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Recently, I asked readers of my Insider email newsletter about their interactions with local police officers. As you might imagine, they had several interesting stories. Let’s take a look.
Look cool
Regina Mass of North Liberty, Iowa, said, “When we lived in Ewa Beach, my husband needed to renew his driver’s license, and I went along for the ride to the Wahiawa Station.
“On our way out of there, we parked and were walking and following a tall, handsome motorcycle policeman dressed in his crisp, dark blue uniform and polished leather boots.
“We were about to pass him as he reached his motorcycle. I wondered out loud why the police wear dark blue instead of white or tan uniforms often used in other tropical countries.
“Aren’t you hot in that dark blue uniform? I asked.
“The officer swung one booted leg over the motorcycle, straddled it, took out a pair of sunglasses from his shirt pocket and replied, ‘It’s hard to be too hot,’ he paused as he snapped open his glasses with one hand and slipped them on, adding, ‘when you look so cool!’”
Keep uncle off the road
An anonymous reader said, “A Kaneohe policeman knocked on the door, bringing home my elderly husband. In shock, I asked what the problem was, as my husband looked just fine and came in without talking to me.
“The officer said they stopped him from driving because he not only had an expired vehicle registration but no current safety check. They also discovered his driver’s license expired three years ago!
“My husband’s response was, ‘I’m just going to the grocery store to get milk. I don’t know what the problem is!’
“As I’m talking to the officer, calculating in my head the fines we’ll be facing, he explained that his partner was on his way to return the car and a third officer will be stopping by with the milk!
“Not only didn’t they accept reimbursement for the milk, but there were no tickets issued as long as I ‘kept uncle off the road.’
“Lucky we live Hawaii!”
Hand signals
Charlotte Duerkson said, “This was a story my father told me when I was learning to drive.
“Before the 1950s, turn signals were not standard features on cars. Drivers had to put a left arm out the window and make a signal indicating which way he or she would turn: Forearm rising toward the sky for right turn, full arm extension straight out to turn left, or forearm pointing down for stopping.
“A driver had made some signals out the window of his car, then waved erratically. An Oahu policeman pulled the driver over and asked him what his signal meant.
“The driver’s answer was, ‘Erase already!’”
Above and beyond
“I went to the police substation on Kam IV Road when I was 15 to get my learner’s permit to drive,” Wendy Tolleson said.
“I failed the test, and I sat and cried because I knew the material but just froze up. This very nice police officer came over and asked me why I was crying.
“I told him that I knew the material but failed because I was nervous. He smiled, and said ‘OK, let’s give it another go.’ And this time I passed! I have never forgotten his kindness towards me.”
Too stressful?
Mike Winchatz said, “In the 1980s I was general manager at the Waikiki Sunset condominium hotel. I had an excellent assistant general manager on a fast track to further promotion; then, unexpectedly, he resigned.
“His new career path? He had registered as an HPD recruit. His explanation for the change in vocation? He calmly explained that he needed to get into something less stressful!”
2 women pushing
Sue Atkins wrote: “When my husband and I lived in an apartment on a hilly street in Makiki, one day the car wouldn’t start.
“As I was pushing the car down the hill with my husband behind the wheel trying to jump-start the car, a female police officer came to my assistance.
“It isn’t often that you see two women pushing a guy in a car down the street!”
Culprits?
Bobbi Green wrote, “I was a young wife and mother. My husband accepted a new position that required him to work some nights. On one of his first night shifts, I was nervous and thought I heard someone outside the house.
“I called the police, who came rather quickly. With flashlights they searched the yard and came back to report the culprits.
“It was frogs jumping in dried leaves in the yard. We all laughed and I felt safer. Yes, it was a while back and we lived in the country.”
Memorable officer
Wayne Shiohira said: “During the Great Depression, times were hard, especially for immigrants with a young family.
“My mother’s father was driving a truck that had a load of pineapple swipe — a homemade liquor made in Hawaii during the Prohibition era (1920 to 1933) — covered with a tarp. He was stopped by a big Hawaiian police officer, who had trouble communicating with my grandfather.
“The officer walked to the back of the truck and threw back the flap. A woman and young girl were sitting there clutching each other in fear.
“The officer looked at them, then closed the flap. He walked back to the driver and said, ‘Don’t let me catch you again. Now get out of here.’
“Later, my grandmother told my mom that the reason so many different kinds of people can live here together is because the Hawaiians are good people.
“I know it’s a different world we live in today, but I’ll always remember that officer’s kindness.”
Catch him in the act?
Paula Rath said, “I have always had positive encounters with Honolulu police- men. They have been thoughtful and kind.
“When we moved into our home in Nuuanu, two policemen came to our front door to introduce themselves and to tell us that our house, which is in a four-home horizontal condominium, is well situated for safety.
“They said it might be easy for bad guys to get up the driveway and into our compound, but it was extremely difficult to get out quickly. Most bad guys, they said, were aware of this.
“When I was a single mom living in an apartment in Makiki, my car was vandalized while parked in my assigned stall. When the policeman came, he said it was characteristic of the vandalizing a young (13-year-old!) kid was doing throughout my neighborhood.
“The police were aware of him and his crimes, but so far, they hadn’t been able to catch the guy in the act. He asked if I often came home from work in the dark, and I said yes.
“Every few days, I would see the policeman watching my building’s parking lot, and he would sometimes walk me to the elevator. Apparently, someone had been assaulting young women in Makiki, and he didn’t want me to be one of them.
“I’m proud of our policemen.”
Readers, did you have a memorable experience with a police officer? Police officers, do you have an interesting story about your job? If so, send me an email.
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The Rearview Mirror Insider is Bob Sigall’s twice-weekly free email newsletter that gives readers behind-the-scenes background, stories that wouldn’t fit in the column, and lots of interesting details. Join in and be an Insider at RearviewMirrorInsider.com. Mahalo!
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