First, a little background. I am working on publishing a book for my good friend, Roger Houle. Roger and I served together for more than twenty years on the East Providence Police Department, both retiring as Captains.

In the book, Pro Bono Publico: Policing in the 21st Century—about his exploits and experiences as an officer—Roger recounts an incident we both remember vividly but wish we didn’t.

But first, a little more background.

In the 1960s, growing up in Rhode Island, at least for those living in or near Pawtucket, going to the Slater Park Zoo to see the animals was a thrill. Of the menagerie within, everybody had two favorites, Fanny the Elephant and Frosty the Polar Bear.

That the zoo was little more than a cruel prison for these magnificent creatures was lost on us in the magical experience of seeing them up close.

The chain binding Fanny’s feet restricting her movement was something we never paid much attention to, it just was.

And the constant, repetitive, side-to-side motion of Frosty’s head that never seemed to cease, was taken to be Frosty looking for a way to get to us. I suppose in a manner of speaking it was, except all the bear wanted was to get past us all the way to Greenland or the Arctic.

And now, the story.

Flash forward to May 1979. I was now a young rookie officer with the East Providence Police Department with eight months experience. Roger, who had even less time than me on the job, was working alongside me in Rumford on the midnight to eight shift.

Working Rumford—in the north end of the city bordering Pawtucket, RI and Seekonk, MA was boring anytime for young cops who wanted to be in the middle of the action. Working Rumford on the midnight shift was beyond boring, it induced a catatonic form of somnambulism.

Nothing ever happened in Rumford.

Except for this one night when some idiots cut the locks on Frosty’s cage in Slater Park Zoo and set the bear free. The zoo bordered East Providence.

Now I can tell you I have sat through hundreds of hours of Police Training sessions. I’ve read manuals and planning guides on critical incident management. And I can safely say that not once did anyone tell us how to deal with an eight-hundred-pound apex predator.

A predator with a reputation as the only creature on earth that actively hunts humans!

The Sergeant that night told Roger and I to pair up in one car, perhaps thinking while the bear was diverted devouring one of us the other might be able to shoot it.

Who knew that among the nightmares I would accumulate from twenty years as a police officer one would be my presence at the death of a magical childhood memory?

I’m not exactly certain how well that would have gone. We were armed with six round .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolvers. I also had a shotgun in my cruiser which I reloaded with deer slugs. Something I purchased and carried since the department never anticipated the need for something other than the 12-gauge pellet rounds.

Not that I anticipated shooting a polar bear, but I did think they might come in handy with equally dangerous humans.

So, there we were, sent off into the Ten Mile River/Thompson Reservoir wooded area where we assumed the bear might take refuge as it planned its overland route to the north of Canada. We were hunters, and we were potentially prey.

Soon enough the bear was spotted in a trailer park on the city line and, sadly, terminated with extreme prejudice by a Pawtucket officer with more effective firepower.

We all gathered as the bear’s body was hauled up onto a flatbed trailer and taken away for disposal. I never found out if anyone was ever charged with the crime. Although we did joke we hoped Frosty’s last meal was one of the perpetrators.

I’ve often wondered if, on the last magical moments as a young boy when Frosty and I looked at each other, he knew he was looking at someone who would witness his unfortunate death.

I’m glad I didn’t have to pull the trigger. Not to mention I’m glad the bear didn’t eat Roger, forcing me to pull the trigger. I mean, what if the deer slug didn’t work? I’d not be around to share the story. I never planned to leave this earth as a snack. Talk about an ironic death, consumed by a cherished childhood experience.

Who knew that among the nightmares I would accumulate from twenty years as a police officer one would be my presence at the death of such a magical childhood memory?

Stay tuned for more news about Roger’s book and some other amusing stories.

JEBWizard Publishing (www.jebwizardpublishing.com) is a hybrid publishing company focusing on new and emerging authors. We offer a full range of customized publishing services. Everyone has a story to tell, let us help make your publishing dreams a reality.