August 29, 2008

Chapter Three
The squad car moved quickly across town and within minutes we were at the jail.  I realized that they wanted to measure my blood alcohol level; the sooner the better for prosecution purposes. At this point nothing was being done for my benefit. 

When we arrived at the jail the normal booking procedures took place.

I was told earlier I was being arrested for harassment and menacing.  I asked for clarification of the charges.  They told me that I chocked my wife and that I had pointed a firearm at her.   This came as a huge surprise to me.  I thought something was seriously wrong. I felt like I had gone from the frying pan and into the fire. These were serious charges; now I had serious problems. The feelings of betrayal can be devastating. 

I was asked if I wanted to make any statements. I was told that my wife made statements and now it would be my opportunity to tell my side; otherwise I would be placed in a cell. It almost seemed like they were implying that I could delay being locked up, or possibly be set free, depending on what I said. I knew this wasn't the case. I also didn't make any statements.

I was placed a small waiting area before being taken to my cell. Out of boredom, I managed to get my handcuffs that were placed behind my back to the front of me. I did this by slipping my legs thru my arms one at time. What really amazed me was how many officers had walked by, and didn't even notice. When an officer finally came to escort me to my cell he noticed my hands. He asked who handcuffed me.  I said I didn't know his name.  He pointed this mistake out to fellow officers, and the arresting officer. The arresting officer wasn't pleased by any of this. 

I was placed in a cell with 3 other men. One of them snored loud enough to wake the dead. Needless to say, I didn't sleep that night. Throughout the night, they all were released.  In the morning I was the only one left in that cell.

The only thing I could do to keep myself entertained was to sing prison songs.  I sang songs like "Folsom Prison Blues", and "I got Stripes". I was able to get good acoustics in the cell.  At one point, one of the officers looked inside the cell to see how I was doing. I stopped singing.  She told me not to stop on her account, so I kept singing.  She seemed entertained by it all.

I noticed at one point there was an abundance of female employees running the facility, from the deputies to the person handing out the meals. I thought this was odd.  Jails and prison are tough places and it's barely fit for a man to work there let alone a women.  I got the feeling that they were enjoying their jobs. It's hard to describe. It seemed like they actually enjoyed the misery of the inmates, and their helpless, hopeless situation.    

By late Sunday morning it was time for them to do something with me.  I was able to come up with the bail money of $750.00 with the help of a credit card. Otherwise, I would have to stay there until late Monday afternoon before the judge could see me.  I would have missed work.  I had to activate my credit card in order to use it.  Thank God for 800 numbers. Trying to get the credit card activated from jail was challenging and added a degree of stress that I didn't need. I had to sit and listen to someone's sales pitch before they would activate the card.   I was extremely lucky that the card worked under the circumstances. 

They released me with the understanding that I would show up for court, have no contact with my wife (not even thru a 3rd party) and that I couldn't go back to my residence.  I signed the forms and I was on my way. I was on foot, walking across town, wearing my sleeping clothes from the night before and in adverse weather conditions.