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Penny walked to the front of the car and they started their foot patrol.  They would start at the car and walk one block east, two blocks north, two blocks west, two blocks south and one block east to the car.  The objective was to put officers in visible positions to reduce crime in the inner city area.

Twenty minutes later they were in the middle of their west bound segment, as far from the car as they would get.  Just as they passed an alley Bart heard what he correctly identified as a rifle report.  It was followed by thump he did not recognize to his right and a gasp from his partner.  The shot seemed to be from the alley.  He was initially surprised that Penny was not on the radio making a report when he realized she was on the pavement.  She was usually the first to get on the radio and make a call.  He dropped to the pavement next to her.  His gun was out.  He was scanning the area as he was making a report, “Unit 27 on foot, George and Philadelphia, shots fired, officer down, request ambulance and backup.”

The dispatcher responded, “Unit 27, 10-4. – Unit 17, Unit 18 and Unit 21 proceed to George and Philadelphia, Unit 27 on foot, shots fired, officer down.”  The dispatcher had been typing, she pressed a button and the ambulance request was passed to another dispatcher.  Within seconds the alarm was sounding for an ambulance and advanced life support unit.

Bart’s radio came to life again, “Unit 27, units 18, 17, 21 and an ambulance on the way.”

By now Bart had placed his gun in the holster to attend to his partner.  As he worked he scanned the area.  If she was bleeding she could die for lack of attention, but if the shooter was still there and Bart lost contact with the situation both of them could die.  Being alone with a badly wounded partner was a really bad situation and Bart had training but no experience to guide him.  Suddenly he was responsible for tending his partner’s wounds and the safety of both.  By now the shock of the wound had passed some, Penny groaned, “My leg, it really hurts.  Oh God, it hurts.  Make it stop hurting.”

Bart looked at her right leg, it was lying at an odd angle and it looked funny, he could see that above her knee the cloth was holed and blood was oozing through it.  He found one of the tears and ripped the cloth back.  What he saw nearly made him sick.  About four inches of her leg immediately above her knee looked like it had been shredded.  He pulled her belt off and slid it under her leg.