Police Stories: The Rookie Years! Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?

In this episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast bonus series, retired Milwaukee Police Sergeant Patrick O'Donnell reads Chapter 14, "Scooby-Doo Where Are You?" from his upcoming book:

Police Stories: The Rookie Years - True Crime, Chaos, & Life as a Big City Cop

You've probably seen it in movies or TV shows: a cop arrives at a crime scene, a victim is barely clinging to life, and with their final breath, they reveal who killed them. Case closed. Roll credits.

Reality is messier.

This is a short chapter, but one of the most unforgettable stories in the book. It's about a dying man's last words—and how Patrick can never watch Scooby-Doo the same way again.

Jimmy T was one of the genuinely nice cops on the late shift. Five-foot-nine, built like a prizefighter, always had a smile on his face. When he shook Patrick's hand and introduced himself, nobody had ever been that nice to the FNG before. He called Patrick "Paddy" from that night on.

They were working plainclothes backup in an unmarked Crown Vic when they heard twenty gunshots ring out. They found a man lying in the middle of the street, steam rising from multiple bullet holes in his chest. The paramedic shook his head 'no'—this guy wasn't going to make it.

Patrick needed a dying declaration: "You're going to die. Who killed you?"

The man's last words: "Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo, shot me!"

To this day, Patrick can't watch Scooby-Doo without thinking of that night.

All stories are real. Names and locations have been changed where necessary.

🎧 This episode includes:

• Plainclothes park operation - people getting robbed after hours
• Twenty gunshots rang out.
• Steam rising from the bullet holes - "extra eerie with the streetlights and flashing red and blue lights."
• The victim to the female cop: "Am I going to die?"
• The dying man's last words: "Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo, shot me!"
• Scooby-Doo was a local drug dealer's street name
• Working with homicide until 4:00 p.m. - looking for Scooby
• "To this day, I can't watch Scooby-Doo without thinking of that night"

📘 About the Book:
Police Stories: The Rookie Years - True Crime, Chaos, & Life as a Big City Cop is a true crime memoir chronicling Patrick O'Donnell's early career as a big city cop during Milwaukee's crack wars in the 1990s.

Book Launch: TUESDAY, March 17, 2026 (St. Patrick's Day!)
Book Update: Pre-orders are LIVE on Amazon. The book is currently a #1 New Release in Biographies of Law Enforcement. This is the last bonus chapter episode before launch!

🔗 Pre-order now for $3.99 (price goes up after launch): Search "Police Stories Patrick O'Donnell" on Amazon or check the link below.

📧 Contact Patrick:
Email: sarge@copsandwriters.com
Website: copsandwriters.com
Facebook Group: Cops and Writers

👍 If this story stuck with you:
Subscribe, leave a review, and share with someone who thinks dying declarations are just like in the movies.

