Cops: Above the Law???

[brianhunter]

Originally posted by clapping_tiger
I agree with this statement also, I am very thankful that most of the police do their job, and do it well in my community. The problem I have is off duty hours. Some of the younger officers (early to late twenties) drink (heavily) and drive, and I have even heard rumors of marijuana use(I find it a little hard to believe, you would think they get tested regularly). I have seen the drinking and driving, but I have not seen first hand the drug usage. I have been told by one of my friends that they enjoy hanging out with these guys because it is a get out of jail free card. I don't know if there is any truth to that, but I have never seen a cop in the paper getting a fine or a revocation because of drunk driving. Kind of makes me wonder...

Sometimes thats about perception, I will meet someone not work related and hang out and once they find out Im a police officer the first thing out of their mouth is "so I wont get a ticket speeding if I know you right?" I didnt bring it up, but they went there. The only privalege I ever enjoyed as far as jail is calling one of the deputies (close friend) that I know and telling him to go tell my little brother who was arrested to not be acting like a dumbass because hell get more charges and to call me when he can bond out. If that is even a privalege I guess.
My dept. we have had officers fired for DUI, the county I work within there was a deputy arrested for driving drunk and the sheriff himself showed up at the intoxilizer testing to see the results personally needless to say that deputy was canned. There was also a deputy arrested for domestic violence and fired (you cant carry a gun in KS if you are convicted of DV)
But honestly the best solution is to go ride a long with an officer if the dept has that program or get the facts and make a PROFESSIONAL inquisitive call to a supervisor dont call up "I SAW THAT SOB BLOW A LIGHT AND SPEEDING AND I WANT HIS DAMNED BADGE" that will get you written off faster than anything.
There are checks and balances for anything and some people can get away with a lot of things forever but it will eventually catch up with them (the officer that got the dui and fired is one of them)
Most officers I know are so liability conscience now a days they would be afraid to let a drunk go if an accident would of occured after the stop and it is found out guess whos liable and could have prevented that accident? Food for thought

 

[lvwhitebir]

Originally posted by Technopunk
I stand by that question... Why wouldnt it be OK for me to speed, providing I claimed I was trying to prevent a crime???

In most states you can only perform a citizen's arrest for felonies. Speeding or running a red light doesn't count. In some states, if you capture the guy and turn him in, he has the right to sue you (which can win if the case against him isn't good). This is in place so I can't just haul my neighbor up on trumped up charges and get away with it.

WhiteBirch

 

[Cryozombie]

Interestingly enough... I just found out I CAN pursue a suspected drunk driver, providing I have a cell phone and am on the line with the police, untill a cop arrives to continue the "pursuit". If the person WAS drunk... I get 100 bucks.

 

[Seig]

Originally posted by Technopunk
Interestingly enough... I just found out I CAN pursue a suspected drunk driver, providing I have a cell phone and am on the line with the police, untill a cop arrives to continue the "pursuit". If the person WAS drunk... I get 100 bucks.

Just think, if you get 2 a night five nights a week, you can quit your day job!

 

[OULobo]

This thread has motivated me. My community has a PR program called Community Police Academy. It involves interacting with the local police once a week for 3 hours for 12 weeks. They cover community relations, SWAT, firearms, K-9, self-defence, DUI, patrol, traffic and dispatch. There is also a ride along. I signed up this week. I figure this may be an opportunity to see exactly what some of the things the police do are, not to mention it sounds like just a cool idea.

