Well I have a question, Why do most people bash cops, police people of the Law Enforcement profession? First off let me say I have debated on even writing this post due to outrageous comments possibly being posted, so lets try to act like adults and discuss this. If not I'm sure the Mods will be keeping a close eye on this thread, and shut her down quickly if things get out of hand.

Okay so there seems to be a stereotype that cops are crooked, bad, don't do there job, racist or what have you. From where I am sitting, ALL cops wear something on their uniform that says "to protect and serve" and 99 out of 100 cops do their job, if you are speeding and you get caught, guess what you are probably going to get a ticket. Now in retrospect I am by NO MEANS saying cops are perfect, I'm not saying that they don't speed, but yet again most (the vast majority) have integrity, they do the right thing even when they know there is a high chance of them getting out of it. I have heard people say (even on THIS forum) Cops cover each others backs, well in most cases this is true to an extent. Look how much cops are in the public eye, look how much they get scrutinized upon, yes cops have to stick together they have to have each others back because there may be a time when no one else but your buddy does. Now yet again, I am not saying that because cops have each others back that they "cover up" stuff for the other police, because yet again that doesn't happen and if it does there ARE checks and balances that will 99% of the time catch them.

If you get a citation for breaking the law, THE COP DID NOT MAKE UP THE LAW, don't take it out on him, go to your local legislative branch of government and talk to them. I may not agree with the law, I may think the law is stupid, but most likely other than not it is in place for a reason, therefore if I see it and you didn't have good reason to be breaking that particular law, you are going to get a citation.

In conclusion, if you think the "po-po" is out to get you, you're wrong, unless you are breaking the law. I work with ALL types of people from ALL different places, from all walks of life, but when they put on a uniform to protect and serve the people, why bash them? I look at police the same way as I do military, it is my job, I enjoy serving the people, protecting the people, I have a set of polices and procedures to keep me safe, and if I follow them and keep a square head I should get back home to my family at night. So next time you think of bashing a cop because s/he wrote you a ticket, pulled you over or what-have-you, remember that, that cop wasn't out to get you, they were just doing there job and maybe trying to make ends meet like everyone else.

Again please if you post, do so respectively.
Thank you all
Finch

 

drugs are bad mmmkay

 

lol nice

 

I have absolutely no complaints. I've been pulled over three times and the worst I've received was an official warning. Also, I once inquired the Utah Highway Patrol about some odd behavior of a patrol car. The sergeant reviewed the film from the dash cam and called me back to answer all of my questions. He was very grateful to have someone question authority without getting up in arms.

Why people bash police?

There's a stereotype, especially in big cities, that cops are crooked (ever seen the movie American Gangster?). A lot of that has been cleaned up over the last several decades, but the stereotype remains and is reinforced with any mistake made. We're all human. Nobody is perfect, and not everyone is honest, but the vast majority of police are truly trying to live up to their duty.

Also, people just don't like to be punished for doing something they shouldn't. For some reason, a lot of people feel like they're entitled to behave however they want, treating laws more like guidelines or suggestions. I've heard some of the most incredible rants from people who have been ticketed. You were doing 90 mph weaving through traffic and a cop saw you. What did you expect?

My opinion in a nutshell: I have a lot of respect for police and what they do. When I've been pulled over, I've done so ready to recognize their authority and face the music. A lot of people just aren't mature enough to have that mentality.

 

Generalizations are simplifications and when applied to an individual fail.

Just like most riders are reasonable folks I know a lot of riders who shouldn't be on the street.

It only takes one bad apple to leave a bad taste in your mouth.

I generally agree that if you get caught breaking the law, then you've got to own up to it. There are a few caveats:
a) when one is singled out and followed (see story 1 below)
b) when the application of law is made less on safety than on revenue generated (story 2).

Police are people too. It is a ****ty job and I'd never want to be in their shoes. I generally appreciate the work that they do -- and recognize that one or two ******** will always stand out -- rider or cop.



STORY 1:

-- I was on a group ride once when a police officer pulled out infront of me (leader). This was close enough that I had to brake quite firmly. We were doing the speed limit - this was a beginners ride. So - after awhile he starts accelerating away. I let him go and kept to the speed limit (was a beginners ride). A couple miles down the road he's waiting (hiding in a drive way) -- we pass and he pulls out behind us and follows us. I pull off at a church 10 miles down the road. He passes. We chat for some time and head out. Two miles down the road he's waiting for us AGAIN. He followed us AGAIN all the way out to the highway.

STORY 2:

If safety is the real mandate of traffic law --- then why do they do a weekend blitz on a low volume highway for speeders AND not in the down town core or school zones where the dangers are much greater?

I don't fault enforcement for missing the bad driver here or there - but seriously - the roads are filled with people who really shouldn't be on the road. There must be some way to really go after dangerous people rathar than a tax grab on an under posted section of highway -- seriously can one say that 70 mph in an empty 60 mph zone on a freeway is more dangerous than any single bit of crap in town/suburbs/school zone?


I see both sides - I ride like a sane person on the streets, and get my need for speed out on the track - it wasn't always that way. People grow up (I hope).

 

if you are wondering why many people bash cops please read: "Above the Law" by Jerome Skolnick.

It discusses how a history of police violence has attributed to why some members of society dislike cops.

Cops have authority, sometimes they overstep and push their authority too far; people resent this authority and fear the possibilities of police abuse.

but like you said most cops are legit and outstanding citizens. We don't really hate cops, only when they catch us.

