I went to a late Mass service. It was dark when I arrived at the church. There was very little parking, but I found a spot only a short ways away from the main doors of the church. I reversed into the spot, but noticed that there was a pick-up truck barreling towards my car. It stopped inches from my rear bumper and would not move back. I was only half way in and waited for the car to move back.

When the car did not move, I got out and told the driver that I was trying to get into the space. He said that he didn't see my turn signal on, so wouldn't move back. I told him that it was on but clicked off when I turned the wheels to get in to the space. The male refused to move. I was getting very angry and went to my car, drove to another space down the street and asked the guy to get out and “talk” to me. The male drove away smiling. I looked at his License plate number. I then went into the church but could not concentrate and was steaming hot for quite a while.

I was at work on patrol about a month later, and received a call about a vehicle which had been stolen. It was located on a south-end beat and I responded to the location. When I arrived, I observed that it was the same vehicle that would not let me into the space. It was a hot summer day and the interstate was at a slow crawl. The owner of the vehicle was having a difficult time getting to my location. I advised dispatch that I would be finishing my report and taking my lunch break at the location.

The owner finally arrived and he looked over at me with a big smile on his face. I just stared at him for a few seconds to make sure he knew that I recognized him. His smile faded and he looked horrified. I replaced my stare with a smile as his girlfriend thanked me profusely for waiting so long. I made sure they knew that I took the extra time and even had my lunch break there so that they wouldn't have to pay the exorbitant tow fees.

I was extremely polite to them and the girlfriend happened to mention about how difficult the job must be, having to deal with such jerks out there on the street. I responded politely that it was difficult, and we had to try and learn to keep the emotions under control whenever we dealt with the public, but it did get difficult at times.

The girlfriend then said that we must train a lot to subdue the criminals. I told her that I was a defensive tactics instructor, fitness instructor, and had taken over seven martial arts competing in tournaments just to keep sharp. During all this time, the male just looked down with a vacant stare on his face. I then told them that it was getting busy again on the street and I was at the end of my lunch break, so I needed to get back on my beat. They thanked me again for taking the extra effort.

I know I could've just called for the tow truck to come and had the male pay the tow fees, but he wouldn't have learned any lesson in that. Maybe he'll think twice when dealing with other strangers in his life. It does pay to, “Smother them with kindness.”

About the Author

Lester L. T. Letoto, Everett Police Department, Washington (ret.) is a 27 year veteran of law enforcement.  He can be contact via the website publisher.