North_Ranger
Staff member
It's two days to your retirement. What do you do?
Ofc. Charon - aka "Ask a Cop anything"
- Thread starter Officer_Charon
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Apparently all the whiskey is in the suspect in the back of my transport van right now. Phew![/QUOTE]
Ha!
Do you watch any of the Law and Order shows?
Since you claim to be a geek, Star Wars, Star Trek, or both?
If the zombie apocalypse started tomorrow, which two weapons would you choose to have handy first?
Hrm... toughie. Do I stay low and not jeopardize my cushy life, or do I go out with a bang? Seeing as how I'm actually lazy as heck *grins* I think this one's a no-brainer... *chuckles*
I've heard a LOT of good things about the series - all of them - from fellow shield-bearers, but have yet to watch an episode. Probably need to rectify that.
I'm a BIG Old-school Star Wars fan. Eps 1, 2 and 3 got progressively better, but never QUITE captured the same feel as the originals. As for Trek, I really only watched TNG religiously. Started getting into DS9, but never managed to catch them sequentially, so my knowledge is spotty about them. Watched a bit of Voyager and thought "Meh."
Zombipocalypse requires Shotgun. 12 or 10-gauge, with an extended magazine. A .45 Glock as a sidearm, also with extended magazine. This is, of course, until I can get to the nearest Bass Pro Shop, and equip accordingly. *grins*
Hrm... toughie. Do I stay low and not jeopardize my cushy life, or do I go out with a bang? Seeing as how I'm actually lazy as heck *grins* I think this one's a no-brainer... *chuckles*
I've heard a LOT of good things about the series - all of them - from fellow shield-bearers, but have yet to watch an episode. Probably need to rectify that.
I'm a BIG Old-school Star Wars fan. Eps 1, 2 and 3 got progressively better, but never QUITE captured the same feel as the originals. As for Trek, I really only watched TNG religiously. Started getting into DS9, but never managed to catch them sequentially, so my knowledge is spotty about them. Watched a bit of Voyager and thought "Meh."
Zombipocalypse requires Shotgun. 12 or 10-gauge, with an extended magazine. A .45 Glock as a sidearm, also with extended magazine. This is, of course, until I can get to the nearest Bass Pro Shop, and equip accordingly. *grins*[/QUOTE]
You and I see eye to eye on Star Wars/Star Trek. Though, I really loved the new movie.
You a Falcons fan? If not, are you into the NFL?
Still haven't seen the new movie, although that's merely from lack of grabbing it at the store than from an aversion to it.
F$ck the Falcons. When I follow NFL at all, I'm a 49ers fan. I tend towards NHL when I watch sports at all, tho.
Southern hockey represent! I'm a Predators fan. How would you change the NHL as it is now, if at all? Assume you're super-god-commish for life
C
Chibibar
ooo I got a question (well since I read this article today)
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/07/supremecourt/main5927595.shtml
they are talking about lawyers and miranda rights. So, if I break my silence, can I go back into silence and don't say anything until my lawyer is present?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/07/supremecourt/main5927595.shtml
they are talking about lawyers and miranda rights. So, if I break my silence, can I go back into silence and don't say anything until my lawyer is present?
Dave
Staff member
GOD they make it hard to be a cop! Protecting the stupid and those who use supposed ignorance. This guy had been through the justice system before and knew he could have a lawyer. Now it's just a matter of not wanting to pay the price for his committing a crime and wasting the court's time and OUR money in the process.
I think unsuccessful appeals should add to the sentence of the person. The higher the appeal, the worse the penalty should be. A successful appeal should lessen any sentence regardless of whether it gets overturned on appeal or not. This massive backlog over never-ending appeals needs to be cut out now.
I think unsuccessful appeals should add to the sentence of the person. The higher the appeal, the worse the penalty should be. A successful appeal should lessen any sentence regardless of whether it gets overturned on appeal or not. This massive backlog over never-ending appeals needs to be cut out now.
C
Chibibar
while I don't feel sorry for that particular guy, I wonder how many innocent get frame for it or something (you hear stories and such - I know that guy wasn't innocent) but you get the idea what I am trying ask/say... I hope.
