Saturday, November 26, 2011

Life Imitating...Life?

I like to watch those 'caught on camera'-type shows.  Some of the shows I've watched have shown dash-cam footage caught by police cameras as they're in high-speed chases, etc.

In one of the programs, the announcer noted that during a traffic stop, as the patrol officer approached the stopped car, he put his hand on the left rear corner of the car.  The announcer said this was an identification technique.  If, for some reason, the person being stopped decided not to deal with the police officer but drove off instead,  there is always a possibility that at some point, the suspect could lose the pursuing officer.  That police might later find the vehicle with no one in it.  It's possible that the vehicle might be similar in appearance to the one the police had been chasing, but not the exact same one.

This is where the officer's hand print comes in.  If police technicians check the fingerprints on the left rear corner of the car and they match the officer's fingerprints, then they have proof positive that, yes, this was the original car involved in the police pursuit.

I bring this up because I actually saw this happen this morning.  No, not a high speed police chase.  Not even a low speed police chase.

As I was exiting my subdivision today, I passed by a white pickup truck that had been stopped by a local police officer.  (I don't know the reason for the stop.  It could have been for something totally innocuous.)  In any case, as the police officer walked up to the driver's window, the officer paused for a moment and put his hand on the left rear corner of the pickup.  Then he continued walking.

I had to smile slightly as I drove on by.  Police procedure in action, in the flesh.  A small thing, but kinda fun to actually see - as opposed to secondhand on tape.

I hope everyone had the Thanksgiving they were hoping for. 

Papillon

No comments:

Post a Comment