The shift began like any other night shift. I was alert and made sure that vehicles did not violate traffic laws.. It wasn’t long before I saw a car that had an expired registration and a brake light that was out. I pulled over the car and immediately explained to the young woman behind the wheel why I stopped her. I expected this to be a routine and quick stop. For me just to issue a warning and heads-up to fix the brake light and to continue the night trying to prevent more serious infractions such as stopping speeding vehicles. I was dead wrong!
The young woman introduced herself as Bonnie and said she did not have her license on her. When Bonnie said that she looked a little nervous. Now, I must say that most people would assume that forgetting your license isn’t a big deal. We in law enforcement however come across folks very often who use the “I forgot my license” excuse when it is suspended or when the State took it away. Usually, there is a quick way to check the license. It is by using the government system that all law enforcement has access to. We just type in the number on the license or the provided driver’s name and the system will show us the status. That is when my first problem began. I typed the information into the system but got no response back. I stared at my computer perplexed for a few seconds and suddenly my radio went off. “All officers; be advised that the system is down STATEWIDE”, the dispatcher announced. I felt deflated.. You see, when the system goes down it can take minutes, hours or even days before the system can be up again.. There is simply no telling. So do I just let this person go who may possibly have a suspended license or do I find another way for her to volunteer the information? I gave it a shot to see if she would provide more details..
So I walked up to Bonnie and asked “Why are you driving when your license might be suspended?” It felt like an eternity before she responded but in reality, it was a few seconds. “Look I know I did not get my license reinstated but I paid some of the fees and thought that would be enough”, she says. I could not believe she admitted it. I did my best to make sure my face didn’t show that surprised look and calmly told her to call someone to come get the car because it would be illegal for her to drive. I felt bad for her and did not want to impound her vehicle. I also did not feel comfortable arresting her because I could not confirm the suspended license since the system was down. Letting her drive though, was out of the questions. How I wish for the system to be back online!
A few minutes later a male showed up to pick up Bonnie and the car. He introduced himself as Clyde. When Clyde opened the door to his car, it was as though the entire street became covered by the smell of weed. Clyde walked over and said, “Hey, I’m here to get Bonnie.” I asked for Clyde’s license, which is standard procedure to make sure he was legal to drive. I went back by habit to put the information into the system when I remembered that it was down. Oh well I thought, I might as well give it a try hoping that just maybe it was working again … and wouldn’t you know; it was! Clyde’s license came back valid and clean. I then checked Bonnie’s information and the system indeed showed that it was suspended. At this point, I knew that Bonnie would have to go to jail but I now had to search Clyde’s car to figure out this offensive smell. This was going to take some time, so I figured I would arrest Bonnie after the search so that she wouldn’t have to be in handcuffs for too long.
I went back to Clyde and said “Sir, Your license is good but your car reeks of the smell of weed. I’m going to have to search your vehicle. Is there anything inside?” Clyde laughed and said “Nah. Go ahead. I don’t have anything in there.” Before I began to search I stopped and asked Clyde “Why would you come here if you know your car smells like weed?” He responded by saying “Well I couldn’t smell it and I didn’t think you would care.” (A symptom of heavy marijuana usage is that the user is no longer able to smell it). I walked to Clyde’s car to do the search and before I even had my fingers on the door, Bonnie jumped out of her car and began yelling. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING TO HIS CAR?” I calmly explained to Bonnie “Well ma’am, his car smells like weed so I am going to have to search it. Marijuana is illegal here and he decided on his own to come to the police while smelling heavily like it. So I am going to continue to do my job now.” She continued to yell at me and said “You ain’t searching nothing!” Hurry up and give me my tickets so we can leave. I sighed and said “Ma’am, I was trying to wait until I was done searching to do this but go ahead and put your hands behind your back. You are going to jail for driving with a suspended license.” Bonnie looked at me shocked and said “It’s fine. I’ll go back to my car and stop yelling.” I responded by saying “Bonnie. I am only going to say this one more time. Put your hands behind your back.” “I thought you were letting me go!” yelled Bonnie. I just shook my head and said “I specifically told you to get someone to get the car. I never said you could leave.” I put Bonnie in handcuffs and walked her over to my car. She stopped and said, “ I am not going in there. I am claustrophobic.” “Bonnie, the back seat of my car is as big as the front seat of your car. I will even put the window down for you if that makes you feel better.” Bonnie shook her head and said “No. I am staying out here.” “Look at me,” I said to Bonnie. “Apparently, I have not made myself clear to you. So listen. You are under arrest. There is no negotiating or bargaining. I promise to make this as quick and comfortable as possible but you have to listen to what I tell you to make that happen. So get in the car now.” Realizing the seriousness in my tone and that there was no way out of the situation, Bonnie got into the back of my car.
I went back over to Clyde and once again asked if there was anything in his vehicle I needed to be aware of. He again said no. I searched the car and found that it was full of weed. The weed was not even hidden. I called Clyde over to me and asked “Why would you show up with weed in your car man?” “I forgot it was there…” he said. (Another symptom of marijuana usage is forgetfulness over time) A few minutes later Bonnie and Clyde were reunited in the back seat of my police car. Together forever in love!!
[https://ourstoriesfrombehindthebadge.wordpress.com/2023/06/13/bonnie-and-clyde-sort-of/]