Tuesday, November 2, 2010

That Was Beautiful...

During my travels today I stumbled upon a car sitting in a left turn pocket on our main drag, its hazard flashers blinking merrily away.

I busted a quick U-turn and pulled in behind the stalled vehicle.

When I spoke with the embarrassed driver she informed me she had run her car out of gas. She had already called a tow, with an hour ETA.

Our standard operating procedure in Smithville is to get the car out of the roadway fairly quickly, so I radioed to another officer to help me push. I wasn't going to leave her sitting in the middle of the street waiting for a tow truck. Besides, the gas station was just across the intersection.

After we shoved the car into the gas station and were walking back to our vehicles, a woman in a mini-van pulled up to the curb alongside us and told us she had seen what we did.

Even with all the negative emotion directed toward cops around here, this woman thought it a beautiful thing to see us pushing that car out of the way and into the gas station. She was so impressed she felt the need to turn around and come back to tell us so.

It's nice to get a little pat on the back every now and then, and to realize people really do notice the lengths to which we extend ourselves every day. Even if that's NOT why we do the things we do.

This was nothing special or out of the ordinary to the Smithville police. To us it was just another day at work in the customer service industry...

9 comments:

oc92649 said...

I commend your effort to clear the road and help the motorist.

A couple years ago, I was stopped at a traffic light when a hose for my clutch broke. I couldn't get the car in gear, so I was stuck blocking through traffic with my hazards lights flashing. A motor officer was across the street giving somebody a ticket for ignoring a No-U-turn sign. As soon as he was done with that, he came over to see what the problem was. He called for a unit in a cruiser to push my car to the side of road out of the traffic. I very much appreciated that and let him know.

Jay911 said...

Bravo. Good to get a compliment once in a while, huh?

Jeff said...

That was a well deserved pat on the back and it was great that the lady came back to let you know. Sometimes its the little things that can set the tone for the rest of the day. Well done.

Sister Copinherhair said...

Being involved with an LEO, I know of the things like you just described. If only more people realized you aren't just out there to hand out tickets.

My question is...she couldn't walk over to the gas station to buy gas? I guess her vehicle would have been sitting in the middle of traffic?

Cleanville Tziabatz said...

Just out of curiosity:

would it have been legal for the occupants of the car to push it to the service station before you got there?

I don't think that would have been a good idea, but would it have been a crime or infraction to do that?

Moose said...

I've probably already told this tale, but my favorite "my car broke down" story is the time I blew out a tire on a mid-west state turnpike. I got the car safely to the side, put on the hazard flashers, turned the car off, called AAA, then pulled out the laptop and started watching a movie.

About 15 minutes later I saw the flashing lights of a police car behind me. The officer shined a flashlight into the car [it was about 10pm] and I was careful to keep my hands where he could see them. Then I stuck my head out the window and said, "I'm sorry, Officer, was I speeding?"

The way he burst out laughing told me I probably made his night.

Unknown said...

I think its a good thing for people to show some appreciation when they see a cop doing something they agree with. Of course they should never go into an "active" situation, but if they get the chance to go up and say "Good job", go for it.

Officer "Smith" said...

Cleanville,

I can't believe I'm actually responding to your question, but it seems like a logical one. Oddly.

Yes, it is completely legal for them to push their car out of the street. I'd actually rather they did that than sit there in the middle of the Boulevard waiting to get rear ended.

Wandering Soul said...

Glad to know there are civilians out there that appreciate what all y'all do! :)