I just might be The Man...

[Ian Farlow]

When you guys are making your greatest contributions, I'm sound asleep. Most responsible, contributing members of society are asleep in there beds when the trouble starts.
So, I don't see the rewarding part of your job. I don't see you dealing with drunken combative assholes. I only see you when I'm driving down the road and you're cranking the revenue mill. I might be aware of your contributions on some subconscious level, but seeing you sneaking and hiding while your trying to catch me rolling down the road doesn't make me appreciate you. That's for damn sure!

So you sleep during the day? It's very naive to think that crime doesn't happen during the day. It does. A lot. I have worked more murders during the day than I have at night. I have worked an equal number of domestics during the day as I have at night. Motor vehicle accidents? Daytime. Fatal ones at that. House fires? More during the daytime. Medical calls? Both day and night. Burglaries? Usually at night. Home invasions, however, during the day. Drunk drivers? Actually gotten my fair share on a Sunday morning!

Heck, I can remember night shift turning into a ghost town about 2 am. It was usually uneventful from 2 to 6 am, and then things would get going again, just in time for daytime (when the contributing members of society are waking up). Day shift was always hopping.

I have to tell you, the "cranking the revenue mill" argument is as worn out as the speed trap argument. You should stop by sometime and see the budget. Then maybe you would realize that an increase in ticket writing doesn't mean an increase in the budget. It just doesn't work like that, at least in the agencies I have worked for. Maybe it does where you live, I don't know, but not here. As a matter of fact, I would never require that my guys write tickets. If they wanted to stop cars and issue warnings, that was fine with me. All I wanted was for the to stop violators. Hm... have you ever considered that there aren't as many tickets being written as you want to believe? In other words, every time a cop stops someone, they aren't always writing a ticket.

I assume that "catch you rolling down the road" really means speeding. In that case, there is a good way to foil law enforcement: stop speeding.

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

I can honestly say that whenever I received an award from a LEO I pretty much earned it, except one. It was during Bike Week 2 yrs. ago here and I took off from a light and had my visor up through the intersection. Just past the intersection they pulled me over and awarded me my prize, even though I had pulled it down by then and only going 10 mph. That was my contribution to the Volusa County Sheriff dept. though. Seemed kind of ironic that all the Harley guys had no helmets, but I get pulled. I do have respect for LEO's tough, a job I wouldn't want. There's always one that give the rest a bad name though!

Wait... I had to read this a few times, and I'm still not sure I understand it right. Are you saying you got a ticket because you had your visor flipped up (I assume on a full-face helmet)? Really? That's a bunch of crap! Granted, you are/were in a different state than I am now, but I just can't understand what law that would be that you violated?

Yep, you read it right! The county had $$ generators set up everywhere! The state law says you have to have eye protection over your eyes in order to operate a motorcycle that doesn't have a windshield above your head. It was above, not in front of actually! It was $80 I believe. 0 points and it would've cost me more to take off work and fight it and could of cost me more if it didn't go my way in court. It was extortion! I don't judge all LEO's because of it, but there was no talking to this guy. He evens threatened to cuff me and take me in if I didn't sign it. Would not call his supervisor over either. This one guy was a true DICK!

 

[HotRodZilla]

It makes sense. I would never suggest that there shouldn't be marked vehicles, because as you correctly pointed out, the presence of marked vehicles slows traffic down and has a huge impact on safety. I am simply suggesting that it is foolish and short-sighted not to have unmarked vehicles. In my opinion, the two types of vehicles need to be used together for effective enforcement.
Have I driven over the speed limit? Yes. Would I argue if I got a ticket? No. I don't subscribe to the "it's not my fault, every one else is doing it" group. Hell, it's obviously my fault! B) But what are we talking about here? Driving five miles an hour over the posted limit with the flow of traffic, or driving much faster than the flow of traffic, weaving in and out like a down-hill skier? If the former, then I can accept that as reasonable driving by anyone. If the latter, there is no excuse. But, and there is another thread on this that I just won't get into, don't fall into the trap of "that cop is speeding, so why can't I? It must be a case of do as I say, not as I do." Okay... right. For the people that say that, do they have any idea what that cop is doing? Do they know where he is going? Do they have any idea how many times I have had to speed to get to a call, but the type of call didn't warrant lights and sirens? Are there some bad cops that speed for no reason? Yep. Are all of us bad cops? Nope.

I have always taught my trainees that knowing the letter of the law isn't enough. I always expected them to understand the intent of the law. In other words, understand what the law is designed to protect, and ensure that it fits the situation at hand. Additionally, I remind trainees that not everyone needs a ticket, while some need nothing less than an arrest. Each situation is different from the last, and while learning from your past encounters is important, handling the current situation as unique is also important.

