Rant about police- Update- Dismissed!

[Chicken Salad]

Quote:
Well said. No quotas. And my son gives folks 19 miles over before he lights them up.

Buster - if your wife decides to fight the ticket - here's a clue:
Let her fight the ticket. The judge/Sheriff will consider you butting into the business of the court.
Use plain, impassionate speech to describe what you perceive to be the issue. It's a cliche - but it's all about FACTS. Facts are what matter in a court of law.
And one of those facts is that the cop is a sworn officer of the court.

There could have been a complaint and so enforcement was high and tight on that road that day.

Do most places have the "guilty with explanation" plea for a moving violation? I got my first ticket in 31 years of driving in '06. I had received a phone call from my sister - that our mother's labs had come back with a terminal dx and I had to get across 2 counties to be at the hospital when they told her. I was on the phone and shot at 46 in a 25. The deputy saw my record, saw me crying and knocked it to 41 in a 25. He told me he wouldn't be at court and to plea guilty with explanation - which I did and got a pbj and no points.

And, no - I didn't play the "cop's mom" card.

Good luck with it.

 

[dacjohns]

Sounds like you were in that university town about 3 hours south of you. Maybe you had a rookie cop trying to exert his authority.

 

[Buster]

Quote:
Ok thanks for that. I truly have had some really good experiences with law enforcement that have made up for a whole lot of bad ones (mostly from when I was younger). LOL

Thanks Chicken Salad- I won't try to go to court FOR my wife, that's out of the question. But if she goes down to the sheriff's department, I'm going to have to go with her to keep the peace. I know this because I've been down similar paths with her before.

At any rate, thanks for letting me vent. It helps to get these things in the air sometimes and bounce them off of people. I'll keep everyone updated on what happens.

 

[Buster]

Quote:

I don't know about that- this guy said the speed limit had been posted on that road for longer than as he had been an officer here and went on to explain that that he had worked for the department for 13 years.

 

[Sissy]

Allow ur Dw to do the explaining and do have her fight it.

 

[Mahonri]

Wow Jared, I'd almost hire an attorney who you know can calmly make this cop look like a jerk in front of the judge.

I'd also make a formal complaint against the officer.

 

[spatcher]

For those of you who say there are no quotas or that quotas are illegal, dont kid yourelves. As a police dispatcher for 20 years I can attest to the fact that they are alive and well. Usually the court is the one that puts pressure on the Chief to enforce it to increase revenues for the city/town etc. Ive seen cops removed from patrol and stuck in booking for not writing tickets. There are good tickets and bad tickets and this is obviously a bad one. If you cant be civil to the cop, pay the ticket! It will be cheaper in the long run. Make an appointment with him ahead of time and state your case to give him a chance to void it. Be very careful how you present your case.
Tim

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I can't tell you the number of times my SO has had what amounts to the same thing screamed at him by the driver of a car he's just stopped; sometimes before he's even had a chance to exit his patrol car.
He just smiles at them and says nothing as he hands them back their purse, wallet, briefcase, cell phone, you name it that they drove off and left sitting on the roof of their car.
Not every cop is assigned to traffic patrol. Some are detectives, others are in the schools keeping your kids safe.
Everyone wants a cop around when they've been robbed, had their car stolen, have a kid missing, etc. No one wants them around when they are the ones breaking the law.

 

[Buster]

Quote:
I can't tell you the number of times my SO has had what amounts to the same thing screamed at him by the driver of a car he's just stopped; sometimes before he's even had a chance to exit his patrol car.
He just smiles at them and says nothing as he hands them back their purse, wallet, briefcase, cell phone, you name it that they drove off and left sitting on the roof of their car.
Not every cop is assigned to traffic patrol. Some are detectives, others are in the schools keeping your kids safe.
Everyone wants a cop around when they've been robbed, had their car stolen, have a kid missing, etc. No one wants them around when they are the ones breaking the law.

I know you weren't directing this comment at me, but I'd like you to know that I've personally stopped sheriff's deputies that I see at the gas station or watching the road in front of my house just to thank them for patrolling for speeders on our road. I tell them how much I appreciate it because so many people think they need to go super fast down my road because it eventually leads to a freeway. I go out of my way to make sure they know that we appreciate their work there. I guess that's one of the things that frustrates me about this situation- we make it a point to go the speed limit around here and despite that, DW still gets busted and wasn't even in the wrong.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
I can't tell you the number of times my SO has had what amounts to the same thing screamed at him by the driver of a car he's just stopped; sometimes before he's even had a chance to exit his patrol car.
He just smiles at them and says nothing as he hands them back their purse, wallet, briefcase, cell phone, you name it that they drove off and left sitting on the roof of their car.
Not every cop is assigned to traffic patrol. Some are detectives, others are in the schools keeping your kids safe.
Everyone wants a cop around when they've been robbed, had their car stolen, have a kid missing, etc. No one wants them around when they are the ones breaking the law.

THAT!....THAT!...

....

....

.....THAT!...thanks gritsar!..and please thank your SO for putting HIS life on the line EVERY day that he goes to work to protect us!....please let him know that he is respected by many people...and to please not lose heart for the job!..., Wendy