I performed a good deed last night...and got the police called on me!

[KansDem]

Last night I returned home from the store about 10pm and noticed a disabled car just across the street. So I called out, "anything wrong?" and the reply was "we have a flat tire." There was a young couple, about 25 or so, standing and looking down at a tire. So I walked over and asked them if they needed any help. Turns out they had a spare but no jack, so I walked back to my car and pulled the jack out and carried it over to them. The guy was able to change the tire, but their spare looked pretty low on air so I went back to my car and pulled out a foot pump and took it back to them. The guy pumped as much as he could--it's not a very good pump--so I said I had a hand pump I use for the kid's bicycles so I go back over to my house and look for the hand pump. Well, kids being kids, I couldn't find it, so I went back over to explain that there was a gas station just down the street and perhaps they could make it there on their spare. They agreed so I packed up all the equipment--the guy offered to help me but I thanked him and said it wasn't a big chore. I had everything packed away in just a few seconds. The couple thanked me profusely and as I watched them drive slowly down the street to go to the station, a police car pulled up with lights flashing. The officer got out of the car and asked me what was going on. I explained what happened, and he asked me if I live around there. I pointed to the house we were standing in front of and said that I lived there. He asked me how long, and I told him 20 years. He asked me for my I.D. to verify that so I pulled out my wallet and showed him my driver's license. He was very polite about the whole thing and explained that someone had called the police department and said something was going on so he had to check it out. He got back in his car after thanking me for helping the couple--he said it might have saved them (the police) from getting involved. I don't know who would have called the police--I suspect everyone around my house knows I live there. I told my wife and we surmised it was the old couple next door with whom we've had an acrimonious relationship for about 18 years! :grr:

Oh, and just before the couple left, I said "I have one more bit of advice..." They looked at me in anticipation, and I said, "In November, vote for the candidate whose last name ends in capital "D"!" I could see them thinking about this for a few seconds, then the woman exclaimed, "Oh, you mean ________!"* We all laughed and I bade them farewell. :hi:
________
*Insert Democratic frontrunner's name here. I didn't want to say the one she said as I didn't want this thread to be rated "GD-P."

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Well, I'm glad the cops were nice to you

and seemed to appreciate your efforts in helping the young couple. As he said, you saved him some work. And maybe next time the cops get a call from your cranky neighbors, they'll send the same officer out--who will be prejudiced in your favor.

[Warpy]

3. Most cops are nice

if you keep your cool and explain what the problem is. Few of them are real assholes, although they all have a wary attitude on the job. They're too used to seeing people at their absolute worst. It might be hard to face somebody who's that suspicious of you or your motives, just realize where it's coming from and keep your cool and you'll disarm them.

Ayesha is right. That cop will remember you and the cranks who called them.

[classof56]

2. Good job on all counts!

Glad you got a policeman who was willing to listen. Strange stuff going on these days!

Blessings to you!

Tired Old Cynic

[zanne]

4. Good for you.

It's too bad about the cop thing, though. once, when I was in college, I went home unexpectedly on a weekend and the doors were locked. I didn't have my key, so I climbed up to the roof to open a window to get in. When I got inside, there was a knock on the door. It was the cops! Apparently, somebody thought I was breaking in. (That was funny, though).

[Tesha]

5. We've been known to call the Powers-That-Be...

If we had been your neighbors and noticed the goings-on, we
probably would have been nosy enough to come out and ask if
there was "anything we could do to help", just to make sure
that you were all set and safe. And, heck, we have a 3HP air
compressor all pumped up and ready to go at a moment's
notice, so our call on you might even have been useful :) !

But if we didn't know you and couldn't understand what was
going on, we wouldn't have been shy about calling the police
or whatever emergency services might have been appropriate.

Story: Just before Christmas, in our neighborhood, we heard
the sound of somebody's smoke-detector going off. Yes, even
outside, such things can be heard. And it went off steadily
for a minute or more so it wasn't just somebody pushing the
button to make sure the batteries were still alive. Mr. Tesha
asked me to come out and confirm what he was hearing; I did.
So we called the fire company and explained to them what we were
hearing. They came, spoke to us, investigated the neighborhood,
but didn't find anything so they reported back to us. We asked
whether we had done the right thing and they assured us we had.

It's a neighborhood. It's a community. We all should watch
out for each other. You "done good" and so did the officer.

Tesha

[onyourleft]

6. Very nice of you to do this.

However, don't you know that no good deed shall go unpunished? :)