Knock knock, Who's there? Ph______a Police, open the door now! "Shit!" A large group of officers asked if they could come in and look around, and, knowing (thinking) I had done nothing wrong, I invited them in. (Dumb move #1: not refusing and telling them to come back with a warrant.) They asked me where the "weapon" was. They explained that Tanisha had called and reported that I had pulled a knife on her, chased her down the street, and tried to stab her. (really???) She had a friend act as a witness and verified this lie. I tried explaining the real story, that she forced her way in and that I just picked up a small steak knife to intimidate her and make her go away, which she did. But there it was, the huge butcher knife, sitting on the counter. (Dumb move #2: not hiding the damn thing) Of course, it was the exact description of the knife she described. Next thing I knew, I was cuffed, brought down the steps, and shoved into the back of a paddy wagon, (which, for those of you who don't know, is a large police van.) "Tanisha" looked on with her victory smirk. I was outraged by the whole situation, and asked why SHE was not arrested. (Dumb move #3: not calling the police before she did.) Had I done this, she would have been arrested instead of me. A lesson learned. I dropped a few names of some officers that I knew, including the head of homicide and a few undercover detectives. I told them that I used to work for ____ , a well known Italian officer. They laughed at me and replied "No, but we know "Vinnie Bag O' Dounuts." Real comedians. I did not find the humor in their cocky remarks. They said I'd be processed at the local district and released. Instead, I was transported to the "Roundhouse" and, rather than be released "ROR", (released own own recognizance), I was given "release on bail". The only person that I called for bail money did not answer the phone, and I was stuck in an ice cold holding cell next to a woman who smelled like a rotten hoagie, like she hadn't showered in weeks, maybe months. I asked for a blanket and the guards laughed at me. I screamed and yelled until I was told to shut up. I should have known to just be quiet; this was not my first visit to the slammer for stupid, ridiculous bullshit. The "dinner" menu consisted of a dry cheese sandwich (with no condiments) and a warm carton of iced tea. That was the whole menu; no coffee, no dessert, no after dinner cordial. Not even a mint. I asked for some mustard and was laughed at again. I didn't sleep or pee for two days, because anyone walking by could get a free show if they so desired. I was finally bailed out by a friend and was was released. I attended my court date and was informed of my charges: "Brandishing an instrument of crime", "Aggravated assault", (which makes no sense because for an "assault" to occur, I'm pretty sure there has to be physical contact, which there was not)..."Terroristic threats", and some other charge which I do not remember. All charges were dismissed due to the history of the plaintiff showing she had done this type of thing to numerous other people, plus I had gotten letters and statements in my defense from neighbors. Regardless of the dropped charges, I still had to pay a percentage of my bail to the court and ask for an expungement of the arrest itself. When applying for employment, arrests still show up whether or not there are convictions, which give employers a biased opinion of an applicant's character. Soon after this fiasco, I was evicted, for "attempting to stab a fellow resident" (Really?) I had the papers to prove my innocence, but obviously that did not matter. The issue of a questionable bias arrest came up with my lawyer, who stated that since I was the only white person in the neighborhood, there would be an outrage in the black community. True or not, it made sense according to research. If I hadn't had more important things to concentrate on, I would have filed a lawsuit against the police department "Tanisha" continued to receive her assistance and stayed with her abusive boyfriend, while I frantically looked for a place to live. Believe it or not, things started getting better after the whole nightmare. Where did I go from here? :0
No comments:
Post a Comment