First, there is the unknown law factor. With all the BS laws that have been passed, anytime you run into a policeman it is possible to be arrested for something you never heard of. If you do not display the right attitude (subservient, meek and/or grateful) or if the LEO is having a bad day or is underperforming in the arrests department, you could be violating some obscure statute that suddenly becomes an issue.

So many things that have nothing to do with hurting anyone or infringing on their rights are now crimes that I could forfeit my life, freedom and/or property due to tyrannical and confusing statutes. And both Federal and State legislatures keep passing hundreds and thousands of new laws every year. How is it that so many dangerous human activities were not criminal before now? As more and more of these laws are passed (and I'm sorry, passing a law saying that flash suppressors are illegal does not make me a criminal) then it reinforces and perpetuates the Us vs. Them mentality. When every person is potentially a criminal under a million different stupid laws, respect for law enforcement is eroded.

Policemen are the faces the public associates with the tyranny. Here in San Francisco no-one likes the police. It is ironic, the socialists play both sides so well, setting up citizens review boards that ream every cop that makes a mistake and berates law enforcement for doing their jobs. Then they keep passing laws that require cops to infringe further on freedoms. Liberals (socialists) profess to despise authority, but keep requiring more of it. Bizarre.

Second, all too often police officers treat everyone they come into contact with as a criminal. It is understandable from a LEO point of view, as these are the kinds of people you deal with day after day after day. When your only tool is a hammer, all the problems start to look like nails.

Third, some policemen are not nice people. While rare, they do a lot of damage to the name of law enforcement. When some cops are corrupt, all cops are suspect. So some people discriminate and it is understandable. Do I have an answer? Yeah, discrimination is wrong. Doesn't change anything.

continued.

I have had two occasions to deal with policemen in the last couple of years. In both instances it was obvious that I was a serf, even though (in theory) these men are public servants. One of the cops was a real dick, and he enjoyed being a bossy punk. The other time I was dealt with in a very polite non-threatening way (as it should be, I called in a dangerous dog on my property) but I was still warned I might be charged with brandishing (for pointing a gun at a DOG charging ME on MY property! Imagine if I had fired it! You don't want to live in Kalifornia!). He was "generous" enough to use his judgement and decide not arrest me. But why should he even have to be in the position to make a call like that?

I am not anti-law enforcement. But at what point does a policeman become my enemy? When the demo-socialists ban my guns? When they confiscate them because a neighbor thinks I am too strange (a la Massachusetts)? When they pass laws allowing police snipers to shoot gun owners in their homes from a safe distance if the Sargent in charge "believes" they would not hand them over peacefully?

I would be a lot happier if I knew a lot less about the laws that exist to "maintain order" in this country. I sometimes wonder if I am just paranoid. But I see so many people that do not get it. The denial factor runs very deep our society, and that is not hard to understand. It is not nice to reflect on, and besides, who wants to be labeled as a "right-wing nut"?

As long as politicians use the police as tools to shape society, people who never hurt anyone will be victimized. Some people are not nice, and they become policemen too, and when all you see is the dregs of society your judgement can get blurred. Add that all up and you would see why so many citizens do not like policemen.

OK
Town 20 miles away,I get busted and get a real live ticket that goes to my insurance company for going 28 in a 25 MPH Zone arond the square in Greenwood AR at 0311 on a Fri AM.Small town PIGS piss me off.I am an ER Doc in Fort Smith AR and this happens.Greenwood Arkansas PIGS.I got pulled over and hammered just because of the time and my White Corvette convertible at 0311 in the morning coming home from work.Greenwood AR cops suck donkey dicks.
cpermd

You really ought to make a better effort at obeying the speed limit.

cpermd,

I guess that's what happens when one person suffering from the delusion that he is possessed of God-like powers clashes on the asphalt of America with another who actually does possess such power.  

