Since there is alot of cop basher around here , lets here some positive things for once.

I'll go first...

 When I was about 20ish, I worked at a local Mom & Pop convenience store in a small town, where I also lived.
 Like any other kid, I wasn't very responsible, I neglected to renew my auto plate tabs for about 6 months Then My G/F (wife now) put me on the straight and narrow, help me get my act together... I finally go my tabs.

So, one day an old timer officer came in the conveniece store that I knew very well and said to me...

" Its nice to see you finally got your tabs, my neck was getting sore for turning my head whenever I saw your car"  

 Thanks guys

  Bri

{Crickets chirping}

Quoted: {Crickets chirping}

Pretty much...

Well there was that time when... I got a ticket, and that other time when... I got a ticket. Oh, and the time the cop lied at my trial for one of the tickets. Yep, protecting and serving all right. Serving my checking account to their expense account.

I've got lots of them.  I usually have the right attitude whenever I'm pulled over and more often than not, I'm let off with either a reduced violation or none at all.  I guess it's all in how you deal with each different personality you encounter.  I'm in sales so I know how to read a guys temperment easily and I go with the best approach to deal with each scenario case by case.

That being said, I believe most cops are nothing but JBTs, but even they have compassion and understanding given the right circumstances.

I had a cop stop me doing 20 over one time and only wrote me up for 5 over. That was in Michigan.

I've never had a problem with a cop in Texas. I've met alot of really nice cops down here. The first time I went shooting down here I took my AK to the range and had a great BS session with a cop about ARs and AKs and all kinds of shit.

once the police showed up when my dad was taking pot shots at the pigeons on our roof ripping it up....cause the neighbors called in "man with a gun"...cops roll up with guns out ready to go.

oo..you wanted a positive story..

sorry

Nothing is coming to my mind ..............................................................sorry.

Maybe the times I don't see them & they don't have interaction with me.
I guess a few times when I had to call them to deal with unruly customers. That is my good contact.

I have walked away and let them walk also, from every encounter I have had.

I say that’s good for the both of us.


Not an LEO basher here, but I do like to poke them in the side every once and a while.

Trolley Square, Utah.

I was visiting family in Texas and on the way back to Colorado I was doing "above the posted speed limit" and was pulled over by a county deputy. I was polite as hell and he noticed the DoD sticker on my windshield. He asked if I was military, and I showed him my ID and said I was just back from Afghanistan( the truth ) and he simply said, "Thank you for your service, just slow it down a bit" and let me go.

Just for the record: Even if I hadn't shown military ID, I had the feeling that he would have been nothing but professional with whoever he pulled over.

This guy was a "peace officer" not a "law enforcement officer", if you get my drift.

Best cop story I ever heard was at my grandfather's funeral. A 50'ish year old lady and her mother had driven from several states away to say goodbye to "The Sergeant" that had saved her from drowning about 40 prior. It wasnt the only story like that I heard that day, it's a shame he never told us about any of them himself.

I was coming home at 2AM one night and fell asleep at the wheel.  The next thing I know I snap my eyes open at the sound of a siren and lights in the rear-view mirror.  The LEO told me that I was going about 65 in a 30 MPH zone.  He talked to me for a while, just small talk, "So how was the movie?"  That sort of thing.  I remember thinking that it was kind of weird to ask me how my date went, but the next day I realized that he was actually making sure that I was lucid enough to drive home.  He let me go with a warning to not drive sleepy again.

BTW, another half mile down the road there was a 15 MPH turn with a big tree on the outside of the bend.  

I was JUST given a ticket for speeding once.

He didn't shoot my dog, taze me, beat the crap out of me, or shoot me.



Of course none of this makes up for the fact that he supposedly used a laser "radar" gun to check my speed at a supposed 70 when I was in very heavy traffic, in the third lane(out of 4) and was surrounded by cars that were passing me......

He pulled me over simply beacuse I was driving a pos volkswagon, and when he did, and I gave him my CPL, he demanded my pistol(1911), took it, tried to unload it even though he didn't know jack shit about it, nearly shot it off into traffic while I tried to give him verbal pointers in how to drop the mag, release the safety, and unload it all the while reminding him to take his finger off the trigger.

