Caught Red Handed (Or Just Hated On)...? PART 1

So I woke up on a Monday morning. I wasn’t my usual self, in fact I felt a little under the weather. I don’t know what’s going on exactly but a few weeks ago Georgia weather had flipped from spring hot to winter cold. Hell, we even had snow flurries; just goes to show the weather is really out of sync.

Since I Hustle outside I think all that temperature changing had finally begun to catch up with me. But the day had to go on plus my cell phone was ringing off the hook. I dragged myself out the bed, I looked at the clock and it was about 2:18pm.

I got dressed and called my homegirl Mz Bee. I was supposed to meet with her and help her get a new cell phone by letting have one of my old ones for a trade in.

I met up with her near the Discount Mall off of Old National Highway (Old Nat). No luck there so we agreed just to get something to eat because she had a hair appointment at 5pm. It was about 4:15pm already and I had agreed earlier to meet with one of my customers at my Hustling spot. This particular customer is a Reverend of a church in Columbus, Georgia. He’s also in the car dealership Game so it’s always good to meet with him and build (share knowledge) about that.

I pull up to the Hustling spot with Mz Bee following me. I parked, and like a bee to honey people began to surround my car. You have to overstand I’ve been Hustling in this particular area for about 5 years so I’m well known. I always get the usual, “What’s going on?” and “Hey Shah (or James)!”

Now, I’m not giving excuses but since I was already feeling a little on the sickly side I was also unfocused. I didn’t do my regular parking lot check to see who was who and what was what. All good though because I wasn’t really doing anything but having conversation.

I mention being unfocused because if I was focused I would have seen the infamous black Mustang which belongs to one of Fulton Counties police officers.

One of my long time customers had walked up to me in the midst of a crowd of around 5 or 6 people now. She had a complaint about one of the products I sold her, so I popped the trunk to put the defective merchandise inside. I told her not to worry about it I’m a business man and she knew I would replace it.

It was at that point a young lady asked me to borrow a cigarette, as I had my back turned the officer from the infamous black Mustang walked up on me. He forcefully made himself known. I turned around and immediately recognized his face.

The words “Shit it’s HIM!” flashed through my mind. This particular officer is what we call a Robocop on the streets. He plays his Game hard and loves to dick with people who he feels are a “menace” to Fulton County (his word not mine). I’m no menace but hey, he saw an opportunity to get me so he took it. I can’t knock that… although I want to.

“What are doing?” Robocop asked.

“Damn!” I thought to myself, what could I say? My mind began to race to get my mouth piece to come up with something slick. Not smart mouthed, but slick. What came out though was the simple truth.

“Waiting on somebody.” I said looking at him in his eyes.

“And what’s this you have in your trunk?”

I bypassed his question and replied, “I’m not soliciting I just came up here to meet someone.”

He smirked and responded, “I was minding my own business getting my hair cut and I look out the window at what do I see? A whole bunch of people around your car… and I just saw a lady walk off with something.”

I looked up and all those people he was referring to had slowly disappeared. I stood there alone, face to face with this Blackman in uniform. I looked down at him and said, “She didn’t walk off with anything. She just brought me something. I’m not doing anything I just came up here to meet someone.”

He smirked harder, “Well, when we go to court, it’s my word against yours.”

I calculated that at this point it’s best just to shut up. Robocop had a hard-on for your Hustleman and was ready to fuck me regardless of the situation. I wasn’t nervous, scared or any of that. I knew if things went to the worst possible scenario (getting locked down) all I had to do was make a phone call to my Hustling partner New York.

If anything, there wasn’t much Robocop could do. He was off-duty but still in uniform. I knew he was going to make it a point to get me while he had me just because that’s the kind of cop he is. Sure enough he began to radio in to have a unit come get me. It was going down ya’ll but your Hustleman remained calm.

He had me sit down on the ground. I leaned up against my bumper and waited to see what was next.

Another officer walked up out of nowhere. I looked at his uniform and this wasn’t a Fulton County officer at all, but instead a Marta officer. Marta, by the way, is the name of the public transportation here in the ATL. Some are ex-police officers but most are trained specifically to guard and police the bus and railway system.

This Marta cop was off-duty too. Listen Fam, there were so many ways out of this situation I laughed to myself but I kept quite.

“I’m going to cuff you, stand up.” said Robocop in his authoritative tone. Then he thought a moment and had the Marta officer cuff me instead. Good move on his part, he was playing his Game tight. He was one step ahead of me. He was doing things by the book which is good for him because I was making a mental file of every slip up he made that violated my rights.

I was cuffed and asked to sit back on the ground and I complied.

So there I sat on the cold asphalt and my mind began to race to all the worst possible things you can think about in a situation like this. Robocop was talking mad shit to the Marta cop. Everything about how he does his job so well, the officers in his precinct that are “real” cops and how he wants to be on their level some day. Blah, blah, blah…

Robocop turned to the Marta officer and said, “Hey, can you watch him a minute? I was in the process of getting a haircut and that’s when I saw this guy (pointing to me). I couldn’t even finish my haircut. I’m going to get it finished, I’ll be back.”

About 15 minutes had passed and no squad car had showed up yet. The tension in the air was ridiculously thick. My mind raced, I had no idea what to expect and what would happen from moment to moment.

It was few days later when I learned that New York had a verbal confrontation with this officer earlier that day. It seems he was looking for someone to fuck with and that someone appeared to be me. Wrong place, wrong time? Didn’t matter, the events were unfolding fast.

So… was your Hustleman locked down? Does the Millionaire run of one of the slickest Hustlers on the Southwest side of Atlanta come to a horrific end? Tune in next week Fam, until then Peace and Blessings!