Tuesday, April 13, 2010

It's all in the ATTITUDE!

Zig Zieglar has always been one of my favorite motivational speakers, I've actually been a fan of his since I was in junior high school and attribute a lot of my successes to how I have managed my attitude. I think some of the bad guys I come across should pay attention to ole Zig.

*****

I arrested two different drunk drivers on Friday Night last week.

Michael was 23, never been in trouble a day in his life - he had actually run his SUV off of the roadway in a hurried attempt to pull over so that he could vomit. Didn't hit anyone but scared the hell out of traffic when he shot across the road and stopped in the grassy parkway.

Brian was 42, and was pulled over for travelling 70 mph in a posted 35 mph zone while bouncing off of curbs and weaving into oncoming traffic.

Michael was actually apologetic when talking to me, said things like: "I'm sorry." " could have really hurt someone..." "I made a mistake..." Michael completed the field sobriety tests (failed), and was pretty apologetic for 'wasting my time' when I took him in for the actual breath test. Michael made a point to tell me that he would offer NO trouble or resistance and asked for some understanding because he was physically ill from drinking... but he promised to comply the best that he could.

Brian... well... he was not as cooperative... sort of belligerent and a basic drunken douche bag. He acted like he did no wrong, told me that I should be catching REAL bad guys, and accused me of profiling him since the police in our town had arrested him last time for OWI. Brian made a mockery of the field sobriety tests claiming to have all sorts of debilitating ailments. I'm hoping that I get to show the video in court... or maybe I'll send it in to one of those TRU TV shows...

Michael sat quietly in booking, asked politely to use the phone so that he could call his boss and let him know about his situaiton. Made some small talk. Apologized some more. When it came time for the breath test, Michael supplied a breath sample in about 20 seconds (perfect) and scored a .13 BrAC. When I told him of his charges, Michael said "I guess I'll learn my lesson on this one..." Then he sat quietly in the holding cell while I finished processing him.

Brian name dropped about 20 people... never heard of a single one of them... was argumentative during the booking procedures making a 10 minute process a 30 minute process. When it came time for the breath test, Brian suddenly developed some mutant form of asthma, emphasema and tuberculosis that prevented him from supplying a breath sample. After three separate attempts I just logged him as 'Failure by Intentional Refusal.' I thought it was sort of funny that Brian could talk non-stop for 45 minutes then be short of breath just in time for the test! Afterwards Brian continued to display the power that his lungs actually possessed as he mother-fucked me from the cells while I completed the paperwork.

Brian and Michael shared a ride to central booking...

*****
I was at central booking a couple of hours ago. The booking officers were joking about how I 'always arrest the nice guys.' It's true! I think my demeanor, philosophy and physical size help out a lot as 95% of the people I arrest just go with the flow and are actually quite pleasant to deal with, all things considering.

The booking officers told me that Michael had been so cooperative and downright nice that they moved him to the front of the line when they purged the drunk tank. He only spent about four hours in the jail.* [Due to overcrowding on the weekends they let non-violent offenders go home on their signature - drunks must have a responsible adult pick them up and sign a waiver]

I know, you're wondering how long Brian got held... well, as of now, it's about 101hours (just a smidge over FOUR DAYS!). It seems as though Brian was uncooperative during the booking procedures so the booking officers pushed him back to the next shift, then he pissed off that shift so THEY pushed him back... He can only be held 72 hours without a bond hearing so he went before the judge on Monday morning where he promptly 'motherfucked' his way into a 10 day sentence for contempt of court!

It's funny, with his good attitude I'm sure Michael will never even face formal charges for OWI. He'll get it plead down to a Reckless Possession of Alcohol or maybe even an Unsafe Driving charge - basically infractionary tickets. Brian on the other hand... I'm seeing a bus pass in HIS future!

2 comments:

  1. Interesting comparison to basic attitude to other situations in life, isn't it?
    If you face the truth/facts, take repsonsibility, apologize sincerely and make it clear that you understand why what you did was an error and show by your subsequent behavior that you aren't likely to repeat your past mistakes - people are more willing to cut you slack, forgive you and move on.

    If you are in denial, refuse to face the truth/facts, try to make it someone else's fault, show no remorse whatsoever and make it clear your turn-off behavior is EXACTLY who you are at all times, people are far more likely to be angry, resentful and keep score of your mistake, paying you back in spades and then some.

    Google 'Tammie Kellogg-Hall' for another sad example, this time of a ex-Riverside cop who drank too much and too often.
    I wish someone would learn from her example - and choose to stay sober instead.

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  2. Just out of curiousity is it because you're physical size is intimidating (ie. they're afraid and stfu) or is it that you're less intimidating and thus they feel commaraderie and just act nicer?

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