And of course when he was all done giving me the bullshit ticket, he gave me back the pistol, an empty magazine, and all of my ammo seperatly, and then ordered me to not leave until he did (Didn't that restrict my ability to leave and thusly place me in a status of "arrest"???) and then he spent 5 minutes on his radar gun until he got another victim.......

Sombody was "meeting his goals".....since they don't have quotas and all.....

Every cop I've ever encountered has been just doing their job.

Nothing more nothing less.

I've had no issues.

Back when the rally car was still my daily driver (fully caged, 5 pt. harness) I got pulled over by a motorcycle cop.

As he came to the window he kind of stopped short and proclaimed,
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, from behind it looked like you weren't wearing your seatbelt -
you obviously have plenty of seatbelt! I'm terribly sorry to have inconvenienced you.
Have a good day!"

crickets

yep

Working as an asst mgr at a grocery on the Bad side of town. Old fella collapses at our front door. I am called out and check his pulse just in time to feel the last pump of his heart. I go inside and call 911. I'm on the phone for what seem like forever. A cop (sgt.O'Brian) was just around the corner with a trainee in the car. By the time I get back out they are both doing CPR on this guy. He was breathing on his own when the ambulance arrived.

The guy finished that day alive. His heart was really bad though, he passed a few weeks later, but his kids, grand kids and great grandkids all got to see him one last time before he died.

I would have a long-winded post telling a bunch of stories but that would be boring.  Most of the cops I have met have been very cool.

Turned right on a stop sign with a right turn allowed with out stopping sign under it.  Pulled over.  I was asked why I just ran the stop sign by the officer.  I said "Officer, right turn is permitted with out stopping."  He tells me he'll check.  He walks all the over to the sign, looks, and comes running back.  I mean running.  He apologies for stopping me and wished me a good day.  

Every time I call, visit, or they visit.

Hell I've got piles of stories of cops doing me good.  A couple of the more memorable ones. Once I left a sub-machine gun and a pile of money at a fast food restaurant.  All the cops were very nice and professional during the whole time. I figured they would just take me downtown and let the judge figure it out, but they all took the time to verify everything.    Another time the ATF helped me get back a gun and suppressor that was stolen.  The bad guys are doing time and linked to four murders (so far out of about 12 they are suspected of).  The ATF and local cops were very helpful and supportive.  All tickets I've gotten were because I was speeding.  A few I have been given warnings when not warranted.  A lot of problems people have with cops are brought on by their own attitude and actions when dealing with the police.

I had a chick give me head when I was underage, 6 months later I see her driving a cop car Turns out she had just got the job.

I was finishing up a long trip from TN back home about 4 am when I realized I was low on gas.  I pull into a small town and find a fast food place.  The kid points me into town, but there is no gas station open.  I drive all the way back out of town, nearly out of gas and I see a State Trooper.  I flag him down, and he is nice enough to show me to a 24 hr gas station that was just out of sight.  I fuel up and hit the road.  About a mile down the interstate, he is checking for speeders and sees me, he flashed his lights hello!

On the other hand, the only negative contacts I've had with LEO is when I was doing something stupid.

All your dead dogs are belong to me.

One afternoon in Sugar Land Tx this last year I noticed red and blue lights coming from outside my house.  I go and look to see whats going on and there is a FT. Bend county sheriff outside cuffing a guy.  I go ask him whats going once he's put the guy in the car.  I guess my sister-in-law left her doors unlocked and he was going through the car.  When he looked up and saw the sheriff coming down the street he started acting funny.  So, he detained him saving my SIL her stero, and some other belongings in the car.  He was professional to me, they guy he caught, and my neighbors.  And, he gave my SIL a needed "talk" about leaving her doors unlocked in the Houston area.  I had been trying to tell her the same thing for months.

In Serria Vista Az I got pulled over for speeding.  The officer gave me a citation, and was very professional.  I deserved a ticket and received one.  

Was pulled over by a Texas State Trooper for speeding, I'm sure I was.  After I gave him my CHL and DL he ran my license and said he was going to issue me a warning.  I thanked him.  Then he asked me what I carried?  I told him a Sig .45.  After that we talked about handguns for about 10 or so mins and he asked me if I had ever considered being a State Trooper.  Cool guy, I went home and looked into being a State Trooper.  

