You speak as well as Whitey does. I believe the traffic is bad because there is no fear of being caught. Even when cops are the first at a light, no one in front of them, and they do not go after a light runner, then that sets an example for me and all those that saw. No fear of consequence.
I have a family member who is a County Mounty and she finds many people with warrents by doing traffic stops. She also deals with murders, suicides, theft and accidents. I have no problem with her coming to my 911 call.
This is the crux of what I was getting at in this discussion. I fully agree there needs to be priority for what our officers are doing, but neglecting any one area leads to its own kind problems.
“If the police were no longer routinely armed, how many would resign from the force overnight? Do we respect our police officers or do we respect that 9mm on their hip?”
Most all I expect would resign in the US, unless there was a sudden change in their job description. Right now, to carry is a mandated part of the job for most all work, even in schools around here. BTW,On many police forces, even 9mm’s get little respect as well except as back up; the anti has gone up of late.
Every cop has watched every “Dirty Harry” movie at least 50 times and longs for the feel of a S&W .44 magnum in his hand. A good job just got better! On TV cop shows, you can’t make it to the first commercial break before one of the actors whips out his pistol for one reason or the other…I had two relatives, both uniformed Boston cops, now retired…One NEVER drew his pistol while on duty over a 26 year career and the other admitted to drawing his weapon twice in 30 years. Neither one of them ever fired his weapon except on the shooting range. To this day, they both routinely carry guns…It must get in their blood or something…
You would think, with all these officers who never draw their guns, or those who rarely draw their guns, it would be rare to have a cop’s gun pointed at you. I, however, have had experiences that conflict with that view.
When I was about 18 years old, I got pulled over in Davie, FL (a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale), for speeding. I quickly pulled over, got out, and shook the cop’s hand. He let me off with a warning. The next time I got pulled over a few years later was in DeSoto, TX (a suburb of Dallas), so I thought I would try the same approach. I pulled over, but when I got out of the car to greet the cops, they both drew their guns. That was the last time I tried that approach. The sad part is that I was unarmed. I didn’t even have anything in my hands, which suggests to me the response to draw their guns was inappropriate.
That wasn’t the only time I had a cop draw his gun on me. It also happened once in Hollywood, Florida and once in Wilmer, TX, and I don’t have a criminal history worth speaking of. I went to jail once, and that wasn’t one of the times I had a police officer’s gun pointed at me. Consequently, when I hear about cops who never drew their guns in the line of duty, I find it a little hard to believe. I would believe that they never officially reported drawing their guns in the line of duty, but that isn’t the same thing.
Cops and Firemen spend most of their careers trying to figure out how to work less and get paid more.
Sorry to hear you feel that way. Having a couple of cops in the family I can say that in my experience they are interested in their working conditions just as a mechanic, burger fryer or the CEO of a large company are. As for burglaries, I have had two. The police came right out, caught one a block away from my home in less than 30 minutes and the other, within a week.
Fortunately now, they now have other options for you “not quite so” bad boys. Mace, Taser etc.
In Hartford while jogging I asked a cop sitting in a cruiser on a corner if this area of town was safe to run in. He responded, “as long as you keep running” and added, “and this is as far as and as long as my window stays rolled down too”. They have there own experiences.
It’s really good to know what elicits those different reactions from police and try to avoid them. For example, we approached the cruiser from the front after jogging by and kept our distance until he motioned us closer. In some areas, I can see them being in a constant state of self defense with the over riding thought of always keeping their “utility belt” secure.
Doesn’t your amount and type of training also affect your reaction to a situation. Seems in the Twin Cities that some officers that have had shorter training periods tend to draw first, ask questions later. I know officers are trained to control the situation, but perhaps some ‘control’ it with firearms first, words second.
As a funny story my brother-in-law was getting a ride to the local college with a friend in his new used car. They noticed a cruiser pull up behind him and follow them to the student parking lot. As soon as they parked the officers lit their lights, pulled guns, and did the basic felony stop with backup arriving shortly thereafter. Turns out the car was purchased at a police auction and was not unlisted as stolen, so when they ran the plates it appeared stolen. Even better is that the whole incident happened with their classmates walking by. Lots of miles from that story.