🎙️ The book launches NEXT TUESDAY, March 17th. This is the last bonus chapter before launch. Thank you for listening to these snippets from the book.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome back to the Cops and Writers Podcast Bonus Series, where I'm reading chapters for my upcoming book, Police Stories The Rookie Years. True Crime, Chaos, and Life is a Big City Cop. I'm Patrick O'Donnell, retired Milwaukee Police Sergeant, and I'll be your host for tonight's show. Speaking of my upcoming book, Police Stories The Rookie Years, True Crime, Chaos, and Life is a Big City Cop. If a lot of stars align and with some luck, Police Stories The Rookie Years will go live next week. Wanna save some money? Pre-order the Kindle version now on Amazon for $3.99. That price goes up when the book launches. Tonight's chapter is short, but it's one of the most unforgettable stories in the book. It's about a dying man's last words. You've probably seen it in movies or TV. A cop arrives on the scene. A victim is barely clinging to life, and with their final breath they revealed who killed them. Case closed, roll credits. Reality is messier. This chapter is called Scooby Doo. Where are you? Here we go. Chapter 14 Scooby-Doo Where Are You? I was still an FNG, but was slowly being accepted on the late shift. Some cops refused to talk to me unless it was just for business. Then there were others that were genuinely nice. One such officer, Jimmy T, I remember the first time I saw Jimmy was in a narrow hallway. We were jacking up some gangsters, conducting field interviews. One moved towards Jimmy and found himself with his wrists behind his shoulder blades, kissing the wall. The gangster was taller than Jimmy, but Jimmy's five foot nine frame, which resembled that of a prize fighter, was no match for the kid. Jimmy T did some boxing back in the day and kept himself in good shape. He always had a smile on his face, except in instances like this. The next night, I checked in with the roll call sergeant and discovered I was going to be partnered up with Jimmy T. I couldn't have been happier. I would work I would work with a cool dude and not chase hitches, dispatch assignments. We would be the cover squad for a plain clothes operation in a park near the North Avenue curve. People who visited the park after hours were getting robbed. The latest was shot in the shoulder. I know what you're thinking. They shouldn't be in the park at night. Yes, they shouldn't be in the park after it's closed, but no one deserves to get shot for being stupid. After roll call, Sergeant Byer briefed me and Jimmy T, along with Reggie and his partner for the night. They were both wearing generic colored t-shirts, different shades of jeans, and driving an uncovered unundercover car. They would have handheld police radios, handcuffs, and their pistols. Jimmy T and I would be in an unmarked squad, a silver crowned Victoria, with no exterior emergency lights or decals. We would stage a block down and wait for Reggie or his partner to give the word to swoop in and help them arrest the robber or jack up suspected robbers. We went to our designated locations and checked in on a side channel on the radio. Jimmy T looked over at me and shook my hand, introducing himself. Hi, I'm Jimmy T. I was shocked. Nobody had ever been that nice to me before. Um, I'm Pat O'Donnell. He laughed and tried to speak with an Irish accent. Ah, Patty me lad. Top of the evening to ya. He called me Patty for as long as I knew him after that night. We talked about our families, sports, and police work while waiting for Reggie to call us. What started as an exciting assignment turned boring until Reggie's voice out of breath over the radio. 651, one in custody, gun recovered. My heart jumped as Jimmy T didn't hesitate in peeling out of our spot to race towards the action. We found Reggie and his partner at the entrance of the park with a subject face down handcuffed. His partner was holding the pistol with two fingers in the air like a trophy. The man they arrested tried to rob Reggie's partner, and it turned into a brief foot chase with the bad guy on the receiving end of a faceplant and handcuffing. He matched the description of the robber that they were after and confessed to all the crimes. A good night's work. Reggie and his partner were finished for the night. They would be buried in paperwork and coordinating with the Detective Bureau. It was only 2 AM, and after we conveyed the bad guy to the district and finished some quick paperwork, our night wasn't even halfway done. We went back on patrol in our unmarked squad. We were at North Buffam in East Chambers when we heard about 20 gunshots ring out southwest of our location. Jimmy grabbed the mic, squad fifty-seven. We just heard about 20 gunshots fired in the area of East Chambers and Richards. Show us twenty-three. The dispatcher answered ten four fifty-seven. We're getting multiple calls for shots fired in that area. I will get another squad to ride with you. The radio came alive with squads volunteering to back us up. There was never a shortage of cops and bosses helping each other out on that shift. As we turned the corner to go south onto Richards, Jimmy cut the headlights of the crown Victoria, and we both had our windows down and pistols in hand. It was turning into a chilly Wisconsin night, complete with drizzle, but neither of us felt any of that, waiting for something to pop out at us. Jimmy's eyes spotted something. There, on the ground. As we got closer, we saw what looked like a person lying in the middle of the street on his back. Jimmy got out of the Jimmy got on the squad radio. 57. It appears as we have a victim in the street. Jimmy stopped the squad, and we carefully exited looking for threats with our pistols at the low ready. More squads arrived along with the fire department. Some of us went through the yards and alleys, making sure there wasn't there weren't other victims or suspects in the area. After that was done, we went I went back to the victim. I saw a black male in his early thirties on his back, with multiple holes in his upper chest and abdomen. The heat from the blood and his body mixed with the cool evening and light rain was causing steam to rise from his bullet holes. It was extra eerie when mixed with the street lights and the flashing red and blue lights from the squads. The man looked as if he was ready to check out. He gazed at one of the cops I went through the academy with, whispering Am I gonna die? She sh took his hand in hers. You keep fighting, hold on. I looked at one of the paramedics who was at the victim's head out of the victim's sight. He was doing his best to contain his laughter, shaking his head. No. I had a flashback to the dying declaration on twelfth twelfth street months ago and spoke up. No, sir, you're going to die. Who killed you? The man who was about to take the express elevator north or south got angry. I ain't telling you shit. Fuck you. I was almost offended. Nope, I need the name of the guy. I need the name so we can arrest whoever killed you. Do you understand? You're gonna die. I felt strange uttering those words, but it was necessary. The man was now fading, opening his mouth, fighting to speak, and looked me square in my eyes. Scooby-Doo! Scooby-Doo shot me. Before I could ask any follow-up questions, his eyes rolled back into his head, and the paramedics moved in to work on him, trying to save his life to no avail. It turned out Scooby-Doo was the street name for a local drug dealer. Apparently he bumped into Scooby's girlfriend on the dance floor at Larry's lounge, and Scooby chased our victim out of the bar down the alley. Scooby had not one but two nine millimeter pistols that he shot at our victim, striking him in the back and exiting his chest and abdomen. Running on adrenaline, our victim made it through a gangway and fell out onto the street. Jimmy T and I worked with the homicide detectives until about 4 PM that night, looking for Scooby. He was arrested without incident a few days later. When I finally went home, I grabbed some food and went to bed, knowing I had to be back at work that night at 11 30. I was wide awake, thinking about how I had just been yelling at a guy who was about to die and witnessed his last breath. I fell asleep in a couple of min a couple of minutes later. This is what I became. That's chapter 14 from the police stories, the rookie years. Scooby-Doo, where are you? This is what actually happens on the street. To this day, I can't watch Scooby-Doo without thinking of that night. Police Stories The Rookie Years will hopefully launch Tuesday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. Irish comp. Milwaukee Stories, perfect timing. You get it. I'm hoping for some luck of the Irish. Remember, the pre-order price is $3.99 after launch, it goes up. Search Police Stories Patrick O'Donnell on Amazon and click the link in the show notes. Or click the link in the show notes. If all go if all goes according to plan, the book will be released, and this will be my last bonus chapter episode. Thank you all for listening, and I hope you have enjoyed these snippets from the book. Thanks again for listening. Until next time, let's be careful out there.