North_Ranger
Staff member
If you could design your own sidearm from scratch, what would it be like? Phaser technology, thingamajigs and such are allowed.
Ahh, Miranda - Hollywood has made you the bane of many a peacefull arrest. Most people are under the impression that as soon as I read Miranda, you are under arrest. Also, they believe that they can't be under arrest if I DON'T read Miranda. Neither of which is true.
For those who don't know, Miranda (More properly, Supreme Court ruling in the case of Miranda vs. Arizona, 1966) states that before questioning any suspect about the particulars of a crime, we are to advise them that:
They have a right to remain silent.
Anything they say may be used in court as evidence against you.
You are entitled to have a lawyer now and have him present now or at any time during questioning.
If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you without cost, and he may be present at all times during your questioning.
The burden is on the officer to prove that any waiver of these rights is voluntary. In most cases, a verbal waiver in response to the questions "Do you understand these rights? Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us without a lawyer at this time?"
If AT ANY TIME the suspect says he wants a lawyer, or that he doesn't want to talk - THAT INTERVIEW IS OVER. Period. Full Stop. He could be spilling his guts to you, then realise what he's been saying, and say "You know, I think I want an attorney," and you have to stop questioning.
If you voluntarily waive your rights, you are still able to clam up if you don't want to talk any more. Bear in mind, you have to weight the benefits vs the costs. I had a kid on a TRAFFIC stop ask for a lawyer, and all I did was ask if there were any weapons in his car. This is NOT a situation where Miranda applies - this is about officer safety, which is paramount. If I feel uneasy about a situation, I am well within my rights as an officer to check for weapons, legal or illegal. It's called a "Terry Frisk" (From Terry vs. Ohio - can't remember the year).
Terry frisks may ONLY be used to check for weapons. If I go feeling and checking for anything else, and there is NO WAY I can articulate that I was under the impression that an article may have contained a weapon, then I can get in trouble.
Sorry... dismounting soapbox now...
Having never seen Castle, I can't comment on it... I'll say that 3rd Watch comes the closest to anything that I've seen, but that might just be because my perspective's only from a Patrol standpoint...
Too damned much time on the ice. Don't you hate when you go to see a fight, and some hockey breaks out?
In all seriousness, I'd have to catch more than the couple games that I do in order to drop an opinion on this.
Also, Go Thrashers, and GO LEAFS! *grins* (Yes, I have issues)
Savannah is becoming a college town, and one of the larger colleges here is SCAD - Savannah College of Art and Design. One of my buddies has a friend who goes here, and for this student's design project, he came up with an all-inclusive sidearm that's pretty close to what I would like.
In form, it's close to the sub-machine guns used in Masamune Shirow's Dominion: Conflict 1 (No More Noise) manga. (http://www.amazon.com/Dominion-Conflict-No-More-Noise/dp/1593076983#reader_1593076983 has an image on the next-to-last image page - order it! It's a damned fine read), with the addition of an under-slung shotgun barrel, designed to fire less-lethal rounds (super socks, tazer rounds etc), an integrated flashlight, and the foregrip is actually an extendable ASP baton. I like his design for integrating so much, although I'm not sure if I'm kosher with the idea of having the baton as part of the weapon. Think I'd rather have that seperate.
Flat top, for mounting optics as desired. I prefer iron sights, but ya gotta keep the tacti-cool kiddies happy. *grins*
fade
Staff member
On the flip side, every cop I know complains about Hollywood's depiction of Miranda rights.
Do you watch Law and Order? My wife loves it (she's a cop). In fact, there used to be a Tivo commercial with a cop who gave all these reasons for needing a Tivo related to the stress of work. At the end, an off-screen interviewer says, "So what do you like to watch?" "Mostly cop shows." So true. Anyway, I ask because they're pretty good about that stuff. They've specifically addressed the whole miranda issue and a bad guy "lawyers up" requiring the interview to stop at least once/episode. Of course, add about 30 lbs of over-the-top drama, too.
