Driver’s Politeness might have gone a long way
By Randy Kraft, The Morning Call (Allentown, Penn.)
Where’s a cop when you need one?
Didn’t you think that the last time you were cut off, stuck behind someone double-parking or nearly hit by a driver ignoring a stop sign?
But this time it happened. This time the police officer was at the right place at the right time. This time a rude driver cursed the wrong guy.
That wrong guy was Lt. Dwight Steidel of the Allentown Police Department. Steidel was driving an unmarked police cruiser at 11:29 p.m. Friday when he stopped behind a silver sport utility vehicle at the traffic light at Second and Tilghman.
The driver of the SUV was talking to someone on the sidewalk. The light turned green, but the SUV did not move, according to Steidel’s report. The driver continued his conversation.
“I rolled down my window and told him to move or pull over,” reported Steidel. “He immediately began to curse at me. I believe he did not know I was a police officer.”
When Steidel switched on his car’s emergency lights, the driver of the SUV immediately pulled over in the 600 block of N. Second Street.
As Steidel approached, the driver confessed he did not have a license or registration for the vehicle, Steidel reported. Rico Cordero of 1051 Tilghman St. had his license suspended, according to police. Plus, the 2003 SUV he was driving had been stolen in Bethlehem.
But Cordero’s problems weren’t over yet. Another surprise came after the arrest, when Cordero was searched at police headquarters. Police said Cordero was carrying cocaine and a large amount of cash.
Police spokesman Daryl Hendricks said Cordero then was charged with possession and possession with intent to deliver cocaine. He also was charged with receiving stolen property, the SUV, and with driving under suspension.
Hendricks said Cordero was committed to Lehigh County Prison under $100,000 bail.