~ by Chris #16 Demaras ~
This is Officer Papadopoulos. He is legendary as the most proficient traffic cop east of Yonge St. This week, the Police Constable got 15 minutes of fame with the disapproving look he gave the camera after puling over a motorist on Hwy 401 going only 60 km/h. Forget about impeding the flow of traffic; since most people do 120 km/h on Hwy 401, if an unlucky motorist had rear-ended this slow poke, it would have been like driving into a parked car at 60 km’h. Bad news.
And how do I know Officer Papadopoulos, you ask? 15 years ago, he pulled me over (plus 20 other speed demons) on O’Connor Dr, up the street from Demaras Racing world headquarters. Had all of us speeders organized in a parking lot like an assembly line, picking up everyone’s licenses before going back to his cruiser to write tickets.
When he got to me, I handed him my whole wallet and promised to come back in 15 minutes. He gave me a disapproving look, and crossed his arms. I had little Daniel in the back seat, and needed to get him to kindergarten before snack time. Of course I’d come back for my wallet, and then Papadopoulos could give me a ticket upon my return. To my disbelief, he agreed.
When I got back, he was in his cruiser, waiting. He joked that the story was good, and he wasn’t even going to give me a ticket. But then he said he started thinking “What if that guy was a wanted criminal? Did I just let him get away?” He wondered if my wallet was a phony, filled with coupons, stickers and pop-bottle wrappers like the one Leo DiCaprio handed to Tom Hanks in “Catch Me If You Can”
Running my name through the computer, turns out I had a suspended license! I guess I never received my license renewal letter (we’d recently moved) and didn’t pay attention to when the license expired (6 months earlier). Papadopoulos gave me a monster ticket, advised me to fight it in traffic court (with an explanation) and suggested the crown attorney might go easy on me.
I sheepishly said I understood the situation, told him I’d see him in court, and fired up my car. Then he gave me the bad news. He couldn’t knowingly allow me to drive away, since my license was suspended. I’d have to walk home. If he saw me driving away, he’d have to pull me over again and impound my car!
He turned his back, walked away, and got out his radar gun. As soon as the first speeder was directed into the parking lot, I started the car and slithered away.
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