Pittsburgh Bureau of Police

It’s rare that I’ve ever required police assistance in the 30 some years I’ve resided in the Steel City, and like many progressives, I too have been critical of law enforcement. Considering the many scandals have stained the reputation of Pittsburgh’s police force as well as those in other cities, it can sometimes be easy to forget that there are still moral, effective cops out on the beat.
The other night, however, the motto «Protect and Serve» was renewed in my mind, causing me to view police in a more benevolent light than I have in the past.
Kay and I traveled to Shadyside from our Beechview home to visit Up Modern Italian, a new restaurant that happened to be hosting the first Unilocal Elite Event of the year. The East End can be tricky to navigate, and finding a parking spot can be nightmarishly frustrating. Following a nearly 30 minute episode of driving about aimlessly, we parked the car nearly a mile away from the venue and arrived there on foot. We stayed for an hour before deciding to make our way back to Kay’s car.
Houses and streets began to look very similar to each other in the dark, and the air was growing colder.
Within a quarter of an hour, we conceded that we had forgotten where we left the car.
By the time that hour was up, we were completely, hopelessly lost and without a clue as to where we were standing, let alone where the Kaymobile was parked.
Left with no other choice but to call the police, Kay smartly dialed 411 to be connected to a police dispatcher instead of calling 911 so as to not jam up a vital telephone line.
A young, uniformed policeman and a middle-​aged plain-​clothes officer in a separate unmarked car appeared promptly on the scene. Calmly, non-​judgmentally, and with an eagerness to help, they listened to us explain our embarrassing situation in embarrassing detail. The cop in the unmarked car took us for a ride and asked Kay to give him her key. Keeping the «panic» button pressed as he held it out the window, after just a few minutes of cruising, we came upon the Kaymobile on Maryland Street. And as strange as this will read, we never recalled parking there.
I half expected to see Rod Serling step out from the shadows.
Or perhaps Ashton Kutcher?
The two gentleman that aided us are credits to the Pittsburgh Police. Thank you both, whoever you are. It is officers such as yourselves that reclaim those badges tarnished by brutality, corruption, and misconduct.