Some People Can't Help Themselves

It's hard to want to help or cut someone a break when they act stupid and won't quit running their mouths. We had a young man realize an officer was going to stop him for his expired tags when he hit the gas and started weaving in between cars and making a sudden turn down a side street. Now, my wife refuses to believe that anyone can figure out an officer is going to stop them before the lights actually come on. However, as anyone who has worked the streets know when you make eye contact with a passing car, then make that u-turn the game is up. The officer catches up to the guy as he's pulling into his driveway and tries to get out and make it into his house. Another clue that something is up. The officer orders him back into the car and surprisingly he complies yet refuses to get out for the officer until a bigger officer shows up and gives him one chance. When the guy's license is run it shows two traffic warrants for his arrest. Then, it shows a hit where he's been the victim of identity theft. His brother (a registered sex offender and all around bad, bad man) had used his identity. Now this places us in a dilemma. The guy is running his mouth how it's not him (yet it's all his information in the warrant) and how we shouldn't be harassing him like this. The officer gets more information about the warrant and even calls the sex offender brother who (not surprisingly) denies he got any traffic tickets. So we have a guy with two traffic warrants who is also flagged as a victim of identity theft. He claims he never got any traffic tickets and says it's his no good brother who did it. The no good brother says it's not him either. The guy did try to duck and dodge the officer when she tried to stop him. Plus, he will not shut the hell up! I know he's frustrated but lashing out at us when he has two warrants for him is not going to help his situation. He keeps alluding that he's been stopped before, but won't say if he was warned about the traffic warrants for him and given a break but he blew it! I think he was fully aware and given a break last time and is trying to bully us into letting him go this time. After some consultation we decide to arrest him for the warrants. The only way he's going to resolve the issue is to demand a trial and force the officer who issued the original citations to look at him and say yay or nay. Understandably the guy's wife is upset. He's fussing at her which pisses me off. I tell him not to fuss at her, I'll explain what she can do to bond him out. He then goes into me trying to argue the merits of the stop and arrest. I quote Ice Cube "tell it to the judge" leaving out the whole line "tell that bullsh** to the judge!" I take his wife aside and explain her options. I also tell her how I think he knew he had those warrants and had been given a chance to fix it before and he blew it. That explains why he tried to avoid the officer and why he's acting a fool now. She seems to understand (my philosophy is to explain to people why things happen, I find it draws people to our side more often than not). Her little girl is looking out the window and the woman starts crying. She doesn't want to see her daughter watching her father going to jail. I suggest she tell the little girl that daddy had to come with us to help us out and he will be home later. I find that works with very young children. So ends that ugly little episode. I imagine the guy was given time served and is now home.

On a side note, my argument was proven when my wife got stopped by a DPS trooper. I knew when he made that u-turn he was coming after her. When I pointed this out she said it proves nothing, I knew but she didn't. Well, that just proved another point. She doesn't pay attention. She didn't notice the trooper nor her speed! However that was another argument, er, I mean debate.