There are more.  I've not had a negative interaction with a LEO.  If you get the attention of the law, chances are you deserve it.  I know that upsets some people, but I do believe it.  The laws are there and need to be enforced, they have a tough job to do.  Dont like the laws they are enforcing, you could always move or tell your reps how you feel.

Here's mine. & this story really had an impact on me.

I arrested a guy for OWI (DUI). He sat in my car bitching & whining about his wife leaving him, and that he didn't know what to do... BLAH BLAH BLAH.

I have a rule! I treat people the way I would want to be treated if I were in their shoes. It worked out, he was cooperative & so forth. I remember getting him through the night. I helped him through his slurring process (He had never been in trouble before) but he was very distantant at times through the whole ordeal.

Well, after he got out of the "pokey". And received his court order guide lines. He went to a neighboring PD for his ordered PBT tests. The LEO there who gave him the test started small talk with him. My name came up as his arresting officer.
I went through the academy with him.

OWI guy told him; "I'm glad I'm here doing this test". He further stated he was arrested by yours truly, "thecleaner" from such & such city for OWI. My friend said, yup I know him, he's a good friend.

OWI guy insisted on telling my LEO friend to, "thank Officer "thecleaner" for arresting me that night. He said; "I was on my home to kill myself that night,...He stopped me from doing it."

I will always remember that. All the names I get called, all the times I'm deamed as nothing more than a racist, a bored cop with nothing else better to do, a liar, or whatever...

I have that!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Years ago, I bought a theft recovery 4x4 truck from a guy. It had been stolen, stripped pretty bad, recovered and sat in the owners back yard for about 6 months. Being a stupid teenager, I got it running and drove it home sans interior, license plates and keys.

On my way home, I stopped at a car wash to hose off all the dirt that had accumulated over the time it sat. Got lit up by a cop as I was pulling out of the carwash driveway.

Ok, I had NO paperwork other then a bill of sale, the truck had no plates, I was sitting on a lawn chair and was using a big snap on screwdriver as a key. Did I mention that it was 2 am, I was in a known drug area and I was a scruffy, long haired kid.

Thought for sure I was going to have a load of explaining to do. Just explained my situation and the cop laughed, shook his head and wished me good luck with my new project. We BSed for a few minutes and I asked him to run the VIN to make sure there was no lein on the title or anything else I should know about (dude I bought the rig from was a little shady). All was well and I went on my way.

About a month later I was driving the same truck, now all fixed up and the envy of many of my peers. Got on the freeway and as soon as I merged I got lit up. Same cop. He walks up to the window and says "I thought it was you, is this the same truck? Wow, it turned out really nice." Talked trucks on the side of the road for a few minutes and headed on to my destination.

Another time, I was at a night job I had, delivering medical supplies to hospitals. Coming back from an emergency run at 2am on a road in the middle of nowhere, I had the stereo cranked and was hauling ass down a windy country road. Passed a cop sitting on the shoulder facing me at almost double the posted limit. About 5 minutes later I see a red gumball bouncing down the road behind me, coming really fast.

Since I was double the posted limit (well over 100mph) I thought for sure I was going to jail. Found a spot to pull over (not an easy task on the road I was on), shut the truck off and was thinking about who my one phone call was going to be to. Cop comes up to the side of the truck and the first words out of his mouth were "DAMN, I didn't know these little trucks went that fast.  You know I could take you to jail for going as fast as you were". I nodded my head and told him that it was my fault, I was screwing around and being a dumbass.  He wrote me a ticket for 5 over and told me to "keep it under the speed of sound for a while".

Never been so happy to get a speeding ticket in my life...

Cops are not all bad, I was raised by one.... Problem is, the job is an amplifier. If someone is an asshole to begin with, having a badge just makes it worse. Lots of chips on shoulders, lots of bullies trying to retain their throne and many guys who never had any power suddenly becoming drunk with it.

We need more of the old school type of cop, that would use their discretion, judgement and gut feeling on when to enforce the letter of the law, the spirit of the law and when to just plain cut good people a break when they screw up.

About thirty years ago I was riding my motorcycle at night.  I rounded a curve and the motorcycle ran out of gas on the main tank and had to be switched to reserve.  It usually took a second or two to get the carb bowl full and the engine to start running again.  In that time a car came behind me and plowed into my rear at 60MPH.  I went over the hood and took out the windshield.  Surprisingly enough I stood up after tumbling off the car and other than real sore I appeared to be OK (found out later I had actually torn some ligaments in my knee which required about six weeks on crutches).  I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and no helmet.

