Support of law enforcement

[paradisePWoffrd]

I hold police officers in the same regard and reverence as military troops. I don't condone the same course of action or tactics and in no way am I saying the police should be militarized, but they should be respected. I've had a bad experience or two with the police when you cross the path of an officer with a chip on his shoulder and I've had great experiences when I've been in the wrong and I've since bought burgers and doughnuts for the officers that didn't shoot me with my gun drawn as they were entering my home to inspect the same break in I was. Like in any profession, there are good candidates and there are bad ones and there are ones that turn bad over time, doesn't make it right, but I prefer to look at the bigger picture. Proof of that is, look at how many police interactions there are on a daily basis that go off without a hitch, compared to the tragedies. If you're looking for bad you can find it...but it's just as easy to look for the good.

What I find super sad, buddy of mine, played high school ball against, he was a linebacker at ECU a decade ago...came back home, has essentially been heralded a 'hero' in the lower income part of town, where he grew up. He's an officer with the local PD, was making huge strides improving that area with outreach as an officer, we've done free youth football camps together, he's set up 'gaming tournaments', etc etc...even went semi-viral a couple months back for patching a kids bike tire, went back a couple days later, kids bike was still falling apart, so he dug in to his own pocket and bought the kid a brand new bike. In turn he decided he wanted to head up a donation fund from the PD for the kids in that district for things like that. None of that did or is going to make the news. The second these riots and protests started and he had to do his job, the love and embrace for him was gone, just like that. He went from hero to traitor...it's been a long time since I've consoled a sobbing man, I'm not sure I've ever seen someone so broken. That's the sort of stuff I don't get in this world, bad things happen, bad people are out there, life isn't fair, but an entire community turning their back on someone like that...I just don't get it.

These same people will probly be asking him for more help, when all this crap settles out.

 

[CasterTroy]

I've never had a bad run in with the police. maybe its the white privilege i got.

My sweet innocent HR manager wife and I were watching the news (very briefly before I lost my shit and started yelling at the TV and she turned it) and they were speaking of "Police reform" and making all these changes. My wife started talking back to the TV and said "What if people just stopped committing crime"

That's when I yelled:


Took her a second, but she giggled too at the reference.

being polite goes a long way

Sure does...."when you're white"

I can't explain it to you in a reply Logan. You're a GOOD DUDE! And I'm not picking on you....It's just something you have to see to understand.

I was an extreme minority for 4-1/2 yrs in college. There's no way to sit here and type out the WHY. You just have to see SOME things unfold first hand to really understand the "WHY" but I promise you, it matters that you were white in those instances

 

[UTfball68]

I can't explain it to you in a reply Logan. You're a GOOD DUDE! And I'm not picking on you....It's just something you have to see to understand.

I was an extreme minority for 4-1/2 yrs in college. There's no way to sit here and type out the WHY. You just have to see SOME things unfold first hand to really understand the "WHY" but I promise you, it matters that you were white in those instances

Man...you're hitting all the topics where my internal monologue struggles. 100% acknowledge and agree with what you're saying. 20 years of football, the vast majority of people I was around weren't white...it is just different. I really think this is where you can start going tit for tat on who gets what privilege or reparation or benefit in a scenario (which I think is all bullshit, bring on meritocracy). I always rationalize based on the 'restaurant test'...you show up, looking like a bum in tattered clothes, the host(ess) will more than likely treat you as such. However, you show up in a power suit, well groomed and smell of money, you'll probably be treated accordingly as well. I feel that's pretty consistent throughout life for any race/gender/creed, profiling usually works. The most consistent gap and stratification I've ever seen though, was hanging out with my buddies at UT...I'm a no-nothing back up white offensive lineman, with 1st round draft picks that have first round draft pick money, and their watch cost more than everything I had in my apartment...but some how any time we got too rowdy or caught speeding, it was just a different encounter for them, than it was with me. Didn't necessarily make it bad, just different...maybe more questioning, maybe an extra long frisk, maybe extra eyeballing. I don't believe that 'gap' is constant from top to bottom, white meth addict vs black crack dealer, I believe would be treated the same...but 'upper tier' white vs 'upper tier' minority...there's a gap in those interactions. The frustrating thing for me is, I want that fixed, but the topic never seems to stay on point and the focus shifts.

