Yesterday, after being held in jail for seven hours for committing the “crime” of being rear-ended by a cop’s daughter, I noticed a poster handing in the police station with a glorified picture of a police officer and the word “respect” written accost it.
Given how often and how egregiously police officers abuse their positions, lie, and generally prey upon the American citizens they swore to protect, they can expect any respect either from the American public or even from themselves when they look in the mirror (that’s assuming that they still can look in the mirror).
Specifically, I was rear-ended by the seventeen year old female offspring of a Passaic (NJ) cop while waiting at a red light in Wayne, NJ.
Immediately after the accident occurred, the girl began telling anyone who’d listen that she was the daughter of a cop (something her father likely trained her to do to ensure she received favored treatment from other cops).
Once the police arrived, she reiterated that she was the offspring of a cop and the (Wayne, NJ) police proceeded to take her statement first.
When the officers went to take my statement, they waited until I’d gotten half way through my first sentence and claimed that they smelled alcohol on my breath. This is odd because, due to a family history of alcoholism, I elected not to drink and, other then Communion, never have.
Without allowing me to finish my statement, the officers placed me under arrest, handcuffing me in front of all the witnesses to the accident, and placing me in the squad car. Despite the fact that I told the officer that my back was hurting from the accident, they refused to loosen the cuffs or cuff me in the front where my arms wouldn’t be pulling on my shoulders and back.
Once we arrived at the station, they told me that all the officers who were qualified to operate the breathalyzer were “busy” and that I’d have to wait in a cell until one of them had the time to administer the breathalyzer.
It turned out that all of them were “busy” for the next eight hours during which I was forced to sit in a damp disgusting cell, handcuffed to the bench, with my back throbbing.
When the breathalyzer was finally administered, it registered a BAL of .0002% (an attorney and friend of mine informed me that this reading could result from the inherent inaccuracy of the machine or from alcohol naturally released when food ferments in the stomach-something that happens when someone hasn’t eaten in a 10 hours) well below the legal limit of .08%*.
I was then released but still had to pay for the towing of my vehicle to the impound lot (the state CLAIMS that it will reimburse me for this in 10-12 weeks) and pay for a cab to take me to the impound lot (an expense I won’t be refunded).
After this disgusting display of corruption and favoritism, I found the “respect” poster highly ironic.
After engaging in behavior like this, how can police officers respect themselves???
Furthermore, how can these same police officers expect the public to respect them???
*Furthermore, my friend told me that while the actions of the cops were immoral, they can be made to appear technically “legal” and thus it wouldn’t be worth pursuing LEGAL action against these officers…I can’t say what would happen if I met any of them or the b*tch who started this by hitting me in a dark ally…
