Almost run over and a bonus

[flutes_and_fabric]

So we have these carts outside that hold pots or wreaths or scarecrows or etc. and I was pulling them outside. There's a sidewalk in front of the store, about 4 feet wide. I'm putting a sale sign on the scarecrows and hear a car squeal wheels somewhere in the parking lot. I turn around and a car is zooming towards the store. For some reason I decided it would be smart to move. I do and just seconds later the car jumps the curb, roles onto the sidewalk, and hits the cart I had been standing in front of. 20 broken scarecrows, a crushed cart, and a cracked window, and of course the ladies suv didn't have a mark on it. And guess what she does:

SC: The door's locked! (I had locked it behind me because it's only me out front and I didn't want any customers wandering in while the store was closed. I put the carts out about 15 minutes before we open)
Me: I stare from the car, to the lady, to the car, to the cart, to the lady, the whole time my jaw was almost hitting the floor
SC: HELLO! The DOOR'S LOCKED!
Me: We...we're not open yet. I'm sorry, but I need to call the cops.
SC: WHAT! WHY'S THE DOOR LOCKED!
Me:...(hurry inside, lock the door quickly, ignore the lady as she cuses me out, grab my cell, take a pic of the damage from inside, call the cops, get my manager, take pics of the damage from outside.)

I'll find out more about what happened afterwards later. I probably won't have to testify because it was only property damage, and luckily no one (me) was hurt.





And the bonus: This happened last night around 2 am. I have the highest respect for cops, but this was just ridiculous. Definitely something wrong with him.

It's 2am and I'm driving to my house in the middle of nowhere, there's no street lights and the road's completely empty.

Suddenly a car comes speeding up behind me, brights blaring, I'm blinded. I'm already going way over the speed limit, and this guy's inches from my bumper. Not in the mood to be in an accident, I pull off to the side of the road, and so does he.

Ok, It's 2 am, I'm a woman alone, and some crazy guy is harassing me. I pull onto the road and speed up again. This guy is right on my bumper. I try to loose him by pulling into a neighborhood that winds back to the main rd. So does he.

Ok, maybe he lives here. Remember, I'm blinded by his lights and thus can't see that it's a cop car. Finally I get back to the main rd. and pull onto it. So does he. Alright, now I know he's following me. My rd. is the next one, but there's no way I'm pulling into my neighborhood so this whackjob can find out where I live.

So I get on the phone and call the sheriff (the town is so small that I know him by name) and he tells me to come on down, he'll open the garage and I can pull in. I slam my breaks on and he has to pull onto the other side of the rd. to avoid hitting me. I stick my hand out the window and am about to give him the finger and suddenly it's all red and blue lights. Yeah, he was a cop. So I decide that instead of pulling over I'm just going to drive the extra 1/4 of a mile to the station. I put my hazards on to let him know I'm planning on pulling over and pull into the station. The guys there are as surprised as I am. He's not a county cop. He's screaming at me, that he's going to arrest me and that I should respect his authority. I call him an asshole. The sheriff gets between us and checks his car for a dashcam. He has one, and after realizing that there's evidence as to what he did to me, he backs off. He said I was driving in an erratic fashion, which I wasn't as evidenced by the tape.

Anyway, he finally left and I found out today that he's banned from patrolling the county. Yeah, but that was the first time I was ever pulled over, and of course it was by a crazy guy.

[MrsEclipse]

Wow, what a wingnut of a cop. I have a lot of respect for police officers, but it's not unconditional, and sometimes I just have to say, "Wow. You are not a very good officer at all."

What was he trying to pull you over for in the first place? Speeding? Did he even give an excuse as to what initiated the... chain reaction of assholery?

I like the way you handled the first situation. Smooth and... you did exactly what had to be done. I didn't even know you could call the cops on SCs. I thought they were, like, immune to it.

[simplyanother]

If he was trying to pull you over, shouldn't have had the lights on before he started tailgating you, etc?

Glad you weren't killed at work by crazy bitch in the car. Did she stick around for the cops? But, uh, I think the store is out to get you, it causes people do to really scary things.

[LillFilly]

Glad that Officer got what he deserved; probably could have gotten him for harassment.

Let us know what happened with crazy lady! Did she actually get-out of her car while it was sitting on the curb to check the doors? Did she even understand what she did? Does she have to pay for the damaged product?

