“Christian Adolph ‘Sonny’ Jurgensen”

Pro football hall of fame quarterback, died today, he was 91.
Full disclosure, I was a 50 year fan of the Washington Redskins, From February 1969, at the age of 7, when they signed Vince Lombardi, until they changed the name to ‘The Washington Football team.
I had season tickets and even traveled to Wembley stadium in London to watch a game.
I had the attached photo as a poster on my bedroom wall.

I was sent to an upscale housing development, in the Mt Vernon area (G. Washington’s Mt Vernon)to respond to a noise complaint.
It was approximately 02:00, on a Saturday morning.
It was a warm spring night, therefore I had my cruiser windows down.
As I arrived in the neighborhood, I could clearly hear the ‘squealing’ of automobile tires. I headed in the direction of the noise, and eventually came upon a large church parking lot.
In the lot, was a ‘Thunderbird coupe’ doing donuts, spraying rubber and smoke from the rear tires.
I hit my lights, and quickly entered the parking lot. As I approached the vehicle I gave my siren a few ‘whoooop whoooops’ to get his attention.
The individual driving acted as though he was going to make a run for it. I cut him off and he ended up on a grass ‘island’ with curbing.
At that point he decided to stop.
I exited my cruiser and approached the drivers door of the two door car.
The driver rolled down the window, and I observed that he was a teenage boy.
“License and registration please.”
He presented me the items with trembling hands.
The registration showed that this was a leased car. Which would be an issue, as most leases, at least in the ‘80s prohibited operators under the age of 18. The lease was in the name ‘Christian Jurgensen’
His drivers license showed that his last name was ‘Jurgensen’.
“What’s your father’s name?” I queried
“Christian Adolph Jurgensen” he replied.
“So your dad is ‘Sonny Jurgensen’?”
“Yes Sir”
“Ensure the vehicle is in park, and hand me the keys please…”
He complied.
Looking at his license I could see that he was 16 years old.
A juvenile, oh boy, oh joy. Dealing with ‘juvies’ was a pain in the ass.
Can’t handcuff them.
Can’t put them in the back of the cruiser, they have to ride upfront.
Can’t put them in a cell, they have to be babysat until their patents show up.
Hours of paperwork, special court dates, and they would most likely get a slap on the wrist.

I could smell alcohol.
“How much have you had to drink?”
“Just a beer sir.”
“Uh-huh, please step from the vehicle.”
He got out and just to be sure, I had him blow into my field breathalyzer.
.07
Just a little below DWI or as some folks call it DUI. Under the circumstances, with his age and driving behavior, didn’t matter.

I walked him over to my cruiser, cleared out the front passenger seat, and put him in it.
I made him put on his seatbelt then, I went back to his vehicle, and secured it where it rested.
I made sure the windows were all up and locked it.

I then had him give me directions to his house.
We arrived around 03:00.
We entered the front of a large mansion.
“Get your father, I need to speak to him.”
About 10 minutes later, a gentleman in his early 50s came down the stairs wearing a bathrobe.

“Good morning officer.”
He said tersely
“Mr. Jurgensen” I said as I shook his hand.
“I found your son doing donuts in the Episcopal church parking lot. I gave him a field breathalyzer test and he blew an .07. Technically I could have arrested him for DWI. Here are the keys to your leased vehicle, it is sitting atop a grass island, and it most likely has some damage from jumping the curb. Here is your son’s license. What you do with it is up to you. Although, if I catch him again, I will charge him. I hope the rest of your day turns out better.”
“Thank you officer.”

I turned, and exited the house.