wheres that jester

 

"What are you, a cop?" also works well. lol

 

Agreed, there is a huge difference between being tough and just being a jerk. My uncle is a policeman and he is a great, fair, honest guy. Yet he tells me stories of the unreasonable a-hole cops on his squad. Just cause your a cop and you do encounter some people who are rude or non complient doesn't mean that gives you the right to approach everyone that way. Simply put, you can't please everyone and not everyone is nice.

 

There are good and bad in every profession and there are some cops that own Mustangs and are founding members of this board. There is even one on this board that drove a Mustang Police Interceptor for 5 years....and smoked um' down like John Force every chance he got!!!

 

I'm glad to see all of the positive attitudes towards the various Police officers. I would say 9 our of 10 that I meet are pretty **** awesome people who put up with more than I could imagine.

 

When I was younger (and poorer), the police were always harassing me. I once got a ticket for 56 in a 55 zone while driving to work in the morning. But that's just the start.

Another time, one of my headlights blew out while I was driving at night. At the moment it winked out, a police office was driving in the oncoming lane and saw it. He promptly pulled me over and wrote me a ticket. I was fuming, but kept my mouth shut and said "yes sir". I then turned around and drove home (it was too late to buy another headlight) and I was stopped again and given a second ticket for burned out headlight.

Another time, I was pulled over for having a crooked license plate. I went to the back of the car and it was on with only one bolt, but barely tilted. I straightened it out on the spot, and the officer (amazingly) let me go with a warning.

Funny- once I got my first decent paying job and bought a decent car, all of my problems with police vanished. It seems that they were targeting me because I looked very young (probably looked 15 when I was 19) and was driving junkers- figuring that I probably couldn't afford to fight the tickets. They were right- I couldn't afford to fight. But, the experience has stayed with me and affects how I feel when I hear about police in some areas being furloughed.

There are plenty of officers (especially in metro areas) that do a great service to the community. I have great respect for Atlanta police- those guys are pros that deserve way more than they are paid. However, there are plenty of communities that try to use their police force not to protect the citizens, but as a revenue stream. That (in my opinion) is where police give themselves a bad name.

 

I was takin a girl down to Holiday World the other Sunday and we were passin through Spencer, Indiana. Headin outta town I knew the speed limit was goin up to 55 in a minute and saw a sign so I started goin from 45 to 55. Then I got up to the sign and noticed it said 45. I was like, oh it must be the next one. So we go over a hill just past it and therrrrre he is. I told the girl I was just goin 56 or 57 in a 45 and therrrrre he came. I explained how I just mistook which sign went up to 55 and pointed to the 55 sign directly in front of me! His response: "the speedlimit doesn't change until AFTER you pass the sign!"

a month ago I was riding with some friends in a GMC Custom Van and we had just gotten off the interstate in Suwanee, GA and were supposed to make immediate right for the hotel which was 0.4 miles away. We went straight and I was like where we goin? And u see the cop waving us down. He walks up to MY side so I immediately think he's there to help us with directions and start showin him the map and he tells us where to go. Theeeeenn, he says you're probably wondering why I stopped you? I said, directions? He said they got a report from on the interstate that I wasn't buckled up and he gave ME a ticket and NO one else!! The driver was fastened in but nooo body in the back. I just paid that one because i got a letter in the mail they were going to issue a warrant for my arrest if I didn't pay it by like Sept 1st.

Just 3 days earlier and also once back in 2004 I'd been pulled over not more than a mike from taking off from work and given ticket for seatbelt. I ALWAYS fasten in! Sometimes it's a few minutes AFTER I get goin if I'm in a hurry though. The guy a few days earlier it's funny because I was checking out hid Mustang and he slammed on his brakes to get behind me and we talked Mustabgs for probably 15 minutes before he gave me the ticket. Zero tolerance he said. We even shared pictures!

Worst experience though, the 2004. The cop said, "WHY did you fasten in AFTER you saw me?! I honestly told him i didn't even see him. He kept trying to trick me into telling him I fastened in ONLY because I saw him and I told him I honestly didn't know if I fastened in before I took off or if I'd gotten on the road because I never think about it. It's like an instict. I ALWAYS fasten in, just sometimes it's right after I get on the road. He spent several minutes trying to convince me I did it just for him and I thought he was going to flip out on me!

