Almost hit a Cop

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Almost hit a Cop
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William L Vanderburg on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 07:52 am:

Last night, while coming home from a local show, one of my T friends was following me home. It was dark, and we were on a four lane road.

Anyway, I'm in the extreme right lane and my friend is behind me. A Ricer car (if you don't know what that is, I suggest a read of the Urban Dictionary) passes me on the left. Perfectly legal. I wave, and they wave back.

Suddenly, another car is directly behind them. It's a Lakewood Cop. He throws on the take-down lights and immediately whips his car in front of me to pull the Ricer over.

Now I have blinding red/blue lights in my face and I'm within a fart of rear-ending the f'ing cop. If I'd been a little more bold, I would have pulled over and demanded he write himself a ticket.

What an a$$hole.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Halpin on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 08:51 am:

Best leave well enough alone. No point in telling a cop Model T's can't stop. I know where you're coming from, though.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 09:16 am:

Makes you wish for a dashcam, doesn't it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 03:31 pm:

Some cops ought to be stabbed (pricked if you will) with their badge!....... :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 04:57 pm:

I never know what to expect from a cop.

Twenty years ago, I got pulled over by a Pennsylvania state trooper. He greeted me politely, informed me that I had a burnt out tail-light and told me there were a couple of gas stations a few miles up the road where I could get it fixed, as he put it, "in a jiffy." I said, "Thanks." He smiled and said, "You bet." So I drove off—without having been ticketed—and got the bulb replaced.

Then, about a dozen years ago, I got stopped at night by a local, Long Island cop for the same heinous offense. From the nasty way he was talking to me (and shining his flashlight directly into my face from 12 inches away), you'd think he'd just nabbed Public Enemy #1 instead of somebody's daddy with a burnt out tail-light. He grilled me pretty good and I remembered to call him "sir" when answering his questions in a neutral a tone of voice. After he wrote me up, I opened the door to go take a look at my tail-light. As I was getting out, he shoved me back in the car with the door. Nice, huh?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Danial - Veneta OR US Earth Solar System on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 05:08 pm:

We used to have some pretty decent (read: cops who used good judgement) deputies until all the older ones retired. Even attended a few gatherings and parties with a couple of them.

These days we have a new crop of idiots that have zero common sense and a near total lack of judgement.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 05:14 pm:

Constantly being in contact with the scum of society may wear off and make some cops cynical and suspicious..? (wrong career choice, then)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Seth - Ohio on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 05:17 pm:

Please don't blame the police...our society today is so wrapped up in protecting the criminal that the police must always be on the defence. They never know who is in the car or what they may have. They want to make it home after their shift just like everyone else.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Danial - Veneta OR US Earth Solar System on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 05:20 pm:

When the police are wrong, they're wrong. When they're not, they are not. And yes, I do blame them when they are wrong. As quickly as I will give them a pat on the back for doing the right thing.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William L Vanderburg on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 06:22 pm:

YES, I do blame the police in this incident. He was wrong, wrong, wrong, and about damn near caused my car to rear-end his! Just who's fault do you think THAT would have been?

If I recall, he pulled them for what seemed to be not signalling after passing, however I can't read his mind. However, if he's BLIND and can't see a 7 foot tall car right next to and behind him, he needs to either turn in his badge or get glasses.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob from Nova Scotia on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 06:24 pm:

What I am noticing is that some of the newer officers seem to have learned how to deal with people from watching reruns of Cops on Fox. Many old mounties and town cops around here have learned that if you treat people with respect, even if you are charging, or arresting them, it will go much easier. Think Sam Steele, NWMP


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Aaron Griffey, Hayward Ca. on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 08:30 pm:

But Dennis, you're right about cops just wanting to go home alive & all the other but that is still no reason to shine the light in his face and push him back in the car.
Even considering the horrible crime of driving with ONE tail light bulb out.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Friday, July 13, 2012 - 08:39 pm:

