It was late one night, about
1:00, when I observed a car go through a “stop sign” making no attempt to stop
or slow down. I put on my overhead red lights and pulled in behind the violator
vehicle. After a few feet the vehicle pulled over and stopped. I got out of my
car after calling into my dispatcher my location and the license plate number
of the stopped vehicle. I observed two subjects sitting in the car. I walked up
to the driver’s window and told the driver I stopped him for failing to stop at
the stop sign. I asked him for his driver’s license which he said he did not
have with him. He told me his name and date of birth. I walked back to my car
and when inside advised the dispatcher of the young man’s name and date of
birth. The dispatcher told me he had a
legal driver’s license and the car was legally registered to someone with the
same last name, but different first name. I figured it was probably his father.
I completed filling out the citation for the stop sign violation and no
possession of his driver’s license. The
driver’s license charge could be dismissed if he went to the court and showed
them his license within a prescribed number of days.
When I had walked about halfway
toward the violator vehicle, the car immediately started driving away at a high
rate of speed. I turned around and ran
toward my car, got buckled in and advised the dispatcher I was in pursuit of
the vehicle that drove off. As I started driving away I turned on my overhead
red lights and siren. I could barely see the vehicle, but I managed to keep it
in sight for several blocks. The vehicle ran several stop signs along the way.
I lost sight of the vehicle when it apparently turned down an alley. When I
drove down the alley I saw the vehicle
parked in someone’s driveway, unoccupied with both the drivers and the
passengers doors standing wide open. I
notified other officers in the area to be on the lookout for two white males on
foot, most likely running. I requested the dispatcher send a wrecker to my
location because I was taking possession of the car and wanted it towed to the
wrecking company’s secured lot. I took inventory of the items in the car and
wrote them on a form. This inventory documented what was in the vehicle when it
was towed.
After the car was towed I
tried to contact the driver at his listed residence both in person and by
telephone. I left messages for him to
contact me, which he never did. I found out he was a student at a nearby university.
I called the number I had
located for the registered owner in another state. I informed him I had custody
of his car. He said his son took it away to college. I told him why I had
custody of the car and I couldn’t get his son to contact me to retrieve it. The
father said he would see to it his son contacted me.
The following evening the son
came into the department and contacted me. I wrote him a ticket for reckless driving,
and interfering with judicial process in addition to the initial stop sign
violation and no driver’s license in possession. The additional charges tripled
what his initial fine would have been, not to mention more negative points
attached to his driving record.
I just don’t get why people
don’t want to take responsibility for their actions. It’s not only the young college
students but I came across the same issue with adults. His initial charges were minor compared to
the trouble and increased expense from trying to avoid initially taking responsibility.
Why is this lack of
responsibility for our actions happening? It might be my imagination, but I
feel its gotten worse over the years. Is it a failure of parents? Schools?
Society in general? How can we fix this
lack of accepting to own up to our mistakes and take responsibility for our
actions?
Until Tomorrow,
Sally S
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