self improtant cops

[fattie20xl]

now, i'm not going to get into an argument over what causes some cops to be bullies/self important/hypocrite rule breakers or whatever. most cops are ok, and they all have stressful jobs etc.

remember, i operate the scale/ gates for a paper recycling plant....

today i get a black pimpmobile looking car come up with full on sirens and lights flashing trying to cut a line of about 15 sanitation trucks pushing to get in. so i open the exit gate and motion for them to come in thinking "OH MY GOD!!! SOMONE'S GOT SHOT!" and when they come they say "oh hi! we're here to destroy some documents...." (which is a service we provide)

they decided that they didn't want to wait on line like everyone else, including the 15 plus sanitation workers who all equally want/deserve to get done with their workday and go home to their families and beers and start the weekend.... they also decided that they're more important than everyone else, more valuable...

lemme tell ya somthing...

if the garbage men didn't pick up the garbage we'd be in just as much trouble as if the cops didn't arrest criminals...

[unholypet]

That's no joke. I have a few around my work area that just decide since they're in uniform, they need free food and constantly try to scam us out of it.

That's horrible, and even worse propositioning the obviously under 18 staff members.

[donruss]

I hear you on the suck of that. It only takes a few with the EW syndrome to mess it up for everyone else. Some of the Sheriff deputies around here would years ago stop at a red light like normal and then all of a sudden put their lights on, cross the intersection and once across, flip their lights off and continue about their merry way. I have not seen any of them do that for a few years now. I think they got so many complaints about that. I know I did my share of griping about it.

[CancelMyService]

I don't know what significance it might have had, but when I did my time at the local convenience store by far the biggest spenders on lotto tickets were the cops that stopped in.

[SuperB]

I'm not sure I agree with the suck factor on this one. Them sitting in line means one less car patroling the streets which means one less response should something in their area happen not to mention the usual rise in speeding/accidents when there are no visible patrol cars in the area.
I don't know what your area is like or how many patrol cars are typically assigned but in our area, we have one that comes through most shifts but not all. (chp is the only constant, we don't have city police and the sheriff doesn't usually patrol this area) If someone/something takes the one we have away from our area for something unnecessary it means a longer response time.

[CancelMyService]

The story in the original post was clearly cops not wanting to wait in line like everyone else. It's no different IMO than flashing your badge and expecting special treatment. They made a major fuss just to avoid having to wait in line, which would be unquestionably SC behavior if it was anyone not a police officer.

Not to mention in most places using your lights and sirens incorrectly like that is a major no-no.

[Pagan]

today i get a black pimpmobile looking car come up with full on sirens and lights flashing trying to cut a line of about 15 sanitation trucks pushing to get in.

Them sitting in line means one less car patroling the streets which means one less response should something in their area happen not to mention the usual rise in speeding/accidents when there are no visible patrol cars in the area.

From the description of the car though, it doesn't sound like an actual cruiser. You know, like this: http://www.dishonestjohns.com/images/JM2435.jpg
And most departments aren't going to take someone off patrol to go do that. There are plenty of other people at the substations, etc., that can go do this.

Around here, speeding/accidents aren't influenced in the slightest whether police cruisers are visible or not. Mainly because of the stunts others have listed here. Not to mention sometimes, the cops are the ones speeding. And there's no way there's that many of them on silent runs!

[protege]

Some of the Sheriff deputies around here would years ago stop at a red light like normal and then all of a sudden put their lights on, cross the intersection and once across, flip their lights off and continue about their merry way.

Quite a few of the city cops do that. They simply don't want to wait for the lights. With a reputation like that, it's no wonder why nobody gets out of their way.

[SuperB]

If it wasn't an actual patrol car on duty then they could have waited. But if it was a patrol car on duty, I disagree and feel they had every right to hurry through and get back on the job.

[crazylegs]

I'm not sure I agree with the suck factor on this one. Them sitting in line means one less car patroling the streets which means one less response should something in their area happen not to mention the usual rise in speeding/accidents when there are no visible patrol cars in the area.

I'll have to respectfully diagree with your opinion I'm afraid, its a simple abuse of power, even though the police have to patrol they cannot abuse their position of authority, and hey, while they're sat in their car they can eyball a lot more people and run some plates, it all counts as patrol, whether it be Hi visibility or covert.

[aurelemsrealm]

I work at one of the busiest convenience stores in town. The only freebie we offer to police and other types of emergency service workers is free coffee or fountain drinks, but they only get that when they're on duty. Otherwise, we treat them like regular customers. They pay for everything else like any customer. The ones who frequent our store seem to be respectful enough not to flash their badges and expect special treatment. I do like having the intermittent police presence in the store as it helps keep the bad element away. They'll usually get their stuff, chat a couple of minutes, and be on their way. So, I'm on good terms with our local police and emergency workers. As one of the cops said, I stay on top of the coffee, but some of my coworkers will let it sit for hours on end if none of the customers drink it.

[Rahmota]

I'll agree that didnt sound quite right in the OP. Dont they have a shredder or somethign back at the HQ? If it was something in the car they needed to destroy then they could have just held on to it until they got back to base or something.

And as for sitting at a red light way back when I was in trainign to be a peace officer the officer I was riding with would use that time to either run radar on the people passing through the intersection (on the highway intersection) run plates on the guy in front of him, or generally catch up on a few radio calls /notes or just observe the people around the place. You could actually see people double check their seatbelts and make sure they had their turn signals in placve and such.

And besides which it is part of their patrolling job to be seen in an area. And peace officers are required by law to obey traffic controls just like anyone else unless they are responding to a call. So a red light means the same to an officer as it does to us. or at least its supposed to.

Sad thign is power corrupts and if a person has even the slightest inclination towards corruption and taint they will be tempted to abuse their power. A hard trait to train out of people.

[smileyeagle1021]

I hate the people who call in asking for a room with a police officer/fire fighter/emt/insert job here, discount. Then they get upset when I tell them those discounts are only available if they are traveling on business for (insert which agency they worked for), ie, police officer coming in for a court date or training, or fire fighters coming in to assist in a large fire fighting effort (ie, SD fires), or emts coming in for training, etc etc... otherwise, they are off duty and are no different than every other citizen in this country.

[Gurndigarn]

I'm not sure I agree with the suck factor on this one. Them sitting in line means one less car patroling the streets which means one less response should something in their area happen not to mention the usual rise in speeding/accidents when there are no visible patrol cars in the area.

They have radios. They're close to their vehicles. But they're losing points on is public relations. Serious points. If the people of a city are behind their police force, they need to spend a lot less on keeping visible, because they don't need to be as visible.

The town I grew up in had little respect for the police. And yeah, they were the type to push to the front of the line, or run red lights with their lights on. They didn't get a lot of support from the people.

It's distinctly different where I live now. Cops don't act egotistical, and they get more help from the locals. The judicial system is really well organized, so there's a lot more respect for it.

Head down the road to BigNearbyTown, and the cops are complete pricks. And as a result, they end up in national news far more often than they would like.

[Imogene]

Some of the Sheriff deputies around here would years ago stop at a red light like normal and then all of a sudden put their lights on, cross the intersection and once across, flip their lights off and continue about their merry way.

Hell, that was the fastest way to get anywhere in Police Quest 1. The game wasn't programmed to realize you weren't chasing someone, and it wouldn't check to see that you were breaking the law then.