Hopefully I can answer some of your questions about why cops do the things they do. I've only been a cop for a few years and still remember how I viewed Police prior to the Academy. Some of us are dicks but most are hardworking good people.
Edit: WOW! I didn't expect such a large response. I've tried to reply to as many comments as I could but I have to get ready for work. Thanks for giving me a chance to answer your questions.
Posted Aug 22, 2010, 6:14 PM UTC · edited
I have to be the one to ask, what are your views on the legalization of marijuana?
Have you arrested anyone for having small amounts?
Have you ever been shot at?
Have you had to shoot anyone yet?
Is your partner a loose-cannon cop on the edge?
Personally I don't care if it's legal. Booze seems to cause us infinitely more problems.
No.
Not yet. I've been lucky.
Yes.
I work alone but that is my sole criteria for anyone wanting to be my partner.
I work alone but that is my sole criteria for anyone wanting to be my partner.
What if he's getting too old for this shit?
That could only be a bonus.
Unless he's one week from retirement
Alright, I just have to ask. What is it like logging into Reddit with that name .... for over 6 months?
He must also constantly be two days from retirement
and of a different ethnic background to that of BadBoyz2
contemplated a downvote for the username...reconsidered
wanna get nuts? lets get nuts!
Just give him some lovin' sugar tits.
Thanks for the laugh, you have made my evening.
You said you haven't been shot at, but you have shot someone. What was the situation? did they have a gun pointed at you?
Charged at me with a knife
Did you pause for a moment after shooting him and quip "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight...punk." and blow off the smoke on your revolver?
What's it like being stabbed?
From how far away? I'm guessing farther than 21 feet.
What state are you in? We had some guy rob a 7-Eleven here and then decide he wasn't coming out alive, so he attacked the cops with knives and got shot.
Then what happened?
Were you already drawn? I've done the 21' rule against trained men and women and never lost. I've always gotten a blade (dummy obviously) on them. Having the gun at the ready changed this.
Suicide by cop?
OMG THIS GUY PROBABLY HAD TO KILL SOMEONE SO LETS MAKE SUM LOL PUNZ!
yeah thats what they all say
was it a nigger?
Isn't this what a tazer is supposed to be for? I mean, using a gun is understandable when there's a dude charging at you with a knife, this is definitely not "put that guy in jail" bait like when the cops tazer 90 year old ladies and whatnot, but I thought the idea was to beat their weapon by one step. So like fists -> baton, handheld weapon -> tazer, etc.
Edit: since you geniuses seem to know the answer to the question, and it's a dumb enough question to inspire downvotes, why don't you answer it since you're all so smart? What the hell is a taser for if not this, hmm?
Did you hit the person and if so, where?
Where'd you shoot him? Are you trained to simply disarm him?
Do you get the impression that many other officers you work with share your view on cannabis?
Generally it's seen as a waste of time. Most of us want the courts to just make up their minds already.
This is a relief to hear. I was arrested in my own home during a friend get-together for a small amount.
i take it you work in a big city? all of the cops around here (northern michigan) seem to view marijuana busts as their bread and butter.
Just wondering if you can tell us what state you are in? I think the police view MJ very differently from one state to another.
Why the fuck did I read the last word of your sentence as "cannibals"? I reread his post like 3 times and thought, "HE SAID NOTHING ABOUT EATING PEOPLE WTF?"
[deleted]
What are your thoughts on the assumption/myth/rumor/fact or what have you that many officers want marijuana to stay illegal because there is nothing else like it to fake probably cause? All you do is say you smelled the odor of marijuana and blamo, free ticket to search. Nobody can ever prove you are lying. This doesn't work with anything else or if it were to be legal.
I can see how that would be a reasonable fear for the public. I think there is a recent ruling that states smell alone is not enough for probable cause.
Most LEOs can't use smell as probable cause, as in they can't say "I smelled MJ" b/c you have to go to a controlled burn to be able to say I know what MJ smells like in court. Now we can say "I smelled a pungent aroma and saw a pipe in the vehicle" or "I saw smoke exiting the window and wanted to ensure that there wasn't a fire in the building."
Probable cause, not probably cause.
Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine, because the incorrect version doesn't make any sense.
Personally I don't care if it's legal. Booze seems to cause us infinitely more problems.
Do you enforce marijuana laws? I'm assuming that marijuana is illegal where you live. Do you live somewhere like Denver, where enforcing marijuana prohibition is the lowest priority for police officers, or do you live somewhere where it's treated as a thing to arrest people for just like drunk driving or whatever?
[deleted]
[deleted]
Like how loose cannon? Mark Walberg loose?
You say you're lucky to have not had to shoot at anyone yet. Is that your way of saying you're glad to have not had to do it, or that most cops have by now?
I was always under the impression that most police go through most of their careers without ever even needing to fire a shot.
Not yet. I've been lucky. Is that "lucky" that you've never been shot at or "fortunate"? I would think most cops are never shot at.
have you ever shot at anyone out of a moving car?
I'd like to know this too
Have you ever fired two guns whilst jumping through the air?
Or have you ever fired you guy into the air and gone "Ahhh!"
you meant your and gun.
unless he was talking about his little guy down there
YOU HEARD THE MAN!!
Somebody is on an iphone!
of course he meant those things, relax
i don't spell check.
But... but you can stil edit it...?
I like it your way better anyway.
No I haven't ever fired my gun into the air and gone "Ahhh!"
I do that one all the time.
Did anyone else read this in Nick Frost's British accent?
H O T F U Z Z?
Most appropriate reference in an AMA ever?
Yes.
Rode a motorcycle with a mounted machine gun through an explosion?
M A C H E T E
I smell a new meme...
[deleted]
Best use of the word 'whilst' I have seen all week.
Have you ever been in a car chase?
Is it true that there is a spot on a man's head where, if you shoot it, it will explode?
How far has a girl gone to get out of a ticket?
Never happened to me. My fellow officers have stories though. This one woman unbuttoned her blouse and started making eyes at him. He's gay.
WTF THEY DONT LET GAYS INTO THE POLICE FORCE
SOON THEY'LL BE MARRYING ANIMALS!
He's from a mythical police force where marijuana isn't the devil and gays are people too.
You've obviously never seen Six Feet Under.
Lies, my cousin is a cop and he's totally gay.
Gays get a blanket party.
narrow minded
Doesn't understand sarcasm.
thunderous movement of air near your ears
When my Dad was Atlanta PD (20+ years ago), it was policy that if a female was pulled over and arrested a second patrol car would follow the first to confirm that there were no "side trips", in order to ward off rape allegations.
Is this still the case?
If you are dealing with a subject of the opposite sex it helps to have the whole contact on video and another officer there just to protect yourself from false allegations.
How much of your day is on video? Do you choose when to turn the camera on and off?
I always knew the 'other officer' was only there to provide two eyewitness accounts for the 'truth' rather than one.
This is why I have a video loop button.
Now they give time and mileage from pickup to the jail.
Could explain why women never get arrested, huh? Cops probably don't want to go to the trouble if that is the case.
My Law Enforcement teacher told us a story of how he pulled this girl over for speeding and she asked him, "What can I do to you to get out of this ticket?" He said you could see his blushing on the dash-cam from his car. After giving her a ticket she told him he was a fag.
better than being a slag
Or a skag.
Before clicking on your comment I read it to myself in exactly Murphy's tone. Brilliant.
I think the pause near the end was Eddie thinking over his entire life.
That's a pretty bad ass outfit he's got on there. REAL MEN WEAR PURPLE.
"Actually it's a cardigan, but thanks for noticing!"
Aw c'mon, no one is going to finish it?
sigh Fine, I guess it's up to me...
"Yeah, killer boots man!"
Does crying really help?
My cousin got pulled over for speeding. She started crying, and the cop told her "You know, if you're crying too hard, that counts as impaired driving." That just made things worse.
My ex-girlfriend got pulled over for speeding. She had a really stressful day: she was coming home after visiting her mother at the hospital, spilled her hot coffee in her lap while driving, and hearing the sirens go off just made her break down. In the end the cop let her go. However, I'm a guy and I've been let off for speeding, and I didn't cry. It depends on the officer as well as the demeanour of the driver imo. I don't think a woman fake crying would actually get out of a ticket as I'm sure cops have seen it before.
My CJ prof said that generally speaking, a cop knows if he is going to give you a ticket or not before he even gets to your window. You usually can't do anything to keep him from writing you one if he has decided to do it, but it's very easy to make him change his mind about giving you a break.
i had a friend who would start to cry if a cop was behind her, she was so scared of being pulled over. anyway, she also cried in college to the teachers when she handed in a late project.
Madam, unless you have a penis in there, please button your blouse back up.
bonus: he wasn't gay before
She offered him donuts.
He should still share his mental picture with his hetero cop buddies.
That Jim Dangle... what a character.
Redundant.
I can answer this one. To court. Then when you get slapped with the officer impersonation charge, it's not pretty. Not pretty at all.
Wait what? How would she get slapped with that for trying to get out of a ticket?
WHOOSH
I know a girl that scrogged a cop to get out of a DUI. Classy.
scrogged?
So I'm walking down the street and you stop me to ask me questions and other than providing my name and address and presenting you with my ID when you ask I reply to all your questions with "sorry officer, but I want to exercise my right to not answer any of your questions." what would you do? What if I did that during a traffic stop?
Here is the low down. There are three types of legally defined stops.
Civilian/Social Contact: I don't have enough of a reason to stop you but I can still talk to you. You are free to leave and need not provide any information.
Terry: Legally I'm 25% + sure you have committed a crime/infraction or will. You must identify yourself or I will have to take you down to the fingerprint unit to learn your identity (which is very boring for both of us)
Arrest/Probable Cause: It's more likely than not that you committed a specific crime. You have to identify yourself. Miranda is read at this point which explains the rest.
As for traffic stops: We have the right to know who you are to verify you have a valid license. You don't have to answer specific questions though and you don't have to consent to a search of your vehicle.
I really appreciate the well thought out response. Thank you very much.
How do you know what kind of stop the officer is conducting? I would think it's important to know whether a Terry is being conducted or whether it's merely social contact. I guess is the officer asks for identification it's safe to assume it's a Terry?
I have specific question about a friend of mine who lives in a medium sized metropolitan area. She was walking out of a shopping mall when a rent-a-cop confronts her and accuses her of shop lifting. She knows that the rent-a-cop has no legal right to detain her so she ignores him and continues walking to her car.
Minutes later, she stops by a Burger King, and a bunch of cop cars surrounds the restaurant. They told her they had probable cause to arrest her "because of her driving" (which sounds like BS becasue of they really had probable cause they would have already arrested her). Anyways they say they would let her go if she went back to the mall and agreed to be photographed, to which she complied. She complied to a search of her purse.
My question is, could she have refused to answer all their questions and their search requests and asked to be let go? What type of stop did those officers perform? She told me that the officers were really mean and forceful. She wanted to stand her ground but was intimidated. She would have been more willing to do so had she had a better understanding of what her rights were.
Just ask the cop, "am I free to go?" If it's social contact, they have to say yes and you can just walk away.
Yes. Thank you.
I'm assuming this is similar to the "are you a cop" myth. They don't have to say yes but they can't say no.
Or I'm wrong.
Or they will say, "why, are you in a rush?" and avoid answering.
"Have to." Right.
They do not have to say yes. Obviously most decent cops would. However, the law is (very stupidly) ambiguous about this. A cop may say "I want you to stay here and not move" and it all depends on the circumstances if a person thinks they're asking or ordering. How you can take any statement like that from a guy with a badge and gun as a request and not an order is beyond me, but that is how the courts approach it. I have heard it is better to say "I am leaving now unless you are holding me," which requires a more definitive response from the Cop that they cannot twist into compliance.
Private security can cause us a lot of headaches. They like to exaggerate situations. Security or anyone else can actually legally detain someone. There has to be a standard of reasonableness. For example: Your giant older brother sits on the man that just broke into your house until Police arrive.
As for the rest of the situation, I would have to know a lot more. It's hard to tell.
I've seen people been accused of shoplifting but the security do nothing because they supposedly aren't legally allowed to physically restrain the person, they were in the wrong here? Because that is comforting to know.
Could have just been store policy now that I think about it.
Wait, wait. A few weeks ago on reddit there was a video about security personell restraining a deaf shopper, since he activated the store theft prevention system, yet, was oblivious to this fact (he was deaf after all).
Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QirebzU0wuk
Anyway, a bunch of noise was raised in the comments, and the overall consensus was that no security personnel, nobody other than the police can legally detail people. Is this true or not?
EDIT: here is the redding comment thread. Search on reddit takes 2-3 minutes to complete. http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/d04df/man_leaves_store_and_sets_off_alarm_pays_no/
Yes. However, if you make a citizen's arrest and the person who you detain is not convicted of anything, they will generally sue the shit out of you, whether or not you had probable cause. However, I don't think brandishing applies to citizen's arrest, so the rent-a-cop was in the legal right here.