[BookstoreEscapee]

I hate it when cops tailgate. I once had one behind me, on a section of the road where there is not much of a shoulder so it is not really safe to pull over; it widens after a bit with a real shoulder. I was not speeding or anything, either. This cop got up real close but did not turn on his lights. As soon as we got up to the point where the roadens widens, the flashing lights came on, and I pulled to the side. The cop proceeded to pass me to pull over the car in front of me. Was it really necessary to ride my bumper for that?

As for the SC, did you piss someone off? First a stabbing, then almost run over...what the hell?

[MrPibbsRevenge]

Gaah, I hate creepy cops. Every time I hear stories like this I think about Ray Loita..

[KorporateKitty]

Oh.My.God. What is it about your store that attacks the crazies?

*Hands you an assortment of cookies*

I wonder if that woman was on something...glad you're okay BTW...there is no explanation for her behavior.

As for the cop, I wonder why he was following you since you were doing nothing wrong? Geez. At least the sheriff knows you, so you're protected!

[Nohbody]

As for the cop, I wonder why he was following you since you were doing nothing wrong?

FaF did say she was "already going way over the speed limit". That doesn't, however, excuse the cop's behavior.

(And the isn't addressing all cops, just that particular one, for the record. I don't buy into the "all cops are abusive assholes" view.)

[XCashier]

SC: HELLO! The DOOR'S LOCKED!
Me: We...we're not open yet. I'm sorry, but I need to call the cops.
SC: WHAT! WHY'S THE DOOR LOCKED!

"Well, if you're that desperate to buy something, how about paying for all this damage you just did?!" Sheesh. Nutjob. How can you not notice you've slammed into and wrecked something?

The sheriff gets between us and checks his car for a dashcam. He has one, and after realizing that there's evidence as to what he did to me, he backs off. He said I was driving in an erratic fashion, which I wasn't as evidenced by the tape.

Anyway, he finally left and I found out today that he's banned from patrolling the county.

That was scary! Thank God the sheriff has a good head on his shoulders and helped you out. Nutters like that other cop give all police a bad name. I'm glad he's been punished; I'm thinking a nice long stay at the Nerf Hotel might also be in order.

[d962831]

(And the isn't addressing all cops, just that particular one, for the record. I don't buy into the "all cops are abusive assholes" view.)

Agreed! A lot of cops are actually pretty cool. If you're straight forward and honest with them, they'll usually cut you a break and either reduce the ticket, or just let you off with a warning. I don't know from personal experience but my bro has related stories.

[blas]

What I do when a cop has been following me for a bit but I'm obviously not doing anything wrong is I will either make a few consecutive turns or I will just try to find a close store or restaurant parking lot to pull into.

Not sure about other states or countries, but around here, there is only so long they can follow you if they aren't going to pull you over.

I don't want to sound like a cop hater, but sometimes I think some of them just like to intimidate people to get them nervous enough to screw up so they can pull them over, or are ignorant enough to think that everyone that drives at night is drunk. I can't even count the number of times I have been on my way to work and been followed almost all the way to the main highway to go to work (because then they lose their jurisdiction, plus that's too far to follow me without pulling me over)......come on, there is a thing called NIGHT SHIFT. Factories, hospitals, even at stores. Some of us leave for work at 10, 11, 12:00.....we are NOT drunk.

[Qaeria]

Glad you are okay.

Your errant cop reminds me of the by-law enforcement officer in the county that I grew up in. Normally special constables are not granted much in the way of authority. typically special constables for by-law enforcement, do parking tickets, and animal control.

For some reason though, the county mounty, as we called him, had broader powers that included authority to handle motorvehicle act, and highways act offenses which include DUI, speeding, etc. As a special constable, though he could not be armed with anything beyond a baton. any situation requiring armed law enforcement were typically deferred to the RCMP.

The county mounty had a bad habit of entrapment, especially to try and catch speeders. typically he would drive along a single lane per direction highway doing maybe 30 km/h under the limit (100 km/h or 60 mph). So if you were "lucky" enough to be behind him, and try to pass, the county mounty would then speed up, typically forcing you to exceed the speed limit, and then he would write a ticket. I had gottent 2 tickets this way, and at only 16, i had the risk of losing my license if I got one more. add to this, the county mounty had no surveillance on his actions, and many people had complained. Finally the RCMP decided to keep an eye on him, and they installed a dash-cam, and RVM cam, completely unbeknownst to him. I wasn't aware either.