I'm sure many (ALL?) of us have worked with people, who the moment they get a little authority, where power goes straight to their heads....... GRRRRRRRR
Cops are SUPPOSED to go through a battery of tests to see if they are fit for the job.
Unfortunately many are NOT but still are cops.
Some years ago my brother's car burned a connecting rod while driving on a medium travelled state road a couple miles out of town. He pulled the car TOTALLY off the pavement.
I'm not sure if the engine had even stopped turning before some wise assed cop showed up and read him the riot act ordering him to get it out of there.
Needless to say our entire family was pretty ticked off. Apparently HE was one of those cops who slipped through the system.
He was more suited to working in a slaughter house......damn JERK......grrrrrrrrrr


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bernard Paulsen, San Buenaventura, Calif on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 01:12 am:

COPS = Criminal Organization in Public Service.

Cops pull down their zipper and p*ss on the law they are supposed to uphold. They speed, they run red lights, they don't give a shit unlike in Europe, where they need to obey the law like anybody else. I hate cops. They are -- for the most part -- human garbage, the bottom of the barrel, criminals in uniform. People who are too lazy to find a real job become cops.

Little info: two weeks ago I purchased a 1963 Lambretta scooter from an attorney/collector in Paso Robles. Went to the DMV to register it. DMV refers me to the CHP for VIN verification. CHP tells me that the sole CHP officer who is trained (!) to read numbers and letters is on vacation 'til mid-August but due to the backlog there will be no appointments 'til August.

If a citizen had one bullet to put in another person's brain, I would have used this one.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Chaffin on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 01:54 am:

Bernard

"I hate cops. They are -- for the most part -- human garbage, the bottom of the barrel, criminals in uniform. People who are too lazy to find a real job become cops."

Most of these folks are veterans who have gone on to continue serving their country proudly in law enforcement. I take offense to your words; however, you do have the right to spew them. Maybe you should thank one of those "lazy" folks for that fact sometime. What have you done to serve your community? Country? I bet nothing at all. Like Uncle Stan has often said, "The loudest screams come from the cheapest seats."


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 02:11 am:

Cops are people too(some good,some less good) but it must warp a guy after dealing with the bottom 2 percent of society every day.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Patterson, OZ on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 02:46 am:

"WELL SAID" Mark.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Stroud on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 03:00 am:

Bernard, I too take offense at your words. Just because you may have had some bad experiences with law enforcement in the past, don't lump all of them in the same boat. We lost a member of the Highway Patrol, Water Patrol Division, here in N.W. MO. last year(see thread, MO. River flood, 2011). He was my wife's first cousin, and a highly decorated officer. Trust me, he DID NOT p*ss on the law that he enforced, and he DEFINATELY was NOT human garbage. He left a loving wife and three great kids. He loved his job and saved some people during his service, for which he was awarded Missouri's highest honor. It sure is a damn shame that you have to wait a few weeks to get your scooter registered. Sure seems like a good reason to put a bullet in another person's brain to me. I have read your many posts berating people for one thing or another, and just let it go. This time, you sir have stepped WAY over the line. JMHO. Dave


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Danial - Veneta OR US Earth Solar System on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 05:02 am:

Contrary to popular belief, in most towns across the nation, cops do NOT interact with the bottom 2 percent (whatever that is) of the population during most of their calls during the day.

They interact with your sons and daughters and wives and brothers. It is how they interact with the regular folk that sometimes get the blood pressure up for some.

Are there some cops who pizz on the law? You bet. To believe otherwise is naive.

Should a cop be removed from the force the moment he lets his emotions dictate his behaviour outside the boundaries of his position? Absolutely. Seems pretty obvious to me.

Is Bernard a bit extreme? Yeah. But I think he's just blowing off a little steam. Sounds like a guy who just got a speeding ticket and had to vent.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Davis-SE Georgia on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 06:23 am:

I was once a volunteer on the PD of my old home town back in AL and my son is currently a police officer about 100 miles West of here. I have seen first hand the type of people they have to deal with. Most people never have to see it. They do indeed see it every day. It varies, of course, with time of day and what part of town, but most have never seen someone in withdrawal from heroin. Most have never seen beaten women who attack you when you arrest their husband who just hit her. Most have never seen a shooting victim or a cutting victim. So, yeah, cops do indeed see things daily that few ever see.