DISCLAIMER: THE ABOVE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE.
What are some other factors that have to be considered about the situation?
South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 40,Chapter 18
I'm not sure how it is in the other states, but here in SC a "Rent-A-Cop" really is a rented cop.
"rent a cops" can stop you. I worked for target and used to arrest shoplifters. I was legally able to physically detain shoplifters. I would have to fight certain people to the ground occasionally and handcuff them then bring them back into the store. Its a type of citizens arrest the way I was told it was allowed.
how does that apply to a check stop (answering specific questions) like when they ask have you been drinking?
Check stops are illegal in some states based on that state's constitution. As for asking: we can always ask but you don't have to answer. In a DUI investigation I would be forced to make my judgment of the person's impairment based on their driving alone and whatever other evidence was present while at your window ( bloodshot eyes, smells, if you had vomited all over yourself <-- it's happened)
I have seen them, they are pretty scary. 10 - 20 cops stopping people with dogs.
Please don't do that.
I thought smells couldn't be used as evidence. Am I wrong?
That's a bit of a (pardon me) cop out. According to one of my cop friends this is the book answer...but the real answer is that you can turn any car-related interaction at all into a "DUI investigation" if you want to based solely on what whatever you feel like.
There is no defined standard and no one has ever gotten in trouble for giving a sober person a field test or breathalyzer no matter how indignant the locals get.
tl;dr cops can ask and you don't have to answer, but they will field test you for any reason they want including your silence.
I had a friend who is just somewhat a careless driver and accidentally knocked over a bicycle when backing up after a night at the bar. Cops stopped him and he passed all the field sobriety test and then got breathalyzed at .09 (limit is .08 in California) and then let go.
I was under the assumption that if you blew over .08, you'd be arrested or is it a judgement call?
Vomited all over themselves? Sounds like quite the drunk person.
i think they don't have to ask if you have been drinking.
having a driver's licence and driving on public roads is implied consent for checks.
as much as they can check if you have a driver's licence, equally as much they can test you for BAC
not cop/not lawyer
Yeah, no.
Having a drivers licence and driving on public roads is NOT consent for checks.
If I am a passenger in someones car and they are stopped is that a social or Terry stop? It happened to me once and when I asked if I was free to leave the officer's response was, "Oh, you want to be a little dickhead huh?
This made me laugh more than it should have. So, what happened?
It was in Minneapolis. My friend was pulled over for a broken headlight and I was wearing my seat belt when I asked if I was free to go. The officer was not amused and immediately became very angry. I had done nothing wrong but he asked for my dl anyway. He was visibly upset that I had no warrants for killing babies or anything.
I actually recently had a friend who asked this to a cop. It's a social contact if you're the passenger in a vehicle, unless you're not wearing a seatbelt or something because then you are breaking the law.
As the cops answer mentioned, though, it might just piss them off if you stood up and walked away.
Ok but in a real life situation is saying sorry i do not concent going to make the cop get pissed and find reasons to keep me/inconvience me
Depends on the cop. Some will honestly have another car come by to keep you there so they can run off to the courthouse to get a warrant (if they really think it'll fly). But fuck that; they're not going to go any easier on you if you consent to the search and they find your weed. Even if there's nothing to find, though, if they're searching, it can take hours while they tear your freakin' car apart. What's a little longer? Your day's already pretty much ruined at this point.
So I'd say it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Personally, I would always choose not to consent even if I'm not carrying anything. All it takes is one search, a broken microwave, and busted out speaker panels to know you don't want to have it happen again.
Some are not OK with giving up their rights. If you are - by all means.
allowing a cop to do something is not giving up my rights. it is exercising my right to choose.
With regard to traffic stops, are you saying that you can pull anyone over to simply 'check' if they have a valid license, even if they had given you absolutely no reason for you to pull them over otherwise?
I go to college and was pulled over late at night after leaving campus because 'my tail light was out.' My inspection was also out, and the officer that pulled me over ticketed me for that. The next day, I passed inspection with flying colors - my tail light was fine. Was he in the right for lying to me about why he pulled me over in the first place?
also with a few traffic violations if you stay quiet it is assumed guilt. such as driving under the influence. (i think? perhaps you can clarify)
A lot of this stuff varies widely by jurisdiction so it's going to be hard for anyone to provide specific answers. In general though, if you're driving a car you have to identify yourself to any police officers as it was probably something you agreed to when you were issued a driver's licence or it will be a specific provision of the state's Highway Traffic Act (or the equivalent) and you agreed to it by the act of driving on a public roadway.
I have heard anecdotally that police officers will sometimes follow people who are on foot and refuse to identify themselves for a block or two to see if they get in a car. If a cop just walks up to you and asks to see ID you can probably say no (as the OP explained above) but as soon as you get behind the wheel you can be arrested for refusing to provide ID.
Regarding driving under the influence cops likely have the right to detain you and take you to the police station if you refuse to give a breath sample. How this is interpreted will, again, vary on your jurisdiction but I doubt failure to provide a sample in of itself would be taken as conclusive proof of guilt.
i mean if you refuse to do a Breathalyzer it is assumed to be a DUI and you get a ticket/arrested... so there really isnt a point in making it "optional"
one of my friends had this happen to him because he did not know that they could assume he was guilty, and when his lawyer got to the station they drew blood and tested it to see what his bac was (it was 0). was a massive pain in the ass for him. but does that violate miranda rights at all?
morally i think it is acceptable because id rather not drive with drunks on the road, but i do think it intrudes on one's right to not incriminate themselves.
If I were pulled over and had a warrant for a failure to appear in court, is it procedure to search my vehicle?
In my jurisdiction that depends, do I have suspicion that I will find evidence of a crime in your vehicle? I will most likely be arresting you as there is a warrant out for your arrest. If I impound your car (depending on the locale and officer if it does get impounded) then it might get inventoried to ensure you can't say that you had $5,000 in your trunk when you got arrested and that it's missing when you get your car back.
Well in my case the arraignment notices were being sent to a wrong address and it was a crime that I actually did not commit. The officer stated that he needed to search my car and found less than 0.5 gram of marijuana. Then the court threw the book at me, over $1100 fine, day in jail and all the AA classes. (I was 18 btw, and this was over a decade ago). I understand that it is the laws in my state that I should be angry about. You just do what you do.
I do believe this varies from state to state:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_and_Identify_statutes
In California for example I believe you are not legally required to identify yourself to the police as long as you're not operating a motor vehicle...but perhaps I'm mistaken.
Thanks for this link!
But the real question is, what should we do to make you like us (so as not to get a ticket)?
Not break the law
Not breaking the law doesn't necessarily mean you won't be lied to, get your shit fucked with, be verbally abused, have your time wasted, etc. by a lot of cops.
And you can also frisk for a weapon if you think I may be armed. But you can only remove an item you are certain is a weapon.
What are the legal bounds for spot checks? I rode north through Upstate NY a few weeks ago and there was a spot check by "Border Patrol" on both my trip to and from my friend's camp.
They asked around 10-15 really specific questions that began in a general fashion like "where are you going" but then got into "what is the middle name of the person you are visiting" and things like that. Of course they topped it off with "are you all citizens?" before they let us on our way.
On the way back they actually pulled our car to the side because they wanted to look inside a bag of firewood we had visible in the back. Turns out the bag actually had firewood in it, like I told him.
Do you have the legal right to force me to go to the station if I refuse to give you my name on a Terry stop? Also, how do I know if it's a Terry stop and whether I'm required to give my name?
I was under the impression that the only way you can force me to go to the police station is if I am under arrest.
[deleted]
Would not consenting to a search make you more suspicious that there might be something unlawful inside the vehicle? Would you think "well if you dont have anything to hide why not let me search?"
I have spoken to friends that are police officers and asked them that, and when people dont consent, they usually just detain you while waiting for a warrant. And that always felt very wrong to me.
[deleted]
Reading about all the types of stops and which rights pertain to which types of stop, doesn't it strike you as rather ... unfair? I have two questions:
In your experience, do cops exploit this easy ability for the general public to incriminate themselves?
Honestly, sincerely, are you on the public's side, or on the cops' side? What about most cops you know?
Could you please explain a Terry in a bit more detail? I'm not sure I fully understand it. Basically, if you think that I'm going to commit a crime, you can force me to identify myself?
Also, Chris?
It's based on a supreme court decision - Terry Vs Ohio - basically, a cop has a right to protect his safety by frisking you. This does not mean that you must identify yourself, it only means that a cop can frisk you.
Jesus people; please STOP ASKING ABOUT WEED! The question has been asked and answered several times now. We all know reddit is very pro marijuana legalization but reading through this thread is getting a bit ridiculous...
They just smoke so much that they keep forgetting if someone has asked the question.
What question?
Where the hell am I?
[6]
Who's on first?
[deleted]
Sorry. [8]
I got a question.
you called?
pffftttcch
Don't blame the people, blame the lawmakers. If the hypocrisy dies, I swear we'll quit talking about it so much.
but thats just like, your opinion, man
Hey I know you didn't start this AMA but what do you know about cops and arresting people for weed?
Cops are assholes primarily because they use the excuse of drug use to fuck with people.
That is why when a cop appears answering questions, most of the questions will be about drugs.
It's embarassing. Anyone with barely a high school education knows that the laws on marijuana possession are injust and the war on drugs is a farce. Even so, I hope people find more important things to think about ie. police corruption, recruitment, racial profiling, use of weapons by police...
How do you determine who gets the Mustangs/Chargers? Seniority?
Word is the Chargers aren't working out so well and Ford isn't going to be making Crown Vics much longer. You should be seeing some interesting cop cars soon.
Enjoy your new Ford Taurus.
Personally I'd hold out for the Commodore/G8-based Chevy Caprice. No replacement for displacement.
There is - efficiency.
Just wait till you have one behind you and you're shiting bricks.
Poster posted absolutely correctly, cops in the south are getting Taurus SHO's. A++ Would read again.
yeah, that's probably because every chrysler product is a complete piece of shit.
Have you ever driven a Challenger (RT or SRT)? Not practical, and not terribly well built, but a ridiculous amount of fun to drive. I also had a Magnum RT for awhile that I adored.
Low end Chrysler products are not the best, but for the style, power, and plain old fun of the higher end products, I value the brand.
Would I rather have a $30 000 Toyota Camry that will never break down but is boring as hell, or a $25000 Charger that is at least exciting to get on the throttle every now and then?
Would I rather have a $30 000 Toyota Camry that will never break down but is boring as hell, or a $25000 Charger that is at least exciting to get on the throttle every now and then?
Is this a serious question? And FYI, even the Hybrid Camry's aren't $30k.
Only good thing in Chrysler products were the computers. C.A.N. systems, they work really well and real fast. About 6 or 7 years ahead of japan or the US. (thanks to benz)
False.
not all of them.
Which ones aren't.
[deleted]
I'm too low down to make those decisions but I think they really prefer US made.
Yeah, which is a political thing.
If Mayor Jones is running for state or federal office, or plans to, he doesn't want "Mayor Jones put American workers out of state to equip the police in Hondas. A vote against Mayor Jones is a vote for the American worker!"
Mercedes, Hyundai and Honda can be US-made, depending on the model.
Have you seen the new car that was designed with the input of cops
The major US auto companies probably just give them good deals as a matter of patriotism. Plus, Kia isn't exactly making a 'police interceptor' model.
I never understood why the Ford Interceptor was given up by a lot of departments. It's such a fast and reliable car.
wait till you see the chevy caprice police cars, they are made in australia
Such a shame: http://www.damonchernavsky.com/Pictures/Automotive/Police_Race_Cars/police_race_cars.html
Looks like some American law enforcement officer lucked out and got an audi though.
IACP makes pledges to Ford. But... Last time I checked, that pledge was "If you keep making the Crown Victoria, we'll keep buying it." That new thing is not a crown vic.
FYI Crown Vics from Canada
I was in NYC this weekend and for the first time I saw a cop car from a foreign automaker. NYPD had a police version of a Nissan Altima. Blew my mind.
Yeah, that's a cool car to make into a cop car.
There has been a deal made with Holden Australia to make what we call a commodore but in US is the Pontiac G8. Raced in the V8 supercars.
chevy caprice, G8 is based off the monaro.
The police station I used to work at had a small fleet of Honda Civics (because they were natural gas) and Toyota Tacos (because they were produced in the local car plant).
[deleted]
As a standard it seems so, however VW recently donated a heavily modified and upgraded Jetta wagon and Jetta 4-door to the Herndon, VA (where they moved their headquarters to) PD.
This is not entirely correct. In general for marked cars this is true, but not always. NYPD has all sorts of other cars. A Nissan Altima for sure, and I think a Prius. UC cars can be anything. I know Vegas Metro has an Altima as well as a few others.
My town has an older subaru impreza sti that they use on stakeouts. I know only because they mistakenly pulled me over right after a messed up bust of a grow op.
The cop was seriously choked about it too...They told him the wrong vehicle to pull out in front of, and their suspect got away.
