Real Life Cops Episode

What a night. It started with the most boring 6 hours I ever experienced in less than two hours as I watched "Capote" with my wife. It won't get rave reviews from me except as a cure for insomnia and after suffering through it I needed a ride. The storms we had been expecting seemed to miss us and the motorcycle ride was nothing short of fantastic. As I rode north on a nearly empty State Road 7 I noticed the clouds twenty miles away as they lit up like a preview to the upcoming July 4th. I decided to ride to Southern Blvd. and head towards the airport so I could keep the natural light show in view as I rode through the never-ending construction of Palm Beach County. The lightening was flashing every few seconds, forcing me to choose between the light show and the safety of the ride more often than I appreciated. It was one of those time when you wanted to have a camera to capture the beauty of lightening as it ran down the irregular edges of the clouds out over the Atlantic. Just as I was riding over the Military Trail bridge my low fuel light came on. I switched to reserve as the field of indigo lights threw itself at me. The airport lights look spectacular as you come over the bridge with full view of the runways just south of the terminal. Moving to the right lane, I exited to Congress towards Forest Hill Blvd. Here I not only started back west, but also headed for fuel at a station I frequent during the week. Gas on a bike doesn't take long and I was back on the road in a few minutes. As I crossed Military Trail (this time further south) I heard the typical sound of police cruisers. It's not unusual to see sheriff's deputies chasing criminals on a Saturday night so I watched my lanes and kept moving. Moving at 60 mph or more two cars flew by me just as we approached the intersection at Haverhill Rd. It was an opportunity to move into the now empty lane and I did as soon as they passed me. Much to my surprise, I was stopping a second later. One cruiser pulled up diagonal by a mini-van on the road while the other slid sideways to block the highway traffic. Within seconds a third vehicle raced by me and jerked to a sudden stop behind the suspects vehicle. I heard someone shout, "Stay in the car. Don't get out of the car. Stay inside the car." As two more police cars pulled up I now noticed a dog working with one officer. A small figure emerged at the side of the road, appearing to have hands secured behind the back. Moments later, two more cruisers made the turn 100 feet behind me and moved down a side street. A police helicopter with search light is suddenly above and lights are scanning the vicinity. While sitting there I put my signals on so I would be more visible. Eventually, an onlooker in his car with his girlfriend tried to inch by to get closer to the action. I waved him down to stop and he complied. Within minutes his car was overheating, steam pushing past the headlights signaling an impending disaster and he had to turn the car off. A few more minutes and I would have had a car fire next to me to add to the circus. The entire episode took less than 10 minutes. Before we knew it the police had a few people cuffed and were moving their cars into a single lane to let traffic through. I was only 1 car away from the action and went through the scene quickly to finish the ride home with far less event. It was impressive to see our sheriff's department handle a scene quickly, safely, and to then return it to the public for safe transportation. The entire episode took less than 10 minutes and seemed to result in 3 people being "detained". Traffic was interrupted for a little while, but on a holiday weekend Saturday night I was impressed with our men in green uniform. An exciting little night with front row seats. A great ride. Lightening in the distance. And a real life cops episode right in front of me.