A Case of Mistaken Identity                       by Curt Hughes

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy street. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, though he could have beaten the red light, accelerating through the intersection. The tailgater was furious, honking her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

While still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked tip into the face of a very serious police officer. He ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours she was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, “I’m sorry for this mistake. I pulled up behind you while you were blowing your horn, rudely gesturing at the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I saw the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ bumper sticker, the ‘Choose Life’ license plate holder, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.”