Barbara Elovic: An Encounter with the Police

A few years ago on a Saturday afternoon in late fall I had a surprisingly unpleasant encounter with one of New York’s finest. As I was starting to cross the street to get to my apartment, a flashy blue car, either a BMW or Mercedes, turned the corner and almost hit me. He was going at least sixty miles an hour.

The driver in the fancy car left it right in the middle of the street, which happens to be heavy with traffic at all hours, jumped out and said to me, “That does it. Now I’m going to be late.  What am I going to do now?” His suit was probably as pricy as his European import.

Meanwhile a taxi rear-ended his treasured vehicle and broke one of the taillights.

He turned to me & said,  “You saw that wasn’t my fault.”

“What are you talking about? You almost hit me,” I answered. “And you just left the car in the middle of traffic.”

I went over to the cab. A couple got out and said they had to rush and catch a plane. They had a baby with them. I asked if they were okay. The woman thanked me and they began to rush off saying they had a plane to catch.

Fancy Suit flagged down a police car. He then beckoned the officer over and while standing behind his car so that I couldn’t hear or see what went on between them. (My guess is that he either gave the cop money or mentioned his high position in the social hierarchy.)

The police officer then approached and told me I was an effing pain in the ass who was looking for trouble.

He continued to use language like this throughout the entire episode. I asked for his badge number. He said, “Sure, babe,” and began to wriggle his chest at me as if had been a Chippendale dancer before becoming a cop. He had begun screaming at everybody and hurling obscenities. He yelled at the man of couple, as he was walking away. He called him an effing asshole for leaving the scene.

I told the cabbie that I didn’t think he was to blame and gave him my phone number and name and said I’d be happy to testify on his behalf if he needed that. He handed me a glossy piece of paper on which the couple had each written a name and phone number.

The guy whom I believe had caused the accident continued yelling. I told him a baby might have died because of him. He glared at me in answer.

I said something to the cop about his talking inappropriately to us. Cursing wasn’t called for. We were talking over each other and he said, ”Lady, you don’t listen.”

While I had been checking with the cabbie I looked back and saw the cop and the suited guy huddling together, suited guy had his arm over the cop’s shoulder.

The cop began complaining that this wasn’t even his precinct and we were all wasting his time.

A second police car came over and a black man and woman in uniform got out of the car.  When I offered to talk to them, the male officer just said to me, “Go away from here now.”

— by Barbara Elovic writing for Vox Populi