When I see a cop I think...

[Cliff]

I'm glad we have them, my dad was a officer,did 26 years and was out. I remember riding to school in a unmarked car when I was a kid,up to seeing a full police 12 car escort,(wintertime,so no cycles),and burial detail when my dad passed just over a year ago. A LOT of uniforms in the church that day. And even with the bad apples,I am glad there out there.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

None of the above.

"Is that my step-brother or neighbor? Better slow up so I can see who's driving a little better."

 

[dave]

"I HATE cops.

I don't really want to go into much more detail than that other than to say I voted the third one down." by wondernine




How are we any different from the "antis" if we think like this?


We all take offense when the antis, usually after some horrorable shooting by someone who's bread isn't quite done, attempt to paint ALL gun owners as crazy. We try to tell them that, just because we own a gun, doesn't mean we are crazy or that we'd do the same type of thing. We tell them that there are all kjnds of people in the world, sane and crazy. We tell them that, just because someone owns a gun, it doesn't make them a "gun nut".

We talk until we are blue in the face, but they don't seem to "get it". They hold all gun owners responsible for the actions of a few. They have their minds made up and nothing we say can change them. Their feelings about "bad gun owners" include all who own a gun, no matter if they've done anything wrong or not. What's their "proof"? Well, the guy that killed all those folks used a gun, therefore, all those who own guns are "bad", right? We tell them that that type of reasoning is incorrect, unfair, narrow minded, and honestly just plain dumb.

But, use the word "badge" instead of "gun" and everythings ok. Huh? Did I miss something? All cops are the same because they all wear a badge, right? Cops come from society in general, therefore they're all supposed to be good, right? Again, huh? Even when a bad cop is noticed, the public (thru unions, laywers, aclu, naacp and plian old "outrage") won't allow the dept to get rid of him/her. Most of the public seems more concerned about how the dept "looks" than how it "acts".

My point? How can we, as gun owners, complain about how we are all lumped into one group by the antis simply because we all own guns.............yet do the same to police officers simply because they all wear badges?



Do some "crazy" people own guns, and use them unlawfully? Yes.

Are all gun owners therefore "crazy"? No.

Do some "bad" police officers wear badges? Yes.

Are all police officers therefore bad? Yes, if you ask some here.

 

[voilsb]

99.8% of the time I have rather respectful thoughts when I see a cop. glad they're willing to do the job which somebody has to do. most of them are just regular people doing their jobs and what they think is right. they're not always right, they don't always do a good job, but most of them probably are most of the time.

the other 0.2% of the time I'm probably speeding and am simply hoping I don't get in trouble.

 

[tyme]

Dave, I think what he's saying is that upon seeing a police officer, WN assumes this is probably a below-80th-percentile city cop, and therefore the cop probably wouldn't know the Constitution and BoR from toilet paper. I'd agree with that assessment when in an urban setting, but that doesn't mean I'm not respectful. The one and only traffic "stop" I've had was a result of me being out of the car with a gps receiver in the middle of nowhere - and this was apparently justification to run my license. If I were to pull the same thing today, who knows, I could get arrested on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack. Upon leaving, the cop said something like "now that we know you're out here, we won't bother you." As if it's illegal to be in the middle of nowhere without being checked out by police. They claimed it was a suicide spot, but they sure didn't stick around to see if I was planning to impale myself on the car's antenna.

 

[NewShooter78]

I have to agree with dave on this one. I've had my share of bad run in with cops, but in all honesty it was my fault that they were there in the first place or for my being ticketed. Even though I grew up in a city that is renowned for its crooked cops, I don't hold all of them in contempt. I do however check my speed when a squad car is behind me. Since I have been working security, I have met a lot of great officers at the range/gunstore or equipment outfitters. I think that once you know a few cops personally your perception of them as a whole changes, whether for good or bad depends on the ones you get to know.

 

[XLMiguel]

General distrust of 'Authority Figures' aside, all in all, I'm glad they're out there. It's a tough, tough job, and I have a ton of respect and appreciation for those who do it well.

