I’d always tell them that I love this job because I go into work everyday not knowing what I’m going to be doing. Over the years, though, you get used to the unexpected when covering the news. But what happened last week even caught me by surprise. It’s an experience I will never forget and I also made a friend in the process.

Let me set this up first. Reporter Ann Sheridan and I were working on a Black Friday story in Matthews. The phone rings….breaking news….an 18-year old has barricaded himself in his room and is considered armed and dangerous…the SWAT team is on the scene. I get there in half an hour and set up to shoot the scene about a half block away. From my vantage point, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police had about 20 officers on the scene surrounding the house. It was cold, raining, and miserable when a kid, wearing short sleeves with no coat on, walked up to me and asked what was going on. I just assumed it was someone who wanted to know why there were sirens, police officers, and the SWAT team with their guns drawn in his neighborhood. I told him what I knew and then invited him near my car where it was nice and warm. I was just being nice and noticed he was freezing - after about five minutes I made a friend!

My new friend decided to open up to me. He told me how he barricaded himself inside his bedroom and how he slipped out the back window to avoid the SWAT team. At that point my heart dropped to my stomach. The person CMPD is trying to get to is not inside that house, but is the guy that is shoulder-to-shoulder with me shivering in the cold November rain! IT’S MY NEW FRIEND! A million thoughts ran through my mind. Is he armed? Is he mentally ill? Holy cow, he can shoot me right now if he wanted to. I didn’t want him to think that I was betraying him, but I knew I had to do something. So I nonchalantly left him and found the nearest police officer. I asked him if they were sure they knew someone was inside that house. He said yes. I told him what I knew and five minutes later that officer approached the kid. The officer used his negotiating skills to apprehend my new friend without any incident. And just like that the stand off was over. The officer approached me and said, “I’d shake your hand right now but I’m too cold, but I want to personally thank you for what you did.” It was that moment I realized the impact of what just happened.

Because of my new friend, I now have a different perspective when I go to crime scenes for work. I used to wish for good pictures, eccentric interviews, and lots of natural sound, elements that make a good story. Now I’ve realized that’s not what it’s ALL about. The most important thing is you just hope and pray that everyone is safe when it’s all said and done.