32 Grams of Praise
As a police officer, you often come in contact with other police agencies. It wasn’t uncommon for me to see two or three other police forces during a shift. Usually, they would pull over a car in their jurisdiction but the car would end up stopping in my jurisdiction. So as a courtesy I would wait by the officer until he finished the traffic stop for example. On one occasion, near the end of my shift, I saw a deputy pull over a car right by me. I knew that the sheriff’s department was short staffed so I decided to back him up. A few seconds before I got to him a State Trooper pulled up to assist him as well. I knew the State Trooper a little bit. His name was Hernandez and he was a pretty friendly guy. Hernandez and I jumped out of the car and walked over to Deputy Billy. Deputy Billy greeted us by saying; “Boys, I think I got a good one. Wait here and I’ll tell you when I need you”. Hernandez and I agreed and we stood nearby and began to talk. When cops get together they love telling stories. So while Billy did his thing, Hernandez and I were catching up on some of the funny things that happened since the last time we saw each other. Hernandez and I were laughing at each other having such a good time that we completely forgot about Billy.
All of a sudden we hear “Guys” and Billy gives us a look; the one that all cops know. It means someone is going to jail. Hernandez and I put on our serious faces and we walked to the car as Billy arrested the driver. “Good job,” Billy said. “Now I’m going to search the car. You guys wait here.” Hernandez and I picked up where we left off. Once again we are laughing at our funny stories. A few seconds go by and we hear “HA!” Billy walks over to us with a big bag of weed. “I knew it,” Billy said. “I think it’s over an ounce.” In my jurisdiction an ounce of weed can get you a felony conviction and possibly a charge as a drug dealer with intentions to distribute. Billy said “wait. I’m going to weigh it. A few seconds later Billy puts it on the scale and the scale shows 32 grams. Billy then stands back, stares at us and grins as if he is waiting for something. I look at Hernandez for a clue as to what Billy wants and he looks just as confused as me. So with as much enthusiasm as I could muster while still confused I said “Great job man! That’s awesome.” Following my lead, Hernandez says “uh… Yeah man, that’s amazing.” Nodding and grinning Billy walked to his car to secure the drugs. As soon as Billy left I whispered to Hernandez “Dude I have no clue how much 32 grams is. Is that a lot?” Hernandez replied, “Dude I don’t know either.” All of a sudden we hear “28.6 grams is an ounce.” Both Hernandez and I jumped because we didn’t think anyone could’ve heard us. But Billy did hear our conversation and decided to come over and explain the law to us. Afterward, Hernandez and I gave Billy the honest praise that he deserved.
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