Policy.
I didn't recognize the car before I stopped it, but something about it piqued my interest, and I turned around on it, and started my video. When it made a left turn without signalling, and I noticed an equipment violation, I lit it up.
When I made contact with the driver, I recognized him immediately. An out-of-town professional small-time thief, driving his aunt's car with out-of-state plates, staying at his sister's house. I asked him for his license and insurance, and he produced one, claiming the other was misplaced. His license was from out of state, though he had been in state for most of a year.
He was dressed in gangsta chique, with a scarf tied around his head and his pants belted around his junk, and a shirt that somehow managed to engulf his portly frame. I checked him for weapons visually, and began writing him some citations, and we talked as I did so.
"Why you gotta always be harrassin' me? You know I used my turn signal."
"Nope. None was visible from the rear. You were in a passing zone driving slowly. I might have passed you. Dangerous. Maybe it's broken?"
"Naw, it works fine."
"Then perhaps you didn't operate it correctly. There was no turn signal. I have video to prove this."
"I wanna see that."
"You certainly may, at your trial."
"You're gonna take this to trial?"
"Only if you wish to do so, in traffic court. I'll be sure to save the video."
"So I have to take your word for it now?"
"Yes. Which the court has found to be credible."
"You sayin' I'm a liar?"
"Nope. But I will note that the first time I met you, you lied about the items you had just pilfered, which were in your pockets."
"That was harassment, too. You took me to jail, on a little Theft Under $50 charge, which you could've just given me a ticket for!"
"Oh, that was policy."
"Your department has a policy to take someone to jail for something you could've given a ticket for?"
"No, my department does not; I do. If you steal something, and then lie to me about it when confronted with stealing it, and then continue to lie about stealing it*, then you will go to jail. Don't feel harassed; I'd take anyone else who did that, too. Per my policy."
_______________________________
*At the time, he had contended that the batteries in his pockets had come from another store, even though they were store-brand batteries from the complainant's store, which I had just seen him walk out of.
Labels: crime, day at the office, dumb criminals
6 Comments:
I'll know we are circling the drain when the average intelligence of criminals rises to "could be making more working" levels.
We may be there already. But until I hear otherwise from somebody like you or LawDog, I'll take some comfort in thinking criminals are still very, very stupid.
I read this blog, LawDog and Wyatt (Support Your Local Gun Fughter) and I swear, I don't know how you guys do it.
How does a person train to remain calm and act civilized in the face of human varmints like this?
I read you guys' stuff and it makes my blood boil sometime. I guess it is a good thing I did not go into law enforcement. I'd be like the old school cops, cracking heads and such.
It is comforting to know that we have LEOs out there like you. We could use a few down here in Florida. Our local sheriffs' department has almost as many deputies wind up in jail as it does your garden variety criminals.
I'd like to think that the training, certification and hiring standards are the same all over the USA but it does not seem to be the case down here.
The pay is so low to start out that the average street cop can't even afford to rent a place locally. I guess they hire pretty much anyone that will work for that pay and doesn't already have a criminal record.
May peace be with you Matt. I hope as your career and experience progresses it doesn't make you cold and hard inside like I see it do to so many others.
Be safe,
Joe
I've always said, If you want something bad enough to steal it, you want it bad enough to work for the money to BUY it.
There were a Robert Stack Unsolved Mystery where a guy and his girlfriend were murdered over a $3000 apple computer. The same type computer I found in Goodwill for under $100 about five years ago. If this guy ever gets caught, he'll do the death penalty over a piece of electronics that isn't worth $50 in today's money.
Gotta love it Matt, these sleazebags "think" they can get away with anything... sigh... Thank you for putting up with it, and keeping us safer.
Well done sir.
Heh. Hah. Heh-heh. Good on ya.
John
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