Ask A Cop *The Video Series*

I have a few questions for you and would love for you to answer them. I tried to think of some tough ones... Hey, if I don't make it hard on you who will?

As a police officer, have you ever had to do something on duty, that was legally the right thing to do, but went against your morals? If so, could you give us an example? How did it make you feel to go against what you think is actually right in order to uphold what is legal?


Have you ever let anybody go who was in violation of the law and would normally be arrested for their violation? If so, why?

While on duty, have you ever broken the law in order to catch a suspect/criminal? Do you think it is bad/wrong that you broke the law in order to catch them or do you think that it is OK to do what ever it takes to catch a suspect no matter what?

Have you ever witnessed a cop abuse their power? If so, what did you do? Did you ignore it, report it? what? Have YOU ever abused your power?

OK, last one for now.

Have you ever arrested anyone/put some one in prison that you suspect might actually be innocent? Do you know anybody that has? If so, how does that make you feel?


Thanks Semper... I tried to think of some questions that have to do with your morals and principals and how they come into play as a cop...

I love you, man. Stay safe out there!


gimme_some_truth


EDIT TO ADD: Admittedly I have not read through the thread nor watched the videos yet, so if any of these questions have been asked or addressed, I apologize sincerely!


[edit on 23-12-2009 by gimme_some_truth]

Number 3

Keep the questions coming guys..

When this dies down a little, I will get more in-depth with some questions especially dealing with "Rights" etc...

I am also planning a "Funny Cop" video soon



Thank you

Semper

Another question if I may... a lighter one....

Could you please share with us your favorite experience as a cop? Could you also share with us the worst moment of your career as a police officer?

Thanks Semper!

Stay cool and stay safe!

gimme_some_truth

[edit on 23-12-2009 by gimme_some_truth]

I believe Red Heat is the movie you were talking about Semper. Never seen it, but I knew exactly the movie you were talking about.

Just wanna say you are doing a top effort so far mate. And, to be honest, when you think about it, you are actually doing yourself, and the members here, a service, by keeping them up to date with what they can and can't do.

Hopefully, this will make your day job easier, and will keep all the members here out of trouble!

[edit on 21-12-2009 by TerribleTeam2]

Originally posted by Lasheic
Questionable? Sounds more like pseudoscience and mysticism to me.
[edit on 20-12-2009 by Lasheic]

(the whole quote left me about 5 words to fill, so deleted most of it.)

what the bloody hell are you on about you ranting loony.

I was asking semper about CIVIL VS. MARITIME LAWS the whole ALLCAPS deal with documentation and the PRACTICAL implications of both.

Nothing at all to do with anything you mentioned whatsoever.

Rant elsewhere please. or at the least, ask semper a question. as that is the point of this thread. not bloody monty python. U dig?

-B.M

[edit on 21/12/09 by B.Morrison]

First, thank you for the job that you do.

I know there is limited time to get to all of the questions, so I don't know that you'll have time to address all of these, but if you can...

1. Are you aware of any standing orders or contingency plans in any P.D. that pertain to either of the following situations.

UFO crash / UFO landing / alien contact ?

2. Detaining large segments of the population in a predesignated area, in the event of large scale protests, such as what happened in Iran last June over their presidential elections?

3. This next question is for a friend of mine, as I would never be found in such a situation myself.....cough cough

Suppose two people are discovered in a field where psilocybin mushrooms are growing. They are sitting on a blanket, listening to music, having a picnic and they are giggling and laughing a _lot_ but otherwise they are peaceful, friendly, courteous, respectful, orientated to time and place, and they have no picked mushrooms in their possession.

Would their behavior be probable cause for a search?

Would they be subject to a blood test for psilocybin?

If either answer is yes, would this sort of enforcement be at the officer's discretion?

4. Clearly, most people feel that marijuana should be legal. But the politicians in most places continue to ignore the will of the people concerning this. Can you offer any insights as to why there is this entrenched resistance in the legislatures to marijuana legalization?

Thanks again for making yourself accessible and taking the time to answer these questions.

Hi Semper, Thanks for doing what you do.