 

[Futbalfantic]

Sure does...."when you're white"

I can't explain it to you in a reply Logan. You're a GOOD DUDE! And I'm not picking on you....It's just something you have to see to understand.

I was an extreme minority for 4-1/2 yrs in college. There's no way to sit here and type out the WHY. You just have to see SOME things unfold first hand to really understand the "WHY" but I promise you, it matters that you were white in those instances

Some days I get this. Other days I don’t.

A few years ago I watched a great example of this unfold. Spoke with an 18 year old Hispanic male. Polite. Yes sir, no sir. Well spoken. The whole 9. Spoke to an officer. Cordial. Making jokes. Once those two started interacting. Boom. Complete 180. Kid acting hard. No respect. Short answers. Officer. Complete asshole. Accusatory.

I thought to myself. Wtf did I just witness. Then the officer said. “Didn’t I arrest you... (don’t remember the rest)” and the kid basically confirmed.

I tell that story to say it seems to me most officers recognize or have dealt with a lot of people they interact with on a day to day basis.

 

[CasterTroy]

white meth addict vs black crack dealer, I believe would be treated the same...but 'upper tier' white vs 'upper tier' minority...there's a gap in those interactions

In a perfect world, people wouldn't judge others by differences they SEE. You'd give everyone the benefit of the doubt. But EXPERIENCES, as well as the nightly news have jaded us all. That's why the white woman in the Mercedes locks her door when she's at the light and a young black man crosses the street in front of her. Ironically the same feeling I feel and why I never take my eyes off my Jeep when I'm in the store in Evarts Kentucky when that caviler missing the headlight pulls up with a white gal sporting 4 teeth and a passenger so skinny he can shimmy between pickets of a decorate fence without touching his wife beater on the bars. Difference is, it's racist for the woman in the Merc to do it, but not when I see said potential for crime in my own race.

 

[Ron]

What I think we all have to acknowledge is, there isnt an easy answer.
If there was, we'd have fixed it by now.

But difficult isnt convenient so we just blame the people who arent like us...be it cops or other races.
The truth (I think) is that there are bad apples and blame on both sides. But unfortunately, when you sign on to be a LEO you accept being held to a higher standard.

Im more willing to give a street dealer a pass for being disrespectful than I am an officer. It is literally the officers job to remain composed in the face of provocation.

Where my brain melts and I just avoid the conversation (again because its long and inconvenient)...officers can be prejudiced or jaded based on their experience. Their experience that minorities treat them worse than white people. But does that treatment stem from past encounters with other more jaded officers.

Does selective enforcement mean my black brother has a record and I got off with a warning under the guise of discretion?
Does that mean the next encounter for each of us goes differently because of what the LEO sees on his screen next time? Does that further prying lead to him getting a ticket or charge for something I did just as wrong but didnt get scrutinized for?

There isnt an easy answer for me. Ive had anecdotes to support either side of the debate. Maybe when I have more time Ill share the story about having my wife's car DESTROYED legally by police because I was in the wrong neighborhood. Or the story about one of the most honest men Ive ever known being locked up because his gf washed his driver's license.

But today isnt the day for that due to work load.

I will leave with this. If anyone has an open mind and wants a good alternate perspective I am going to share a link. I recommend reading this. This is a long time friend of mine. He lives in NC now.
He has better insight and is a better writer than I can dream of being.

Privilege Ain’t Just A White Male Thing (Part 1 of 2)

 

[jeepinmatt]

What I think we all have to acknowledge is, there isnt an easy answer.
If there was, we'd have fixed it by now.

But difficult isnt convenient so we just blame the people who arent like us...be it cops or other races.
The truth (I think) is that there are bad apples and blame on both sides. But unfortunately, when you sign on to be a LEO you accept being held to a higher standard.

Im more willing to give a street dealer a pass for being disrespectful than I am an officer. It is literally the officers job to remain composed in the face of provocation.

Where my brain melts and I just avoid the conversation (again because its long and inconvenient)...officers can be prejudiced or jaded based on their experience. Their experience that minorities treat them worse than white people. But does that treatment stem from past encounters with other more jaded officers.

Does selective enforcement mean my black brother has a record and I got off with a warning under the guise of discretion?
Does that mean the next encounter for each of us goes differently because of what the LEO sees on his screen next time? Does that further prying lead to him getting a ticket or charge for something I did just as wrong but didnt get scrutinized for?

There isnt an easy answer for me. Ive had anecdotes to support either side of the debate. Maybe when I have more time Ill share the story about having my wife's car DESTROYED legally by police because I was in the wrong neighborhood. Or the story about one of the most honest men Ive ever known being locked up because his gf washed his driver's license.

But today isnt the day for that due to work load.

I will leave with this. If anyone has an open mind and wants a good alternate perspective I am going to share a link. I recommend reading this. This is a long time friend of mine. He lives in NC now.
He has better insight and is a better writer than I can dream of being.

Privilege Ain’t Just A White Male Thing (Part 1 of 2)

Did he ever write part 2? I can't find it.

 

[04tacoma4x4]

I can tell you that after working 10 years on the job I struggle with what is going on with everything. Lately I’ve been in a constant thought process of is this worth it, is my safety and my families safety worth it just simply because of a uniform I wear. I have looked at the jobs page on here, help wanted, and considered going back to school and starting over. I don’t know what the answer is. I can tell you I have always done the right thing and treated people how I would have wanted to be treated given the circumstances. I have seen things I wish I could forget and I have worked along side some of the best men and women I have ever met. At one time this was the best job I ever had, I enjoyed going to work. I just don’t know what the future holds or how much me or any other “cop” can endure.

 

[1stgenxxx]

I fully support good cops (99%). The only bad encounters I've had with the police happened when I was breaking the law, being a dumb piece of shit and I brought it on myself. That was a long time ago. It's really as simple as don't break the law and your encounters with the police will be few and far between. People talk badly about profiling but.....If you emulate the appearance/lifestyle of a thug/someone who openly speaks of drug use and illegal activity then that throws a common sense flag. No matter what color you are there are, if you dress like a rapper or a hank 3 meth junkie then everyone sees it...not just law enforcement.

 

[Ron]

I fully support good cops (99%). The only bad encounters I've had with the police happened when I was breaking the law, being a dumb piece of shit and I brought it on myself. That was a long time ago. It's really as simple as don't break the law and your encounters with the police will be few and far between. People talk badly about profiling but.....If you emulate the appearance/lifestyle of a thug/someone who openly speaks of drug use and illegal activity then that throws a common sense flag. No matter what color you are there are, if you dress like a rapper or a hank 3 meth junkie then everyone sees it...not just law enforcement.

I wish it was that simple.
Ive got a friend who is black, was stopped in a rental car in February in Greenville, SC.

He was pulled out of his vehicle and held for 3 hours on the side of the road and never issued a ticket or a warning. He was wearing a suit and tie at the time of the stop. Knowing him I bet his suit cost more than my truck.
He was never told a reason for the stop. The rental 2020 tahoe had two leather seats cut open with box cutters during the stop to "search for drugs".

Just so happens dude has the initials JD after his name..but no one bothered to ask.
FOIA reveals that the body cams were both malfunctioning that day. Imagine that.
Neither officer has any written record of interacting with him. Despite the 15 minutes of video he has...including the LEO taking the phone from his hand and slamming it on the ground to end the recording...(cloud storage saved his ass there)...

