Police Officers

We have all, at one time or another, had interactions with police officers.  The last time I got pulled over was the last time I was in Florida.  I had gotten a new tag so for the time being, I had a temporary.  The holes were oblong and wouldn’t stay on the tag holder so I just put it in the back window.
I noticed I had been “lit up” so I pulled over.
That was when everything Loser had told me went out the window.
Years earlier he said, “if you’re ever pulled over, keep your hands on the steering wheel and tell the “cop” everything you are going to do, like open the glove compartment or get into your purse because if you don’t, they will fucking blow your ass away.”

It was a female officer who pulled me over and when she walked up to my car, I rolled down my window and in my Southern speak, said “hey!”
She asked to see my drivers’ license and registration and I started rooting around in my pocketbook.  I could have been looking for a 44 Magnum.
Before I took anything out of my wallet, she asked me if I had a tag.  I opened the back door and leaned in.  Again, I could have been reaching for my UZI.  I showed her the temporary tag.
She said she couldn’t see it because my windows were tinted.  I showed her the holes and said “isn’t this some shit?”  She laughed and told me to have a good day.
I guess she thought I was just some little old corn pone because she never did see my license and registration.

My son has had more than his share of encounters with police officers.  I have no idea how many times he has been arrested for public drunkenness and I’m pretty sure that most of them have been warranted.

During a five-year time frame when he was actually sober, he was going to school and working at Dominos’ Pizza at night.  He loved to deliver pizzas to the military school downtown because they tipped so well.  One night, he was coming back and was pulled over.
When he asked why, the officers yanked him out of his car, slammed him down on the ground and one of them held him down with his foot.
He had pizza warmers and receipts in his car.  He had the magnetic sign on top of his car and had on his shirt and cap.
They literally dragged him over to the curb.  After they checked his drivers’ license, they laughed and told him he could go.
That childs’ chin, hands, elbows and knees were so scraped up, they were still bleeding when he got home.
That was purely and simply abuse of power.

Just last week, he was standing in his front yard and two police officers walked up to him and slammed him to the ground.  One of them had their knee on his throat.  They asked his name and asked for his identification.  He gave it to them and they looked at each other and said “he’s not the right guy.”  They left, never apologized or even said the typical “have a nice day.”
Again, that was abuse of power.

When we first moved to C*********, I got lost.  I saw a police officer standing in front of a store and was walking toward him to ask for directions.  Before I got within five feet of him, he had his hand on his gun and was looking over and around me like I was setting him up or something.  I wasn’t dressed like a bum and with all of my ninety-four pounds, I’m about as threatening as a five-year old but he treated me like I was a criminal.

When I was working EMS, it was a different story.  We worked in tandem with police officers and we relied on them to provide “scene safety.”  If I was in uniform, they were open, friendly and approachable…but only when I was in uniform.

I told my son about my encounter when asking for directions and the difference in treatment when I was in uniform.  I guess I was trying to try to make him feel better (as in, if they treat me like shit, it’s nothing personal toward you.)

I told him that I grew up in a time where police officers were your guardians.
They were there to “protect and serve.”  They would give you a ride home if you were stranded.  When a man got pulled over, he got out of his car, walked up to the officer and shook his hand.
Police officers were “officers” not “cops.”  I have always thought it was disrespectful to refer to them that way.

I told him that in these days and times, police officers have to be on guard….all the time.  They are likely to get shot for just pulling somebody over for a minor infraction.  I asked him to keep that in mind.
I said “it’s a dangerous world and you can’t blame them for being scared.  They’re human.  Yes, they make mistakes but I have no doubt whatsoever that those same officers who skinned you up so badly would take a bullet for you, without hesitation.”

My son has developed a hatred toward police officers and it has been nurtured by Loser.  Loser has never been shy about announcing “I hate fucking cops.  They think they’re fucking God!”
One of the most vicious arguments we ever got into was over that statement when I said “you mean, THEY have the audacity to think they’re YOU?”

I raised my children to respect police officers.  Sure, there are good ones and there are bad ones.  That is true in all walks of life.  I have seen and heard about horrible treatment by police officers and I know there is, as I said, abuse of power.

In the movie “Crash” a police officer behaves criminally when he is “patting down” a mans’ wife.  He did it because he could and he got away with it.  At the end of the movie, the same officer risked his own life to save hers and he did it because it was his sworn duty.  Did it vindicate his earlier actions?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  The bottom line is that he did it because that’s what police officers do and they do it every single day.

You may be one of those who hate police officers.  You may hate them because you got a speeding ticket.  You may hate them for the way they have treated one of your children.  You may hate them for the way they have treated you…but think about this:

If somebody is breaking into your house, who are you going to call?