WHY ARE ALL COPS SUCH ASSHOLES?

[SeXy ReDHeD]

OK. Here's a vent.
I hate cops. I hate them I hate them I hate them. I HATE THEM. I hate the fact that I'm young and fucken targeted and ticketed and harrassed for everything I do.

Why can't they just be nice SOMEtimes? Why can't they just understand that some days you really are in a hurry. Why can't they just understand that you're a fucken human being sometimes? Why can't they get off their stupid power trips for one fucking second and give people a break?

I got stopped today for speeding. The BITCH could have let me go with a warning... I begged and pleaded. I even cried. This will totally fuck me up. I'm already in trouble. I'm gonna have to pay like $1000 in fines, and may even have to go to jail for some stupid stuff that happened a couple of weeks ago (which, BTW, all my other friends got off for... but not me of course, because I was cooperative and told the truth
), and this is just not what I need. This fine is going to be like $350. Why couldn't she just be understanding and let me go?

WHY?

 

[Sxxyangl]

ill admith that i dont enjoy cops, but most of them really arent out to get you. my stepfather is a cop and although he is a jerk and does have a powertrip thing, that stays at home. hes very easy out on patrol. and the reason she probably didnt give you a warning was because you had a history. and as stupid as it sounds...they really are out there to protect you. in the case of speeding theyre also out there to protect other people from you.

 

[Thumper]

Speed kills....

My daughter is 18 and honestly she needs to get a few tickets...The cops I have dealt with have always been very profesional and courteous...and that is surprising considering the way I look and dress. If you have a history, which apparently you do, then my guess is that the officer presumed that previous incidents were not sufficient to curb the behavior in question....too many times kids are killed because they are in a hurry just this one time...

Sorry I can't sympathize...maybe the officer has spent too much time at accident scenes and visiting homes to break the news to some shocked parents...

I doubt that you will do any jail time...depending on what the previous charges..if you were cooperative that helps a lot in a courtroom...Good luck

 

[SeXy ReDHeD]

No No No.
Let me tell you.
I've never been let off for ANYTHING.
My first ticket I ever got I was going 59 in a 55. That definitely deserves a warning. But no. I had to pay 80 bucks.
Right now I'm facing three stupid charges for using a fake ID.
But see, when I got caught, I was honest. I didn't fight them. I didn't argue, or anything. I was completely cooperative. I said sorry, said I would never do it again, and voluntarily handed over my ID, etc. My friends though, got nasty, cussed them out, and refused to tell them who they were. And they got off with NOTHING. But no, I got in a whole shitload of trouble for being nice. For being a fucken decent person. And, for my politeness, they handed me three tickets, each with a mandatory $300 fine, and possible jail time and said, "Thank you for being so cooperative. I hope all goes well." Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that I'll probably lose my license for a year.

I had wanted to go to the FBI. That's been my dream ever since I can remember. That will never happen now. All because I was brought up to respect policemen. I know that what I did was wrong, but really? Should I really have to go through all this?

 

[Naked Hunny]

Wait a minute!!??

Thumper? You have an 18 yr old daughter!! OH MY GOD!!!

 

[Mortto56]

Well I would like to throw you a story that happened this last Saturday night....My youngest boy works as a bouncer in a bar here in my town....He's a pretty good size young man,and pretty stout... Well he was working Saturday night when 2 off duty State Policeman come in.After awhile when they started getting fucked up,they started getting loud and got in a argument with some of the people in the bar.The owner asked them to leave,and they said they didn't have to,so my boy walked over and told them they had to leave,and one off them took a swing at him.Well my boy wrestled the man to the ground,and as he did that the other one punched my boy in the nose.Well let me tell you,THAT WAS HIS FIRST MISTAKE.My boy hit this guy 2 times and knocked is ass right out....Likely there was another off duty officer from a different police department that had witnessed the whole thing....It just goes to show that whatever they think,there only humans too.

