The obvious indicator

Not long ago I was working with a detective when we noticed a vehicle in the area drive by and start to turn towards us, but seeing our car, change their mind and go in the opposite direction. We decided to check on it, but as soon as we got behind it, the car turned off the road and pulled into a stall at a car wash. We decided to park across the street for a few minutes to see what they were doing, and the guy got out and walked around the car wash and then back to his car. He sat there for a few minutes and then got out and stretched his legs and then got back in the car again. Each time he got out of the car, he glanced over at us to see if we were still there. This, of course, was a little bit of a hint that something was wrong. Turns out his license was revoked, and he did not have insurance on his car. He told us he was trying to see if we would move on if he was washing his car. I told him he may want to actually start washing it next time then. There are common things people do to not be noticed, but to a police officer, they start to become very clear signs that something is going on. People seeing you and then pulling their hood up over their face as they walk away very quickly and people covering all the windows in their house with aluminum foil so no one can see in are two common examples. Some people even think the Clark Kent thing actually works and wear reading glasses to “disguise” themselves.

It is an obvious indicator when someone forgets their own name, cannot tell you how old they are after just telling you their birthdate, or have trouble spelling their own last name. When we ask if you have anything illegal in your car and you say no but cannot stop looking down at the backpack in the floorboard, it is an indicator that something may be in the backpack. I once had a guy walking towards me on the side of the road look up and see me and then look surprised, turn around and start running as fast as he could away from me. I knew who he was, so I met him at his house to arrest him on the warrant he had. He was too tired to run away again, but if I had not known who he was, the running away would have tipped me off that something was not right. Trying to hide in plain sight can be harder than they make it look in the movies. When you think you are being inconspicuous, you may be doing just the opposite. It is better to just take care of the problem instead of living a life that requires you to constantly hide, wear a hoodie over your head everywhere you go or hang out in car washes waiting for the cops to drive away. To those over the past few months who have turned themselves in because they wanted to make the right choices, thank you. Facing your problems now is the first step in the right direction.