Do you watch Law and Order? My wife loves it (she's a cop). In fact, there used to be a Tivo commercial with a cop who gave all these reasons for needing a Tivo related to the stress of work. At the end, an off-screen interviewer says, "So what do you like to watch?" "Mostly cop shows." So true. Anyway, I ask because they're pretty good about that stuff. They've specifically addressed the whole miranda issue and a bad guy "lawyers up" requiring the interview to stop at least once/episode. Of course, add about 30 lbs of over-the-top drama, too.
H
Hansagan
New question....would you ever grow your hair long, even on a bet? 
I haven't ever sat down and watched Law and Order, but every other person in law enforcement I've talked to says it's pretty good to go, albeit with a flair for the dramatic. As opposed to something like CSI, where we don't need anyone else on the department: Forensics takes care of everything! *rolls eyes*
No. I've kept my hair short since joining the military for a reason - when it's longer, I get CRAZY white-boy afro action. Seriously, Napoleon Dynamite has NOTHING on what my 'do can do. Back in high school, I used to keep pencils in there, and would occasionally lose them... I think my fro ate them. Scarfy stuff.New question....would you ever grow your hair long, even on a bet?
What criteria does the UMSC have that you would have to meet in order to become a sniper?
S
Soliloquy
What's your opinion of this little video?
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc"]Don't Talk to Police[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc"]Don't Talk to Police[/ame]
Have you read The Onion Field?
If you haven't, I sincerely recommend it.
If you haven't, I sincerely recommend it.
C
Chibibar
48 fucking minutes?[/QUOTE]
I watched it awhile ago, and I don't remember any intercourse, nevermind 48 minutes of it...
48 fucking minutes?[/QUOTE]
it is pretty informative.[/QUOTE]
You expect him to watch that? lol[/QUOTE]
It's actually really, really interesting.
48 fucking minutes?[/QUOTE]
it is pretty informative.[/QUOTE]
You expect him to watch that? lol[/QUOTE]
It's actually really, really interesting.[/QUOTE]
If you say so, haven't seen a single second of it. Just gonna assume it was something that was on the news somewhere or whatever. [/QUOTE]
Actually I believe it's a lecture to law students first from an lawyer then from a police officer talking about how, well, essentially you shouldn't talk to cops.
It's very interesting and worth the watch.
C
Chibibar
AME- it is more of talking to a cop regarding a situation or possible crime around you. Even if you "heard" or "know" something and you may be innocent of it, depending on what you say or do, it may come back to you or even "pin" you for the crime (rare cases given in the lecture)
the basic principle is that you may need a lawyer present before saying anything to the cop, even the truth, because if you might say something wrong, get your time mix up (who remember what you were doing on Oct 11, 2009 at 11am????? huh? huh? I don't) so you might say something that you think it is true and incriminate yourself even if you didn't do the crime if the police didn't have any lead other than yours (also in the video)
the basic principle is that you may need a lawyer present before saying anything to the cop, even the truth, because if you might say something wrong, get your time mix up (who remember what you were doing on Oct 11, 2009 at 11am????? huh? huh? I don't) so you might say something that you think it is true and incriminate yourself even if you didn't do the crime if the police didn't have any lead other than yours (also in the video)
North_Ranger
Staff member
W
Wasabi Poptart
Hello! I see a motorcycle in your avatar. Do you ride often? What's your favorite bike and which ones do you/did you own?
D
Deschain
What kind of sidearm do you carry and are you right-handed/left-handed? Also, how does your department handle things like longarms? Is it policy to keep them in the trunk?
Of COURSE the lawyer doesn't want anyone talking to the police: he doesn't want his case getting shredded!
Defense attorneys are a cop's natural enemy. Not the thuglets we arrest - those are prey. A defense attorney's job is to make either us or our case against their client look just bad enough so that the amount of proof necessary for conviction is shifted just enough to get their client off.
The thing is... most officers won't make a bad arrest, or even a slightly sketchy one, because if we lose cases, there goes our credibility as an officer. When officers start bringing bad cases into court, judges remember your name, and starting being a lot more critical of the arrest. It's a lot like being remembered as the "problem child" in school. Even if you cleaned up your act, teachers will always remember you for any previous bad work.
