“I made a slow down”

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Badge415

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The other night a car made a right turn on a red light without stopping. It was as if the red light wasn’t there, so I decided to stop the car.

He had a head start on me so I pushed down on the gas pedal to catch up to him. The engine revved on “old faithful” as my patrol car gained on him.

Once I was behind him, I threw on the overheads and the car pulled to the curb. After it stopped, I walked up as my red and blue lights flashed and bounced off houses and passing cars.

“Hi, can I see your license?”

The driver, who was 20 years old, reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. As he grabbed for his license I asked, “Why didn’t you stop for the red light when you made the right turn?”

The driver, who was understandably nervous, handed me his license as he said, “I made a slow down.”

“A slow down?” I asked with raised eyebrows. “The light was red. Why didn’t you stop?”

“I yielded,” he said as if he was in a hot air balloon with a leak that was crashing toward he ground.

“What color is the light for yield?”

“Uh, yellow.”

That’s when an embarrassed look appeared on his face as he realized how silly his excuse sounded.

I have a feeling he’ll stop at this red light the next time he makes a right turn.

Where’s the steering wheel?

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Badge415

The other night I was sent a call on the eastern end of the city. I was near the freeway, so I decided to jump on and get there faster. I took the on ramp and started to accelerate.

I was up to freeway speed in a matter of seconds and looked into my mirror as I prepared to merge into traffic. Just as I looked, I heard the sound of skidding off to my left.

I turned my head just in time to see a car blowing by me as it was trying to slow down. Its brake lights were shining brightly like a lighthouse on a rocky coast on a foggy night for passing ships to see.

The car decelerated to 70 miles per hour in a matter of seconds.

It’s amazing how that works when you pass a police car like that. Of course, he needed to be stopped. I’m sure everyone else on the freeway wanted to see it too.

I turned on my lights as red and blue reflected off of everything around me. In defeat, the car pulled over and stopped on the shoulder. After the car stopped, I walked up on the passenger side as I used my flashlight to illuminate the inside.

I looked into the car trying to see the driver’s hands. That’s when I noticed there was no steering wheel. It just didn’t look right. How was he steering the car? I actually had to do a double take.

That’s when I saw a steering wheel on the passenger seat. That didn’t look right either. It was like a Twilight Zone car stop.

I asked, “Why is your steering wheel there,” as I pointed to the passenger seat.

“I wanted to show you I wasn’t going to take off,” he replied.

That actually made me laugh.

I never even thought of that one before. I took out my phone and told him, “I’m taking a picture of that.” I instantly knew he’d make the blog.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

When the rules don’t apply to some people

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Badge415

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The other night I was at a crash where one of the drivers was unlicensed. Though translation, the woman told me she lived in California for 20 years and was never issued a driver’s license.

I asked her if she had ever been given a ticket before. She replied she had not. Part of me found that hard to believe. Not many people in their 40s can go that long without being stopped for a traffic violation.

I decided to use my Bluecheck fingerprint device to check her identify. I asked her if she had ever had ever been fingerprinted before. With some hesitation the woman replied she had. I asked why and she told me it was because of a DUI crash she was involved in years ago.

I guess getting a DUI was not a ticket to her.

I next ran the driver’s name on the computer and found her DMV record, which showed the DUI conviction from 2008. I also found a conviction for driving on a suspended license in 2011. Her license status showed “suspended or revoked.”

Didn’t I just ask if she had ever been given a ticket?

When I asked about the ticket on her driving record her daughter said her mom sometimes forgets things.

Like the truth?

“Most people remember when they get a ticket for driving on a suspended license,” I replied. I next asked, “Did your car impounded when you got your ticket?”

“Yes.”

After all of this, I told the woman her car was being impounded because her license was suspended. That’s when she asked for a chance to keep the car. Really?

When I said no she got upset.

I always find it funny how people get upset when I do my job after they make bad decisions. I guess the rules and laws are more like “guidelines” for some people.

Give me $25

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Badge415

You never know what you’re going to see when driving around on patrol. The other night, I was driving down the street when I saw a car with the word “STOP” mounted on the rear window.

When the car slowed down, its regular red stop lamps came on like normal. A blue lighted “STOP” also came on. Even though it was kind of funny to see, a blue light is not allowed on a car.

I activated my lights and stopped the vehicle. I walked up to the driver and said, “I stopped you because of the blue light you have in the window.” I went on to explain why the blue light was illegal on the vehicle.

“Okay officer. I can discount connect it right now.”

“Do you have a driver’s license?” I asked.

“Yes,” the driver said as he reached into his wallet and showed me. That’s when the driver pointed to his back window and said, “I have a red one I can put on instead.”

