When a cruel and merciless cop decided to arrest a 99-year-old black girl for just playing in the street, she thought no one would oppose her authority. However, only 10 short minutes later, the police officer deeply regretted her actions as the policewoman read what she recognized as her Miranda rights. Little Alicia could do nothing but cry and ask herself what was happening. Her parents had repeatedly told her that as a black child, she would always have to be twice as careful and respectful than her peers, especially around armed officers. But this time, she was almost certain that she had done nothing wrong.
A few days earlier, her parents had gifted her a mini scooter, and she’d been riding it ever since. She loved that toy, and since her house was at the end of a cul-de-sac, she rarely had to worry about cars interrupting her playtime. She had been riding and singing along to the lyrics of her favorite songs when she had spotted the police car approaching. It was unusual to see an officer so close to her house, but she hadn’t had any reason to worry. After all, she was doing nothing wrong. Still, she had moved closer to the sidewalk just in case the car decided to drive until the end of the street. But the policewoman had stopped the car right in front of her, and from that moment on, everything had been a blur.
While Alicia cried and babbled, Officer Karen snarled in frustration that the child was truly getting on her nerves. Not to mention the young man next to her who kept questioning her authority. Karen was a police officer who had worked in the bustling streets of Chicago for several years. She didn’t need anyone telling her what she could or couldn’t do. She embodied the law, which meant she was always right. It wasn’t her fault if some people couldn’t see it. If she were to be honest, most people couldn’t see it. She had been forced to interact with a ton of civilians who thought she was too strict or sometimes even in the wrong. So, despite carrying out her duties diligently, she had failed to establish a positive relationship with the community. She thought that the citizens simply resented her because she held so much power over them. But the truth was very different.
Officer Karen possessed a snobby demeanor and often displayed selfishness and arrogance towards others. She was unapproachable and seemed to lack any empathy or understanding for how other people felt. And that fateful day, Karen found herself in a situation that would test her limits and ultimately lead her into a whole lot of trouble. She was patrolling the suburbs alongside her rookie partner, whose naivety and lack of experience annoyed her greatly. It was not her choice to take on the rookie, but he had been placed with her as she had a lot of experience. Still, just because she had been given this honor didn’t mean that Karen liked it. In fact, she found the rookie’s questions tiresome and irritating.
As the two of them drove through the quiet neighborhoods, Karen’s sharp eyes spotted a little black girl, no older than 10, joyfully riding her scooter around on the deserted road. She was minding her own business and seemed to be singing little songs to herself as she happily played. Karen felt immediately annoyed with her. Didn’t she know how dangerous it was to ride a scooter in the street? Where were her parents? Couldn’t she hear how grating her voice was? She couldn’t imagine how frustrated her neighbors must be with her. But thankfully, the law was here and would be restoring the order in the neighborhood.
Karen slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden halt. A startled rookie questioned what the problem was. Officer Karen pointed at the child in the street and snarled, “That girl’s a menace and a danger to everyone!” She barked. Her partner was struggling to understand her exaggerated response. It was just a little girl playing on her scooter, right? With her trademark condescension, Karen sneered at her rookie partner. Only a young, inexperienced cop could mistake such an inconvenience for just a little girl playing on her scooter. She believed that her vast experience in assessing dangers far surpassed his and thus elevated her to a superior position within the police force, with her partner relegated to a mere observer.
Karen climbed out of the vehicle, slamming the door behind her. She marched over to the young girl, determined to exercise her authority. She approached the innocent child, demanding to know her name and the reasons for her suspicious behavior. The girl brought her scooter to a halt and looked at Officer Karen with a confused look on her face. The policewoman towered over the young girl and looked down on her with a sharp and nasty face, as if she were dealing with the most dangerous and high-profile criminal in the city.
Still, she tried to remember what her parents had taught her about police officers. She needed to speak clearly and plainly, try not to fumble with her words, and only answer the questions they asked without providing additional information that might sound confusing. She introduced herself as Alicia and told the policewoman that she wasn’t doing anything wrong. The scooter was hers, and she could prove it. Her father had specifically hung a small bell to one of the handles, and her name was on it. But the officer didn’t seem interested in the ownership of the scooter. She demanded to know why she was riding in the streets, why she was singing, and which of her parents had given her permission to be out by herself. Which house did she live in, and so forth? The questions plummeted on the little girl like a hailstorm, and Officer Karen didn’t seem to care that she was asking too many too fast.
