I found myself wandering aimlessly, one early morning, in the recesses of Lindon trying tirelessly to shake off drowsiness. Lindon really is a sleepy little town who mockingly rolls her self up like clockwork every night at midnight. Subsequently one must hunt diligently for adequate arrests to keep one busy for the remainder of the night. On this occasion, being as an usually dull day, I found myself short on sleep. I decided to park near the North County Animal Shelter in order to avoid a seemingly evident head on collision with some random stationary object. While fighting off stages of drooling, and in a semi-conscious state, I was suddenly roused by a loud engine, pipes, and squealing tires. Being an astute officer, and always able to see the core issue at hand, I quickly focused my attention on a spinning black Porsche admitting a cloud of gray-black smoke from its tires. It seems the dark desolate intersection was too much temptation for the driver of the vehicle who succumbed to to that little voice present in recessed mind of all men. "Go ahead, no one is watching."
I jumped to attention, carefully wiping away drool and sleep, and hit my lights speeding after the Porsche. To be honest I fully expected the vehicle to flee, Porsche Carrera vs. Ford Explorer, especially after seeing the vehicle had no rear plate. Much to my surprise the Porsche pulled to side of the road and stopped. I walked to the the drivers side of the car speaking to a "30-something" plain looking gentleman with wispy feathered hair parted at the center. He appeared to be deep in the indicative mid-life crisis of lost youth as his button up shirt, open to reveal a forest of hair and a lack of muscle, lay unflattering about his upper body. A semi-attractive younger woman, looking annoyed by this delay, said nothing staring into space. The couple was truly mismatched. He, spending more money than he should in attempts to attract a companion out of his league, and she, being content with delusions of perceived beauty based on an her ability to catch a ride in an expensive vehicle. If a shallow personality makes a pair I guess they were perfectly matched. Judgments are so prevalent during a first time meeting and run the base for future encounters. And before you judge me for being judgmental you too were judging me judging others. "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."
I set the stage by simply stating, It's times like this I cannot stifle my sarcasm, "If I paid as much as you for this car, there is no way in hell I would treat her like this." The driver said nothing, looking sheepishly in every direction but mine. I usually have the ability to read a person within the first few seconds of contact. I found myself struggling to ascertain whether his attitude was smug or embarrassment. A little explanation, I attempt to enforce the law focusing on a persons willingness to change. The core of criminal charges stem from enticing, or enacting, change in the behavior of the recipient. Criminal charges have a tendency to cause grief and frustration and I attempt to change behavior with the least amount of enforcement necessary. Some crimes remove all discretion and must be charged in order to satisfy justice. We are not discussing justice today only societal expectations. In short a warning can carry more weight, in some situations, than a citation. Let us all now scream in unison of the unfairness of cops, the lack of due-process, and the audacity of officer discretion. Using discretion oft times leads to complaints of badge heaviness or acting out of spiteful contempt. I am aware of this reaction but still attempt to cut as many brakes as possible. Just because I can, does not mean I should. In short a persons attitude suggests a willingness to change. A person who portrays themselves as genuine, believe me I can tell, is more likely to get off a charge. Screaming and crying, should there be any surprise, almost ensures action. With this in my mind, I gathered information and left the couple to their thoughts.
I later found the driver was involved in a very similar situation where he spun a donut in a neighborhood. He was found, charged, and his vehicle towed. Obviously he did not learn from the experience as within a few short months he was involved in the same behavior. OK, out of fairness he did Wait until 3:00 in the morning and chose an area that was unpopulated at the time. Did he learn or did he simply evolve. So here's how the story ends. I completed a citation for Exhibition of Speed. I felt two incidents within two months was excessive. Exhibition carries and mandatory suspension of a license where Reckless Driving simply places points on a license. If he cant learn he needs to loose his license. I wrestled with the notion of impounding his car, but as we have already discussed I am Leary of appearing to make judgments based on contempt. Again, I do not wish to over enforce an issue. I decided I would speak with the gentleman and allow his attitude to sway the impound decision. Essentially I would leave it up to him. In the end he was truly embarrassed to have been caught doing what he was already charged in the presence of his date. I did not impound his vehicle. If justice was a factor, it would have been served with a citation only. I did inform the driver, in an effort to deter future behavior, that I'm always in this area because of continued problems with reckless driving. The reckless problems are true, the reason I was in the area was stretched. I was there because I was tired. Nothing more. The irony is, he was in the wrong place and that wrong time. I love working graves.
