I spent part of my morning at a stand-off outside a house in East Dallas. Actually, it’s more accurate to say I spent part of my morning near a stand-off.

When I pulled up, I parked along the side of the street. A photographer from one of the television stations pulled up directly behind me.

An officer who was part of the road block near the house came up to the photographer and said, “You need to move your car. You’re in the line of fire. if there’s shooting.”

Hearing that, I returned to my car, only to have the officer stop me.

“No, you’re fine,” he said.

“Doggone it,” I replied in my mind. “The radio guy never gets respect! The previous TV stations all get corralled into one corner because we certainly don’t want them in the cross fire. But for radio, it’s good natural sound.”

Here’s the thing, though: It was good for natural sound. Also, when one of the guys gave himself up, I got a picture to put on twitter.

Meanwhile, the officer who moved the precious TV photographer to safety but left me sitting in my car would explain that the way I was craning my head around to get a look at SWAT showed that I was, in fact, out of the line of fire.

Any bullets would fly harmlessly into the house directly in front in front of me, where a guy had just opened a door to get his paper and read while, I assume, a bullet crashed through his window and lodged in his muffin.

But TV photographers are resourceful.

No one was hurt during the stand-off, so they scurried into a helpful neighbor’s yard to shoot video through the trees.

Loyal Scaiaholics know that I consider photographers the brains of a TV crew. So I frequently sidle up to them with questions during situations like this.

This time, though, I was the brains of the operation. Dallas police sent the media a note on what was happening, but it appears many of the television and print photographers weren’t on the mailing list. Their assignment desks are on the mailing list, but they were left in the dark for what was happening right then.

Luckily, I don’t have an assignment desk, so I happily forwarded the email to everyone who had gathered ’round. Then, without another assignment, I wandered aimlessly into the woods.

This episode took place across the street from a school. Parents were still allowed to drop off their kids and kids still walked to school.

The chief of Dallas ISD’s police force would discuss the issue with media, during which I asked, “Hey, what’s the deal with line of fire? Apparently, TV stations aren’t allowed in he line of fire, but radio reporters and school buses can hang out there?”

He would explain, quite patiently, that school district police and Dallas police work quite closely to make sure kids and parents are outside the threat, and– … and…

“Hey, reporters!” The crossing guard, and this part is actually true, started yelling several times during the stand-off. “Who wants to get me some breakfast?!”

By the end of the stand-off, school had started and the crossing guard had left with no breakfast remitted. If only robbers understood their crimes affect more than just the victims.