For a Real Nightmare

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Adult Detention Facility

600 Old Frankfort Circle

Lexington, KY USA

Note: although this post is a little longer than most, it’s all true!

Do you have any idea what “getting a speeding ticket fixed” means? Well in short, if you are unlucky enough to get a moving violation on the roadways such as speeding over the posted limit, and in turn, you or someone that you know has certain influence with the ‘powers that be’ within the local court system, this influence is often used to get the ticketed violation removed from the local court record which when implemented successful allows you to continue without further a-due.    

No court appearance and no points taken from your driver's license which is a big help in keeping your insurance rate (most states require at least liability insurance) as low as possible, yep, it's a big benefit to not having to make that time consuming court appearance in which your are expected to plead guilty for the violation.  Additionally, there is no fine for the offence which is yet another savings.   

If you have never considered this little ticket fixing scheme, be aware that it is one of the many 'good old boy' programs used to obtain votes for court officials and is widely used regularly within small to medium sized jurisdictions within Kentucky.

Sounds like a really neat concept … Right?   Occasionally that influential friend fails some how to effectively purge the ticket from the system.   In this case, it is unlikely that you have a clue that the ‘ticket fix’ didn’t take … In such cases the sitting judge has the legal right or obligation to execute a ‘Bench Warrant’ for your arrest in the event that you are ever stopped or sited again by a law enforcement officer.  When or if that occurs, the officer of the law is to take you directly to jail.  

Unfortunately, I am guilty of taking advantage of this little ticket fixing scheme upon several occasions in my "checkered" past.  On one occasion back in the year 2000, the ticket fix evidently did not work for me.  I had the misfortune of learning this the hard way this past early Saturday morning (9-24-11) at 12:10 AM, eleven years later.

I was returning from a marathon mediation meeting (regarding a civil action) that lasted from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM in Charleston, West Virginia; a 3 + hour drive from my residence in Lexington, KY.   Within 3 minutes of entering the streets of Lexington, a Fayette County Metro Police Officer pulled me over because as he put it “it looked like you bobbled just a bit” for which he immediately cited me with a warning notice for Careless Driving.

I expect that the officer was obliged to run a check in the computer system to see just how bad an outlaw he had stumbled upon, because when he came back with my warning notice, he immediately demanded that I get out of the car and step onto the side walk near the rear of his car.

The officer proceeded to tell me that there was a Perry County Kentucky “Bench Warrant” within the system for my immediate arrest. I of course suggested that this was surely some type of error to which he replied “it could be sorted out at the Fayette County Detention Center” that was located just across town. I was then cuffed as if I was some sort of convicted felon and hauled to the jail.

In rout he proceeded to tell me that he initially thought that I was most likely intoxicated as it was in the AM on a weekend.   I will give him a least one human compassion point as he (upon my request) called my wife to inform her where I was with a brief account of where he was taking me. But I will take that point away because he also had my car towed which cost me $105.00 for my wife and Step-son to recover later that afternoon.

I am a few months beyond 60 years old, as well as, unable to neither speak clearly nor maintain my proper balance when standing (therefore I can only barely walk when assisted by a cane); the result of 3 previous strokes, craniotamy and a massive heart attack… plus I have never before been in jail; in fact I can not recall even visiting someone in jail … So I had no idea what to expect.  For the most of you who fit that description as well, trust me there is no fun in it; the remaining few who have been incarcerated know what I mean.

By 12:45 AM I had been thoroughly searched, and was requited to surrender $20.00 in cash for what they called a processing fee, they also took my little life threatening hand held calculator, and my really sharp lead-pen. At that particular point in time I was allowed to keep my bill-fold which by then only contained around $29.00 along with my debit card, credit cards, driver’s license, and Medicare Health Card. From there, I was sent up the corridor to what I will call a ‘holding area’ to await the next step in the adventure.

