Another true police story, by John Williams.

All my close friends know that I’m a retired police officer from the fine city of Jacksonville. In honor of a good friend of mine leaving the department today to go to work for another agency I thought I would tell this true Jacksonville Police Department story. Many many years ago one Saturday morning around 1230 in the morning I stopped a pick-up truck that had two kids (obviously below 18 years of age) riding in the back of it with two in the cab of the truck. Our city has/had a curfew law that says if you’re less than 18 years of age and out after 12 o’clock on Friday nights you have to be accompanied by an adult. Well like I said I stop this truck and my buddy officer Hicks was my back up. I Asked four teenage boys what they were doing out past curfew and where they were from? They promptly replied they weren’t aware that there was a curfew in Jacksonville sir, they were from the town of Carlisle. For those of you that don’t know, Carlisle is a little farming community about 40 miles away from Jacksonville. These boys had driven all the way from Carlisle in the middle of the night just to go to the closest Taco Bell and get tacos. After explaining to them the penalties of the cities curfew ordinance and how they were gonna have to be taken to the police department and their parents are gonna have to come all the way from Carlisle to pick them up and take them home and that their truck would likely be towed they started looking pretty sad. Feeling for them, I gave them an option… suffer the penalty of the city of Jacksonville‘s curfew ordinance or answer three history questions correctly and if they answered all three correctly I would let them go to Taco Bell get their tacos and then they had to head back to Carlisle. They all looked at each other and said they would take the history questions. So in my best Alex Trebek impersonation with me humming Jeopardy theme music and all I begin asking this group of teenage boys in a pick-up truck, blue lights flashing, spot lights and flash lights shining, parked in the Bayou Meto cemetery parking lot on N. 1st St. a series of history questions. I told the boys, boys, the category is US constitutional history. The boys looked at each other and kind of got sad faces. I asked them the first question. Guys I said, what are the first 10 amendments to the US constitution known as? They all looked at each other and one of the kids in the back of the truck raised his hand. The other three said go ahead and Billy give them the answer. Billy shouted out they’re known as the Bill of Rights! I paused…. you are correct! They all were shouting and started high-fiving each other and are getting really excited. I remind them don’t get too excited boys you have two questions left and if you get one of them wrong you’re not gonna get tacos and I’m going to have to take you in. Their excitement subsided and they started looking intently at me. I said the second question is, what rights does the first amendment to the United States constitution address? They all start looking at each other and I’m humming the Jeopardy theme music counting down to the time where I need an answer and they all look at Billy and Billy says I know the answer. The kids are like, give him the answer Billy. Billy shouts out its freedom of speech, freedom of speech. I pause and look at them all in the face and then I shout out you are correct! Again these four teenage boys from Carlisle Arkansas are all cheering each other and I’m doing my best to stand there and look stern and yet friendly. I reminded them again, boys you aren’t out of the woods yet you have one more question left and I hope you get this question right because I really want you to have tacos and be able to drive home safely to Carlisle. If you don’t get this last question right, your parents get up out of bed and come and pick you up. I told them… your third and final question is what are the first three words to the US Constitution? I noticed that the kid who had been answering the last two questions correctly had a big smile on his face and the other three who were totally in the dark on this subject matter looked at Billy. Billy looked around at his friends and said I know the answer. They said go ahead give the answer. He said, we the people! I paused then said, you are correct! Boy, was those kids happy, slapping each other on the back and cheering each other. I told the driver of the truck that it’s a good thing you brought Billy along otherwise I’m pretty sure your truck would’ve been towed and your parents would’ve had to come get you from the police department. I said you really should let Billy ride up front the rest of the night. Everybody agreed Billy saved the night. Billy got out of the back of the truck and went and sat in the front seat and the kid that was sitting on the front passenger seat went and sat in the back of the truck. We told the boys to go get tacos and be sure to leave my city since there was a curfew out. They were all high-fiving each other and smiling and told us thanks. They did go get tacos btw. I have some really good memories of my time in law-enforcement and especially good memories from when I worked with Officer Hicks. He was a great guy to work with and always had my back. On a side note.... I still like to think that there are four guys in Carlisle Arkansas that are now grown but still friends and maybe get together and talk about the time that they had a game show history quiz in the cemetery parking lot in Jacksonville Arkansas, stopped by the cops, in the middle of the night, while going to get tacos back when they were teenagers. And that to this date they still say Billy saved their ass and kept them from going to jail. That somehow after that night Billy felt good for saving his friends for having the right answers to the US Constitution. That those teenage boys have just as good memories about that night as I have…