When your department at work does something wrong, people will blame everyone in the department, even if it was only one person’s fault.

What would you do if you worked in IT for the city, and someone parked the IT car in the wrong spot, so the police called you to make you move it?

That is what happened to the IT worker in this story, so he got snippy with the cops, but finally moved the car even though he doesn’t have a driver’s license.

You sure you want me to do that, Officer ? – Wrong Department, Buddy

So, I worked for the IT Helpdesk of our local City Council.

What? Why would the police be asking for him?

When one early morning at around 5:30 am, my mother stormed in to my room scaring the crap out of me and my cat.

Half asleep, I asked why she was screaming at me. Clearly in a panic she told me that the police were on the phone and asking for me.

Now, I won’t go in to detail but suffice to say my first thoughts were : “What did I do now ?” and “I didn’t do anything, did I ?”

Getting woken up early is never fun.

Still half asleep I walked downstairs and got on the phone and vaguely asked “Yes ?”

I got a reply along the lines of : “Darn it, it’s always the same with you guys… don’t you know it’s Market Day ?”

What is market day?

Me : “Euh… Yeah, every Wednesday, isn’t it ?” (It is every Wednesday, has been since around 1302 a.d.)

Police Officer : “What ? Are you gonna start making a joke out of this ?”

Me (slowly starting to wake up completely) : “Euh.. No, I just do ge…”

Oh, they are calling him for parking somewhere he shouldn’t?

Police (cutting me off angrily) : “Your car is on the Market Square… and they can’t set up their stalls… get over here NOW and move this car” (The IT department was next to the Market Square so sometimes the car did indeed stayed parked there overnight)

Me (‘really’ having issues with people screaming at me) : “No problem… be right there”

He wants to get there as fast as possible.

Now usually, I rode my bike to work but seeing as it was clearly a pressing matter I asked my dad, who had awoken from my mother’s frantic behavior, to drive me to the Market Square.

On the way there, I explained the situation and my dad couldn’t help but give a chuckle and told me : “Don’t do anything stupid” to which I gave him a smile, shrugged and with a Han Solo-esque grin told him : “Hey… it’s the cops” (my father snickered and shook his head knowing that ‘doing something stupid’ was somewhat of my middle name)

I mean, only if they have the authority to tell you to do it.

If a police officer tells you to do to something… you do it, right ?

We arrived at the market, where people were already setting up stalls to prepare for Market Day except for where I spotted the car of the IT Hardware Department and about 15 meters behind it a police car with it’s lights flashing.

Those cops are not happy.

I got out, and slowly walked over to the two officers that were standing near their car. One of them immediately launched in to a tirade about how we were all the same, and how we IT guys always thought we ran things (which, basically… we did, including ‘their’ IT). Once he paused, I calmly asked him what he wanted me to.

Again, he blew up nearly screaming : “Move that car”

He better start taking this more seriously.

Not wanting there to be any doubt I asked if he was sure and he truly nearly lost it screaming incoherently words like arrest and jail…

Me : “Oke, oke… calm down I’ll do it if you insist let me go up to the office and look for the keys.”

I hope he hurries.

So off I went. I went to our offices were I was met by our cleaning/coffee lady who asked why I was in so early. So I explained the situation and that the Hardware Department’s car was on the market square again.

Confused she asked me : “But that’s not your department, is it ?

To which I sighed : “Nope, do you know where the keys are ?”

What is this lady going to do for him?

So together we looked for the keys which we found rather quickly. I asked if she’d accompany me down because the police were making me nervous, which she kindly and graciously did.

Upon getting back down, it was clear that angry one hadn’t calmed down and that I’d probably taken longer to go get the keys then he wanted. In quick strides he walked up to us and without a word I tried to hand him the keys.

This cop has a temper problem.

Which he didn’t notice because he screamed in an angry and high pitched voice “MOVE THAT CAAAAR”

At this point our cleaning/coffee lady looked at me and said : “But you…”

He seems to be taking all this in stride.

I shrugged and give her the most roguish smile I could muster at that time. She smiled, gently shaking her head.

Once more and just to make sure I got things straight I calmly and politely asked : “So you’re telling me I ‘have’ to move that car ?”

He is provoking the cop.

Now… I’d seen cops get angry before but never turn red with figurative steam coming out of their ears. He blew up and pulled out his nightstick and took one step forward as if to indicate I was getting close either getting arrested or smacked over the head.

I turned and quickly made it over to the car, nervously but loudly muttering things like “under duress” and “not my job.”

What’s wrong with this car?

I got in the car, fumbled with the keys somewhat and in 3 or 4 tries started the car. I waited about a minute and then the car sputtered forward and stopped. I tried again, again the car sputtered but then it took off… like a freaking rocket.

All I remember from the short drive is seeing our cleaning/coffee lady bursting out laughing as I passed just before I plowed straight in to the police car.

Hey, they asked him to move it.

As I was getting out, somewhat dazed, I saw the two police officer stand there white as sheets and utterly perplexed.

I stammered at them the immortal words : “I… I don’t know how to drive man, I just pick up the phones and help people”

Wow, he doesn’t even have a license? He shouldn’t have moved the car.

So yes, they’d called the only person in all the IT departments that didn’t have a drivers license and just worked on the phones.

And one that doesn’t really like the police nor getting woken up hours before I have to get up.

Good thing nobody got hurt.

I suffered no consequences as there were CCTV camera’s filming it all, with audio, which I of course knew and our cleaning/coffee lady clearly heard to cop order me to move the car… Having known the Mayor since I was 12 helped too, of course.

So the moral of the story is… Always do what the Police tell you to do.

Wow, all this could have been avoided by having the cops call the right person, or by having this guy avoid antagonizing the cops. Of course, the cop could have just been a professional as well.

Let’s see what the people in the comments think about this story.

This would have been the normal reaction.

I agree, the cops would have had it towed.

This does seem unlikely.

He could have hurt people badly.

Yeah, this really doesn’t make sense.

Everyone in this story acted like idiots.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.