Emergency call

6/25

Nate wakes me up at 1 AM. Call from Teddy. Emergency. I pick up the phone. Teddy tells me the white guy in the box attacked him. Teddy punched back, there must be 20 cops there. OK, I’m coming down. Throw on some clothes. Walk down the street.  See lots of flashing lights from in front of the church. A Lennox Hill ambulance speeding away. Cruisers with lights flashing speeding away.

When I get to the church, the police have just left. Teddy  seems agitated. Blood from his lip down his face and chin. His knuckles and hand bloody. David on the street. Donna on the steps. Rachelle there as well. 

Try to piece together the story. Teddy came back from work. Found the guy asleep. Woke him up, told him he’d have to go. Guy says Where the fuck am I supposed to go? Teddy says, I don’t know, bro. But not here. You had a good safe space to stay and you blew it. We got rules here....

Guy starts coming at him. Teddy says, Please, please don’t do that. The guy punches him in the jaw. The same place he had a tooth pulled two days ago. Teddy swings. Decks him. 

He gets back up. Two black guys coming from across the street to see what’s going on.. Teddy tells them, I’m good...The Spanish guy in the north doorway starts getting up. Teddy tells him to stay out of it, leave, and he does. Guy keeps coming. Teddy tells Dave to call the police.

Most of the night shift seems to show up. Take a look at the box guy and surround Teddy. David clears it up. Rachelle complicates things by telling the police that Teddy woke the guy up and started beating him up. Later tells me she’s a doctor and the blood was bothering her. I explain that indeed the guy guy was not supposed to be there. (Teddy keeps telling her she's got to get ger things back here before midnight.) I don’t condone violence. Neither do I blame Teddy for striking back. 

We will go up to the 24 and make our statements. The officer is very helpful. Totally supportive. Helps Teddy with his statement. Tells us the box guy has been taken t the hospital and when he gets out, he’ll be put in jail. Apparently had needles and stuff in his backpack. Word is if they stop you, all you have to do is be honest. It’s the unannounced surprise needles that freak police out. Cause you more problems. 

With all the blood, Teddy thinks he should get the test. Better safe...the ADA should help with that.  

I walk him all the way back to West-Park. Hang with David and Donna and Teddy awhile. It’s that middle of the night quiet. An easy rain is falling.

So last night Teddy heard gunshots...

6/22

The plan was I was going to meet Teddy on the steps at 7:30 am. His friend from the 24th precinct was going to meet us. We were going to confront the two white guys in the box. Tell them they had to move on. And confront Edward and Jesus if they were there too. 

But Teddy texted me. I could take my time. Something had happened. He’d tell me when I got there. I was up so I went. The steps were empty when I got there.  I open up the doors. Teddy comes round to see me. 

So last night Teddy heard gunshots. He came out to see what was going on.  Everything was quiet. And then Bobby showed up. The undercover cops had shown up. The two white guys were busted. Taken away. I always find it interesting that the homeless people and the Capital Hall people, the people on the streets, always know who and where the undercover cops are. The condo people don’t really get this. 

Teddy told me that given the uncertain state of affairs, he had invited Dave and Donna to come in for the night. 

A squad car shoes up. Two police for the 24. Trevor and Jimmy. Trevor and Teddy hug. He run s down the same story he just told me. Trevor explains that the Drug Enforcement Task Force operates separately from the precincts. When people are busted they can wind up jailed anywhere in the city. He doesn’t really know what happened last night but would keep his ears open. He agrees to come by and check things out tonight. Talk to Edward and Jesus should they happen to show back up. 

David and Donna have come outside and are seated on the steps. Teddy introduces them to Trevor, tells him they’re OK. Trevor gives David his phone number. Just in case.  We shake hands all around and they’re off. 

David is looking down. This is never what I wanted, he says,  maybe a different decision, maybe....

I tell him that the Project Reachout people called yesterday, We’ll stay on this...something is going to happen...

I can’t tell you how much I, we....appreciate...

It’s OK, don’t worry about it...we’ll figure it out..

It’s still early. By the time Danielle shows up at noon, a lot of work already done...now for some preparation for Sunday’s congregational meeting....