My how the thread has drifted, from an expose' about filing complaints against an officer to the morality of traffic laws....
lwaldron said,
I'm absolutely sure the good cops are in the majority. I've just never met one of the good cops. Maybe there's a reason for that. I can't, though, imagine what that reason might be.
Because my butt always looks like it has tire tracks on it whenever I've been gone through with, after the cops have done with me.
I don't know you, and I don't know what trouble with the law you've had, but it's been my experience that most of our regular customers usually bring attention to themselves.
Take the last person I arrested for driving while suspended. It was about an hour after dark, and a pickup went past me pulling a trailer. The trailer had no lights burning. So I pulled the truck/trailer combination over, intending to help the driver get his lights working so that he wasn't involved in an accident. As I walked past the tongue of the trailer, I noticed that the cable for the trailer lights was wrapped around the tongue of the trailer and no attempt had been made to hook up the lights. I thought, well maybe I'll write a citation instead of a warning, this guy had no intention of hooking up the lights. I looked down and noticed that there were passenger plates on the pickup and they were expired.....So I walked up to the driver's window and asked to see his license, proof of insurance and registration. "I don't have any" he said. "Any what?" I asked. "License, insurance or registration?" he replied; "none of them" "You don't have them with you or you don't have them?" I asked. "I don't have them" he replied. "Are you suspended or revoked?" I asked. "Suspended, but I get my license back in 24 days" he replied. "Not now" I replied. "Man, I'm only 1/4 mile from home." he said. "Why didn't you hook your trailer lights up?" I asked. "I would never have even paid any attention to you if the lights had been lit." "Well, I was in a hurry and just didn't think I'd need them" he said.
That's a pretty good example of how the regular customers sometimes get the attitude that we are out to get them. They just keep doing things to draw attention to themselves. I'm sure the guy thinks I was out to leave tire tracks across his back. But in truth, if he had taken two minutes to hook his lights up, no one would have paid any attention to him. Although it probably wouldn't have taken too long for someone to notice passenger plates on his truck and pull him over for that, then the whole process would start again.
And I'll bet when he tells all his friends about how the man conspires to keep a brother down that he leaves the part about the open title to the truck (which is a felony charge) that was with his papers and that I just ignored....
Let's face it. The power's all on the side of the cop. It doesn't matter what, if anything I've done. If the cop wants to bust me, I'm busted. If the gallant law officer is pissed, if he's just bored, I'm going DOWN. Got a problem? Tell it to the judge, several thousand dollars later.
Are you saying that you never violated the law and the officer just made violations up? Or did you do something that you felt shouldn't have been against the law? Around here the courts still require us to prove you guilty. Isn't it that way where you're at?
Should he indeed write me up, the cop can choose whether or not he'll show up to court... and if he shows up, what he'll say there. Who's to argue with the cop? His word against mine... some schmoe. Only he is describing the occurrance. It's not like the Court is going to believe me, some guy off the street. When the warrant is issued in My Name, then I'm the BAD GUY when I don't show up. When the cop doesn't show up, Johnny Law faces no penalty.
That's odd, the last subpeona I received said it was an order to appear. Where are you at that you aren't allowed to present a defense?
How does my salary/wage compare to the lawyers'? They spend all day in court, screwing over The Little Guy. By definition, me, The Little Guy loses money when it comes down to litigation. I make my living from a real job, My presence in court is something different from an entry on a time-card. If I'm in court, I'm not on the clock.
Wouldn't the solution be not to do things that are against the law?
So, it doesn't matter if what the cop says is true or not. His word is presumed to be legally accurate. Me, anything I say can & will be used against me.
The police lose in court. Often a case doesn't even make it to court because the states attorney doesn't think it's strong enough.
And if the cop kicks the ???? out of me, or if he feels up my girlfriend... I have no recourse. That complaint form on the counter may be illusory comfort... but it's the only comfort I can ever hope for.
I don't know of any agency that would refuse to hear a complaint against an officer. Or refuse to action on one that is substantiated.
When the cop transgresses, he has a union and a culture of "protect the thin blue line".
So you would deny the police any kind of defense? I don't think there would be many on the job, considering the number of complaints that are filed. Perhpas I should have been fired for writing those parking tickets that day or my friend fired for spilling coffee on his pants?
Jeff