As for the 'bad ones', they should be dealt with harshly, as they betray the public trust.

 

[Monte Harrison]

I have all the respect in the world for police, the ones worthy of respect at least.
My guess is TheeBadOne does not share that sentiment.

 

[2nd Amendment]

Should have been an "All of the Above". I've met cops that have left me thinking each at one time or another.

 

[Tamara]

"Hey, he owes me five bucks!"

"I wonder if he remembered to pick up that ammo for me?"

"Good thing I rarely do much more than 10 over, these days."

"It gets them so frustrated when you set the cruise right on the limit when they're right behind you that sometimes they'll gnaw the steering wheel with frustration."

"If ol' ______ pulls me over as a joke again, I will positively kill him."

 

[KMKeller]

My response would probably mirror Tamara's. I know most of the local PD and Sheriff's Deputies, have shot and trained with more than a handful. All good eggs.

 

[Coronach]

I have been known to reflexively hit my brakes and check my speed a good 10 mph while driving my cruiser as I roll up on someone working a traffic enforcement spot. My partner thinks thats just hysterical.

Its a holdover from my days of setting the cruise at 80.

Mike

 

[10-Ring]

I'm glad to see them.

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

Mostly they are deeply appreciated by me. I know a couple of LEO's personally and would give them the keys to my house, car, wife and would feel absolutely safe. I have only had bad experiences through my own actions and/or choice of language. That being said, them batons really hurt like hell !!!!
God Bless them and give them peace of mind at the end of the day !

 

[Oatka]

Luckily, in all these years, I've only been busted for minor traffic violations.

Perhaps it should be broken down - some like State Police/Highway Patrol and City Cops.

When I'm on foot, I look upon the police as peace officers. When driving I look upon them as uniformed tax collectors for the State and automatically check my speedometer.

I don't hit the brakes or act hinky - some of the highway boys play "Sharks and Minnows" - waiting for someone to panic and do something stupid when they see a prowl car. Sometimes I think they do this knowingly just to make people nervous.

 

[PATH]

A great many friends and relatives are LEO's. I think highly of all of them.

 

[glockten]

....I wonder what his/her duty weapon is?

Unless I'm close enough to see for myself.

 

[Don Gwinn]

"It gets them so frustrated when you set the cruise right on the limit when they're right behind you that sometimes they'll gnaw the steering wheel with frustration."

Now, I have some good friends here (on THR) who are cops, but I have to admit I do this every single time I get the chance. It really does seem to drive them nuts. However, having been pulled over for two mph over, I have little sympathy.

Let me also reiterate something I've mentioned before. There is not one single police officer on my town's force I trust. Not one. That's not anti-cop bias. I don't trust any of the ones I know, so I don't trust the ones I don't, either. There are two officers on the neighboring village's force I would probably trust, but there's a third whom I strongly suspect (without proof, mind you) of having sold decent amounts of cocaine and pot before he became an officer. I don't really care about that, but I don't think he should be an officer of the law.

The point is, I don't trust these people, and I try not to be alone with them or give them an excuse or an opportunity to screw me. What I don't do is extend this to a general hatred of police.

 

[TheeBadOne]

Police Harrasemnt (humor)

http://www.copsonline.com/police harrassement.htm

Recently, Californian ran an e-mail forum (question and answer exchange) with the topic being "Community Policing." One of the civilian email participants posed the following question: "I would like to know how it is possible for police officers to continually harass people and get away with it?"

