1. His Good Deed Turned Into a Disturbing Surprise
From Redditor u/Altaroa:
My friend is a cop. He pulled up to a collision scene involving a motorcycle. Gets out of his car, starts walking over, and sees the guy’s helmet. Figures he’ll be nice and bring it over to the guy.
Well, as it turns out, the guy was still in the helmet.
2. They Inadvertently Discovered a Grisly Scene
From Redditor u/NESJunkie22:
Ex-cop from NSW, Australia here. A guy once died in a motorcycle collision. The truck driver that hit him said he just pulled straight in front of him like he wanted to take his own life.
We went to deliver the death notification to his girlfriend. She wasn’t answering, so we forced entry. The shelves of the fridge were on the kitchen floor. Opening the fridge, we discovered multiple pillowcases with her dismembered body inside.
That was certainly an “oh sh*t” moment.
3. He Accidentally Caught a Fleeing Suspect
From Redditor u/StudlyPenguin:
My grandpa was on the California Highway Patrol for 20 years.
He always told the story of how he pulled over this guy for a busted taillight.
My grandpa asked him for his license and registration, and the guy said, “How’d you catch me so fast?”
Grandpa said the hair on the back of his neck never again stood up half so fast.
Turned out the guy had robbed a bank not five minutes before.
4. An Inebriated Driver Rammed Their Car
From Redditor u/Terracehunt:
I was on a traffic stop. My sergeant came and backed me up because the vehicle might need to be towed. His patrol SUV was parked behind mine.
I had just stepped out to speak with him when I heard an engine revving, but I couldn’t see where it was coming from. For a split second, I knew exactly what was about to happen.
A vehicle slammed into the back of my sergeant’s SUV, which then struck me and threw me into the roadway.
The driver was extremely intoxicated and didn’t even have a license. I later needed knee surgery, while my sergeant suffered a broken back.
5. They Encountered a Strange Drunken Incident
From Redditor u/POL5085:
This happened in August of last year. Around 1 or 2 a.m., a 911 hang-up call came in where all that could be heard was screaming and swearing.
I arrived first and waited briefly for backup, but as I approached the house I heard more screaming.
Inside, there was blood everywhere—the floor, the walls, and the door.
A woman pointed me toward the living room, where I found a man and woman covered in blood. The man had a massive cut on his forearm, and the woman had unsuccessfully tied a belt around his arm to stop the bleeding.
I immediately applied a tourniquet. EMS arrived about 15 minutes later, and the paramedic told me that if I hadn’t done that, the man would have bled to death before they arrived.
It turned out he had come home drunk, forgotten his keys, climbed to a second-story window, and punched through the glass to get inside.
6. They Went on a Rollercoaster of Emotions
From Redditor u/NewFederalist00:
A child drowned at a local pool, so I accompanied the ambulance for the investigation.
I arrived first and saw his father holding him while crying. I immediately began performing CPR for about 10 minutes until the ambulance arrived.
The child regained consciousness just as the ambulance pulled onto the street.
I later visited him in the hospital, and now he says he wants to become a police officer.
7. One Offender Had a Disturbing Hiding Place
From Redditor u/handsprings:
We were looking for a man who had stolen firearms from his ex and eventually found him hiding under a pile of clothes in a closet at another house.
Unfortunately, there were seven children sleeping in the same room.
While my partner handcuffed the suspect, I started moving the children to safety.
When I lifted the mattress, we discovered the stolen firearms hidden directly underneath where the children had been sleeping.
8. They Chased a Suspect Through a Church Parking Lot
From a former Redditor:
We happened to be right near the scene when a call came in about a carjacking involving a firearm.
I spotted the stolen vehicle fishtailing through the snow and gave chase.
The suspect abandoned the vehicle almost immediately and fled on foot. My partner tried to cut him off while I chased him over a hill.
As I reached the top, the suspect fired a shot blindly behind him.
We continued the chase through a church parking lot just as a bingo game was ending, so returning fire wasn’t an option.
We finally caught him in a backyard behind the church.
The department later gave us plaques—and cake.
9. They Stopped a Familiar Suspect
From Redditor u/sonofabunch:
Nothing makes you say “oh sh*t” more than stopping someone you believe is dangerously drunk, thinking you may be preventing a deadly crash, only to realize you know the driver…
Maybe you know them very well.
10. They Followed Another Unit to a Disastrous Situation
From Redditor u/damnedcaptain:
Former military police here.
My partner and I noticed another patrol unit entering a weapons storage area and decided to follow.
When we reached the gate, the guard asked, “You guys here for the incendiary leak?”
We certainly were now.
We drove in and found the fire department already investigating.
The entire weapons storage area, much of the nearby supply area, and most of the flight line had to be evacuated, creating a safety perimeter of roughly 3,000 meters.
Fortunately, investigators later determined it was only leaking sealant.
11. They Performed an Uncomfortable Speaker Test
From Redditor u/SpartacusVII:
I was a rookie police officer in a small town.
Late one night, I was responding to a report of teenagers causing a disturbance in a school parking lot. I realized I hadn’t tested my patrol car’s PA speaker, which I intended to use.
Driving slowly through a quiet neighborhood around 2 a.m., I tapped the microphone a few times.
After several taps, I finally heard the loudspeaker working.
That’s when someone yelled, “What the f*ck are you doing?!”
I looked over and saw an elderly man sitting on his porch in his underwear, clearly furious.
We made eye contact. Realizing I had absolutely no good explanation for blasting my loudspeaker in the middle of the night, I simply drove away as fast as I could.
It was definitely an “oh sh*t” moment.