Here is my story as it happened Thursday early morning July 29th, 2005.
I'm a registered nurse who works 12 hour shifts at a hosptial in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I drive 80 miles one way to work and have been driving this route for four years. Wednesday July 28th I was working a 12 hour day shift 7am-7pm. It had been on the news all day that day that there was a young girl who had been abducted by a person impersonating a police officer in South Dakota. It was the talk at work and later that night at the high school legion baseball game. I left that night at 7:30pm and drove over to the baseball game still in my nursing uniform. This was an important game as the winner would advance to the South Dakota Legion State Tournament. The game went extra innings and finally after 12 innings we lost 6-7. Did I mention I went to watch our son play and met up with my husband who also drove to the game.
It was after midnight when we left for home. My husband was in his own vehicle and I followed him back to Yankton. We had turned off the interstate at Beresford, SD to Hwy 46 a two lane highway. We had just talked on the cell phone and decided not to stop but to keep going still had 50 miles to go to home. The weather was threatening. There were severe thunderstorm/hail storm warnings out and we had been driving in it for 30 miles and it was not getting any better. The lightning was constant flashing like fireworks. The two things that are constant in South Dakota is that the wind will blow and it was that night and that there are always deer lurking in the dark.
I was being very cautious that night and straining to see the road as it was beginning to rain. About a mile out of town I realized there were lights in my rear view mirror. They were blue lights and a vehicle that sat up high and I knew it wasn't a car. I was trying to figure out if it was a small town ambulance or something. Hwy 46 is two lane and does not have much of a shoulder. I tried to slow down and move over thinking if this is an emergency vehicle they will go around me but they didn't. I didn't know who it was but they obviously wanted my attention.
I thought of the story on the news today so I was going to be careful and what I thought was proactive. When I looked forward I had missed the intersection and there was no place to pull over safely and it was a very dark stretch of road lined with trees. I made the decision to drive to the next intersection to be safe because there was a big yard light there and a safe place to pull over.
After I stopped, a big man in a dark blue uniform came up to the car window. He was about 6'5 and approximately 250 pounds. I was scared to say the least because I knew I had not been speeding and not sure why I was being stopped. The man immediately started in on me because I did not see him right away and did not stop right away. He was very gruff and appeared unprofessional compared to other cops I had met. He was obviously angry with me and did not listen to me as I explained why I did what I did. We were obviously not on the same page. The angrier he got the more shook up I got. He asked for my drivers license and insurance papers which I gave him and then he asked me to get out of the car. I told him I was not comfortable with that request and asked if I could just stay in my own vehicle. He then got upset with me and told me I had to get out of the car or he would take me to jail. I asked him why he stopped me and he said it was because of my driving. I didn't know what that meant and he wouldn't explain. I kept telling him about what was on the news that day and that was why I didn't want to get out of my car. He said he didn't know about any such thing and that I was really pushing his patience. I kept asking him who he was and he would not show me any identification he only told me he was from Beresford. I told him I wanted to call my husband on the cell phone and tell him where I was and he said NO. He said this had nothing to do with my husband but it was between him and me. That really scared me and so I picked up my cell phone and called my husband and told him I needed him to come back.
I thought if another person was there I would be more comfortable getting out of my car. It was late now after 1am and the weather was getting worse. I did get out of my car and walked back to his dark SUV. I tried to read the outside of the SUV to see if he was legitimate. I could not read what it said but the inside of the vehicle looked like a police car. I sat down and left my door open which made him mad as well. My husband soon arrived and the police officer jumped out of his SUV. I got out as well to tell my husband what was going on and I heard him say to my husband, "What's your wife's problem?" Then he turned on me and yelled at me to get back into his vehicle. This really ticked me off because I wasn't sure why he was making such a big deal about everything. I sat in his vehicle and listened to him lecture my husband about why.