All the while, Alicia stumbled to find the words to say as the authoritative figure pressed her for answers. The rookie, growing increasingly disheartened and disturbed by Karen’s behavior, jumped out of the car and tried to reason with her. He informed her that the girl was simply playing in front of her own house and posed no threat to anyone. There were even no cars around on this quiet street, meaning that she wasn’t getting in the way of traffic or going to cause any damage to any vehicles. She was simply playing as little girls do.
However, Karen arrogantly once again brushed off his understanding, belittling him once again. She staunchly believed that her approach was inherently superior to his, disregarding his opinions as insignificant and not worthy of her time. As Karen continued her relentless interrogation of the terrified young girl, tears started to well up in her eyes and fall freely down her face.
Her speech became slurred, and the officer started mocking her for her hesitation. Was she trying to stall the interrogation, or was she simply lying about who she was? Perhaps a trip to the police station would jog her memory and untie her tongue, she threatened. Of course, her words did nothing to put the little girl at ease.
Overwhelmed and confused, Alicia struggled to comprehend why she was being treated so harshly. Karen’s unrelenting questioning made her feel like a hardened criminal, crumbling away the last remnants of her innocence. Officer Karen refused to be moved or swayed by the young girl’s show of emotion. She believed those were crying crocodile tears and that the little girl did not really feel sorry for whatever crime she may have committed. Without warning, Karen pulled out her handcuffs, her intentions clear. With a sense of shocking cruelty, she proceeded to cuff the now sobbing Alicia. The scooter fell to the ground with a clank, and Officer Karen kicked it to one side with her foot, scratching the paintwork on its body.
The rookie, desperate to intervene and unable to bear witness to his partner’s abuse of power any longer, attempted to protest. However, his voice was swiftly silenced by Karen’s fierce reprimand. She turned, pointing her finger into his face, and told him that if she heard another word from him, that she would report him to the police board, and he would never become a fully certified officer.
Suddenly scared for his career, the rookie shut his mouth and looked down at the ground, tears welled up in his eyes as he contemplated not only his future but the sad and confused look on young Alicia’s face. He was truly torn between helping the young girl and ensuring that he would be able to become a full police officer and fulfill his own childhood dreams. It was an impossible situation for the rookie to find himself in, and so he just stood silently to one side.
Officer Karen began to read poor little Alicia her Miranda rights, and the little girl looked like a deer in the headlights. She knew exactly what those words meant. She had heard her own father repeat them like a mantra more than once in the morning when he tied his tie in front of the mirror. They meant she was being arrested because she had been found guilty of something. What this something was, she didn’t know. She also didn’t know what to do, and she didn’t understand how she’d gotten into this position.
Karen grasped the cuffs that held Alicia’s hands together and began to walk her back to the patrol car. The little girl was now sobbing and dragging her feet. She didn’t want to go to the police station. What if they ended up arresting her, and she was thrown in jail with scary criminals? Would they even let her place a call to her mom? Alicia yelled at Officer Karen to let her go fetch her parents first, but the cop seemed determined to drag her to the station. But in a moment of divine justice, Alicia’s father emerged from the house, his voice thundering across the garden.
Furious at the sight of his terrified daughter in restraints, he wasted no time in demanding her immediate release. Officer Karen initially refused and demanded that the man step away from the scene. He could come to the station in his own car and deal with his daughter’s charges there. But the man insisted she’d tell him exactly what his little girl had done to deserve such treatment. If the officer was able to provide a reason, then he would allow her to take his daughter away. Officer Karen burst out laughing. “Allow?” she repeated. She was the embodiment of the law and didn’t need anyone to allow her to do her job. However, she would do him the grace of explaining why she was taking the child away in handcuffs.
When she said that she was arresting her because she was singing and riding, the man in front of her was left speechless. Karen assumed it was because he was finally seeing her point and smirked. But in truth, he was at a loss for words because he couldn’t believe that a grown woman and a cop at that could be so mean as to deprive a little child of her freedom and joy. Karen rolled her eyes. Freedom and joy? If anything, the girl was taking away the freedom and joy of other people by being so annoying in a public space. She expected both father and daughter to apologize to the neighbors, despite the fact that no one was actually around.