I asked a passer by to call the police as the rear wheel section of my hardtail chopper was trashed.  They came, took a report, made sure everyone was relatively OK and directed traffic.  About thirty minutes after the accident, while still dealing with insurance info and such it occurred to me that my feet felt weird.  The reason was because my boots were missing.  The crash had knocked me out of my boots!

One of the state troopers ask me what was wrong when he noticed my confused looks.  When I told them about my boots they helped me look for them.  One was found easily in the ditch along the highway, but the other wasn't near it.  It was found laying about twenty yards away in the middle of someones yard.  The problem was there were two Dobermans in the yard with it and no lights on in the house.

Without much discussion one trooper went to the side of the yard and started screwing with the dogs while the other hopped the fence.  Just as the one trooper picked up my boot the dogs saw him.  He must have played football at one time because he tucked the boot under his arm and sprinted for the fence with the dogs close behind.  Just as the dogs were about to get him he hit the fence and flipped over it.  He picked himself up off the ground and handed me my boot.

All my cop experiences have been positive excepting possibly two different officers that had issues with power. It is just like any other profession, be it IT, medicine, burger flipping, whatever; their wil be good ones and their will be bad ones. If you've had only one or two experiences and you drew a "bad" cop, then I'm sorry. I hope the next time you encounter one you have a more positive experience. I feel like the majority of the guys(and gals) do a thankless job for way too little money and put themselves in dangerous situations daily so that we all have less to worry about. As for the bad cops, everyone reaps from what he has planted, whether it be in this life or when they go to meet the Maker.

One day, while my father was away on business, I went by his house to check on things while he was away. When I got there, I noticed two children from the neighborhood were playing in his back yard.

I ran the kids off, then went into the house. I saw that most of my father's baseball card collection was scattered on the floor. The children had apparently entered the home earlier through an open window, and took many of the baseball cards back to their house. They also took a case of facsimile team autograph baseballs, like the kind you buy as souvenirs at baseball games, which my father used to sell on ebay.

I called the police to report the items stolen. Much to my surprise, an officer actually showed up.

I recounted the story to him, mentioning that the kids were still in the back yard when I arrived to the house. The officer then proceeded to dust the open window for fingerprints as if this were an episode of CSI. He showed me the little prints the children left on the glass with their filthy hands.

He told me that he would call if he needed any other information, so I left. Later he called and asked me to come by my father's house and identify the suspects he arrested.

I went by the house and saw the two neighbor kids in the back of his patrol car.

The officer also found the missing facsimile autograph baseballs, the kids had taken the baseballs and threw them over the fence behind my father's home. The officer had climbed the fence and collected as many balls as he could find while I was gone, and gave them to me when I arrived.

I was quite impressed, but since this was the first experience I had with the police, I figured this was normal.

About four years later, my father had $1,500 in tools taken from his truck. His mailman actually saw the theft and managed to get a partial license plate number. The police never even showed up to take a report.

Back in 1996 I took a bike racing school at Mid-Ohio, and the trip going down was a complete nightmare. I hadn't slept in nearly 20 hours when the trailer I was pulling with my bike blew a tire near Findlay, OH at about 3am. Had an OSP officer pull up behind me, ask me what the problem was, then loaned me the manuals/books out of his trunk to put under my car jack to change out the tire for the spare. Then, he stuck around to make sure I was ok, and my battery was dead. He jumped my truck for me and sent me on my way. I would have packed it all in if it weren't for him cracking jokes and making light of the situation while I fixed the trailer.

The other positive story I have is not all that positive, just social commentary:

When I first moved to Michigan, the only car I could afford was a Hyundai. I lost the timing belt on it coming home, about 3 miles away from where my Dad lived. He drove a big Crown Victoria and offered to push me back to his place to get it sorted out. Well, on the way back he was giving me a little extra push to go thru a light if I had the chance. Problem was that an 80 year old man who only ever left the house to get groceries was pulling out of the supermarket. This was a 4 lane road, middle of the day on a saturday in suburban Detroit. He pulled across one lane, then halfway into mine and stopped. I had nowhere to go, and my Dad couldn't see what was ahead. I swerved into the oncoming lane and my Dad T-boned his ass into next week. Totalled both cars, both drivers were ok. When the police showed up (took just a few minutes) the driver stayed in the comfort zone of his car and when the officer walked up to talk to him he would only roll his window down a crack because it had started to rain hard and he "didn't want to get wet". The cop was already wayy pissed that he caused the accident, I don't know how he kept his cool and replied with a "Well I'm getting wet too, Sir."

