LEO stuck in bad weather

[Hopyard]

Getting a ticket for pulling someone out of a ditch?

You've GOT to be kidding me.
Now I remember why I live here in the South.

I don't know that to be a Northern thing. I wonder if we are talking about a local city thing, like in Milwaukee rather
than WI?

There are lots of big cities where the towing companies and the cab companies gain a foothold of influence
on the city councils, and stuff like that gets passed on the local level. They get laws passed that help them gain
business.

Corrupt? You bet. Unusual? No. Not really.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[HotGuns]

A story...

About 25 years ago,my wife was driving to town with me in the passenger seat and my 2 year old son in a car seat in the back. She was pregnant with my second son and got motion sickness very easily, so she would drive and it seemed to be OK.

Living on a dirt road that was a half mile to the highway, we had to pick up our newspaper in a mailbox right off the highway as they wouldn't come down to the house to drop it off.

So she pulled over for me to get it, and because it had been raining all week, that big ole Lincoln Town Car slipped right off of the road and into a ditch. The car was sitting at a pretty good angle and the tires were spinning. There was no way that it was coming out on its own. So here we are on a muddy road, car in the ditch,kid in the back,pregnant wife, and it was beginning to look like we were all going to have to get out and walk home. At that time, there was no such thing as a cell phone. I got out, in the ditch, full of water, and walked around the back to see if there was anything that I could do.

I'll admit that I was not in the best of spirits. I wasn't mad at my wife really, I was mad because it happened at a time when it was less than convenient, but really when something like that happens is it ever convenient? My feet were wet, muddy and we had somewhere we needed to be.

Several vehicles blew by, none even slowed down. I was getting ready to tote the kid and the wife back to the house.The road was slick enough that it would not have been as easy walk, and the wife was far enough along that it was getting hard enough for her to walk on even ground, never mind slick mud that made it hard to even stand up.

While I was standing there contemplating the move, an old beat up pickup truck pulled off of the highway and stopped. I had seen the old man and his wife at church, but ours was big enough that they were just casual acquaintances to us. Grateful that someone had stopped, the old man got out and asked us if we needed help. I was sooo grateful. I mentioned that the car was stuck, and if he could just get my wife and my son home that would be good enough.

He looked at me an said " young man, I think we can do better than that". I asked how and he walked to his pickup, opened up the toolbox in the back and after searching around he produced a nylon tow strap. " If we can find a place to hook on to, I think we can pull it on out", he said. I walked to the front of the car, and it was apparent to me that there really wasn't a good place to hook that strap to, it was going to take a bit of work. So I'm half under the car, laying in the wet grass and muck wondering if it was even doable.

He lays on the ground, in the mud, and says "I think this will work". He hooks up the strap, repositions his truck, and gently pulled that car out of the ditch we me at the wheel. Before I can even get out to thank him, he drops to his belly, unhooks the strap and starts rolling it up to put it back in his toolbox.

I didn't have much money on me,but I had a 20 bill that I offered him for his help. I apologized for the mud that was all over his overalls as he was wiping the mud off of his face with a red handkerchief. He told me not to worry about it, to keep the 20 and then he told me that he didn't believe in taking money for being a good neighbor. I thanked him and told him that I much appreciated the assistance.

Before he left, he asked me if I would do something for him. He asked me that if ever I came upon someone that was stranded, to stop and help them in any way that I could. He told me that in these last days, people would refuse to help because they were too busy, or were in a rush and had to be somewhere or they just didn't feel like they could stop for one reason or another. He said that he tried to be a good neighbor to all, and that if I could do the same and help him out every time it was needed that the world might be a better place for my children to grow up.

I never forgot that lesson. There have been times when I passed someone and I thought they would be OK. There have been times that I had somewhere I needed to be and didn't have the time that it would take to spare to stop and help. There have been times that I would have rolled right on by and then I remember that conversation that I had with the man that I came to admire and respect, so I stopped and did what needed to be done.

