FIRE

Houston, Texas, during the mid 1970's was a booming town. The economy was hot and the population was soaring (along with the number of crooks, nutjobs, psychos, and assorted fruits and nuts). Trust me when I say there was NEVER a shortage of something outrageous occurring at all times.

One night I was patrolling north of Houston on US 59N with two of the Troopers who worked for me. We stopped a yahoo who was stoned out of his mind with drugs/alcohol and who had a large plastic trash sack of marijuana with him (just for recreation/luck?).

After an arrest was made, Trooper Curtis was at the driver side headlamp of the doper's vehicle and Trooper L.N. was standing at the passenger side headlamp. The driver was handcuffed facing the front of the vehicle looking toward the rear of his vehicle.

Sgt. frankie was at the rear, between the violator's vehicle and the patrol car. About that time I got the idea that I should move from between the vehicles and onto the curb in case some other drunk hit the rear of the black/white. The boy Sergeant barely steps on the curb and BAM, a 19 year old (drunk) kid in a new bright yellow Mercedes Benz hit the rear of the patrol car and SLAMMED it into the rear of the other car.

When the drunk hit the rear of the patrol car:

1. The Mercedes driver went face forward in the steering wheel and busted about all you could bust in his face (think much blood and a mess)(and no air bags then?),

2. The cover on the brake fluid reservoir on the patrol car dislodged, splashed brake fluid on the red hot exhaust manifold, and promptly set the black/white on fire (while the overhead emergency lights merrily signaled caution),

3. The original drunk's car jumped forward causing the bumper on each side to hit one knee of Trooper Curtis and one knee of Trooper L.N. and they started flopping around on the highway like chickens with their neck wrung,

4. The original drunk's car jumping forward caused the car to hit the drunk (with his hands cuffed behind his back, and to bend him forward and use his face to implode the hood of his car (imagine the mess that caused - and his face didn't fare too well either?)

Let's see now, a good supervisor should always do an inventory of his "issues at hand"? I got a drunk in one car laying in the front seat with his face pushed in from his sudden stop against his steering wheel center, a TEXAS HIGHWAY PATROL car on FIRE, two Troopers with knee injuries flopping around moanin/groanin fer their mamas, a second drunk driver who I figger was killed while handcuffed, and me near bout fraid to wiggle while wondering if this calamitous train wreck was over yet (and what was that warm liquid running down my leg?).

Anyway, both drunks lived, and after I did the traffic accident reports, patrol car fleet accident report, worker comp reports for the Trooper knees, DWI reports, prisoner injured while in custody report, criminal case (marijuana) report, jail booking receipts, prosecutor's paperwork, and spent several days testifying in court, I began to wonder if maybe there was a more peaceful place than Houston to make a living?

As a side note, the teen in the Mercedes told his Dad that Trooper Curtis had "beat" him for hitting his patrol car. The dad came to court at the teen's trial to testify to such before the judge. In court, the dad looked at his 5'7", 110 pound teenage son, then looked at 6'7" 300 pound Trooper Curtis and said, "Son, we are pleading you guilty and when we get home, I'm the one who is going to beat the hell outta you for lying because if THAT Trooper had hit you, you would be DEAD now!"