He was soaked to the bone thru his uniform, his first priority was to check everybody out and get things sorted.

Dave

P.S. I have a story about a cop I know who found a baby in a dumpster on a 10 degree night, and gave it CPR and saved it's life. He was working as undercover with some biker gang task force here in Detroit and just happened on the baby while he was doing his bit. He quit LE after his 4th shooting, and went into the gun business.

Got a call while I was at work from my wife. Her car had quit in the middle of a busy intersection. It was only about 20 min away so I took off work to help her out. When I got there, an older cop had already come along, stopped traffic at the intersection...and then all by himself had pushed the car to a nearby gas station. Also stuck around to make sure she was ok until I got there. He didn't have to do that, he could've easily just called for a tow truck. Oh, BTW, it was a fairly hot Alabama summer day too.

Met some nice cops in my time, met only a few that were pricks.

Got no generic issues with a badge wearer.

Ok I understand the OP's reasons & I do think it's a good idea to give props to cops who have treated us with respect & professionalism.

I grew up in a very small town in NW WI. population 1,500. When I was a kid I was taught to respect the police & that they are the good guys there to help us.

When I moved to Texas I had a very high opinion & trust level for LEO's. I had just gotten on ARFcom & read a post about would you let a cop into your home to search for something a previous owner is suspected of having left there without a search warrant?

I said sure, because if the believed something vital to a case might be there, why wouldn't I let them look? I have nothing to hide, nothing illegal in my home.

I got dogged big time, & didn't understand all the distrust of the police. Well the town I live in now is huge compared to where I used to live & times being what they are, I have had several contact with the local LEO's & I now totally understand the distrust, & dislike so many folks here have.

The cops in the next town up seem to me to be very professional & polite compared to the ones I have dealt with from my city including the ASSistant Chief of police down to the street officers.

Started out on vaction, got about 30 miles from home when I got stopped by Dekalb Co's finist. 85 in a 55 . He got my papers, talked w/ me for a few moments, then left to run the radio check. I just knew I would get the ticket. He came back, said "you can go, just slow down and have a nice trip".

That was a $135.00 I didn't need to pay.

Thanks Officer

One time I got pulled over and got a ticket.  My dog was still alive - my girlfriend was not forced to perform oral sex and I was not sodomized by a night stick.  All and all - I say that was a positive cop story.

The day after I turned 20 I rolled my Jeep onto its side about 1/4 mile from my house. The official story is that after making this turn hundreds, if not thousands of times, I got complacent and I ran the stop sign. The road that I was turning onto was dirt. I lost control of the Jeep, ran it up an embankment and rolled it over A-Team style. The true story is that I was horse-assing around, tried to do a big, drifting power slide around the corner, and pulled the A-Team.

The sheriff showed up before we had a chance to flip it back over and get it home.

After hearing that I'd never had any sort of driving incident ever, he told me that I seemed to be a good kid, that I had good parents, that they didn't need the extra expense of my increased insurance (they were still paying at the time), and I didn't need this on my record. He's cutting me a huge favor, to keep wearing my seatbelt, and pay attention to what I'm doing from here on out. Let this serve as a wake up call for me.

We rolled the Jeep back over, drove it back home, and that was that. Cost me $75 for a new axle, another $50 for various suspension parts, and it was good as new.

This was also only 4 years ago, so this happened well after the "good old days".

Anyway, I'm still grateful to that sheriff.

2 nights ago a friend rolled through a yellow turning red light. A cop lit us up and pulled us over, then let my friend off because he was a new driver and "didn't need points on his liscense this early". Keep in mind we would also have been ticketed for my friend driving us on a provisional liscense.

One of the lake patrol guys dove in after a toddler that fell off a dock at a resturant Saturday.  He was on his lunch break.

Over a hundred people there and he was the only one to act.  Dad was busy chatting online over a hundred feet away.  