I can't hate on the man for trying to teach others his craft: he even seems like he'd be a good defense attorney. Doesn't mean I have to like him.
I haven't, but after 9000 hours of searching on Google, and reading the basic storyline behind it, I believe I shall go to Barnes and Noble and utilize my gift card that my wifey got me for my birthday. Sounds very good!
Ha! Classic! I love Chris Rock. And, despite the farce of the sketch, he brings up a very good point - you get what you give, with the police. If you give attitude, while you might not get an ass-kicking, the stop is less likely to go well for you. Honesty, honesty, honesty! If you lie to me, I will do everything in my power to damage you, legally speaking. If you attempt to conceal anything that might hurt me... it might not go well for you... *evil grin*
Even though I get the feeling that this is a forum in-joke... yes? More wavy than curly, but it's so thick, the difference gets to be non-existent.
I own (sort of... long story) a Harley Sportster 883. Its a small bike, but it's my first one. I have to keep it with my parents in Alabama, though - I don't have a garage to keep it in down here, and there's no way in hell I'd leave a motorcycle unsecured in my neighborhood. Bike theft is one of the biggies down here, right now... I only get to ride once every other month or so, and not terribly far. It sucks so bad.
I have another photo, taken that same day, of me sitting on a midnight-blue Road King. She will be mine. Oh yes... she will be mine...
I carry a Glock 21 - .45 caliber. I'm a righty, which tends to mean that my right side gets weighted down easily. I need to work on my ambidexterity, but it's tough, because my department doesn't have its own range to practice on. As for long guns, shotguns are available only to those who pass the training for them, and there are a limited number per precinct. M4s and the like are reserved for SWAT officers, which I disagree with, but what can you do? When long guns are carried, they are toted in the trunk of the duty vehicle.
The Glocks are standard. If you qualify high enough (98%+), they will permit you to attempt to qualify with a 1911. There's only a few guys who are /k/ enough to want to follow through like that - most are happy with how easy the Glock is to field-strip and maintain.
Ah, but were I to be asked what I want to be asked, then you would already know the answer. I think... maybe... never wax pseudo-philosophical when sleep-depped.
Actually, just make that "never wax".... owie owie owie
L
Le Quack
How many people have you arrested for Marijuana?
Have you ever felt bad for arresting someone?
Are there laws you feel are in the "gray area" and feel uneasy about upholding?
If Marijuana was legal by state law, would you still arrest someone?
Have you ever given out tickets just to meet a quota?
Have you ever broken a law you have given someone else a ticket for and gotten away with it?
Are any of your non-military, non-police friends afraid to discuss some things with you?
How often do you profile?
You you give more tickets to men than women?
How many times have you not given a ticket because a woman was pretty?
Do you have anything in your life that isn't affected by you being a cop?
How do you feel about Internal Affairs?
Would you ever want to transfer to Internal Affairs?
Have you ever caught a fellow cop being less than straight with the laws?
Other than me not trusting any police officer, while at the same time trying to go under the radar, I think we should get a long fine. =]
Being a police officer is hard, and I have no sympathy for those that can't make good decisions, and those that follow blindly.
That said, if you follow the constitution and believe in what the people vote for, I don't see why I should blame you for being a cop.
Have you ever felt bad for arresting someone?
Are there laws you feel are in the "gray area" and feel uneasy about upholding?
If Marijuana was legal by state law, would you still arrest someone?
Have you ever given out tickets just to meet a quota?
Have you ever broken a law you have given someone else a ticket for and gotten away with it?
Are any of your non-military, non-police friends afraid to discuss some things with you?
How often do you profile?
You you give more tickets to men than women?
How many times have you not given a ticket because a woman was pretty?
Do you have anything in your life that isn't affected by you being a cop?
How do you feel about Internal Affairs?
Would you ever want to transfer to Internal Affairs?
Have you ever caught a fellow cop being less than straight with the laws?
Other than me not trusting any police officer, while at the same time trying to go under the radar, I think we should get a long fine. =]
Being a police officer is hard, and I have no sympathy for those that can't make good decisions, and those that follow blindly.