I was going 40 in a 40 on West 38th St in Indianapolis last year. I got pulled over. I'd just left visiting Hooters for work (tough job). He said I was speeding! I was like, I was goin 40 in a 40, SAME as everybody else!! He said it was a school zone and I was like WHERE?! I knew the area. He said, it's clearly marked back there. I was like WHY didn't you just pull over EVERYBODy?! He said I was goin "slightly" faster at time of clocking. I was just going same as everybody else, what he did though was say he could write me a ticket for speeding $150 or SAY that might seatbelt wasn't on and only pay $25. I say: "you're putting me on, is this a trick question?" so I went the seatbelt route. So I got like 4 of those on my record now and the one speeding ticket. Alll to me were borderline. I hadn't been pulled over since 1995!!!

 

Why does every thread have to go off topic and turn into a bickering match...

Not all cops are ********, just like not all guys are ********, and not all girls are *****es. If you want to talk about ******* cops, how about the T-1000 from Terminator II.

Cool experience.

 

No offence but it seems to me after like 1 of those tickets, you would just fasten your seat belt when you get in the car and not a little bit up the road. SEAT BELTS save lives!!!

 

True, and it's the local politicians or police chiefs who make those decisions, not the cops on patrol. I've read a few news articles from various cities that are having to cut back on the number of cops due to budget cuts. In some cities police will no longer respond to "minor" crimes like burglary and auto theft. I haven't yet read of any cities where they are going to cut back on traffic enforcement. Several years ago I read an article saying that in Minneapolis the police weren't going to bother trying to catch car thieves. On the same page was an article about a state task force being formed to catch Minnesota residents who have lake homes in Wisconson and register their cars there to save a few bucks. Steal a car, no problem. Register it out of state, now you're in trouble.

I don't hate cops -- I want to admire them -- but it's pretty frustrating when they essentially see the motorist as public enemy number one. I'll frequently hear on the radio how the cops are going to have a crackdown on speeders, people with expired plates, etc. At least around here, I never hear of a crackdown on wife beaters, shoplifters, or anybody who is actually victimizing people.

 

Back when I had my '72 'vette convertible, I was stopped by a cop who wanted to know my year (everyone asked that in spite of the vintage 1972 license plates) and to tell me about the one he used to own. I welcomed it. He's not there to proscute me at that point; he's just another enthusiast trying to connect, and that's what the hobby is mostly about to me.

If my local police like my car and and I have a favorable exchange, who knows, he might be the guy who pulls me over the next time I lose track of my speed (hardly ever happens ), and may fondly recall our exchange and let me go.

 

I dated a cop for a while. Mind you, we were friends from childhood and I knew her before she was a cop.

I had no issue with any attention she gave me.

 

^ lmao

 

Geez guys...lots of police bashing here. I agree with the comments about traffic enforcement being used for revenue etc but I do have a great deal of respect for police officers as a group despite the occasional asshat.

BTW, I had many interactions with police as a youth. All of them negative. I was arrested in high school (twice, once on Thanksgiving) and I lost my license when I was 16 for having too many tickets including one for 104 in a 45. I have gotten 2 tickets for speeding on the same 25 minute commute on the same day 15 minutes apart. So, I have certainly had a few opportunities to form an opinion and strong feelings.

I just wanted to share a neat story about another enthusiast giving me props for my car. He happened to be a police officer, so that added a twist to the story.

I see that there are many strong opinions and I respect that but let's not let this degenerate any further. I really would rather not see the thread turn into 20 pages of cop bashing.

Let's all be careful out there.

 

Jim

Love the "let's be careful out there" reference. I'm going to assume that pretty much no one here get's it.

 

Hill Street Blues


Used to watch it when I was like 5.

 

good call!

 

I had to sneak to watch it because it was kind of mature for a little kid.


I forget the guys name though. He did the roll call. Sergeant ?

 

Sergeant Phil Esterhaus played by Michael Conrad. I was a lot older than 5 - I was already married.

 

I'd make sure that he'd see the BIG BIG smile off my face.