From the "other side" (the law enforcement side) a cool cop with a sense of humor replied:

"It is not easy. In California we average one cop for every 2000 people. About 60% of those cops are on patrol, where we do most of the harassing. One-fifth of that 60% are on duty at any moment and available for harassing people. So, one cop is responsible for harassing about 10,000 residents. When you toss in the commercial, business, and tourist locations that attract people from other areas, sometimes you have a situation where a single cop is responsible for harassing 20,000 or more people a day. A ten-hour shift runs 36,000 seconds. This gives a cop one second to harass a person, and three-fourths of a second to eat a donut AND then find a new person to harass. This is not an easy task. Most cops are not up to it day in and day out. It is just too tiring. What we do is utilize some tools to help us narrow down those, which we harass. They are as follows:

PHONE: People will call us up and point out things that cause us to focus on a person for special harassment. "My neighbor is beating his wife" is a code phrase we use. Then we come out and give special harassment. Another popular one on a weeknight is, "The kids next door are having a party."

CARS: We have special cops assigned to harass people who drive. They like to harass the drivers of fast cars, cars blasting music, cars with expired registration stickers and the like. It is lots of fun when you pick them out of traffic for nothing more obvious than running a red light. Sometimes you get to really heap the harassment on when you find they have drugs in the car, are drunk, or have a warrant.

RUNNERS: Some people take off running just at the sight of a police officer. Nothing is quite as satisfying as running after them like a beagle on the scent of a bunny. When you catch them you can harass them for hours.

CODES: When you can think of nothing else to do, there are books that give ideas for reasons to harass folks. They are called "Codes"; Penal, Vehicle, Health and Safety, Business and Professions... They all spell out all sorts of things for which you can really mess with people. After you read the code, you can just drive around for a while until you find someone violating one of these listed offenses and harass them. Just last week I saw a guy smash a car window. Well, the code says that is not allowed. That meant I got permission to harass this guy. It is a pretty cool system that we have set up, and it works pretty well. I seem to have a never-ending supply of folks to harass. And we get away with it. Why? Because the good citizens who pay the tab like that we keep the streets safe for them. Next time you are in my town, give me a single finger wave. That is a signal that you wish for me to take a little closer look at you, and maybe I'll find a reason to harass YOU.

 

[Frohickey]

When I see cops...

I think, what a waste of talent and tax revenue. Here are people, some of who took the job in order to help people, and others who took the job in order to have authority over people, who could be doing something else more productive.

But they are a necessity because there are bad guys out there as well. Some of which are very difficult to catch.

I also see cops as the implement of citizen harrassment, because of the petty and stupid laws passed by petty and stupid politicians. If only we had an automatic phaseout of laws unless they are specifically re-instated by legislature. Cops have so much of a morass of laws to watch out for and enforce that they can pretty much get any citizen out there, for pretty much anything.

I also see cops as the solution to a problem that did not have to exist. Disarming of law-abiding citizens created the problem.

 

[Poodleshooter]

First reaction on seeing a cop? "Yikes!" followed by a quick perusal of my immediate surroundings and behavior to ensure that I am in compliance with all of the laws I know about.
Basically the same feeling I get when the boss peeps over my shoulder. I get this cringing feeling whether I'm guilty or not. For that reason, I'm generally not too comfortable around the men and women in blue. While I realize they need to exist for society's sake, I am uncomfortable with the idea that a certain group of others has power over me, and is observing me to see if I screw up in any way.
I've never even been pulled over for speeding,BTW.

 

[benewton]

Took three, although I was being nice...

I usually wonder, after I check the speedo and so forth, if the department's made it's monthly quota.

'cause, if not, and I'm not on my home turf, I'm gonna get "charged" with something!

 

[80fl]

Well, I voted the third one down. Don't start flaming, thinking I'm a cop hater; I'm not. I do believe, however, that typically the type of person who is attracted to cop work is on a power trip.
I said TYPICALLY! I'm actually very good friends with a local chief, I'm on good terms with the majority of cops in my small home town as well.
I run into allot of people that I vehemently disagree with. Libs, small town bureaucrats, some cops, etc.
You just have to take each person on a case by case basis and be courteous and friendly to all, until they prove they aren't worthy.

 

[igor]

"Gotta love my cruise control!"

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

Glad we have them. Whether I'm glad to see them though depends on how fast I was driving, and what they have to say about upgrading my gun permit.