I was pleased, since I do not support the drug war, and had done one tiny thing to mess it up.
We have a Toyota Prius cop car around here.
There's a few Nissan, which are technically partially made in the US, but are Japan based.
Nissan cop cars can be seen in some cities in the west.
there are a handful of nissan altima cop cars in binghamton, NY.... it's kind of weird
NYC has Nissan Altimas and Toyota Prius' for the NYPD as well as Crown Vic's Impala's Chargers and miscellaneous SUV's
I think what they like is massive four door vehicles. Given that requirement, what else would they buy? Mercedes?
This is just a guess, but I think it may have something to do with buying domestic vehicles to boost our economy instead of Japan/Germany/etc...
For a long time, a huge number of crown vics were made in Canada. But they keep shutting down plants here, meanwhile Honda and Toyota keep opening up new ones.
Most are, not all. See Vail and Aspen, Colorado, for example.
Nissan Altimas seem to be all the rage in several locations of NY
Edit: just noticed a similar post below :\
Vail, CO has volvo SUVs.
pure politics. the california highway patrol was on the verge of purchasing volvo's in the not so distant future - on pure politics and 'american made' image it didn't happen.
however, bikes are another story, LAPD has been riding a mix of BMW and Harley for years now, and it's becoming quite a common thing to see more and more bike equipped departments picking up non-american bike brands.
I've been around decision makers for this and it is, as always, political. The cars for a region, district, whatever the fuck are purchased through a bid as most all public transactions are. But that bid is heavily influenced by that bidders previous transactions and relationships in the community buying the vehicles. My city actually had a third party investigation performed for suspicious practices in regards to the purchase of police vehicles.
Where I live we have a few Toyota police vehicles. I'm not sure if they're cruisers or not but we ran a story when the police force got them.
Motorcycle cops used to drive Harleys, now they are mostly Hondas because the Hondas are "more" "made in USA" than the Harley Davidsons.
I always wondered this. Imagine if they put undercover cops in gold Corollas...
Any idea why the chargers aren't working so well? Just curious.
[deleted]
This is really odd. I own a charger and pretty much everything breaks on it... My brakes are doing fine though. I went to replace the pads and they had no wear.
Random other shit though? Yeah, breaks a lot. This weekend I had to replace the lockout mechanism on my shifter - the thing that keeps you in park and doesn't let you move the shift knob if the brake isn't depressed...
In England the police use Mitsibushi Evo's and they are hot shit.
In Rome they use Alpha Romeos and armor plated hummer-type SUVs...
Don't they mostly use diesel Vauxhalls nowadays?
[deleted]
In Italy they use a Lamborghini Gallardo though. Or rather, did.
[deleted]
I've been told by a cop buddy it's the windows. Specifically the back window being too small and not offering enough view.
Our cops love the Chargers, but I think they're comparing them to the Impalas.
I remember seeing a cool looking Toyota Camry police package at an auto show a few years ago. I can't see police departments buying foreign though..
Rumor is that Ford will now be providing an Interceptor version of the Taurus. I think that would look bad ass.
Caprice, Taurus, and Explorer police packages are all on the way...
Wow, I kind of feel sorry for cops now.
Yeah, in Boston I've been seeing unmarked cars of all makes and colors, with interior blue lights. Scary.
I never understood why cop cars aren't all-wheel-drive. I could rob a bank in an AWD car during a snow storm and easily get away.
How come crown vics are huge cars but the backseat of a cop car is like a Porsche 911's back seat, only worse?
For those interested: http://www.fordvehicles.com/fordpoliceinterceptor/
(Flash, sorry)
Smaller, fleeter cars for the city? Push the remaining crown vics to the highways?
Hopefully Ford will give police force 5.0 Mustangs again like they did in the '80s.
you mean "interceptors"
Also known as : Where the Venn diagram meets up with police, Final Fantasy III, and Starcraft.
yes
In my state many police use their personal cars for work vehicles. If you're not observant, this can make speeding in traffic a little iffy.
Are there many differences between the unibody Charger and the body-on-frame Vic? Or the rear-wheel drive Charger/Crown Vic and front-wheel drive Impala/(upcoming)Taurus-based Police Interceptor? I've heard that the BOF Ford makes it easier to jump curbs and stuff like that, but I was wondering if you felt those differences.
Taurus-based Interceptors are going to have an AWD option.
That's right. Thanks for reminding me. But my question still stands: Does he feel any differences or have a preference towards the RWD Crown Vic or FWD/AWD Taurus?
[deleted]
I hope you guys all get Tesla Roadsters. We know those perform, they're super-quiet, and prob better for the environment.
Impala? Interesting?
You guys should try out the Nissans (I know, you get no say in the matter). They're fantastic, but not American so no go most likely.
Seems to be Chargers on the Interstates and with departments that want "unique" "high class" and "more aggressive" look.
Impala's are the workhorse, and are BOOORING...
What's your take on Carbon's new purpose-built cruiser? Looks like a great idea to me, but just wondering what the opinion would be of someone who spends hours on end in these things. For example, I've heard part of the reason for the popularity of the Crown Vics and larger cruisers is their large powerplants, weight (good if offensive driving is needed) and overall comfort for long shifts.
I'm fairly sure that in 2011 a lot of police are going to begin using the old Chevrolet Caprices.
I saw a Cobalt cop car recently. Funny, because they are very flimsy cars.
Mass Staties seem to love their Chargers, and townies are starting to get them, too.
What's not "working out so well" with them?
By interesting do you mean the Carbon Motors cars?? They are made in Indiana and have been getting a big push.
Please stick to the Impala.
The logical choice would be the new Taurus SHO's. Fusions would be pretty sweet with an interceptor package too.
...So cops are gonna start rolling around in priuses, then?
I've heard of this company that specifically designs/builds cars to be cop cars. It looks like they have some interesting ideas...
The Caprice is coming back though...and it should be based on the Pontiac G8 (or Holden, if you are from Australia).
Broward County Sheriff's dept also felt the need to purchase two Challengers with custom paint jobs.
Most awesome looking cop car I've seen, even if it is in a boring backwards place like Broward.
[deleted]
Yup, think so.
pretty sure those are seized vehicles.
I saw one of those new Challengers in cocoa last weekend.
Good question.
I didn't know that some cop districts are going with Mustangs. That's awesome.
A bunch of the Cops here in Hawaii drive Toyota Camrys. It's not a good fit for a cop car.
What are your least favorite / most annoying questions you get asked when someone learns that you're an officer?
[deleted]
Hey, I have this friend...
Is he black? I am looking for a black friend. You think I can borrow him?
Go on...
Would the second part to your #2 have differed had they blown less but still over the limit?
A kif sigh.
Why would this get a kif sigh? From my experience, cops have a great deal of discretion to arrest someone for drunk driving, even if they don't blow the legal limit. Also, there's something called the "second tolerance," which kicks in after a night of heavy drinking. Even if you feel and function as if completely sober, your blood alcohol level will still be above the legal limit. It seems there is much more to a persons danger on the road than just what they blow...
I was charged with a DUI because the cop thought I was high and no I wasn't. What do I do to get out of it?
get a lawyer
Thanks!
Have you ever fired two guns whilst flying through the air?
Have you ever fired one gun whilst flying through the air?
Ever been in a high-speed pursuit?
Have you ever fired a gun whilst in a high-speed pursuit?
Oh! And finally:
I have a friend in the military and I've asked him that last question.
It turns out that if the round is of high enough caliber, it can cause the head to do something similar to exploding.
For example, if a .50 caliber bullet is shot past someone's head, the wind will rip the person's head off. Imagine what would happen if you hit the head.
My original post was a Hot Fuzz reference, but cooooooooool!
For example, if a .50 caliber bullet is shot past someone's head, the wind will rip the person's head off.
Anyone who has ever shot a gun or knows anything about physics knows this isn't true. The "large wound" effect known as cavitation only occurs when the bullet is impacting something with a significant amount of mass and density. On paper targets, you would only see a caliber-sized hole.
http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9741919888/m/4041982359
Imagine what would happen if you hit the head.
They would likely die.
[deleted]
Is it true that there is a place in a man's head that, if you shoot it, it will blow up?
[deleted]
[deleted]
I'm guessing the coolest thing you ever did was kill someone who DUI'ed and tested .21 and then had the temerity to ask you if you ever killed someone and what the coolest thing was you had ever done.
Didn't the Indiana Police Officer blow around .21, after crashing and killing a person, and get his DWI dropped?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HtwL9XAvlU
it is possible to get out of it, don't sigh. i don't think anyone is actually sure of the rest of the charges he's getting, but they threw out the DWI.
Kid I grew up with got DUIs all the time (in the 80s). He'd give his lawyer $5k. His lawyer would return his driver's license and they'd drop the charges. I asked him how that worked, and he said his lawyer played golf with certain important people. By "all the time", I mean, oh, about eleven, twelve times in three or four years.
I apologize before for asking if you shot anyone, while not necessarily the term 'kill' it still might have been in the same category of annoying so just in case, I'm sorry
Person: So my friend got a DUI. What should they do to get out of it?
That seems like a good question to ask a lawyer, not a cop.
So, my friend had he blood drawn at a 'health clinic' (.19) about 2 hours after the accident where he ran into a couple bikers. I think he killed one of them... (hint)
So, whats the coolest thing you've ever done?
Tell a funny story?
[deleted]
[deleted]
Here is a real paradox I have run into. I'm down in Tijuana getting shitty. And well I don't even know if a DUI exists there. So I decide to drive back home into San Diego.
It should technically not be a DUI because when I began the trip it was legal to drive.
It should technically not be a DUI because when I began the trip it was legal to drive.
That makes no sense.....
There are plenty of things whose legality change when you change locations
By that logic, if you pull out of your driveway and ever hit above 25mph, you should get a ticket because that was the speed limit when you started your trip.
/moran.
[deleted]
And well I don't even know if a DUI exists there. [...] It should technically not be a DUI because when I began the trip it was legal to drive.
And that's completely reasonable because everybody knows there are no laws outside the US.
It isn't "I Started The Car While Under The Influence," it is "Driving Under the Influence." If you were behind the wheel and intoxicated beyond the legal limits for that area, it is DUI, regardless of where you started from. There is no "technically".
The law doesn't say you can't start a car while drunk, it says you can't drive while drunk.
Also, I would be surprised if Tijuana didn't have a law against drinking and driving (though enforcement may be laxer there)
I like the way you think. "That light was green when I began my trip!"
Doesn't sound like a paradox to me. You're still driving under the influence in a place where it is illegal to do so.
[deleted]
you posted this twice
And the opposite - what's the question that you enjoy answering the most when someone learns that you're an officer?
why shouldn't the citizens be allowed to videotaped cops while they are on duty?
As long as you aren't getting in the way or giving away my tactical position in a standoff (THANKS A LOT LOCAL NEWS) I really don't care. Try and stay back, make use of that zoom.
Why do you think certain states have made it a point to enforce this? Is it just to cover for lawsuits dirty cops create? Is it because we "can't handle the truth"?
just to cover for lawsuits dirty cops create?
What other possible reason could there be?
camera shyness?
The camera adds ten pounds and cops are already sensitive about their weight.
getting in the way or giving away my tactical position in a standoff
I feel like that might be a reason. It may not be the only reason, or their highest priority reason, but a reason nonetheless.
Do you understand the logic of cops who are more restrictive then this? Do you know cops who are?
What do you think about videotaping cops when they are abusing their power?
As long as you aren't getting in the way or giving away my tactical position in a standoff (THANKS A LOT LOCAL NEWS) I really don't care. Try and stay back, make use of that zoom.
I don't think that's fair.
[deleted]
(THANKS A LOT LOCAL NEWS)
I sense a story. Please do tell.
The camera is a weapon only dirty cops fear.
And clean cops love. I knew an officer who carried a microcassette recorder at all times when on duty, and recorded basically every interaction he had with the public, then at the end of the shift mailed the tapes to (I think) himself, and kept them in the sealed envelopes. It got him out of a couple of malicious complaints (being able to play the investigators the tape of the drunken death threats interspersed with several minutes of polite if forceful requests and warnings kinda undermined the "he just kicked in the door and tazed me" claim).
He should know that mailing it to yourself will not holdup in court. It passes through too many hands and there is no way to verify the integrity of the seal.
Not to mention one could've mailed an unsealed envelope. Then put contents & sealed it once (s)he got it back.
It might hold up in court if it's a criminal trial with a jury, which is what we're talking about. The defendant can argue these claims, but honestly, I (as a juror) would have a hard time believing that someone would tamper with the evidence like that.
Also: envelopes are mailed by weight. Something like a microcasette would cost more to mail than an empty envelope, and the price of postage is clearly marked once it has been put into the system.
Not to mention one could've mailed an unsealed envelope. Then put contents & sealed it once (s)he got it back.
True, but then he would also have needed to fake the tape, which is a pretty hard trick to pull off.
