Police

Ok so i decided to start this from a recent thread reguarding an undeserved ticket..i for one think cops have better things to worry about than worrying about writing a ticket to Burly for not knowing the ciry ordinances..

With that being said, im not alowed to vote this election (not like i would) due to some consequences...yes, i kicked the $*** out of a drug dealer, who happened to be dating my sister..ok.

I strongly believe police are better off spending their time tracking career criminals..those who commit rape and sell drugs should be more sought after than civialians that jwalk n speed..yes in my town there are more cops looking for jwalkers than there are cops chasing the crack dealers n drunk drivers..
Also stop creeping up on us scrappers as we are out on our runs as crackhead scrubs..


i have great respect for this country as i come from a family w a military background, but POLICE get real..

Any comments welcome..lets roll w this

Just remember it is their job to enforce the laws. They do not make the laws. The ones you should be upset with is the lawmakers.

I have to agree with thristy unforuntely. i spent 7 yrs on the wrong side of the law. Its merly a tool for the police to pull over scrappers to see if they are tweakers or thieves. I am in the process of getting my permit. I have been pulled over 5 times for scrapping. I didnt receive any tickets. They just wanted to see that I had license,Insurance, no stolen items and wasent a ileagle immagrent. now when those same officers see me out they will even tell me. " next block over theres some good scrap". I have even gotten a fridge and stove from officers asking if i wld pick it up from them. There really not bad guys. they have a job to do. also you shld be happy about this. It will weed out a good bit of the bad scrappers and leave more scrap for us good guys.

thirsty keep up the good work. Even tho im a EX-con I have always had most respect for officers its a dangerous job. Stay safe out there

p.s. also sorry about my spelling and grammer.. hope theres not a spelling bee at the end anywhere

We all know there are good and bad in any group. The difference is in that some groups get the benefit of the doubt. I once mentioned here that when I was 12 years old, a cop stopped me and gave me grief for garbage picking. Thankfully the apartment manager came out and went to bat for me. Afterwards my mom and dad also went to the police station to see what happened. The cop was given the full benefit of the doubt that what he did was right and no harm in getting physical and verbal with a scrawny little kid poking in garbage bins.

The reality and lesson taught to a 12 year old; life isn't fair, trust no one.

I've also had friends and family that are police. Some are truely great caring people, others are real a holes. Like I said, all groups have good and bad.

Originally Posted by thirsty

Snip...

Now for the obvious. People steal things. Anything thats not bolted down. Now more than ever ferrous and non-ferrous metal have become the target to all types of thieves from those who abuse drugs and alcohol to those who just wish to make a little money on the side. Do you have any idea how many homes are being broken into and the copper piping ripped out of, water running and all? Its distrubing! What would your reaction be if you had a for sale sign (or not) on your front lawn and came home to a flooded house and $8,000 worth of damage done? Right, i thought so. And what would you do next? Right i thought so, call a cop. And what would the first thing that cop would do? Right, I thought so, he would go to the local scrap yards and request to see who had recently sold 200 lbs of #2 pipe for $500+ . Then what would he do? He would hopefully be able to identify the perp because the local scrap yard would have taken proper identification (or asked to see his scrapping permit) from the perp before purchasing said non- ferrous material. Then, as long as the DA's office is on board, the perp can be charged with criminal possession of stolen property, burglary etc and face some jail time. But come one guys, we all know this. Why harp on it. Ill be honest, I have yet to be stopped in my truck, pulling my trailer, with a load of scrap yet. And please dont be stupid enough to say "Yeah, because your a cop!" I have to drive between sometimes 5 jurisdictions and sometimes into another state to relieve of my scrap for the most profit. My truck does not say "Im on the job" alongside the door alerting other cops who I am. Its because my load is properly secured, my lights work, my truck is properly inspected and deemed to be road worthy and unfortunaley, I'm not overloaded. I dont know what to tell you.

The only issue I myself have with the laws regarding scrap, is the number of licenses and amount of money that's required. The only people that are going to get those licenses and spend that money, are the law-abiding ones. The ones that break the law and steal copper out of a house, aren't going to then go and get a license to try and sell it. I don't mind things like the photo of the person with their vehicle (license plate visible), or the copy of the driver's license... stuff like that though.

I am sorry for the long post, but all of the recent anti cop bashing bulls#*t has gotten me a little worried here. I have grown very thick skin over the past 17 years, trust me. But when I see or hear hard working honest men and women blaming other people for their own mistakes, it kind of rubs me the wrong way. Yes 40,000 laws were passed last year. Thats is obsured! No doubt. But take the time to know the laws that apply to you as the professional and heed them. A judge will never throw a case out of court because of ignorance on your behalf (I did not know it was illegal). They will give the same advice I did after rendering his verdict . I just recently posted about how I did not know about a local ordinance in a town I drove through. The same would apply to me. Ok, Im late for the gym now. No donuts for me, shocking I know. Be safe out there folks, its a crazy world!

The following isn't pointed at you in particular, just a general comment about law enforcement.

