I Hate Cops. Why Do We Have ‘Blue Friday’?

(Just so everyone knows this came from my imagination, this is not actually a true story but sadly, it could be. I just wanted to try to understand how hard it is for Police Officers and their families do deal with this reality. God Bless, ...Sean)

Sarah hated overnights. As she sat in patrol car parked off the side of the road, she couldn't help but wonder where the world goes.  It's so quiet.  Even more so than usual and she came to the conclusion that , that must be why she had such an uneasy feeling all night.  She wasn't tired but her mind did start to wander as she made her way through the quietness.  " How many cars have even gone by in the last hour? Two?" She asked herself.

Just as that thought came to her she heard what she before now, was convinced she wouldn't be dealing with tonight. The clear sound of a car speeding.  It's weird how you can tune your hearing that way. It's subtle sometimes but there is clearly a difference in the sound of an approaching car when the driver is  not letting his foot  back off the accelerator.  She got ready, took the cruiser out of park and fastened her seat belt.  Two minutes ago she couldn't believe how bored she was and now she kind of wished this person had gone down a different road tonight.

Turns out it was two persons. Two males to be exact, back seat appears empty and tags and plates are all there.  You never can completely tell, but she seemed pretty confident as the men sped by, completely unaware of her presence, that the driver probably wasn't a DUI candidate.  That is a good thing.  She wouldn't have to call out another car and do the field sobriety test and more so , the paperwork an arrest would entail. No, probably a couple of guys who stayed out a little too late on their "boys night" and figured getting home ten minutes sooner might make their wives that much less mad.

She grabbed the radio as she pulled out, and called the speeder into the dispatcher.  She settled in behind the car and read the plate numbers over the radio to Kim.  Sarah was all too aware that she had probably pulled Kim away from her latest romance novel and would get the information she needed pretty quickly because that "sweating , shirtless man in the novel did NOT like to wait!" Sure enough Sarah heard the thing she was really most concerned with, the vehicle is not reported as stolen. Should be a pretty routing stop and ticket.  Yet just the fact that she was thinking about this in the first place was just a reminder that she did feel uneasy.  She turned on the lights. And she waited.

The good thing was the driver did not speed up when the lights went on, the bad thing was he didn't slow down either.  Sarah knew it was a dark night, with little or no traffic, there was no way the driver was unaware that he was being pulled over. And as there is ample shoulder he was clearly not waiting for a safe place to do it.  She flicked the siren on and off and waited to see his brake lights go on. After a half mile they did.  So, maybe not routine after all. Sarah ran through the possibilities of why it took so long for the man to pull over.  The most obvious was the first in her mind and she went with it.  Open container more than likely , hiding some pot was not out of the question either. Truth is, this close to quitting time, if it isn't apparent by sight or smell when she gets to the car, she will not be digging much further into it.

She put her patrol car in park and got out. Grabbed her radio and nightstick and walked slowly toward the car.  That uneasy feeling hadn't gotten much better but she was relieved that it wasn't really that much worse. She watched for the drivers side window to come down as she slowly approached the car. Her hand resting on her pistol and her eyes scanning the car carefully for any sudden movements. Everything seemed fine. The men were calm as far as she could see, and while she couldn't see their hands, there shoulders and upper bodies seemed relaxed.  All good so far.  Why isn't he rolling his window down?  Is this guy a total moron? Has he never been pulled over before? Hell, has he never watched a Cop show on TV?

"Sir, I'm gonna need you to roll down your window and I need to see your hands on the steering wheel please."  She felt a little relief when at last this guy seemed to get an idea of what he was doing and quickly complied. She walked slowly along the side of the car, looking in the back seat with her flashlight. Nothing. More relief. She turned her eyes toward the passenger now as she approached the drivers side window. His hands she could see , he had them resting in clear view on his knees as she got closer. More relief. There was no apparent sign of alcohol or drugs at this point so yes, maybe this would be a pretty easy ticket and she'd be on her way back to the station and home.

"Sir, I'm gonna need to see your license, registration and proof of insurance."

"Yes, Ma'am" came the response.  She listened closely for any sign that he was more nervous than the typical speeder. Nothing made her uneasy about his demeanor.  The men , both in their thirties seemed pretty typical to her, and if she was being totally honest, the driver was kind of cute.  She found herself liking him a little bit more when he had all of the items she asked for already on the dash. Perhaps this wasn't his first time on this merry go round she thought. The thought almost made her smile to herself.

Sarah took the items and passed the insurance card and registration back to the driver. All was as it should be.  She looked closely at the driver's license as she asked the men " Where you guys headed to in such a hurry tonight?"

"Home " the driver said. Now there was something in the voice. It was one word but she heard it.  Her heart jumped in her chest as drew her eyes from the license back to the car. It's amazing all the things that happen in a second. Amazing how many thoughts can concurrently come to into your mind and all of them so clear.  The first of course was , "ahh s---".  The others a little more complex. The one that was the most clear to her was the thought of her daughter. She could see her face smiling back at her from her bed when she tucked her in earlier. She could hear, in her ears, at this very moment every inflection of the "I love you Mommy, be safe." her daughter said as she left the room.  She could feel her warm forehead on her lips as if she were kissing her now.  Even as in the corner of her eye she could see the gun rising up towards her.

The passenger! Damn it, where was it? under his seat? No, there wasn't enough time and she would have caught the movement in her peripheral. Had to have it at his side. "God, did it matter!" she thought as she dropped the license to the ground and unsnapped her holster.  She began to move backwards as she did, backwards and away from the passenger's line of sight. Even as she did it she knew it was too late.  She knew. How long had it been since she saw the gun?  a half second? a year?

"I love you Mommy, be safe." Louder and clearer in her head now. She knew it was in her mind but at the time she could almost swear she was saying the words out loud, "I love you too baby, so much. Mommy loves..."

(Dedicated to my friend, "Katie The Cop", may you always be safe.)

There's an old expression I like, "Everyone hates lawyers, 'til you need one".  I think in many ways people feel the same way about Cops. Let's be honest, who hasn't hated the cop who pulled them over? Or heard a story about a "bad" cop and thought, " See, they're all the same, no better than anyone else."  The truth is that part of that, most of them would agree with. While they are not at all "all alike", most are well aware they are not better than the people they serve.

They are people just like you.  Men and women who have a job to do , and they try to do it the best they can.  They have bosses to answer to, red tape to deal with and in most cases, families to take care of as well. NO, they are not "better" but hey are different.  And in many ways their lives are very different as well. For them, and their families. They have to live with the possibility of that story coming true every day. Every time they go to work.

Tomorrow morning , the Sean and Richie Show will be broadcasting our show live at Denooyer Chevy on Wolf Road in Colonie. And Pizzeria Uno off exit 15 of the Northway in Saratoga.  We will be celebrating a Holiday officially recognized by New York State as Blue Friday.  This is a Holiday we created to honor the men and women who face the possibility of leaving the most important thing in their lives behind if they die in the line of duty, their families.  All too sadly they do.  Every year there seems to be a new families to help.  And we will.  And you will. By stopping by one of our locations and buying a blue carnation, a shirt, a hat or even just to make a donation. Please take a few extra minutes tomorrow morning to show your support. There will be many representatives of Law Enforcement there as well .  Believe me , every time they see the support the Capital Region gives on Blue Friday it makes their willingness to put there lives at stake to protect us, make a little more sense. I'll see you in the morning.

God Bless.