The question is...how many other times has this happened before cameras were everywhere.

 

[superman27344]

Please tell me we still have support for law enforcement?
And yes it’s because I’m am , and proud to be .

As we I mean Americans.
There are bad apples in every profession and I do not agree with what happen, but please show your support for the locals that Keep the peace.

I realize that most cops are good and do the right thing, however law enforcement is really a field that can afford to have any bad apples. They have to be held to a higher moral code than your average profession because of just how important their jobs are. I have been very impressed with the members of law enforcement who have come out against the practices of the bad apples, but that doesn't mean there doesn't need to be reform in order to prevent atrocities from happening. Society needs the police, but it also needs to know that whatever cop shows up will treat them the same regardless of their skin color or the cop's skin color. They need to know that whatever is going on in that cop's personal life will not carry over on to the job and cause he or she to do something based on their mood instead of what is right or wrong.

 

[jeepinmatt]

I wish it was that simple.
Ive got a friend who is black, was stopped in a rental car in February in Greenville, SC.

He was pulled out of his vehicle and held for 3 hours on the side of the road and never issued a ticket or a warning. He was wearing a suit and tie at the time of the stop. Knowing him I bet his suit cost more than my truck.
He was never told a reason for the stop. The rental 2020 tahoe had two leather seats cut open with box cutters during the stop to "search for drugs".

Just so happens dude has the initials JD after his name..but no one bothered to ask.
FOIA reveals that the body cams were both malfunctioning that day. Imagine that.
Neither officer has any written record of interacting with him. Despite the 15 minutes of video he has...including the LEO taking the phone from his hand and slamming it on the ground to end the recording...(cloud storage saved his ass there)...

The question is...how many other times has this happened before cameras were everywhere.

This story doesn't make sense. How much do you trust this guy?

 

[superman27344]

This story doesn't make sense. How much do you trust this guy?

Does it not make sense or has it just not happened to you so you can't imagine it? I am not saying this to argue or start shit, I am honestly asking. You see, I can totally believe this happened, because I have had similar things happen to me just because I look like something else. I am a white guy, but anyone who has met me in person can testify that depending on my beard length, I either look very hispanic or very middle eastern. I have been a passenger before in a car that was pulled over and the cop gave me shit, even asked me if I spoke english. Its something I have gotten used to, but is it right that anyone should have to get used to that kind of treatment?

 

[Ron]

This story doesn't make sense. How much do you trust this guy?

I think you know me...
Ive seen the video.

It's really what makes this eye opening. You cant imagine it because you haven't lived it. Driving while black is a real thing. Not for every cop. But for some. For too many.
I also posted an abridged story...just because it was long enough as is. Ill be glad to tell you what I know or have you and Pat over for a beer and he can tell you in person...

 

[CasterTroy]

Ill be glad to tell you what I know or have you and Pat over for a beer and he can tell you in person...

Hell no!! That dude is bad luck!! Matt's already throwing salt over his shoulder and walking around enough ladders

 

[jeepinmatt]

Does it not make sense or has it just not happened to you so you can't imagine it?

Does not make sense. If the guy is a lawyer (as evidenced by the JD comment), then I don't see it playing out that way. Plus I like to ruffle Ron's feathers, but legitimately it doesn't make sense to me. Why did he get "pulled out of the car"? I'm sure a guy with a JD would know his rights and limitations, and over the course of 3 hrs would have phoned a friend and drew attention if they were performing a warrantless, illegal search. If not warrantless, then there are missing details. If he was "searched for being black" then I would think a black lawyer with a $30,000 suit (im assuming Ron is frugal and doesn't drive a new diesel) being pulled out of his car and held without reason would make a heck of a news story in Greenville in 2020 and would have ended poorly for the police department. Especially if there is video of them destroying his phone.

