If you read last week’s post, you know I let a lady go without a ticket because she claimed she was about to pee in her pants. So, I gave her a verbal warning instead of a speeding ticket. She went on her way, and I chalked that one up to an amusing learning experience and a good joke for the next poker party.
On a more serious note, I made a traffic stop on a highly traveled street coming into town a few weeks later. The driver made no excuses and said very little. He complied with my instructions, signed the citation, and went.
The next day, I was called into the Patrol Captain’s office. He was pleasant and outgoing but clarified that I’d made a big mistake the day before. The young man who was so cooperative and soft-spoken the day before was my boss’s son-in-law.
I did not get into trouble. There was no reassignment to the worst patrol district in town or the police equivalent of K.P. Still; I learned a lesson: authority comes with influence. The citation never saw the light of day in traffic court. Thankfully, this was the exception in some ways, not the rule.
In many other cases, the person being arrested or cited did their best to find a way to convince you messing with them was a mistake. It usually did not work. Still, as I moved up the chain of command, the stories I began to hear about people using my name as a possible “Get out of Jail Free Card” popped up regularly.
The difference was I did not call officers into my office to let them know I’d voided a citation or dropped charges on someone. In these cases, they came to me with their stories. Some said, “I stopped this jerk the other day, and you won’t believe what he said when I told him I was going to give him a citation or take him to jail.”
Then it would be something stupid like, “I date the Chief’s daughter. Can’t you let me off with a warning?” One of the most distasteful situations was when one of my officers arrested a college student from another jurisdiction on a traffic warrant.
The student’s uncle was a high-ranking officer in another state. The young woman was attending a large university in our jurisdiction. After she was released from custody, she called her uncle. The uncle called the university’s chancellor, demanding the university become involved, so no other student was dealt with that way over a traffic citation.
His complaint led to a tense meeting between me and my boss. My boss wanted to know if the student’s uncle had a point. After all, he was a high-ranking officer in a larger police agency. He was unhappy when I told him the officer did exactly what he was trained and required to do under the law.
Finally, he sighed and asked, “What if I order you to change the policies regarding university students?” I had to look him straight and say, “I would be forced to refuse the order.” Again, he was unhappy but also a retired Army Colonel. He understood my position and the problem he would face if he tried to force me to do something unethical and possibly illegal.
I am unsure what anyone told the student, the uncle, or the other influential people who stuck their noses into the case. That was the last I heard of the complainant or the student. However, the situation showed how little authority or control can lead to attempted subversion or influence peddling.
To be continued:
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