You said — I have a few questions regarding that post:
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I would be glad to oblige... :-)
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You asked — 1. What police force was he a member of? I’m impressed he had the good grace to be embarrassed rather angry at you for flagging his hypocrisy.
Washington Country Sheriff
http://www.co.washington.or.us/cgi/sheriff/lec.pl
Keep in mind, that at the time that this happened, it was “news” and many people were angry about the ridiculous nature of these double-nickel laws. And in addition, if I remember correctly about the time, and in that area, there were letters to the editors and news articles about police also abiding by these laws (when driving normally). There is always “context” for these kinds of things... :-)
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And then you asked — 2. What did your vehicle and appearance say about you? Were you in a suit driving a late model high end car or in jeans driving a truck or clunker?
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I was driving a relatively new car, but a sports car for the time, and it was “fire engine red” too... LOL...
It was what I called a “screamer” (while still in the range of my pocketbook), a 1972 Mercury Capri V-6 block (could really get up and haul...). I was in ordinary clothes, perhaps slacks, but can’t remember, and clean-cut (haircut-wise and clothes) and neat (as I usually was), and in my mid-20s.
I wouldn’t call it a high-end car, but it certainly wasn’t a clunker either and was used for racing in Europe, being the V-6 engine was a screamer back then.
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And lastly you said — 3. Does it get tiring carrying that much brass around with you all the time?
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As I said earlier, if I had actually “thought” about it, instead of just reacting as I did, I probably wouldn’t have done it. LOL...
Well..., I just had to add something about my Mercury Capri V-6 screamer... :-)
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The European Ford Capri was developed as a “baby Mustang” for that market, a 2-door car with a short trunklid (later hatchback) and a long hood. North American-spec Capris were built in Cologne, Germany, and were sold through Lincoln-Mercury dealers in North America. The European Capri was first sold in the US in April 1970. It carried no marque identification, and was named simply the Capri, but it was often (and inaccurately) called the Mercury Capri, as Ford already had a Mustang (and its twin, the Mercury Cougar) for the same buyer market. The only type initially available used the British 1600 cc Kent crossflow, with a price starting at less than US$2300. The 2.0 L OHC I4 was introduced for the 1971 model year. 1971 2.0 liter Capris are particularly desirable, since they have a 9.0:1 compression ratio. (it was reduced to 8.2:1 in 1972) The 2.6 L “Cologne” V6 was introduced late in the 1972 model year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Capri
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I got that at the Lincoln-Mercury dealer in Portland and loved that fire engine red color on it, even though I had been told that it was a police-attention-getter... When I read about it in the auto magazines (and I had been shopping around for a new car), I figured that this was the one that I really wanted...
If you can even imagine it, getting a new car for about $3,200 sounds downright cheap now... LOL...
Look at it from the deputy's point of view:
This young fellow gets out of a fire engine red European sports car (I know three large was a very cheap price for a car at that time, my dad paid more than that for his '67 Chevy, but I am talking about what the deputy saw) and starts reading the riot act as if he had every right to do so. Odds are that you had money and connections that would make his career either short or at least not particularly high flying.
I can't know for sure that was what went through his mind but it surely would explain why he was as flustered as he was.