Arriving today in Tucson, I’m at a gas station filling up my truck in preparation for heading back to California. A police car drives up and parks at the store’s curb. I grab my notebook and approach the officer, wishing he was a womon but somewhat relieved to see he’s not white. I tell him I was almost run off the road earlier. I stress that if it wasn’t for my excellent reflexes and driving abilities, the other driver would have been toast. He appears to treat my complaint seriously, takes down all the information, sits into his car and runs the guys plates as I peer at the computer screen trying to decipher what it says. ‘no priors’ I think.
The cop explains the only thing they can do is pick him up and talk with him about reckless driving. I tell the cop I appreciate that. I emphasize my concern: if he is willing to violently tackle my truck which is so much bigger than his, what is he willing to do to someone driving a small vehicle? I mention he’s probably the kind that one day will go off hurting folks and people will claim they had no warning. I seriously ask the cop if he doesn’t think this is a warning. He looks at my big truck, then at me, nodding as he assures me they will ‘have a talk’ with this guy and find out why he did it.
“He did it because he thinks he has the right to attempt to run me off the road because he disagrees with me.”
“Well, that’s not right and he shouldn’t” says the officer. I thank him and return to my truck.