I should of stopped immediately and my husband tried to explain to him what had been on the news that day and that he also had taught me not to stop in an unsafe place late at night. Occasionally I have to come home late at night if I work the late shift. Finally my husband waved for me to come out. I learned that he was concerned about my driving because I had swerved across the center line. I tried to explain to him it was because of the wind and appologized. My husband offered for both of us to take a breath test and he did not offer it to us. My husband explained that we were coming home from a baseball game and had not had anything to drink. Since he did not offer a breath test my husband asked that he return my license to me and let us go home. He gestured my license and information to me and I took it. My husband said, "Now we are free to go right?" and he said "Yes". My husband then asked for his name and badge number because he would be speaking to his superior in the morning. He sarcastically said, "You tell him hi for me."
We left and went home. The next morning my husband drove over to Beresford and talked to the Chief of Police. He said we were trying to interfere with their police business and that we were making it difficult for them to do their jobs. My husband explained that this officer was rude and threatening and unprofessional and hoped he had not been trained to be like that. It ended as a standoff. Nothing happened and no tickets were issued.
Six months later in February 2006 I was on my way home from work and it was snowing. I witnessed an accident and was a good samaritan and stopped. I helped the victim to the hospital and wrote up my report for the local county sherriff. He called me later that night and informed me that there was a warrant out for my arrest for "eluding a police officer" from the above incident July 29, 2005. I then had to hire an attorney and go to court to fight this false charge. The police officer's report was full of false accusations and the truth was truly distorted from what really happened that night.
Four months later after much prayer I hear that this police officer had been asked to resign from his position. I am not sure why but he obviously had other problems. Finally they dismissed the case because they did not want the publicity they were going to get because my attorney told them (thank you Wendy) we were going to go to the paper and the two news channels. It turned out okay for me but I am still concerned that we women need some guidelines to follow to stay safe on the highways late at night. I believe the public and the law enforcement need to be educated in this manner so that these mistakes and misunderstandings do not continue to occur.
Barb H.
South Dakota
Barb's Letter to the Attorney General
Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2006 12:22 PM
Subject: Stiffer laws for police impersonator
South Dakota Attorney General's Office
Attention: Larry Long
Dear Mr. Larry Long,
It has been on the media alot these days that there are people out there trying to impersonate police officers and South Dakota is no exemption. Last summer alone it happened at least three times within a week of each other. This puts the citizens of South Dakota especially women like myself concerned over what safety tips/guidelines we can follow on the highway to stay safe and be proactive. Many women when faced with a situation where they are pulled over late at nignt on a dark secluded roadway are vulnerable. Often asked and sometimes demanded to get out of their vehicles. Some have even been abducted, raped and some even murdered. It was on the news last summer in July in South Dakota where a young girl was stopped and asked to get out of her car. She was abducted and thrown in the trunk of her car. She had her cell phone in her pocket and called the police and that saved her life. She was one of the lucky ones. Not so for Lacy Jo Miller, a 20 year old college sophmore of Ft. Collins Colorado. She got out of her vehicle and was abducted, raped, and murdered. This has led Colorado and Governor Bill Owens to adopt the Lacy Law making it a class6 felony to impersonate an officer. I highly recommend you review this law and change the law here in South Dakota. Presently this crime is only a misdemeanor which I feel is only a slap on the hand. This should be changed to discouraged people from trying to get lights for their cars, fake identification and uniforms which are so easily obtained these days on the internet.
We law abiding citizens need guidelines to follow to be safe and proactive on the highways without getting into trouble with the law enforcement for this. Last summer I was stopped by an SUV with lights on a dark two lane highway. I made the decision to drive to the next intersection because there was a big farm light there and I was later charged with eluding because he said I drove to far and didn't stop. I had to get an attorney and was just three weeks from a jury trial over this when the police officer was fired for other complaints and the Lincoln County States Attorney's office finally dismissed this case. This is so appalling to me as their own Lincoln County Sherriff was quoted in the Argus Leader stating it was okay to keep driving to a safe area if a suspicious vehicle comes up behind you with lights on.
There also needs to be better education for our local officers who only receive 12 weeks of training. They need to be informed on what the media is saying to the local citizens and not be offended when we ask for identification. This officer would not show me any identification and was unprofessional. This made me very suspicious of him and reluctant to exit my vehicle.
As a law abiding citizen of South Dakota I appeal to you to take to heart my concerns in bold print and to thank you in advance for your time and attention to this matter and may justice prevail.
Sincerely ,
Barb H
