apropos of anything

I got a ticket today for “not obeying traffic laws” when I turned from Baker St. onto Centennial Olympic Park Dr. It’s an odd intersection in that Baker is one-way, and COP is one-way, but the other side of Baker is two-way, which means they have a sign posted to clarify that you cannot take a left turn on a red light like you normally can when turning from a one-way onto a one-way.

The officer said the light was red when I turned. I know it wasn’t. It had just turned yellow as I hit the intersection, which means it was almost definitely still yellow when I cleared the intersection. As I turned, I saw the two cops on their bikes sitting in the shadow of the Inforum building. I saw one of them turn to look at the light, but by that time, I was well clear of the intersection.

My problem isn’t so much that I got a ticket. I’m not thrilled about it, but it’s not the kind of thing that typically stays with me all day. My problem isn’t really that the cop lied (repeatedly, and through his teeth) either because that says more about him than it does about me.

My problem is that the cop accused me of lying.

I wasn’t. I don’t appreciate being made to feel like I was. If he’d claimed the light changed while I was in the intersection, I’d know he was lying to me, but again, that would say more about him than it did about me, and I’d get over it. Instead, he described the incident as though I’d deliberately turned on a red.

I know why he did it, and I know it still says more about him than it does about me. But I do not lie. His insinuation that I do, or that I was, makes me feel angry and dirty all at the same time. Just because the Atlanta Police Department has problems with honesty (and, from what I hear from “the inside”, racism) doesn’t mean they should be treating me as though I’m one of them.

I can’t wait until the next time a telemarketer calls asking for a donation on behalf of the APD.

Post a comment

Name: (required)

Email Address: (will not be published) (required)

URL:

Comments: