Jimmy had given up. Given the current situation, no one could help him; he had to handle it himself.
Jimmy went to rest, having the next day off, followed by a night shift, which was his first.
As arranged by the county police station, he needed to be on duty from 8 pm to 8 am, a 12-hour shift, but patrol time only lasted until 2 am, after which he'd return to the station for duty, where he could rest briefly.
During the day, Jimmy managed his bank account, depositing his salary check; then he went to the shooting range for practice, reluctant to spend much on the expensive bullets without the discount.
When his night shift came, Jimmy changed into his uniform and left the station in his police car.
As the lowest-level Patrol Officer in the county police, Jimmy's routine was to drive back and forth on the roads, or rest at intersections and wait for those unlucky ones who either sped, ran red lights, or failed to stop where there were stop signs.
This kind of wait-and-catch duty was Jimmy's favorite as it only required him to wait by the roadside where he could rest, eat, and just watch the vehicles on the road without worrying about being checked on.
On his first night shift, Jimmy patrolled the roads for a while and spotted a speeding car. He flashed his lights, stopped by the roadside, checked the driver's license, verified the driver's identity with the dispatch center, issued a speeding ticket, and that was it.
By now, Jimmy had become very proficient at issuing tickets. In the late hours, he was too lazy to roam around, so he just stayed at an intersection.
A pickup passed by, just catching a changing red light. Jimmy turned on his lights and followed it until the vehicle stopped on the side of the road. Exiting his vehicle, Jimmy approached with his flashlight illuminating the driver's seat where he saw an old man with a white beard driving.
"Good evening, I am with the Plaskey County police. I stopped you because you just ran a red light at the intersection. Is there any emergency reason for that?"
"Sorry, I didn't realize."
"Okay, do you have your driver's license, vehicle registration, and insurance with you?"
"Just a moment, I'll look for them." The old man flipped behind the sun visor, found the vehicle registration and insurance documents, then took out a wallet from the glove compartment and pulled out his driver's license.
"Is this vehicle registered in your name?" "Yes, it is."
"Please hold on for a moment." Jimmy took the documents back to his police car and contacted the dispatch center through the radio to verify the identity and vehicle information. After confirming it belonged to the driver and there were no outstanding warrants, he returned to the pickup.
"All right, here are your documents. I won't issue a ticket this time, but I still need to give you a verbal warning. Night driving visibility is poor, and running a red light is very dangerous. Please be more careful when driving in the future."
"Thank you, officer. May I go now?"
"Okay, take care."
Jimmy returned to his police car. The red light infraction had just occurred as the light turned red, and by then, the pickup had almost crossed the stop line, making it a situation where issuing a ticket could go either way. He just stopped to give a warning, as not every stop had to result in a ticket.
Jimmy went back to the same intersection which had relatively more traffic compared to other areas and naturally required more attention. For Jimmy, handling more violations was a form of training.
Over the next hour or so, Jimmy caught one driver illegally making a U-turn over double solid lines, one speeding, issued two tickets, and warned another whose brake light was faulty and needed repair.
After that, there wasn't much else to do, and there was still a long time before he had to return to the station. Jimmy started his police car and drove slowly along the highway.
It was just past midnight, and there were hardly any cars on the road. Jimmy turned the car around, ready to head back to the station. He had driven a distance when he noticed a vehicle ahead that seemed off, swaying slightly from side to side, although it remained within its lane, which made him suspect either drug use or drunk driving.
Jimmy turned on his lights and sounded his siren, signaling for the vehicle ahead to pull over. The vehicle in front turned on its right indicator and pulled over to the side of the road only after the siren had been sounding for about ten seconds.
Jimmy got out of the car, turned on his flashlight, and shone it toward the driver's seat as the driver's side window rolled down, revealing a middle-aged man gripping the top of the steering wheel, waiting for Jimmy to approach.
"Are you okay?" The flashlight briefly illuminated the driver's face, and then Jimmy lowered it slightly, so it wouldn't shine directly into the driver's eyes.
"I stopped you because your driving was swaying back and forth. Have you been drinking?"
"No. Well, just a little, a beer," the driver replied, then immediately pulled down the sun visor, took out the vehicle registration and insurance.
"And the driver's license. Is this car yours?" Jimmy took the documents, then asked another question.
"Yes, here you go," the driver said as he took out his driver's license from his wallet and handed it over.
"Hold on a moment," Jimmy said as he went through the process. The information from the dispatch center puzzled him; according to the driver's license, the driver was Dorch Mars, an officer from the LRPD.
"Mars, step out of the car," Jimmy signaled for the driver, Dorch Mars, to get out and come to the roadside.
"You know this isn't personal, Mars. It's just business. I need to conduct a horizontal gaze nystagmus sobriety test right away, and then we'll decide the next steps, okay?"
"OK."
The onsite sobriety test is a common method used by American police to determine whether a suspect is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including three parts: horizontal gaze nystagmus, heel-to-toe steps, and one-leg stand.
If the driver fails the onsite sobriety test, the police must conduct more accurate tests, including breath alcohol tests or blood, urine tests.
If the driver is found to be drunk or drug-impaired, then they must be detained on the spot.
"Feet together, arms at your sides, eyes to focus on my finger as much as possible, understand? Any questions?"
"NO."
"OK. I need you to follow my finger with your eyes. My finger will move left and right across your field of vision, and your eyes should follow my finger, but keep your head still."
Jimmy used his right index finger as a testing tool, moving it slowly from left to right and then right to left for four rounds, pausing at the extremities.
"I think you know how much you've drunk. The test just now showed you're approaching the DUI threshold, okay? You're a cop, you know the standards for the sobriety test. So, to be safe, you better call someone to pick you up."
"OK, I'll make the call now," Dorch Mars returned to the driver's seat, took out his phone from the car, and began to make the call.
"My friend will be here to pick me up in 15 minutes."
"Alright. Buddy, I don't think I need to explain more, you know I'm not targeting you. I choose to trust you, so I won't wait here for your friend to arrive. If I see you continue to drive yourself, the outcome may be different. Neither of us wants to see that, right?"
"OK, you can go back and wait in your car. Will your friend come to drive your car, or will you leave your car here and come pick it up tomorrow?"
"He'll have his friend drop him off, and then he'll drive my car."
"OK, that's fine. Just make sure someone picks you up, don't drive yourself."