A POLICE OFFICER SPEAKS

In light of the recent discussions about the police we have had here on the board, I thought this was intersting.


A POLICE OFFICER SPEAKS by Trooper Mitchell Brown of the Virginia State Police.

Well, Mr.* Citizen, it seems you've figured me out.*
I seem to fit neatly into the category where you've placed me.*
I'm stereotyped, standardized, characterized, classified, grouped, and always
typical.*
Unfortunately, the reverse is true.* I can never figure you out.
From birth you teach your children that I'm the bogeyman, then you're shocked when they identify with my traditional enemy...the criminal!
You accuse me of coddling criminals...until I catch your kids doing wrong.
You may take an hour for lunch and several coffee breaks each day,* but point me out as a loafer for having one cup.
You pride yourself on your manners, but think nothing of disrupting my meals with your troubles.
You raise hell with the guy who cuts you off in traffic, but let me catch you doing the same thing and I'm picking on you.
You know all the traffic laws...but you've never gotten a single ticket you deserve.
You shout "foul" if you observe me driving fast to a call, but raise the roof if I take more than ten seconds to respond to your complaint.
You call it part of my job if someone strikes me, but call it "Police brutality" if I strike back.
You wouldn't think of telling your dentist how to pull a tooth or* your doctor how to take out an appendix, yet you are always willing to give me pointers on the
law.
You talk to me in a manner that would get you a bloody nose from anyone else, but expect me to take it without batting an eye.
You yell "something's got to be done to fight crime," but you can't be bothered to get involved .
You have no use for me at all, but of course it's OK if I change a flat for your wife, deliver your child in the back of the patrol car, or perhaps save your son's life with mouth-to-mouth breathing, or work many hours overtime looking for your lost daughter.
So, Mr.* Citizen, you can stand there on your soapbox, and rant and rave about the way I do my work, calling me every name in the book, but never stop to think
that your property, family, or maybe even* your life depends on me or one of my buddies.
Yes, Mr.* Citizen, it's me...the cop!

The author of this article was Trooper Mitchell Brown of the Virginia State Police.* He was killed in the line of duty two months after writing the article.*

Michael Marshall

Thanks for posting that, I'll be the first to admit that I'm guilty of acting like Mr. Citizen.

------------------
Rob Fix
'78 SC Targa

Mr Brown (et al) needs to understand that the vast majority of common tax payers never have a good experience with a policeman. When confronted by a cop they are not violent in any way. They should not be treated or talked to like a criminal because they are not criminals. The folks who fight or swear have crossed the line and should be dealt with accordingly.
Traffic cops here have removed the "To Protect and Serve" logo from their vehicles - because that is not their primary function. Their primary function is impromptu tax collection. Why would you expect anyone to be less than pissed about being held against their will in a roadblock and ticketed for no seatbelts or tinted windows? That is BULL****. The taxpayer is being slapped in the face with his own glove. Nowhere else but in traffic court are you guilty until proven innocent.
I was brought up on Dragnet and Adam 12. I thought cops were heros protecting us from the bad guys. It wasn't until I was older that they showed me what they really were. Bullies above the law.

As far as the front license plates you mentioned before, my attitude is sure it's the law, and I won't complain if I get pulled over for it once I put a new front bumper on. Other issues border on harassment, profiling, and RarlyL8's guilty until proven innocent. BTW do you EVER see cops using turn signals? It may sound frivolous, but I think there is something REALLY wrong with officers that don't us them. They are driving the speed limit, cruising, not on a call, yet they never flash their signals.

Keith
79 930

I guess the thing with the Police(man and women, don't forget) is that, as ever, it takes all sorts. The above Policeman sounded a decent folk and there are many more, of course, and then they're is not - just saw the footage of the Rodney King beating last night on TV, can't remember all the details, but I saw a beating of a person by many Police Officers. It take all sorts.....both Police and the Citizen....
Anthony

------------------
'75 911S Targa
'81 BMW Alpina C1 2.3
http://member.aol.com/asaffery/my911s.html

That's virginia...and I don't know when it was written. We as a nation are to blame for this. Cops are under total scrutiny, and remember, there's a whole faction of America that laughs when they die; I do have sympathy for the thin blue line ...

