[Standard intro]

Rod Serling speaks: “You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead: Your next stop [pause] the Twilight Zone.”

[Opening shot]

Rod Serling is wearing his usual black suit, white shirt and skinny black tie, cigarette in hand.

[Narration]

Serling speaks: We are looking at a female Caucasian, age 60, driving home from another day of work. Occupation: District Attorney. This is not an ordinary Monday drive for Sandra. Today is not just another day. Because as Sandra is soon to learn, down the road she will soon enter [pause] the real world.

[The story]

A difficult day at work. Murder cases, dealing with disgruntled incompetent employees, but now Sandra is heading home. Maybe she had a drink or two. Maybe not.

A half mile from home, a route she knows well. Sandra glances in her rearview mirror and realizes she is being followed! She sees flashing lights and hears a screaming siren. They’re right behind her. She knows that she is driving 55 in a 35 MPH zone. Will she pull over? “Not me, damn it. I’m going home!”

With lights flashing the policeman follows Sandra to a large, hygienic, two story white house on a street with similar homes, pristine lawns and spindly trees. She pulls into her garage, knowing she has broken the law, but she is the District Attorney! She is white! She is a woman of money and power! She knows the police chief! 

Three more police cars speed around the corner, lights flashing, and screech to a halt in front of Sandra’s house. They leap out of their cars, pepper spray and guns ready.

The first officer shouts, “Halt! You are under arrest.” Sandra rolls her eyes and says, “I don’t really care, asshole,” and shouts “I am the DA!” 

The officer grabs Sandra, spins her around, forces her hands behind her back, and slaps handcuffs on her wrists, tightening them until her fingers become blue. Another officer joins in, pushing her face first, flat on the ground. She skins the tip of her nose on concrete, and her blood stains the floor of the two car garage.

“I am taking you in for fleeing a traffic stop, for disorderly conduct, for obstruction of justice, for disobeying an officer, and for suspicion of being under the influence.”

Sandra screams, “Fuck you!” 

Pepper spray punishes her eyes. Her tears and cries fill the air. A heavy knee on her back compresses her lungs. She struggles to breathe.

[Epilogue]

Serling speaks: Incident on a suburban road during the month of April, the year 2024. And now that path has become a dead end filled with helplessness, despair, and boundless dread. Ms. Sandra Doorley facing the bleakest of futures [pause] in the Twilight Zone.

[Author’s note]

The above scenario is typical for people of color, but not for the likes of Sandra Doorley who assumed her state of privilege put her above the law. Also blameworthy: the Webster Police and the Chief of Police who did not handle Sandra Doorley’s traffic stop properly. and should be held accountable. They knowingly disregarded the law and gave Sandra Doorley preferential treatment, including allowing her to enter her home, and not issuing her a DUI test when anyone else who had been stopped for speeding and behaved as she did would have been required to take one.  I join others in demanding that this mishandling of a serious indiscretion be investigated by all levels of town, city, and state government. It is time for Sandra Doorley to find another job.