"Archangel" Ira Could Not Stand For This Anymore.

One night while on patrol, I observed a sheriff's deputy making a traffic stop on the street just off the exit ramp of the freeway.  Parking my squad car directly behind his I got out and walked up to "cover" him. The nicely dressed young man who had been driving the auto walked back to the deputy, stood between the two vehicles, presented his license, and politely asked "Why am I being stopped?" The deputy acted as if he had never heard the question and began walking around the man's auto apparently looking for equipment and registration violations. The young man followed the deputy as he walked around his auto and repeated his question several more times. Why am I being stopped?" he continued to ask. The deputy never responded to the requests.

All of a sudden, as they returned to the starting point between the two vehicles, the deputy spun around, grabbed the young man, and threw him face down on the trunk of his auto. I had not seen anything out of the ordinary but maybe the deputy had seen something I hadn't. "Maybe the guy had a gun."  I thought.  I quickly assisted the deputy and we wrestled with the young man in order to place him in handcuffs. When the deputy had thrown him onto the trunk he had become thoroughly agitated and it took some doing to restrain him. I still didn't know why he had been arrested. I stood back and realized that my left uniform shirt pocket had been ripped almost completely off as I unsuccessfully attempted to grab my ballpoint pens as they fell to the ground.

"Did you hear him threaten me?" The deputy then said. Although I had been right there, I had never heard anything like that. The young man had never threatened the deputy. I had not heard anything that even remotely resembled a threat. I looked at the deputy and said nothing in return.

Shaking my head, I returned to my squad car, advised the dispatcher that I was back "in service" and drove away from the scene before the prisoner wagon arrived.  I was deeply troubled by the incident. Several hours later I received a message to "call the shift commander" and when I complied I was instructed to meet the same sheriff's deputy in the district attorney's office at 8:00 A.M. the following morning.

I arrived at the district attorney's office right on time.  The deputy sheriff, who I will now refer to as the Prevaricator, was already present.  Webster's Dictionary defines the word prevaricator as "One who strays from or evades the truth." The young man, who was in custody but not present, was being held at the county jail. After a long two hours of waiting, during which the two of us said nothing to each other, an assistant district attorney ushered us into his office.  I listened as the Prevaricator told the prosecutor "I stopped the man for speeding on the freeway. Upon approaching his vehicle he became loud and profane and refused my repeated requests to quiet down. He got out of his vehicle, threatened to kick my ass and took a swing at me." the Prevaricator added, "I was forced to arrest him, and place him in handcuffs, for my own protection." His entire statement was a lie. Nothing even remotely close to his version had occurred.

At that point, I told the assistant district attorney that the deputy was not telling the truth and that I would not support any prosecution of the young man.  I also requested a district attorney’s  investigation into the deputy's conduct. He listened to my story and made a few notes on the legal pad, placed in front of him, on the desk.  If  looks could kill the deputy sheriff would have killed me right then and there. The assistant district attorney stated, "I will take a good look at the case and get back to you." I left the courthouse and drove home.

At roll call later that evening, I was instructed to see the lieutenant prior to beginning my patrol. On entering his office, he said, "The chief has instructed me to notify you that an assistant district attorney has reported you for being unprepared, and without notes, when you appeared in his office earlier in the day. I was stunned. The assistant district attorney had complained about me in order to protect the deputy sheriff. I attempted to explain what had actually occurred but it was obvious that the lieutenant did not want to know. "I don’t want to hear about it." He said. He was a "team player" and I wasn’t and anyway he was not interested in "making waves". He would sell me out in a New York minute to protect the status quo.

He said, "Consider yourself reprimanded." and instructed me to begin my shift. I did so, but went home several hours early, advising the dispatcher that I was sick. I was sick, and I was tired. Very tired.

Years later, long after I had left the department and won a substantial law suit against the city, I happened to meet the young man in a supermarket. We had both been shopping and he recognized and approached me. He looked terrible and I would never have recognized him. He told me that the assistant district attorney had eventually charged him with disorderly conduct and attempted battery to a police officer, that the deputy sheriff had lied to the jury, and that he had been convicted of both charges.  Because of that, he had served 6 months in the House of Correction, lost his job and his fiancee, became severely depressed, and had been institutionalized for a period of time. He had been "ruined" by the Prevaricator and the unethical prosecutor. Before we parted company, I gave him one of my business cards and told him to call me. But he never did.  I never saw him again, but I think of him often.

I did see that deputy sheriff again. He had been promoted to sergeant and was serving as the senior investigator with the internal affairs division of the sheriff's department.  It had become his job to investigate citizen complaints against other deputy sheriffs. That figured. It was the perfect job for him.

Every good cop has a similar story or stories about this kind of law enforcement officer.