Also, I know it can't be true because Ron says

Ive got a friend

 

[Ron]

Duder was driving down HWY 25 between GVL and ASHVL. Says a black tahoe runs up on his bumper and is like about to hit him. He slows down. Car doesnt pass. This is a 4 lane road for those not familiar. Eventually car pulls over and goes to pass says he gets equal to his windows, looks over at him, hits the brakes and the lights and pulls in behind him.

Says cop walks up "Know why I pulled you over?"

"No sir"

Give me a license and registration. We will discuss why in a minute. Says he hands him license and explains its a rental car, says cop loudly says "you still have to have registration"..and then walks back to his car. Says he sits for 15 minutes or better when police another car pulls up. They approach both front windows. Ask why he is so nervous. He says nervous because he of cop interaction, doenst want a ticket, doesnt know what he did and prior to pull over officer was driving aggressively and scared him.

They tell him to get out of the car.

At that point he flipped his phone on record and sticks it in his breast pocket facing out.

Ask him why he is driving a rental car. Then go through rental paperwork. Rental is in his wife's name...different last names. She is also a lawyer and kept maiden name or they may not even be legally married but they've lived together for a long time and have two kids one of which is my daughters age. They had a rental because their car was in the shop from a wreck and rental was in wifes name because insurance was in her name.
At this point officer #2 on scene says "Boy tells us where the dope is and this will go easier on you"

My friend admits to being riled by the boy comment and asked to be notified why he was being detained. They then cuff him. They start going through his car. He has a gym bag in the back and they dump his clothes on the ground and proceed to walk over them repeatedly.

They begin digging in the back seat, flipping seats up etc.

One cop then cuts the two back seat cushions open and says this is where he probably is hiding it. And laughs.

They dump his laptop bag on the ground. Papers are blowing around road side. He mentions then that some of those papers have confidential client info on them.

There is some other dialogue I dont remember. Then they took his phone out of his pocket walked towards his clothes pile and threw the phone down. Shattering the screen.

After a few more minutes they release the handcuffs, tell him to "pick his shit up before he gets a littering ticket" and drive off.

It would make a hell of a story. Ive actually encouraged him to scream it from the rooftop. But he's built a very successful business in a very conservative southern town. In his eyes he can get his pound of flesh, but it will cost him dearly. He did file a report. One of the officers resigned because his heart wasnt in law enforcement anymore a few months later. The other was transitioned to a school resource officer (scariest part of the whole story to me)

 

[jeepinmatt]

Duder was driving down HWY 25 between GVL and ASHVL. Says a black tahoe runs up on his bumper and is like about to hit him. He slows down. Car doesnt pass. This is a 4 lane road for those not familiar. Eventually car pulls over and goes to pass says he gets equal to his windows, looks over at him, hits the brakes and the lights and pulls in behind him.

Says cop walks up "Know why I pulled you over?"

"No sir"

Give me a license and registration. We will discuss why in a minute. Says he hands him license and explains its a rental car, says cop loudly says "you still have to have registration"..and then walks back to his car. Says he sits for 15 minutes or better when police another car pulls up. They approach both front windows. Ask why he is so nervous. He says nervous because he of cop interaction, doenst want a ticket, doesnt know what he did and prior to pull over officer was driving aggressively and scared him.

They tell him to get out of the car.

At that point he flipped his phone on record and sticks it in his breast pocket facing out.

Ask him why he is driving a rental car. Then go through rental paperwork. Rental is in his wife's name...different last names. She is also a lawyer and kept maiden name or they may not even be legally married but they've lived together for a long time and have two kids one of which is my daughters age. They had a rental because their car was in the shop from a wreck and rental was in wifes name because insurance was in her name.
At this point officer #2 on scene says "Boy tells us where the dope is and this will go easier on you"

My friend admits to being riled by the boy comment and asked to be notified why he was being detained. They then cuff him. They start going through his car. He has a gym bag in the back and they dump his clothes on the ground and proceed to walk over them repeatedly.