Of course that doesn't give them the right to treat others with a lack of respect or to break the law, but other than minor speeding like most people do, I don't think that behavior is rampant. Sure, there are some, but where I'm from, a cop was embarrassed if he did something bad enough to get pulled over for. He wouldn't want his chief to know about it. If he was habitual in his offenses, you can bet his chief WOULD know in pretty short order.

As for pushing someone back in the car, that was to protect himself. Probably a gut reaction. You never know who you've just pulled over. Officers are trained to react to sudden movements.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 08:07 am:

"Now I have blinding red/blue lights in my face.."

They seem to keep upping the intensity of these lights, and they are especially dangerous to a person whose vision has adapted to night conditions. Having those go off in your face is dangerous, and I would calmly report that in writing, ignoring you were in a T, which really is almost immaterial. Destroying your night vision in such conditions is equivalent to having your headlights fail.

There should be a day/night setting on those lights, is there?

rdr


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Noel D. Chicoine, MD, Pierre, SD on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 11:02 am:

I think William should calmly write a letter explaining his concerns about being cut off and near blinded and send it to the chief of police. It might lead to a calm discussion with the rest of the force about safety while pulling someone over. I used to work with the police a lot when I was spending more time in the ER, not as much now that we have full time ER docs. They are generally normal caring people. Some of what they deal with can affect anyone. Just like you and I, they can have a bad day. You don't know what case he just got off of.
As for Bob's scenario of being pushed back into the car, opening the door to step out of a T, which is high off the ground, could be briefly construed as threatening to attack the officer. Had he said "I'd like to look at it to see what the problem is." before getting out, it might not have seemed threatening. I'm just guessing, however.
Last week I pulled out from the hospital on a 1980 Kawasaki 250 and turned onto a side street to go to the office. An officer pulled me over and I think he was surprised that I wasn't a kid. I wasn't wearing glasses, (as they had been run over by my T in Lincoln when I had to get out and turn my gas back on and they fell out of my shirt). He accused me of driving too fast in a hospital zone and not wearing eye cover. I know I couldn't even have gotten over 20 mph in that distance but didn't argue and he just gave me a warning. Yea, I was in the wrong for not wearing eye protection. He was also one I didn't recognize. I brushed it off and went back to work.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 11:39 am:

Whoa, gang. What I said about not knowing what to expect during a traffic stop was not meant as a condemnation of all cops. My point is there are polite ones and impolite ones; some are nice and some are not so nice. It's perfectly likely that some of the seventy-two police officers who gave their lives attempting rescues on 9/11 were of the tactless type. Heroes are often hewn from rough stone.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 11:46 am:

Doc, you should have been cited for stupidity: riding a murdercycle when you have a T to drive. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Seth - Ohio on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 01:46 pm:

Well I wasen't going to say anything else but...
I have two brothers who are in law enforcement. (one for 33 years the other for 24 years) and they just lost a great young officer and friend who made a traffic stop because of a tail light and the fellow jumped out of the car as the officer approached and shot him 5 times. The officer got one round off and hit the guy who was eventually caught. He was on parole and didn't want to go back to prison for carrying a gun. So if they push you back in the car it's because they don't know who you are or what your intentions are!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Hjortnaes, Men Falls, WI on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 02:12 pm:

A couple weeks ago I was caught going 48 in a 35 zone. I was going down a hill. I was pleasant to the female officer and she said I should slow down or next time she will write me a ticket.

I lucked out that day.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bernard Paulsen, San Buenaventura, Calif on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 03:34 pm:

First, I'm expressing my personal opinion on cops, and while it's admittedly quite extreme, I had over half a century to form it. Your experience and opinion my differ. Fine with me.

Secondly, losing a family member or friend is always tragic. It's not a cop thing. But some risks come with the territory, and anybody applying for a certain job needs to assume such risks.

If you are a plumber, expect that you may get stinky hands. If you are a firefighter, assume that you may get hurt. If you are a cop, assume the risk that some criminal will shoot at you, and if you are a CHP officer doing high speed chases, assume the risk that you may crash your car or motorcycle at some point during your career. They are paid very, very well for this.

