John Morin stories

John Morin is a former Lansing resident who now lives in Holt.

Illegal air freshener

I would never recommend being aggressive towards any police officer, no matter what the circumstances.  In my case though, I was tired of being lied to every time a police officer came to my house after having been victimized.  I lashed out when Sheri was arrested, even though we knew that the warrant was dormant, we knew the day would come where she would have to answer for her charge.  It was unexpected that a state police officer would show up on her birthday and lie in order to lure her off the property.  Two guys I worked with were in my backyard cutting down a huge sugar maple when the officer knocked on my front door.  I cut the tree down because the year before, it had generated about one hundred bags of leaves.  Set for city pick up, they left half of them saying they would return for the rest.  When Spring arrived, I had about fifty bags with rotted bottoms to dispose of.  Get rid of the tree, no future problems.  By this time I often told Sheri that I didn't know who would get me first, the cops or the crooks, it seemed both groups wanted to do me in.  So yes, now that State Police Officer who wrote me a ticket for a hanging air freshener from the rear view mirror, can now know why I sent him a middle finger as he flew past me at over ninety miles per hour.  Of course I wasn't just going to pay the ticket with out first seeing if I could beat it.

     The only reference to that law I found was about a paragraph long statement in a thick rules book at the secretary of states office.  I made a copy because I had been told that the rule could be found in the "what every driver must know" manual they give out at the secretary of state office, it wasn't.  I next took my polaroid and went to the Lansing city police departments, photographing the personal cars owned by the officers found in the gated and fenced parking lots.  It was when I was walking down the sidewalk along the parking lot at the old school on Cedar Street that had been converted to a precinct, while taking pictures, an individual came barreling out of the back door, and a patrol car came flying up to the parking lot entrance coming to a stop.  I stood my ground as a black female LPD uniformed officer approached me, hollering back to the guy at the back door that she had it handled.  She demanded to know who I was and why I was taking pictures.  I explained to her that I was standing on a public sidewalk minding my own business, and what was her problem  regarding what I was doing.  She claimed that they had had ongoing problems with things happening to vehicles in the lot. I said that their response to me being on the sidewalk was about a minute, impressive.  I had just photographed a black sports car parked right at the fence.  From the mirror hung a large number of colorful  Hawaiian leis, a mother lode of criminal activity.  The officer than informed me that I had photographed her car, the black sports car, and she wanted to know why.  So I relented, told her that I had gotten a ticket and I was going to fight it, and that I found that nearly every car in the lot violated that law, and if the police don't understand the law, how can citizens be expected to.  She wanted to know which officer wrote the ticket, I could see that possible negotiations could resolve it, but I told her that a state police officer had written it, and that stopped any potential deal.  Her next argument was that she and the other officers were no different than I, if they were pulled over, they also would get a ticket.  I didn't believe that for a moment.  We then parted ways.

     With pictures and arguments in hand, I took time off from work for a pretrial conference with the prosecutor.  The line was long, many with their attorney standing along the hallway waiting their turn.  I was near the front and didn't have to wait long.  It was a small room with two tables set up.  I sat at the first table inside the office, facing a female prosecutor.  At the other table, an elderly man sat stoic, listening to our conversation.  She asked me if I had an attorney, I replied no, to which she said that my case was easy and we would get through it quickly.  P.S., I should have had an attorney.  She read the charge to which I was claiming not guilty.  She asked me for the reason I claimed not guilty, at which I explained that  the charge is obscure and that even the police officers failed to abide by it in the county.  The reaction was not from the female prosecutor, rather the gentleman from the other table.  He stood up and looking down on me, screamed in my face pounding on the table that there wasn't a cop that would violate that law.  I had to wipe my face, he couldn't control his saliva and I was sprayed.  But not a problem, I pulled out the stack of photos I had taken, presenting them as evidence.  His response upon seeing them changed a full one eighty, screaming once again "The fine officers of this county can do what ever they want as far as I'm concerned, do you have a problem with that?" punctuating with further table pounding.  Actually, yes I did, but each time I fight this, I lose wages when I go to court and the job I have requires my presence, not my absence.  We went back to negotiating and I was offered a plea of no points but a higher fine.  If I could have afforded it, I would have fought it to the end.  When I went to pay the fine [a total of $105], I commented on how frustrating it was to find an honest court system.  An officer overheard my comment and threatened to arrest me if I made any other comments, to which I said, "Can someone tell me what country I'm in, I thought I went to bed in America."  The cop just glared at me, eventually turning around, scanning for his next target to try to intimidate with his badge. 

     I was just given a lesson, that police misconduct is everywhere and that they protect one another, at all levels.  I  felt for the people who followed behind me. I can only wonder what they thought, what the attorneys thought at the old guy's outburst.  Did each reevaluate their case and feel maybe justice would not be available in that room.  I never found out who the old guy was, maybe another prosecutor hanging out.  If I had pursued the ticket further, I am confident I would have eventually won, but I would have lost that much more in wages.  Since then, the law no longer exists, removed by the state, for what reason I don't know.  The law as written in the secretary of state rule book mostly covered exemptions, for example, you could not write this ticket on a vehicle with out of state plates.  Losing this case taught me a lesson, though:  If you are fighting a ticket, or a criminal charge, you must understand that the other side will use every resource, spend thousands upon thousands of tax payer dollars to win.  And if money doesn't get a conviction, they are not afraid of bending the truth a bit to win.  And when you do have them in a tight spot where you can prove misconduct, they will try to buy you out, that way the misconduct is buried away and the public never hears about it.  Or if they win, you can scream and bitch all you want behind bars, no one is listening, and no one cares.  At a much younger age I learned a lesson I've never forgotten and have seen played out many times.  Any form of justice, where the playing field is level and no one is out to get you and you are facing charges,  three factors will decide your fate quite often.  How much money you have determines if you have a lawyer who will actually do more than go through the motions.  Who you know makes a difference, friends in high places can unlock doors in the worst of times.  Finally, who you are related to.  A police officer who has an out-of-control son constantly committing crimes will often get diverted from any court.  The police won't even file charges no matter how serious the crime.  In cases like that, justice is thrown out the window and the focus is only how to protect the police officer's kid.   Too bad we don't get that kind of consideration in life, and years later I would once again see how these factors play out with both Sheri's and my neck on the line.

Explainer: Can officers stop drivers for air fresheners?