Issa Braithwaite
Vancouver, BC
Jun 7, 2020
This was 2010. I was playing football and going to school at Ohio University. My girlfriend's sister went to Marshall. So, we go to drive from Ohio to West Virginia to the hospital to go support her. On our way, we get pulled over. The police officer says, "˜The light above your taillight is out.' Which is bullshit, it wasn't out. He asked for her licence and registration. I'm in the passenger seat and he asked for my licence. I said, "˜I'm not driving, so you don't need my licence.' He says, "˜Yes, you do. Or you want me to take you to the station?' He asks us, "˜How do you guys know each other?' We're wearing matching Ohio athletics attire. She says, "˜That's my boyfriend.' He asks her to step out of the car. I was anticipating this was going to be like Crash. He walked her to the back of the car, and he asked her, "˜Do you really know this man? Are you okay? You can blink to let me know if you're not okay?' In the process, she starts to understand what's going on and she starts to cry. The police officer says she can get back in the car. We wait for the police officer to drive off. I end up driving because she was too hysterical to drive. I'm not surprised. It just shows how delicate those times are, because that could have changed my whole life. You know he was probably scared. Me, I was very scared. Just one millisecond, everything could have flipped." - Issa Braithwaite