 

[Bliss]

No No No.
Let me tell you.
I've never been let off for ANYTHING.
My first ticket I ever got I was going 59 in a 55. That definitely deserves a warning. But no. I had to pay 80 bucks.
Right now I'm facing three stupid charges for using a fake ID.
But see, when I got caught, I was honest. I didn't fight them. I didn't argue, or anything. I was completely cooperative. I said sorry, said I would never do it again, and voluntarily handed over my ID, etc. My friends though, got nasty, cussed them out, and refused to tell them who they were. And they got off with NOTHING. But no, I got in a whole shitload of trouble for being nice. For being a fucken decent person. And, for my politeness, they handed me three tickets, each with a mandatory $300 fine, and possible jail time and said, "Thank you for being so cooperative. I hope all goes well." Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that I'll probably lose my license for a year.

I had wanted to go to the FBI. That's been my dream ever since I can remember. That will never happen now. All because I was brought up to respect policemen. I know that what I did was wrong, but really? Should I really have to go through all this?

Not that I've ever gotten any speeding tickets (cough, cough) or anything worse (shhhh!), but I think I can help. Especially since you said on the first one you had to pay $80, I'm assuming that you just paid the ticket without going to court. Take my advice this one time, PLEASE.

Go to court, as Miss Manners as you can be, and throw yourself on the mercy of the judge. In the long run, you'll save yourself from losing your drivers license and you *might* even get to talk to someone willing to expunge these incidents from your record after a certain length of time passes.

Don't give up on your dream just over this!

I wish you lots of luck and a few guardian angels,

Lead-Foot Payne

 

[Jade]

Re: Wait a minute!!??

Thumper? You have an 18 yr old daughter!! OH MY GOD!!!

Yep, he made a thread about it awhile back.. but doesn't he look great for his age?!

Oh, and I don't have too much trouble with most cops... in fact they are rather sexy (not as sexy as comedians but hey!)...

However... I understand about specifically TRAFIC cops... I mean, they are NEVER there when ya need 'em!
Drunk drivers are everywhere.. people driving recklessly or speeding WAY too fast... and you go 4 miles over and BLAM you help them meet their quota right? Well... it has just GOT to be Murphy's Law.. all I can figure... but I totally understand sexy... and it can be soooo frusturating when it seems they should spend their time doing something other than bothering with you right?

MOROTTO: HAHA AWESOME story; thanks for sharing!

 

[Laurel]

ill admith that i dont enjoy cops, but most of them really arent out to get you.

Unless you fit a profile.

Okay, here's a tangent guaranteed to get me flamed. I'll tell you, I have never been arrested, never even received a traffic ticket. I've never had a run-in with any law enforcement officer.

That being said, it's distressing to watch the news and see the abuses that take place - like the car beating in Philadelphia, like the broomstick beating & sodomy of the Haitian in NYC, etc. etc. etc.. What's even MORE depressing is to hear other cops DEFEND their peers when it's been shown without a doubt that they went against established policy and common sense to ABUSE a person who has not yet been convicted of a crime.

I believe in our laws, and I think that everyone should follow them - ESPECIALLY police officers. Yes, being a cop is a tough job, yadda yadda, excuses excuses... If you can't uphold the law - if you can't keep yourself from vengefully beating suspects, going around search warrants, and generally abusing the Constitution itself, then you shouldn't be a cop. Period.

When the NYC chief of police jumped on the TV to immediately and unapologetically defend the actions (or rather inactions) of his officers during the Central Park situation, I was livid. He should have said "I'll look into this, and anyone who's found to have violated procedure will be disciplined." But that's not the way it works - cops are innocent until the police commission lets them off scot-free.

If you're a police officer, and you hate criminals so much, then how can you stomach them within your ranks, much less defend them? What makes you better than a criminal if you subvert the laws of the United States in order to satisfy your own anger? You're no different than a common criminal - in fact you're worse, because you've sworn to uphold the law.

That said, I know that the bad apples are a small percentage. What's distressing to me is that the good cops defend these psychos instead of removing them from their ranks. If I were a cop, I'd shit-can these human-rights violators and Constitution-soilers for dirtying my uniform and staining my profession.

 

[Jade]

What's distressing to me is that the good cops defend these psychos instead of removing them from their ranks. If I were a cop, I'd shit-can these human-rights violators and Constitution-soilers for dirtying my uniform and staining my profession.

Here here Laurel, huzzah!

 

[Naked Hunny]

OK wow i didnt realize he was old enough to have an 18 yr old daughter.. :silently pushing nasty thoughts about Thumper deeper into her brain: always had a thing for older men though-- hint hint!!