For Officer Karen, their absence was confirmation enough that they couldn’t stand the prospect of being around such an annoying child. And by arresting her, she was doing the community a big favor. When the man opened his mouth next, Officer Karen expected him to try and plead with her again. However, what Alicia’s dad said next absolutely disarmed the arrogant cop. The man told her that he was Captain Anderson and made it abundantly clear that he held a position of authority within the police force, leaving Karen stunned and momentarily speechless.
Captain Anderson said that he had never stumbled upon such a zealous cop in all his years in the police force, and that he was finding it very, very hard to believe that she would really arrest a 9-year-old child because she believed she was disturbing the community, especially since he hadn’t heard of a single complaint. Attempting to save face, Karen stumbled upon an elaborate lie, falsely claiming that Alicia had been causing trouble within the neighborhood, and she had been called to solve the issue. She told Captain Anderson that the neighbors had been complaining that she was making too much noise and riding the scooter around on their property.
However, the rookie, who had silently endured Karen’s arrogance until now, finally found his voice. He bravely recounted the events with unyielding clarity, exposing Karen’s callous disregard for the truth and her arrogant cruelty. The rookie could feel Karen’s eyes burning into him, but he didn’t care. He had seen enough to know that she was a bad police officer, and that he didn’t want to turn out anything like her. So he spoke the truth.
As Captain Anderson listened intently, he also produced a key out of his pocket and uncuffed the shaking little girl in front of him. Alicia, now free of the handcuffs, ran over to her father, who hugged her tightly and made sure that she was okay as he listened to the rookie telling of the events. As the rookie finished speaking, Captain Anderson turned and unleashed his fury upon Karen. His face was an angry shade of crimson, and his words rained upon the policewoman like a hailstorm.
The commotion attracted the attention of a few neighbors who stepped out of their homes and gathered around. When they realized what had happened, they felt just as outraged as Captain Anderson. Officer Karen had tried to pin her actions on them, pretending to have received a complaint they had never made. Alicia was a lovely little girl, and they had never had anything to say about her riding her scooter in the street. She wasn’t bothering anyone, and her sweet smile brought them happiness.
Once again, Officer Karen’s version of the events was debunked. Recognizing the severity of her actions, her facade of superiority crumbled before him. She started babbling, just like Alicia had done when she’d been the one doing the interrogation. Captain Anderson gave her a taste of her own medicine and kept berating her, then mocked her for not being able to speak up. She was an adult, after all, and a police officer at that. Then how come she too was finding it hard to reply in a calm, collected manner when interrogated? Perhaps this meant that her interrogation methods were simply too harsh.
Alicia’s tears began to dry as relief washed over her. She could see that her father was winning this fight and realized that she wouldn’t be forced to go to the police station after all. But it looked like she would be going soon, probably to make sure that Officer Karen’s supervisor heard the truth about what had happened here from her own lips. He wasn’t going to risk her trying to bend the truth to her will once again. Not only was Karen forced to apologize to Captain Anderson and Alicia, but she also faced serious consequences for her behavior.
Officer Karen was demoted from her position and placed on probation, which required constant monitoring by another officer tasked with overseeing her every move and reporting back on her behavior. This meant that she had to behave properly and responsibly, or she would be reported to the board of police who could permanently take her badge away from her if they saw fit. To Karen’s dismay, her supervising officer turned out to be the very rookie whose opinion she had so callously disregarded on that fateful day.
Captain Anderson had seen to it that not only had the rookie passed his probation, but that he was the one to be keeping Officer Karen on a very short leash. As karma’s ironic twist dictated, Karen would now have to face the consequences of her actions under the watchful eye of the rookie she had dismissed. Realizing the error of her ways, it seems that justice had finally caught up with Officer Karen, teaching her a much-needed lesson in humility. Would she learn from it? Well, that remained to be seen. But it was a painful reminder that her authority was not absolute, and that sometimes it paid to have empathy and be understanding towards those who you are supposed to be serving.
So now it’s over to you. What did you think of this incredible story? Have you ever heard of a police officer so flagrantly abusing their position of power? And how would you have reacted if you were in the shoes of the rookie cop? Would you have kept quiet or spoken up?
