Way back in the day when I had four sweeper trucks running all around the country side at night we would fill up the trucks at this quicky stop place that was independently owned. It had four or five tables we could sit at. The trucks would go off to do there thing and I would "hold court" at those tables. Peeps would come in...old friends from High School and other peeps from the neighborhood that just started stopping by. Next thing you know the cops started coming by. They came by the first time because the guy that ran the place started talking guns. Next thing you know the place is full of guns...we're showing them to each other...brazenly out in the open. Someone called the popo. They didn't roll in guns a blazin. They started coming in regularly showing us their "other than service" guns. Guy running the night shift rarely worried about getting robbed. The place looked like a gun shop! hahaha

Another time, some dinkus called about guns at the store. In they rolled all suspicious looking until they saw it was us. They turn the blues on and were acting all coppy until they came through the door and busted out laughing, We knew it was ya'll. Bunch of nuts.

Got to know the whole East side after someone stole one of sweepers when my guy went in to pay for gas. Left the truck running because it was cold out. Some idiot jumped in and took off. Cops like flies all over that. Met cops we never knew. Got to meet the top cop of the night crew...whatever they call him...we nicknamed him Tackleberry from the funny cop movie. My driver had 44 mag in the truck for protection. He had to tell Tackleberry about that and this was the first time we met Tackleberry. They tracked down the truck and because of the gun being in there...turned the dog loose on him. Chewed him a little extra for ya Wayne. Turned out to be a bad egg we knew from High School. Jack ass cost me hundreds of dollars and only got chewed extra good and six months.

Had to go to the downtown Nashville station to recover drivers 44 mag. Guy behind a cage tracks it down...hands it to us and we walk out gun out in the open...cops all around, as one might imagine...went home.

It was a great time. I got to knowing several of them. We would go out shooting and hunting. Good bunch of guys. Never ever got a ticket and I ran most of the sweeper trucks w/o up to date tags...some by years. One time this cop, Dave, pulls over one of my drivers he had gotten to know...I got something to show you. Next thing you know they're standing on the side of major thoroughfare checking out Dave's new hunting rifle.

So, yea, I've known a few. They're regular peeps doing a thankless job for not nearly enough pay, as far as I'm concerned.

Are there some jerks on the force? Yes. Do they make mistakes? Yes. Are there some bad eggs? Yes.

Am I glad they're out there keeping the ne'er-do-well's tamped down? Damned straight, I am.