The American Cop is a three volume series of books... Vols #1 & #2 are short stories from road patrol and the latest one - Vol #3... is stories from the detective desk..

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Six months after I became a Police Officer, I was assigned to attend the Broward County Police Academy for further training. It was a very enjoyable and important experience for me and was most likely the most important even of my life. On graduation day, I proudly stood and accepted my diploma, and the Captain in charge quietly said to me.

“Ray, this schooling is a very important tool in being a professional law enforcement officer, but if you cannot apply common sense to your actions and treat everyone as you would want to be treated, then instead of accepting this diploma you should hand me your badge, because it isn’t gonna work!”

Many days followed and it seemed like everyday an incident would come up on my patrol where I would be reminded of the Captain’s words. I realized later that his words were not only good advice for a Policeman, but also a very good motto to have in a person’s everyday life, and it has been a daily practice of mine ever since.

“WHO NEEDS THE COP’S”

I had been involved in a investigation where we had cleared several large burglaries in town and I had some evidence at the Dade County Crime lab for processing. I had been notified by telephone that they had finished processing my material, and it was ready to be picked up. I went into my office early the next morning just to review the reports that had been put on my desk by the road patrols and after I finished reading them and making a few notes, I headed my Detective unit toward 1-95 for my drive through the morning rush hour traffic to the city of Miami, Florida. It was about eight o’clock in the morning and I was cruising along in the beautiful early morning south Florida sunshine and a thought ran through my mind that reminded me how fortunate I was to have a great job like I have and what a honor it was to be a Policeman. As I crossed through Hollywood I knew I wasn’t very far from my exit where I would turn off to go into Miami. I may have been about five miles or so from my exit ramp and I noticed a car off the southbound lane of the roadway and parked on the shoulder.

Out of instinct, I began slowing my unit down and as I passed the parked car I noticed that the left rear tire was flat and there was a woman trying to get the trunk door open. Seeing that the woman was in need of some help, I started stopping my car, which took a little distance and I eventually pulled off on the shoulder of the road. Once I was stopped, I put my car in reverse and backed it up to where the woman and her stranded car was parked. Even though I was a sworn Police Officer in the state of Florida, I seldom ever carried a weapon, so since I did not have a weapon on me, I took off my jacket. I got out of my car and walked back to where the woman had finally managed to open her car trunk. “Looks like you have a little problem here Ma’am,” I said to her. As she turned around and faced me I could see that she was a very attractive well dressed woman with long blonde hair and looked to have been about forty years old.

“Yes I do! I have a flat tire and I’ve never changed a dammed flat tire in my life! In fact! I don’t even know which end of the jack to use,” she said to me as she stood before me. I moved around and started to get the spare tire and the jack out of the trunk of the car and I said to her. “I’ll help you out. I’ve changed a few tires in my time,” and our conversation continued with the lady telling me how much she appreciated me stopping to help her. It was also during this conversation that I began to notice that this lady was not much of a lady at all because, she was cursing with almost every breath. I finally got the tire out of the trunk and rolled it around and leaned it up against the side of the car. As I reached for the bumper jack, the woman said to me. “Aren’t you afraid you’ll get your white shirt dirty?” Then she asked me what type of work I did for a living. As I placed the bumper jack in place and was in the process of raising the back side of the car up, I answered her by saying. “Oh! I work in a office back in Broward County.” I finally got the back of the car raised high enough where I could break the lug nuts loose and began to remove the flat tire from her vehicle, while all the time this woman never stopped talking. I learned that her name was Lori, and she was a news reporter for one of the Miami Newspapers. I finally got the tire changed and was tightening up the lug nuts and I said to her. “You know! With all these Police cars that are passing, I’m surprised that some of them or the Highway Patrol never stopped to help you.” The woman stopped talking about her job for a very short time and then started in on the Cops. “Oh! Don’t get me started on these Cops,” she said to me as I threw the flat tire in the trunk. I started releasing the jack handle to let the back of the car down, and while I was doing this I asked her. “Why? Whats wrong with the Cops down here?” She lit a cigarette and stood puffing rapidly and as she exhaled the smoke she began to tell me about the Cops. “It’s not just these Cops down here! It’s Cops everywhere! All they want to do is drive around with their fancy sun glasses on and act like movie stars or some celebrity, and do nothing but chase the women and hang out at the coffee shops. I have been out here for almost a hour and none of them stopped to ask me if I needed help or not.

You are the only person who stopped to help. I counted two County Sheriffs cars and three Highway Patrolmen’s cars go by and none of them even looked my way. Every Cop in this state is just alike! If I’d been some young woman out here bent over with shorts up the crack of my ass, everyone of those dammed horny bastards would have been lined up here just like a bunch of dogs in heat, because they are all the same!” As I completed letting the jack all the way down, I asked her if she thought she was giving the Cops a fair assessment. “I sure as hell am! I know how Cops are and where their interest is! Those Cops wouldn’t stop to help anyone, and it wouldn’t matter if it was a man or a woman! They are too lazy and too ignorant to do anything! That’s why they’re Cops. I’d bet all those Cops I saw pass here a while ago were either headed to some coffee shop or they were on their way to one of their whore’s house,” she said to me as she threw her cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. “And you really think all the Cops are that way Ma’am,” I asked as I closed the trunk of her car. “

I dammed sure do! There’s not a dime’s worth of difference in any of them. A Cop is a Cop! What else can I say about them,” she said. I took out my handkerchief and began wiping off my hands and she asked me what my name was. I didn’t say anything, but after I had put my handkerchief back in my pants pocket, I reached for my credential wallet which was in my left hip pocket and said to her. “My name is Null! Raymond Null!” She stuck out her hand and I reached out and put my hand in hers and we engaged in a friendly handshake. “Thank you Mr. Null for stopping and helping me,” she said as we shook hands. “Please! You can call me Ray, or Detective Null, ” I said as I took one of my business cards from my wallet and handed it to her. As she stood and read the name and title that was printed on the card that she was holding in front of her, I started walking to my car and I heard her say to me.

“Hey stop! Wait a minute so I can talk to you!” I was about to get in my ear and I stopped and the woman came running up to where I was standing and said to me. “Detective! I didn’t know you were a Police Officer! I don’t know what to say! I stood back there spouting off about the Cops and you didn’t say a word and I guess I made a real ass of myself. I’m so sorry it had to be you that I was griping too. I am sorry Detective.” “I did not take it personal Ma’am,” I said to her as I entered my car. “Don’t give it another thought. I know you didn’t know I was a Cop,” I said. As I drove along, a thought came to my mind. If she had expressed that same thought to one of these Dade County Officers before, it’s no wonder none of them stopped and offered to help her. Anyway! I was glad that I was able to help someone in need this early in the morning and even though my hands were still dirty, I was satisfied.

The End

 

Raymond D. Null