I may have missed other things he did to improve the credibilty of the seal or whatever, but he definitely felt that it had helped cover his ass.
In reality, it probably wouldn't get to court. The officer just playing his accuser the tapes would probably make the accuser rethink his next move.
You think that just because a civilian filed a complaint, it's gonna go to court?
True, its probably better to convert files to mp3 and email them to yourself, but it couldn't hurt to continue mailing yourself the tapes too
But isn't it illegal to record people without their consent?
Maybe where you live. Not where I was working (as long as one party consents, it's legal; publishing the recordings may or may not be legal depending on a variety of things). One party consent is a pretty common standard - I believe it's the standard in a number of US states, and in much of the Commonwealth.
also soap
Dash cameras can also be a deterrent for dirty cops too, if the department has a strict policy on making sure they use them
I.e non-Redditors.
I would imagine that as an officer I would probably get annoyed by a cameraman shoving their equipment in my face even if I was only doing my job.
(Of course - I'd never do anything to stop it unless he was doing something else illegal. Just saying that some people don't like being recorded naturally)
[deleted]
Safety reasons, cameras are too easily confused with RPGs.
That is a poorly phrased, weighted question and I don't like it.
When I was 18 my brother was mad at me so he called the police and lied to them; he told them that I had a knife and that I wanted to hurt him. The swat team showed up at my house around the time that my parents were coming home from work. I was totally oblivious to their presence, just chilling on the internet. My parents were stopped at the end of the street, my father called me and told me to come out. I came out with my hands up, with dozens of weapons pointed at me. I was arrested. At the police station my brother felt guilty. My parents as well as him came down to the police station and he apologized for lying to them. The police didn't believe him when he came down and decided to lock me in jail for five days.
I understand a certain portion of what happened as a matter of safety. I can understand that if I really had been trying to hurt my brother, that because of social pressures he may have wanted to fallaciously admit that he was lying later on (like abused women who lie for their violent boyfriend or something). But the entire time that I was in jail the Police were remarkably malicious to me. For example, when in jail, they brought the food into our cell. There were about eight people in the cell and every time the food arrived, one large man would threaten to hurt me if I didn't give him my food. When I complained about this I received the response "Well, you probably shouldn't have broken the law then, maybe next time you'll think twice." I remember thinking that they have no idea if I've even done anything. I was released without being charged with anything. This experience has guided my view of policemen throughout every second of life that I've had since the incident.
Since then I've thought of them as angry, violent people that society has found a good use for. Like the many cheesy films where an incredibly skilled and violent criminal is released upon an enemy in war, I think of policemen as
I have 2 questions. Is this type of prejudice and anger towards people who might be criminals common amongst policemen and policewomen; or is it more common for policemen and policewomen to embody the idea that the people they interact with aren't guilty until they are proven so?
My second question has to do with how what happened to me is viewed by most law enforcement professionals. Nobody wants to be the bad guy, and living in a youth culture that glorifies violence, drug use, and general debauchery can sometimes make it seem like the police are the bad guys (consider how many upvotes police brutality videos get). Out of an interest that the police certainly have in combating this perception, how do law enforcement officials think of the type of thing that happened to me; and the types of prejudices that I encountered?
I really am eager to think of the police as a more heterogeneous, diverse group; it would be a much healthier viewpoint. It's just that what happened to me was very polarizing, and a bit traumatic.
Most police officers genuinely want to provide a service. I never want to put an innocent person in jail and I see most criminals as people who got dealt a really rough hand in life.
I hear stories like yours and I feel like the criminal justice community is being set back further in the public's perception. I don't know why you received the treatment you did from the jail staff. When I place handcuffs on someone I see their life as my responsibility. A lot of people I deal with are career criminals. I'm fair to them because I will see them again and I want them to view me as the cop who's just doing his job and not a jerk out to get them.
Your story sounds like it would cause anyone trauma. That's a lot to overcome and look past. I'm glad to see you care enough to try.
When I was arrested about a month ago, the actual arresting officer was very nice to me once I had my cuffs on. We ended up getting along just fine and everything was very cordial. I was asking him questions because I had never been arrested before and he would answer those that he knew and made me relatively comfortable (as much as can be).
When I got to the jail though, totally different story. I'm in there with gang members, drunks, homeless people, who knows what else. And that is all the people that work there see every day. Every single person I dealt with at the jail was an absolute dick. They refuse to answer your questions, treat you like an animal, throw your meal at your feet etc... I can't pinpoint exactly what it is that causes these officers to react to the same people in such a different fashion, but it was very discouraging.
That's pretty interesting stuff. Thanks for the link. They're still dicks though =P
Ahh my mom studied with that guy, cool shit.
Beat me to it.
My brother-in-law worked as a prison guard for a few months and really got off on abusing his power over the inmates. He quit for an unrelated reason; no one in the administration really cared if you were a dick to the inmates unless it was something that could get them on the news.
This is how everyone wants cops to act - has it never occurred to you that you may be in the minority? I read that a lot of iraq/afghanistan vets are returning and taking jobs in security and law enforcement. Do you see this trend? If so, do you make anything of it?
It's good to hear that most police officers genuinely don't possess that type of kind of prejudice. I read your earlier response pertaining to every police department having "that guy" and it made me feel good to think that "that guy" is viewed as over-aggressive amongst policemen.
I recognize that I shouldn't be prejudiced against anybody. The policemen who treated me poorly while I was in jail likely justified it to themselves by pre-judging me. If I did the same to policemen then I wouldn't be any different. So it's something that I am trying to work through, but when I see a policeman I feel tense, nervous, and angry; and whether or not I've done something wrong has nothing to do with it. I imagine it's just operant conditioning. War Veterans get nervous when they hear a car backfire, even if they know with certainty it is a car backfiring. I get frightened when I see a policeman even if logic dictates that I am safer because they are around (I don't mean to in any way compare what I went through to war, I'm sure war is dramatically more traumatic).
I need some way of working through it, posts like this help.
Also, when you watch cop shows and movies do you frequently find yourself thinking "this is such bull-shit, that's not how it is at all"?
"You are who you hang around with"
Cops spend a large part of their day with the dregs of society, or the normal ones who are under the influence of something, or in a bad place mentally - so regardless of who or what you are, the majority (especially the ones with years of experience) will be extremely cynical.
It's not an excuse, it's a reason.
No excuse to be an ignorant abusive bastard though.
Another example of the people you hang around having an effect on you - spend any time with a psychiatrist outside their work and you'll discover a lot of them are either complete or partial fruit-loops...
In high school I befriended our school officer as I worked in the principal's office for one of my classes. He was a street cop before being a school officer and he told me that before working in the school he thought very little of teenagers. He worked day shifts so his only experience with teens was that of drug using, drinking, vandalizing, truants that did not care at all about him or those around them. Then he came to work at our school and found that most teens, and people, were very nice, respectful people. He said coming to work in our school made him realize just how cynical his job made him become.
did you at least punch your brother when you got out?
It's human nature
Have you since punched your brother in the throat? If not, you should, following it with "That's for the five days in jail because of you, YOU DICK! NOW we're even!"
about a month later he tried to do the same thing to my father when they were arguing. The police didn't buy it that time.
All the more reason he deserves a punch in the throat. It's one of those things which, if he suffocates and dies, then God decided he'd fucked up too bad. If he lives, then God decided that he deserved another chance. Either way, it's left up to God and you get the satisfaction of punching him in the throat!
Your brother is a tool.
How do you feel about cops who purposefully tailgate cars going the speed limit in an attempt to pull them over when they speed to increase the distance between you?
That is illegal. It's called Entrapment.
What you are probably experiencing is a police officer with bad eyesight trying to make out your plate so they can run it through the database to check for things like suspended drivers, warrants or stolen vehicles.
It's illegal to drive without corrective lenses. He should pull himself over.
[deleted]
Thanks for making me imagine trying to get out of a ticket issued by yourself. You're flexible.
and sexy.
This is going to require a strip search.
I'll let myself go, cops dont fuck up other cops weekends.
FTFY.
Here I am sitting in the commons of my school and I bust out laughing. The fact that like 10 people looked at me like I was crazy made me laugh harder and it was in a loop for like a minute.
Thanks. I needed a good laugh.
It should be "If I were", but whatever.
from there things would just get weird.
Yes, only then would things get weird. Only after you have a conversation with yourself and taze yourself it would be weird. Because anything up until that point would be perfectly normal.
That varies by state. Here it's only illegal if you take the driving test with glasses. You have to take a quick vision test for renewal but that doesn't account for things like bad night vision.
Or the car in front could have one of those translucent covers over the license plate. How are those things legal???
Because they don't work. Also I think they're not actually legal.
I would unbutton my blouse to get out of the ticket and respond with "SIR what are you trying to do?" I would then start crying in order to get out of the situation by that point I'd realise I am a failure.
Problem is he would let himself off as a professional courtesy.
apperently every cop in fairfield county, CT has bad eyesight when its past 5pm.
haha trumbull cops do that all the time! upvote for CT!
sacred heart whatup
yeah fucking hell, also why are there trumbull cops in plces like norwalk.
[deleted]
never thought i'd see an upboat for CT, let alone RE: Fairfield CT cops...
[deleted]
You mean when the sun starts getting low in the sky? And it gets darker outside?
And the headlights come on?
no i mean in the summer when it doesnt get dark till 9 yet they pressure you into speeding/screwing up/crossing a white or yellow line for a second/whatever and then they try and throw dui charges on you.
Yep, used to live in Fairfield county, CT, and I'm pretty sure I got stereotyped by my POS car. I always got pulled over for BS reasons; "Your car matches the description of one used in a burglary" (I doubt it, my car is fairly unique looking in how crappy it looks) "It looked like you were using your cell phone" (I was not), etc. They would always pull me over right before I crossed town lines, as well, after tailgating me for a few miles.
TL;DR: I have been pulled over 6-7 times so far, and never gotten a ticket, warning, citation, etc, BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER BEEN DOING ANYTHING WRONG.
PS: Favorite memory: Driving back from a midnight premier of a Harry Potter movie, got pulled over for the "are you burglars" reason. The fact that we were all wearing wizard robes and hats (I was a nerd in high school, shut up) seemed was enough to convince the officer that we were not, in fact, burglars, and our story was rather valid. :-)
edit: As an addendum, I have never been pulled over in this county while driving a non-shitty car (BMW, Mercury), but was pulled over constantly while driving a beat-up VW that I paid $200 for.
i get pulled over for my car alot too because it is a pearl blue car and just attracts attention, yet i only have gotten 2 warnings/tickets.
i once got pulled over because a cop thought i blew him a kiss (im a dude) and couldnt figure out that i can talk to a friend in the car whilst looking at him even after i explained it. he tried to give me a ticket for distrupting police operations that i had to go to court to get out of.
coincidentally, i got tints on my car that weekend.
So what happens when you call to complain about being tailgated? Is it reasonable to report a possible drunk driver in car #54, since he is acting without any regard for the safety of other drivers?
Car 54 where aaaaaaaaare yooooooooou. GD Nick at Night.
IT'S A TRAP
While driving?
That is illegal. It's called Entrapment.
I've had this happen to me twice. I got a written warning from the first one, and the second one wrote me up for 75 in a 65 (even though I was only going 70).
Unfortunately, I have nothing along the lines of video evidence to support my claim that he did this when I got a ticket. Am I pretty much screwed, or do you think I could request dashcam footage?
This has happened to me. Even if you take this to court, it is his word against yours. =(
You lose every time.
Is it also entrapment if you pass a cop who is going well under the speed limit?
[deleted]
Thanks for the response. I knew it was illegal, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I had one friend get pulled over by doing that and he obviously, not knowing his rights, just paid the ticket. I'm assuming the cops are banking on that when they do it.
Another slowed down to 15 under and pulled to the side of the lane. When the cop didn't pass he sped up to the limit and as he noticed the car getting closer, hit his brakes hard to get the guy to back off. He got ticketed by said cop for reckless driving.
Is it legal to do this? I thought a police officer could only run a plate if some sort of infraction has been committed.
nice cover
What you are probably experiencing is a police officer who is a dick.
FTFY.
I'm doing the speed limit and a cop is speeding to reach me and def rides a lot closer than other cars normally would. I always felt annoyed by this, would you pull me over if I just pulled over to let you around? This would therefore be an accusation, you were too close and I felt unsafe.
I had a cop do this while I was speeding, causing me to speed even more. Fortunately he only pulled me over because he thought I was drunk, when he realized I wasn't even close he drove away.
That must say something about your driving skills..
Haha, I was pulling out of an Applebees at 1am and accidentally swerved for a second reaching for my radio face, then he followed me for a Few miles where I drove perfectly, which is why he drove off as soon as he realized why I swerved.
Uhh, it didn't cause you to speed more. Your foot did. Personally I always slow down when people are tailgating me. It's my form of telling them to fuck off.
same here. I've never sped up because someone behind me was pressuring me... that seems weird.
I tend to tap my brakes a couple times to flash the reds at them in the hopes they'll get the message but if not I just slow waaay down.
