Years ago I contacted two witnesses at a collision call, who happened to be brother and sister. They were Vietnamese, in their mid-twenties and spoke English with an accent.

I spoke to the male first and he told me what he saw. After I was done with his statement, I asked, “What’s your name?”

“It’s Jose.”

With a surprised look I asked, “Your name is Jose?”  I couldn’t help it because I had never met a Vietnamese person with Jose for a name.

“Yes. Jose is my American name.”

I smiled as I tried not to laugh because that just sounded funny to me. He smiled too and told me he was born in Vietnam and came to the United States when he was young. He changed his name to Jose.

I next spoke to Jose’s sister and took her statement. After I was done I asked, “What’s your first name?”

“Maria.”

You just can’t make this stuff up.

When it rains, there are two things that bug me. I hate getting my glasses wet and having soggy paperwork.

Whenever I arrive at a crash, I start looking for cover and shade from the rain as soon as I go on scene. Even if it’s one foot of overhang on a building I’m going to it. I must look like a guy on the ledge of a high rise as I hug the building trying to keep my notes dry.

The other day it was raining when I pulled up to a two-car collision. The drivers and their passengers were standing on the corner getting wet. This wasn’t going to work for me so pointed to McDonalds and said, “I’ll meet everyone inside.” They gave me a weird look at first, but then realized it was a much better idea than standing out there in the rain.

After the scene was safe, I walked into McDonalds and conducted business. Everyone was sitting in chairs or booths and seemed happy to be out of the rain. More importantly,  my paperwork and my glasses were dry, so I was even happier.

A couple customers gave us a funny look as they tried to figure out why two cops were talking to all of these people. I’m sure it was a first for everyone involved.

After we were done, it was time to go back outside. I looked over at the McDonalds manager and said, “Thank you,” as everyone left.

He waved with a smile and said, “Anytime.”

I thought the call went well and we provided dry and warm customer service, along with McDonalds. It was good teamwork and  I’ll have to keep them in mind the next time I have a collision out front.

There’s an old saying that says a cop should never get wet, hungry or thirsty. I couldn’t agree more.