Or so I was taught in elementary school. And, of course, as a polite, middle-class, white girl I've never had an experience with the police to change that for me.
Brett posted a link to a story of a woman being Tasered while resisting arrest. He wondered if maybe the officer over-reacted a bit. Not passing judgment, just asking if perhaps there was a better approach. I don't have anything to add to that discussion because I believe that Brett and Bill covered any good points I would make, so instead, I herewith offer one (with more to follow some time) of my favorite "Well, I got pulled over" stories. Unfortunately, I cannot include the time I got pulled over on the Dulles Toll Road because, like the lyrics to our country's finest rock songs, it really looses something when read instead of heard. Drop by and I'll tell it to you.
"Well, I got pulled over" on my way home from a rehearsal a couple of years ago (tail light out) and as I pulled to a stop, my purse - which was open and on the passenger seat - fell onto the floor and scattered its contents. I pictured what would go through the officer's head if he saw me duck below his line of sight while he approached me. So I put my hands on the steering wheel and waited for him to get to my car. He walked up and I said "My purse fell on the floor. I'm going to reach down there now and pick up my wallet." Pleasantly surprised, he thanked me for letting him know. "Well, I just figured this whole thing would go better if your blood pressure wasn't spiking." He agreed and I got a verbal warning.
As it turned out, I was especially glad that he and I had started off well because as it turned out, my registration was suspended because I had failed to get my emissions check done. (Not as a protest or anything, I just forgot.) Included in his options at that point was impounding my car. I told him that I forgot, that the piece of paper was probably sitting on my desk under some other piece of paper, and that I was sorry. Again, he was pleasantly surprised. "Most people say that they never got the notice," he observed. "Yeah, well, we'd both know that was a lie." "Yep." He found the truth so refreshing that he gave me another verbal warning.
And I got that tail light fixed and the emissions checked right quick.
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6 comments:
Leta,
Your ability to remain pleasantly copasetic in a world of genuine (if occasionally trivial) obstacles, and making it sound easy, is a refreshing breath of good air. I don't know how you do it so gracefully, but Damn. You Rock.
The other option is to toss your hair and look cute & innocent. This has worked for me for my 10 years of driving and I've never had a ticket. :) :) :)
Of course, one day I'm gonna get pulled over by a female cop and no smile in the world is going to work! :)
Leta, the only way I could imagine you getting "Tased" would be if the officer was eating a Hostess Ho-ho and you repeated your infamous observation on their composition. And then you would deserve it!
The one time I got pulled over, the truth didn't work. I'd recently collected my car after returning from overseas, still had the overseas plates on it (my car had been overseas too). I thought I had 45 days to get stateside plates and told him so. He set me straight on that point and gave me a $60 ticket as a souvenir. :( Didn't even say "welcome back to the US." (The airport security guard did, when I explained that the reason I was coming back from Europe with nothing to declare was that it was all in my household goods.)
The lively but civilised tasering discussion can be found here: http://www.gleefulgecko.com/archives/258/ and still has me scratching my head and sitting on the fence. I like the police in general. It has taken me awhile to get used to not seeing police on the road very often in the UK. I prefer the thought of being pulled over to the thought of being caught on the big brotherish speed cameras over here. No amount of good humor or hair flipping can help you with the darn cameras.
My personal dealings with the authorities have invariably been relatively painless. When they nailed me speeding, I 'fessed up with a modicum of grace. However, I have personally witnessed police brutality visited upon a person who had the temerity to point out the officers in question were operating outside of the law. Remarkably enough, that case resulted in the DC Government actually paying money. Sometimes the system actually works.
Rigel
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