A lot of times they just want you out of the way. I had an uncle who was a cop and only put on his lights when he really needed to get through traffic. He said that he could usually get to where he needed to be without them on.
Fuck that. I'm not moving over unless he flashes the lights. I've never experienced a cop just tailgating someone in the hope that they'll understand and move aside. Seems counterproductive when you have the power of light and sound.
I Tried to slow down many times over the course of a few miles, he only got closer and closer. It was one in the morning and I figured it was best to try and distance myself as much as I could in case it was someone who had malicious intent, or was falling asleep. I drive a very small car and would rather not get rear ended, the road I was driving on has shit tons of deer on it all the time, proving a point is not worth my car getting totaled.
So, uhh, fuck off.
so a dark road with tons of deer on it and you chose to go faster? Nice. Slow down and they'll find their way around you or if it such a big problem just pull over a little and let them go by.
I had a cop doing this when I was like 17. He was right on my ass and the thing was I didn't know it was a cop car - no sirens on top (just on the dashboard), the whole car was black, etc. An unmarked car.
He's riding my ass and I speed up a bit, then a bit more. Now there's a car in front of me going the speed limit. I should have just slowed back down, but I pass him and as I do the cop flips on the lights, pulls me over, and writes me a speeding ticket.
:-/
The good news is that now, in my mid-30s, it's the only speeding ticket I've ever gotten, although I have gotten a couple of written warnings over the years.
This happened to me last Thanksgiving. We went about two miles while I maintained 5pmh below the speed limit. Then he pulled me over because I had a dealership frame around my license plate. I was incredibly annoyed.
You're not allowed to have a dealership frame on your plates?
In certain states, like North Carolina as of late, it is illegal to have any kind of frame around the license plate.
The reasoning is that the frame makes it difficult for law enforcement to distinguish between similar looking license plates from different states.
In Atlanta my girlfriend got pulled over by campus police for having a plate frame she bought from the campus bookstore. Go figure.
Ah, that makes sense. I'm in California, and sometimes I can't read the state on a plate, its annoying. They should adopt that law here, haha.
[deleted]
Those clear or tinted plastic plates that cover the whole license are most definitely illegal in every state. Some of them are designed to block laser speed guns (cops usually aim for the license plate).
I had a cop tailgating me through a very strictly enforced 25 mph zone... I've never stared at my speedometer needle so intently. After a few moments of sitting on my ass he crosses the double yellow into the oncoming lane and I see his Hemi Charger flash impatiently pass me, sans sirens or blinkers
[deleted]
Yes it takes forever to get places, but when you aren't really going anywhere I don't suppose it matters. A few extra minutes getting from one side of the patrol area to the opposite side won't make a difference in a cop's day. If they are really in a hurry, well that is what lights and sirens are for.
That's what I thought too; I always just got over into the right lane to give them a mercy pass because if I were them I would hate fucking driving.
God dammit, this happened to me. A red impala is UP MY ASS on the highway early in the AM. Fuck this guy, I speed up to get away, suddenly LIGHTS. Fail. Female Cop.
What they teach, is to slow down to entice them to pass you, this is for any motorist, cop or not. But it would look suspicious to slow down for a cop, so I just maintain my speed.
[deleted]
Why the fuck would you accelerate because some asshole is tailgating you?
My wife's cousin is a cop too.
I like guns. What weapon do you carry? What rounds do you use for practice and which ones for duty?
Do you like cop jokes?
Do people tell you cop jokes a lot?
Do you like donuts?
A Glock and yes to everything else.
I HAVE 3500 KILLS WITH MY GLOCK ON CALL OF DUTY MODERN WARFARE 2. DO YOU HAVE NEAR THAT MANY KILLS?
[deleted]
Did you just divide by zero?
I assumed this was posted by TheUltimateDouche.
nice
YEAH HE JUST NEEDS 50 KILLS WITH HIS AND HE CAN CARRY DUAL GLOCKS.
RAMIREZ, STOP BRAGGING.
MY KILL/DEATH RATIO IS 1.46 BEET THAT FAGGITS!
2.08
u mad
1.461
Please share your favorite cop jokes.
Glazed or cinnamon?
Glazed or cinnamon?
Blueberry, dude. Let's not fuck around.
Blueberry donut? What the fuck is wrong with you?
so do you have a choice of what handgun to carry, or is it up to the department what each officer gets armed with?
Which caliber?
Most officers get weapons chambered for .40 S&W.
9mm of .40?
A Glock 22?
Cop jokes?? Tell us one.
burst or semi auto?
Are you fucking serious? Obviously full auto.
Who doesn't like donuts?
My wife's cousin in a cop too
YOU'RE HURTING MY BRAIN
One of his in-law's sibling's children.
[deleted]
I don't know why I upvoted you.
I upvoted him cause you asked this, so maybe you upvoted him cause I said this.
C A U S A T I O N
Whoa...
Probably the donut question.
Who doesn't like donuts?
They're too sugary for me.
You can have all my old-fashioned plains.
Generally they carry a glock in 40 cal, though I think NY cops still carry the glock 19, chambered in 9mm. I could be wrong though.
What's the scariest/most dangerous thing that's happened to you?
I'd like to answer this question in more detail but this event was on the news and I'd like to remain anonymous. The gist of it is there was a hostage situation where I had to shoot the kidnapper. I had been on for a very short time.
Did your veteran partner die a week before retirement during all this?
-Reference to a movie I haven't seen :( Give me clues, people. Google has been of no help.
I'll give you a clue: every cop movie ever
its space jam.
Pokemon: The First Movie
I dunno, every buddy cop movie ever?
It's sort of a broad joke. In a lot of cop films there's a veteran cop that's a week or so before retirement who gets drawn into a major case (though they don't necessarily die). An example of a film that uses this that happens to be spectacular is Seven.
Don't blame google for your ineptitude. Links 1 and 2 should clear it up.
Didn't Gary Busy get killed in Point Blank near his retirement? I might be wrong on this.
It's just a common trope.
He was too old for that shit.
I thought you were supposed to shoot the hostage. "Where's your bargaining power now, asshole?"
Your username is more xtreme then the xgames.
No man, you have to get yourself traded for the hostage, and then shoot yourself while your kidnapper is behind you.
hit/miss? headshot?
We are trained to shoot center of mass. That's what I aimed for and where I hit. We are all humans and when your heart-rate gets to about 145 BPM you lose most of your fine motor skills making shooting under stress very difficult.
For anyone interested in this, Dave Grossman/Loren Christensen's On Combat talks extensively about the body's reaction do high stress situations like that, and how warriors train to handle those reactions.
wow. pretty intense dude
bromadiazepamines to the rescue :D
When I was in middle school we took a tour of the local vocational-technical high school place thing, and we toured the different classrooms and stuff. There was a criminal justice one where they had some sort of video game type simulation involving a gun. I volunteered to try it.
yada, yada, yada - I got yelled at for shooting the suspect in the face.
So, what does that do to your grouping? Small misses, or huge groups?
Yeah, but if you got a headshot you'd get more points...just sayin'.
[deleted]
Was it a fatal hit? Or did the perp survive?
Did a hostage get shot in the back of the head and survive by any chance?
Shoot the hostage
Nice try, officer...... oh wait.
[deleted]
I live in the US where the legalization of marijuana hasn't passed. How do you feel about kids being caught for smoking weed in secure places (like the woods, or in parks away from other people)?
I see Marijuana as a complete waste of my time. Charging or confiscating it is a mountain of paperwork that keeps me off the street and unable to respond to real emergencies. I have never charged anyone with it and try to avoid it.
I just want to say, thanks.
seconded
terciated >?
Yes, Thank you sir.
dont thank him thank the cop
Do you look at going after non-soft drugs (like cocaine/crack, PCP, crystal meth, heroin) differently and as deserving of the paperwork time?
I second this question. Curious to know how you feel about drugs other than weed that are illegal, and could you ever see legalizing them as the right, intelligent thing to do?
And also want to add thank you, at least for your stance on mary jane. I've met a few cops like you and I always make sure they know how much their common sense and decency is appreciated.
But then there are the others...
When I was arrested for POM the cop knew I was stoned, hell I was smoking a joint when they busted a U to warn me of an outed headlight. Anyways he pulled me out of the car, not my passenger, and asks me if I have any marijuana or anything else, and to "just be honest" with him it will make it "easier", expressing what I though was "I wont go to jail or anything like that". Well, I said nope feeling he had to take me in regardless, and I wasnt going to let him search my car. So, he gave me the warning for the headlight, let me get back in the car, and then tapped on the window and said "sir please step out of the vehicle". So both of us got out, he questioned us about the smell, said he was searching it, he searched, found the bong (lol) and weed. When asked whose it was my "buddy" didnt say anything, even though it was his. After like 10 minutes of blame dodging I ended up w the heat. Spent the night in jail, impounded my car, and made my "buddy" walk home.
Do you practice the "be honest" method?
Should I have just been honest? Would there have been no consequences?
You were smoking marijuana while driving, and expect no consequences?
Are you high?
For driving while impaired, you're lucky that's all you got.
"There is little if any evidence to indicate that drivers who have used marijuana alone are any more likely to cause serious accidents than drug free drivers. The results from driving simulator and closed-course tests indicate that THC in single inhaled doses up to 250 µg/kg has relatively minor effects on driving performance" - University of Sydney and National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre University of New South Wales
"The maximum impairment after the highest THC dose (300 ug/kg) was within a range of effects produced by many commonly used medicinal drugs and less than that associated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08" - U.S. Department of Transportation Study
"No increased risk for road trauma was found for drivers exposed to cannabis" - Dutch National Road Safety Research Institute
"THC's effects on road-tracking after doses up to 300 µg/kg never exceeded alcohol's at BACs of 0.08; and, were in no way unusual compared to many medicinal drugs - University of Limburg, Netherlands
"There was no evidence of any increase in the likelihood of being culpable for [automobile] crash[es] amongst those injured drivers in whom cannabinoids were detected" - University of Adelaide, South Australia
"marijuana taken alone in moderate amounts does not significantly increase a driver's risk of causing an accident" - University of Toronto, Canada
"Cannabis alone, particularly in low doses, has little effect on the skills involved in automobile driving" - Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs
[deleted]
If someone is being honest and isn't wasting my time I am much more likely to just give a warning.
I'd really appreciate it if you punished the guy driving around while stoned. Just for future reference.
always smoke with the windows down to blow the smell out, duuude
Upbonged.
You were driving while high? As another random sober person potentially driving the same roads as you, fuck you. This is not cool.
Calm down. While it may not be safe to drive in an inebriated state, it doesn't impair your motor skills nearly as much as alcohol would. Personally, I've found that people who drive high, especially teenagers, tend to drive slower and safer. I'm not saying it's totally safe to drive high - I'd prefer if most stoners drove sober - but you probably wouldn't even be able to tell if a driver were high or not.
Honestly? There are way more people out there smoking and driving than you might imagine.
"just be honest" with him it will make it "easier"
...for me since I won't have to look for it.
On behalf of all people injured by drugged drivers: Fuck You.
[deleted]
Yes, you should have been honest... He's obviously going to find it if you were just smoking.
He just wanted to save the time of finding your stash, he wasn't going to let you off because you were nice to him.
Don't downvote the dude just because you disagree. He presents a valid point. If the cop is going to take you to jail, I think he already has his mind made up. "Being nice" doesn't get you away with everything.
Should I have just been honest?
I think you should have smoked up after you arrived at your destination.
We were just leaving from a destination, and my dumbass passenger lights up. Me being the dumbass that I was back then, allowed this, and toked with him. Back then, it was high all day, everyday, go to sleep, repeat.
But do police departments make a lot of money from busts/seizures?
how could you make a lot of money from seizing $10 in pot?
By seizing the $10K car the person caught with the pot is driving.
If you're walking down the street and see some dude just chilling, smoking a joint and not bothering anyone, what do you do? Lets assume there aren't any other weird stipulations (a bunch of kids around, private property, he's naked, etc)
Have you or any fellow officers arrested someone for a DUI while they were driving high on marijuana, or is that too hard to prove?
Yeah man, thank you. I don't like drinking really, but after a long week it's nice to relax with my lady and smoke a J. I pay my taxes, I don't hurt anyone, and just like to get high now and again. Thanks for not making me feel like a criminal.
Would you consider saying this publicly? How many of your fellow officers agree?
I think a major step towards legalising would be if officers spoke out more about this issue, it would be difficult for conservatives to argue that marijuana be kept illegal if the police themselves were saying that it is a waste of time.
Personally i think it would be great if you and your colleagues were able to focus on dangerous drugs and tracking down murderers and rapists instead of being obliged to bust pot-heads who otherwise have no criminal habits!
Oh, and be careful out there!
Sounds like you see marijuana as it really is.
I am intrigued as to why that doesn't make you, if only for selfish reasons, pro legalisation?
and how much paperwork are we talking?
What's the most rewarding thing about being a police officer.