 

[Bliss]

That said, I know that the bad apples are a small percentage. What's distressing to me is that the good cops defend these psychos instead of removing them from their ranks. If I were a cop, I'd shit-can these human-rights violators and Constitution-soilers for dirtying my uniform and staining my profession.

Amen, preach it sistah! All the more reason to encourage Red to slow down just a teeny tiny bit and NOT to give up on her dream of joining their ranks. Get on the inside & clean 'em up!

 

[CreamyLady]

Oh, golly. I come from a family of law-enforcement professionals. Where can I start?

You were breaking the law. It doesn't matter your "reasons." The rules exist for safety, and you were breaking them, and you are going to be punished for it if you are caught.

The "bitch" has probably had the same discussion/fight/tears/abuse hurled at her since the day she left the academy. Trust me on this one -- the experience is a lot less unpleasant if one just follows instructions and TRIES TO BE POLITE. They don't expect love and good fellowship, but not being snarled at is almost a treat.

Police abuses aside, I have received my share of tickets. In each case, it was deserved. In each case, I wasn't a happy camper, but I didn't abuse the police officer or highway patrolperson writing it out. Heck -- I cussed MYSELF out -- that's who deserved that anger.

Now, I find bad cops revolting and each should be punished to the limits of the law. They should not hide behind the badge; it should not be a shield for criminal behavior.

However, because there are bad cops, does not mean that good ones have to be abused for doing a thankless and endless job. Safe streets mean safe drivers, and a ticket is a small price to pay.

 

[SimplySouthern]

Creamy Lady took all my good ideas!

First, I see people just like yourself every day. YOU sped...YOU got the ticket, and now its the COPS fault? Well, just in case you weren't aware...they have this great system now in effect. The actually POST the speed limit beside all the roadways. That's the "copway" of saying, "Go faster than this and you will get a ticket". I know it sucks to get a ticket, and it sucks even worse that you may lose your driver's license...but you really can't blame the officers. They are only, in fact, doing their jobs

As for officers who are caught doing something unethical and illegal, I am of the opinion that something should be done about this. I feel that any person, whether they are sworn law enforcement or not, should be held to the same standards. Do the crime...do the time. One thing to keep in mind, however, when you read in the newspapers and see on TV about all the "Bad" cops...that's what sells. Often I have seen the media take a small situation and blow it way out or proportion. I am happy to live in a town where our police department "administration" does not stand for any type of "dishonor" being brought to the department. Officers here are fired for having an extramarital affair.

One other thing to take into consideration is that every day these men and women who have dedicated their lives to protecting us leave their families and come to work facing the thought of never coming home..and often for less money than you would imagine. How much would it take to pay you to put yourself in a life threatening situation? I garuntee you that most law enforcement personnel dont' make the kind of money you would require. However, they go out day after day and take constant berating from people who have broken the law and are angry at having been caught. Can anyone recall the last time you read an article in the newspaper or saw something on television about a cop doing something heroic? My guess would be NO, but the men and women in blue do things that make them heroes every night.

Just my 2 cents

[Edited by SimplySouthern on 08-07-2000 at 02:23 PM]

 

[Aranian]

It's easy to get an image of "bad cops" vs "good cops" but does such a black and white picture really represent reality? We seem to get this perspective from isolated incidents sensationalized by the news media trying to recreate a Rodney King incident and Hollywood movies like Payback portraying the police as criminals themselves. I'm sure there are police who cross the fuzzy line and abuse their station from time to time, but more likely by mistake or misunderstanding than intent.

Passing judgement on people's actions isn't a difficult thing to do. If a man is trying to unholster your gun to kill you, you don't take half measures to stop him. The media gets a whiff of it and suddenly 'police beating' is printed all over the front pages. The department tries to defend your actions people call foul and scream that the "good cops" are trying to defend the "bad cops". Er, anyway, before I start to deviate from the topic, I just think that it's being oversimplified when someone starts to point out good cop and bad cop when it seems things are a great deal more muddled.

 

[CreamyLady]

Sorry, SS . . . I just got here before you did.

Seriously, the LAPD scandal is dreadful, and I only hope no one chickens out before getting to the bottom of it, and really cleaning out the department.