That said, if you follow the constitution and believe in what the people vote for, I don't see why I should blame you for being a cop.
fade
Staff member
I know this is Charon's thread, but being married to a cop, I have to jump in on a few things.
First, cops are human. They make mistakes and bad decisions. But just like any other job, a bad decision doesn't make a bad cop. Make no mistake, though. There are bad cops. From what I've seen, the other cops usually know who they are, too.
Second, I don't know where the "quota" thing started. I've never seen a department with an actual quota. I think that that started as some civilian explanation for a cluster of tickets given in one area.
As far as profiling goes, that's a touchy area. If a cop never profiled, there'd be no law enforcement beyond stopping what the cop sees or is reported. As much as we may absolutely hate it, and as uncomfortable as it is, if a person looks like he's up to something, he probably is (though defining "looks up to something" is hard). Everybody profiles. Everyone gets a bad feeling about someone. Doing it solely on race or gender is bad. Not doing it at all is impossible.
I'll give you another example. I rode along with my wife once. We're on a major road, and she says, "I'm going to stop this person." The car was ordinary looking, and I saw nothing different or wrong. But she knew. She had developed an intuition about it, just like everyone does about their own work. Sure enough, we watched as the car peeled off from in front of us and pretended to buy gas, apparently oblivious to the fact that we could see they weren't pumping. Eventually, the nervous driver made a driving error and we stopped her. Sure enough, she had no insurance. Minor, but my wife knew just from watching her that something was wrong (an ordinary looking white woman, btw.)
Also, lest you think I'm a cop apologist, I'm a long haired, left-wing hippy type who just happens to have married a girl who went on to be a cop. It really helped change my opinion of them, since I saw them from the inside. And I've been "profiled" before. I've been felony stopped twice for absolutely nothing. I've been held on the side of the road while the freaking FBI searched my car.
First, cops are human. They make mistakes and bad decisions. But just like any other job, a bad decision doesn't make a bad cop. Make no mistake, though. There are bad cops. From what I've seen, the other cops usually know who they are, too.
Second, I don't know where the "quota" thing started. I've never seen a department with an actual quota. I think that that started as some civilian explanation for a cluster of tickets given in one area.
As far as profiling goes, that's a touchy area. If a cop never profiled, there'd be no law enforcement beyond stopping what the cop sees or is reported. As much as we may absolutely hate it, and as uncomfortable as it is, if a person looks like he's up to something, he probably is (though defining "looks up to something" is hard). Everybody profiles. Everyone gets a bad feeling about someone. Doing it solely on race or gender is bad. Not doing it at all is impossible.
I'll give you another example. I rode along with my wife once. We're on a major road, and she says, "I'm going to stop this person." The car was ordinary looking, and I saw nothing different or wrong. But she knew. She had developed an intuition about it, just like everyone does about their own work. Sure enough, we watched as the car peeled off from in front of us and pretended to buy gas, apparently oblivious to the fact that we could see they weren't pumping. Eventually, the nervous driver made a driving error and we stopped her. Sure enough, she had no insurance. Minor, but my wife knew just from watching her that something was wrong (an ordinary looking white woman, btw.)
Also, lest you think I'm a cop apologist, I'm a long haired, left-wing hippy type who just happens to have married a girl who went on to be a cop. It really helped change my opinion of them, since I saw them from the inside. And I've been "profiled" before. I've been felony stopped twice for absolutely nothing. I've been held on the side of the road while the freaking FBI searched my car.
Ah, the infamous LeQuack. At last we meet! *chuckles*
Actually... a lot of these are fairly decent questions.
I felt the worst about a situation that's still in court right now, so I can't talk about it until it's resolved. Suffice it to say, it's a result of the state pressing charges in a domestic violence incident, but I know more about the history of the pair involved.
You can't always say "The law is the law," in this profession. For one thing - there'd be almost noone on the streets. Like good generals, you pick and choose your battles.
I don't like being an object of fear. That's not why I do this job. I do this job for the same reason I roll paladins: I like helping people. I'm not a mindless automaton out to persecute and prosecute everyone. I believe that I can best help society by providing my services as a shield against that which others would attempt to inflict upon it. It's why I served in the military, and why I serve on the thin blue line.
