Jurisdiction…Police agency excuse for inaction!

The definition of Jurisdiction as found on Yahoo.com and Merriam-Webster.com

NOUN:

1. Law The right and power to interpret and apply the law: courts having jurisdiction in this district.
2. 1. Authority or control: islands under U.S. jurisdiction.
   2. The extent of authority or control: a family matter beyond the school’s jurisdiction.
3. The territorial range of authority or control.

Police agencies are always throwing that word around but I don’t think they truly know what it means. All of the police agencies of the major cities in Texas are always spouting off to the media of how they are tough on drunk drivers and they put up posters, fliers, and billboards advising the citizens they are having zero tolerance, non-refusal weekends, etc. They spout off about being tough on drunk drivers and to report erratic or suspected drunk drivers. Yet, when I encountered a seriously erratic and definitely drunk driver, NO ONE RESPONDED!!  Saturday January 5, 2012, I called 9-1-1 around 4:58 p.m. and I was transferred 3 different times and then snidely told by the last 9-1-1 operator that since I didn’t get hit I was ok and have a nice day and hung up on me! NO SIR, I WAS NOT OK! I was trapped in the High Occupancy Vehicle Lane (HOV) for miles with this drunk driver and 3 different agencies-Richardson Police, Dallas Police, and D.A.R.T. Police NEVER responded to my calls and cries for help. This car was all over the road before it jumped in front of me in the HOV lane and I was unable to exit to escape possible injury! The cars behind me are honking because I am constantly having to slam on my brakes to avoid a collision with this drunk nut as they continually come to almost complete stops every other second. The first 9-1-1 operator, from Richardson immediately transferred me to Dallas PD who promptly transferred me to Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police (D.A.R.T. PD). While Dallas stayed on the line, no one at any point advised me they were calling for units to respond nor did they tell me that help was on the way. I had to describe the car and the situation to all these people but no one seemed to care. Not at any point did I see a patrol unit from either agency. When the situation was escalating and they came to a complete stop and wouldn’t move, I am trying to tell 9-1-1 this and they had placed me on hold but didn’t tell me they put me on hold and nor did they come back until after this drunk nut finally drove over the pylons and cut across 6 lanes of traffic to another exit. You can hear tires screeching and horns honking yet, NO ONE came to intercept this drunken nut! You can see the open containers and the driver drinking from them. I barely made it home because I was shaking so badly and could hardly speak. My Dad asked me what took so long for me to get home because I called him to let him know I was on my way and it was an hour and a half later! YES! 1.5 hours later! I tried to explain to him what had just happened the best I can and he told me he as glad I wasn’t hurt and he wasn’t surprised by the inaction of the police. So, I spent Sunday recovering and trying to find out who to call and complain about this horrific situation. Thank God I wasn’t hurt nor the people behind me or the ones the drunken nut cut in front of across the freeway. I have been a victim of a drunk driver before and I was having flashbacks and praying it didn’t happen again! But it could have been a deadly outcome the way this person was driving. But that didn’t matter to anyone because according to Richardson Police  Sergeant Holly, there were jurisdictional issues and there probably wasn’t enough time for them to respond. I was in their jurisdiction the longest and you can’t tell me there wasn’t a patrol officer in the area. But their 9-1-1 dispatcher didn’t bother to even check as she promptly transferred me to another agency within seconds of me saying I was in the HOV lane. She didn’t bother taking a description of the vehicle nor did she bother taking down the direction and cross roads before she transferred me! Richardson Police  Sergeant Holly had an excuse for every aspect of what I was telling him. He started accusing me of yelling at him and I said that is another convenient excuse you “Peace Officers” use when they don;t want to hear the truth. I told I wasn’t yelling but I could if he really wanted me to. Then he says, “you seem to know a lot about agency procedures”. I said yes, because I received a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and was taught by some very skilled Officers and worked with every jurisdiction in the DFW area but I chose NOT to stay in their garbage! Before I went into Marketing, I was very imbedded in the law “enforcement’ business and I didn’t like it! I still don’t like it! Yes, I am sure there are some very good officers out there but they get buried underneath all the crappy ones and that is all people see and hear about! Richardson Police  Sergeant Holly offered excuse after excuse. To me, excuses are the building blocks to monumental nothingness! And NOTHING is exactly what happened. Richardson Police  Sergeant Holly proved to me, yet again, that police inaction is rampant in Texas and always will be! I wonder how many people called 9-1-1 the before the Dallas Cowboy player totalled his car and killed his teammate? I think there is always someone who will call to report a drunk driver because they want to save lives but the 9-1-1 system and the police excuse of jurisdiction will always allow tragedies to happen!  Ironically, the Ft.Worth Police DWI Task force Officer was arrested for DWI recently the second in a few months time! I wonder if someone called to report his erratic driving or was he just unlucky and passed one of his fellow officers? I bet he thought he would get off with a slap on the wrist because that has been the case most of the time. So, Richardson Police  Sergeant Holly trying to convince me the police are tough on drunk drivers was laughable at best! I didn’t bother calling Dallas PD or D.A.R.T. to complain because I didn’t want to hear another wall of excuses! I will continue to report drunk drivers and I will continue to call out inaction by those who are sworn to protect and serve. I hope no one else has to experience the terror I did and if they do, I hope the 9-1-1 system treats them better and the responding agency actually responds!

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