The cop bashing I think has to do with you all being the "face" of the "industry". It's similar to when I was a cashier at a gas station and the gas prices skyrocketed. I was the one that got the complaints, despite not being able to do anything about them.
The other problem, is the "Us Vs Them" mentality that a lot of cops seem to take, the older cops, the ones that respect the people rights, and do things like de-escalate a situation, etc.. are now retiring or are close to retiring. The ones taking their place have been raised in a war-like atmosphere, "War on Drugs", where the mission is to make the enemy submit to your will, then there's things like asset forfeiture laws that are being abused, the "contempt of cop" that's now spreading, things like that.

You say to just find the laws that pertain to us and heed them, like I wrote in the other post, that would be a little more than 2 laws per day on average, which may not seem like much, but when you're trying to read and understand legalese... that's the part that takes time, and the whole time you're doing this, reading and studying the laws that just passed, you know that come next January you're gonna be doing it all over again. I'd even say that it's **** near impossible for the cops to know what the laws are that just passed, and they're the ones that are supposed to be enforcing them.

I realize there are still good cops out there, you seem to be one of them, but it's the bad cops that are giving you all a bad name, and when their punishment consists of time off and a paycheck... it doesn't make for good public relations.

Good and bad in all, agreed. I have had my fair share of run in with cops as a youth that really made me think twice. I just made me the better person I would hope. My best advice, be polite, be professional (even if the l.e.o. is not) and have faith. In my opinion, these laws are just going to strangle us until a real solution is found. Stay thirsty my friends.

The other problem, is the "Us Vs Them" mentality that a lot of cops seem to take, the older cops, the ones that respect the people rights, and do things like de-escalate a situation, etc.. are now retiring or are close to retiring. The ones taking their place have been raised in a war-like atmosphere, "War on Drugs", where the mission is to make the enemy submit to your will, then there's things like asset forfeiture laws that are being abused, the "contempt of cop" that's now spreading, things like that.

My man, there is a war out there. The "us vs them" attitude does exist. Why do you think that is though? I see you are a veteran. Respect. I am doing a background investigation on a former Marine who held the rank of staff sergeant and valiantly served 3 tours in combat, if I am not mistaking. He too has the "us vs them mentality" and this mentality will follow him right into his police work. But the truth of the fact is, this mentality will KEEP HIM ALIVE! It will make him suspicious of people he should be suspicious of. I hate to say it, but I am suspicious of everyone as should you be. Do me a favor, find this book and if you married, have a girlfriend, mother, sisiter, have them read it too. It is called The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. I think anyone can benefit from it. It is not Mayberry anymore. Look at those poor folks in Colorado trying to watch a movie. There are BAD people out there that have been planning and dreaming of killing cops, dads, moms, kids, etc. Be honest, you dont have that mentality as well?

I am confused as to your comment of time off with a check, please clarify. If you are refering to paid suspension or paid leave until completion of an investigation, why not?? In my experience, when an officer is found to have violated departmental rules and regs, the punishments can vary from loss of vacation time to suspension without pay to termination.

Originally Posted by thirsty

T Do me a favor, find this book and if you married, have a girlfriend, mother, sisiter, have them read it too. It is called The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. I think anyone can benefit from it. It is not Mayberry anymore. Look at those poor folks in Colorado trying to watch a movie. There are BAD people out there that have been planning and dreaming of killing cops, dads, moms, kids, etc. Be honest, you dont have that mentality as well?

Saw this, checked my local library via the Internet, and have a copy in my hands right now. Will be reading it over the next few days. Thanks for the recommendation.

Originally Posted by ggariepy

Saw this, checked my local library via the Internet, and have a copy in my hands right now. Will be reading it over the next few days. Thanks for the recommendation.

Enjoy, some pretty enlighting stuff in there.

all well said on both sides. we need to remember police officers are just human and like us are made of all types and dispositions. I am not predjudice against police or any group no mater what ethnicity or job, But I am a biggit, A dis like all A holes no mater what job or ethnicity or color. and true it is not the law enforcer but the law maker. if all enforcement and law maker just adheared to the constitition and apply some common sence we would all be better off. my grattitude goes to Sheriff Frank Mc Kitchen of bay county Florida. a strict law enforcer and a Constitutionaslist. and all others who follow this line of action and thinking.

Originally Posted by thirsty

The other problem, is the "Us Vs Them" mentality that a lot of cops seem to take, the older cops, the ones that respect the people rights, and do things like de-escalate a situation, etc.. are now retiring or are close to retiring. The ones taking their place have been raised in a war-like atmosphere, "War on Drugs", where the mission is to make the enemy submit to your will, then there's things like asset forfeiture laws that are being abused, the "contempt of cop" that's now spreading, things like that.

My man, there is a war out there. The "us vs them" attitude does exist. Why do you think that is though? I see you are a veteran. Respect. I am doing a background investigation on a former Marine who held the rank of staff sergeant and valiantly served 3 tours in combat, if I am not mistaking. He too has the "us vs them mentality" and this mentality will follow him right into his police work. But the truth of the fact is, this mentality will KEEP HIM ALIVE! It will make him suspicious of people he should be suspicious of. I hate to say it, but I am suspicious of everyone as should you be. Do me a favor, find this book and if you married, have a girlfriend, mother, sisiter, have them read it too. It is called The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. I think anyone can benefit from it. It is not Mayberry anymore. Look at those poor folks in Colorado trying to watch a movie. There are BAD people out there that have been planning and dreaming of killing cops, dads, moms, kids, etc. Be honest, you dont have that mentality as well?

