Good Cop, Bad Cop

Okay, another update on my police case. I got a call Saturday morning from the police saying that they had the guys who hit me at the station and would it be possible for me to come in. I had plans with a friend for the day and I was in fact just leaving to meet her when they called so I told them that no, I couldn't come to the station that day but I could meet them on Sunday. I then continued on to meet my friend but found that she was going to meet me around 30 minutes later than we had anticipated so I went to visit with my dogs, Ram and Leo, who stay at the site that I was attacked. I was feeding them their biscuits and petting them when a police vehicle pulled up to the gate and the Sub-Inspector who took my complaint stepped out with the man who was the passenger in the car that hit me and several other policemen. I guess the police had decided to take the guys to the scene and ask them to describe what had happened, but they got a big surprise when they found me there! I described to the Sub-Inspector what had happened and he asked me if the guy with him was the driver. I told him that no, that guy was the passenger of the car, the driver was a bigger guy with a round face. He sent another policeman to the vehicle and he brought back another guy, the driver! I have been very worried since the incident happened that I might not recognize the culprits, it has been more than a month since it happened and I saw them for just a couple of seconds, but when I saw the driver I knew it was him. No sooner than I said that he was the driver the policemen started beating the two guys, punching them and slapping them and screaming at them in Kannada. A small crowd had already gathered to see what the police were doing and once the beating commenced all hell broke loose; the crowd swelled, Ram freaked out and started barking his head off (he is a great guard dog) and poor little Leo started yipping and running around so then I stared to run after him to catch him and calm him so that he didn't run into the street. After the police finished with their beating they hustled the men back into the police vehicle. I asked the Sub-Inspector if the men had admitted to when they had done and if they had given any sort of explanation for their actions. The Sub-Inspector asked if I would like to ask the driver directly and I said yes so he was brought from the car to face me. I began to yell at the driver asking him why he had done it, what was he thinking, what the hell! I don't think he speaks any English, or if he does he didn't that day, he just kept bowing and apologizing. A guy stepped in to translate and told me that he was saying he was sorry, he had been scared, blah, blah, blah. I told him that sorry is fine, but sorry doesn't change what he had done and how it has affected me. Sorry doesn't make me feel safe as I walk down the street or put me at ease in my own home. I also told him the scared bit is nonsense, yes they probably drove away because they were scared, but they did not hit me because they were scared. Unless two grown men in a car are afraid of a 130 pound unarmed woman. Ridiculous. I never got a suitable answer and the police asked what I wanted them to do and I told them that the men deserved to be punished for their crime so they were taken to the police station.

After all of this had taken place I packed up my things (my dog feeding paraphernalia) and went to leave as I was likely keeping my friend waiting (remember, I had plans to meet before this encounter occurred) but I first stopped to thank the translator who had jumped in to help. I found out that he is actually the owner of the car who hit me, the man who was driving was his hired driver, he had taken the car that day for service on my street and was making his way back when he decided to take some time to hit me. Apparently when the driver arrived back after hitting me he was flustered and upset and told his employer that he needed to go and couldn't drive the rest of the day. The employer knew nothing of the attack until the police traced the car back to him and informed him of the crime. Before I was able to go to meet my friend he started to ask me if I could drop the charges because the driver is poor and the police will beat him, etc. He caught me again after I had met my friend and again asked if I could call the police and drop the charges. I told him that I would call the police if he wants and ask them not to beat the men, but that I couldn't just let the attack go unpunished by the law.

Since the attack happened I have imagined in my mind what I would like to do to these guys, how I would like to knee them in the groin, stomp on their fingers and break every single one, elbow them in the face and make blood pour from their noses, but seeing them again on Saturday changed all of that. Once they were out of their car and in front of me they were transformed from powerful bullies that I feared to scared cowards that I pity. They looked terrified, as well they should be since the police certainly have no problems with beating them senseless. If they are happy to pound on them in public I can only imagine what they do once they get them back to the station. And I do feel badly about that, but police brutality isn't a secret around here and I would think that if one wanted to avoid it then once shouldn't go around committing crimes. Though I do pity them and I told the owner of the car as much, I also believe that they should be punished according to the law. Maybe they are scared enough already that they will never do something like this again but I feel that they have earned their punishment. But I have to admit that though I am not at all comfortable with the beating that they guys received, I at least know that some form of punishment was given as I saw it with my own two eyes. Even if one can perhaps not on the courts in India, the police can be counted on to dole out beatings quite liberally. There is no need for the good cop/bad cop routine here when the police can just beat it out of you. I'm still undecided on exactly how I feel about everything that transpired on Saturday, but I am pretty sure that I feel better than I felt before Saturday.