Wednesday, September 14, 2011

"Black and Blue"





My disgust for the boys in blue go as far back as I can remember. As a child I was taught to always respect your elders and especially authority. I grew up with both my father and mother in the house and I looked up to my father. My father was a police officer who worked his way through the ranks and departments. He worked for the police department for over 20 years before finally retiring from Police Aviation. I remember the stories he use to tell me as a kid of all the *bull $hit* he saw as a police officer both in the streets and inside his own precinct. I never truly understand how even as a police officer he was disgusted with his "own". I discovered quicker then I thought how that was possible on more then one occasion. Whether it was being pulled for no reason when I was driving with my friends for no reason, being verbally assaulted when asking "officer what did we do" and so on and so on. My father use to give me a PBA card to walk around with "just in case"..he called it the official "Blue Gang" card.


Fast forward to Friday night:

Its 4:12 am and me and my friends are leaving the q-tip party at yotel on 42nd street. It was one of the best parties of the year. We all had a great time and the night was still young (Hey its INWHYSEE, the city that never sleeps) so we decided to go to the after after party. I ask my homeboy "cab man" a.k.a John to go hail a cab (since he is light skinned and tall he always gets the cabs hence the name "cab man") The Cab is about to pull up and I look to my right and hear someone say "Hey when I tell you to come over here, you better come over here". I look puzzled and point to myself and reply "Me??", The police officer replies "Yeah you, come over here". We let the cab go and I walk over to the officer(s). "What were you doing?" again confused I answer "Hmm hailing a cab, whats the problem?" the police officer quickly replies "Get up against the car" at this point I'm even more perplexed "For what...what did I do officer". This must of set him and his boys off so they slam me against the cop car, one officer takes his elbow and presses it against my neck so the other officer can take my arm and put it around my back a lot easier and cuff me. At this time all I am asking them is "What did I do", "What did I do". The officer quickly says "We are bringing you in ...we know you have warrants". My confusion increases "Warrants??"..the police officer replies "Do you have anything on you?" so I reply back "Nope just business cards, if you want go to the website". Now I am usually a smart ass but to be honest I was being serious. They then proceed to search me and throw me in the back of the cop car. Through all the back and forth talk I mentioned that my father was a police officer. The first thing the officer says is "Where is your PBA card then" I was stumped because I actually didn't have one. So here I am without my "Gang card" in the back of a police car on the way to the 10th precinct for what I could only see as "being black after dark"

Once we arrive to the precinct the officer goes through every last item I have, I mean they took out every card I had in my wallet, opened my camera, took the back of my phone out to check inside where the battery is etc. It was as if they were hoping to find something. I again kept quiet and on occasion would say "you know my father is a police officer". Once they were finished looking through my things the same officer who first spoke to me put me in the holding cell and told me to "sit my ass down". I told him "No I'm good standing, I'm not letting this get me down" and I stood up as he closed the cell doors. At this point John got word back to my family (My uncle and my sister) on what happened and I can hear the desk sergant on the phone with my uncle. My uncle was explaining to them that my father was a police officer and basically going through his resume of where he worked, etc etc. After about 30 minutes the officer comes to the holding cell and says "Hey where does your father work again" I reply "Police Aviation" he takes out his keys and says "We are going to let you go".

Without a word, just a smile and disbelief (actually I wore that smile the whole time which probably made them even angrier) I walk to the front and get my items. The write me out a summons for get this "public urination" I snicker and think to myself how funny it is a am getting a summons for peeing when they are the ones who pissed me off. I gather all my things and promise them that "they will hear from me again". "If you see something , say something" so consider this a warning shot. Internal affairs better get use to me.

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