When I went to that mans funeral, over 6 thousand people attended his visitation. Knowing most of the people that passed through and chatting with many off them, story after story after story was told and retold and they were much the same as mine. That man had helped a multitude of people and some were so touched by his actions that it literally changed their lives for the positive.

I still think of him every time I see someone stranded on the side of the road and I am reminded of being a "good neighbor". I think of the man that didn't hesitate to lay in the mud to help someone out and how he took the fact that he was covered from head to toe in stride, like it was no big deal. A man that wasn't concerned so much about his own welfare as much as he was with some one else's.

I wish that we had more like him, but it seems that the old fashioned ways of being a good neighbor aren't so important any more, and I think that we are diminished because of it.

[DaneAxe]

most anyone would receive my help in that situation. not ohio highway patrol. their tyranny knows no bounds.

[Hopyard]

I still think of him every time I see someone stranded on the side of the road and I am reminded of being a "good neighbor". I think of the man that didn't hesitate to lay in the mud to help someone out and how he took the fact that he was covered from head to toe in stride, like it was no big deal. A man that wasn't concerned so much about his own welfare as much as he was with some one else's.

Very inspirational post HG. Thank you. Small acts of kindness go a long way to making the world a better place.

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? " Hillel The Elder
(Said to have lived 120 years--110 BCE to 10 CE.)

[tactilame]

Great post HotGuns. Put a smile on my face.

I for one will almost always stop and try to help somebody out, even if it means I'm gonna be late. I drive a Subaru wagon and a Chevy Silverado and I've pulled a few people out of the snow before. I'm no mechanic, but I work on my own cars as a hobby and if I can help someone with engine trouble I'll do my best.

Never come across a stuck officer before, but I would help if I did without hesitation. LEO runs in my family, and I don't think it'd be right to not offer help, even though they have a radio.

[Hopyard]

Maybe I'm nuts, but I'd stop to help even if instead of being caught in the snow I saw a fight going on.
I know this because .... it was on I-40 in Arkansas and my wife yelled that she thought
the officer on the side of the road was struggling with someone. Turned out she was way way off the mark, and
I realized that as I looked in my mirror about to make a 180. So, though I did nothing, I know what my instinct was/is.

[YANG]

Depending on my vehicle. If I had a big enough vehicle to pull out a CV, I'd help.

[paaiyan]

I'd absolutely stop. That's one of the reasons I bought the Jeep I have. To have fun with, yeah. But also because I get a kick from helping people out like that.

[Guns and more]

Eventually, what goes around,comes around.

Yep. It would depend on how my last LEO encounter went.
If I'd been stopped by officer Harless (or his friends) I'd toot the horn as I drove by.
If I'd been stopped by officer Friendly, I'd do everything possible to help.

[claude clay]

if i am driving a vehicle that can be of help...id stop and offer

id stop anyways and ask if he needs a message relayed as he may be in an
area where there is no signal.

on the 3rd hand, if he needed assistance, don't ua think he would be waving
at you as you approached him?

[ksholder]

I have a tow strap, a 6,000# 4WD truck and tow hooks on both ends. I have stopped to pull out all manner of folks, yes cops included. I always stop for a vehicle off the road. As a matter of fact, I am still recovering from slipping and falling in an ice storm about 2 months ago when I was investigating a utility truck off the road and through a fence - fortunately the guys were OK and already had a tow on the way.

Are there risks involved, sure there are, but if we can't serve our fellow man, what are we here for? I sure will be glad when this shoulder fully heals. It is about half way there according to the doc. I should have been more careful of my footing, but I don't regret stopping at all.

[64zebra]

as a LEO I would appreciate the help
if I'm stranded in snow/mud, then most likely I was trying to get someone for good reason and am now not able to perform my job/help someone that has called for it, I know I'd appreciate it as would the person requesting police assistance
I've been stuck in snow a few times and in mud once while trying to get to calls and its no fun

[jwinkeler]

I've never seen a disabled cruiser where I live, but I would stop just like I stop to help anyone else, If anything imagine the embarrassment you're saving him from(his squad will never let him forget it)