 

I ride with cops, but have you ever gotten pulled over for absolutly no reason at all ? I have !!!!! Have you ever gotten search while walking into gas station ? I have !!!!! I'm a young black man that dresses like a man. I wear my clothes a lil baggy but never sagging I dont wear headrags or have a "DRUG dealers car". So why did I get pulled over who knows, is it enough for me to to not give a crap one or the other about a cop YES IT IS.

 

i have a feeling that i am responsible for offending you. i'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. i dont feel like i expressed myself clearly.

i was simply stating that police officers have changed over the years. and thats because so has the world that they are in charge of protecting and serving. an example - now, when there is any traffic stop, the officer who pulled someone over must prepare for the worst case scenario. there is a strict procedure he/she must follow of the traffic stop. and thats a good thing. its there to protect the motorist and foremost, the officer which i can completely agree with. the reason for this is because as the growth in population continues, there will be more criminals and people to deal with, and that is the safest route for everyone which is good.

once an officer is at the scene or has initiated the traffic stop, they assess the situation and go from there. This is the reason police officers are given so much authority. And MOST officers handle this part of any situation perfectly.

My issue is with the ones that do NOT handle the situation correctly and simply dont try to think about what happened and why the accused party acted in the way they did.

take myself for example. Im a taxpayer and a mostly law abiding citizen (im not perfect). there was a time that a police officer mis IDed my bike for a bike that was stolen a few weeks earlier. multiple pd cars showed up on scene (one of which almost tooke me out) and i was put in handcuffs, searched, and i had a firearm drawn upon me. after i handed the police officer my registration and license and everything was figured out, he returned my information and gave me a "you're good to go". he did not even look at me, nor did he apologize. he acted as if it were my fault that i was not on the stolen bike!

that's not right to have a gun drawn on me by cops while being handcuffed and searched. it's just not right when i did nothing wrong

i DO have a problem with police officers that abuse their authority or don't act professionaly with their job. i think you do too. i think we all do.

and, as departments grow and take on more officers, im starting to see more officers of that kind. thats all. I'm not bashing police. like you said, 99 out of 100 do their job seemingly perfect. i have all the respect in the world for those guys. however, the same does not go for the other officers that don't take their job as seriously as they should. police officers are people. and just like people, there are good ones and bad ones.

im sorry to have offended you. like i say, that was not my intention. and i have the upmost respect for LE officers that do the right thing.

 

I treat cops on a case by case basis. If the cop is fair, then I'll look upon him favorably. So no, not every cop is a bad cop.

The problem enters at my age. I'm old enough now to know how not to get caught I haven't been legitimately accused of anything in over... 10 years? Maybe longer. So every encounter with a police officer I've had in the last 10 years has been when I wasn't doing anything wrong. Examples:

• A cop harassed me, saying I was soliciting prostitution, while I was standing outside a store smoking a cigarette. Yes, the girl hanging around the phone booth was a prostitute. And I never said anything to her nor acknowledged her attempts to get my attention. I was finishing my cigarette before going into the store. And it cost me 30 minutes spread eagle on a wall.
• I was pulled over in my gf's VW Beetle for driving without my lights on at 5:30 pm. Aka, broad daylight and not in any work zone
• Again pulled over in my gf's Beetle for speeding: do 30 mph in a 35 MPH zone.
• Again pulled over in my gf's Beetle for unsafe acceleration. From a dead stop at a stop light to about 1/4th up the block when he hit his lights. How fast can a VW Beetle accelerate?
• Lectured by a cop after parallel parking. He standing on the sidewalk talking to a woman parked on the road. I pulled my work van up next to her, hit my turn signal to indicate I was pulling into the space behind her, hit my caution beacons which light up my van like a x-mas tree and reversed cleanly into the spot without coming anywhere near her vehicle. The cop started yelling at me, demanding "WTF are you doing?!?" (direct quote). And then kept after me while I exited my van and setup a work zone.

There are other incidents but these are the most recent and stand out the most. Yes, Finch, 99 out of 100 officers do their job the way it is supposed to be done: dispassionately and without prejudice. But you also need to realize sometimes people keep meeting that representative 1 out of 100 that is just a *****. I said I was old enough to know how not to get caught. That is acknowledgement that I didn't and don't always obey the law.

When I was younger, my mom made me give her a "bail deposit". She wasn't gonna bounce any checks or change her plans cause she went digging into her bank account to come bail my a$$ out. She only had to do it 4 or 5 or 10 times So my foot was a little heavy and I never paid the ticket till they forced me Besides spending 24 hrs in jail counted as "Time spent" and reduced the fines But when caught wrong I admitted it, usually with a sheepish grin. And rarely did I have a problem. And if I get caught now, I still got that sheepish grin in my armory (got me out of a ton of trouble too). But when all I meet are ****** when I'm doing nothing wrong, all you're gonna hear bout is the ***** hassling me when I did nothing wrong.

It may color other people's perception of cops in general. But I do stick up for the good when I meet them too.

 

We live in the information age. Back in the good old days stuff happened and it never made into the news in the next town. Now some disgruntled putz with a cell phone can make you famous...internationally. Or some upstanding citizen can catch you with your pants down.
In the enviroment police work in it has to be assumed that cameras are recording every move. Sometimes that makes you look like a hero and sometimes a zero. Scenes shown out of context or selectively can lead to different opinions of the same situation. Look at video reviews for goals for example...the same scoring opportunity can be ruled a goal, disallowed or left in a refs hands to make the call because the video is inconclusive.

Before you jump to conclusions try to have all the info.