POLICE--BLOG OFF FOR BREAST CANCER

When I was thinking over the past few days of what to write about I threw a lot of ideas around in my head. My first thoughts were what I do and don't like about cops. Like how I hate cops who abuse their power. You know the ones, the ones who speed and tail you. The ones who turn their lights on to get through the traffic light just because they think they can. Yet the same cop will not hesitate to pull you over for going a few miles per hour over the limit. But then there are the ones who actually do what they do for the right reasons. They risk their lives every day to help keep everyone else safe. Those are the ones I respect, the rest I could do without.

My thoughts then turned to my own personal experience with cops. But then I realized none of them were very exciting or interesting for that matter. A few speeding tickets and one not so fun run in with the law many many years ago. One that resulted in me wearing handcuffs, riding in a police car and spending a whole day in a holding cell. Fun times. And no I am not a criminal for all of you who are now worried and locking your doors, it was a lifetime ago. As I was thinking of my own encounter I was reminded of a an old friend of mine who had quite the encounter and realized his story was MUCH more interesting than mine so I decided I would share that with you instead.

A friend and I rented out Ed's (we will call him Ed to protect his real identity) basement suite. During the time we were living there we became really good friends with him. We learned all sorts of interesting things about his life and past. One thing we learned was that a few years earlier he had gotten involved with some shady characters who ran a "chop shop." Ed not really knowing what he was getting into went to work everyday like a normal guy, at the end of the day he went home like everyone else and every two weeks he got a paycheck. One day however when he was leaving for work his apartment was swarmed by police officers and he was arrested on 5 different charges in relation to the "chop shop." Ed who really didn't know a lot about the things he was being arrested for was very confused when he realized that he was the only one arrested. Everyone else had packed up shop in the middle of the night, cleared all items from their names etc... and left Ed to be the "scapegoat." Long story short it went to court and under the advisement of his lawyer he accepted a plea bargain to avoid jail time. Ed ended up with 2 years probation and 1 year house arrest. Could have been much worse, so he sucked it up and continued to live his life.

When we moved into his basement suite he was well past his house arrest and probation period of his life. He was working as a bartender and was a happy guy. He had however lost his drivers license to a past DUI. But as a bartender he worked late and needed a way to get home. So he got a car from a "friend" that had no registration or insurance and he drove that car to and from work everyday and all was good.....or so he thought. You see Ed was still at a place in his life where any other sort of trouble could land him in jail.

One night at about 4 am my phone rang. I let it go because I was sleeping and figured if it was important whoever it was would call back. A few minutes later the phone rang again. It was Ed and our conversation went a little like this...

Ed - "Hey, sorry to call you so late but can you feed Spike (name also changed to protect the cat’s identity) tomorrow?"

Me - "Sure, but why can't you?"

Ed - "Well I am not sure I will be coming home for a while."

Me - "Why what the heck happened?"

Ed - "I kinda got in a high speed chase with the cops."

Me - "YOU DID WHAT!?!?!?!?!"

Ed - "It is a long story, we will talk later."

Ed proceeded to ask me to bring him some clothes that he could wear to court later that day. So my roommate and I gathered his things and drove over to the police station. As we were waiting we saw Ed's very distraught looking girlfriend Rachel (name changed to protect identity) come out from one of the doors that led to the back. Assuming she was just there to see Ed we were shocked when we found out that she had also been arrested. And so she told us the story from beginning to end and it went a little like this.....

Ed had been at work like every other night. Rachel had been at his bar with some friends earlier that evening and decided to stick around and wait for Ed to get off work and just get a ride home with him. By the time he was all closed and cleaned up it was almost 1 am and they got into his car and headed home. The bar was in Edmonton and they lived in Sherwood Park and so like a lot of people they took the back roads to get home instead of the main highway. Ed being the mischievous guy that he was decided it would be fun to pull over on the dark secluded stretch of road and make out for a while. And so they pulled over. We won't go into details of that part of the story but let’s just say Ed was no longer clothed. Next thing they know they see lights behind them, Ed realizing it was a police car panicked knowing he was not licensed, insured or registered. For fear of getting caught with none of those things--as well as none of his clothes--and risking the consequences he would face he made a rash decision and as the police officer was approaching his car he hit the gas and was off. Naturally the police officer was also back in his car and off after them while radioing others for help. So there Ed was--naked, mind you--driving at speeds much too fast, running red lights and putting in danger the lives of him and Rachel as well as the police officers chasing him and the innocent people who may be out driving on the roads. After a chase of about 35 minutes Ed knew he had to get away, his plan was that they got far enough ahead of the cops and then dump the car in a field somewhere (since there was nothing to tie his name to the car). Before he had that chance he noticed police cars now coming up ahead and realized what was awaiting him. The spike strip police put out to stop cars in a situation such as this. Ed being the smart guy he is and knowing that driving over those would pop his tires and realizing that at the speed he was going it would probably cause him to lose control of his car and cause injury or worse to Rachel he made the smart decision to finally pull over and face the music. Naked.

Within seconds there were 4 officers surrounding the car. Ed was pulled from the car first--naked, of course--at gunpoint, thrown to the ground and cuffed. As Rachel opened her door to get out she was also pulled out of the car (fully clothed) at gunpoint and throw down on her stomach, cuffed and thrown in the back of a police car. At first I wondered why she was removed from the car with such force but then quickly realized that at the time those cops had no clue as to why they were running from the cops, they didn't know what weapons they may have had and they were just acting quickly to protect themselves. Rachel was held over night and questioned before they decided she had done nothing wrong and was simply just a passenger and so they let her go and no charges were filed. Ed however, was not so fortunate. I never saw Ed at home again for another 8 months. He was once again advised by his lawyer to take a plea bargain and plead guilty to 2 of the 10 charges against him and take a lesser sentence. So he pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle without a license and reckless driving. He was sentenced to 1 year in jail and 3 years probation and had his license taken away for 3 years.

Ed ended up serving 8 months of his 12 month sentence. One Saturday a month for 3 hours my roommate and I visited our friend Ed in jail. He was no longer naked. We sure missed having him around during that time. We fed his cat and took care of his house and we all had a big party the day he came home. He was a great guy who just made some really stupid choices. I don't talk to Ed anymore and haven't for a very long time but from what I hear he is doing well, married to Rachel and wears clothes often. And thank the Lord he has had no more run-ins with the law.

Moral of the story – DON’T RUN FROM THE COPS!!

Also to all of you reading this and have husbands who are cops and who are probably the kind I like, tell them thank you for what they do.

This was a post for the blog off for breast cancer. Please feel free to click on the links on my side bar for a peek at the work of the rest of the competitors. Also if you would like to contribute to Courtney's fundraising effort please click on the banner below.

**Sorry this post was so long, but leaving out the details wouldn't have done it justice**