Here is a funny one fer yaz.  First a little backstory.  When I was a teen, hanging out downtown in our medium size town, skipping school, smoking cigarettes, running from beer parties, etc. I got to know some of our local police.  Some were really cool, some where straight up indifferent, some were assholes.  

Now that I am grown up and no longer a troublemaker [;-)] The cool ones will wave and such when I am in town.  Once in a while, will run into one at the gas station and chat a little, etc.  Perhaps since I never got into serious trouble and am now a productive member of society, they see me as a successful project in policing LOL.  Anyway, on my way to work, on a state highway, right after a snow/ice storm, I come across one of these cops, lets call her "Sue".  Anyway, she is nose down in the ditch with cherries lit and standing next to her patrol car.  Looked like she tried to turn around to stop someone and hit the ice in the breakdown lane.  Of course, I hadn't figured that out yet.  I pulled over to help,  and when I hit the breakdown lane, it was all over due to 5 inches of snow which hid a one inch layer of solid ice.  IN the ditch I went 50 yards ahead of the patrol car (always pull over AHEAD of the patrol car, never behind duh!).  Buried in the snow to the hood of my 4X4.

 She walked over laughing at me, and our predicament.  "Hey" she says, "now I don't feel so damn stoopid!".  I sure did!!  Another officer shows up, one of them that was a real hardass.  He let me use his cell phone to call work, and when the tow truck came, they had him pull me out too and took care of the charge.  They also both sincerely thanked me for stopping to see if she needed help.
 
 Oly, we are out here.  It's just that the officers out there that are real dickheads sometimes make us say "f**k it" cause we don't know if we are going to get seriously hassled or not.  Take one of our area Wisconsin State Troopers for example.  I asked for directions from him one time, he stared at me with hate in his eyes and in a mean tone of voice asked if I couldn't read the road signs.  Now that's what I call assisting the public in a professional and courteous manner!  Every time I see a Trooper I get tense, and I don't do anything wrong!!  I won't be helping him anytime soon.  

I DO agree with those that say you should do better at policing your own, and get rid of the guys that got their lunch money stolen or have a small pecker and are out there taking it out on citizens.  And sorry, but although a lot of everyday citizens are stupid a-holes, that is not an excuse or reason for any cop to behave inappropriately.    

 As far as short term solutions, to those that have a problem with cops period, I suggest just stay away from the cops altogether and don't break the law, thereby avoiding the problem.        

This is MNSHO, worth $.01 after taxes.  Take it or leave it!

We need them....somebody to push the pen after "I" take care of an intruder.

??
If I will never call 911, why do I have to pay for 911 services on my phone?

Rick

If a leo is so honorable, why has there been so much corruption all over the usa in every state at least 1 to 5 police departments has a criminal wearing the badge, futher more why doesn't so called "good cops" that do not have the balls to turn in a "bad cops" lose there job and go to jail. I will tell u  cause there would be none of u left. hahaha !!!!!!!!!!


        If there is 1 leo on this board that doesn't like the so-called leo-bashing { term made up by leo's to protect there bad cops buddies } u just CANNOT handle the truth.

               As for the members on here that say leo's have a stressful job WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD.We all have streessful jobs, just ask the wtc. workforce or the firemen , i do not see them abusing there positions as do i see leo's and their's

               For anyone else i say if u have not experienced a dic$head leo just wait a while u will.

For the oringal post as cops hanging with only cops duh man !  dic#s will hang with dic$s

P.S. yes a do dislike leo's  if disliking leo's is demanding leo's be accountable for all their actions {unlike today}and be accountable for their actions for not turning in the "bad cops"and covering for them .

OK, now I gotta jump in...

Let me open by saying that I have been on (generally!) good terms with most PD's for the last 30 years.  I have also been on both sides of the badge (as much as I can!) on and off.  I have been mock arrested, REALLY arrested, ticketed, rode along, and even did some instruction for cops.  There are some cops that I have know for over 20 years, some I owe favours to, and soe who owe me favours.  Some have encountered me and come off better for it.

I know there are pricks in PD's - they are everywhere.  It's the same philosophy that sez "Niggers come in every colour" - but you still have to sort them out for yourself - and not everybody of every colour qualifies for the "Nigger" label.

Do cops stick together?  Hell, yeah.  So do dispatchers, Special Operators, Infantrymen, Firemen, EMT's, and so on.  It is so much easier to hang out and talk when you don't have to stop every five minutes to explain the finer points of intubation or some damn thing...  Perfectly understandable.  There is also the "Benevolent and Protective Brotherhood of them what has been Shot At" to keep in mind.  

Are all cops assholes?  I got picked up walking alongside HWY 237 (just inside Milpitas City Limits) well into God's Own Drunk by an MPD.  I could have been taken in for Traffic Nuisance, walking on a highway, public intox, and half a dozen other things.  He put me in the FRONT SEAT of the squad car and dropped me off IN MY DRIVEWAY.  He didn't have to do that.  That stands as a shining example.

I do accident response.  I have gotten traffric control underway on scenes - and all I asked for was replacements for my flares.  That's all.  If I see a cop with a flat, I'll stop and help.  If I see one stuck in a ditch, I usually have the tow chains out before they can say "No," and pull them out anyhow.

