WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD
Part 1
Hey, Chef? How was your long weekend?
Oh, not that great.
Really? Why not? Was Game of Thrones disappointing or something?
I wouldn't know.
What? Why not?
I was in jail.
Huh?
I was in jail.
Jail?
Jail.
Wwwwwhat?
Yeah. Jail.
So, last night around 7:30 I decided to pack up the car with my baseball gear (balls, glove, throwing net) and head on over to the baseball fields. I was in the mood to throw for a while and I thought it would be a good time to do just that. I'm on the main road heading toward the fields and I notice a police officer behind me. No big deal. I turn into the rec center (which is by the baseball fields) and the officer follows me into the driveway. Ok, what's going on? He immediately flips his lights on and has me pull over.
I pull over, turn down the radio and put my hands on the steering wheel. He approaches the car and asks me for my license and registration, which I tell him are in my gym bag located in the backseat. He tells me that it's ok for me to get out of the car so I can get my license (which is in my wallet). I'm searching for my wallet and he asks if I had any idea why he pulled me over and I said that I had no clue.
Well, my birthday was back in October and, at that same time, I had to renew my license (it was due) and renew the tag for my license plates. I ordered my new sticker online but it never showed up in the mail. As time went on, I totally forgot about it. So, I've been driving around with last year's sticker. That's why I got pulled over. So, he issued me a warning and said it wasn't a big deal.
So, why were you in jail, Chef?
Oh, I'm getting to that.
As he is wrapping things up and explaining to me that he's going to let me go with a warning, he asks if my car is insured. I say yes and hand over my insurance card. He takes it back to his vehicle, says he is going to "run it through the system" and then let me get on my way. He walks back to my car after a minute and goes, "Are you aware that in the state of Michigan it's an arrestable offense to drive a motor vehicle without insurance?" So, I'm like, "Yes, sir, I am."
And, that's when I found out I was going to jail. He ran my insurance and it came back as invalid. You see, a few months ago, there was a banking error that occurred during which my bank accidentally deposited a $20,000 check into my account. Yeah, weird as shit right? Anyway, it was their mistake but they froze my account until they could find out how to correct the problem. During that time, when my account was frozen, my insurance company attempted to withdrawal my monthly payment. My account was frozen so it came back as an invalid form of payment. They tried again a few days later, still no go. One more time a few days further down the road, nope, not happening. So, they canceled my insurance. And, because I do all my billing online, I never look for anything in the mail (because I don't get it from them). I also never bother to read my emails from them because all they ever say is, "Your next payment will be taken on blah blah blah" and a receipt once the payment is taken. So, I had NO clue my insurance had lapsed.
And, I was taken to jail.
So, I spent the night in jail. The whole night. I missed Game of Thrones, so I have to catch up on that later. Anyway, everything is taken care of at the moment (except my court date - which I will find out later on) and I'm home. However, there is more to this story and I don't really have any place to share this, so I figured I would do this here.
Part 2
I understand that a lot of people in this country view police officers as egotistical jerks who abuse their power, but I am not one of them. That's not to say I'm ignorant to reality - I know there ARE officers who fit that mold, but I also know not ALL officers fit that mold. In fact, every officer of the law I have ever dealt with has been very respectful and hasn't shown much of an ego while dealing with me. The officers from last night, for instance, were incredibly respectful toward me and showed absolutely no sign of arrogance or attitude while talking with me. Kudos to those officers. You are what this country needs.
HOWEVER - I witnessed something this morning I had never seen before. Police brutality.
This morning, one of the inmates who was permitted to walk around freely (to a certain degree) was walking through the main corridor and stopped to talk to a female inmate who was standing by the booking window. One of the officers (who my fellow cellmates had explained had tasered a girl just a few days earlier for apparently no reason) walked out of the booking office and yelled at the kid to stop talking to the girl and to leave her alone. The officer turned his back and the kid (I say kid, but he was 22), who was speaking respectfully to the female, said a few more words. Without warning, the officer in question immediately grabbed the kid by his throat and threw him to the ground. He then immediately pulled out his taser and tased the kid...for simply talking to a fellow inmate.
The officer tased the kid and two more officers came running in to help with the situation. The officer who tased the kid (who I will call Officer Dick) was violently holding the kids throat the entire time, preventing the kid from being able to scream for help. The entire jail was in an uproar. Nearly every single inmate was SCREAMING, "POLICE BRUTALITY!!! POLICE BRUTALITY!!!" The inmates in my cell were looking at me going, "SEE? See how unnecessary that asshole is? There was NO reason to tase him, NO reason!!!" And, I agree. There was NO reason.
The officers subdued the kid and put him a nearby cell. The kid, obviously angry and confused, was yelling, "WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT DID I DO? WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO?" After about 10 seconds, he quieted down and stood in his cell peacefully. Officer Dick walks up the front of his cell and yells at the kid to sit down. The kid is just standing there peacefully. Officer Dick screams again, "SIT THE FUCK DOWN!!!" The kid is still standing there peacefully.
Three officers rush into the cell and Officer Dick, once again, grabs the kid by the throat and they tackle him to the ground. The kid is SCREAMING, "WHAT DID I DO? WHAT DID I DO?" Three officers continue to choke this kid (one of the officers is grabbing the pressure points underneath the kids jaw and squeezing) and end up manhandling him into a chair where they strapped him down. The entire time, the kid is screaming, "WHAT DID I DO? WHAT THE FUCK DID I EVEN DO?"
Officer Dick wheels the kid out of the cell and takes him around the corner where nobody could see him. All you can hear is the kid screaming and crying...and Officer Dick screaming at him to "shut the fuck up" over and over again.
I witnessed this. This kid did NOTHING wrong. This kid was violently manhandled for no reason. He was tiny. He weighed maybe 120 lbs soaking wet. And, he was not only manhandled, but struck with a taser. He was also violently forced to the ground twice and into a restraint chair once. The entire time, I actually felt myself siding with the criminals - fuck the police.
Once again, not ALL officers are that irresponsible and unworthy of wearing the badge, but seriously...FUCK THAT GUY. That kid was harmless and did nothing to provoke him. I witnessed it with my own two eyes.
Fuck...that...guy.