It is not a secret that the Defenders MC is a Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club. Yes we have Firefighters, Military, Public Safety Professionals, and like minded citizens as members of our club. One question still comes to mind. As a Law Enforcement Officer, are you ever really “Off Duty?” Take a leave day if you are lucky to find one available and enjoy the day with brothers riding to points unknown. The mere fact that you are in the company of those brothers and on your motorcycle on a very amazing weather day is all that is needed. Throw in the good conversation and camaraderie we share and it is just awesome!
Lets say that you are a Law Enforcement Officer on a day off and all of the above conditions have been met. You meet with fellow club members for an impromptu ride to ‘Wherever.” After meeting for breakfast and great conversation & laughs. You all saddle up and ride out; this time to points north. For those that know the Jacksonville area, we rode north on Southside Blvd. from The Nicklyn’s Cafe (Beach & Southside). Continuing north onto the 9a extension, we rode over the Dames Point Bridge and exited onto Heckscher Dr. We followed Heckscher Dr. past the ferry and quiet, quaint homes glad to be free of stubborn traffic! Continuing north and around a gradual curve, it was if the world opened up to us. We could see out over the water to the east which presented us a beautiful view of the sun kissed beaches and the many weekenders gathering for a day of fun and relaxation. We pass Amelia Island and finally ride into quaint Fernandina Beach.
We found awesome parking, dismounted and walked to the marina to stretch and take in the beautiful view and daydream out loud about how someone had parked our yachts in the wrong slips. Our bellies full from breakfast, we decided to walk the downtown area and check out the local shops. Well, the ladies checked out the shops while the men sat in the shade of the public benches, just glad to be among brothers. Shop after shop and yes the candy shop! Yum, I couldn’t resist the urge to go in and smell the fudge. Voodoo contributed to my diabetes and bought me a homemade peanut butter cup, which I thoroughly enjoyed by the way!
While checking the last row of shops, the fellas sat on the corner while the ladies checked out the remaining shops before reaching our scooters. Traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian was beginning to grow about this time so we were about ready to ride out. While enjoying a few laughs, the quiet moment gave way to the sound of a car engine racing towards us. That was followed by the shouts of a man who was chasing the car which had reached the corner and got stuck in traffic. “Hey stop! Come back here!” As we stood up and looked in the direction of the shouting, we could see a silver Chevy Impala occupied by three young white males trying to crawl its way onto the main street. When traffic cleared, the car drove quickly down Main Street where it got held up once again by traffic.
Two of us, on instinct, began to run after the car which we though had just been stolen by these three rogue crackheads. As we got close, the car quickly turned into oncoming traffic and turn right in an effort to head away from us on a side street. Heat made the turn and continued running after the car while Yankee stopped on the corner to have a citizen call 911 with a description of the car and suspects. After doing so, he attempted to catch up to Heat who was trucking down the street after the car which had once again been boxed in by traffic at a stop sign. As we finally got close to the car, traffic cleared and it sped away from us. We did not bother to get the tag number as we thought the car was stolen from the man who was shouting and originally chasing the car.
While we were walking back down the street, we met with Hammer who accompanied us to the street where the original incident occurred in order to look for the victim. When we reached the area, the victim was nowhere to be found so we began to look in all the shops along the street and talk to people passing. Hammer came across a seemingly nice lady who told him that the desperadoes we chased, stole a pressure washer that belonged to her lawn maintenance man. When they fled the area, they recklessly caused their getaway car to strike the truck that belonged to him. he was able to call him on his cell phone and handed her fancy I-phone to Hammer who could not hear the victim. He in turn handed the phone to Yankee who began to talk to the victim over the constant, shrill droning of the lady. Yankee told the victim of our attempts to catch the desperadoes and gave him a last known direction of travel. About that time, the Police arrived. Still droning on, Yankee began to listen to the what the lady was repeating over and over like a broken record. She, in her infinite wisdom was chastising us for not obtaining the tag number on the getaway car. Yankee began to look at her with a perplexed look on his face while the victim was still talking to him on her phone. At this point, he lost interest in what the victim was saying and just told him to return to the scene as the police needed his statement. As the now curt lady was voicing her disapproval of our vain attempts to catch the car, Yankee handed her the phone withan outstretched arm while looking the other way; trying to keep his mouth from overriding his brain telling him not to say anything. The lady, took the phone and told the victim that we did not attain th tag number of the car and that he needed to return.
We made contact with the Police Officer and told her what had happened as the seemingly nice turned abject thankless lady stepped into the street to tell the officer that she might as well tell what happened because “they don’t know what they are talking about.” As she attempted to address the Police Officer from across the street, Yankee finally became frustrated and walked away towards our awaiting scooters. Yankee was no doubt spun up from the the lady and almost decided to call in to his boss and tell him to change the schedule to reflect him giving up his day off to go to work. If the citizenry was going to yell at him and belittle his efforts, he might as well be getting paid for it.
Aside from the minor excitement, the ride was uneventful and we returned home to Jacksonville where you expect to see crimes in progress. We split at 9A and Atlantic Blvd. to return home to try to enjoy the rest of our respective days.
Despite the annoyance, we had a great ride and enjoyed each other’s company. Til next time!