One thing my previous boss impressed upon me was this: for most people, the encounter they have with law enforcement today will be their first, and likely their last. Let's not make it their worst if we can help it.

Oh, and by the way... I personally do give you law breakers an even chance! I do this by not telling you that RADAR and LASER detectors are a huge waste of money because they simply don't work. I don't care how many times people swear that they do, I am telling you they don't. I won't go into why, because then you might just stop using them, so... there you go. There's your break!

All kidding aside, I want to close with this: I always tried to teach my trainees that respect is important. Even that idiot that broke into the gas station to get a pack of cigarettes is still a human being. He might be a moron for doing what he did, but that doesn't make him worthless. Heck, we caught him and are taking him to jail, and that's going to likely be bad enough for him. I always let my trainees know that it's okay to have a normal conversation with them on the way to jail. Just talk to them like a person.

Of course, there are some out there that won't accept being spoken to like an adult and spit and cuss when we make contact with them. In those cases, I remind the trainee that it's okay to give it right back (minus the spitting, of course).

"Thanks Ian"..."Wow Ian, that was nice of you." "Haha...I get it Ian, you were making some jokes along with being serious."

That's what I might have said, if not in my current postion.

Not to pour salt in a healing wound, but the responses you got to that post are the exact reason I won't be making any more posts like it. I love how people have all these questions about why we do our jobs the way we do, and then no matter what we answer, we are wrong. Its like explaining quantum physics to pre-historic man...

How many posts did you spend apoligizing for your post Ian? I think at least three, when I actually thought it was sincere, thought out, and well articulated. But what do I know? I'm just another asshole with a badge and an agenda to bother the otherwise law abiding citizen who shouldn't have to follow traffic laws if he doesn't agree with them; right?. Total BS, but from now on, people can figure out the system by themselves. I make it a habit of not spending too much time around people who irritate me, and in this anonymous setting, its hard to tell whose going to jump out of the woodwork. I don't come here to be irritated, so I'm going to abstain from these conversations. There's other stuff to talk about; like why my oil gets hot after I try to see how far I can go on a full tank of gas at WOT.

 

[Bustanut joker]

Not to pour salt in a healing wound, but the responses you got to that post are the exact reason I won't be making any more posts like it. I love how people have all these questions about why we do our jobs the way we do, and then no matter what we answer, we are wrong. Its like explaining quantum physics to pre-historic man...

Sucks don't it zilla. Doesn't seem to matter if your right ,you're always going to have the " it's not my fault I'm an Idiot" folks that are going to give you an excuse, every time.

I suppose that's why I go through so much help at work..Some battles just ain't worth winning. Nuke 'em and find new bodys..

It's also why I don't contribute much as far as helping out here at times.

:jester:

 

[Patriot]

Boy, I hope I (and we) can stick to the "if I wouldn't say that to these folks face to face, then I'm not sayin' "

statements of fact by those who don't know what they are talkin' about ain't productive

questions and allowing others to answer to the best of their ability is what it's all about without ridicule or throwing out ill advised accusations of motive or objective

Good rule to live by along with remembering the smilies to show sarcasm or foolin'

Sheesh

 

[madmike2]

Not to pour salt in a healing wound, but the responses you got to that post are the exact reason I won't be making any more posts like it. I love how people have all these questions about why we do our jobs the way we do, and then no matter what we answer, we are wrong. Its like explaining quantum physics to pre-historic man...
I'm just another asshole with a badge and an agenda to bother the otherwise law abiding citizen who shouldn't have to follow traffic laws if he doesn't agree with them; right?. Total BS, but from now on, people can figure out the system by themselves. I make it a habit of not spending too much time around people who irritate me, and in this anonymous setting, its hard to tell whose going to jump out of the woodwork. I don't come here to be irritated, so I'm going to abstain from these conversations. There's other stuff to talk about; like why my oil gets hot after I try to see how far I can go on a full tank of gas at WOT.

In which case you've made the specious argument from which some are posting. Not that you WOULD do that, but you COULD do that and perhaps get away with it if caught by a "brother officer". Thus YOUR indiscretions (choices to violate posted/enforced laws) are somehow acceptable to your brethren.

I (and I'm not alone on the forum) resist posting negativity regarding those of you who are part of the "thin blue line" between reasonable safety and anarchy. You could poll some of your brethren here (and I DO have a list) about some of my responses to them on the forum and by PM.

In my not so humble opinion, you have allowed yourself to be sucked in to the "them vs. us" syndrome so many of us fear from sworn protectors. Perhaps, somehow sadly, that's the way it has to be. If so then we are all less than we could have been otherwise. Shame on each of us for our self-righteousness.