Merry Christmas, my wonderful blog family. I know it has been a life time since I have lasted posted so I'm not sure if any of you will even see this, but I think it's time.
"Life for me ain't been no crystal stairs..." Who said that? I could google it, but it not big of a deal, but trust me when I say, "Life for me, with the Police Department, ain't been no crystal stairs." Here's the story, and I'll try to keep it brief:
Back in March, Sgt. Lupe and myself go downtown to eat. The place she chose is close so we head towards my ole standby, IHOP. En route a car runs a red light and Sgt. Lupe, who I am following, decides to stop it. This is poignant, because Sgt. Lupe does not normally perform traffic stops. I cover her and it just so happens this is at an hour where all the clubs have let out and people are finding that their cars have been broken into. They flag us down, I inform them that we will be with them as soon as we finish with the traffic stop. They catch an attitude. Whatever.
While Sgt. Lupe is writing the citation, I am standing to the side of her car, keeping an eye out on the drive and all of the activity going on as well. While doing so a group of people come over to me and say that a guy is getting beat up and choked out in the middle of the street by three other guys. I, of course, go to investigate (because I see a crowd but no fight). As I am crossing the street the people that informed me of the incident point out the three guys that allegedly just beat someone down are getting into a car and trying to leave. I see the car and I see three people getting into it. I make it across the street before the front seat passenger can get completely into the car and shout at them. The Driver sees me, throws the vehicle into reverse and jump back, the passenger side door just barely catching my left knee.
The car speeds out of the parking lot, and my dumb ass chases after it, on foot, while yelling into the radio. I chase the car for about three block (traffic was congested) and the damn guy wrecks into a cab and an SUV. At this point I'm thinking that the suspect are going to bail, which is the normal protocol for bad guys, but nope, just as I am gain ground I see their car drive off and I am back in a foot chase with a car (which is like bringing a knife to a gun fight). However, as luck would have it, a squad car comes barrelling down the street just as the bad guys are going up the ramp to the freeway. I was trying to get the baddies, but once they made the freeway I was out of it.
Felony traffic stop is performed on the freeway. I am tired and asked for someone to give me a lift as I Homer Simpson my way over to where the accident occurred. Sgt. Lupe picks me up so I tell her to take me on the freeway instead. She does. I find the driver. Yell at him for trying to run me down. He is put in a squad car where is is tazed by a k-9 officer. Another sergeant, who is still down town finds the guy they beat up. Three baddies go to jail. Media comes out, I tell them what happen. It doesn't make the paper. We get everything situated. Sgt. Lupe takes me to my car and we go eat.
Fast forward to April. At work, beginning of the shift. I and later Sgt Lupe, get pulled into to be talked to by our Lieutenant (a man with the back bone of a garden snake). He informs me that I was caught on tape, putting my flashlight up to the driver of the guy who was arrested chin and I was not only being investigated by being re-assigned until the investigation is over. What the hell. The allegation would change several times. It went from flash light under the guys chin, to choking the guy with my flash light to me choking the guy with my flash light and also kneeing him.
Okay, I know how some of you good people feel about police and with good reason. However, this is not me. In my eleven years on the force I have never choked or used my flashlight as an impact weapon. Hell, I don't even use my asp. And I have never kneed anyone either, even though it is an acceptable use of force. So I tell my Lieutenant that this is a lie. I was there and I want to see the tape, because I know what I did and did not do out in the field. He says that he has already sent it up to IAD. Whatever.
We, Sgt. Lupe and I, eventually get to see the tape and like I said. None of the crap they accuse me of is on the tape. However this does not stop it from making the visual and paper news. Sgt. Lupe and the K-9 officer that tazed the kid, get their pictures shown on both, I just get my name said and a black out line (what kind of crap is that). It turns out that an officer that Sgt. Lupe complained on for not pulling his weight the day of the arrest got his feeling hurt and concocted this story of police brutality. No, the kid who was suppose to have been beaten up never filed a complaint.
It bears mentioning that the officer who started all this crap to moving first made two incident reports. The first just tells about the kid who was tazed being combative and having to be tazed by the K-9 officer. After he is spoken to about not pulling his weight, he decided to right another incident report (three days later) that stated that the kid had been tazed and that Sgt. Lupe had told the kid (he was twenty three years old) to "take it like a man". (What she actually said was "Take it. Take it.") I didn't hear her say it but it was on the tape. No mention of me choking or doing anything else to the kid. This is an important fact, because it is this fat ass officer who is the only one who will later swear that he saw me choke the guy with my flash light. Oh, and get this, once the investigation was over and I get to read all the statements, the bastard was asked why he didn't put the fact that I'd choked the kid with my flashlight into this second report. His answer, "because i did not remember it until I saw it on tape".
Just so you know, the reality of what was on the tape is that you see me grab the kid by the collar, flashlight in my right hand, and tell him to, "Shut the hell up!" How they managed to blow that up into something else is beyond me. Months later I was exonerated. Thank you God. and I will be going back to patrol in January. I'm not looking forward to going back to patrol, but because of some shadiness in Communication I opted to leave there.
I love my job, but the back biting and underhandedness of the people in power is unbelievable.
Oh, and before I go, it might be worth mentioning that Officer Fat ass, who was oh so offended by the misuse of force exhibited by Sgt. Lupe and myself, to the point of reporting it to a sergeant the he knew disliked Sgt. Lupe and myself (that is why it took him three days to make the complaint. He had to wait for said sergeant to come back to work). Anyway, a month later Officer fat ass was caught on tape stepping his fat ass on to the back of a prisoner. He was put on restricted duty while that was being investigated.
I love poetic justice.
Anyway, life is good but police life has been hell. I hope everyone is doing good and keeping out of trouble. I'm a facebook kind of guy now so come be my friend there.
Peace, love and hair grease.
-One Man's Opinion. Peace
(This was wrote on the fly so excuse any spelling or grammatical mistakes).