The most rewarding experiences are when I actually get to help a genuine victim. I usually try to go the extra mile with a domestic violence call.
I just wanted to tell you that you sound like an awesome person, thanks for doing something meaningful with your life :) us normies appreciate it.
Get your hand off his thigh
. . . ass kiss reference? if so appropriate name.
Just remember that women lie about this sometimes and that you shouldn't automatically assume shes a victim. Maybe she did get punched in the face, but then again, maybe she kicked the dude in the balls first. Just sayin'. I know it's not right to hit a women but I've had a friend get fucked over like this because shes a "female" and she got her ass kicked even though she started the violence first. I'm not very clear in what I'm saying but I think you get what I'm talking about.
Police work is a lot like "House," everyone lies. I've arrested many woman in dometic violence situations.
Probably because House is based on Sherlock Holmes.
I got fucked over for looking like a female who would lie to try and screw her ex boyfriend over.
I prefer not to go into the details because it's still a very sensitive matter to me, but he got off the hook for raping me, while a rape charge on him was still pending at another in-state college. The judge basically ignored my evidence of him constantly contacting me after we had broken up and the fact that I had witnesses who testified to him giving me alcoholic drinks while I'm a minor. But in the rape situation it was his word against mine, and the judge sided with him.
TL;DR: I know people may have an experience of a woman taking advantage of the 'damsel in distress' for the wrong shit, but don't go on thinking every girl does that. They may actually indeed be in 'distress' and need help.
In sorry to hear that. It's bad when stuff like that happens.
It's as right to hit a woman as it is to hit a man.
equality for all.
However, it's wrong for a man to hit a man half his size and it is equally wrong to hit a much smaller women for no reason (in my opinion). On average, women do tend to be smaller, and hitting someone who isn't capable of defending himself or herself is wrong.
I'm not very clear in what I'm saying but I think you get what I'm talking about.
your distrust of women?
Perhaps I was clear :D
Obvious.
But what if she asked for it?
I kid, i kid.
In a similar vein have you dealt with any recent rape victims? That one scares me a little (as a male student paramedic) because the victim might be so traumatised that the presence of another imposing male will be the last thing they need and I won't be able to help :(
But then aren't you a mile away from where you need to respond to?
No half-measures.
what do you mean by extra mile? picking one side of the story or something?
So, by "going the extra mile," you mean you violate the rights of EVERYBODY at the scene, not just the perpetrator's?
I'm half serious, half joking.
Is there a best answer to "Do you know why I pulled you over?" and "Do you know how fast you were going?"
I'm not sure officer, what law was I breaking?
Most of all, never admit to breaking the law, even if you know you were.
I was pulled over for going 78 on the freeway, with the officer's LIDAR having recorded my speed. I knew I was going over 65, but obviously never admitted to it. I simply said, I'm not sure, I was just focusing on driving safely, officer. (Trying to set grounds for a CVC 22350 defense.) Even though, getting a ticket for 22349(a) is pretty hard to get out of. (Over state max [CA=65mph]). I got out of a 60mph in a 40 in court using CVC 22351(b) and the officer's testimony that I was not in violation of CVC 22350 like the ticket said I was.
Protip: The officer writes down what you say on the back of the ticket when they walk back to their car/motorcycle.
Can you explain what those CVCs you cited are? I'm lazy, but interested.
California Vehicle Code (CVC) | Description
CVC 22350 | "Basic Speed Law" = drive "safe" with regard to road, pedestrians, weather, other cars
CVC 22349(a) | going over state max (65 mph)
CVC 22351(b) | Says you can go over the posted speed limit if you're not violating CVC 22350, but you have to establish with "competent evidence" that this was the case.
My "competent evidence" was the officer's testimony. I asked him a list of questions (closely resembling CVC 22350), and at the end asked if he believed his testimony qualified as competent evidence. Naturally, he said yes. :P
Then...
"You're honor, with Officer Conner's testimony, I believe I have established grounds that I was not in violation of CVC 22350, and according to CVC 22351(b), it is lawful for me to be travelling above the prima facie speed limit as long as I am not in violation of the basic speed law."
Then...
"After reviewing all the evidence before me, I have found that there exists reasonable doubt that [spleeyah] was in violation of CVC 22350 and therefore I find in favor of the defendent."
:')
Backstory: I'm 18 years old and beat a speeding ticket (on LIDAR) of going 60mph in a 40mph zone.
BS. This is not what the code says
Not legal advice
Basic speed law is, "No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property."
Posted speed limits set what is reasonable and prudent to be traveling. Because, a reasonable person will follow the posted speed limit. Going twenty miles over the speed limit, even if it is clear with zero traffic clearly endangers the safety of persons or property.
Second, 22351 doesn't say you can go over the posted speed limit. It is only for the "prima facie" speed limits, meaning when speed limits are not posted or provided for by statute. Read the statute for yourself. 22351 only applies to section 22352, or any other code based speed limit: "22351(b) The speed of any vehicle upon a highway in excess of the prima facie speed limits in Section 22352 . . ."
Third, 22349 states you may not exceed 65 miles per hour except as provided for in 22356. And, 22356(a) says,
(a) Whenever the Department of Transportation, after consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, determines upon the basis of an engineering and traffic survey on existing highway segments, or upon the basis of appropriate design standards and projected traffic volumes in the case of newly constructed highway segments, that a speed greater than 65 miles per hour would facilitate the orderly movement of vehicular traffic and would be reasonable and safe upon any state highway, or portion thereof, that is otherwise subject to a maximum speed limit of 65 miles per hour, the Department of Transportation, with the approval of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, may declare a higher maximum speed of 70 miles per hour for vehicles not subject to Section 22406, and shall cause appropriate signs to be erected giving notice thereof. The Department of Transportation shall only make a determination under this section that is fully consistent with, and in full compliance with, federal law.
The statutes create a per-se rule. So either 1) you are lying, or 2) the judge just wanted you out of his hair.
I have the feeling that the officer's testimony had an extremely large impact on you getting off and not the fancy legal stuff.
All it would have taken was the cop saying, he violated CVC 22350 and anything you say after that is null and void.
Must have been a nice cop.
By the way, how the eff do you make a table in comments?!
I've seen it before... but I can't figure out how to do it and it would be perfect for this post... ugh.
"I'm not sure officer, what law was I breaking" wouldn't be wise. it sounds like you are not confident in your innocence. It's best to just ask them why you got pulled over. that way you avoid guilt to anything right off the bat.
Well I'd rather come across as unknowing than rude, y'know?
And saying "I'm not sure" isn't incriminating in any way.
Okay, cool, that's California, now show me how to get out of a ticket in New York!
Fly me to New York, and I'd be glad to start reading the law books for you. :)
It also helps to have a hard copy of your state's code of laws in your dash if you're pulled over (my state being Washington so I own the RCW). This might actually put the officer on guard as he may assume that you know your shit. Furthermore, tell them you're a title 18 law student if they ask why you have it.
Finally, put a teddy bear in your back window. Apparently, blue means you (or one, if not both, of your parents, is or was an active duty police officer. A green teddy bear means the same thing, but as a prison guard. Use both and come up with a good story.
Never lie to a cop. Be as vague as possibly for your own protection, but never tell a cop a direct lie. The best course of action would be to actually know your shit instead of pretending that you do.
As for the teddy bear thing, I've never heard about that.. but I'm not a cop & I'm not friends with a cop.
I'm not saying you couldn't read that thing while waiting in line at the local Starbucks in your town, while you wait for the six cops in front of you to order because they all take their breaks at the same time so I can figure out when exactly to break into the liquor store on the opposite end of the island and drink free for a month...
You're awesome.
Thank You? :)
No sir and no sir.
By saying you admit to being ignorant of the speed you are going (or the speed limit where you are) you just admitted to careless driving. It is best to just not say anything or reply with "I am not sure why you stopped me."
Someone in another thread said a good answer to either question is "why?" Although, I don't see any reason to try to get out of something I actually did do. If you're caught, why not just admit it? One time I did get pulled over though and I really wasn't speeding, they had just waved over two cars (I was right behind someone else). They had a weird speed trap set up where one person would flag people down and someone else would give them the ticket. I said I wasn't speeding and they let me go.
"Depends on how long you've been following me"
That is a good one too.. I'll have to remember that.
I've always heard that the best thing to do if pulled over is to preempt asking "why did you pull me over" that way you don't have to deal with these questions, admitting guilt if you want to fight the ticket later.
I'll answer that for you: "No" to both questions. If you answer yes, then you're basically incriminating yourself, so if you want to contest the ticket in court, you're screwed because you admitted your own guilt.
And since you said "No", and they can prove otherwise, you are a liar, and if your infraction coincides with you to be implicated in something else, they can (and will) argue that you lied and can't be trusted. So, in all likelihood, while "No" is a fine answer nearly all times, it is not the best answer. Especially if you are knowingly lying when you say "no" (and even if you think it's the truth, they can hang you for it.)
The "best" answer is no answer at all.
(of course, I'm no lawyer, just a geek)
No answer at all. I take it you've never been pulled over.
What?!! Why would you assume that? A lie is a terrible answer, and although not answering may be "best" (as far as being least incriminating), it isn't always practical, I admit. But, there are other good suggestions in this thread that are much better than "No" if the "No" is a lie. Basically, I strongly suggest not lying, and if you feel like lying, shut up! :)
I think you misread the questions. Both questions are "Do you know X?" How can someone possibly "prove otherwise" if you say you didn't know you were going a certain speed? Or you don't know why they pulled you over? Are they going to prove that you have psychic powers and know the officer's intentions? You have NO WAY of knowing for certain why the officer pulled you over so the honest answer to the second question is ALWAYS "no." And obliviousness of one's own speed whilst driving is always plausible at any given point in time, so I can't see why "no" to the first question would be a terrible answer either.
I don't disagree with your point. I think my point stands: don't lie. But I see your point, that this response isn't a lie, is also valid.
But I've also heard it said that when you answer "no" to "Do you know how fast you were going?", you are admitting that you were not paying attention to your speed, and thus cannot deny the evidence that you were, in fact, speeding. It's a question meant to elicit a confession of not being aware of your situation while driving (which helps the prosecution).
Are there really end-of-the month quotas? If so, is it true you're more likely to get a ticket in order to fulfill said quota?
For some departments yes. It can even vary in one department. I personally don't have a quota. Command staff like to see you making stops (any kind: traffic, suspicious persons etc..). It isn't required but a good officer should be out making contacts and learning who is in their area (this helps solve big crimes later on). I almost always give warnings.
Cops that I know have told me it's not so much a "Quota" as much as if you're not giving tickets then they wonder what the hell you're doing with your time.
if you work any job with billable time, and you aren't billing for any time, there's going to be questions
A cop's job isn't to pull people over, it's to keep the community safe from criminals. If there are few criminals on a given day, it doesn't mean the cop isn't doing their job. In fact, one would assume that it means the cop is doing their job.
There really need to be better metrics for this.
Perhaps split areas of responsibility to be really small, then have to reports be on absolute amounts of activity in the area. So for example for highway patrol (lets say a group of 4) should be responsible for accidents in their area. Whether people speed or not in their area, or whether people get ticketed in their area or not should not be a concern.
The way US law enforcement is managed puts way too much emphasis on the short term results rather than the ultimate results. I don't care how many people you jail from an area, I care about the carjackings, rapes, burglaries, homicides, extortion etc. As long as those are kept low, the next thing to minimize is cost to people (jail = bad) and is terms of money (100 officers might be unnecessary).
Frankly this makes me contemplate some sort of privatization of law enforcement in a way. The most efficient departments would make themselves smaller and less relevant, while the least efficient ones would be constantly begging for more money. The incentive would be to never optimize performance. Perhaps if there were clear metrics AND a budget, where the officers would get 50% of the "excess", things would work quite a bit better.
(For example an anonymous and random poll needs to rank the police department at 8.0 or better on a scale of 0-10 and everyone gets a $10,000 bonus and 50% of any savings made on last year. Rank 9.0 or better on the same scale and you get 100% of the savings made on last year, to split among your officers however you want)
/derail
Do you think cops should have to walk a beat a certain amount of the time?
In my experience, from towns (not major cities), the police forces that are scary to interact with are the ones where the individual cops always patrol from within their patrol cars. The towns where you could regularly see cops walking a beat were always much nicer, even nice, to deal with.
I always wondered if just forcing officers to walk down a sidewalk like another human being from time to time is enough to curb possible abuses of power. By contrast, if an officer is always looking out on the rest of the world from within a literal and symbolic piece of power and authority (squad car) that might not go to ones head a little bit, or at least make something like the Stanley-Milgrim experiment a little more likely. I think you mentioned being a city cop, but maybe you could share some insight?
Interesting Idea. I would think that its true. When I have to work on weekends, the guys who drive BMWs and wear suits during the week seem much nicer in shorts and a t-shirt.
Follow-up to that: If I am pulled over, what would you like me to do to make your life easier? If I'm completely compliant, is there a better chance that I get off with a warning or is the cop's mind made up when they pull me over?