“Okay. A red light will work.” I found it interesting he had different colors on demand. What other lighting fixtures did he have with him?

The driver then said, “Give me $25 for this one and you can have it.”

“No, that’s okay,” I replied.

“Come on officer. Just give me $25 for the light.”

“No, I don’t need it.”

“Just $25.”

His pleading voice was begging me to buy it from him. The car stop turned weird at that moment. If just goes to show that you never know what people are going to say at work.

Let me see your wallet

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Badge415

On Friday afternoon I saw a guy stopped across the intersection for a red light. When the light turned green, the cars next to him went, but he didn’t.

The intersection wasn’t that big, so I was able to see him looking down. There was also a line of cars behind him that couldn’t go because he was still stopped. He finally looked up and started to go. As he drove through the intersection he passed within a few feet of me. It was still daylight and I could see him holding his phone as he looked at it.

He wasn’t paying attention to anything around him, including the police car. I made a U-turn and stopped him.

When I walked up to the car I asked, “Where’s your phone?” He reached under the seat and pulled it out. That was funny because he took a while to pull over. I guess shoving the phone under the seat was the best idea he had at the moment.

I next asked him for his license and told him why I stopped him. He admitted to being the phone, which was refreshing. It was actually nice to hear someone tell the truth and I appreciated it.

The driver reached into his back pocket and pulled out a white plastic looking wallet. From where I was standing it looked like the type of wallet my daughter had when she was 5 years old.

I watched his hands as he opened it up. There was something odd about the way he maneuvered his hands. It was like he didn’t want me to see something.

After he handed me his license I pointed to the wallet and said, “Turn that over.” The driver looked up with pleading eyes like he didn’t want to. He then slowly turned it over and revealed a picture of Felix the Cat.

“Felix the Cat?” I asked. He didn’t say anything. He only sat there with an embarrassed look on his face. Maybe it was because he was 30 years old.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket as I said, “I have to take a picture of that.”

He squinted his eyes as he asked, “You’re going to take a picture of it?”

I already knew this was going to make the blog because I had never seen an adult with a kid’s wallet on a car stop. “Sure, why not?” I said. “Plus, I’m not going to give you a ticket if I take the picture..” He realized how good an idea the picture was and held it up.

I’m sure he’ll remember me the next he wants to text and drive. Maybe he’ll keep his eyes on the road instead.

Did that spoon come with the car?

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Badge415

The actual twisted spoon in the ignition

Sometimes the funniest things come on while working the streets. It’s the unusual and weird stuff that make the job fun. You just never know what’s going to come up.

A few months ago, I backed up an officer on a car stop. I stood by while he contacted the driver and patted him down for weapons. He had stopped the driver for running red lights and racing another car.

After he patted the driver down, the officer walked around the beaten up 1992 BMW and looked inside. That’s when the officer asked, “Why is there a spoon in the ignition?”

“I bought the car like that?”

First of all, who buys a car with a spoon stuck in the ignition? We thought it was stolen, but the driver told us he had all the paperwork for the vehicle.

The driver, who was unlicensed, told us his other BMW was impounded last week, so he bought another one. Apparently he only drives BMW cars.

“The car came with the spoon?” I asked.

“Yeah. I just leave it in there.”

“Do you start the car with the spoon?”

“No, I use the key.”

“Why do you have a spoon in the ignition?”

“It keeps the steering wheel from locking. They put in another ignition switch so I can start the car.”

I just stood there shaking my head like I normally do on calls. I also wondered if there was a fork and knife in the car in case he lost his spoon.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

Do you have a license?

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Badge415

The excuses people tell me never get old. Sometimes it seems like the excuses are the same every time, but every once in a while you get to hear a new one.

The other night I was watching a stop sign when an SUV drove through it at approximately 15 miles per hour. I went after the car and stopped it. I walked up to the car and waited for the driver to lower the window. The window was broken so she opened the door. The fact that the driver side window was broken was probably a hint of things to come.

I asked, “Why didn’t you stop for the stop sign?”

The woman, who was in her mid-twenties said, “I made a fast stop,”

I pointed to her car and asked, “Is your car stopped right now?”

“Yes.”

“Did your car ever get like this at the stop sign?”

“No,” she said as she lowered her head.

“So, how fast were you going when you went through the stop sign?”

“Maybe 15 to 20 miles per hour.”

I asked, “How come you didn’t stop?”

“I stopped last time I went through.”

At least we can count on her stopping 50% of the time. Since she was being honest I decided to let her go with a warning, assuming she had all of the correct and current paperwork. But you know what they say when you “assume” something?

In the Badge415 world, you at least need a driver’s license to get a break from me. It’s not too much to ask for a person to have a driver’s license and current insurance. Call me crazy, but those are basic laws people are supposed to follow. A person should have those instead of excuses when I stop them.

