Re: Best excuse you've told or heard given to a cop!
Driving a bright red wrangler down Franklin road out the gate at the Presidio of Monterrey after a particularly crappy Seattle like day in California, I come near an intersection as the light changes yellow and I floor it to make the light. As I am jetting through the intersection I happen to look left down the side road and notice a cruiser who immediately sees me. She lights em up and I stop a block or two down where it was safe. As this gorgeous girl appoaches I catch a glimpse and point out to my buddy shotgun to take a look for himself. She gets to the window and I say "my day just got better". She smiled, couldnt have been older than 24 or 25, and asked for my papers and I get the question, why was I stopped. I said because i saw the light, didn't want to stop and gunned it through the intersection. She nodded and headed back to her cruiser, came back after a few minutes and told me she was letting me go. When she asked if I knew why i responded, "because your shift is over and you want to go home", she chuckled. I was hoping for an affirmative, because my next line was gonna be for a phone number. Unfortunately she told me because I was honest and she appreciated it. Still remember those eyes...
One more, just bought a 2003 GSXR600 Suzuki and decided that since I had never ridden a motorcycle in my life that it was a good idea to ride from my place in San Diego to a buddys house in Sierra Vista, AZ. Get to just before Yuma and decide that I haven't seen anyone in quite some time I was going to clean out the injectors on the new bike. I cut off the throttle at 160 on my speedo and as I am slowing down CHP goes by headed the other way. I freak and grab the brakes HARD, as he flips around. I made it to a stop in the next rest stop on I80 or I10(cant remember what it is at that point) before I even see the patrolman in the mirror, have my helmet off and my motorcycle LEARNERS PERMIT out. Now, you're not supposed to be on freeways in CA on just a permit, but I didn't care. As the patrolman explains to me the restrictions on the permit he looks down to see paper plates on the bike, it was a week old. He then asks if I knew how fast I was going and I explain I had the bike topped out. He said he clocked me at 130 as he got behind me, and that he should impound my bike and take me to jail. He remarks that with paper plates he couldn't even had called in a chopper to chase me and wouldn't have bothered that close to the state line. He thanks me for stopping and says that because of the un Godly heat and the time it would take for a tow truck to show up that he'd let me proceed if I promised never to speed on his highway again. To which I replied," if I do, I'm not stopping knowing what I do now." He chuckled and wrote the citation for 86 in a 70.
I was wrong twice, and those two interactions with polite, repectful, professional officers proved to me beyond the shadow of a doubt that law enforcement officers actually ARE here for my benefit. Something not yet grasped by a lot of my friends at the time.
