It was night time, about eleven o’clock on a weekend. I had been out patrolling the bustling metropolis that is the small town I work in. It was a fairly clear night but damn cold outside. I was trying to make my way back to the office so I could complete my reports and go home. Screw that I idea. I got stuck behind a couple of douchster specials going down the road directly in front of me. There was an early 90s style Chevy Astro van up ahead and a old beater Datsun wagon driving behind that. I was trying very hard to “put the blinders on” and get back to the office so that I wouldn’t be held up at the office all night, but the Astro van had like fifteen people in it who were all staring straight ahead and trying very hard to not look back at me.
Anyone who’s been a cop for a while knows that this is a “red flag”. I was watching to see where the van was going, but couldn’t help but notice that the Datsun following behind has acting strange too. The driver was following the van about two feet off of its bumper. The right rear taillight was out and all of the Datsun’s windows were fogged up. Also, it appeared that there were several people inside it as well.
At first I thought “These dummies must be traveling together.” As we got closer to the city’s local fire station, The Datsun, turned sharply without signaling, into the fire station’s parking lot. I thought, “What the hell! Is this guy trying to get away from me or something?” Because the car turned so quickly, I wasn’t able to follow him in. I went to the next street and turned to go around the block and head him off. By the time I got back to the fire station parking lot, the Datsun had turned around and was just pulling back onto the roadway. It turned right and started back the opposite direction.
I followed the Datsun on a paralleling street until I noticed it turning onto another street. I thought, “Yep you’re trying to get away fucker!” I nailed the accelerator and rounded the block. I switched on the lights and blew through a couple intersections. Finally I managed to get him stopped just a few streets away. As I pulled the patrol car closer to the Datsun I could see that there weren’t people sitting in the back seat, but there was about a 250 pound Great Dane. The shear size of the dog inside the little car took up the entire back seat. I approached the driver’s side of the car. When I reached the left rear quarter panel of the Datsun, I could see the driver reaching around inside the car.
I drew my gun out and held it at my side. I said, “Put your hands on the steering wheel right now!” The driver, who I could see was a teenager about seventeen to nineteen years old, said, “Huh?” with a stupid look on his face. He looked back at me with his hand stuck inside what appeared to be the center consol. I picked up my gun and held it at “low ready”. “I’m gonna tell you one more time, then you’re going to have serious problems. PutYour Hands.On the steering wheel.Now!” Seeing the gun in my hands he quickly complied.
Right about that time, a large fat guy and his apparent larger wife rounded the corner on the nearby street. “Woah, woah what the hell’s goin on here!?” The large fat guy started advancing on my a little quicker. I said, “Stop right there!” He continued. I backed up three or four steps. “I said, STOP!” The fat guy looked a little puzzled and stopped running toward me. “That’s my son!” He yelled out. “Great, I want you to stand right there until I am done talking to him.” The fat guy just stood there. By now his wife had caught up to him. They eyeballed me and talked to each other under their breath.
“Is that your parents?” I asked. The teenager said, “Yes, I am a volunteer fire fighter. I was on my way to a call when I realized that my dog was still in the car. I didn’t want to go on a call and leave my dog in the car. So I called my parents to come get him. They were taking quite a while, so I decided to meet them half way.” Right about then the entire Datsun shifted from left to right and through the open driver’s door exited a very large Great Dane. The next thing I know, I’m starring into the eyes of a pretty pissed off Great Dane. Calmly, I said, “Put you dog away before he gets shot!”
Once the dog was put away, I identified the teenager as an actual volunteer fire fighter. I explained to him that in the future, when he’s being stopped by the cops. It’s usually not a good idea to be reaching around inside the car. I explained to his parents what had happened. As they lead the teenager’s dog away and down the street the teenager’s mother said, “Thanks for not shooting my son..Officer.” They way she said it was completely meant to piss me off. I remember thinking, “Fuck you lady, I have a wife and kid. I will do what ever it takes to go home to them.”
It just goes to show you that “Joe Public” has no idea why the cops do certain things. I think that some people think that cops are driving around thinking to themselves, “Geez, I really hope I get to shoot someone today. I bet it’ll be just like in the movies.I’ll be hero!” In the end, I never pointed my gun at any of them. The teenager turned out to be pretty nice guy. Once I told him my observations of his driving and the way he was acting when I walked up on him, he told me that he understood why I did what I did. His parents on the other hand were still a little pissed. What are ya gonna do?
A good friend of mine, who is also a cop said, “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill ever person you meet.” Though it sounds really harsh, it’s very true in police work.
