Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Justified (02/26/26)
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TITLE: Justified Actions | Previous Challenge Entry
By Steve Rosas
03/05/26 -
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The judge looked over his reading glasses at the young man in front of him.
“Are you Joseph Byron.”
“Yes, your honor.”
“Mr. Byron, you have been charged with impersonating a police officer. Is that correct.”
“Yes, sir”
“And how do you plead?”
“Not guilty, your honor.”
“I have read the police report. It says that you were wearing a police uniform at the time of the arrest. Is that true?”
“Yes sir.”
“You are not a law enforcement officer, are you Mr. Byron?”
“No sir, I’m not, but I can explain. I think that my actions were justified.”
A sign betrayed his obvious skepticism, but the judge looked at Joe and said “Proceed.”
“My wife and I had gone to a Halloween party, and I dressed up as a policeman. It was just a costume.”
“OK, but when you were arrested, you were not at a party- you were on a city street- directing traffic!”
“That’s true, but justifiable. At the time of the party, my wife was 81/2 months pregnant. To our surprise, she went into labor at the party. I guess I sort of panicked- this was our first. We left the party in a hurry and rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, my car ran out of gas on the way there, and we caused the traffic jam. I called my brother, who came to pick my wife up. He couldn’t get to us, so I was helping direct traffic around my stalled car.”
“But you were waving a gun.”
“It wasn’t a real gun- it was part of the costume. Look!”
As Joseph pulled a gun out of his pocket, the courtroom erupted in a frenzy of activity. Officer Dorsey and the bailiff quickly drew their weapons and the judge ducked below the bench as the people in the courtroom gasped.
“It’s just a lighter” Joe shouted. A small flame appeared at the end of the barrel.
“I had used it to light the flares that I put out behind the car. I didn’t even realize it was still in my hand when I was waving cars around us.”
Order was quickly restored as Joe gave the “weapon” to the bailiff. After collecting himself, the judge, with obvious exasperation, continued.
“When officer arrived at the scene, he saw you pushing a woman wearing handcuffs into a vehicle and then speeding off. True?”
“True, but again, justifiable given the circumstances. You see the handcuffs were part of my wife’s costume. Here’s a picture of us at the party. Her water broke right after this photo was taken.”
Joe produced a picture. He was dressed as a policeman, and his wife was wearing handcuffs in a black and white prisoner outfit. She had a sign on her obviously pregnant abdomen depicting a baby holding a sign. The sign that read “Breaking out soon”.
Joe continued “Unfortunately, we left the party in such a hurry that I forgot the key to the handcuffs, so she still had them on. When my brother finally got to us, we switched vehicles. He agreed to stay with the stalled car and wait for a tow. I hurried my wife into his car and got to the hospital as soon as I could. The officer apparently followed us there and arrested me in the parking lot.”
The judge turned to the arresting officer.
Officer Dorsey, do you have anything to add?”
“Obviously, he did not make the best decisions that day, but, after all, his wife was in labor. I don’t think that any of us make the most rational decisions at times like that. I had just been hired on the force and was on probation. I was required to cite everyone that I encountered that was committing a crime. Given the same situation today, I would not have written the citation.”
“Mr. Dorsey, the charges are dismissed with one stipulation.”
“Yes sir?”
“Next Halloween, please don’t dress up like a policeman. Come to think of it, don’t dress up like a judge either.”
“Yes, your honor.”
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