I have a hypothetical situation that I'd like you to put yourself into, so here goes:

You are a rookie cop riding with a senior officer, both of you are on duty. You pull up near a bar and the senior officer goes out and enters the bar.
You remain in the car. Ten minutes later, the senior officer and the bar owner exist the bar and are standing outside on the sidewalk.
You can hear the conversation. The senior officer is talking to the bar owner about several crimes (criminal mischeif, burglary, arson, assault) that
have occured around the area and is disclosing vital information pretaining to these crimes to the bar owner.

You also notice that the senior officer is holding a bag of ice. The senior officer raps up his conversation with the bar owner and proceeds to
enter the car. You ask him about the bag of ice and he responds that it's from the bar owner. He gives it to him about 2 times a week
and in return he would spend more of his time on duty patrolling the bar's location and keep a closer eye on it.

You as a rookie officer, do you let these type of actions slide? Do you warn the senior officer that his actions are a conflict of interests? If so,
what if his response to you becomes negative?
Or do you report his actions to a superior?


Again, I appreciate what you do, Thank you and take care.

Have you ever had somebody react this way to a fine?


...you may want to turn your sound down a bit

[edit on 21-12-2009 by Griffo515]

Thanks for doing this Semper, its nice to look at a cop and not want to walk the other way.

In your first video you mentioned that in Court you are Innocent until proven guilty. But if a cop thinks your guilty, you go to jail...Isn't that backwards.......So the only way to be put into the position of "Innocent until proven guilty" is to be "guilty" in the first place???? (I just kinda blew my own mind right there)
Does it have anything to do with Money???

Do you think that if the idea of the Monetary System (Money, Material value) never existed, crime would be different?
Would crime exist at all?

Have you ever killed anybody?
If yes, is that why you are a christian?

Who is your favorite NFL Team?

What do you think of Texas as a state?
If you were an officer in Texas or any state and that state succeded from the union, how would your job change?

If you could have been a police officer, or something equivalent, at any point in the history of the planet, when would it be?

When would it be ok for citizens to intervene on an officer who is violently abusing the rights of a person who didn't deserve it? Lets say its one of those bad cops there are so few of...and to what extent do you think would be ok?

Do you think it is Ironic that some police cars have Protect and serve in quotes on the side?

If a loaded gun is pointed in your face, does it matter if you are a cop or a criminal?

Whats your favorite Movie?

This is awesome Semper, thanks again and feel free to expand on any of these questions.

Stay safe out there.

Damn Semper, even though you tried not answering my question about the officer involved shooting. Which would have sucked after waiting through two videos to hear your answer ( I know, poor me, sniffle) and
believe me even though I asked for just a judgement call, as just another
human being not a police officer.
You really gave the answer I most expected, while at the same time
declaring it to look very damning, still gives a human answer.

This is a case that happened a few years back. I think I have given enough information that you can check what I say now is true.
The officer was charged with ATTEMPTED VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER.
I have never heard of this as a charge for anyone ever and seems to
suggest that he would never no matter what the evidence against him is
he would not in any way be charged with murder if the VIC had died.
He did not. I will have to check and see what the jury's finding was.
I do know the outcome of the trial.
He was simply fired.
Free to seek employment else where.


As a follow up question:
Q
Simply have you ever heard of such a charge ever.

If you choose not to answer it is your right and more than ok with me.
In fairness could you please state if this is the case at the begining
of your video.
Please believe me when I say again I mean no disrespect.
I myself have been arrested, count em, 31 times lol. I never went to
prison and I never had a bad arrest. It was just along running thing
for me after going thru a failed marriage. Nothing violent ever though i
am highly trained and capable of it.
It even got to where the local officers would plead with me to straighten up
because they hated arresting me. Even joked about it number of times,
so I know first hand people get what they ask for in dealing with you guys.
There were two things that were very questionable to say the least.
All in all. I know if I give respect I will get respected.
Even though you still have a job to do. I also have seen the perps that
get stupid. They just don't seem to realise how vulnerable they are
when their hands are cuffed behind their back.
This one guy was very much in need of a tudor, but got some public schooling at to say the least. lmao in the holding tank. Me and my arresting officer were cracking up. Thanks again semper.


P.s. you mentioned your birthday next month. I am also 50 now birthday
feb. 3. I'm not trying to ride you're leg but getting old is sure gonna suck.
Have a happy holiday Happy birthday and a happy happy. Stay safe out there man.

