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It is obvious that you have a mistrust overall of the police. Perhaps this situation was one where they over
reacted, they aren't perfect. Or maybe this isn't the whole story. Who knows.
Back when I was a young teenager in the 60s, my cousin and I were a bit shy of 16, and we both had learner's permits. Using "teen-aged boy logic," we reasoned that two learner's permits equaled a driver's license, so while my mother was at work in my father's car (he was overseas at the time) we took my mother's car out for a spin around the neighborhood, a couple of young black teens having a little fun.
My cousin was driving. He took a turn a bit too close and ripped the chrome strip off a parked car (this was back when cars had pinned-on metal chrome strips).
We stopped and got out, aghast at the (relatively minor) damage. The owner roared out of his house boiling mad. He told us he was calling the police and rushed back into his house.
Meanwhile, we stood there in horror until the police car arrived. A huge white Oklahoma trooper climbed out of the cruiser. He was in full PO-lice regalia: Campaign hat, sunglasses, calf-high boots, a long-barreled chromed .357 magnum in a black Sam Browne basketweave holster.
He heard the owner's complaint, then stood in front of us and read us the riot act. He listed maybe half a dozen charges that would surely put us in juvie for years. I'm not sure, but I may have momentarily passed out.
Then he paused and looked at us closely. He said, "Humph. I don't know you boys. If you were troublemakers, I'd know you."
He put us in his car and took us home to my mother's house. By then, she was back home wondering where we were and where her car was. The trooper explained the situation to her and ascertained that she'd pay for the damages. At some point in this discussion, she'd gone back into the house and retrieved a mop handle. I think the trooper was satisfied enough by her grip on the mop and the blood in her eyes to say, "Well, then, ma'am, I'll leave these boys in your custody."
Looking back on that situation, I think when the officer said, "If you were troublemakers, I'd know you," I think he really meant that he had an eye for character, and he didn't see "troublemaker" in us.
I think I've been pulled over maybe five times in the half-century I've been driving. Most of them verbally note the military indication on my rear window (or, now, my retired military license plate)...a tip my mother gave me half a century ago. I'll hand over my military ID along with my licence and registration, and they'll give me no more than a warning.
So my experience is that extreme police Red Zoning is not necessary after they've already checked out my plates and found nothing suspicious, see my papers and find nothing suspicious, and see my compliant demeanor and see nothing suspicious.
The guy who red-zoned is the one with the problem.
Last edited by Ralph_Kirk; 02-21-2019 at 12:35 PM..
I would argue that he was at 50 when he got out of his car.
And that's the problem.
That still doesn't answer my question as to what happened before and during the exchange about you stating that your cousin is a cop. This doesn't leave much options as to the validity of your story. Either your account is completely accurate and you ran into a cop that shouldn't be one to begin with, you're leaving out important information (intentionally or unintentionally) that would better explain the officer's behavior, or your story is a complete lie.
I think I've been pulled over maybe five times in the half-century I've been driving. Most of them verbally note the military indication on my rear window (or, now, my retired military license plate)...a tip my mother gave me half a century ago. I'll hand over my military ID along with my licence and registration, and they'll give me no more than a warning.
I would never hand over my military ID along with my driver's license. Being stopped by the police has nothing to do with someone's military career, so I would consider as inappropriate as handing over a license with a $50 bill.
Recently I saw a list of government employee salaries for Alaska and its cities. In Anchorage, the highest paid municipal employee was a senior patrol officer with the Anchorage Police Department. His pay last year was slightly over $450,000. I could actually live pretty decently on that much money.
If true, that applies to .00000000001% of patrol officers. Typically, they start at about $15 - $20 an hour to risk their lives for us
I would never hand over my military ID along with my driver's license. Being stopped by the police has nothing to do with someone's military career, so I would consider as inappropriate as handing over a license with a $50 bill.
I heard of it. It was part of "the talk" from my father. But then he grew up in the Jim Crow South went to ROTC at a segregated university and was among the few Black officers around
I would never hand over my military ID along with my driver's license. Being stopped by the police has nothing to do with someone's military career, so I would consider as inappropriate as handing over a license with a $50 bill.
Back when I first enlisted, my mother advised me, "When you drive across country, always hang your uniform in the back of the car." That was only a couple of years beyond when "The Green Book" was still useful in the glove compartment of black drivers.
I started having my military ID out when officers noting my plates or stickers kept asking, "Are you the military member?"
I figure if they ask the question, it probably means something toward getting me going on my way a bit faster and easier.
It's awfully easy. If a police officer tells you to stop, you stop. If a police officer tells you to get on the ground, then so be it. As I tell my kids, if you're pulled over, you keep your hands on the wheel. If you need to get something out of the glove compartment, you communicate with the officer ahead of time and move slowly. Because I've known enough cops in my life where I know that every traffic stop is a potential life-threatening situation for them.
There pretty much has to be video evidence to the contrary for me to believe that a cop is just intentionally blowing away someone without provocation. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. But it is the rare exception as opposed to the rule.
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