The moment of truth came for the crucial question of the evening. I threw all caution to the wind and asked, “Do you have a license?”

“No. It’s expired.”

I just laughed inside. It always seems to happen like this. The person was so close to driving away with a warning, but instead they’re the subject of a blog story. Oh well, I tried to give her a break. It just didn’t work out.

I asked, “Why is your license expired?”

“I renewed my identification card by accident thinking it was my license.”

What?

Now, that was a new excuse I had never heard. The funny thing was her identification card was issued in 2014 and her license expired in May of 2015. Either way the math didn’t add up, but I applauded her creativity.

In the end she got a ticket for being unlicensed and I gave her a break on the stop sign. She also had to wait for her brother to show up and take the car. If she had only stopped, I would’ve never found out about her expired license.

Until the next time I stop someone. Maybe they’ll have a driver’s license…… I hope.

“Is your license really valid?”

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Badge415

The other night I decided to watch a stop sign in a neighborhood because of a complaint. I parked at an L shaped intersection in plain view for all to see. I was parked along the curb in the dark when this car passed me on the left as it approached the stop sign. The car rolled through the stop and made its turn like I wasn’t there. I threw my lights on and stopped the car, wondering what the heck the driver was thinking.

I walked up to the car and asked the driver why she didn’t stop for the stop sign and if she saw the police car. At first, the driver told me she stopped. After further questioning and a Jedi Mind Trick, she admitted to not stopping. I next asked her if she had a license.

“Not with me,” she replied.

“Where is it at?”

“It broke in half two days ago.”

That was one of the dumbest excuses I had ever heard. Now I was sure her license was either suspended or she was never issued one.

“Is your license valid?”

“Yes.”

I walked back to my car and entered her name into the computer. I knew it was a waste of time because there was no way her license was valid after the “broke in half” excuse. Call me skeptical, but it was a gut feeling.

Of course, it wasn’t valid. Her license expired in 2009 and she had two prior convictions for driving on a suspended license. Her license wasn’t just barely expired. It was really, really expired.

I couldn’t believe she tried telling me it was valid, but it was a nice try. I went back up to the driver and asked her about her license. She again told me it was valid. When do these people give up?

She next said it was set to be renewed in December of 2015. She was getting nervous at this point and started talking more and more. She then said something about failing the written test.

I asked her how many times she had failed the written test in the last year. She said, “Six times.”

“You know, they don’t make you take the test six times if you already have a valid driver’s license?”

“I have to take the test to renew it.”

That’s when she threw out one more excuse, hoping it would stick on the wall somewhere.

“I have a permit.”

“Ok. Show it to me.”

“It’s in storage,” she said.

“That doesn’t make sense. No one would put their permit in storage when they need it to drive,” I said.

Now she needed a diversion. She raised her voice and told me cops make her nervous because of all the things that happen on the news.

“Have I done anything wrong?” I asked.

“No.”

Good, I wanted that for my body worn camera in case she tried to complain about me. I went back to my car and started writing her the ticket. I also called for a tow truck.

When I went back up to the driver door she was upset. She signed the ticket and asked to keep the car. I told her it was getting impounded because her license expired 6 years ago.

She exited the car and said, “I bet you’d let me keep the car if I was white.”

I almost laughed when I heard that since the driver and I were both Hispanic. I wanted so bad to say, “Nope, I’d take the car if you were white too,” but I held my tongue.

Then with a mean and sarcastic tone she said, “Thank you for protecting and serving,”

“Your welcome,” I replied.

She turned toward me with all the evilness she could muster. She even threw some imaginary darts my way with her eyes. Who cares? She lied and I was just doing my job. She could’ve stopped for the stop sign and made things easier for both of us.

After she left I told the tow truck driver what she said. He laughed as he said, “You take everybody’s car. It doesn’t matter if they’re white, black, Asian or Hispanic. If they’re wrong you take the car.”

At least the tow truck driver knew I was fair!

A few days letter there was a note in my mailbox at work from the driver. She left it after getting a release for the impound. The note said she was sorry for being rude at the end of the stop. It also said she was lagging and she finally got her license back.

She wasn’t such a bad person after all. She was just really mad because her car was impounded and that remark was the best she could come up with. At least she has her license now. I bet she stops the next time she comes up to that stop sign.

It’s not every day you get an apology from someone. I actually appreciated the note because she didn’t have to write it. Just another happy ending in police work.

He just doesn’t get it

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Badge415

It’s amazing how some people can’t accept responsibility for their actions. You can see that anywhere, but you really see it in police work. People want to whine and complain when you do your job, but never realize they were the ones who brought the attention to themselves.

