Adventures at the Federal & Atlantic CVS

[Dawne]

Man: “You’re dead.” “You’re F***ing dead. You are F***ING DEAD."
Woman: “Even after I just bought all this stuff?”

Such began the conversation between two fairly-well-dressed
individuals exiting the CVS at Atlantic and Federal early Thursday
evening. The man continued screaming at the woman. I went into the CVS
and one of the employees told me that a customer had reported the man
as he was pushing and threatening the woman inside the store.

This poor, beleaguered CVS. You have to wonder if its employees get
“hazard pay” for working at this location. It seems that, despite
their best efforts, it is often the scene of some unfortunate or
outright dangerous behavior on the part of our citizens. I was
heartened to see that many of the customers appeared deeply concerned
about what was happening, and were glad to stick around and keep an
eye on things until the police arrived. No matter what our issues may
be, this is OUR city and it is incumbent upon us to take action when
appropriate.

As for me, I really don’t know why I always seem to be at the right
place at the right time to witness these things. I’m sure that the
Pompano Beach BSO deputies must wonder if I drive around constantly, a
modern-day caped crusader, just LOOKING for reasons to call 911. Of
course I don’t. Really.

Other customers got the license plate number of the truck the couple
was driving (in case they took off, although they appeared in no hurry
to get into the truck) and I called 911 to report this continuing
domestic situation. The couple seemed oblivious to the fact that they
were attracting all sorts of attention in the CVS parking lot for a
good 15 minutes. BSO responded promptly – sending two officers – maybe
that’s SOP in domestic situations.

Last I saw, each deputy had one half of the couple, separated by about
10 feet; one deputy was talking to the woman and the other deputy was
talking to the man. I don’t know how it turned out; I suspect that
this is not the first time the police have had to talk to this man.

What a shame. I hope the woman involved knows that she has choices,
and places to go, and that help is available if she needs it.
Statistics show that domestic violence/abusive situations don’t tend
to spontaneously improve. And I hope that soon, before it’s too late,
she decides – if she didn’t last night – that this is no way to live.