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Drivers License and Registration Please…

So… most of us know what happens when you get pulled over by the police for a traffic stop. You pull over, hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel, window down and follow the officer’s directions. It usually goes like this: Officer: May I see your drivers license and registration please? You give the officer the documents and the officer lets you know why they stopped you. Speeding, broken tail light, dead inspection sticker, dead tag and so on. Get your ticket and move on. Makes sense to me. Some people think it’s a good idea to do this:

Officer: May I see your drivers license and registration please? Driver: I ain’t showing you shit! Why did you pull me over? You got no right to ask me for nothin and I ain’t giving you shit! Now …somebody please tell me the wisdom in this strategy of interacting with a law enforcement officer. I’m sure you have seen the body cams of officers dealing with a non-compliant person refusing to cooperate. It NEVER ends well for the driver…NEVER. I recently had a Mother explain to me that her daughter was dragged from her vehicle and arrested during on of these routine traffic stops. I asked her to tell me what happened…Mom said that her daughter “didn’t do nothin” She got pulled over and wouldn’t give the police her license. I asked her why. She said, “because she didn’t do nothin”. I made the comment that she was lucky that it didn’t escalate into a shooting. She said, “You got that right”. I said, “What would have happened if she would have reached under her seat for some reason or opened her glove compartment? Mom just kept telling me that “she didn’t do nothin”. I kinda knew where this was going next, and sure enough there it was. “The police would have never even stopped her if she wasn’t black”. I explained to MOM that her daughter was charged with reckless driving, 65 MPH in a 35 MPH and that speeding could have been the reason she was stopped. I went on to explain her other charges: Obstruction of Justice, Failure to Obey a Law Enforcement Command, Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer (Felony) and that the Magistrate gave her a $10,000 bond. In the end the daughter went to video arraignment in Prince William County Virginia where the Judge released her on her personal recognizance. (So much for accountability.) I had true compassion for Mom, I made the comment that, “When our children get cut, we are the ones that bleed”. Mom nodded her head in agreement. All in all we had a good conversation. I asked Mom this question: “Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently if the same thing happened to you?” Moms answer? “Shit, I would have given him my license and been on about my business”. Good job MOM! I like that lyric from Crosby, Stills and Nash…”Teach Your Children Well…”

I would love to hear your opinion about this episode of 101 Ways to Get Arrested.

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Feels Like… I’m in a Wack a Mole Game!

Jerry stopped at the “Neon Sign“ on the way home from work. It’s a social thing, not a “I need a drink or I’ll die thing.” Just a couple of beers after work, harmless right? Jerry ordered a club sandwich and a Budweiser, chatted it up with the bartender, bought one of his buddies a beer and his buddy returned the favor. Forty five minutes and three beers later the social event was over. Jerry says goodbye to his bar room buddies and heads to the parking lot. Now here’s the thing, Jerry wasn’t drunk. Matter of fact you don’t have to be drunk to get a DWI. Three beers in 45 minutes depending on your body weight and how your body processes alcohol can result in a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .08 percent, over the legal limit here in the State of Virginia and Jerry is under arrest for DWI. I met Jerry when I posted his $1000 bond. His story is very similar to my story except: I never got caught. Now Jerry had a court date where he was convicted of DWI. He paid his fine, he received five days in jail which the Judge suspended, he had to complete a VASAP program and he was put on 3 years good behavior. He survived right? Not so fast. Jerry paid the $400.00 for the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP) and attended all of the classes except the last one, he had to work. Jerry was charged with another jail-able offense: Failure to comply with VASAP 18.2-271.1 Jerry was arrested again. Jerry was released on his personal recognizance and paid for yet another VASAP class. Whew finally the whole DWI ordeal was over…Not so fast. Remember the three years of good behavior probation? Yep, that’s right, Jerry was arrested for violation of probation because he missed that VASAP class. Every time Jerry would try to do the right thing and lift up his head to recover from his DWI the justice system would descend upon him once again. Jerry said, “I feel like I’m in a daggone Whack-a-Mole Game and I’m the one getting whacked!” “Every time I think it’s over, here they come again!”

Here is the irony: Virginia owns all of the liquor stores here in Virginia. In 2020 they had sales of 1.2 BILLION DOLLARS! Oh did I put that in all caps? That’s a lot of booze for the little ole’ State of Virginny…Kind of unholy Eh? First they sell it to us and then they stick it to us for drinking it…and driving of course. Bail Bonds VA has resources for Jerry! Celebrate Recovery is a 12 step faith based program for people with hurts, habits and hang ups. It’s FREE and it’s helped thousands of people like Jerry get through our judicial system.