What's up with the police?

Why do police officers always seem so sensitive to those who ask questions? Do they fear that their authority is not being taken seriously? Did you know when cops pull you over etc.. they do so because they felt they should....it is all so very subjective. One cop could think your actions were acceptable while another thinks not. This drives me nuts; i hate the idea of being judged by people who are immensely affected by their own experiences and mood, rather than by a law that is supposed to be emotion free. Catch a cop on a bad day and you pay BIG!
I write this after a few friends got pulled over by police officers and were treated like crap. Why can't more cops be respectful (at least) when they are giving you a ticket?

In addition, why is it that slow drivers who are in the left lane never get pulled over (here the law states "Slower Traffic Keep Right) and yet I have a friend who got pulled over for passing on the right? Why not pull over the dude in the left lane for not getting over? Is this a case where sterotypes come into play? "Fast" drivers = bad, reckless citizens; slow drivers = good, careful citizens?
This is one of my pet peeves; I like to drive at least the speed limit and so often I get someone who blocks up traffic because they drive so dang slow!
I am willing to take responsibility for my actions; I am not complaining that cops give tickets, but rather that they do so with little or no respect ! I can't help but be pissed off when cops never pull over the slow people and treat others like crap.

Yesterday, I was in car that got puilled over and I honestly felt the cop was in the wrong so we are going to fight the ticket and do a formal complaint; is there anything else I can do? Any suggestions on how to deal with these situations?
Any cops out there that would enlighten me as to why they or their fellow cop buddies have to be so rude and to explain to me how all the subjectivity that your choices are based off seem just or fair!? Does fairness only happen when you see a judge and then is that fair?

Oh and one more thing what's up with cops giving tickets to meet a quota (or as they call it; meet the # of tickets given to receive overtime)? Hmmm.
www.ntctroopers.com...

-JAH

Not enough time to go into the psychology of the cop, but as there are no robots available to do the job...

If you feel righteously wronged, go see the Chief of Police. Chances are he'll have it voided - unless you piss him off, in which case he'll tell you to see the judge.

As far as quotas, cops are like anybody else; they'd just as soon do as little as possible. I don't know how it is now, but there was a quota for the troopers in Mobile county so that the troopers would actually get out of the car and correct traffic problems.

Having spent a few of the last several weeks in and around Seattle, I feel for you... You guys have a serious traffic problem there....

From experience, and from being friends with many cops...best thing you can do is be polite, keep a calm tone of voice, and ask about the charge, then explain yourself. Don't be threatening, don't be difficult. You're more likely to just get off with a warning. If instead, you see him starting to write the citation before you even get a chance to speak...you'll know the cop is in a bad mood...and your best chance is to then fight the charge through the normal channels you mentioned (i.e. contesting the ticket). When contesting, be prepared. Have photos of the area in question, have a little posterboard outlining the scenario, and while you feel you were wronged, etc.

Yeah when we got pulled over yesterday, the cop didn't even ask us what was up or give us any opportunity to discuss the situation.

The hard thing for me is that I am a nice person and when someone approaches me with attitude it throws me. In this case even when the cop was being rude to us we remained nuetral ( arguing with police I know has no effect, but a negative one!)

Taking picture of the area is a really good idea. Thanks for the suggestion!

-JAH

What did the cop pull you over for? I know the red light cameras are not very good. If you get your photo taken by a red light camera or a speeding photo there are easy ways to get out of it. Just throw the ticket away. They have no proof you got the ticket so you dont have to pay it.

Was pulled over for an "unsafe lane change". We were merging onto a freeway, the line was dotted, although the cop said it wasn't (we double checked and there was no solid line to be seen only a dotted white line) we passed an old man who was putting on his breaks as he was merging onto a 70mph highway... the cop said we were being unsafe for passing the guy and supposedly for crossing a white solid line...?

-JAH

Was pulled over for an "unsafe lane change"

In Seattle??? EVERY merge there is unsafe... The sign telling you which lane to get in, always comes about 30 feet or so AFTER you should have gotten over!!!

Definitely photograph this area, and explain your side, as it sounds like you have a good case here....

Good luck, takin' it to 'da Man!!!

....my uncle is a State trooper. A former best friend was a town cop ( which suprised the beejeebus out of me because he got a dishonrable discharge from the military for drugs )
Unfourtunately, there are too many under trained or under screened police out there. There is also an intelligence limit: as was made famous by a 20/20 expose, some law enforcement agencies won't take you if you score too high on the tests .

The harsh reality is this: understand that the quality of your interaction with the cop is on you - be a ball breaker & your balls will get broke - be polite and submissive - you'll get on your way. Carry a camera, and fight tickets, be polite.... can't say that enough.
And if you are ever idiot enough to get to scrappin', realize that the amount of beating you endure on the street is only about 10% - the cover is already established.
For the good ones, they have to factor " am I going home tonight" on every shift they work. A situation, and your part in it, has to be immediately resolved because escalations come very unexpectedly - such as while you're pulled over talking trash, two car loads of family happen to spot your car & you.

Other than that, "Reno 911" on Comedy Central is pretty damn accurate!

Yes,you have it right for the most part,but the truth of the matter is that this is all covered in the scriptures,be "harmless as a lamb and wise as a serpent""walk as a sheep among wolves"and all that stuff.
this whole mess is based on negotiable instruments and contract,there is no need to go to court if you file the appropriate paperwork to counter the charge you're facing,some things will just never be addressed if the judge knows you have him over a barrel with your being aware of the truth.
I began to realise the problem with cops in college,one professor actually spoke the truth,that cops can go either side of a line,on one side they have a tyrant who only sees the law,which is corrupt by nature,on the other side we have discretion,which would be a cop that unserstands that people make mistakes and may let you off with just a warning,or not bother you at all.
The biggest thing that people do not see is that the legal system has somehow gained a monopoly on the practice of law,seems kinda wrong when you look at it like that,Doesn't it?.

I would tend to agree with most of that. Cops ussually treat you the way you treat them. Get sh!tty and p!issed and they will too. Treat them with respect and they will too (unles its that time of the month again)

Why would they not hire people that get high scores on there test?

I was wondering that myself. Perhaps that have grander goals in mind for you if you have a higher iq...FBI...CIA...whatever. I dunno

I always thought that if a cop was to smart s/he wouldn't follow the rules all the time.

The trick is, then, to figure out how many questions you need to get wrong (80% right sounds good) and get those wrong.

guy sues for being to smart and loses:
abcnews.go.com...



[Edited on 19-8-2003 by ktprktpr]

That's a possibility, but if they don't even take the time to look into past gpas and iq tests, then they're lazy and that rule is void and pointless.

Anyone who wants to be a cop can't be too smart, IMO. It's gotta be a sh*tty job. They have to have drone mentality to enforce laws they may or may not even agree with. Either that, or they have to be hypocrites.
Then, they get tired of listening to peoples' excuses day after day, every time they pull someone over. They begin to hate people, and despise hearing the same old excuses over and over again. Eventually, busting people feeds their anger toward these people who are, in their mind, inconveniencing them. Not to mention, alot of cops become cops because of some tragedy that happened in their lives. I've known alot of drug addicts that cleaned up and became cops. They feel that, since it was a problem for them, they need to solve it for everyone. The reality is, they were weak minded in the first place. Their problem is not necessarily a problem for others. The bottom line is, we don't want irresponsible people in our society. It doesn't matter if they do drugs, or if they speed. Anyone can be irresponsible, no matter what type of person they are. But, now days, we're profiling people and charging them for the possibility that they might be irresponsible.