Nature’s Call?

       From my archives of more than 20 years is a news story that delivers the message that truth is stranger than fiction. Truth can be strange because people do strange things. But, we are only human, and that applies to every class, race, sect, religion and profession. We all make mistakes. Is there a second message here?

     People with great authority do sometimes abuse it and this has been seen many times in many places, including police departments, both large and small. That’s the other side of the coin. The tragedy is that some of these abuses have resulted in years of punishment for people who could not be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt without such police misfeasance. The sadness continues when the abuse by the officer is sometimes justified by saying: ‘He’s just a thug and is probably guilty of something or will be in the future. What’s the harm?’ That is a discussion for another time. Most importantly, these are exceptions to the norm; in fact, the vast majority of police officers do their job in a fair, professional and ethical manner. 

    But with regards to this case, is the strange behavior/ actual or attempted abuse, a combination or neither? You be the judge. 

…..

Nature’s call or not, trooper guilty

Judge ignores testimony on a hurry-up call – claimed and denied – as an excuse for speeding, and levies fines on the state officer for speeding and fleeing.

 

By Dave Mowery

Eagle/Times (published in the mid 90s)

Nature’s call had no bearing in a case against an off-duty Pittsburgh-based state trooper found guilty of failing to pull over properly after being clocked for speeding.

Trooper Nelson Bryant, 38, a 13-year police veteran, was in Berks County Court Wednesday hoping to wipe out a summary charge that he fled police or purposely failed to pull off the road.

After a 2 ½ hour hearing, Judge Jeffrey K. Sprecher denied the request and fined Bryant $67 for speeding and $200 for fleeing police.

Trooper Michael J. Mescavage, who is now retired but who was assigned to the Hamburg barracks at the time of the incident, testified that he clocked Bryant at 76 mph in a 55 mph zone March 14 on westbound Interstate 78 in Tilden Township.

Mescavage, a trooper for 23 ½ years, said he pursued Bryant for about two miles with the cruiser lights flashing before Bryant pulled over. The retired trooper said Bryant told him he had diarrhea and was not trying to outrun the pursuit car.

Bryant disputed that, claiming he pulled over as soon as Mescavage turned on the overhead light of the cruiser. Bryant also said he never offered a reason for speeding.
He did not contest the speeding citation, but he denied he was driving 120 mph during the chase, as Mescavage claimed. 

After Bryant pulled over, he displayed a state police identification card in his wallet when asked for his license and registration, Mescavage said.

“I told him I didn’t want to see an identification card,” Mescavage said.

He said Bryant explained he had diarrhea and got out of the car and walked into the weeds along the road to relieve himself.

Mescavage said he contacted a supervisor, who indicated he could issue the citations later. He said he returned the next day to search the weeds where he believed he stopped Bryant, but found nothing.

Bryant said his identification card was near his driver’s license in his wallet, and he did not offer it to Mescavage. And, he said, he went into the weeds to urinate…