This is a good thread.


If I had time I'd tell some story's about my grandpa.  He was a great man, and a great LEO.  I'll never forget him.

I was stopped for flagrantly violating the speed laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  

State Trooper comes up to the window:

Me: (All windows rolled down, out of state plates, car off, daughters sleeping in the back seat, hands on wheel) Hello Officer, my name is Collin.  I have an Ohio Concealed Handgun License and am presently armed.  The firearm is holstered on my right hip.

Trooper:  OK, just don't shoot me.  Can I see your license, registration, insurance, and gun permit?

Me:  Sir, my licenses are in my wallet, in my right front pocket.  As you know, that's right next to the gun.  

Trooper:  That's fine, just grab the wallet, not the gun. (I then hand over what he wanted)

Trooper:  Are you in law enforcement or do you carry to protect your wife and daughters.

Me:  For my wife and kids, sir.

Trooper: OK, I'll be back in a minute.

Trooper walks back to his car, stops, turns around and comes back to me he then says
"I haven't written a citation yet today, and I don't want to start with guy like you.  Have a nice day and slow down for me."

I was almost run off of the road by two "Thugs" when I caught on to what they were doing and blocked them from doing it to me. They did not like that, and started to chase me and swerve to run me off the road twice. Right before the third time, I pulled out my Kahr K40 and pointed it directly at them. they hit the brakes and u turned out of there. I called the Sheriff and two Sheriff's deputies took the report the next day. One told me (off the record) that I should have shot them both. I laughed nervously and said I was ready to if they swerved at me again. He partner said, "Too bad they didn't."

I love Nevada.

I had a cop write me a ticket for being broke down once.

He said he could of given me 2 of them.

Dont remember what the second was but the first was parking in a no parking area.

That was kind of him.

Never had an issue with any LE officers.  They've all been reasonably professional, and a few have even saved my bacon.  

In my experience, more than a few of the problems people have with LE stem from their own behavior, or they let themselves get baited into saying/doing something dumb.

I've been given tickets, let out of tickets, pulled over, high-risk-felony-stopped, extracted from my vehicle, held at gunpoint, cuffed, searched, had my weapon taken off of me, you name it.  What I've never been is beaten down, tazed, or roughed up.

I'm always surprised at how few people understand the encounter-with-a-cop dance, and don't know when to shut up.  The power relationship on the side of the road is very disproportionate, and mouthing off about "I know my rights!" is only going to set some cops off.  If you ARE actually facing a power-tripping, ego-heavy, or corrupt/bad officer, you're a unvarnished fool to openly declare yourself an opponent on the side of the road... NOTHING good can come of that, so for God's sake use your self control; keep it all calm and even.

It's not easy, but the rules are simple: don't get baited, don't take offense, let any smart-aleck comments roll off, and keep your cool.  There's no better way to deal with a bad cop than to not let him get to you... if you let him get under your skin or provoke you, you're playing into his hands.  When you're reacting instead of thinking, he's controlling the fight, and you're going to lose... every. single. time.

No ticket for my ND.

LOTS of empathy sympathy from the JBT's.  

They even recovered the bullet and presented it to me in the ER.

Only have gotten one ticket in my life. I was 17 (or 16?) 72 in a 45, and I'd left my DL in a book as a bookmark .

Copper probably could have taken my ass to jail. He ran the name on my credit card to find the DL in the system, and only wrote the ticket for 54 in a 45. And I quote: "You can take this to court if you want, and if you do, I'll tell them how fast you were really going "

Very polite and professional. Did his job and did it well, IMHO.

Any ticket I received, with the exception of my first one, I earned.

But I have been let out of so many speeding tickets (or not arrested for REALLY speeding, but got the speeding ticket) that I can't remember them all.

And I kind of have a reputation for fracturing the speed laws now and then.

Come to think of it, I can't even remember even being disarmed by a cop.

TXL

this one time i was lost and asked a cop for directions. he only hit me three times with the billy club and wounded my dog.


man that was a nice guy

I guess these days are long gone, but when I was a teenager (20-something years ago) we were caught repeatedly parking on dead-end streets and parking lots, drinking beer and frolicking with the ladies. The cops always let us go, and never called our parents. One even caught us with pot and just made us tear up the joints, then let us go.