THE BAD...My Intentions Gone Wrong!

Upon arriving at the local charity that afternoon, there was another vehicle already behind the gate and as I pulled in, another vehicle pulled in behind me, hindering me from opening the back of my van. When the vehicle behind me, a SUV, finished unloading their donations, they pulled around me and I began to back up closer to the piles already there so that I could begin to unload my items as well. All of a sudden our friendly neighborhood police arrived, and began shouting accusations at me and later I was arrested for stealing my own stuff without the chance to explain or the opportunity to prove that the items were indeed mine. I was also arrested for breaking and entering because the police officer's were convinced that somehow I managed to pry open the unlocked gate. Pretty ridiculous since the gate was obviously already open. Proof being, all of the other items that were donated on this particular weekend after hours, somehow made their way inside gate, not outside, which one would think if the gate had actually been locked. The first officer arrived only seconds after the third vehicle, the one that was behind me, had pulled around me and was headed out of the gated area. So I asked the officer if he had seen the SUV leaving and he later stated that yes, he had he witnessed a SUV leaving but that they got away and his comment was, "And I was the one he caught". Caught doing what I asked? Giving to the needy??? He also stated that on more than one occasion during the course of the week he had received calls from the old folks home next door about a dark SUV, not a minivan, and later I witnessed the report that kept coming up across the computer screen in the police vehicle that clearly read, SUV.

He told me that on Saturday night while home watching a movie, eating popcorn he got a call and by the time he reached the charity the culprits had left, well I can tell you I was at a neighbor's birthday party that night. He joked with the other officer that arrived shortly after, that since he was dragged out of his house the night before, he was determined to get somebody. So determined, that when I repeatedly asked him to let me show him the other items I had dropped off earlier in the day he refused, when I asked him to call my parents, as they had assisted me with rearranging my children's bedrooms and knew exactly what I was donating, he refused. When I asked them to contact my family members that were on the police force, he refused. Instead he continued to make jokes with the other officer, that he was keeping my van because he wouldn't mind driving around in it, using it as nark vehicle to be exact. When I tried talking to the other officer, he told me to shut my FKing mouth that he did not care about what I had to say. He said he did not care who my FKing family members were. He said to me that I better start FKing talking because my boyfriend was about ready to FK me over bad. Completely impossible considering we were doing nothing wrong but I guess he figured he would try intimidation tactics on me. Do they learn that at the academy? Then he accused my boyfriend of lying and falsifying his identity because the spelling of his last name on his VA DMV ID and Social Security Card, which matched, were different than what he had in his system. Who made the mistake there? DMV? Social Security? Certainly not those who are hired to protect and to serve our community with careers built on "PRIDE", "INTEGRITY" and "COMMITMENT". Those who always do the right thing, even when no one is looking, for example, locking me in the police vehicle long enough for them to walk over to the McDonalds next to the Salvation Army for a quick snack.

After all was said and done that Sunday, the first officer assured me that he would help me work it out. He had even joked with me at one point asking me if I had fun at the Neptune Festival, that he had been down there himself earlier that day also. He told me that I would have a chance to talk to a detective and tell him what really happened but still to this day, have I been given the opportunity to talk to any detective. At the time I almost felt that something inside him honestly believed me but in the end...he never took the items that I tried to point out to him, that I explained I had dropped off earlier that day, proof that I had been cleaning out my house and garage and had been there with good intentions. Instead he commented, "This is going to end up being a pain in my ass."

Ever heard of "FADO"?

An acronym describing police officers and their behavior while interacting with citizens;

Police officers are prohibited from (1) using unnecessary FORCE, (2) ABUSING their authority, (3) speaking DISCOURTEOUSLY, or (4) using OFFENSIVE language.

I have.