Six Cops With Itchy Trigger Fingers

by Bill Russo

I know the terror of facing six police officers with their drawn weapons pointed directly at me. Back in the very early 1970s I was taking a few courses at a local college while holding down my full time job and raising a young family. 

As I was walking home from a class, I was suddenly surrounded by police cars, with officers streaming out of them with their guns at the ready. "Hands up," they shouted in unison. "Drop that briefcase you're holding and open it up. If we see a flash of metal, you're dead." 

There was nothing in the case but books and school materials, but as I saw the nervous police officers with their fingers poised on the triggers of their weapons, I felt sure that the sun bouncing off my ball point pen, would literally trigger the triggers. 

"It's just books, pens, and paper. I'm a student," I told them. After a moment they saw that I was telling the truth about the contents of my case, and they holstered their weapons but continued to grill me for several minutes. 

When I asked them why they stopped me they said I resembled the description of a man who just robbed a store at gunpoint. Finally after some 15 or 20 minutes I was given permission to leave and go back home. 

The next day, the local newspaper had a front page story about the robbery. A clear description of the suspect from several witnesses said that the robber was well over six feet tall (at the time I was claiming to be 5 foot nine - really about 5-8), 

The paper also reported that the suspect was African American - again another shoe I did not fit into. To this day I am convinced that if I were 'black', those nervous officers would have murdered me without bothering to investigate anything other than the color of my skin. REMEMBER Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. They were not as lucky as I.

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Bill Russo is a retired journalist and broadcaster who divides his time between South Florida and Cape Cod.  He is perhaps best known for his appearances on Destination America, Monsters and Mysteries; and in the Bridgewater Triangle Documentary.  He writes both fiction and fact stories and books.  His work is available on Amazon, Apple and all major online retailers.  More than 40 of his books and short stories are free on Smashwords.