El Jefe - 5-22-2010 at 09:57 AM
This from good friends who just made the trip north a couple of weeks ago. I've seen the pics, interesting. A moral dilemma to be sure.
"Our Baja vacation started out normal, long drive down the peninsula, good surf, work on our house, then drive back home. We come to a curve that we
were run off the road about ten years ago by a simi truck and trailer. As we come around the curve we see that a Copple truck and trailer was on it's
side with merchandise laying all over the place, but we see the Federal Police ( federalies ) were on the seen and the driver looked OK so we drive by
slowly and continued down the road. About a mile or less down the road one of the Federally cars was coming fast with his lights flashing, so I slow
to let him by, but they pull along side us and yell STOP! So we stop and they both come up to the truck and tell me to get out, I look at my wife and
do as told, wondering what the hell was going on. Turns out, as I was going by the accident they spotted our utility trailer and noticed it was empty
and thought, WOW! we could get a lot more chit in that trailer than we can get in our pick up and only make one trip. So, one of the federallies says
I am your friend as he smiles at us and continues to talk us into helping them get the evidence from the crash scene to the office, we agree to
helping them knowing that they were just getting their xmas shopping done early. I told the officer that I would have to find a wide spot in the road
to turn around with the trailer, we all know that wide spots in the road are hard to come by. The feds take off with their lights flashing for about a
half a mile and through a road block at a wide spot so I can turn around, well this wide spot is maybe 8ft wider than the road, but I manage to get
the truck and trailer turned around and head back to the scene of the accident. There they have a pile of merchandise ( evidence ) that has been
selected to go to town. There was six elec. water coolers, kids battery operated Harleys, pool table, and all the things that you normally see under
the xmas tree. We load it all up, I net the load to keep it in the trailer an off we go. They were in a hurry with all the lights flashing and using
every bit of the road. I don't think they ever drove with a trailer as I was really pushing it to stay with them. We went through one small village
about 40 mph with everybody watching, and up the hill towards town. When we got to the military check point the feds handed the commanding officer a
gift of cheap colonge and he flagged us through with no inspection and off we went. When we get to the police station we are relieved, then they take
us past the station to a residential area where we back the trailer into a driveway that belongs to one of the officers, he's the one with the
mirrored shades with all the amo on his vest that never smiles. I help them unload everything, then my wife asks if we could take their pictures and
they say sure, lets go out to the truck where they reach inside and grab their AK 47s and tell me to put my hands behind my back. Then one of them
says WAIT, and runs back to the house to grab his gun belt that he took off to help unload the trailer, then jumps into to picture with his buddies
all smiling, then they put their arms around me for the picture. After the pictures, they were the nicest guys you could ever meet, even the one with
the mirrored shades was grinning. They gave us their cell phone numbers and said " if you ever get in trouble and need help in Mexico, call us, we
will help you. He took me to his back yard and showed me his German Shepard that was a beatiful black and tan, and another cop showed us a picture
of his German Sheperd on his phone. Both guys want a puppy from our dogs if that ever happens. We left knowing we had made friends with three of the
most feared cops in Mexico, now the town looks better than ever to us."
I've edited out names and places. This happened away from the border towns. Sometimes our USA concept of the rules just doesn't apply down here.
David K - 5-22-2010 at 10:11 AM
Thanks Tom for sharing... interesting!
Neal Johns - 5-22-2010 at 10:24 AM
Sometimes our USA concept of the rules just doesn't apply down here.
El Jefe, You must not have been on the East Coast very much, After a robbery, the evidence is collected just like in Baja! Very different here in
California, usually.
El Jefe - 5-22-2010 at 10:57 AM
You may be right Neal. Things are different in California. I remember an incident many years ago on the FD where after a devastating house fire the
occupants' dildo (which had been found in the wreckage) showed up in one of the firefighter's locker as a gag. The Chief got wind of it and after
almost firing the guys involved, personally took the, ahem, item back to the middle-aged residents with his apology.
Had it been me as chief, I think I would have let that sleeping dog lie.
durrelllrobert - 5-22-2010 at 11:06 AM
Once saw 2 CHP cars being loaded with fresh steaks from an overturned refer truck in central CA