Ghost Troop Home Page April Fools Part 4
Diego is a former student of mine. I taught him English Lit at an inner city high school. We have kept in touch since school days because he is a boxer and I am a black belt. We compare notes and catch up on news from the hood. I am a former journalist, and sometimes find out things of interest to other journalists.
In the course of our conversation earlier today he mentioned that the HPD gang task force had recently hassled him and his friends for no particular reason. I’ve heard (and seen) the abuse of local cops enough that I encouraged him to go on. Here’s what he said in the next minutes, without any particular pattern or preparation (i.e., straight up):
He and three of his friends had pulled into a parking lot at a convenience store when they noticed that a police car was parked nearby. It followed them out of the parking lot, then pulled them over. The police officers took Diego’s license and had him and his friends get out of the car, then frisked them all and issued Diego three tickets. At no time was any cause given for any of the officers’ actions. After the boys had returned to the car the officer joked to Diego that he was going to buy things for his little girl from the money he would get from writing all these tickets.
The officer returned to his car, put on his lights, and instructed Diego and his friends to go. The young men obeyed without thinking that the officers had kept Diego’s license. Diego realized it and turned around to return to the officers, who laughed as they began to flee the scene, running red lights and speeding as they went along. It was apparent to the boys in the car that the cops had ripped off the license on purpose.
Diego had the presence of mind to do something brilliant: He called 911 as he pursued the runaway cops. Diego stayed on the phone with the dispatcher, and eventually caught up with them. The policemen hit their lights again as he pulled in front of them and stopped. Diego got out of his car to get his license back. One police officer wasn’t playing any more, though, and his hand was on his gun. The police officer hassled him (as 911 listened and taped), gave him his license back along with a bit more talk about what a fun job it was to be a cop. As a final taunt he asked Diego if he was talking to his girl friend on the cell. Diego said yes, and offered him the phone. The officer asked who was on the phone, found out, then abruptly hung up. Checkmate for Diego, and down with police abuse, right?
Wrong, the cop proceeded to start a new search of the vehicle and occupants, then a supervisor came to the scene. The supervisor must have had a tip from the dispatcher about had happened, because he came and talked to Diego personally and tried to minimize the degree of the abuse the officer had committed by saying that he would come to Diego’s traffic ticket case and help him beat at least one or two of the tickets. The two officers were standing by when the supervisor said this and one of them popped off to the supervisor that he’d never lost a case with that judge yet. After the supervisor left the cops put Diego and his compadres on a gang task force suspect list for causing them too much trouble. See what happens when you stand up for yourself against bad cops?
I believe what Diego has told me. He’s got better stories, but can’t back ‘em up. He tells me he was mugged a couple of weeks ago for a gold chain and a pair of glasses, and that’s pretty much the way things go in his hood. Life is mean in some parts of H-town.
I am assisting Diego (pro bono) in contacting a competent journalist who is interested in investigating this story. Right now all Diego wants to do is beat the crappy tickets and maybe get off the bad boy list, but it seems to me that he has some kind of civil rights case going here. Anyone interested?
Captain May
Ghost Troop Home Page April Fools Part 4