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About two weeks ago on a Saturday night, I was coming home from another town, late at night. A trooper coming in the other direction flips a U-turn and starts coming my way. I am in the left lane, so I move to the right so he can go by, I figured he had somewhere to go and I wanted to get out of his way. When I changed lanes, I forgot to signal and he nails me. I pull in a parking lot and the trooper asks for my DL, I open my wallet to get it and the trooper sees the loaded capped syringe I keep in my wallet next to my check writing pen . It fits in there nicely and I don't have to worry about it rolling around in my purse.
The trooper starts yelling at me to close my wallet, throw it out the window, he kicks it away with his foot, draws his gun and orders me out of the car. Seriously, I am about to pee my pants. I am a 43yr old school teacher with Type 1 diabetes. I carry syringes with me everywhere, but usually not my insulin since it needs to stay cold. I usually load a syringe if I am going out in case I need a shot. The trooper put on his gloves, opened my wallet, dumped the loaded syringe on the ground and asked "What the hell is that?" I told him I am a diabetic and that is my insulin. He didn't believe me. He is rolling this syringe around on the ground with his foot and all I can think is, when this is all over, I am going to really need that shot.
The trooper picks up my syringe and tells me he thinks it looks like heroin. I tell him it's not, it is insulin and I am going to need that. I have no proof that I am diabetic, my insulin is at home. He calls another trooper and when the other trooper gets there I am searched, my car is searched, my purse is searched which turns up three other empty syringes. (I take my used needles home to clip the tips and dispose of them.) The second trooper seems to know a bit more about diabetics, and asks me what kind of insulin I take and what my last A1c score was. Only a diabetic would know what an A1c score is...lol. I think my answers convinced him that I was being truthful. The second trooper pulls the first trooper aside and they talk for a bit, before first trooper tells me to get my DL out of my wallet, wants insurance and reg information. No ticket was given, just a verbal warning to use my directionals (I had never heard that term before, so at least I learned something). I ask for my insulin back, and trooper one tells me he is going to keep it. I am shocked. Insulin is so very expensive, $185 a vile, and I go through a vile in less then two weeks, 5+ shots a day, and my lovely new insurance won't cover it because diabetes is a "pre-existing condition".
But anyway, I digress, back to my questions. I would like to know what kind of training officers receive about diabetes? Insulin? Why did the trooper react the way he did? What did I do wrong, besides attracting his attention in the first place? Next time I get pulled over would it be a good idea to tell the officer immediately that I am diabetic and have a syringe in my wallet? I don't ever want to have a gun pulled on me again, and I hate that the trooper felt the need to do that. Thanks so much for any insight you may have.
The trooper starts yelling at me to close my wallet, throw it out the window, he kicks it away with his foot, draws his gun and orders me out of the car. Seriously, I am about to pee my pants. I am a 43yr old school teacher with Type 1 diabetes. I carry syringes with me everywhere, but usually not my insulin since it needs to stay cold. I usually load a syringe if I am going out in case I need a shot. The trooper put on his gloves, opened my wallet, dumped the loaded syringe on the ground and asked "What the hell is that?" I told him I am a diabetic and that is my insulin. He didn't believe me. He is rolling this syringe around on the ground with his foot and all I can think is, when this is all over, I am going to really need that shot.
The trooper picks up my syringe and tells me he thinks it looks like heroin. I tell him it's not, it is insulin and I am going to need that. I have no proof that I am diabetic, my insulin is at home. He calls another trooper and when the other trooper gets there I am searched, my car is searched, my purse is searched which turns up three other empty syringes. (I take my used needles home to clip the tips and dispose of them.) The second trooper seems to know a bit more about diabetics, and asks me what kind of insulin I take and what my last A1c score was. Only a diabetic would know what an A1c score is...lol. I think my answers convinced him that I was being truthful. The second trooper pulls the first trooper aside and they talk for a bit, before first trooper tells me to get my DL out of my wallet, wants insurance and reg information. No ticket was given, just a verbal warning to use my directionals (I had never heard that term before, so at least I learned something). I ask for my insulin back, and trooper one tells me he is going to keep it. I am shocked. Insulin is so very expensive, $185 a vile, and I go through a vile in less then two weeks, 5+ shots a day, and my lovely new insurance won't cover it because diabetes is a "pre-existing condition".
But anyway, I digress, back to my questions. I would like to know what kind of training officers receive about diabetes? Insulin? Why did the trooper react the way he did? What did I do wrong, besides attracting his attention in the first place? Next time I get pulled over would it be a good idea to tell the officer immediately that I am diabetic and have a syringe in my wallet? I don't ever want to have a gun pulled on me again, and I hate that the trooper felt the need to do that. Thanks so much for any insight you may have.
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