Officers should respect the simpletons
Dear Editor,
Friday night, September 30, I was walking to my car after having a beer at Amici and wondered if I was able to legally drive. On the way there, I noticed two GC&SU officers had parked themselves in an alley. So thinking they would still be there, I had decided to ask one of the cops if I was still under the legal limit. Bad idea.
I approached the cop and told her my situation: My car is parked next to the old theater and I have only had one beer. Can I drive? She looked annoyed that I had even approached someone of her lofty status and shook her head as if my question had been phrased not in English, but in Latin.
I asked again if I could blow and make sure that I was under the legal limit. I didn’t want to leave my car downtown over night, not to mention walk all the way back to my house. Once again, no utterance of a language trickled from her lips.
The whole way home (I walked), I grew more and more angry. Why did she treat me like a simpleton? Why didn’t she at least tell me why my request could not be filled? Why would she turn away someone who wanted to avoid a DUI through being responsible?
I looked up the mission statement of GC&SU Public Safety, which I think is important to reproduce in its entirety. As students of GC&SU we are held to the Three R,s (reason, respect and responsibility) so public safety must be held to similar standards.
“We will assure, to the best of our abilities, the protection and preservation of life and property from criminal acts and physical hazards. We will increase awareness of safety issues and encourage public participation in daily crime prevention efforts. We will provide the resources and information necessary for assisting citizens under special circumstances. Our personnel will be responsible for their own standard of professional performance and will take every reasonable opportunity to enhance and improve their knowledge and competence. We will treat all persons equally with courtesy, consideration and dignity.”
If the cop that “helped” me was held to these standards, then the incident would never had occurred, and I would have found out if I could drive or not. I am angry with her actions but really can’t do anything about it beyond write this letter and hope for change.
Sincerely,
Michael Rifenburg
Student, English Major
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 14 2005. Filed under Opinion.
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