Case in point: It was midnight and I was driving from New York City to Toronto and I go down a hill into a hamlet on the outskirts of Buffalo. I proceed to enter the hamlet at 47mph in a 30mph zone. Shortly after, I'm pulled over.
I put on my hazards, slow down, and pull into the shoulder. I turn off my engine, turn on my cabin lights, roll down the window, and put both hands on the top of the steering wheel (all tips from a previous Reddit post on how to deal with pull overs). When the cop asks for my registration, I tell him I'm going to reach into the glove compartment and don't move too quickly. He didn't end up giving me a ticket.
Anything else I can do in the future if I'm caught in the same situation?
[deleted]
Can you say more about "making contacts and learning who is in their area (this helps solve big crimes later on)"?
Being cordial towards the neighboorhood's residents, being aware of gangs, etc.
Come around St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN. On days 1-25 of the month I never, never ever see cops on the roads. Literally maybe one cop from days 1-25. From days 26-end of the month, I see minimum two per mile I drive. Anyone who denies quotas in this area is a liar.
Is the hatred against cops based on blown up real people/events, or is it plucked outta nowhere?
Or, is it justified?
The concept of a Police force has really only been around since the mid 1800's. The first officers were poorly paid and overworked. They were also understaffed and could/would not respond to major events. There was also a significant amount of corruption in the 60's and 70's which is what feeds into the perception most people have of modern-day Police. This also makes it easy for a person to judge all Police from one bad experience but we are individuals and most of us are trying to do right.
Actually, most people understand that the police corruption of the 60's and 70's is not the same kind of corruption in police departments today.
From the The City of New York Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Procedures of the Police Department.
Today's corruption is not the corruption of Knapp Commission days. Corruption then was largely a corruption of accommodation, of criminals and police officers giving and taking bribes, buying and selling protection. Corruption was, in its essence, consensual. Today's corruption is characterized by brutality, theft, abuse of authority and active police criminality.
Most of the things you listed sound like individual abuses of power.
when those things start happening on such a widespread basis you have to question why. it seems like there are systemic issues which allow for individuals to abuse power.
Yes, but the problem seems to be a system that allows individuals to abuse their power without proper repercussions. It's not that police are evil or conspiring to take advantage of civilians as a whole, but that the few bad cops so rarely seem to get punished for it.
Most of the things you listed sound like individual abuses of power.
Certainly in the NYPD, there certainly isn't the same institutionalized corruption you can find in other places. Most of the corruption is at the individual or precinct level. (although some of the pressure to lie and cover up crimes comes from policies at the department level).
That's not to say that other police departments aren't much more prone to pervasive corruption. But the NYPD is pretty sensitive to public opinion, and aside from knee-jerk tendency to cover everything up, turning a blind eye to petty crimes committed by police officers, and "gaming" their internal computer system by refusing to take police reports, they do a decent job of policing the police overall.
(full disclosure, I volunteered for the NYPD as an Auxiliary Officer for 3 years, so I'm a little biased in favor of the NYPD)
[deleted]
Culture of police can encourage or discourage those of abuses of power.
It is not correct and/or effective to blame individuals in this case. I think the Stanford prison experiment does a good job of showing that such abuses of power often come from the leadership down.
All I can think of is Serpico, which makes me think of Charlie doing Serpico on It's always sunny in Philidelphia.
4 the mare.
EVERYBODY'S A CROOKED COP!
In Mexico, we have both types. Booya! We win.
^this man speaks the truth.
I believe the antipathy towards officers stems from the fact that there are, on average, 17.9 Law enforcement officers cited in the news for misconduct every day and the fact that you're more likely to be raped and/or murdered by a police officer than the general public.
Based only on what is reported, officers in many jurisdictions commit more crimes, per capita, than the general public. Now lets assume that the crimes they commit are often underreported, because an officer does not cross the thin blue line, and the problem gets worse. Now lets assume that there is a corresponding over-reporting of criminal activity in the general public due to officers looking for any reason to arrest someone and the problem gets worse. I'm not saying you're a bad person, but the people that work with you are generally, on average, bad people. This is a fact. Police officers, on average, are worse criminals than the public whom they are given lethal force to preside over.
Do you plan on doing anything about it? Is there any solution you can think of?
Way to cherry pick your data there. You're more likely to be sexually assaulted by a cop, but police trail behind the general public in violent crimes, assaults, and murders.
They're more likely to use excessive force, because the general public doesn't use force, it walks away without saying anything.
Basically, you just accused cops of being bad people because they outdo normal people in 2/5 of situations. That's 40%. Just FYI, if they outdid normal people in 50% of situations that would make them average.
Cops commit average or higher-than-average numbers of crimes in 24/50 states. Again, they're above average in less than 50% of all states.
Based on what is reported, cops as a whole are average. Being above or below average in approximately 50% of cases is the definition of average. Lern2data.
Edit: I don't get why people keep upvoting you when the page you link to contradicts the point you're trying to prove. You're not more likely to be murdered by a cop, you're less likely, and your link clearly says so. They don't commit more crimes, they commit the same amount of crimes. Are redditors really so bloated on confirmation bias that they'll upvote anyone who posts what they already think, even when accompanied by directly contradictory evidence?
...ignoring misreporting of crime by LEOs, criminal misconduct statistics show that crime is as common within the law enforcement community as the general populace with many cases tending towards greater violence.
These are the people who swear to uphold the law, who are more readily trusted in a court of law than a common citizen, whom society trusts with lethal force.
There is something wrong with the law enforcement community and it has been screwed up for many decades. It should be given greater attention in the media and government and people should not uphold LEOs to be anything special when they're all too often nothing more than a violent criminal with a badge and self-righteousness.
You also forgot that cops are far more likely to abuse their spouses.
They shouldn't be committing any crimes friend. That's the issue.
Is there any solution you can think of?
Serpico.
you're more likely to be raped and/or murdered by a police officer
If Superfreakonomics is to be believed, a large part is officers threatening/blackmailing prostitutes into having sex with them in order to avoid arrest. I have no personal experience or any real reason to believe that this is true.
Lets hope it never happens for your sake.
On the money Celador... Bravo.
Through my experience working as a volunteer fireman/EMT, I've had to work with many police officers.
At first, you feel a little threatened by them, and suddenly you realize that they are just regular guys like you, most are cool and normal folks and then some few are power-hungry jerks who never had any kind of respect in life and abuse other people because of that. Unfortunately, it's usually those which stick in your memory, damaging the collective image of the police force.
It's inevitable. It is a pseudo-military organization given a monopoly on force and dedicated to depriving its funders of their lives according to rules (some of) which are obviously unjust. Further, this organization routinely deals with the worst, most vile scum and correspondingly adopts a paranoid, aggressive stance towards society as a whole.
Yeah... that and the conversion of traditional peace officers to a paramilitary force who violently enforce politically motivated legislation may have something to do with it...
I think a lot of the dislike/distrust of police comes from the fact that police are merely an extension of the government. If you already disagree with many laws, then you clearly aren't going to be much of a fan of the Police.
Today, since our government has this ridiculous War on Drugs going on which basically makes crime worse, Police Officers are unfortunately put in a position where there job isn't to protect and to serve, but to subjugate. Furthermore, the guys who tend to be in these anti drug units often literally believe they are "doing right" which only makes them seem all the more tooly.
To me, Cop who is pulling over a drunk driver, stopping kidnappings, stopping thieves = totally cool.
Cop who is arresting anyone for any drug charge = complete dick.
So, my question to you kind sir, What would/do you do when you are in a situation where you are obligated (by order or whatever) to enforce a law that you do not agree with?
blown up real people
Damn cops going around blowing people up. :)
Do you enforce laws differently if you don't agree with them?
Have you seen other policemen do things that you disagree with? What did you do?
Would you ever accept a bribe? Hypothetically, if I bribe you to overlook my marijuana possession, and neither of us get caught, have we really done anything wrong?
I have to enforce the laws as they are. I can decide how far to go with it though. I could cut someone loose and write a report that might result in charges. I could just warn them. Or I could book. It depends on what I think will help that person more.
If I see a Police officer commit a serious wrong I would report it. I don't want to be compliant in their mistake and I don't want to be working with them.
I love my job and am well compensated. I have never and would never accept a bribe.
I love my job and am well compensated.
This is one of the main reasons I get pissed when people complain when the annual 'sunshine lists' roll out every year, showing government employees who make over $100k a year. I would rather have people in power make a proper salary rather than being desperate to make ends meet--and thus be more susceptible to bribery.
rich people get bribed too
That's explicitly part of the reason why government jobs (in the U.S.) tend to pay well and have excellent benefits. We really don't want to live in a society where you have to bribe officials to get anything done. Want a building permit to renovate your house? That'll be an extra couple hundred bucks on top of the official fee, so that the bureaucrat in charge of it doesn't throw up obstacles in your path.
Bribery in the U.S. tends to be about getting an official to do something they aren't supposed to do, like ignore safety regulations or approve things that shouldn't be approved, rather than to get an official to do something that's a normal part of their job.
second
I'd rather them be susceptible to bribery and end up stealing less of my money thanks.
If you'd like to donate money to your local government no one is stopping you.
so people should have to take a vow of poverty to serve the public? why not have everyone volunteer out of the goodness of their hearts?
You've just never been offered enough.
That's a comment on all of human society and morality. If I offered you 10 million dollars a year to effuse praise about the police on internet forums would you take it?
[deleted]
Yup.
strictly hypothetical?
What is someone going to do with 10 million dollars a year without making it obvious they're suddenly rich?
Nope, but I'm weird.
If I offered you 10 million dollars a year to effuse praise about the police on internet forums would you take it?
Not without some proof you had the ability to make good. :)
Heck no. Fuck the police. Oh wait...
I'd start right after I got the first check. And I'd go looking for stories about good cops doing good things. I know they exist, they're just not as exciting as the stories about cops fucking up.
Let's be reasonable, folks. Without making any assumptions about BadBoyz2, it's only rational to assume that he wouldn't say he would accept a bribe whether he actually would (or had) or wouldn't (or hadn't). There's absolutely no win for either player in saying "Yeah, I'd take a bribe."
What if when you pulled me over I said I would give you 100k to walk away no questions and when you ran my plates they came up clean? What about 1,000k?
I love my job and am well compensated.
Really? Where do you work because all the cop salaries I know about are complete shit.
Why are all cops not like you?
I appreciate your integrity.
You mentioned that you get well compensated. When you go to a gas station do you pay out of pocket for gas? Or the police station gives you a gas card?
It depends on what I think will help that person more.
Props to you. This warmed my cop-hating heart, just a little bit.
EVERYONE has a price.
[deleted]
[deleted]
I find it incredibly fucked up that a comment that says "Blame blacks for committing so much crime, not the cops for racial profiling" gets 260 upvotes.
"Hey, Muhammed, don't blame us for strip searching you every time you want to go on holidays, blame all your brown friends for committing those terrorist acts"
Racist bullshit.
Those two aren't directly comparable. The fraction of the black community committing crimes is much, much larger than the fraction of the Muslim community being terrorists.
There unfortunately is a very influential subculture within the lack community in the U.S. that romanticizes criminal behavior, lack of respect for women and hatred for cops. This is the same subculture that plays down the importance of education and respect for other races. Its existence is detrimental to blacks more than to others.
Note, though, that this is uniquely American trait. Blacks in America do not commit more crimes simply because they are black - such a statement would be racist and without any factual basis. African Americans do commit more crimes, per capita, than other races in America - not because there's something about their race that makes them any less law-abiding, but because of the influential subculture running through the projects.
I don't see an excuse for racial profiling in there. So a black man is more likely to have committed a crime than a white man. That doesn't mean that if you're the same skin color as those who are more likely to be criminals that you should be harassed. Police officers should be expected to produce an actual reason to interfere with people.
Civil rights should trump efforts to make policing more effective.
[deleted]
All Nazi war criminals were whites, mostly males. Maybe the cops should start pulling old white men over? Maybe they're ex-Nazis?
You make the classic mistake of thinking being arrested and breaking the law.
I hope this doesn't need any more poor grammar *edit
THANK YOU!!! I downvoted it, but wasn't going to reply because I figured if it got >400 upvotes, then that's what the hivemind thinks and as such shall stand.
More often than not, the truth is incredibly fucked up.
Paraphrased (possibly poorly)... "Stereotypes and generalizations wouldn't exist if a large percentage of them weren't largely true and/or observable"
The best you can do (again, IMO) is to learn from them, and try to do your best to influence them towards the positive and/or be a "stand up person" for your personal ethnicity, religion, or whatever other demographic you identify.
That being said, profiling sucks.
Why?
Fucking right.
So if someone fits the description of a suspect in a recent crime, and they are in the area, they should not be contacted because they are black?
racism in spain and italy is worse than in the US... in my humble opinion.
Glad this comment got upvotes. I hate when society gets angry at things that sound racist when they're trying to be the opposite.