They begin digging in the back seat, flipping seats up etc.

One cop then cuts the two back seat cushions open and says this is where he probably is hiding it. And laughs.

They dump his laptop bag on the ground. Papers are blowing around road side. He mentions then that some of those papers have confidential client info on them.

There is some other dialogue I dont remember. Then they took his phone out of his pocket walked towards his clothes pile and threw the phone down. Shattering the screen.

After a few more minutes they release the handcuffs, tell him to "pick his shit up before he gets a littering ticket" and drive off.

It would make a hell of a story. Ive actually encouraged him to scream it from the rooftop. But he's built a very successful business in a very conservative southern town. In his eyes he can get his pound of flesh, but it will cost him dearly. He did file a report. One of the officers resigned because his heart wasnt in law enforcement anymore a few months later. The other was transitioned to a school resource officer (scariest part of the whole story to me)

Thanks, this story makes more sense.

 

[PAT Ventures]

I

He was pulled out of his vehicle and held for 3 hours on the side of the road and never issued a ticket or a warning. He was wearing a suit and tie at the time of the stop. Knowing him I bet his suit cost more than my truck.
He was never told a reason for the stop. The rental 2020 tahoe had two leather seats cut open with box cutters during the stop to "search for drugs".

Just so happens dude has the initials JD after his name..but no one bothered to ask.
FOIA reveals that the body cams were both malfunctioning that day. Imagine that.
Neither officer has any written record of interacting with him. Despite the 15 minutes of video he has...including the LEO taking the phone from his hand and slamming it on the ground to end the recording...(cloud storage saved his ass there)...

The question is...how many other times has this happened before cameras were everywhere.

December 1977 I think. I was traveling north up the California coast. Stopped in Huntington Beach to watch the sunset. I was sitting on the beach when I was approached by 2 city cops & some type of young auxiliary person. Asked for Id so I showed it to them. I was detained for 2 1/2 hours. They would never tell me what the problem was. There was a lot of radio conversation in number code that meant nothing to me. I eventually ended up kneeling with my legs crossed and handcuffed behind my back. They got me up & we were headed to the squad car when some more gibberish came over the radio. They took the bracelets off & told me I was free to go.

I thanked the officer that appeared to be in charge for their hospitality & that if he ever went to my hometown I hope he received the same.

I have had other really good experiences with all levels of law enforcement. This and a couple of other experiences have made me leery of any encounter.

 

[UTfball68]

This one time in college I was profiled for wearing a duffle bag and being fat apparently...true story. Usually went to grab something to eat after mid-morning workouts, had my duffle bag with clothes and books and stuff. There was a pizza hut kiosk in this cafeteria, I grab my food, pay, go sit down. Not 15 seconds later, my duffle bag was removed from the chair beside me and I feel something under my armpits and I hear 'get up'...two campus PD. One is holding my duffle bag, other one still has my arm, they walk me outside. I don't even remember if there was any correspondence. Finally I'm sitting on the sidewalk outside the cafeteria, and I say what the hell. The response was 'is there anything you want to tell us'...'there's a lot I want to say, but what's going on'. Finally I hear the other one say 'there's nothing in here' and they finally tell me there have been reports of a big guy with a duffle bag stealing personal pizzas from Pizza Hut. At that point I wasn't sure if it was hysterical or if my anger should intensify. That was pretty much it, I told a couple coaches so I didn't have to do 5th quarter for a police interaction...and that was that. #fatlivesmatter

 

[ManglerYJ]

Being a white suburbanite slob most of my life apparently gained me some of that white privilege everyone keeps reminding me about - that I never asked for or expected. I don't feel that I have so much as a racist metatarsal in my body, but in my life I have had some instances where I can understand a small glimmer of what it's like to be profiled purely on superficial criterion alone.

