Tossing Salt Presents:
A Day of Dougie
Bad Cops (in the ‘Burg)
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s time for a Day of Dougie. I was going to do the usual three-topic pick from the Magic Bag, but the first topic I pulled out was Bad Cops. No other subject is needed. I could write a full book on this one, and maybe one day I will. Nah, the good-old-boy system that runs our county would protect the not-so-innocent law enforcement agents, and I’d end up with litigation, or more likely, my house being set on fire in retaliation. And lots of tickets. Not saying that cops protect each other, or are retaliatory by nature, but yeah, they are. Especially around here. I’m glad that nobody reads this stuff, right? So, it’s a one-topic edition to talk about some fond memories. The stories I could tell and have witnessed, but we’ll leave it at this, and these two people, for now. Let’s do a Day of Dougie.

Bad Cops (in the ‘Burg).

Perhaps I should reconsider my YouTube habits, but it’s remarkable the things you can learn. I’m talking about things like police corruption, violations of the 4th and 5th Amendments, and bad cops in general. Over the years, I’d had the opportunity to interact with many police officers. Most are decent and generally good people. And then, there are a few that should never be trusted with any kind of authority, and are dirty cops on a normal day, and total pricks on the other days. And two come to mind. Are you ready for storytime with Dougie?

The first is a now-retired Detective with the Scotland County Sheriff’s Department. This guy was the picture of in-your-face bully and bad cop. Loud, obnoxious, and did I mention racist? He’s been documented using the N-word many times. And don’t worry about fairness. He was known for making up lies, using intimidation, and doing whatever it takes to make his case. His main problem was that temper. He didn’t like being corrected or not being right. Just a classic bully who was probably beaten up regularly as a kid, and then, after getting a little fake authority, abused it to pretend he was a big man, and tough. Apart from one confrontation, I can’t swear that he ever acted criminally or broke the law, but I truly believe that if body cams had been a thing in the ’80s and early ’90s, this clown would have been fired, arrested, indicted, and run out of town many times. Oh yeah, he’s a preacher now. Imagine that. But some of us still remember.

And then there was this member of the Laurinburg Police Department. Craig is supposedly a nice guy, and everyone likes him. But two incidents come to mind that have forever tainted any positive image I might otherwise have of him.

The first involves my sister. One morning, many years ago, Terri was walking from her apartment to the Kangaroo convenience store. My sister had many strokes when she was in her twenties, but she managed to come back from that, and using a walker, she could get around pretty well. And she would often walk from her apartment to the Kangaroo, about 1/2 half-mile, a few times a week. And she wore a reflective vest on her body and on her walker, just to be safe and not get hit by traffic when crossing the road.

Well, one morning, she was crossing the road, entering the store parking lot, and it happened. She was hit by a car. A police car driven by Craig. She was off the main road and had the reflective vests on, but Craig was speeding along and not paying attention, and whammo! Terri ended up in the hospital with a giant hole in her leg and was alive, but never the same again. As for Craig, the matter was quickly hushed up, brushed under the rug, and he didn’t get any kind of punishment or reprimand. The police investigated themselves, decided it was Terri’s fault, and Craig, despite speeding, crossing the white lines, and running down a handicapped woman with a walker, wearing reflective clothing, was totally without fault and innocent. He never even followed up to check on her in the hospital or afterward.

And I’ll admit that not long after this, I did encounter Craig and made a comment asking if he had run anybody down lately. He just put his head down and walked away, not saying anything.

Fast-forward a year or so, and Black Friday. I’m with two friends, and we decided to go to Walmart. We go in, walk around, look at the so-called deals, and walk back out. No big deal, right? I noticed Craig and his police buddies standing near the exit, but didn’t think much of it or them. We leave, and before we can get to the Hwy 74 exit, there are the blue lights. Craig has decided to pull us over.

He came up to the car, all cocky, and addressed me in the back seat, asking what we were up to, and saying that he thought I was banned from Walmart. That was the basis for his stop, although we both know it’s total bullshit. I quickly told him that I’m not banned from anywhere, and that’s a damn lie. “Well, that’s what I heard”, he exclaimed. And then he asked for ID, not mine, surprisingly, but for the driver, and gave him a citation for tint on the windows. It’s dark, night, and he didn’t use any kind of device to check the windows, but gave Chris, the driver, a citation for his tint. A total BS stop, and had no reason for happening other than Craig wanted to fish for something, and be a total ass-wipe. And he’s still on the force with the LPD. Just a patrol officer, if I recall correctly, because he’s not capable of being a superior and leading others. Yeah, Craig is a nice guy. Just a sorry ass, corrupt cop. No, I still don’t have any use for him.

Too bad cell phones and cameras weren’t quite the thing as of yet when this happened. Bad cops and bad police work made good videos, and while we have plenty of good ones, the bad ones around here are legendary. Remind me to tell you about the harassment that they put on Bryan and his family one day. But that’s for later, and not for now. I’ve written enough for this morning, and I need to go take my meds, have breakfast, and do some ‘rasslin stuff. Have a great day, and always remember to film and record any police encounter. Power corrupts, and for far too many, the badge and the power of that thin blue line, with all its assumed authority, seems to bring out the worst in many.

I’m Dougie, and I’m out of here. Take care, my friends. Thanks for the support. Day of Dougie, and all that stuff. Who loves ya, baby.

Ubuntu!