five minutes of a cop's experience
Feb. 13th, 2006 08:52 amOn Saturday I drove solo to ACLC's Cupid's Command, a leather/uniform event at the Turf Club, raising money for a women's cancer service. I enjoyed the event; it was cool to see many friends.
But the story... it was a uniform event, so I wore my leather uniform pants (which have blue and a yellow stripe down the outside of each leg), my tall shiny Chippewa motorcycle cop boots, and my blue NYPD t-shirt. So, if you don't look too closely (yeah I have a beard...), I looked like a cop. I was driving my little truck, and stopped to gas up at the local cheapest-price filling station. Which had a big line, naturally. Eventually it was my turn. I got my gas, then went to return to the pay station to get my receipt (separate pay stations are a pain in the yin-yang). A kid just beat me to the machine, but he stepped back and gestured for me to go first, being very respectful. Clearly, he thought I was a cop. I was really surprised! It was interesting.
However, the machine refused to give me my receipt, so I went into the station to get the bit of paper from the cashier. Returned to the truck. And someone had tossed the end of their soda onto my car. !
So, in five minutes, I got both the respect and the hate a cop gets all the time.
It was very educational. Made me realize someone could expect me to arrest someone, to deal with a difficult situation... or try and engage me just because they hate cops.
Fascinating.
But the story... it was a uniform event, so I wore my leather uniform pants (which have blue and a yellow stripe down the outside of each leg), my tall shiny Chippewa motorcycle cop boots, and my blue NYPD t-shirt. So, if you don't look too closely (yeah I have a beard...), I looked like a cop. I was driving my little truck, and stopped to gas up at the local cheapest-price filling station. Which had a big line, naturally. Eventually it was my turn. I got my gas, then went to return to the pay station to get my receipt (separate pay stations are a pain in the yin-yang). A kid just beat me to the machine, but he stepped back and gestured for me to go first, being very respectful. Clearly, he thought I was a cop. I was really surprised! It was interesting.
However, the machine refused to give me my receipt, so I went into the station to get the bit of paper from the cashier. Returned to the truck. And someone had tossed the end of their soda onto my car. !
So, in five minutes, I got both the respect and the hate a cop gets all the time.
It was very educational. Made me realize someone could expect me to arrest someone, to deal with a difficult situation... or try and engage me just because they hate cops.
Fascinating.