.

AG:Attorney General, either State or Federal

ATF:Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, sometimes referred to as BATF, a bureau under the U.S. Department of the Treasury

CIA:Central Intelligence Agency. An agency of the U.S. Government

COMM:Police Radio call sign of the Communications Center in Nation County

DCI:Division of Criminal Investigation. A Division of the Iowa Department of Public Safety

DEA:Drug Enforcement Administration, an agency of the U.S. Government

DIA:Defense Intelligence Agency, the Intelligence analysis section of the U.S. Department of Defense

DNE:Division of Narcotics Enforcement, an agency of the State of Iowa, and an offshoot of DCI

DNR:Department of Natural Resources, an agency of the State of Iowa

FBI:Federal Bureau of Investigation, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Justice

ISP:Iowa State Patrol, the uniformed division of the Department of Public Safety

ME: Medical Examiner

NASA:National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NRO:National Reconnaissance Office

NSA:National Security Agency

SA:Special Agent, either of the Iowa DCI or the FBI

SAC:Special Agent in Charge, either of the DCI or the FBI

SO:Sheriff's Office

The so-called "ten codes" were developed in the early days of police radio communications. Many times, in those days, the first part of a transmission would be lost due to equipment vagaries, while the length of the transmissions and their clarity was improved by assigning numbers to the most common messages. Therefore, the "10" was used to alert the listener that a message number was to follow. This system has remained in use, and seems likely to do so for the foreseeable future.

10-2 Good Signal, usually used to mean simply "good"

10-4 Acknowledged, frequently used to indicate agreement

10-5 Relay

10-6 Busy (as in doing cop work), often used as a "do not disturb" sign on the radio

10-7 Temporarily Out of Service (as in lunch)

10-8 Back in Service

10-9 Repeat

10-10 Fight

10-13 Weather and Road Conditions

10-16 Domestic Case

10-20 Location

10-21 Telephone, as in "ten-twenty-one the office"

10-22 Disregard

10-23 Arrived at Scene

10-24 Assignment Completed

10-25 Report in Person to Meet, usually used simply as "meet"

10-27 Operator's License Information

10-28 Vehicle Registration Information

10-29 Check Records for Stolen, modern usage also means "warrant" or "wanted"

10-32 Suspect with Gun, also used in reference to knives and other devices

10-33 Emergency

10-46 Disabled Vehicle

10-50 Motor Vehicle Crash

10-51 Wrecker 10-52 Ambulance

10-55 DWI

10-56 Intoxicated Pedestrian

10-61 Personnel in Area, frequently used to indicate that a civilian can hear the radio

10-70 Fire

10-76 En Route

10-78 Need Assistance

10-79 Notify Medical Examiner, also used to indicate a deceased subject

10-80 High-Speed Pursuit

10-96 Mentally Disturbed Subject

As an example, if you as an officer were to suddenly encounter an armed suspect, shots were fired, you needed help, and thought somebody had been injured, you might transmit:

"ten-thirty-three, ten-thirty-two, need ten-seventy-eight, and get me a ten-fifty-two, this is ten-thirty-three!"

(Note the use of 10-33 twice, which officers tend to do when emphasizing dire straits.) An excellent dispatcher will get the whole picture, and may merely try to discover your position by saying "ten-four, ten-twenty?" As with any system, the clarity and usefulness depends entirely on the quality of the personnel involved. An excited officer may be merely garbled, and the transmissions result in a "ten-nine?" An inattentive dispatcher may "tune in" halfway through the message, and receive incomplete data. This, too, can lead to additional risk and hazard.

This is only one example of why the retention of your top-notch people is so important.

To Dr. Peter Stevens, I wish to express my great appreciation for his great knowledge of pathology, his enthusiastic advice, and his support of my efforts. I would like to express my gratitude to the Officers, Dispatchers, and Staff of the Clayton County Sheriff's Department, for their continued cooperation and assistance, and for the work they do every day and every night. I would like to thank my friends "on the boat," who explained some complex things to me. I thank my wife, Mary, without whose support and encouragement I would not be able to write; and my daughter, Erica, who provides honest and constructive criticism in the early stages of each book.

DONALD HARSTAD is a twenty-six-year veteran of the Clayton County Sheriffs Department in northeastern Iowa, and the author of the acclaimed Eleven Days. A former deputy sheriff, Harstad lives with his wife, Mary, in Elkader, Iowa.