By Cuffsandcops
Earlier this week, I went to the mall to look for a specific item. I entered through a big box sporting goods store. As I walked through the store to the mall, a short, older gentleman wearing a vest marked police on the back, walked down the aisle next to me. I took note of the duty belt around his waist that was lacking any handcuff cases. He stopped at the register near the entrance to the mall. I had a few stops to make and made a mental note to look for the officer during my exit.
After a successful shopping adventure, I made my way back to the sporting goods store. A quick scan of the lower level of the store didn’t reveal the officer I had seen on the way in. I took the escalator to the upper level and the officer was talking to the cash register operator. I headed towards the back of the store and noticed the officer was doing the same after finishing his conversation.
As we crossed paths in the camping section, I approached the officer and asked the familiar question, “any chance I can try on your handcuffs?”. The officer chuckled and quickly said no. I didn’t notice cuffs visible on his vest or the front of his duty belt. I told him I was curious about what it felt like and he again declined. I made my way back to the escalator. The officer called down to me that he had never been asked that before. I said it never hurts to ask and told him to have a good night. The officer laughed and told me to do the same.
Fast forward to this afternoon, when I had to return to the sporting goods store to pick up an online order. I had exepected to see the same officer from earlier in the week, but this was not the case. I needed to use the bathroom, so I walked through the store into the mall to find one. As I was walking through, it was almost like de ja vou. In the aisle next to me, a very tall gentleman wearing a vest with police on the back and a basic duty belt led another patron who had a question to the register at the entrance to the mall. I used the bathroom and returned to the store to pick up my item.
As I entered the sporting goods store, the very tall officer moved to a section next to the main thoroghfare between the mall entrance and store exit. I walked up to him and asked if I could try on his handcuffs. Without hesitation, the officer opened a front pouch on his vest and pulled out a pair of Peerless chain handcuffs. He said that I could pick which kind and reached into another pouch on his vest only to pull out another pair of Peerless chain handcuffs. He said he thought he has his other pair of hinged cuffs in there and returned the second pair back to the pouch.
The officer with cuffs in hand then asked if I was putting them on myself of if he was. I turned away from him and placed my hands behind my back. The sound of handcuffs cinching around my wrist came next. I turned back towards the officer, handcuffed behind my back right in the middle of the store. Several shoppers walked by as I was getting locked up and while I stood there talking to the officer. I asked the officer if he applied the cuffs as he would if someone were getting arrested. He replied that aside from engaging the double lock to prevent them from tightening any further, the cuffs were properly applied. I tried to fit a finger between my wrist and the cuff and could barely do so with my palms facing out.
The officer seemed more than willing to engage in conversation while I stood there in his cuffs. I asked what happens once someone is taken into custody at the store. The officer told me that there is a local police department command post on the top floor of the mall. Anyone who is arrested is taken there, cuffed to the bench, and processed on the spot.
I had no idea that there was such a place at the mall. I asked if the person would be walked through the mall in handcuffs and he replied that he would make it as discreet as possible and that there was a service elevator that would lead to the command post.
I then asked if he worked for a local department and he told me that he works as a sheriff for a neighboring county. I asked what brought him all the way to the sporting goods store from there and he talked about details for a former sheriff from the county where the mall was located. He said there were an increase in opportunities to work details like that in recent times and that he takes advantage of as many as possible.
The officer then reached for the handcuff key hanging from his duty belt, so I turned away from him. The officer unlocked the cuff around my left wrist, and I turned my body to give him better access to remove the right one. Once I was free, the officer told a quick story from when he was in the academy, and his significant other was playing around with the cuffs he was issued. He said they got stuck and it took him 45 minutes to get them to unlock. We shared a laugh over the story, and he stressed that using quality gear is important.
I extended my hand to shake his and we exchanged names. I thanked the officer for the experience and went to collect the item that needed to be picked up. Coincidently, this sporting goods store is from the same chain where I met the side job deputy back three years ago though not the same location. Also just like that encounter, the officer had offered to allow me to try on both sets of handcuffs he was carrying and did so without any hesitation. I am tempted to revisit the store in the near future and inquire if the officer would put me through a simulated arrest where I would be led to the command post on the top floor. Oh. by the way, this is same mall that I was banned from as detailed in my very first CopDar story. What can I say, I made lightning strike again and you can bet I will continue to chat up officers especially if I am in a sporting goods store!
Metal would like to thank the author, Cuffsandcops, for this story!