Now you guys can come back.
Why does the US hate ED docs and why do we get a suit filed every WEEK?
I have had only one suit go past the discovery phase in my life but have been sued every week in the last 15 years.
What are we doing wrong?We save people and keep them alive til their "real docs" get their.
I am serious and this is one of the few places I trust for info.
I will share this with my residents.
cpermd

I think the biggest problem is the low pay and lousy standards to which they're held. A lot of these little shitbirds in Oklahoma make less than $20K a year. Just what kind of people are willing to work for that kind of money for a full time job? These guys are the absolute dregs of society. Believe it or not, the only positive experience I've ever had with [i]los cochinos[/i] was in California (YIKES!). I have no respect or any use for the vast majority that're issued commission cards in Oklahoma. Think three over's bad? Some of these little burgs over here will get you for [b]one[/b] over.

Florida several years ago passed a law that said, an officer could not issue a ticket for going less than 5 mph over the limit. Why, because a few, decided to start ticketing people for going 26 in a 25, 36 in 35, etc. Now, you have to actually be speeding. They figure if you are clocked at 5 over, you were speeding, your clocked at 1 over and you speedometer or the radar could be wrong.

In Florida, most cops will not pull someone over on the interstate unless they are doing 15 mph over the limit. I.E. 85 mph in the 70 mph zones. Local cops are another issue. Before the law was passed I knew someone who had been given a ticket for going 31 in a 30. The ticket was challanged and she didn't have to pay it or take points. But, she did end up taking a day off work to go to court and fight it.

I have been in Alabama alot. Every cop I met in Southern Alabama (Between Mobile and Montgomery) and Central Alabama (Between Montgomery and Auburn) were very nice and professional. I haven't been to Birmingham so I don't know how those cops are.

I need to amend my earlier claim. The larger agencies in Oklahoma (where the officers have to be semi-educated) and state troopers as a whole are pretty squared away.

Ya know I got stopped about 0300 one morning going home from the hospital too.  This was in SW Kansas.  The prick also wrote me for 28 in a 25.  I just smiled and said nothing when I put his ass to sleep for an operation, but trust me, I did bump his bill up a bit to cover the cost of the ticket and my aggrivation!!!!

BTW, same goes for Southern Mississippi and parts of Gerogia, Eastern Tennessee, and Western North Carolina.

New Orleans cops on the other hand...Well let's just say they don't follow the examples of their neighbors (Missississippi and Alabama.) Some are plain assholes. The one's I've seen fall in the asshole category. One Louisiana Trooper/Officer I met was real nice and helpful, but that was just over the line from MS (St. Tammany Parish/County)

[b]RIGHT ON!!!![/b]


New Orleans was so bad a few years back that the U.S. Justice Department was threatening to move in and take over their law enforcement duties. They had convicted felons and all kinds of undesirables on their force (they never asked on the application, strangely enough). What do you expect for what they were paying, which was something like $13K a year?

When my dad died at his home the cops showed up to take a report.  They were kind and sympathetic.  One of the officers was in his late 20 and I thought he was going to cry when he saw my mom.  They were good guys and I let their Chief know.  When it comes to a professional police force, a great example of how to do it right is the Michigan State Police.

Well, he should make a better effort. Corvettes are potentially a dangerous vehicle. It's for the children, you understand.

He should've gotten the chair for that.

Uh?
I was 42 years old
No tickets,No record
Driving home at 0315 with Tom Petty blowing out the speakers.My ticket cost $69 and over $400 in insurance.Some day a Greenwood cop will come to Fort Smith and he will be billed for his testicles.
cpermd
28 mph,and I guaran fuckin tee you I was going 28 and deserved it.
One of those Greenwood PIGS will go to Sparks And their care will not quite be to their parttners care standards,I will just grin!!

$$ + Ins you Grenwood Arkansas PIGS
28 in a 25

IGNORANCE?

Please keep the tunes at an acceptable level next time, too.

