Waiting Two Years For An Apology From Police

And so far, Kurt Benrud hasn't received one:

RALEIGH -- Two years ago, Kurt Benrud got a full-body pat-down from the Raleigh police while standing spread-eagled against his car at night.

One of the officers who stopped him put his hands down Benrud's pockets, pulled out his wallet and looked through it, then threw the rest of Benrud's things on the ground.

The other combed through the car, collected everything inside and piled it in the driver's seat. Benrud hadn't given permission or been asked.

His offense that night was a busted headlight and an expired tag. Later, he said, police told him he'd been driving around Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at night, a part of town that justified taking precautions. Also, he had an empty Diet Pepsi can in the car, which an officer suspected might be alcohol.

When the search was finished, police told Benrud they'd cut him a break. They called him "boss," and drove away. But as Benrud collected himself on the side of the road, clearing the junk off his seat, he didn't feel so lucky. He'd rather have a citation for the headlight and tag than an officer's hands all over him.

So Benrud, now 59, mounted a two-year campaign for an apology, which finally bore fruit this week when Chief Harry Dolan's office called to set up an appointment.

Click the link to read the rest. Benrud must have the patience of a saint. This, incidentally, how the First Amendment's "...and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances" is supposed to work.