I accidentally gave my wife a near panic attack.

.context: I'm a long time employee of a decade plus at a large ;retail department store. I work as a manager in the loss prevention department. You've likely seen videos of us in action on the net. I naturally take my job very seriously. I've never had an incident go wrong and I plan on keeping it that way.<br><br><br>One night after work, I and another one of our security guards (who is also a friend of ours) met up at a local pub that was near closing for a quick glass of wine before they closed down. On the way home, our friend had to stop at a gas station store.<br><br><br>I had gotten out of the car to take in some of the fresh air. As I was glued to my phone, I didn't notice the woman approaching me. I was in a daze (still am, though I'm 8 months sober now) and didn't notice this woman ;doing whatever the hell it was she was doing. All I noticed was a hand grab my phone and tabs from out of my hand.<br><br><br>I immediately sprang into action. Training just sort of kicked in. I don't even remember what I did to get her to the ground (as she tried to run) but I pounced. She was literally crushed and in an arm bar. I'd never done that to a woman before but twenty plus years of Krav Maga training doesn't just go out the window. The few people in the parking lot rushed over when they saw me throw someone to the ground.<br><br><br>"I'm a police officer, she's a suspect. Somebody call 911.".<br><br><br>The woman starts screaming, then I notice my wife standing over me.<br><br><br>"At the gas station...wha-"<br><br><br>"We're police officers, ma'am. Your husband is a police officer and this woman is a suspect under arrest."<br><br><br>"Christopher, what?"<br><br>"Ma'am, don't distract me. This woman is dangerous and under arrest. She's going to jail."<br><br><br>I started acting very cold and emotionless, as if I had done this a thousand times.<br><br><br>"You...you aren't-"<br><br>"Yes, ma'am I am. You must be the wife. Did you know your husband was a police officer?"<br><br>"I...I thought he worked in retail."<br><br>"Well he does a great job. This guy is a ;superstar."<br><br>"I thought he was just a manager at a department store."<br><br><br>"Well, that's what we call it, ma'am." <br><br><br>That line, in hindsight, was completely ad-libbed. But it did the job. The woman was actually starting to believe me.<br><br><br>Right then, actual police showed up and took the woman away. I stood up and dusted myself off.<br><br><br>I immediately went back to my former "dumb" self and acted as if nothing had just happened.<br><br><br>"You ready to go home?"<br><br>"Yes, I can't wait to go to bed."<br><br><br>It isn't until we were driving away that my wife burst out laughing.<br><br><br>"What just happened?"<br><br><br>"Me? Nothing."<br><br><br>"Nothing? That woman just tried to rob you and you put her in a fucking arm bar. Who are you?"<br><br>"I'm a loss prevention manager."<br><br><br>"Christopher, I have so many questions right now."<br><br>"I naturally don't have any answers."<br><br><br>To this day, my wife still has questions that remain unanswered.<br><br><br>I call this a let's not meet because that woman was most likely high and desperate enough to use a weapon if I had actually been alone. I'm just glad that this woman is no longer out on the streets.