I wish I had you with me at 1 in the morning two nights ago. I was
driving home and saw my best friend, who had just gotten back in town,
on the side of the road surrounded by three police. I, of course,
stopped and approached the scene to inquire. One very large cop saw me
stop and started coming down towards me as I started moving towards him.
(This is pretty much how it went.)
"Don't move any further."
"Okay, but that's my friend, there."
"I don't care who it is, don't move any further."
"Can you tell me what's going on?"
"No, I cannot."
"Can I ask him?"
"For our safety you cannot move any further towards the scene."
"Will you tell him to call me when he gets to the station?"
"I'm not here to run a message service."
(At this point I can see my friend with his hands against the car
getting frisked.)
"What's the charge?"
"I'm going to have to ask you to get back in your car and leave the
scene."
(Now I'm getting irritated).
"Officer, is he going to jail?"
"Listen, if you don't leave now, you're going to jail too."
"So he *is* going to jail then. Which one?"
And so, with that, I was arrested, charged with "Interfering with Police
Business, " and locked up for the night. At first, it was an interesting
experience, going to jail, getting booked, giving the cop my shoelaces
so I couldn't hang myself and thereby spare myself the wrath of the
State. But then it became rather tedious, locked in a room with drunken
college students, bar-brawlers, wife-beaters, drugged-up thugs,
drugged-up wimps, and various pushers.
At ten in the morning they loaded us into a paddy-wagon and brought us
to court where I waited around in another cell for four hours until they
called me for my arraignment. I walk in the courtroom, the prosecutor
*STARTED LAUGHING*!! He looked at the charging document and said, "For
the misdemeanor of interfering with police business we feel that one
night in jail is more than sufficient penalty for a law student. We
recommend nolle prosequi" The judge smiled patronizingly and said, "The
court rules the charge nolled. Please learn to keep your mouth shut."
I was fit to be tied, the bastards.
So then I was sent downstairs a free man, where they locked me up for
another two hours until they finished my damn paperwork! I told the
sherrif that I demanded to be let out given that the prosecutor had
chosen no longer to prosecute my case, and that I am not responsible for
whatever bureaucratic nonsense they had to do. The sherrif laughed and
said, "You're free when the computer says you're free."
So, I finally got out of jail 15 hours later, all for caring about a
friend.