On Thursday, April 24 at 7:30 in the morning I was driving to work
on my usual route. As I approached the intersection of Albemarle and
42nd St. a police car was turning from 42nd onto Albemarle. The
police officer in the car looked at me as she was nearing my car and
signaled that she wanted to say something to me. I couldn't imagine
what she was going to say. I rolled down my window and she rolled
down hers.

As she began to speak, she put her thumb and pinky finger up to her
ear and mouth as if to indicate talking on the phone. Before she
finished her sentence, I threw my hands into the air and said, "I'm
not on the phone" or something to that effect. She immediately
stopped what she was going to say and said, "I didn't even say the
word phone! Pull over right now!"

No, she had not said the word "phone" but I could see what she was
going to say from her gesture and, here's the important point: I DID
NOT HAVE A CELL PHONE IN MY HAND OR IN ANY OTHER VISIBLE PLACE IN MY
CAR! It was in my lunch box where I keep it when I'm at work (I'm a
school teacher.) After we had both pulled over to the side of the
road, she came up to me in the car and said something like, "Ma'am,
it is illegal to use a cell phone while driving in the District of
Columbia." I said that I wasn't on the phone but she didn't listen
at all! She asked for my driver's license and registration, went
back to her car and wrote me a $100 fine for driving with a cell
phone device. She would not engage in any discussion whatsoever and
she denied having made the "phone to ear" gesture. Her manner was
very aggressive and uncompromising.

Needless to say, I was shaken and outraged the rest of the morning
and I intend to contest this ticket in court. This is a warning to
all drivers in the neighborhood not to use a cell phone while
driving and not to look like you're on a cell phone while driving.
There is at least one very aggressive female police officer looking
to give out $100 fines, no questions asked.