Imagination

Once upon a time…I need you to use your imagination. You are a state police officer in an adjoining state. It is 10pm, summertime, on a Saturday night on a state highway in the middle of the state. There is very little traffic in this very rural mostly farm land area.

You pass an out of state truck going the opposite direction with furniture in the back. Your fixed mounted, forward facing radar suggests the truck may be slightly exceeding the posted speed limit. You decide to investigate and pull over the truck.

Inside the truck is a man and a woman, both in their early fifties.  The driver and passenger are both wearing their seatbelts.  You ask the normal investigation questions (where are you going?, do you know how fast you were going?).  You ask for the driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance.  Without reservation, the driver hands over his license.  The driver states that the registration and proof of insurance is in the console where there is also a pistol.  What would you do?

In my case, yes, I was the driver, my grandmother had passed away and the only household item I wanted from her estate was a lounging chair my grandfather had in his office. We were driving home, cutting a diagonal path through Missouri. It was late and we wanted to get home. 

The trooper, based on his training and experience, asked me if the pistol was in a holster (it was).  He then asked me to grab it by the butt only and put it on the dash (remember it is dark in a rural area).  I carefully complied.  I found my registration and proof of insurance.  He asked me about the weapon.  The brand was a better brand of pistol and this company had recently (at that time) released a new subcompact version that was news worthy.  After I explained that my pistol wasn’t that new release, we had a brief conversation regarding how good of a weapon this company made. He took my information back to his cruiser to check it out.

When he returned, he had decided to give me a warning and asked me to be more cognizant of my speed and sent me on my way.  As we are pulling away, my wife started making fun of me saying that she can’t believe that I was pulled over by a trooper that would engage me in a pleasant conversation about gun makers and features and then let me off.

“If a man is righteous and does what is just and right— if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.” - Ezekiel 18:5-9 ESV

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:36-40 ESV

I truly believe my attitude, posture and demeanor were the deciding factor for the trooper to give me a warning instead of a ticket.  What I’ve pondered ever since that encounter is what I did to ease his mind that I wouldn’t try to use my gun against him? 

I’ve always understood that police officers have a very difficult and dangerous job.  As much as people complain that a small percentage of officers operate on a power trip or, worse, are corrupt, a great majority are honorably trying to protect us from our sins we inflect on each other.  The next time you read or see something, try to stop and consider the situation from both sides.