When I was 15, I would ride my moped to Boy Scouts which was held in a church about 3 miles from my home. After the time change, leaving Boy Scouts at 8 pm might as well have been midnight as dark as it was. As I was leaving the church parking lot, a police car pulled up and threw his lights on - blinding me for a split second so I "wobbled" to a stop. The officer asked if I had been drinking or taking drugs of any sort - probably because of how I had to stop my moped. He had me get off my moped and do the whole sobriety test thing - walking a straight line and all. As freaked out as I was, I managed to repeat the alphabet backwards and walk a half-way decent straight line (I was an awkward, pimply faced kid with no athletic ability or balance so that was a bit of an achievement for me). Fortunately for me my Scoutmaster was leaving shortly after me and asked what it was all about. The officer told him that someone from the church had called in about some kids being destructive in the church parking lot and he was "checking it out". My Scoutmaster said, "Nobody called you from the church. I was the only adult here with 10 Scouts and Matt was helping me clean up otherwise he'd have been home by now. Unless you are detaining him for a legitimate purpose, I suggest we call it a night." "Yes sir, have a good night." And off I went to explain it to my mom.

Later in life, I worked on the west side of Detroit in a pretty bad gang neighborhood. We used to go to a convenience store that served take-out food for lunch. One day I'm waiting on my pizza and a young black kid wearing a red bandana tells me that I should probably not be there. I say, "Why? Is the food bad?" The clerk behind the counter got a chuckle out of that. "No. You are the wrong color."

So I tell him, "I don't mind being the wrong color as long as the people who are the right color don't mind me getting a pizza." I was REALLY hoping that would diffuse the situation - which it did - lucky for me. It may have been a different scenario if they were in a group of people. People seem to get unpredictable when they are faced with pressure to protect their "turf". I wasn't looking to infringe on anything, I just wanted a pizza and they had good pizza cheap.

The last instance could have gone really bad- really quick. I was driving a rental Ford Ranger home to NC from a trip to Michigan when I had crested a hill at around midnight. I had been driving by myself for 8+ hours and was cutting across some rural highways about a half hour from being home. As I crested the hill, I saw a pair of headlights come on at the side of the road. As I passed the headlights, police lights and sirens come on with tires squealing and smoking to catch up to me. I may have been speeding a bit, but not enough to have the full attention of a LEO. As he approaches my car, one hand on his sidearm and one hand on his radio, another car crests the hill and slams on his brakes pulling up behind the other car. Two officers get out of that car, also hands on holsters. I am freaking out a bit at this point since this is a rental car with an out of state (New York) tag.

"Driver..... take the keys out of the ignition and drop them on the ground out the window with your left hand and keep your right hand on the wheel where I can see it." What? I actually had to take a second to make sure I get the hand thing right. By the way, pulling the keys out of the ignition with your left hand is awkward as hell! I almost dropped the stupid keys. That would have sucked.

So the officer finally steps up to the side of the truck and asks me to exit the vehicle. I ask what is this about and he asks me where I came from. Hard question for a smart-ass like me to answer with the correct answer. I wanted to give a smart-ass answer like, "My mother's womb.", but I'm glad I told the truth, "Michigan". The longer I spoke with them, the more they wanted to know about my trip. When I left, where I went, who's truck it was, etc. When they finally check out as much of the story as they could (couldn't call the rental car place in the middle of the night, but I had my contract with me), they finally tell me that there was a mass shooting and that the shooter may have stolen a pickup in Virginia. I never was told for sure, but it was the same weekend as the DC sniper shootings. I don't remember there being a pickup truck involved in that, but they may have just been uber-vigilant. Either way, I wasn't the one they were looking for and patience on my part went a long way towards keeping them less anxious. They never actually pulled a gun on me, but did everything short of.

 

[Jeff B]

Fuck them all, no lives matter.

Thanos was right.

 

[trailhugger]

 

[Southern_Transplant]

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