Lost Boy's Atomic Garage: April 2013

I don't mind officers of the law having some perks. I mean hey, being a mechanic sometimes I get perks like the ability to buy a broken down piece of junk and make it like new. What I can't stand is the abuse of power. More and more I hear story's about and see officers abuse every aspect of their job. I know not all officers do this, what worries me is that now a days the cop who does his job correctly and doesn't flash his badge at every opportunity is the outcast of the department. It's few and far between who actually get "put into check" if you will. This brings me to my recent run in with the "law" mind you I havent been pulled over or had a ticket in probably about 8 years.

A few weeks ago I left work noticing a New Jersey State trooper had a vehicle pulled over across the street. About a hundred feet down the road I realized I had forgotten my Diabetes Bag, which at that point held all of my Diabetic Supplies. I immediately made a LEGAL u-turn and pulled back into the parking lot of work. After running back inside and grabbing my bag I walked outside again to the blaring lights of the cop with his victim pulled over across the street. I left yet again and headed onto the NJ Turnpike. Upon leaving the tollbooth to get on I noticed the all familiar red and blue lights close enough to pierce through cataracts. As always, I pulled over, removed the keys and placed them on the dashboard. When the young officer appeared in my window (after looking through my whole vehicle from the out side in) I already had all of my credentials. He asked why I had gone back to my job (which I had to inform him was my job) and I explained the diabetic thing and showed him the bag and supplies inside. He told me that he pulled me over because I had "burned out" when I left the parking lot. I told him that it was nearly impossible to do this in my 1500 Avalanche with 20" rims. Around this time he reverted to a story about my window tint and how he noticed it from 100 yards away in the dark. (Sure he did.) My window tint is very slight and to see it in the dark would almost definitely require you to have super human vision. He asked if I had anything to drink. Since I don't usually lie, I told him I had a beer earlier that afternoon with my boss. So far I had been way more truthful than this officer and extremely respectful and polite. At this point he made me step out of the vehicle and move to the front of my truck. It was about 30 degrees out and I only had a t-shirt on. I took the sobriety test. He made me do it a few times. He was obviously praying for me to make even the slightest slip-up however I did them flawlessly even while physically shaking from the cold and being denied when asking to check my blood sugar first. All of this was done in front of MY vehicle so that none of it was caught on his dash cam. If for some reason I was taken in, even if there was no proof of intoxication, I would have had no defense due to the lack of video evidence. He let me go with a written warning of careless driving. Thanks, Buddy. As pissed as I was, I still gave him the good old, "Have a good night Officer, be safe out there."

My second experience this month was Saturday. I was driving home from work. I was about a mile away from home traveling at exactly 31mph on a recently changed 30mph street. I am ALWAYS aware of my speed in and around my neighborhood. In fact I am the only one. My neighbors FLY down my street and other surrounding streets. Every time I'm driving near my development, it seems as though I can't go fast enough for the guy(s) behind me. As usual there was a minivan on my tail close enough to smell my exhaust. He was there for a few miles. As I turned on to the adjacent street of mine, I suddenly saw a Cruiser was on my rear-end. Lights and siren, and I pulled over. Again I went through my normal routine. "License, Insurance, Registration?" So I asked why I was pulled over and he replied, "I'll let you know when I see your documents". After we got through that he advised me that I had turned on to the street fast and continued my speed down the road. "Really?" I asked, "How Fast?" "I had to do 45 to catch up to you." He replied. I quickly returned fire with the best question anyone could possibly ask, "Officer did you have your radar gun on me at any-point?" I knew that in my mind if I was traveling at 30mph (the speed limit) and this guy was at a complete stop I would expect him to do at least 45 to catch up with me. His whole demeanor changed at that moment. "Officer", I said, "I am well aware of the speed limit here and I make sure to not exceed it.". He mumbled something about my "tinted taillights", told me again to slow down, and then said have a nice day. I didn't bother saying anything more and grabbed my stuff from him. I then returned home thoroughly annoyed that he had impeded my progress for absolutely no reason at all.

I'm just really tired of it. On my way in today I saw a cop on the phone while driving. He was all bubbly and laughing at something on the other end. He continued to do this for a good distance. I doubt a professional work related call could be that funny. Everyday people get ticketed for things that i see cops doing ALL the time. Its disgusting.

Edit: 10/9/13
Shortly after these hurdles, I received 3 tickets from the EBPD all of which were basic entrapment. I went to court, and got 2 points and a 400$ fine.