DarkArmani.net

Karma is real

So, I've never been too impressed with the police in Boston and the surrounding cities. Whenever there is road construction, Mass requires an officer present to stand near by. I've never seen them nod or say hi to anyone. Not that it is a big deal, but it differs slightly from the image of a good civil servant. I never see them wear the "build goodwill with the community" hat, only the "i'm an enforcer don't mess with me" hat.

Well, three motorcycle cops pass me on Hampshire street while I'm riding my bike to work. Cambridge is nice enough to have a bike lane, but the one officer who has the whole road still manages to come closer to me than I expected--not any closer than cars, but he has the entire lane to work with. Soon afterwards, I catch up to them at the next light and the car in front of them wants to turn right. Now the car sees me and stops (I was slowing down to let him go but he seemed a little skittish having 3 cops on his ass), I hesitate but he looks like he is waiting for me to go, so I keep going in my lane around the car.

After the intersection, one of the cops barks out "don't block cars turning right!" As if I didn't notice the car turning right. I get cut off by cars not using their turn signals every day when he isn't around, but somehow I missed this one. The driver was definitely waiting for me to go past, because he was worried about making a traffic infraction with 3 officers behind him. I shake it off. He obviously isn't going to enforce any traffic laws on me--that would be a break with Boston Police policy--imagine that enforcing traffic laws?

Ten seconds after this happens I hear sirens ahead. I look up and the one officer is lying on the ground with the bike on top of him at the next intersection. He dropped his motorcycle on a flat, dry, road surface coming to a stop (at 15 mph?)! The other officer lifted the bike off of him as he stood up and shook it off--it was the same jerk that barked at me. Meanwhile a police car drove up and blocked the intersection. As I rode past I heard the one officer telling the guy that these things happen to everyone. He must have been more embarrassed then shaken up. I can just picture the guys down at the station walking up to him and falling down in front of him.

I restrained myself from telling him to move his motorcycle, which was in the middle of the street, from blocking cars trying to make a right.