Re: I called the cops!
I was hit turning left at a traffic light by a police officer who was busy typing or looking something up on his computer screen, I had a green traffic turn signal and was following a slow moving truck through the intersection. I watched it happen as I could see he wsn't looking where he was going and was going to hit me...he slammed on the brakes at the moment he hit my car spinning me around 180 degrees in the middle of the intersection.
I calmly got out of the car and said:
"Not watching where your going huh? They make these traffic lights for a reason ya know! What was so important that you had to be driving and typing on the laptop at the same time?"
The police officer replied:
"You turned left in front of me, I had the right of way"
I said:
"Not when the traffic light is flashing that little green arrow it doesn't, how do you even know what the traffic light was when you had your head down until the moment you hit the brakes and spun me around? Did you even see the truck I followed through the intersection?"
Police officer says:
"You turned left in front of me while I had the green light, the accident is your fault."
At this point I started losing my cool and asked for his badge number and requested I speak to his sgt on the scene. I began a lecture on responsibility and honesty and how police officers are held in high regard and should be "man enough" and accept his mistakes. I also asked to see the dash camera footage to verify what I already knew.
The officer replied:
"This car is not equipped with a camera"
At this point I walked up to his car and pointed at the little black box with the camera lens on it pointing out the windshield and said:
"You mean this little black box here with the lens besides your radar unit is not a camera? Do you think I am an idiot?"
Police officer says:
"The camera was not turned on, I need to call this in."
I followed the officer to his car and berated him about crooked cops and how they are the reason why no one trusts them anymore etc.etc.etc. He eventually locked himself in the car and rolled up the windows.
At this point I figured I better get a witness to this before all the cars at the intersection vacated the premises (we were blocking all traffic in every direction). As I approached each car at the intersection they all changed direction and turned to get out of there as fast as they could...until I was the only one standing in the intersection alone.
I got back into my car and waited for the sgt to show up...I was pretty mad. As we waited no less than 13 police cars showed up on the scene, at least 5 of them stopped and did an inspection of my car and asked that I step out so they could search it. They did everything but rip the seats out.
When the sgt appeared on scene I was asked to wait in the rear seat of his car and make a statement, while I was giving a statement they tore the contents out of my trunk and tossed them into the intersection and even opened my hood...did I have an illegal engine in there? Was my oil level not to specifications? Your guess is as good as mine.
45 minutes later I was allowed to leave, I told my story to the sgt and explained to him that if this accident becomes my fault for any reason I will be persuing this in court and supoenaing the dash cam footage, I know a crooked cop when I see one and this one is just covering his butt with lies.
Since I was less than 5 minutes from home I idled slowly home listening carefully for any noises that might indicate I might need a tow to get the car home safely, along the way I went past 4 police cars sitting on the side of the road or hiding on side roads and strategically placed so they could observe. This kinda freaked me out as I had no idea what they had planned for me as the police officer involved in the accident was allowed to leave long before I was. Good thing I was calmed down by then and didn't speed home.
Needless to say I was deemed 100% at fault for the accident and since the city is self insured I would have to sue the city for any kind of damages to my car. I placed signs at the intersection for witnesses and three people called my number, none of them would act as witnesses for me although they universally felt badly for me.
As one older lady who called me said:
"I seen the whole thing, that policeman wasn't watching where he was going and ran the red light, however he lives down the street from me and must have went home for lunch and was in a hurry to get back out on the road. I know who he is and he is not the kind of person you want on your bad side. His wife is my friend and he is not very kind to her, I do not want to let you down but the last thing I want is this guy knowing I turned him in and causing my family problems...he knows where I live! I am really sorry this happened to you but I hope you can understand my position, I really hope someone comes forward and helps you out but in this city they better live out of town as this city has a police corruption problem as you no doubt know now."
I accepted the accident responsibility and let it slide, last thing I need is some nutjob with access to all my personal information loose on the street with a vendetta against me. Sueing the city for the damages would have cost me more than the cost of repairing the car.
I hope that police officer finds his salvation in peace, I have prayed for his soul. Hope he never needs my help somewhere down the line, I am out of cheeks to turn...sorry.