EDIT: BREAKING NEWS, REDDIT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND SARCASM!
Obvious racist ^
Whats interesting is that we don't tie up any loose ends here with one comment. To say he is a racist, even though I know you are playing, would imply stereotyping. To call him out as a member of the in-group, or those who have privilege and/or oppressors, is also creating a statement with hints of backlash.
Obvious racebaiter ^
Are you saying you wouldn't be pissed if you were hassled by the cops every time you drove around?
To me, it is a question of the efficacy of the procedure. Are there 1000x more tonytrap45 type people on the street vs. black drug dealers in landrovers?
Huh?
sounds racist because it is racist. WHAT high percentage of black criminals in SUVs? The poster pulled a factoid out of his ass. Racist.
[deleted]
If I am a model citizen yet I am treated as a suspect automatically for having a certain skin color I should not be angry at a cop because they choose believe in these stereotypes? I've seen cops that treat me with respect and they still manage to do their jobs. Why do they have to treat me different because of the color of my skin? Why can't be mad at both?
P.S. When I say I'm angry with cops I meant with the ones that actually treat people different because of the color of their skin.
There is no excuse for them behaving disrespectfully towards you. Stopping you? Perhaps.
Lord knows I definitely feel I should be profiled at things like airports. Why? Because I'm a young male who has had military training (which shows off in the way I look at armed people etc). Hell, I would understand being harassed for being part of probably the most dangerous group in human history - white males, particularly ambitious and aggressive ones (both of which I could be easily profiled in to).
Feel free to check me out, but do not forget that "sir" bit when talking with me.
I dunno if this is the major distinction, but this is the vibe I get from a lot of African Americans - it isn't necessarily the getting stopped (though that's lame too), but it's the way you're treated once you've been stopped, even if you behave like the professor/lawyer/doctor you are.
I don't think that's the issue here, at least in most cases. A lot of times the description of a suspect is "<skin colour> + <gender> + <height>". Sometimes clothing and vehicles are described as well. Working with such a vague description, of course cops are going to "hassle" innocent people trying to find a criminal. I'm not saying that being hassled isn't irritating, but it's probably not always due to racial profiling, as people are wont to think.
It still doesn't make it ok to go ahead and do it. If you say they're trying to "hassle" you, you're making seem like its not that big of a deal. These things turn into harassment.
All true, but cops still have no right to pull him over if he hasn't committed a traffic infraction.
Not true.
If the officer can establish "reasonable suspicion" - IE: OP matches description of some suspect - they have every right to stop you.
See Terry v. Ohio.
I've actually listened to the Terry v. Ohio oral arguments in a trip across the country.
You are correct. I was presuming a situation in which both parties where in cars and there was not a crime in progress, but I guess that goes against the overall narrative here.
they do actually. a cop can pull you over to simply check insurance in places like Ontario, no need to speed or otherwise break the law
Interesting. In the US, can't do that (can't pull over just to check for insurance).
According to you, negative stereotypes are perfectly fine?
stereotypes are fine if they are based on a sound statistical finding.
i think you're missing the point that it's based on him being a black man in an suv. not his specific appearance.
also, there is a pervasive idea in this country that any black man in an suv must sell drugs, because the only way a black man can afford such an expensive vehicle is to sell drugs, not get an education and a well paying job. edit or at least that's they way a good number of people think in certain areas of the south.
seriously, I was baiting.. there should be more downvotes.
Could I see the data you're basing this on please?
The funniest part about this is he got the inciteful comment award for it.
[deleted]
I blame you for thinking that a high percentage of criminals are black and drive an SUV.
I am white and I will stab you and steal everything that is yours
The real question is why does anyone commit a crime. Lack of opportunity? Greed? Boredom?
Yeah. That's it! Fucking black people -- we wouldn't harass them if they would stop robbing us!
In fact, we should probably just arrest black people! On the spot! Just in case!
tl;dr Fuck you racist asshole.
Where's that "causation" commenter now?
WHAT UUUUUUUUUUUP?
Yeah, not gunna cut it buddy.
no, be mad at the cops for profiling
White male aged 18-50?
Be mad at the cops too...and be armed. Over half of them sleep at night. They live in houses. They usually mark these houses with police cars.
[deleted]
WTF man, their aren't anymore black criminals than their are white...it's just their are more blacks in jail because of profiling.
[deleted]
so very, very, very wrong.
Source?
I mean, she's right in the sense that we're all criminals. However, if we restrict the criteria to crimes we give a shit about, property crimes and violent crimes, pretty sure she's totally wrong.
I know a lot of fuck'n white criminals who've never been in jail a day in their lives.
I feel for you. I try and be very polite when we have an ongoing search and a poor description. We often stop several people looking for the right one.
If you're talking about stops in general, I work at night and have no idea what race someone is till I get to the window.
Just to let you know-- I'm a Canadian that's been in New York City for the first time and I can say I've never met so many friendly police officers. They're great-- much better than the majority of officers I've met in Canada.
It's the bad cops that get all the attention from most people, and it's good cops like you that make it impossible for me to generalize all cops as assholes. Keep up the good work man.
As someone who lives in NY for most of his adult life I just couldn't stop laughing on this. Generally speaking, as far as scale of douchiness goes, they are right up there. Sure once in a while you might get some friendly cops but its very very rare.
Or, you know, both of you have had separate subjective experiences and are generalizing.
Canadian cops must be horrible, then.
NYPD New york Pricks and Dicks :)
Now that's strange, because my sister claims that her Facebook friends who go to New York City almost always upload pictures of themselves posing with a police officer. Who knows? I don't know if that also has something to do with them being Canadian.
where do you live? I'm located in Halifax and I gotta say, I haven't met many bad police officers (I've had maybe 8-10 experiences and only 2 I remember being bad.) So far the douchiest people of authority I've met are the Montreal transit police :P
Ahh, well then... Erm... all I can say to you is that every officer that I've asked for directions has been so helpful and friendly.
Maybe that means Canadian cops are even worse? I'm Canadian and I can tell you that the cops here are sometimes pretty bad.
Mosey on over to Staten Island next time, with a black or brown male on the passenger side, and let the real fun begin!
I agree completely. I have never met a nice NY cop and once got into an argument with one after he ignored me and confronted me minutes later because I called him "sir" instead of "officer".
[deleted]
I bet most NYC cops have to be tough as nails. The stuff those folks deal with must be intense, and it's probably the most dangerous place in the US for a cop.
maybe you're the one being an asshole?
cops are human. if you're decent to them, most of them will be decent to you. in my experience, the people who complain about cops the most are the ones who, when actually confronted with a cop, act like total cocksuckers.
Speaking personally, I've always had much better experiences with cops in large US cities than in US rural communities. Cops in the cities tend to have more 'real' crime to deal with and are less prone to hassle people over little things. Rural cops can very easily develop a king-of-the-county mentality and go around trying to drum up business, such as it is...
I really thought you were going to say "I'm a Canadian and all these black guys in land rovers are scaring the shit out of me."
No offense black Land Rover guy.
LOL, that would have been hilarious!
where in canada do you live? I'm in peel region, and the cops here suck, but I hear that pretty much all other canadian cops are really cool, and that peel police just suck
they put the friendly ones in times square, to take pictures with tourists like you. anywhere else in the city, they're generally dicks to me. and i'm not even black or latino!
The few I met while i was in NYC were friendly too. He even let me take a pic with him!
Sadly, isn't it like that almost everywhere? Bad cops/stuff/news/whatever get attention, whilst the other (good) side is neglected. Sad but true (for my experience).
Liar! Hey WTF? Is that car driving itself? Nah just another black guy.
If I was a black drug dealer, I would have to purchase a Prius.
Real quiet; good for sneakin' up on muthafuckas
I remember reading an article about how to successfully smuggle drugs, and car wise it basically said 'good tags, clean plates, normal non-attention getting car with NO bumper stickers' So yah.. ditch the escalade with 22's and spinners all blacked out and get a Ford Focus.
A Mccain/Palin 08' sticker on top of all that might even have cops calling you sir.
But when you're running a business, you want to cut down on cost, and being a drug dealer, you'll be doing a great deal of travel (gas!!!). The Prius makes sense both from a don't-stand-out AND an economical point of view.
U-turn
[deleted]
I would have to be a successful black drug dealer in California then...
dude if only i was a black man
[deleted]
Relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZJjTEmXaf8
or a volvo wagon.
they real quiet... for sneakin' up on niggas
I know someone who fits this description but he drives a mercury sable :(
bonus if it's tinted and has rims on it. They are like cop magnets.
Are they spinnin'? Yes, they spinnin'.
His whistles also go woo woo.
[deleted]
I am black. We need to tell black people to get the crappiest, most basic car out there. Like a Ford escorts. No one is going to pull over a Ford escort. Or a Honda accord.
My car broke down over the weekend and I borrowed my roommates PT Cruiser. Me and my girlfriend had a few drinks over dinner and made our way home. Back at the restaurant I had just gulped down the last half of my one and only drink that night, a 22oz Blue Moon. Under the legal limit but still suspicious enough to warrant a test from most cops. What I was nervous about was the fact that my girlfriend had a few grams of some extremely pungent weed that was given to us earlier that day stuff in the bottom of her pruse. Sure enough on our way back from dinner we roll right through a DUI checkpoint and the five cars in front of us all have to present ID and let the cops poke around a bit. When it was my turn the cop just waved me through, not even giving me a second glance and I'm convinced this had to due entirely with the fact that I was driving a car meant for white males age 45+. PT Cruisers: "the smartest way to transport illegal shit".
Yep, that is a pretty gay looking car. I would wave you too.
I once read that the PT Cruiser was actually originally marketed for the younger crowd of 18-30, and while it was still greatly successful, the target audience was completely missed, and only purchased by 45+ white males
No. Scion xB has to be the best way.
They will if there is a black person driving it. New Jersey State Troopers got into a shitload of trouble for targeting Melanin blessed people in late model vehicles.
I had a friend pulled over for DWB before, for a "seatbelt violation" They searched the car, found nothing, and they still had to pay the fine.
White male here who drives a ford escort. I've gotten pulled over a handful of times in one city. But none since I moved.
Ever been to Oakland,ca?
I would agree if I didn't see so many Escorts with 20-inch rims...WE NEED TO GO TAMER
[deleted]
That is my point. I don't know why some people need flashy cards. Something basic works fine.
Thats definitely not true at all. I've always figured cops were more likely to pull over cheap crappy cars because poor people would have a better chance of having a warrant or having drugs or a weapons or something. I used to drive a beat up civic everywhere right out of highschool and I would get pulled over constantly (white guy) and when I got my new nice truck I can blow past cops and they never even give me a second look.
This stereotype is hard to ignore for cops. Too bad white guys in jacked up pickups aren't a stereotype for criminals. Let's blame the MPPA?
I blame the MPAA.
YOU WOULDN'T DOWNLOAD A JACKED UP PICKUP TRUCK!
You're right, like hell I would. Why would I want a pickup truck?
YYYYEEEEAAAAAA! and fuck the RIAA too!
I am laughing at some of the comments about racial profiling below.You cant know how it feels until it happens to you and unless you're black how can you have the same experience we do.Just like tonytrap45 I have been stopped so many times coming from work at the same spot.I drive a new lexus with custom green paint,no fancy rims no tint....and the kicker,It always matches a description of a stolen car.Last time it happened,I was pulled over 100 ft from my house,cop comes to my window and I just told him "am tired of being pulled over every night"! and he just muttered and left.Yeah I know,dumb of me,could have ended in a shooting.
I said the same thing.
I got pulled over for a dim tail light. And it was clear that the cop was just sniffing for something. they couldn't find anything and told me you are free to go.
I was like, WTF.
Be happy that he didn't say "I smell something funny", which basically is enough reason for him to search your car unless you start saying something like "I do not consent to a search" and then just stay silent.
I had a cop say that, I said I didn't consent to a search, he did it anyway.
Did you file a complaint afterwards? This is a serious disregard of your rights.
(unless he found the weed he could smell :D)
Was that you? That was me going past at 100mph.
[deleted]
Nice try OJ
Well played sir!
It would be cool if when cops saw a limousine they assumed it contained a rich old white man in the back seat and pulled them over under suspicion of being a bankster.
[deleted]
lol bankster
I think the odds that this guy has ever pulled you over are pretty slim.
[deleted]
They see you roll'in
I happened to be listening to the police scanner last night (found an app for my phone). I heard a description that could fit you in your car. That's gotta suck.
We have all scene those "baby on board" signs, maybe you could get a "not a criminal" sign. I have never scene a car with a BOB sign in an accident, so maybe a NAC sign would work in the same way with the police.
[deleted]
Diary of an Angry Black Man?
Sure why not it would be more like a blog however.
Cops run on Bayesian probabilities like they're scanning for Spam emails.
p(criminal|black male and has SUV) > threshold of interest
Downer that 'black male' is a Bayesian indicator, but who's fault is that?