The same applies to our troops. Since the draft of the Vietnam war ended, anybody serving, more so at a time where we continuously are fighting wars in the most remote places on Earth, does so because they signed up on their own account. Part of enlisting may be to serve one's country, but there are other, more personal motives as well. In today's poor economy, some kids who can't find a job often have no choice but enlisting if they don't want to end up in the street. The G.I. Bill will help them to further their education, so that's a great motivation, yet it's also a reason to assume the risk and putting up with the horrible experience of war.

I can tell you upfront, I'm already against the next war and I don't feel a bit safer now that we spent way over a trillion dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan where countless people have lost their lives and limbs. I feel sorry for those people, not only Americans, but foreigners as well. So feel free to call me unpatriotic because I'm totally opposed to all those crazy wars we are fighting in the Middle East, instead of putting that money to work in our own country.

None of this has any bearing on my experience with cops though.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Kelsey on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 04:37 pm:

My late father retired from the WA ANG. He served in the Vietnam war and in Operation Desert Shield. I know firsthand the sacrifices these folks in public service make for our country. There are a lot of good, honest, well-meaning people who are policemen and in the armed forces. Yes, it was their choice to make it an occupation; nevertheless, I am extremely thankful for their sacrifice and service.

As Erich said, "Cops are people, too." There are bad apples in every profession. We are all human and prone to mistakes - it's how we fix the mistake that matters.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bud Holzschuh - Panama City, FL on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 04:50 pm:

Bernard

Well said .... and certainly not unpatriotic.

schuh


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 05:59 pm:

There are police cultures that can last decades. The L.A. cops were known for beating and abusing Okies during the Great Depression. They went from that to beating black people over the years. A former co-worker had a relative on the Signal Hill PD who loved to tell of his exploits beating up black people.

The Rodney King beating in 1992 and Kelly Thomas beating and murder by Fullerton police last are not isolated incidents, unfortunately. It's telling that one cop has been charged with 2nd Degree Murder of Thomas, and another on lesser charge, while the other four who looked on were not charged at all. They should have been charged as accessories to murder, because they made no effort to stop the beating.

We have more men in prison than any other nation, both in absolute numbers, and percentage of population. The "War on Drugs" and "War on Terror" are futile government pork programs.

I'm trying to think of something to say in favor of the police we have today. Well, at least here they probably don't take small bribes like in Chicago or third world countries.

rdr


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William L Vanderburg on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 06:08 pm:

I don't know if I'll write a letter or not, probably because it won't matter in the end anyway.

However, there are certain professions, the "cops are people too" comment not withstanding, that are held to a HIGHER STANDARD. You wouldn't use that logic and say: "Well, Surgeons are people, too!" if you were having heart surgery that resulted in total paralysis.

I expect cops to not speed, make illegal u-turns, take drug money from lock-ups, own firearms that aren't legal for ANYBODY to own but can just because they were a cop.

I especially believe that cops shouldn't cut people off in traffic in the dark of night, blind the piss out of them, almost cause an accident, just because they feel a need to pull some punk over....

You know, maybe I'll write that letter after all.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 06:51 pm:

I would write the letter.
The worst than can happen is someone 86s it and the best that can happen is your guy's superior has a little chat with him and tells to use a little common sense in the future!
Maybe they'll even order him to work on his deportment.
Be sure to detail every aspect of the incident.
I have a good friend who is a retired county cop.
He exemplifies what every officer ought to be.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Semprez-Templeton, CA on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 07:01 pm:

I too would write the letter. Just be positive and recommend the correct action in your case. If the department has a citizens relations department, I would start there.

I agree The police have a tough job, but must not put law abiding citizens at risk in any situation.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Joseph Magedanz on Saturday, July 14, 2012 - 07:58 pm:

You may be asked how fast you were going when he cut you off. It may come up, it may not. Don't know if it will make a difference or not, but they may want to know if an antique car being driven at night was going at an appropriate speed.
Who knows what they will ask or say....


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