Ride along resulted in ’sad reality’ for candidate

Rick Dancer

The other night I had one of the saddest experiences of this campaign. As part of being a candidate you must do interviews with different groups to see if they will endorse you. As part of my interview with the Oregon State Police Officers’ Association I went on a ride along with a state trooper.

Around five in the afternoon the call came in that a woman was weaving in and out of traffic. We pulled her over in Cottage Grove. The woman was so intoxicated it was unbelievable. We took her to the holding cell at the Cottage Grove Jail. It took some time to get her processed and during that time this woman’s life story started to unfold.

At one point she was having a conversation with herself talking about how she wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. She talked about her kids and how they didn’t like her and how much she had made a mess of her life. She hated herself. She had no reason to live. She was in pain and something was tormenting her deep inside. After an hour it was obvious why she was so drunk. Not to give her an excuse for her behavior or for driving under the influence. There is no excuse for getting behind the wheel of a car in that condition. But this woman had made lots of bad choices and the consequences were unfolding in front of her. It made you sad and angry. She blew a .32. That’s unbelievable and as close to alcohol poisoning as you can get.

She wanted to be a chef. She described for us how she made the best fruit pies. It really did sound good. I’m sure she was a great cook. When she talked of cooking she’d light up. But soon the reality of what would never be would darken her mood and erase her smile. She wanted to go to chef school but the thing that tormented her strangled her will, her determination and her character.

We took her to her sister’s house. I was in the car with her while the officer was talking with the woman’s sister. The suspect said to me “that girl in the red is my daughter”. The little girl had this horrible look on her face as she looked at her mother, handcuffed, getting out of a police car. But the saddest part was the little girl didn’t look surprised. It looked like a normal part of life.

I was so impressed with the way the trooper treated this woman. He was respectful and yet strong. He realized she was a human being with a problem, yet she had done something horrible.

We drove away, not judging her, but asking many questions. How does this happen to someone? What will happen to her children? What would have happened if someone hadn’t had the guts to call police and report her poor driving? And will she ever find the strength to step out of the life she’s living in and find peace?

It was a very sad day because there are no answers.

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