At 4:30 AM I found myself having my blood pressure taken by a ‘staff nurse’, having mentioned to an earlier (by about 10 minutes) questioner that my health condition required BP medication.

At that particular time, my blood pressure was 195/ 130 (normal is 120/70) so the nurse ask what medication I normally took, which I shared with her and she suggested that I go back to the holding area, and just relax since my BP was rather high, she indicated the need to check it again within a short while.

By 7:30 AM I was taken to a “holding cell” along with several other offenders and kept there for just under 2 hours after which time I was taken back to the holding area I first mentioned above.

Within the next 30 minutes I was taken back to the very same holding cell; from there I was searched yet again and was required to surrender my shoes, belt, and my bill-fold (from which the officer in charge made a big show of counting what little cash I had remaining). They proceeded to demand that I either tear the pocket off of my t-shirt or surrender it altogether. I opted for sacrificing my t-shirt pocket in order to keep my under-shirt.  Myself along with the other “criminals” were then required to trade-down our clothes for matching one piece jump-suits and were then paraded to a jail cell with, as I recall, 8 or 9 other inmates.  By now the time is 9:15 AM, Saturday.

Good things, they say, come to those who are patient, because at approximately 11:00 AM a male nurse appeared to re-check my blood pressure --- it was 195/ 144, he then ask me what type of medication I typically required, which I informed him was .1 MG of Clonidine and I further stressed that a larger dose had previously rendered me unconscious as well as very sick to my stomach.

Later that day (5:00 PM) the same male nurse re-appeared with three .1 milligram tablets of the Clonidine medication and demanded that I take all three pills or take nothing at all.  I again stressed that an over-dose of the medication may render me unconscious as well as make me very sick.  Yet his position did not change …“take all 3 or nothing at all”.

Since my BP was beyond dangerously high I took all three.  By 11:00 PM I was very ill and convinced one of the other inmates to get a guard to come speak with me (I could not perform this simple task because I was unable to stand).

A Guard did arrive shortly there after at which time I requested that he have someone contact the doctor about allowing me to take only .1 MG instead of .3 MG of the medication I needed.  I further told him I thought the hard part of my adverse reaction was past.

I guess the guard didn’t know what the term adverse means because at 5:00 AM the male nurse re-appeared with the three little pills demanding that I take all three.  I ask him to first check my blood pressure (it was 134/ 94) so I refused to take the medication, as I did not consider that BP to be life threatening.

Twelve hours later at 5:00 PM it was again dangerously high and after a debate regarding .1 MG verses .3 MG I again took the 3 little pills.

At 9:15 PM on Sunday the 25^th of September of 2011 I was placed into the release process; almost everything that had been in “safe holding”; my bill-fold, calculator, lead pin, etc.; was returned, each neatly sealed inside a clear plastic container.  Everything that is, except my meager bit of cash.  When I received the items, like a big dummy I expected that the little bit of cash was surely inside the bill-fold.

At this point, I was told by another officer that before I could be released, I would need to be fingerprinted. Yipee!  When I ask why this was necessary he said state law required it, but if I didn’t want to be fingerprinted I could return to a cell until such time that I come to consider it a "really neat" idea.

Today, Monday September 26^th  I learned through an attorney who I had contacted in Perry County KY that the “powers that be” in Perry County had notified the Fayette Detention “powers that be” to release me on Saturday afternoon with instructions to contact the Perry County District Court via telephone to see if and when they wanted me to appear in the Perry County District Court … He further said the fine would be $68.50 if they elected to require me to appear at all.

Since, even while I draft this evenings post, I continue to have an upset stomach, a more severe case of dizziness and what seems to be a more pronounced case of blurred vision; I elected to go visit with my local doctor.  He determined that the “side effects” would most likely be short term but he did change my prescription to a different medication.

So if you ever need a speeding or parking ticket “fixed” in Perry County Kentucky, just send me an e-mail … I know this guy who will take care of it for you for free!

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