[edit on 21-12-2009 by randyvs]

Hey Semper, thanks for taking your time in this way! Unfortunately, we can't just waltz into a police department and ask questions about why they do things the way they do, so this is really a rare opportunity!

The questions you have received so far concerning common law and contracts have to do with the whole subject of lawful jurisdiction and governments operating under the color of law.

Please allow me to ask a couple questions in this regard and to also give a brief explanation with each question. This may clear some things up for people in this regard.

1) My first question is this...did you know that every town, city, county, state, court (including the supreme court), and department of the federal government (including the federal government itself), are all CORPORATIONS, and not operating as duly authorized government entities?

Dun and Bradstreet

IMPORTANT: If you look on the Dun & Bradstreet website, which lists every corporation in America, you will find EVERY town, city, county, state, and department of the federal government, including the company known as "The United States," and every court as well, including a company called "The Supreme Court of the United States" registered in each of the 50 states.

Over the last hundred or so years, every constitutionally authorized government entity has been supplanted by a similarly named company (CORPORATION), which gives it the corporate rights of a PERSON as determined by the federal government, and also replaces the duly authorized institutions of the Constitution, which are States and Counties.

So, in reality, no police officer actually works for a government entity, but is in reality a hired security officer, employed by a corporation for the enforcement of the corporation's bylaws, otherwise known as ordinances and statutes. As you stated, the police now work for the corporation to protect the corporation from the people who are within its borders by enforcing the corporate "laws."

2) Did you know that according to the principles of law, licenses are only needed for actions that are considered immoral or against public policy?

Because roads are part of the land that belong to the state/county/city corporation, the corporation requires a license to drive on the road, due to the potential dangers involved with operating an auto. Technically, a car is considered a personal conveyance and the right to drive one falls under the freedom to travel, and is in keeping with the RIGHT to "life, liberty and the PURSUIT of happiness."

But, because the car is now operating within the boundaries of a corporation's land holdings, the rights of travel become subject to the corporation's right to safety within their borders, converting the right into a privilege.

As stated, under the law a license is only needed when doing something against public policy, something that is considered licentious. Originally, only cars engaging in business on public roads required a license because they were using public land for personal financial gain. That business travel was called TRAFFIC, which means to buy/sell (as in trafficking drugs). Over time, however, the state corporations ruled that everyone needed a license since it was too hard to prove who was really engaged in business and also there were so many cars/trucks on the road that the dangers warranted tighter controls.

What are your feelings on the increase of military-grade weapons and technology being used by local police forces in the U.S.? Your experience indicates that you've been in law enforcement long enough to notice this change. Do you feel as though the benefits outweigh the risks, and do you think it's a worthwhile use of taxpayer money?

Thanks for the great answers so far. You've got me hooked on this thread!

Very interesting and informative. Thanks for your effort in doing this hopefully it further understanding of a difficult job. I'd also like to thank for doing your job and while I realize you neither expect nor need recognition or thanks you have mine.

I would like to comment on the issue of animosity between cops and Correctional workers and the training we as Corrections receive. While it may be that the Correctional Workers in your area don't receive good in service training a fact I find appalling that's not the case here. I receive 48 hours of formal classroom in addition to range and informal training in my unit in total about 80 hours a year which is required as it should be. Of course, specialty teams receive even more. It's not really fair to compare the two fields as they are apples and oranges perhaps if we work at it that animosity will go away as it should, we are after all working for the same goal, public safety.

I've known semper for several years now and he is an honorable man and I believe him to be a fair representation of Cops as a whole. What we all need to remember is cops are human; they make mistakes, so don't we all. We should all remember that one bad one or one having a bad day isn't the group as a whole. As semper reminded me just last night (rightly so) we shouldn't judge the entire profession by one representative.

So, in closing to this rather long winded post I'd like to thank semper and indeed cops in general your job is difficult, often dangerous and usually thankless so please accept the thanks of this citizen and Corrections Officer. Stay safe.

Oh yeah, I actually do have a question..........Which is the favored donut; jelly filled or apple fritter or as seagull says cake with white frosting and pink sprinkles?

Hey Semper, great video last night... enjoyed it again!

