Jimmy successfully got promoted, and the reason for his promotion was his numerous successful case solvings and his professionalism during patrol duties without any errors.

However, what Jimmy didn't know was that the main reason was that he was too fierce, which shocked everyone in the police department. Among the existing dozen county police officers, only three people had records of shooting while on duty, two sergeants including Cage, and one police officer, which was Jimmy.

In the United States, not all police officers have the chance to shoot and injure people, let alone kill. In fact, across the United States, more than a thousand suspects are shot and killed by police each year, but there are several hundred thousand police officers, so the ones with a shooting record are few and far between. Many police officers develop psychological issues after shooting and killing someone, thus leading larger police departments usually to have professional psychologists to help address these mental health issues, while smaller departments typically collaborate with hospitals or part-time psychologists.

Jimmy, with repeated shooting records and strong psychological resilience, was already considered exceptionally outstanding among the hundreds of thousands of police officers. Normally, such individuals would be highly sought after by different departments, especially ones like SWAT.

However, the Plaskey County Police Department was a small police station without any special type squads, so he just got promoted and continued to perform patrol duties. If it were in large city police departments like New York or Los Angeles, he would definitely be transferred to a special task force by now.

Jimmy updated his rank and then made a call to order takeout and invited everyone for coffee and afternoon tea; the rest was business as usual. Actually, nothing about him had changed; he still had to go out on patrol and wear his uniform, and the small, private car's police lights he had prepared were still unused.

In the evening, Jimmy continued patrolling; he had become quite indifferent by now, catching a few offenders in the first half of the night and then resting later, since if the dispatch center didn't assign any tasks, no one would say anything about a police car parked on the side of the road.

Driving at night was very boring, especially for a patrol officer like Jimmy, without a specific destination and driving completely at random, as long as it was within his patrol area. In fact, there are very few cars on the highways at night, especially after 10 p.m., and it's normal sometimes not to see a single car for over ten minutes.

Speeding was the most common violation Jimmy encountered at night, followed by drunk driving or drugged driving. Over a few months, Jimmy had become very familiar with the driving habits of these people; just by observing the vehicle's driving behavior on the road, he could generally tell if there was drunk or drugged driving involved since people who are intoxicated can't control their hands and feet properly and often swerve or just drive straddling the middle line.

Jimmy generally wouldn't directly issue a ticket to those who seemed more agreeable because drunk driving is very common in the United States. As long as someone could come and drive them home, that was sufficient. But if they weren't as agreeable, then luck wasn't on their side.

This approach was mainly possible because, at the time, there were no dash cams or police body cams in use; many times, the situation could be handled based on personal discretion. In a few years, when dash cams would become common, and 10 years later when body cams would become mandatory, it wouldn't be that easy anymore; turning off or obstructing a police body cam during enforcement would be illegal and subject to administrative investigation.

Jimmy noticed a car driving very slowly ahead; in a 45mph zone, it probably wasn't even doing 30, which was highly unusual given it was nighttime, and there were no other vehicles around. From its rear, its headlights were functioning properly, illuminating the road with no issues. This situation was utterly out of line with American driving habits.

Jimmy caught up to the slow-moving vehicle, slowed down to match its speed, then turned on his police lights and siren. After the lights flashed, the vehicle signaled right and prepared to pull over.

Jimmy stopped and got out of his car, walked over, and saw the driver put trembling hands on the steering wheel. Raising his flashlight, he noticed the driver's hands still trembling, with lips quivering.

"Good evening, sir, do you need help?" Jimmy didn't directly ask for a driving license, seeing the driver's condition, which looked likely like a drug overdose or illness.

"Yes, I'm sick, trembling all over, and my head is killing me. I'm on my way to the hospital now."

"Do you need me to call an ambulance? You shouldn't be driving like this," Jimmy frowned, noting the driver's trembling hands.

"No, no, no need for an ambulance, I can make it on my own," the driver shook his head, outright rejecting Jimmy's offer.

Jimmy looked at the driver, a white middle-aged man with a thinning hairline, driving an old car, and figured as much.

"Buddy, it's very dangerous to drive in your condition. Do you have a friend who could take your car? You can ride with me, and I'll take you to the hospital."

"No need, I don't have anyone familiar here. I appreciate it, officer, but really no need, I can get there by myself," the driver still disagreed, and Jimmy had no choice but to advise him to drive carefully before letting him go.

Jimmy started the police car, following from a distance without his lights and siren on; the vehicle ahead picked up a bit of speed. After following for about fifteen minutes, Jimmy saw him turn into a clinic. The driver parked and only then Jimmy turned around to continue patrolling the highway.

After a while, still feeling uneasy, he returned to the clinic he had just passed, only to find the car that had parked there earlier was no longer at the entrance.

An incident still occurred, so Jimmy got out of the car, drew his gun, and walked towards the clinic, knocking on the door.

"Plaskey County Police, open up."

Jimmy knocked several times, but no one responded. He turned and walked towards the back of the clinic, glancing through a window, he saw the inside was ransacked. Jimmy went around to the back and found the car parked in the backyard, empty. It seemed something serious had happened in the clinic.

Jimmy returned to the police car and used the radio to inform the dispatch center of the incident, requesting Sergeant Cage come to assist.

Jimmy waited in the police car for about fifteen minutes, and Cage arrived in his patrol vehicle. Jimmy informed Cage of the unusual behavior on the road, and from what he could see through the clinic windows, speculated there might have been a serious incident inside, likely a hostage situation or maybe even a homicide.

Cage and Jimmy approached the clinic; Cage knocked on the front door while Jimmy went around to the back to observe the inside of the clinic.

A person was sitting in the corner, and from the way they sat, it looked like their hands and feet were bound, while another person was rummaging around near the wall.

Jimmy communicated with Cage via walkie-talkie, and Cage kicked the door open with two swift kicks and entered with his gun drawn, checking as he moved. Meanwhile, Jimmy crouched by the back door, ready for anyone inside to possibly run out.

"Plaskey County Police, don't move, let me see your hands!" Cage shouted loudly, then Jimmy heard rapid gunfire.