Our own local police department had its 15 minutes of infamy over adultery . . . the chief resigned, there were firings, and a young lady who was no better than she should be ended up with a five figure settlement for "injuries suffered" after several of the officers she had been sleeping with declined further involvement.

Did I mention the affairs were taking place in police cars in a church parking lot?

Oh, yes -- she shot out the windows of the police station after being dumped, but before the check. I would think that shooting out the windows would balance out hurt feelings, wouldn't you?

 

[Weird Harold]

Not Murhpy's Fault

Drunk drivers are everywhere.. people driving recklessly or speeding WAY too fast... and you go 4 miles over and BLAM you help them meet their quota right? Well... it has just GOT to be Murphy's Law.. all I can figure...

I've gotten several speeding tickets in the thirty+ years I've been driving. All but two of them were in the only red car I've ever owned. (One was recieved in the mail in Germany courtesy of an automatic camera system that was colorblind, the other was for doing sixty-five in a school zone in my home town where everybody knew me.)

Jade and especially Sexxy Redhead, paint your car blue or grey, and your tickets will go away. Of course, If you continue to speed and otherwise flout the laws, you're eventually going to keep getting caught and ticketed, no matter what color car you drive. A blue or grey car will reduce the minor tickets for four or five miles over the limit though.

"Why can't they just understand that some days you really are in a hurry."

Which is more important to you? Getting there thirty seconds faster, or getting there alive?

For a lot of reasons, driving exactly the speed limit (in most cities) will get you across town within a minute or two of when you'd get there by speeding and running amber lights, and save you some gas money at the same time.

Speeding might get you to your destination faster on a long trip, but driving a steady speed will get you there more surely, and with less stress.

Get a program like Tripmaker and play with it a bit, adjusting the speed limit settings for a cross country trip. You'll find out some interesting things about how long it take to get from one place to another. The difference between 55 and 75 is only an hour or so to go from coast to coast. If there's that small a difference in 3000 miles, what kind of speeds to you have to travel to make a significant difference on shorter trips?

 

[Whispersecret]

If you break a traffic law, you deserve to get a ticket. CreamyLady is right; you should be angry at yourself, not at the cop. Ultimately, it is your fault you got the ticket, not the cop's. You need to take a little responsibility for your actions.

On the opposite side of the same coin, I was pissed off last month because my husband got a warning instead of the ticket he very richly deserved. He was being his normal impatient self, swerved around this lady, and ran a red light. Unfortunately, my husband adeptly explained to the cop that he was swerving to avoid rear-ending her because she "slammed on her brakes." Which was BS. The cop gave him a warning instead. So, now I'm sure he thinks he was lucky and "smart" for thinking of a way to talk himself out of it. And he continues to drive like a maniac.

I agree that bad cops should be dealt with. As a teacher, I feel the same way about horrible tenured teachers. They give all teachers a bad name. Just as in any profession there are bad apples. This situation does not appear only in law enforcement. There are bad lawyers, bad doctors, bad contractors, etc. It will always be difficult to weed those bad ones out.

Rarely do cops get recognized for their good work. At least teachers get "Teacher Appreciation Week." I've often thought that I'd much rather be a firefighter than a cop. No one EVER says anything bad about a firefighter. They're always heroes. Cops get more badmouthing than public school teachers, and it amazes me that anyone ever goes into law enforcement. Like Southern said, much of it comes from the press, who report all the bad stuff and little of the good.

 

[Wizard]

I can't add much that hasn't been allready said here.I also have real bad luck with cops myself....11 points and a trip back to driving school...One DUI.......And you wait you try to be a good guy and when they ask if you have anything you want to tell them........I stated that why yes Officer I have a loaded gun on the front seat under some files.....Boy it will go down hill real quick from there fuck the had 12 cops show up for my 115 lbs ass and tried to pin all kinds of shit on me.....I do mean tried...They pushed all my buttons to try to make me do something but I knew I wounldn't win against the badge and just bit my lip and let them play there game....

 

[Patryn]

I agree doing 59 in a 55 should have gotten you a warning. In my state, they CAN'T pull you over for doing 5 MPH or less over the speed limit. Apparently it's not like that where you live. But since you got 1 ticket, that woulda been my clue to slow down for a while until my licensce plate got out of their systems.