But I KNOW they don't want to pull over the people they ought to pull over. This is something you guys who don't live in LA won't understand.

There are carloads of people who could certainly be pulled over, but believe me, cops are nervous about it--as nervous as I am driving next to them.
I think it's easier to pull over a white guy in a nice car who's got business casual attire, than it is some guy, gang of kids who have don't **** with me attitude on their faces. There are easy tickets, and there are hard tickets.




------------------
Kurt B
'84 Carrera Cab.
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

AAWWWW............Whoa is me. Give me a break! We are talking traffic enforcement here. Fact is- the younger officers carry around 100 pound badges on their sleeves and are out to prove their dominance over the rest of us. They put up with all sorts of **** from scumbags and low-lives but the successful citizens don't stand a chance. I think they pick on people who care, like us, because there is less satisfaction in writing up someone who doesn't. Maybe on my next traffic stop I should just give the officer the I don't give a f#@k about getting a ticket attitude rather than acting all nervous and apoligetic. I don't like police officers-you are all guilty until proven innocent in my book! Show me some respect and character and maybe I'll give you my support and respect in return. AND NO! I WON'T BE SUPPORTING MY LOCAL FRATERNAL CHAPTER OF STATE TROOPERS ANYTIME SOON!

Let me just start off by saying that all this talk about cops thinking they are above the law and not giving a crap about the everyday citizen thoroughly sickens me. As usual, the people you make the most sacrifices to help others are the ones who become the scapegoats for all of society. I am well aware of this prejudice, since I have been in the military for over seven years. The military is to blame for all of society's evils as well as the national debt, or so every liberal group says. If one military member is convicted of misconduct, then of course we are all suspect. The same goes for cops. If one cop is bad, then of course all the thousands of law enforcement personnel in this country are bad. What a load of crap. This is one of the topics that I avoid discussing with my wife and her friends. They are all very liberal and blame the government and authorities for all life's troubles. All the troubles that graduate students from wealthy families have to endure. I also bear the brunt of their criticism since I am in the military and therefore, part of some huge conspiracy against the average citizen. There was an article in the local paper the other day about an officer who spent nearly three years undercover to expose huge gambling and organized crime rings. I see large numbers of law enforcement and military personnel who are very dedicated to their jobs and spend many hours of their off-time doing volunteer work. But of course the liberals consider these people to be the exception rather than the rule. My thought is if you get busted for breaking the law, tough crap. You can ***** all you want, but the only person to blame is yourself. Even if it's something as minor as not having a front license plate. You know the law, you willing violated it, now suffer the consequence. You wonder why cops are stressed out and have itchy trigger fingers. Maybe it's because they are worried about getting their heads blown off during a routine traffic stop or domestic call. This happens on a daily basis, but cops are still expected to keep their cool. This all points to a larger issue. The western culture has for several decades been heading to a point where we have no personal responsibility. We teach our kids that nothing is their fault and everyone else is to blame for their problems. We sue for anthing and everything in the hopes that our stupidity will result in a judge or jury feeling sorry for us and result in rewarding us with millions of dollars. We now have to have warning labels on everything from hot coffee to vehicles to remind us that if we are stupid, we will get injured. We are no longer responsible for anything we do. You should appreciate the people you put their lives on the line on a daily basis, so you don't have to. Oh yeah, and for once own up to your responsibilities. That's enough ranting and raving. The end.

------------------
'80 Targa

I think being an officer of the law is a nobel profession that seems to garner zero respect from most people these days.

I will be the first to admit I do not have the balls to go out there and fight scum bags all day... I would rather just shoot some of them than ask any questions. My opinion is that if a person runs just shoot them in the leg, no questions asked of the officer. Sick and tired of the scumbags having all the rights.

At least officers make a difference... I sometimes get that hollow feeling that the work I do is so inconsequential to the greater well being of society that why bother to do it anymore. Just making some other A** Hole rich.