Holy Mackeral!!  You're starting to sound like Imbroglio!!  You don't have a Rossi .38 by any chance, do you?

I've instigated a trace on your IP address, Norm. Your local authorities will be notified shortly and your driving habits will be observed, too. We all must conform.

All the LEO's I know personally are real great guys, but still every time I see one, I still freeze up and worry that I am doing something wrong.
I don't know why I have this fear, but sub-consciously it definitly affects the way I think about them.

Tom Petty blasting from your speakers..I would have ticketed you, too.

Now if you had been listening to Rush, that's different.

All the LEO's I meet on the range are great guys.Sometimes if you meet just one on the street they are good guys.Three or more and they become pricks.If they wear black and come out after midnight they are scum.If they kill women and kids they should burn in hell.

3 miles over the speed limit?


HAhahahaha!....wooohooooo!....hahahaHAHAHAhaha!

opermd,

Stop.  Take a deep breath.  If the above quote is indicative of your normal, everyday attitude, you need to find a new job.  It also says quite a bit about why you are being sued so often.

I never let the attitude of a violator negatively effect the outcome of a traffic stop for him or her.  That means I never let anyone talk me into a ticket.  Most officers aren't that patient.

jc,

I didn't identify the one who "actually does possess such power."

Cops are people. They have feelings..and sometimes they get angry and let their emotions get the better of them.

All of the police officers that I personally know (retired ones now) are great guys. Most police officers that I have come across were very polite and professional..especially when I ran afoul of the law.
But then I am ALWAYS polite to a police officer and I never attempt to lie to them. I just tell them the truth.

On the other hand I did come across a few officers that really should not have been on the force. But these instances were very rare.

Police officers are NOT responsible for enforcing laws which we do not like. They do have a lot of discretion and sometimes if the situation warrants it they will look the other way.

BTW if you were speeding above 25 mph in a school zone you deserve a ticket.

I've only had one bad experience with a cop, but on the whole they are good people.

There are assholes in ANY job. There are more good cops than bad, just be polite. Many people on this board seem to think they are "better" than the LEO. That attitude would piss anyone off, even a cop.

All you need to do is be polite. It's amazing how far a "Yes, sir" will get you.

Av.

28 in a 25 zone at 3:11 am is an attitude citation.  The attitude in such a case is usually from both sides.  If you act like a jerk, you should not be surprised to be treated like one.  That goes both ways.

Hmmmmmmm. What schools are in session at [b][i]THREE IN THE A.M.?!!!![/i][/b] You too have an acceptable I.Q. for a law enforcement job in the state of Oklahoma. A future of $15K to $18K a year awaits.

Avalon1

If I am stopped on the street by a cop, or talking to one in front of my own home, and he is younger than me, the only "Yes sir" you will hear will be from him.

Refer to my original post, I do not believe it is my place to be subservient to any employee of the government. If the moron happened to be holding a gun on me, I will do what I have to in order to live, but no more.

I am not a kid, I own my home, I don't do drugs, I drink socially and never if I am driving, and I believe in God. He is the only one I bow to, and any cop that expects the same treatment can kiss my a$$.

The only law I will break is the one that says I should turn in my guns if they ban them. If they come for me, well they can have the bullets first. I will not live on my knees for any man.

I came to this country to get away from that krap.

As for Michigan State cops, I think we've got a little anality problem. My wife was working in a coffee shop in Alanson and mentioned that she was having a bad day because the family dog had died and I had buried it in the yard.The state reamers overheard her. Whoa buddy! Pull it over! You can't bury your dog in your yard! You have to take it to the proper county authority! They came to see me at work and I told them " Arrest me. The dog stays." After that I got a daily drive by real slow and a dirty look for a long time, but they did buzz off.

 Cops are just people . Some good Some bad .
I have had experiences with both . Their job
does tend to give them alot of power .
 How does that saying go ?
" Absolute power corrupts Absolutely " ?