So knowing the habits of the county mounty, I set off to go home from school, and who do I encounter? You got it! So I go to pull past him, and of course he accellerates. By the time I got to 95 km/h and he is right beside me, I figure I will just slow down and proceed to drive following him. asshole then slows down, matching my speed perfectly. so I am stuck driving on the wrong side of the road, and getting angrier by the minute. I see a large semi approaching me, so I have to decide how I am going to get back into my proper lane. I try slowing down further, so does he. So I push the pedal to the floor, and he is still matching me. Finally I am at the point of 15 seconds left before I become road kill, or crash into the ditch, I decide to floor it, and just as I see him accelerate, I hit my brakes until I thought I could get in behind him. He slows down. I figure, hell, if I am going to lose my license anyway, might as well make it good. So I decided to ram him. I basically pulled off a perfect P.I.T. maneouver, and sent him screeching, then rolling in the ditch.

I thought I was dead. if the cops didn't arrest me, then I thought my dad would surely finish me off. I waited all that night for the cops to show up, but didn't. never saw them the next day, or for 2 weeks after that. finally the day comes when an RCMP constable pulls up to the house. shit 'o brick, I was terrified. Cop hands me an affidavit to fill out, and gave me a subpoena to show up in court to testify on some very serious charges against the county mounty. I finally told my dad what had happened, and as I ducked to avoid the thrashing of my life, he simply starts to laugh, slaps me on the back, and sez, "Atta Boy!!"

[Andara Bledin]

So I get on the phone and call the sheriff (the town is so small that I know him by name) and he tells me to come on down, he'll open the garage and I can pull in.

Just a note, but in most jurisdictions in the US, it is perfectly fine and allowable to not stop your vehicle when pulled over if you do not feel safe.

If you can do so safely, it's recommended that you call in to the local highway patrol or sheriff's department to let them know what's going on, but just acknowledging that you know you're being pulled over and you aren't planning on running should be enough.

^-.-^

[BookstoreEscapee]

Agreed! A lot of cops are actually pretty cool. If you're straight forward and honest with them, they'll usually cut you a break and either reduce the ticket, or just let you off with a warning. I don't know from personal experience but my bro has related stories.

I've been pulled over twice for speeding, and when they asked, I said, honestly, I didn't realize I had been. (Both times I was going 10-15 mph over the limit.) In both cases they gave me a warning (one written, one verbal).

come on, there is a thing called NIGHT SHIFT. Factories, hospitals, even at stores. Some of us leave for work at 10, 11, 12:00.....we are NOT drunk.

When I was living with Ex, he lived in an area that has 3 small towns practically on top of each other, each with their own police department (one is a military base). So if you see a cop car it's hard to know which jurisdiction you are actually in. One night I worked inventory, so I was coming home around 3:30 in the morning. I was almost home, and I stopped at a light. There was a cop car stopped on the opposite side, and when the light turned green, I saw him swing around in the intersection and start following me. I came to the next light, where I turned left, and then right after that was a shopping center and then the apartment complex. As I turned into the complex, I saw the cop swing back around and go the other way. Three theories: 1.) we were out of his jurisdiction so he wasn't going to bother with me (and I hadn't done anything wrong, anyway); 2.) he saw me pulling into an apartment complex and figured I was home, so wasn't going to bother with me (since I hadn't done anything wrong, anyway); 3.) he was one of the cops Ex knew and recognized me and/or my car and only followed me to make sure I got home safely.

[Andara Bledin]

Three theories: 1.) we were out of his jurisdiction so he wasn't going to bother with me (and I hadn't done anything wrong, anyway); 2.) he saw me pulling into an apartment complex and figured I was home, so wasn't going to bother with me (since I hadn't done anything wrong, anyway); 3.) he was one of the cops Ex knew and recognized me and/or my car and only followed me to make sure I got home safely.

I figure it's 2 or 3, and most likely 2.

I've done a lot of driving at odd times in the early AM, and I've had cops follow me a lot. They generally just want to watch how you're driving and make sure you don't look drunk. Since you're usually the only ones on the road, it's just really obvious.

I've actually been pulled over about half a dozen times. Mostly because I was driving around with some strange-looking people in the car at 3am. Mostly the cops are amused listening to our comments about coming home from a weekend at faire. A couple were due to lights being out (both times were my mom's car; she never checked her lights >.< ), and once because I was speeding and changed lanes almost into a motorcycle cop. He, too, let me go with a warning. I've never received a ticket. In that last case, the sun was in just the right position to make it nearly impossible for me to actually see the cop. And I change lanes in a deliberate manner, so he had ample time to get out of the way, thankfully.

^-.-^