Thursday, June 19, 2014

Traffic Court

Posted by: Blue

I had three tickets on the docket today.

Three convictions. Two of note:

1. A guy who drove by us close enough to brush us with his mirror, while we were on a traffic stop and yelled out the window about where we had pulled the person over (she had pulled to the left of the street rather than to the right - not our decision). He received a ticket for failing to pull to the right. The original traffic stop driver received a warning. About three hours later, he was involved in a smash-up with a cabbie, fleeing the scene before exchanging particulars. He pled to both charges. Full fine.

2. In our city, there is a private contractor who runs photo-enforced speed traps in addition to officers running radar. The tickets are given without discretion or bias. I witnessed one run a stop sign at an intersection I was monitoring. When I pulled her over, she asked for a break. I asked if she had given any breaks that day. She said no, so I wrote her a tag. She fought it. The judge convicted. Full fine.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Love is Very Dumb

Posted by: Blue

Sunday morning at the end of our night, we arrested a guy for Domestic assault and utter threats. He had phoned dispatch during a spat (right after he pushed her out of bed, hitting head with the dresser on the way and then biting her finger at some point. He told dispatch that the police better show up soon or he was "going to fuckin' kill her".

We arrived. He was gone. Another unit nabbed him at the nearby McDonald's.

It was his first arrest, so he was released at 8:03 AM Sunday morning on a PTA with Undertaking including an NCC (no contact or communication) clause. I spent at least a half hour explaining to him that he would absolutely be arrested and go straight to lockup if I found him breaching. I had the feeling he wasn't going to abide by the condition. He told me I was wrong. I told him to prove it.

When we started shift again, about 14 hours later, the same date, we found him with her at home. I arrested him again right out of his bed.

After he was read his rights, and declined a lawyer, I asked him when he got back home. "Right after you released me." He said.

He went straight to jail.