To profile, in the strictest legal sense, you look at elements of a person or a vehicle, and you run them through an internal filter. If they meet certain criteria, this is an anomaly, and further investigation could provide evidence of a crime.
For example: I drive through a low-income neighborhood - small duplexes and cheap apartments and the like. Usually, vehicles tend to be in various states of disrepair, for one reason or another. Some have patches of primer, or body parts that are different colors, having come from salvage. If I see a Cadillac ZTS sitting on 22" chrome rims, darkly tinted with lots of accents parked in the driveway of a home that's no different from other homes in the neighborhood, I would get a small red flag. Some people really like their cars, and buy stuff for them at the regrettable expense of everything else. It happens.
But it would be enough for me to want to keep an eye on the house whenever I'd drive through that neighborhood, and keep an eye out for heavy foot traffic in the area.
THAT is correct profiling. Not what most people believe ("Oh, he's black and driving a Caprice - lemme get him for something.")
It's also taking what you have learned, and applying it to what you observe. I've learned that if I drive through an apartment complex or trailer park and I see a group of cars with South Carolina license plates, I know that they belong to a group of hispanics living in these places, because South Carolina doesn't require you to have an American driver's license (or social security number...) to register your vehicle. Do I hassle these people? Not unless I get called over there, and I don't make a big deal about the fact that the VAST majority of them are illegal. They're hard-working folks, for the most part, who are just trying to provide for their families.
Only 1 left, actually. Been busy, the last couple months. Of the 22 carbon copies I had, 11 were for men, 11 were for women. The most prevalent offenses were no insurance and suspended registration (I've been running a lot of tags recently... I let off during the holiday season, but it's about time to step it up again). 2 carbon copies were provided to another officer, as I wrote tickets for him during an accident investigation (no insurance, no license).
But they still have to investigate every one. I don't envy them their job.
Maybe one day, but not now.
I appreciate your questions, and acknowledge that you aren't one of the bleating masses, but someone who's apparently put some genuine thought into his convictions, and has unfortunately had a few run-ins with some of my brothers.
Take care, and be safe!
Actually... a lot of these are fairly decent questions.
Not nearly as many as I could have. I usually don't bother with marijuana - I'll just make you dump it out and send you on your way, if it's not felony-weight, or packaged for distribution (i.e. if circumstances and other evidence lead me to believe that you've been slinging, not if you've just come from purchasing, with it still wrapped up.) Marijuana is, I believe, nowhere near as harmful as its made out to be. Unfortunately, I believe that the PURSUIT of marijuana leads to other, more major crimes like burglary and robbery (several homes that we respond to for burglaries "neglect" to tell us EVERYTHING that is taken - usually it's just inordinately large amounts of cash)
Many times. I'm blessed/cursed with a strong sense of empathy. It allows me to see many sides of a person's circumstances, and allows me a VERY broad sense of judgement when I make my call to arrest/not arrest. If I can stroke a citation instead, odds are likely I'll do that.
I felt the worst about a situation that's still in court right now, so I can't talk about it until it's resolved. Suffice it to say, it's a result of the state pressing charges in a domestic violence incident, but I know more about the history of the pair involved.
You can't always say "The law is the law," in this profession. For one thing - there'd be almost noone on the streets. Like good generals, you pick and choose your battles.
Define "Gray Area." It depends on which field of crime you're talking about. Is it drug crime, other vice crime, violent crime, financial crime, or other crime?
No, because that would be a bad arrest. I get sued for making bad arrests - ergo, I do not make bad arrests.
I have never heard of ANY department handing out quotas. I'm actually a soft touch - the only things I WILL cite for, guaranteed, are red light and school zone violations. I am sick and tired of riding accidents where one person thought they could beat the light and failed.
I plead the fifth! *chuckles* No, seriously though... the minor traffic infractions that I catch myself doing, I don't hold against people. Unless I need a PC stop on someone for something else, I will probably never write a turn signal ticket, for example.
Not at all. Most are genuinely curious about the life, and ask all kinds of questions. Much like here.