?It is satisfying to know that there are agencies out there that when called, are obligated to do their best on your behalf, regardless of who you are and whether or not you’ve payed your “bill”?
Ah the police are NOT obligated to answer your call or help you in any way. Even if they see an offense being committed, they could and have sat by and watch crimes happen. That by the way is what the Supreme Court has said.
“Doesn’t your amount and type of training also affect your reaction to a situation. Seems in the Twin Cities that some officers that have had shorter training periods tend to draw first, ask questions later.”
Without a doubt…but often the opposite of your implication. More caution and more intimidating force may have to be shown in some situations, previously not aware of by the less experienced.
Civilian opinions of expected police behavior is so colored by TV/movies it’s a wonder any civilian gets it right anytime. They are there to protect YOU first and maintaining their own safety as well is the only way of accomplishing this task. Sony/MGM and the like don’t train cops, people who know do and their behavior just doesn’t look the same to the rest of us.
The best rendition of a police experience I’ve seen recently, is in the movie “Gone Baby Gone”. Rent it and see how boringly repetitive turns quickly and w/o warning, to deadly. Just as real life police work can be. It may give you a slight clue as to why some may seem to over react. A little empathy on our part goes a long way.
“Dirty Harry” is much more is entertaining and I like all of Clint’s work, but realistic he ain’t.
And “Every cop has watched every “Dirty Harry” movie at least 50 times and longs for the feel of a S&W .44 magnum in his hand.” with all due respect to whomever may actually think it and “Caddyman” I believe you would agree by your comments, that’s B.S. All handguns are pretty feeble as self defense weapons go and DH’s .44 just a little less so. It’s training, not just a weapons alone that saves lives serves the public. No cop I know would ever want that kind of weaponry for police work that did not involve bear at close range.
Take a look at the 2004 Oscar winning movie “Crash” for a totally different Hollywood view on Police,guns,minorities,and racisim in Los Angeles.
I am currently writing a essay on the different types of racisim defined in the movie for my WRT 102 class (why the subject always has to be racisim I don’t know,perhaps it is because the “lefties” are in control of the school)
Seems reasonable to me…and people are expected to examine a chain saw to see if indeed it had a chain. If it happened to most civilians, I’ll bet they wish they had a concealed weapon and time to response as the cop did. Gee, one last scare from a big man, not a kid, with a chain saw. He’s lucky to be alive. The cop showed restraint that a civilian with a CWP but no training might not.
If he’d been drinking and carrying though, he deserves to have the book thrown at him for that…to me it’s like operating a motor vehicle. You drink, you DON’T carry.
I’ve read a lot of good points, but instead of increasing the number or adding a sole “traffic cop” force, maybe there’s an alternative. Seems like the major agreement is that law enforcement has a hard time keeping up with the crime rate. A large majority of the LE is doing exactly what they are called to do: Enforce the Law. So my “simple” alternative is to JUDGE the offenders accordingly. Get rid of the repeat offenders (especially the rapes, murders, armed robbery) and voila! A drop in crime rate, deterrent, and now the LE is able to spend more effort on driving violations. (which would also decrease if there were harsh-er penalties)
I don’t have a problem with police taking time to cite people that violate traffic laws and I don’t think the investigation of more serious crime suffers because police are paying attention to the traffic.
I am told by my liberal Writing instructor that my views are based upon me being a passive racist (as a middle age white man I enjoy the benifits being white brings, and undeserevedly so). I am not making this stuff up, it is what is being taught in the first few years of college today.
White privledge. Gotta love it. Ask your prof about seatbelt laws and how making a seatbelt a first line offense is racist because African-Americans as a group are less likely to wear them, and therefore a gateway to racial profiling because, hey, cops are just enforcing the law.
I had a whole class like this when gettign my teaching degree. Human resources.