A Glimpse Into the Life Of PR

[personalreality]

I wasn't planning to share this here, but you guys always support me so I wanted to let you know a little about something that happened in my life.

I was in a car accident last saturday.  It was my fault, I looked at my cell phone and rear ended someone.  My airbags didn't deploy and I hit my head on the steering wheel and got knocked silly.  In my delirious state the officer decided I must have been on drugs and so he arrested me.  I was too dazed to say anything besides "I don't feel very good".  He ignored me and took my straight to jail where I had to spend the night.  I was charged with DUID (Driving Under the Influence of Drugs), which I wasn't.  Most of you know I have had a drug problem that I've been fighting for a long time, but I really wasn't high. 

It just seems so messed up that when I'm finally getting my life in order, I get slammed with bullcrap like this.  I've got a great attorney and I'm contesting the charge.  There are a lot of details that make this whole case a bunch of crap and my lawyer believes he can get it dropped.

But what really gets me is how I was treated.  I was dizzy, dazed, in shock and ultimately found out I had a concussion (I went to the hospital today and had a CAT Scan).  But instead of offering medical assistance, the officer arrested me.  Then he repeatedly denied me my right to call my attorney.  I wasn't read my rights, I was treated poorly and now I have to deal with all this legal crap.  It just pisses me off that a cop can pretty much do whatever he or she wants.  He wouldn't even allow me to exchange insurance info with the people I hit (the cop was sitting at a gas station next to the stop light so he saw it all happen and was on me before I even got out of my car).

Anyway, I just needed to vent a little.  I went to the hospital today and checked out ok.  I got a concussion, whiplash and plenty of muscle stress in my back and one hell of a sciatica flare up.  But I'm alive and I'll be alright.  Thanks for letting me share.

-PR

[Contenteo]

I'm glad to hear you are alright buddy. That just sucks.

I know it sounds like crap now, but try to remember that the universe tends to unfold as it should. Things happen for reasons that you can never really understand until quite some time later in hindsight.

Hope it all goes smooth otherwise.

Cheers,
Contenteo

[Made O pHI]

I agree with Contento.

I do believe, if I'm not mistaken, you have the right to sue the cop.
He didn't read you your rights, violation number one on his part.
He didn't have any suspicion that you were UTI (I'm guessing), so he has no right to assume and arrest you. Violation number two.

But what really gets me is how I was treated.  I was dizzy, dazed, in shock and ultimately found out I had a concussion (I went to the hospital today and had a CAT Scan).  But instead of offering medical assistance, the officer arrested me.  Then he repeatedly denied me my right to call my attorney.  I wasn't read my rights, I was treated poorly and now I have to deal with all this legal crap.  It just pisses me off that a cop can pretty much do whatever he or she wants.  He wouldn't even allow me to exchange insurance info with the people I hit (the cop was sitting at a gas station next to the stop light so he saw it all happen and was on me before I even got out of my car).

Just remember to bring all this up in court. Seems like you should have an easy case, maybe this is your time to get some extra money
They can't do whatever they want, sometimes you gotta show them your balls in order to get respect from them because they THINK, and want you to think, they can do whatever they want like they're above the law when they aren't in no shape or form.

Every time I have to deal with cops and I know I'm innocent I just show them that a little plastic badge isn't gonna make me scared and after that they stop acting like Mr. Bad cop and start showing you some respect. Just be honest with it

Best of luck to you my friend !

[AstralCody]

Hey PR. First off... Really glad you are okay. I have wanted to be a policeman my whole life. There definitely are good ones, but there are also definitely cops that should not be working the streets. I actually went to the police academy (For a little bit) but never finished. Did you have medical check you out at all? I know when I was with the fire dept anytime someone was involved in a collision of any sort the cops would always request us. Even if they just had a few scrapes. If you were dizzy and dazed I wouldn't have placed you in cuffs #1... that's goofy and is very unfair.

Wish you the best bud... Glad you are alright and I hope you get everything settled.

[Pauli2]

I would try to check if this cop has done similar things in other cases,
perhaps your lawyer can help you with such a search, to improve
the chances for your case?

Also, I would wear a seat belt as people have been killed by their
airbags as the car slows to a halt and they get their head close to
the airbag before the explosives go off on impact.

[Mini stapler]

Sorry to hear that PR, glad no one was was seriously hurt. It doesn't surprise me at all that you got treated this way though, my teenage years living in a poor and run down area were stained with consistently bad experiences with the police. I think that comes down to the way the police operate in general though, your situation sounds more like negligence on the individual officers part, human stupidity creeping out it's ugly head. Can almost smell the odour of charges being dropped and compensation being paid Good luck man.

[Xanth]

Hey PR,

Yeah that sounds like you got the raw end of that one.   Sorry to hear.
Everyone here is correct though,  this is an open and shut case.   You can't lose.

[personalreality]

@ Pauli:  I was wearing my seat belt, but I guess it didn't lock, so I still whacked my head on the steering wheel.  My mom is a claims adjuster for Geico and has been with the company for 20+ years and has told me that people get hurt worse by airbag deployment than other things all the time.  She says it happens all the time, people who would have otherwise come out of an accident completely unscathed get all kinds of lacerations and chemical burns on their faces from the airbag deployment.  So, yea, I totally agree with you.


The cop took me to the hospital and had blood drawn (hoping to get lucky I guess), but he brought his own blood kit and he took the blood with him to be "sent off to a federal testing facility".  The cop is a state trooper rather than the city police or county sheriff.  So I was even at the hospital and he still wouldn't let me get checked out.

But here's my problem.  I think I can beat it, but it still may be tricky.  I'm currently on a kind of "opiate replacement" medication called Suboxone.  It's similar to methadone.  While I have a prescription for it, my blood test is going to test positive for opiates.  While I'm pretty sure it won't stick.  My lawyer says that even if he has to bring in a medical expert to testify to proper therapeutic dosage, he will.  But it's still frustrating that I have to go through all of this mess and that cop can mess with my life like this.  Police state if you ask me. 

I'm not a litigious person, so I don't care about suing for money, but my family really wants me to file a civil suit and have the cop fired.

It is what it is I guess.  I believe all will turn out well, but this kind of crap really messes up your day.  And in all likelihood, my trial won't even be for another month or two or more. 

Thanks for your kind words everyone.

[ange.connell]

Hey PR

Happy to know you're ok. You seem like one of the good guys and there are not many around these days. You take care and lets hope you get the justice you deserve. Like they say what goes around comes around

Ange