I don't like being an object of fear. That's not why I do this job. I do this job for the same reason I roll paladins: I like helping people. I'm not a mindless automaton out to persecute and prosecute everyone. I believe that I can best help society by providing my services as a shield against that which others would attempt to inflict upon it. It's why I served in the military, and why I serve on the thin blue line.
Profiling is a dangerous term, a media buzzword that tends to get snapped up by people without fully understanding what it means.
To profile, in the strictest legal sense, you look at elements of a person or a vehicle, and you run them through an internal filter. If they meet certain criteria, this is an anomaly, and further investigation could provide evidence of a crime.
For example: I drive through a low-income neighborhood - small duplexes and cheap apartments and the like. Usually, vehicles tend to be in various states of disrepair, for one reason or another. Some have patches of primer, or body parts that are different colors, having come from salvage. If I see a Cadillac ZTS sitting on 22" chrome rims, darkly tinted with lots of accents parked in the driveway of a home that's no different from other homes in the neighborhood, I would get a small red flag. Some people really like their cars, and buy stuff for them at the regrettable expense of everything else. It happens.
But it would be enough for me to want to keep an eye on the house whenever I'd drive through that neighborhood, and keep an eye out for heavy foot traffic in the area.
THAT is correct profiling. Not what most people believe ("Oh, he's black and driving a Caprice - lemme get him for something.")
It's also taking what you have learned, and applying it to what you observe. I've learned that if I drive through an apartment complex or trailer park and I see a group of cars with South Carolina license plates, I know that they belong to a group of hispanics living in these places, because South Carolina doesn't require you to have an American driver's license (or social security number...) to register your vehicle. Do I hassle these people? Not unless I get called over there, and I don't make a big deal about the fact that the VAST majority of them are illegal. They're hard-working folks, for the most part, who are just trying to provide for their families.
Not really... hang on, I'll check my most recent ticket book (4 left, I believe)
Only 1 left, actually. Been busy, the last couple months. Of the 22 carbon copies I had, 11 were for men, 11 were for women. The most prevalent offenses were no insurance and suspended registration (I've been running a lot of tags recently... I let off during the holiday season, but it's about time to step it up again). 2 carbon copies were provided to another officer, as I wrote tickets for him during an accident investigation (no insurance, no license).
Never. I can't allow myself to be placed in a position where my integrity will be called into question like that. Integrity is EVERYTHING as a law enforcement officer. If I lose my integrity, then everything I have ever done in this profession gets called into question. It's just too important. I can't even BEGIN to stress this enough.
My cats. My hobbies. My taste in movies and music. I'm still me - I just wear a badge and carry a gun and cuffs, that's all.
Here they're called the Office of Professional Standards. They have a tough row to hoe. It's not easy when the vast majority of the department looks on you distrustingly, wondering when you're going to pounce. The reality is, they really don't come down on people often. We get complained on every day, by people who don't understand why we do what we do. Sometimes, it's racially motivated (I was at a scene where three ladies were squawking because a fellow officer chased their nephew into their house, because the officer was attempting to stop him, and the guy thought that if he ran inside, he was safe. These ladies cussed and fussed until my sergeant arrived, whereupon it was "Oh, a black officer. FINALLY someone with some sense." That's a direct quote. *scoffs*), sometimes it's because people on the outside don't see that the suspect just took a swing at three officers before they started tussling, and is actively trying to escape the officers attempting to restrain him. Very rarely is a complaint founded.
But they still have to investigate every one. I don't envy them their job.
I might... I honestly don't feel that's the best place for me right now. I need more street time. My instincts aren't what they could be, and the only thing to get them better is experience.
Maybe one day, but not now.
I can honestly say that I never have. I work with a very professional watch. I've heard others talking about things that I've felt were perhaps a little sketchy, even though the bust was still good.
I tend not to trust overly what people en masse vote for, because I believe that people vote bread and circuses too much, any more. However, the Constitution is a fine document, well-entrenched in law (and getting further dug in, every day! ), and serves this nation well.
I appreciate your questions, and acknowledge that you aren't one of the bleating masses, but someone who's apparently put some genuine thought into his convictions, and has unfortunately had a few run-ins with some of my brothers.
Take care, and be safe!
- Status