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Array
(
[sid] => 167825
[catid] => 1
[aid] => mick
[title] => THE TRAFFIC TICKET
[time] => 2011-10-13 15:04:30
[hometext] =>
[bodytext] => THE TRAFFIC TICKET Everyone knows the feeling of horror when we look up in our rear view mirrors and see the flashing of red and white lights right behind our vehicles. Pulling over to the roadside, our blood pressure rises and our hearts may even skip a few beats. Then while watching the officer approach our drivers side door, we feel very intimidated! I know the other side of this equation however. I was a cop! We never knew what to expect, for more than one officer has been injured during these “routine” stops. The Principal of Hudson High School in north Pasco County, Florida had called my boss, the Sheriff of Pasco County to complain about the cars speeding on the access road that leads into the high school parking lot. He had bugged the Sheriff repeatedly about this issue, and had called the County Administrator’s office to complain that the Sheriff wasn’t doing enough to put a stop to the problem. I was a member of a specialized Traffic Enforcement Unit at that time called the STEP Unit. Our squad had recently been recognized at an awards banquet in Miami as the best DUI Unit in the country by the MADD group or Mother’s Against Drunk Drivers. I received special recognition as the number one DUI Enforcement Officer in the nation, averaging 106 DUI arrests per month in the previous 6 month period. I had a 100% conviction rate and although I spent many off duty days in court, the majority of the cases were pled out prior to any trial. In fact, the Public Defenders Office at the beginning of every Deposition, Hearing, or Trial, s tipulated for the record that I was considered an expert in the field of DUI detection and apprehension. The Sheriff one morning told me and two other of my squad members, “Would you guys please go out to Hudson High School and set up a speed trap and get this damned Principal off of my back?” This wasn’t a question. It was an order. So we did, for the next 3 hours, until ordered away from the area by the laughing Sheriff himself. One hour prior to the beginning of the school day, we arrived at Hudson High School and arranged our three patrol cars, so that as students arrived, they could not see us until it was too late for them to slow down. Our intention was not to fine these kids, but to give them written warnings if it was their first offense. I told them they could wall paper their walls with their copies but that a second offense was going to cost them some money. Sure, for the next 2 hours, we wrote over 40 written warning citations. Each and every one of the students received their warnings in a very mature and grown up way. They were all very thankful for their warnings and even apologetic and extremely polite, even respectful. But all that was about to change. Just after the school bell rang to begin classes, we were beginning to pack it up and depart from the area. My radar gun started screaming a high pitch squeal as it is supposed to do when detecting a speeding vehicle. The faster the vehicle is moving, the higher the pitch of the radar unit. I looked at the digital readout on my gun and observed a solid continuous reading of 72 miles per hour. A school zone in Florida is 15 MPH unless otherwise posted. The vehicle was a black Jeep. It sped right past our checkpoint without stopping in spite of the fact that there were 3 Deputies trying to flag him down. He finally stopped his vehicle after parking it in a spot that was marked by a sign stating “Reserved For The Principal.” The Principal began to run toward the entrance to the school and refused to stop when I ordered him to do so. I was able to physically stop him at the door by blocking the door with my body. He, (I’ll call him George) raised his voice in a scolding manner and said something to the effect “Deputy, get out of my way so I can make the school announcements and allow school to begin.” I advised him that his assistants could handle all of that, as we had business to attend to. The Principal then placed his hands on me and tried to move me out of his way. My partners and I formed a circle around him and told him to stay put and keep quiet until we wrote a Traffic Citation for speeding 72 MPH in a 15 MPH School zone. He stayed still but he didn’t have the ability to stay quiet! What he didn’t realize was that each citation had 5 copies with carbon that went to various offices. One was for the judge, and one was for the officer, The judge’s copy and the officer’s copy had lines on them that said “Record Subject/ Offender’s responses here!” I recorded every word in quotations that good ole principal George said to me. Don’t forget that the Judge read these words out loud in court. My two patrol partners filled out supplemental reports containing these same notations almost verbatim. Here’s what our fine upstanding Principal had to say; “You are a F-ing liar you pig! I will have each of your badges by the end of the day. I will have you eliminated from this world if you ***** me off. My father is the head of the Tampa Mafia, and he will take out your whole family. I will contest this ticket in court and make you look like fools, as the Judges fear my family. I absolutely refuse to sign this citation!” I advised my new little buddy George that he was required under the law to sign his citation, not as an admission of guilt but as his guarantee that he will dispose of the ticket in one of two ways. His signature promises to either pay the fine or contest it in a court of law before a judge. The Judge can find him either not guilty, or guilty. If found guilty, the judge can then impose fines far above the penalties the citation alone required. I further advised him that failure to sign the citation is “An arrestable offense!” George then said “F--You Pig. I ain’t signing nothing!” George did not enjoy his ride to the jail that morning. But he kept me entertained all the way there as he filled up the tape on my voice activated recorder, and knew how much we would laugh and laugh when I replayed it for his boss, the School Board Administrator for the county. George did get his day in court. When the judge called for his case to be heard, he was sitting in court beside his father, the alleged crime boss. The judge read the charges but also the words quoted on the back of the citation. Then the judge said that his advice to George would be for him to reconsider paying the fine before he began the hearing. The father of George said loud enough for everyone in the courtroom to hear, “George, would you please for once in your life keep your F-----g mouth closed!” As previously stated, George didn’t possess that ability and he began spewing insults directed at me and the judge! That judge not only fined George about 5 times what the original citation was, but he ordered him to jail for 30 days on a contempt charge. The Judge set his bail and asked if their was anyone with him who would be willing to post his bail. The father was heard saying very loudly “Hell No Your Honor” as he stormed out of the courtroom. After serving his 30 days in jail, George was welcomed back to school by the sight of an unfamiliar vehicle parked in the Principal’s spot. He went quickly inside the school office demanding to know who was parked in his spot. The assistant principal smiled and said “Why it’s our new boss! And his first official order to me was to hand you this pink slip!” From what I was advised later that day, the office broke out in laughter, cheers, and clapping. When George burnt rubber leaving the school’s parking lot, at a high rate of speed, guess who was nearby enough to not only observe this but had his Radar Unit in the on position? George did not say a word as he signed the citation and even smiled at me when in handing him the ticket I stated “Have a nice day!” He even said “You too!” By: Robert Edgar Burns [comments] => 2 [counter] => 145 [topic] => 31 [informant] => robert_edgar_burns [notes] => [ihome] => 0 [alanguage] => [acomm] => 0 [haspoll] => 0 [pollID] => 0 [score] => 0 [ratings] => 0 [editpoem] => 1 [associated] => [topicname] => StoryPoetry )
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