You Can’t Be Too Careful

I have all the respect in the world for Law Enforcement officers and the Job they do, but have you ever had a Law Enforcement officer draw his weapon on you and yell, “Freeze”

Not once but three times in my life have I been on the wrong end of the gun so to say, from three different agencies of the law and each time I actually froze just as they commanded me to do, because I believe in respecting authority and the option of running was not a good idea due to not being able to outrun a bullet, and I have to trust that their aim has to be pretty good since they are trained to be accurate, and I don’t want to take the chance that they may not shoot me, so if an offices ever yells for you to freeze I suggest you do so.

My first lesson in how to stand and talk with a police officer came when I was a teenager, myself and a couple of friends were camping by the lake when a State Trooper pulled up into our campsite and began questioning us, said we were trespassing on private property and we were being asked to leave, we had a good campfire going, a tent set up, and our fishing poles propped up waiting for supper to bite, I argued with the officer that we were on public property and took a step toward him to talk it out, he asked me to stay right where I was so I relaxed, took a step backwards and placed my right hand into my back pocket, not reaching for anything just resting my hand, next thing I know I see his pistol come into my face and he yelled “Freeze, let me see your hands” my two buddies hit the ground, my hands went into the air and I think I just may have peed myself a little bit, I was immediately searched and deemed safe, the Trooper explained what I did wrong and to make a long story short he said that we were technically on public property, everything but our tent which he helped us un stake and drag off of private property, he sat around and visited for a while and left me with the lasting impression to never place your hands in your pockets when talking to a Law Enforcement officer.

While working for the water company I was on call from time to time which meant I could be called in for emergencies at any time, about two in the morning I got a call to turn someone’s water off due to a leak, I recognized the address and knew right where their water meter was located, the only problem with it’s location was that I had to park my truck on the street and walk across a grassy area to climb a fence, into the trees behind a couple of houses to which this meter didn’t serve, I got the water shut off and threw my valve wrench across the fence, with my flashlight in my teeth I climbed up onto the wooden fence and jumped to the ground to meet with a bright light in my face and the loud yell of the words “Freeze, let me see your hands”, Yes I had two Sheriffs Deputies with guns trained on me, I was actually looking for red dots to be shining on my chest but I guess that was just on TV, after being questioned and deemed that I was actually working I was released to go about my business.

Another late night I got a call to turn the water off for repairs at a convenience store in the downtown area, the meter for this one was out back in a dark alley, I parked my truck to shine the headlights on the meter and was kneeling down digging the dirt out from around the meter with a garden spade when I heard those familiar words, “Freeze, let me see your hands” I stood and raised my hands and said “I’m with the water company, we are shutting the water off for repairs here”, he asked me to slowly turn around, and said how do I know you are with the water company?, I said it’s written all over the truck you are standing beside, he dropped the flashlight from my face and while placing his gun back into the holster said, “Hey Jimmy, I didn’t recognize you there for a minute, you can’t be too careful you know”, this was a City Police officer I have told you about in the past that I had known for a while, the same one Cindy had a couple experiences with in Why We Don’t Fly.

We have several family members in this career field and children who are pursuing their dream of working as Law Enforcement personnel, as I said before I have all the respect in the world for them as they are not paid near enough in my opinion and their job is one I know I couldn’t handle, if you are ever out and about and hear the words “Freeze, let me see your hands” just stand real still, raise your hands, and follow their instructions because if you did nothing wrong, then it will be cleared up real soon as they are not just doing this for fun, they really can’t be too careful when it comes to their own safety.