As for the fake ID, hate to break it to you but you deserved to get arrested. I have a feeling there's more to the story than "I got picked on by the nasty bad cops while my friends got off scott free". It don't work like that most of the time. If it did in your case, then yeah, you got fucked over, but all we have is your word.

I got arrested once. I was young and stupid and thought it would be cool to shoplift. I'd never done it before, and the first time I got away with it. Got away with it the second and third times too. The fourth I wasn't so lucky. I got caught. And I deserved to get caught. I deserved t get caught the other 3 times too. No, I didn't like it. No, I didn't have enough money to pay the fine. What the hell could I do? I was shoplifting for god's sake. The whole incident kinda made me see it was a stupid thing to do, though.

 

[Whispersecret]

This scares me. There are loads of people out there who feel that they're being victimized if they get nailed for doing something wrong. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their own actions anymore.

You want to know how to stop getting picked on by the cops? You want to be an FBI agent? Stop breaking the law.

Here's why I think it's a little frightening that the world is moving away from religion. With religion there is accountability. God will hold you responsible at the end. If people don't believe this (and whether there IS a God or not is irrelevant here), then who WILL hold them accountable? Not our current justice system. Not the people themselves, it seems.

Oh, but what am I saying? <laughs wryly> I forgot! It's not their fault anyway, right? They were abused when they were kids, they were influenced by video games, they have a brain with faulty wiring or a hormone imbalance. No, they have a good excuse, and, hey, they were polite when they were arrested, so give them some slack, okay?

WRONG.

<takes a deep breath> Okay, my rant is over. Sorry if I hit some of you while I was speaking so vehemently. Come here, I'll kiss it and make it better.

 

[Herbie]

Hi SeXyReDHeD,

As one who has worked with the Police Force and on the frontline ,What has been said before is true, but I will also say that they are a few Cops who are assholes and sre on a power trip, In this country the Deptment does try to weed them out and they do not give a good imagae to the Police Force.

I would also like to point out the other side of having to deal with the results that speed can cause, like going to inform a mother,father, son,daughter,that one of their family has been killed or seriously hurt in a car smash, and I know what this is like , Not only having to inform, but also been informed of such an event, I lost my second son to a driver in a stolen vehicle high on dope doing 100 miles and hour in a 30 miles zone as he was on his way home from work, This vehicle and driver were not been chased by the Police,and my son stood no chance, He came across the wrong side of the road ,On a straight piece of road and my son was killed.

They resulting courtcase, only gave him 27 months in prison, 15 months for killing my son and 12 months for threating a Police wittness,This guy had a record longer then what I stand tall,This also happen in a city which was 355 kms away from me, so I did not know the Police Officers involed in the investigation and to them I was just another citizen,The support and help from these people was amazing.

Just maybe that this Officer had had to go and do an informing Job that day , or very recently,I know from personally exprince to that when having to do such a chore and you are back out on the road and you see someone speeding,that you cringe as you have just dealt with something like this in which someone was killed , It is not nice beleive me,yet, we still have to be polite, courtous and be fair.
Just another view from the other side.

 

[Laurel]

I'm sure there are police who cross the fuzzy line and abuse their station from time to time, but more likely by mistake or misunderstanding than intent.

Have to disagree here. If I'm pulled over for abusing the speed limit, I get a ticket - period. The law delineates what is and is not speeding - there's nothing "fuzzy" about it. And if I told the officer, "I'm sorry, there must be a MISUNDERSTANDING - it wasn't my INTENT to do 70 in a 45 mph zone!", would he say, "Oh, I'll let you off without a ticket then!"? Hell no! Do the crime, do the time. Are you saying that cops don't have to obey the law? If anything, they should be MORE observant of the law because it's their job to ENFORCE it.

There's no place in a civilized society for vigilante justice, by private citizens or by police officers. If you can't do your job within the law, you shouldn't be a cop. Yes, it's a hard job, but that's not an excuse for criminal behavior. I can't start embezzling money from the company I work for just because I'm overworked. Crime is crime, no matter what the excuse and no matter who commits it.

 

[Laurel]

With religion there is accountability.

Of course, 'cause you can always blame the evils of the world on those who don't follow your religion.

 

[Patryn]

I'd also like to think there are people like me, who aren't in the slightest bit religious (though that doesn't mean I'm not spiritual) who realize they're accountable for what they do....even when they fuck up.