So, I went to court today. Oh, what fun, what excitement, what an incredible waste of tax payer money here in the great state of Virginia. My case was dismissed, ahem, but it took forever for me to be called. For reasons I would rather not divulge at this time, I have gotten to know the court system here where I live, and it basically sucks.
My neighbor, one of the sweetest people I have ever met, was kind enough to take me to court and wait with me. (I lost my car.) So, I guess that means my carbon foot print is lower now? It was repossessed. I knew it was possessed the moment I got it, but I had hoped to hang on to it for a while. The repo man is making some big bucks round here!! But, these things happen, n'est pas?
The most interesting case I watched while waiting involved a black man who was spotted speeding by a state trooper on Hwy 460, near a small town called Zuni. The speeder entered the small, tiny town and tried to lose the cop who was fast on his tail. And, he did manage to evade the trooper until, for whatever reason, he managed to overturn his vehicle. The dogged policeman pulled up behind the wreck just as the driver was crawling out the driver's side window, and then promptly ran into the woods. (The driver, not the cop!)
Now, after running through the woods for a short distance he came upon a trailer park, and ran up to a trailer where a woman was looking out of her back door. He yelled, "Help me, help me!" through the sliding glass door. The woman asked if he was hurt, and he said yes, and she said I'll call 911, at which he said "No!!" Evidently the woman then tried to lock her door, while the man tried to open it. The woman managed to lock her door, and call 911, where she reported a man trying to break into her house. However, the man had disappeared.
He approached another trailer, banged on the front door, and went through pretty much the same thing with another woman. The man asked this woman to call his grandmother instead of 911. This woman, after calling 911, called her brother-in-law, who arrived on the scene with a snow shovel, ready to throttle the fugitive soundly. The state trooper finally arrived on the scene as well, and watched while the emergency medical personnel were pulling the man out from underneath the trailer. He was examined and air-lifted to Norfolk General Hospital.
I found it somewhat telling that the witnesses for the defense were all white. The big scary black man had knocked on their door and damned if they didn't call 911. Everyone knows that when someone has been in an accident and doesn't want you to call 911, they probably have a damned good reason, like no insurance, or something! I still can't understand what the grandmother was supposed to do, other than maybe give the man a ride home.
His court-appointed attorney actually cross-examined the witnesses! I was stunned! It was just such a rare event! The defendant was eventually convicted of eluding the police, failure to maintain his vehicle, and driving on a suspended license. The suspended license was why he ran in the first place!! But, sitting there, watching this story unfold, was actually pretty entertaining.
6 comments:
I always am intrigued by people who try to get into a police chase. What are the chances of them escaping it's one of them against a vast network of police cars. And unless they have a body in their car or something they might get off with a fine.
Never had a police chase, but I've wasted my time in court. Once my husband had a serious case in which we had to hire a lawyer and watch 2 people try to get farther in their careers at his expense. Fuck the judicial system.
Your blog looks great.
I just found my self saying to my son the other day, and I quote, "Shit happens. When you fuck up, just face it,deal with the consequences and move on. Better to just get it over with, remind yourself what you did and do what you have to do than hide from it." How many times in a life do you have to face things you don't want to? Just rip the band-aide off and move on. Running as a reaction will just prolong the ineviteable and even make it worse.
I will say I might have opened the door and let that guy in and that is where my greatest fault lies. I guess i could give him my "face the music" speech.
SJ, I agree. Why people try to outrun the police is ridiculous.
Enemy, I am beginning to feel the same way about the judicial system.
Mary, Very wise words. I thought to myself if I would have opened the door, and, you know, I probably would have. Weird, huh?
Your story reminds me of a COPS episode. Those knuckleheads always run from the police which is amazing enough but then the police always catch them which is more amazing because the cops are usually packing an extra 50 pounds of love handles.
Those chubby cops can run for blocks, jump over fences, and catch their man (all while talking on their radio), take him down, handcuff him, roll him over and drag him off to jail and don't even muss up their hair or lose their big glasses (really big glasses).
I wrote to COPS one time and asked why their hair is usually styled in a mullet and their glasses look like two saucers tied together. No reply.
The idiocy of the human race is a constant source of amusement. Even if that clown had managed to elude the cop (very slim chance) did he not realize the cops would be soon be knocking on his door. and he would be going to court and jail. For evading arrest? Because he abandoned the vehicle? And the license plate was on it? And the VIN number was clearly visible? And on and on.
The Human Comedy plays once again.
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