 

[theletch1]

OUlobo, great idea. Get involved in your community policing and see just what these guys go through on a regular basis. Truck drivers turn in drunk drivers all the time. We can't chase them down but we can keep the chase going from truck to truck with the C.B. radio and a cell phone call to the cops. Drunks are only the tip of the iceberg that you see on the road. I've seen people passing joints back and forth in the front seat, cruising along with liquor bottles in their laps and a LOT of stuff going on at 65 or 70 miles an hour that I just can't write here. (Remember, folks, the cab of a truck sits a good deal higher than the passenger compartment of your car )

 

[jeffkyle]

Originally posted by theletch1
OUlobo, great idea. Get involved in your community policing and see just what these guys go through on a regular basis. Truck drivers turn in drunk drivers all the time. We can't chase them down but we can keep the chase going from truck to truck with the C.B. radio and a cell phone call to the cops. Drunks are only the tip of the iceberg that you see on the road. I've seen people passing joints back and forth in the front seat, cruising along with liquor bottles in their laps and a LOT of stuff going on at 65 or 70 miles an hour that I just can't write here. (Remember, folks, the cab of a truck sits a good deal higher than the passenger compartment of your car )

The life of a truck driver....Must be pretty interesting!

 

[dearnis.com]

This thread has motivated me. My community has a PR program called Community Police Academy

I'm glad to hear you are taking advantage of this. I think you will have a lot of fun, but also have your eyes opened. I often recommend our department's program (we call it the citizens academy) to individuals with questions or issues about how and why we do things.

I would actually ask that you post a review when you are finished the course. I think it would be more constructive than this thread has been.

Chad

 

[theletch1]

The life of a truck driver....Must be pretty interesting

The good stuff is not as frequent as it could be to make it all that interesting. I averaged 120,000 miles a year when I ran long haul. That's a lot of time alone, dealing with hyper-restrictive regulations, people in cars who have no idea how to interact with trucks, a growing trend towards new truckers who don't have any idea how to be a real driver (safety, courtesy) and an increase in vehicle traffic on the interstates that make even driving at night a pain. I'm one of the lucky ones. I have a dedicated run. It's 425 miles a night, five nights a week. I get home daily (when I was long haul I was gone 3 weeks at a time) and I have weekends off.

 

[jeffkyle]

Originally posted by theletch1
The good stuff is not as frequent as it could be to make it all that interesting. I averaged 120,000 miles a year when I ran long haul. That's a lot of time alone, dealing with hyper-restrictive regulations, people in cars who have no idea how to interact with trucks, a growing trend towards new truckers who don't have any idea how to be a real driver (safety, courtesy) and an increase in vehicle traffic on the interstates that make even driving at night a pain. I'm one of the lucky ones. I have a dedicated run. It's 425 miles a night, five nights a week. I get home daily (when I was long haul I was gone 3 weeks at a time) and I have weekends off.

Besides the long, weird hours....Of course!

 

[M F]

I stand by that question... Why wouldnt it be OK for me to speed, providing I claimed I was trying to prevent a crime???

Many jurisdictions have conditions that allow you to commit minor offenses in order to prevent more serious offenses or apprehend offenders. An example would be the case you cited, where you speed to keep up with an intoxicated driver, while reporting the incident to police. You may be able to use this defense in the event you take down and restrain(assault) an individual who was assaulting another individual. Or forcibly taking keys(theft) from someone about to drive while intoxicated.

disclaimer: I am not an attorney, so don't take my word for it. Check your local regulations before doing any of these things.

 

[Aaron]

You guys are all right. I wish I could say something more profound than that but I'm at the tail end of a 20 hour day. I thought the conversation was going to turn south on LEO there for a minute but it pulled out nicely.

My thanks to Mr. Hunter for explaining our side of the story. As for the citizen academy thing, they are a lot of fun. I regularly teach meth lab stuff at our departments citizen academy and really enjoy the type of people that show up. I would recommend it to anyone interested in what it's like to be on the other side of the flashing lights. I'm impressed that some of you went exploring law enforcement after reading this.

If any of you guys are in my neck of the woods let me know, you can ride out with me any time!

Like I said, you all are all right!

Aaron

PS-I'm going home now to see if my family remembers who I am!

 

[brianhunter]

Originally posted by Aaron
PS-I'm going home now to see if my family remembers who I am!

Yeah I had a family once.....I cant remember where they went after I got the 11pm-7am shift with weds thurs off LOL Keep the faith man