Do they enforce laws we don't like?  Sad to say, that's their job.  If you don't like the laws, talk to the people who ENACT them, not the poor bastards that ENFORCE them.  I don't like the speed limit, but I don't chastise the cop for writing me a ticket - that's his JOB.

I'm about due for a ridealong by now - maybe San Jose PD this time....

FFZ

Can you say "butt ball"?

[:P]

...And now the favorite son replies.  I'm not a cop anymore, and I understand that when I was most of you hated me.  Now that I turned in the badge, and sold all my Glocks and left behind that lifestyle, I can tell you a few things.  First off, do I miss it sometimes.  Most days I am totally content with being a good husband (for a change) and preparing for the birth of my daughter.  The things I miss about the job are the basic principles that got me into it in the first place.  I miss being that one person who was on top of things in the middle of chaos.  I became that person not because I was better then any other parties involved, I became that person because that's what I was expected to do.  I don't miss feeling the need to be armed 24/7 because I am in fear of retaliation from doing my job, nor do I miss the countless sleepless nights that I endured because of job stress.  To truly understand how any man thinks, we all must strive to understand what has conditioned him to be this way.  Now that I have calmed down, and become what my darling wife refers to as "human" (as opposed to that badge heavy creature I once was), I am more understanding and forgiving of my fellow man, and I give him the benefit of that doubt that he just doesn't know any better.  Cops, just as all people act accordingly to how they are conditioned to respond based on past experience.  I tried and tried to fit into my Ex-wife's world of Opera, gourmet foods, and country clubs, but as soon as the topic of employment came up, I was chastised with statements of " why is it some cops give breaks on speeding tickets" or the always present and every annoying " can you get me out of a ticket".  I can honestly tell you that I have never asked a computer programmer to burn me off a pirated CD of windows, and furthermore, I think that a great number of us forget that being a Police Officer is a Profession, equal too any other.  I still hold the up most respect for my brothers in blue, and I am fully aware that they are people and make mistakes just as all of us do.  

There is not one among us who has been totally politically or morally correct in there profession 100% of the time, and I for one would like to see all of us take that extra moment to attempt to understand one before we throw them to the wolves.

Ah heck, I'll weigh in.

Police have a difficult job. Often, because of the "call load" (all of the calls stacked up) there is lots of pressure to move along and take care of the next problem. Because of this, officers are slow to arrive at calls, and they don't get handled as thoroughly as anyone would like. This leaves the complainant unhappy, and the officer tends to be brusque and over-businesslike. Put someone in this situation for a few years, and their attitude gets molded by their environment, which effects everything they do. I started to get that way, and I think most cops do at one point in time or another.

Here is what I have learned and figured out, and most Departments are starting to figure out:
1) Are you giving quality service? You are out there to serve the public. Are you doing that each time?
2) Are you being polite enough? About 85% of the IA complaints in my Department are for simple rudeness. It doesn't matter how much of an a** someone is, you should always be polite and professional. In fact, you should be even MORE polite and professional when someone acts like a fool. BTW, thanks to video, most of the rudeness complaints get "unfounded"; video is a real career saver.
3) Cops get distant from the community they serve and just become some person in blue who cleans up messes. Officers need to make time to get to know people. I made it a point to stop and talk with people, my goal being to have one non-enforcement/service citizen contact each shift. With call load, that was surprisingly hard to do, but I managed. Stop and talk to a local business. When you see someone watering their lawn, stop and chat for a few. At first, people will be surprised, but then they will usually be genuinely happy that you stopped to chat.
4) Don't be faceless. Give everyone your business card. They mandated this in policy for us a couple of years back. At first, everyone hated it. However, it actually worked out very well. Good people remember you for a long time, and bad guys knew not to screw with you (they also remembered getting treated like a human being, even though they did something bad). After we started handing out business cards, The number of complaints did not increase, but the number of citizen commendations soared. I got one about every month, just because people knew who I was. They also put our names on the sides of our cars, but that it another story.

As far as stopping and helping motorists, I do it all of the time, unless I am on my way to a priority call (in which case I can't). As far a motorists stopping to help me, I have had it happen numerous times, and it always gives me a good feeling. I once got my car stuck in a ditch, and I had no fewer than ten motorists stop in the five or so minutes it took the wrecker to get there to pull me out. Of course, if I worked somewhere where there wasn't so much emphasis on good community relations, I might not have anyone stop.

I loved your first story, and regret that the second took place, although I have had those run ins too.
This is a point I cannot believe that we have missed all this time. You are right a lot of everyday citizens are stupid a--holes, and which society is it that we draw our LEO's from? Some of those a--holes are gonna get into police work, and as the population grows, so too will the number of a--holes with a badge. The percentage will probably hold it's ground though. No, that is not an excuse, but it is a little food for thought.

Sh!t I thought (hoped) this dude was tired of us or something, Welcome back!!! Can't say as I missed ya, hell, I was just starting to think you weren't as stupid as you paint yourself. Then you pop back up, and spout this crap. That'll teach me to think.

Now THIS is what all cops should be like!