Years ago, when I was a federal agent working in DC, one of my guys was driving back from Williamsburg about eleven at night with no other traffic on the road when he was stopped by a Virginia State Trooper for speeding. The passenger in the car, who was also an agent, pointed out to the trooper that WE were the people who he could count on to stop and give aid if we ever saw him or any trooper in distress because we shared the brotherhood of the badge.

The trooper replied that "Around DC everyone has a badge. If we didn't write them we wouldn't be writing many tickets." Then he wrote the ticket.

-------------------------

My own experience was when the VSP Headquarters granted federal agents in unmarked cars to drive in the HOV lane even if there was only one person in the car if we put our red light on the dashboard. The troopers greatly resented this permission.

One morning I was enroute to work in the HOV lane, going about 8 mph over the limit. A VSP trooper pulled up behind me and tailgated me, apparently intending to intimidate me into slowing down. He did not stop me.

A couple of days later the agent in charge of my office told me that the trooper had called the office to complain about me. He lied about how fast I was going and claimed that the only reason he did not stop me was that he was late for court. I had my speedometer checked and verified that the speed I was going was correct. His attempt to get me in trouble with my boss failed. My boss also used the HOV lane to go to work in the mornings and also knew that the troopers resented our use of the lane.

----------------------------------

One afternoon one of the agents who worked for me was driving home when he felt an overpowering headache. For safety's sake he pulled off onto the shoulder of the road to rest for a few minutes to see if it would pass.

A VSP trooper stopped behind him and approached to see what was wrong. My agent showed his badge and explained that he had a terrible headache and had stopped to be safe. He felt the headache would pass soon. THE TROOPER MADE HIM BLOW AN ALCOHOL BREATH TEST. When the agent passed the test with a reading of NO ALCOHOL the trooper made no offer to give further assistance, but got back in his car and drove off. Disappointed, no doubt, that he was unable to arrest a federal agent.

---------------------------

Sadly, I have no respect for VSP troopers. They are a sorry lot.


:?