Now I do agree that it is a real thorn in my ass when I get pulled over for a traffic BS offense and get treated like a friggen child mollester or worse. I agree that any traffic violation seems to be instantly assumed guilt and treated with no respect.

I hate to say it but in general VA has some of the meanest bastards for cops. Very few I met were anywhere close to respectful to the normal tax payer. SC and GA have much nicer law officers.

The greatest quote was in "Speed" when the dorky tourist guy on the bus (hitting on Sandra Bullock, also the swarmy guy on Spin City) said to the police "if we die you will have to take a pay cut"... Classic







------------------
Adrian Pillow
1979 911 SC
1966 VW Microbus
PCA - Peachstate Region

...I'm with Pillow and Radcon on this one. All you McVeighs out there need to chill.

When I get pulled over for some BS tax collection or quota ticket, and I make an effort to get out of it only to see that it is not working, you know what I do?

I give them a very large piece of my mind -- a super-size helping. I get irate with them. I tell them they are not doing their job right. I tell them the truth.

It sure as hell doesn't get me out of the ticket, but it makes me feel a lot better and has never (out of three times) resulted in additional BS being lumped onto the ticket. All of us hate that BS quota ticket for whatever.

I usually report them, fight the ticket and write a letter to the paper, as well. One time the judge lectured the guy for writing ridiculous tickets and set me free. It all makes you feel better than sitting there like an idiot, silent as he or she writes it up.

------------------
1969 911S Targa

OKay...I've been called an opinionated SOB before. Why not again? After all, those "no opinion" people are those who don't think. I've had police officers in my family. Cather Jasper, now deceased, my uncle. He served on the CHP out of Sacto for many years. I had nothing but respect for him. A family man willing to put his life on the line for others, and yes, write tickets. Tons of them over his lifetime, I'm sure. My cousins, Cather's sons, were also cops...one of them wounded in the line of duty, now on disability. Yes, I've been pissed about tickets...boy have I! Even had 5 cop cars in my driveway late one night, telling me that somebody had driven thru a radar trap at a buck thirty-seven, and they thought it could have been me. But you know...we NEED these guys. We really do. Decades ago, I drove my mother to a family reunion thing in Sacto. Cather looked at the windshield of my then new '65 Pontiac GTO, said: "Those are 85 mph bug smears, Paul. You DON'T want me to catch you driving your mom at 85." Whoops...
But MMARSH? How fast were your bug smears last weekend? Police reading this? I'm not sorry I bought a V-1....but thanks for your efforts in catching the bad guys.

A very good friend of mine is a "Mountie". I have heard him tell in a quiet voice of responding to domestic disputes (any peace officer's nightmare), working on a case for months and having it thrown out of court on some "violation of rights" claim and responding to fatal traffic accidents. Not for anything would I want his job. Nor if I had it could I do it with anything like his patience, determination and respect. I agree, there are, as in any profession, some you don't want to run across, but I would put my trust in any that came along. They are a special bunch of people. "Thanks Joe."
Les

There is a HUGE difference between a traffic cop and a detective. The traffic cops sole purpose for existence is revenue collection for the department. Very rare that anyone is actually "helped out". Who the hell wants to do that for a living? A power freak, that's who.
As for whining about putting your life on the line during a "routine" traffic stop, who the hell is that stupid? Why would anyone risk death for a burned out tail light? Take the monitary reward (fine) out of the equasion and see how fast the rate of traffic stops goes down.