But I had a very random question, particularly a little different than those that have been asked.

I was driving around once with one of my best buds, and we saw a cop that had pulled somebody over for a minor traffic violation. Thinking it would be funny at the time, my friend had a loudspeaker and shouted "Run" (jokingly of course) out the window. The driver definitely heard us, and just gave us a weird look. Can you get in trouble for this, lol? We have a weird sense of humor and thought it was funny at the time.

Oh yeah, did I mention we had the cops theme song blasting in the background as we drove by. .... bad boys, bad boys, what ya gonna do, what ya gonna do when they come for you....

Thank you for your response, it was as I expected. I would have been surprised if you had said something along the lines of "file a complaint with the shift supervisor", "police department", "chief of police", etc... Being a veteran, I understand where you are coming from "do not question authority", etc... But, within every rigid structure, which a police force is one, there is always an avenue of recourse.

My next question is this... Have you considered taking the red pill?

Do you consider yourself a civilian?

Now, I know this question is jurisdictional, but here in New Mexico it is a one-party state as far as recording goes. My question in relation to this is on the average, how should police react when they find they are subject to recording (audio or video)?

Originally posted by paradigm619
What are your feelings on the increase of military-grade weapons and technology being used by local police forces in the U.S.? Your experience indicates that you've been in law enforcement long enough to notice this change. Do you feel as though the benefits outweigh the risks, and do you think it's a worthwhile use of taxpayer money?

Thanks for the great answers so far. You've got me hooked on this thread!

Paradigm got the jist of what I was going to ask Semper, however if I could expand on the question a tad, With the outcry especially here on the site about officers utilizing breach and clear military tactics as well as vehicles and armament, what if anything could you say to those who claim that this is nothing but a show of force and another in long line of steps towards a militaristic police state? I for one fully support the ratcheting up of tactics and gear to stay one step ahead of the worst actors out there as well as the potential for domestic terrorism. However it seems more and more people don't see the need and in essence expect officers to be the Andy and Barney from Mayberry. Thoughts?

reply to post by semperfortis

Semperfortis,

You gave me the lame response I was expecting...

I am sure most of the Nazi Police officers who rounded up Jews to put on trains or to kill did not feel guilty about it anymore than you don't feel guilty about busting consensual criminals.

They would have said to take it up with the nazi regime, with hitler, cause they were just doing their jobs just like you said you were just doing your job and to take up consensual crime laws with the legislature.


On the one hand you say if you were asked to do something unethical you would quit. Yet you uphold laws that make slaves of all of us, laws that make the state owners of us, laws that let the state decide what consenting adults can do with their own bodies. Make no mistake, that is slavery.

You did not accept responsibility for your role in the process. All the people rotting in prison for violating consensual crime laws were first brought there by police officers like and including you, not the legislature.

reply to post by Bobbox1980


First of all semperfortis has a job to do; it doesn't really matter if you or any body else likes it or not. If you want the laws changed there is a proper way to do so and attacking the cops who are charged with upholding the laws decided on by the governing body of your area isn't the way to change anything.

As you are so passionate about it I suggest that you start working towards the changes you want to see unless you are willing to do so you really have no basis for complaint.

reply to post by gallopinghordes


A job is not an excuse, we all have jobs to do. You are using the Yuppie Nuremberg defense as if it is an actual valid defense rather than being the "I was just following orders" rationalization that it is.

I am working on trying to amass enough money to start my own sea stead, and therefore my own country, as I have no faith in my fellow citizens or humanity as a whole to do the right thing on this little issue we call freedom.

[edit on 21-12-2009 by Bobbox1980]

[edit on 21-12-2009 by Bobbox1980]

Originally posted by gallopinghordes


As you are so passionate about it I suggest that you start working towards the changes you want to see unless you are willing to do so you really have no basis for complaint.

Exactly, you have to be the change you wish to see... If you simply stand around and complain about it, things will never change. You have to go out and work to get the changes that you wish for.

Until you do that, the police will have to continue to do their jobs... It is their job to uphold the law. If you do not like the law, go work to get it changed.

I say that to everyone who simply complains about a law but does nothing about it.

If you want change you cannot simply expect it to come to you, you have to go out and find it and then make it happen!