The other night I was working a stop sign in a residential neighborhood because of a complaint. I was there less than 2 minutes before someone ran it.

I stopped the car and asked the driver for his license. He gave me the look I’ve seen many times. The shoulders sagged at the same time the chin touched his chest with heavy breathing. It was the look of a person with a suspended license. I’d seen it so many times I could just tell.

He started looking through his wallet as he said, “I hope I have it.”

“I hope you have it too,” I replied with a laugh.

After digging for some time he gave me a mutilated California identification card. It was in three pieces and had been taped back together. I thought how I’ve seen broken legs at crashes that looked better than his identification card.

At first he told me he didn’t have his license with him. After further questioning he finally admitted it was suspended for not paying a ticket. I asked him about the stop sign and he said he stopped. After further questions he finally admitted to running it.

I checked his license status and confirmed what I thought. His driving record looked as bad as his identification card.

I wrote him a ticket for the stop sign and the suspended license. He signed it and I told him the car was being impounded.

At this point most people accept their fate and get out. They might not be happy, but they get out because there is nothing they can do about it. For the most part, they’re still easy to deal with after that.

Not this guy. He was an 18 years old cry baby who said, “Give me a chance” over and over. He just wouldn’t accept no for an answer.

I pointed out to him all the bad choices he made to get to this point, but he didn’t get it. The whining continued as he asked if someone could pick up the car for him. I told him no. He asked for another chance. Again, the answer was no. He said, “I’m begging.” Again, the answer was no. He went on and on. He just wouldn’t stop. It got to the point where he reminded me a 4 year old when they don’t get their way.

That’s when I figured out he was used to getting his way. This was how he got people to give in. He was a whiner and a cry baby. Plain and simple.

By this point my patience were running out about as fast as an Olympic sprinter going for the gold medal. This guy refused to accept responsibility for any of his actions and still thought he was going to keep the car.

I finally said, “Get out of the car. Nothing you say or do is going to change anything.”

With a hurt look he told me I wasn’t being cool. He finally gave up and exited the car. He gathered his things and acted like the victim. All I could do was shake my head and wonder how he was going to handle life when curve balls were thrown his way.

I’m guessing not well and there will probably being some whining involved too.

When the cop is there and you have no idea- Priceless

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Badge415

Actual skids from the Dodge.

Today I was minding my own business as I sat at a red light. The sun had just dipped below the horizon as dusk descended on the area. My windows were down and the late summer breeze felt good.

When the light turned green, I coasted into the intersection with no particular place to go. I was just going to cruise around and enjoy a drive through the city. That’s when a large cloud of smoke caught my eye off to my right on a street that paralleled the one I was on.

The cloud was getting larger by the second as it surrounded a red Dodge Charger. The burn out seemed to last forever and was actually kind of impressive to watch.

I made a right turn on the side street to go talk to the driver about his lack of common sense. As soon as the driver saw me his tires quit spinning, but the cloud of burned rubber floated with the afternoon breeze toward my car.

After I stopped the car I walked up and asked the driver, “Were you having some type of medical problem that made your foot press down on the gas pedal like that?”

“No.”

“How old are you?”

“26.”

I held up my hands as I asked, “Why?”

“I was being stupid,” the driver said as he put his head down on his steering wheel.

His license showed an address that was far away from where we were, so I asked him how he ended up on this particular street. The driver replied he was going to a local club around the corner and he wanted to test out his new car. He told me he picked this street because no one was around.

I was amazed by his honesty. I also appreciated how he picked a street with no cars, businesses or homes to practice his speed skills on. I told the driver, “You did a dumb thing, but you were smart about it. I appreciate that.”

He gave me half a smile and didn’t say anything.

“What did you say when you saw me?” I asked.

“I said F#@K!”

“I would’ve said the same thing. Did you know you’re going to be my next blog story?”

“I didn’t know you had a blog.”

“I do and this story is too good to pass up.”

A records check showed that the driver was very experienced in the traffic ticket world. I walked back to him and asked, “How many tickets have you had?”

“Probably 7.”

“Well, today you’re only getting a ticket for not having the insurance paper in the car. Is that better than another mover?”

The driver let out of huge sigh of relief as his entire body relaxed. He stuck out his right hand and offered to shake mine. I shook his hand and told him I hope he understood what a huge break I was giving him.

He said, “I know. Thank you.”

After he signed the ticket I said, “Out of all the cops you’ve ever spoken to, was I the best?”

He laughed as he said, “Yes.”

I gave him his copy and offered my left fist as I said, “Give me knuckles.”

He fist bumped me with a smile and I walked away wondering why every person couldn’t be like that guy. Life would be so much easier if they were.