NOTE: while shooting this video the light was flickering, it stopped and didn’t do it again. I wondered why, today while editing it I realized it was the other cop who long passed Eddie thanking me.
While on Patrol in sector 6-2 a call comes from dispatch that a male in a black Pontiac along with the plate number had just made several purchases with a credit card. The merchant couldn’t confirm whether the card was stolen or not because the credit card computers were down, but he felt strongly the cards were stolen.
While on my way to backing up 6-3 I was feeling the cards were definitely stolen. Upon arriving at the location Eddie in 6-3 had the vehicle stopped I noticed a package tied to
the roof of the vehicle and immediately got the “feeling” the cards were stolen. The other officer Eddie had talked to him & was convinced the kid in the car was okay. I asked Eddie the officer in 6-3 if he minded if I spoke with him. He said no it’s fine but he was sure the operator was a good guy.
I approached the vehicle & asked the operator if he had his license, he said he had left it at home. I asked if he had any Identification, and he said no, but he was holding a wallet. He had already given Eddie the name of the person in the wallet as his own. Which would have checked out fine.
My radar was telling me he was lying, I had no reason to believe he was lying to us just my radar. I asked him if I could see the wallet and he handed it to me. There was a photo of a white family, a boy, a girl, a husband & wife. When I asked him who they were he confirmed my instincts, he gave me three male names and one female name. Leon, Juwan, Leroy and Leticia. When I confronted him about it, he said he thought it was another photo.
At this point, our lieutenant showed up and asked what was happening. Once Eddie explained the situation, the Lt said to issue him 3 summons and let him go. He added that if the cards were stolen, we could lock him up when he came to pay for the tickets.
I told the Lt the kid was paying for the tickets like he was paying for the stuff in his car, let me take him on the License and Insurance. I was ordered not to arrest him. I told Eddie when he issued the tickets not to put my name on anything, I said I’m a ghost I’m not here this is going bad.
As Ed was issuing the tickets the operator came back to ask if I could take him to a phone booth (yeah that’s how long ago it happened) I got a feeling this kid was going to get in the car and once I stopped he was off and running. I told him to give me the number and I would have HQ make the call. He said to me he couldn’t remember the number. That was it, I asked him to follow me to HQ. On the way he through the photo out the window.
Once in HQ, I found out who the owner of the cards was and who the kid was. Both worked together John Smith (yes that was his real name) the owner of the cards was in his 40’s this kid was 24.
I got the kid to give me a confession, by telling him John was on his way in, the truth is we couldn’t locate John at the time. He ended up confessing telling me John left his wallet in his coat, the kid saw it & took it then went on a shopping spree.
The short story Eddie and the LT wanted to just let him go, but I got the feeling I should talk to him, once I spoke with him, I knew he was lying.
The kid got 2 weeks’ time served, I got pulled out of the car & walked the next two years until I retired because I made my boss look stupid. Who won on that one I just wish my souls had kept their mouths shut… LOL https://youtu.be/Bkdi9vMESPg