A taste of the times: small town red state policing.

[Tobin S.]

I work nights. I usually get home at about 4:30 or 5am. I live in a small town. There is nobody out on the road at that time of the morning. I was approaching a traffic light and it turned at that awkward in between time where you have to either slam on the breaks to get stopped for it or just roll on through and catch it a little red. The streets being empty, I decided to roll on through.

Hidden from my view was a cop who saw me do it. He pulled me over. As he was berating me about running a red light, no less than two other cruisers with two other cops pulled up. They got out and were at the ready around my car, hands on the the butts of their guns.

The cop that pulled me over took my information and headed back to his car to check me out. One of the other cops asked me if I'd ever been arrested. I was thinking that I had some kind of warrant out for me at that point, although I couldn't think of why it would be.

"Why yes, yes I have been arrested before, officer. It's been a long time, though."

"For what?"

"Misdemeanor trespassing once and also once for disorderly conduct."

"Here?"

"No. One in Georgia and one in Ohio." I used to be kind of a hellraiser.

"Can I look through your car?"

All of this shit for a routine traffic stop? What the fuck is going on here? My first instinct was to tell the cop no. But then I quickly surveyed the situation, and realized that this cop was probably going to go through my car whether I told him yes or no. So I told him he could.

I got out of the car and the officer patted me down and asked if I had any weapons or drugs. The he made me sit on the curb as he went through my car and another officer watched me and continued to brow beat me about running the red light. It was like they were actually trying to get a reaction out of me.

The first cop came back with my stuff, and said that due to my respectful manner and cooperation he was going to let me go with a warning. In other words, if I would have stood up for my rights things would have been a lot harder for me.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Sounds like they had nothing to do and decided to make a big deal out of running a red light

at a time when there was no traffic just because they were bored and felt like they needed to reinforce their cop-ness. Last time I rolled through a stop sign a cop pulled me over, asked for my license, and politely admonished me to be a little more careful next time. But that was in a big city during the day, and maybe they had more pressing things to look after.

[Tobin S.]

3. Maybe so.

Being a trucker, I've been pulled over many times, but never with that much fanfare for a minor infraction.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. At least you weren't shot.

[Tobin S.]

5. Well, I'm a white guy after all.

[elleng]

7. Yes.

[Aristus]

2. Pigs...

[elleng]

6. Indiana's so boring, Tobin!

[2naSalit]

8. Geeze!

The last time I rolled through a stop, I got busted by a local cop. But it was actually the most brief of events. I knew the cop well and it was early in the morning, I was at work and forgot something at my place a couple blocks away and needed to get it while waiting for the ovens to warm up in my kitchen at work, there was one stop sign at the end of the street where I needed to take a right turn. As I rolled around the corner, the cop came from the other direction in the intersection. He stopped and pointed out the window at me, I stopped immediately so that our windows were aligned and he said, "Geeze, 2na, you didn't even try to stop!" I said, I know, the ovens are on and I have to get right back." Being 7am he just rolled his eyes and waved me on.

Later, when I was in a uniformed position (not law enforcement of military), he treated me with a lot more respect, even though we were on good terms anyway as I had applied to the dept before and he interviewed me. Once they see you in a badged uniform, they act different towards you thereafter.