The difference is you're not fighting an enemy, when you're in a war, the idea is to make the other person submit. Either by killing people, or breaking things... Police aren't there to make the populace submit, they're there to keep the peace when laws are broken, but this idea of fighting a war is just leading down a dead end road with only one outcome.

While I agree that being a cop is a dangerous profession, it's also something you signed up for, just like when I signed up for the military, I knew I could come home in a box, that still didn't mean I could shoot a guy because he might have a grenade. While I also agree that you should be cautious, maybe even a bit fearful... You still have to keep in mind that it's not a war, as much as a lot of cops might want to believe it is.

The SSgt you're background checking is part of the problem, he's probably a great SSgt... but he's gonna be stuck in war mentally as it's all he knows, a lot of former military are. Over there, the enemy has no rights, there are no laws.... etc.

I have no issue with being suspicious of things, I am myself.. if something doesn't feel right, then I do what I can to get rid of the feeling. That doesn't consist of violating rights and laws, and yes there are crazy people out there willing to do things like that, but they will always be there. The only thing we can do is minimize the damage from people like that. IE... allowing CCW carriers to bring their weapons with them into the theater.

I am confused as to your comment of time off with a check, please clarify. If you are refering to paid suspension or paid leave until completion of an investigation, why not?? In my experience, when an officer is found to have violated departmental rules and regs, the punishments can vary from loss of vacation time to suspension without pay to termination.

Here's an example, Daniel Harless a Canton, Ohio officer.

Canton cop threatens to execute driver over weapons permit*|*Raw Replay

That video is apparently just one of the 3 that I can find mention of, it's the one that got him fired but only after it went public. He apparently also had a pattern of incidents like these. Why was he still on the force after the first?

I would expect that kind of reaction in a warzone... not a neighborhood.


Then you have what seems like the endless supply of SWAT raids that end up with someone dead and it's the wrong house, very rarely is there any punishment for their actions. Those officers even end up with medals sometimes...

SWAT Officers get Medals- but they raided the wrong house! // Current TV

But it seems like every week there's another officer getting put on paid leave for something, some incidents by the officers are justified, but some cross the line and it seems like even when they cross the line, they simply get a paid vacation till it all blows over, unless it ends up on Youtube, then something gets done. Such as Harless, or the BART officer that shot a guy in the back...

Back when I was an E-3 I was giving orders & side arm aswell as my T.C. armed & 2 rear guards armed aswell . We had 216 m16a1's in the back of 5ton the E-7 told me don't stop for anything ....a state police cruiser decided he wanted to stop me I didn't ...he tryed a pit move on me ...so I run he into grass middle divider he then stayed back till we got to the gate ....I pulled throw the gate dropped out out of 5ton told D.O.D. disarm him then afterwards I explained that the cop was trying to make me a target ...long story short the bad cops do loss there jobs

Originally Posted by Sarge

Back when I was an E-3 I was giving orders & side arm aswell as my T.C. armed & 2 rear guards armed aswell . We had 216 m16a1's in the back of 5ton the E-7 told me don't stop for anything ....a state police cruiser decided he wanted to stop me I didn't ...he tryed a pit move on me ...so I run he into grass middle divider he then stayed back till we got to the gate ....I pulled throw the gate dropped out out of 5ton told D.O.D. disarm him then afterwards I explained that the cop was trying to make me a target ...long story short the bad cops do loss there jobs

I'm sorry, but the mental image of a cop trying to pit a 5-ton is hilarious.

This was around 2300 the ONE STAR didn't show up till 0800 ...D.O.D. don't play nice his sit in holding the hold time & looked like a beat puppy when I looked at him at 0900 ....mind you I was 18 years old just out of air assault school 6'5" 230lbs &ready for war b4 I know war is and Allways will be hell

Originally Posted by Sarge

Back when I was an E-3 I was giving orders & side arm aswell as my T.C. armed & 2 rear guards armed aswell . We had 216 m16a1's in the back of 5ton the E-7 told me don't stop for anything ....a state police cruiser decided he wanted to stop me I didn't ...he tryed a pit move on me ...so I run he into grass middle divider he then stayed back till we got to the gate ....I pulled throw the gate dropped out out of 5ton told D.O.D. disarm him then afterwards I explained that the cop was trying to make me a target ...long story short the bad cops do loss there jobs

If you say so.

As a veteran i respect police but alot of them abuse their power. I was pulled over for not signaling on a straight street than i get a letter saying i also got a ticket for no insurance. the cop never gave me the physical ticket and he sure as hell didnt ask for my insurance. Another time i was pulled over, cop saw my Semper Fi sticker on the car and asked if i served i said yes sir, he said okay thanks for your service , slow down a little around here. so it goes either way in any profession its just that cops do have alot of power over certain things and thats why their under a microscope all the time.