  Did you know that the back seat of a police car has square plastic & metal seats - and the doors have no handles on them?
I would rather not know this information, but I just had the "pleasure" of being driven by the police, in the back seat. I also had the pleasure of being placed in handcuffs - and not as part of any sexual game. It sounds funny when I write all this, but let me assure you - it was not funny at all.
This was a scary and an unpleasant experience. I am still quite shaken... OK, let me start from the beginning. My husband is not back from his business trip yet - he should be arriving in an hour or so. I took the opportunity of an evening alone and went to the movies with a friend. We saw "Stepford Wives", had a nice time, and I was headed home. I was ALMOST home when a police car behind me signaled me to stop. I did. Before I continue, let me explain something about myself: I hate anything that has to do with cars.
I hate driving, to begin with, I hate getting gas, and I don't deal with anything car-related. Therefore it is my husband who handles car insurance, registration, etc. Now, back to my ordeal. The cop walks over to my car and asks me if I realize the registration is expired and has expired more than a year ago .
Obviously, I knew nothing about this. He asks for my registration forms (which took me 10 minutes to find, as my husband "hid" them behind the passenger seat) and my driver's license. Then asks me to stay in the car. While he goes back to the police car to run checks on me, I wait. When he comes back he informs me there are several problems: A) The car registration has expired in mid-2003 (!
) B) The address the car is registered for is not the same as the address I live in C) The address on my ID is not the address I told him when he asked where I live. (There are perfectly good explanations for the address messes, but they are irrelevant to the story) I explain my husband takes care of these things and I don't know much about it. They ask me to call him - but as luck has it: he is on the flight and inaccessible. The bottom line is that because the registration has been expired for over 6 months - the car needs to be impounded.
I am asked to get out of the car and stand on the sidewalk. I am given a breath-analyzer to confirm I had not been drinking. (I haven't of course). And my hands are placed in handcuffs. The toll truck arrives to take the car - but the car must be searched first. However, since the cop that stopped me was accompanied by a trainee (not a real cop) he is not allowed to search the car and leave me with no supervision. He calls ANOTHER police car. After a while (during which I am still on the sidewalk, in hand cuffs) they arrive. One cop is "guarding" me while the other two search my car (for weapons, drugs, who knows...). Then they ask me to take what I want from the car (before the car is driven away) and put it on the sidewalk.
I gather my things from the car - my Jacket, CD's, umbrella, icepack for my back, a few other items. They are all on the sidewalk. By this time cars are slowing down to see what the commotion is all about (After all, two police cars, one toll truck, 4 police officers, a car with all doors open, stuff on the floor, and a young girl in handcuffs is quite a scene).
The car is taken away and the police begin filling out paperwork. When they are done they ask if I have someone to pick me up and take me home. I have no one to call. No one to call. nobody . Alone. They offer to call me a cab and I muster the nerve to ask them if they can take me home. By now, I am so shaken and I can't control the tears streaming down my cheeks (even though I keep talking as if the person crying is a completely different person then the one talking).
I gather my belongings in a big black garbage bag - feeling like a criminal or a bum. I get in the backseat of the police car (harsh metal seats) and am driven home. So here I am now. Still with no one to call I fall back on the one person I can call anytime: Mom.
I call her in Israel and tell here my story between sobs. While she was quite understanding she also laughed quite a bit. She thinks all of this is quite hilarious. I might feel the same way tomorrow, but tonight - I am having a hard time laughing. 
