Flying Debris

Scott at Grits or Breakfast discusses a current bill which would “make it a crime for a person to refuse to give a peace officer your name, date of birth, or address even if you are not under arrest.”

Seems a good time to relay a personal experience I had a few years ago with this very issue.

It was a Sunday morning. I was sitting in my car, reading the day’s estate sale listings and drinking a cup of coffee when a patrol car drove by. My first impression of the female cop was she was looking to take someone to jail. I sat there for a few more minutes reading my paper before leaving. She pulled me over a few blocks away.

I immediately handed over my insurance but had trouble finding my driver’s license (wasn’t in the normal slot in my wallet). I gave my name and DL number but was immediately pulled from my car and handcuffed. The reason - “failure to ID”. After tearing my car apart and further digging into my wallet by the officer, she found my DL - but she declared it was “too late” and took me to jail.

Interestingly, upon arrival at the jail, several comments were made by jailers regarding the number of people this officer had already taken in that morning in such a short time. Her response was that she was in a bad mood.

When I was pulled from the holding tank to be booked in I asked when I would be allowed to make bail. I was told I would be released when I sobered up. This immediately set my alarm - I was the only one in my vehicle, I was driving - and I was on probation. What would happen when this report hit my probation officer’s desk. I asked the jailer if I seemed intoxicated or if he smelled alcohol on me - he said no. I told him my concerns related to probation and while concerned said there was nothing he could do. I was released a few hours later with a $180 citation.

The following day I called my probation officer to make her aware of what had taken place. She told me to call the police department and file a complaint.

I wasn’t aware of what took place behind the scenes that day until about a month later when I bumped into the jailer at a gas station…

He told me he left work that day feeling very uncomfortable with the officer’s actions regarding my arrest and detainment. He discussed it with his wife who told him to pray about it in church that evening and hopefully he would then know if/what he should do. A little while later he was grocery shopping with his family, “looking down at the floor and turning a corner, I bumped my cart into another cart and looked up to see Judge ___ . I knew that was the answer I was looking for.” He relayed my story to the judge and was asked to stop by and sign a statement the following day. The judge also called the jail to order/confirm my release.

The jailer said that when he went by the judge’s office to sign the statement, the judge pulled a (inches thick) file of complaints against the officer who took me to jail.

I eventually received a letter of apology “for any inconveniences” from the police department. But the $180 citation was never dismissed and I eventually had to pay it.

Tags: Police Accountability //