Now, Lord knows I would be the first person to agree that we need policeman, cops, officers of the law, whatever name you have for them. If my kid goes missing in Sears, I will be dialing 911 before you can say scat, if I can stay sane enough to remember the number….
What we do need more of is for them to realize we are all human beings, we have feelings, and that our feelings can be hurt. We are not all evil criminals out to do wrong….
I thought long and hard before I put this down to be seen by the public. Now, I can look back and get a kind of a chuckle, or maybe a grimace out of it, but I am going to tell my little story in hopes that it will cause ONE peacekeeper to dig way down in there, find their heart, and put it to use!
I had had a long, hard morning. Things were a bit stressed and I had some of the grandkids with me. I was trucking down Helton Drive to do some errands when a motorcycle cop turned his lights on and got behind me. I pulled over…….
Now, I don’t know about you, but I if I get stopped, I get a ticket. I could get a ticket for having on the wrong lipstick color. I could get a ticket for my car being so dirty it looks like I have been mud riding. I could get a ticket for having my radio on a country music station.
He was young and cocky. He had on the “heap of trouble, boy” sunglasses.
I was in a panic as I dug through my purse and car pocket to get the necessary papers to keep myself out of Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. (You know, just about everyone starts feeling this way when they get stopped.)
If cops would pass out nerve pills, they would get a lot more cooperation. As a matter of fact, if THEY took nerve pills, the world might be a friendlier place.
He took my papers and told me my insurance was out of date. I kept digging for my current insurance papers, but he stopped me and asked for my liscense. I guess the mug shot on my liscense didn’t make him happy. He said, “This is you?”
“Yes. I have no makeup on today, but I think that’s legal.” I said, knowing for sure I had just put my foot in my smart mouth.
“Where are you going so fast?” He asked, as he pushed his reflective glasses back up on his nose.
“I have to take my father in law to the doctor to have his broken pelvis checked, and I am taking a dog to the vet..it got hit by a car and has a broken leg.”
I guess this was too much for this motorcycle cop to handle. He smiled real big, and it was not a nice smile, either.
“I don’t appreciate you lying to try to get out of a ticket.” He said, as he wrote my ticket.
“Give me your phone.” He said. “I want to see where you got the call.”
“What call?” I stammered, feeling my civil rights were about to be stomped on.
“The call about the dog.”
“Which one? I have about twenty.”
“Don’t get smart with me, show me your phone, now.”
I would not hand my phone to him, but I held it up and let him look at it.
“Which call is about the dog?” He asked, as he handed me two tickets. One for speeding and one for not having a current insurance card with me.
“Just about all of them”
“You got this call an hour ago? What was it about?”
“I don’t remember.” I was in disbelief.
“Who is Cathy? Who’s Shannon? What was this call about?” He pointed to a call from a friend.
I just sat there, silently. I took my ticket and he said, “Don’t be making up any more stories when you get stopped by an officer of the law.”
“I didn’t make it up, I can prove it, and when I see a true officer of the law I will tell them the truth just like I told you the truth.” I stammered,my temper flaring.
“Have a good day, Ma’am.” He pushed up his glasses again, and walked away.
Today, I am headed for court. I am prepared. I am also planning on getting a word in edgewise if I can. I know it probably won’t happen, but I would love to express in public, where lots of folks can hear, my opinion of these kinds of tactics from our police officers.
Oh, and when I get done with that I am going to check on my father in law and his broken pelvis, then come home and give medicine to a sick dog. That’s my story, I am sticking to it, and it’s the truth, so…………