Gosh! Isn't there anyone out there who respects police officers for doing their job? Their job is a tough and dangerous one. It is unfortunate that they sometimes must enforce regulations that are unpopular and there lies the problem. I'd much rather face a uniformed officer than an photo electronic speed device. There were years when I drove in excess of 60,000 miles and had cars that were radical and loud. Yeah, my driving would also get a little fast and I am appreciative of the lectures that I got. Some of these guys took the time to explain their jobs and most of the time they indicated that they were really pretty lenient because there were just too many people to pick on who would really do something stupid and obvious. It was probably the right combination, because it got me to be a more cautious and defensive in my driving. Most of my experience is with California and Michigan law enforcement officers. They have mostly been courteous and in one case in New York state, even helpful to the point of going twenty miles out of his way to aid me when I broke down. These are guys doing a job and usually when they stopped me, it was because I was not paying attention to things the way I should have been. I appreciated their wake up call in most instances. We don't like all the regulations out there, but that doesn't mean we have to go to war with the guys who police them. To all those out there when you are driving your bright red 911, you do stand out so you are going to get noticed. And if you are doing something wrong, you could get a bright light in your mirror. While I respect the officers, I'm getting more into stealth colors because the cars themselves already stand out too much, and I'm not a perfect angel.

Diverdan

Okay, Radcon, I'll respond to that.
In part you're right, but a certain kinds of people become cops, just as certain kinds of people do certain kinds of jobs.

I don't want to be a cop. Isn't in me. The kind of guy who becomes a cop is usually the same ***** who flushed sophomores' heads down the toilet in high school.

As they get older, they mellow, and like all people, they have good days and bad days. Catch a guy in a crappy mood, and it doesn't matter how you react, you're screwed and treated like a criminal.

And I'll say this about putting their butts on the line; please don't compare the Marine Corp to the Police department. That's like comparing Conan to Barney Fife.

During the LA riots, people were being beaten in the streets and the cops RAN. Like little p@ssies. Little girls, they ran. Store owners were left with whatever they could find to defend their own property and their lives, and citizens were at the mercy of thugs.

Hell, the cops will gang bang one 250lb guy on the side of the road and shove their nightsticks up his @ss, but when it came time to really protect the citizens from other citizens--when their moment of vehement truth arrived--they were no where to be seen. Never forgive em for that one...


------------------
Kurt B
'84 Carrera Cab.
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

[This message has been edited by Kurt B (edited 05-17-2001).]

Mcveighs?????

------------------
Robert Stoll
83 SC
83 944

I agree that most of these traffic stops are for small items like outdated tags, burned out lights, etc. These may sound insignificant. But what they do is enable the officer to pull the driver over and determine if there are any larger issues. These minor infractions are how they catch a lot of felons with outstanding warrants, people transporting drugs, drunk drivers, etc. The cops need to utilize these seemingly minor infractions as an excuse to see if there are any bigger things going on. And most of their bad attitudes stem from the fact that they have to take a lot of guff from people who feel the need to vent all their frustrations onto them for no reason, like you seem to 9X1. People keep giving them crap and just expect them to keep taking it without any recourse.

------------------
'80 Targa

Oh no, in another thread I was just posting about keeping this stuff in the OT Forum Wayne created for this kind of stuff - or better still a more appopriate BBS. But here we are again, spouting Politics and how Liberals are to blame, the Police are to blame, etc. etc.I give up! Maybe this shoud be a Porsche and Politics Forum.
Oh yeah, a quote from Pillow:
I will be the first to admit I do not have the balls to go out there and fight scum bags all day... I would rather just shoot some of them than ask any questions. My opinion is that if a person runs just shoot them in the leg, no questions asked of the officer
This is extreme, are you serious?? Maybe some people in LAPD might want to employ you....

------------------
'75 911S Targa
'81 BMW Alpina C1 2.3
http://member.aol.com/asaffery/my911s.html

Radcon has one good point. Being a cop is then something like being a teacher especially in light of

"People keep giving them crap and just expect them to keep taking it without any recourse."

That's true. But then, cops need to be screened like teachers do. I called a kid a 'retard,' got in trouble and quit; but he was driving me nuts and I couldn't handle it.

Cops don't "get in trouble" unless they blow some guy away who is running with his hands held high, stark naked, is shot 25 times by 4 different officers, and even then, there's going to be a hearing over all of it, and they'll probably assert the homicide was justified as it appeared the the guy was reaching for a gun stuffed in the crack of his @ss when the officers opened fire.




------------------
Kurt B
'84 Carrera Cab.
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com