OT: "America's Finest"?, HARDLY Options

[Brett W]

Unfortunately I wasn't in the teener tonight, but I had a run in with "Huntsville's Finest" (What an oxymoron). I was headed down the interstate and exited to get on a south bound limited access Parkway. Well there is this really nice sweeper that leads to the merge that can be taken very smoothly at the interstate speed of 65mph. The parkway speed limit is 50. I know this pig is behind me somewhere, but he didn't seemed to be interested in me for the previous 5 miles, so I do my thing have my 30 secs of fun and merge onto the Parkway at 60, which is about the flow of traffic speed. AS I look in my rear veiw to merge this pig breaks half a dozen traffic laws to wrecklessly tailgate me, kinda like "look at me I am a punk with a badge and I can do anything I want". SO I drop the speed from the flow of traffic to 50mph. Grandma passes me on a bike but this pig is still on my ass. I can play his game, so we cruise at 50 for about 6 miles him right on my ass and me pickin' my nose in the mirror. People are passing us by the dozens, I am still at 50mph. Then this moron tries to go around me on an access ramp and I am actually stuck in traffic so he can't merge in front of me. He keeps going on the next access road, at 60+mph and finally get past the traffic and starts cruising at 60mph right past all of the 50mph speed limit signs. I speed up to traffic speed and captain pig slows down again to fuck with me some more but some one turns in front of him and the pig has to slow down enough for me to get a screen of traffic in front of him and I go on about my life severly pissed.

What kind of recourse does the regular citizen have against the Donut Nazis? None. "WHO YA GONNA CALL" the cops, please. That is about as effective as asking Ted Kennedy to tell the truth.

Can you tell I don't like this new breed of pigs? Punks with a gun and a badge. Don't tell me I need cops because I don't.

End of rant (for now)

Number of time I used pig in this post: 4
Number of times I used Captain pig: 1
number of times I used donut nazi: 1

[Joe Bob]

Get his cop car ID number and call the mayor or anyone on the council that don't like the cops that much....just because he is a cop doesn't mean he can drive like a dick.....

"I" woulda tapped the brakes hard enuff to make him hit me....what's he gonna do give ya ticket?

When I'm out and spreading warmth and joy....I always expect a citizen to call and bitch about me doing my job....my boss expects at least three calls a month. I get the most due to the complexity of my investigations and I deal with sources that usually don't see people like me.....

[boxstr]

Got a nice suprise in the mail today from the OREGON DMV. A letter with a "Driving Restriction" I had three speeding tickets in the last six months. I was guilty, no fighting it.
So they send a letter that tells me I must "not" drive between 12:00am and 5:00am, and I must carry the letter with me at all times, plus if I get another ticket, no matter what, I get to hire a chauffer to drive me around, for six months.
No one's fault but my own.
CCLINRESTRICTEDDRIVER

[Joe Bob]

Time to move to Kaleefornya Craiger.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

[Rusty]

Frame the letter.. and carry it around proudly! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

-Rusty (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smoke.gif)

[Hawktel]

Humm I got pulled over by a Cop back in January, because at Midnight when pulling out onto a deserted road I went for 2 lanes, not one.

So I sat in my warm jeep, he issued me a warning, and I kept him there freezing his can off for another 10 minutes with inane questions about concealed carry procedures, until his snot started the freeze, and then bid him a good night, and went on my way. I consider us even.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[Brett W]

AS I haven't gotten around to registering the Honda yet, I just grabbed the tag off the 914 and I really don't want to have to deal with the switched tag issue. Yes i know that is my fault.

I thought about it later I should have grabbed the hand brake and let him run all over me then I could have at least owned the HPD or maybe part of it.

[Jake Raby]

luckily all the cops in my town are close enough to hear the dyno.. its not uncommon for 3-4 patrol cars being in my yard at once when something big is running...

My shop is 400 yards from the jail..... I have met one at 110 in the 914 and he waved at me.... another newbie once pulled me over and when they called my license plate in "notasix" the shift commander told him to let me go... That day I had no insurance card, no wallet, no rear lights and no trunk lid on the teener and was turning 7K in 3rd when he saw me.... in a 45 MPH zone to boot!

I guess I've just been lucky, when a trooper gets my ass I'll be in jail for a couple days....

[seanery]

Brett, I'd say you're lucky and should count your blessings. In Indiana, switching plates like that will get you a ticket and a tow. Using a registered plate on another car is a big no no. He may have run your plate while he was behind you, probably in a hurry to get somewhere so he sat on your ass and made you scared for a while. I'd say get over it, and please don't call cops pigs. That really bugs me and the police officers here on the board I'm sure.

[rhodyguy]

craig, no driving between 12 and 5? wtf? no closing down the bars for you. i guess you can't leave early in the morning for the wcc. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

kevin

[Bruce Allert]

Good Grief Craig the longer I know you the more I'm surprised by what you do & the outcome (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif) From posting "barenekidladies" web sites to ticket collecting. That's quite eclectic (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I Love It (IMG:style_emoticons/default/clap56.gif)

I usually get along with Cops quite well. The State Troopers would park in my Dads upholstery shop lot, go in & have coffee & watch traffic go down Hwy 30 in the St. Helens area. I got to know a lot of them & that was a good thing whilst being in high School! Then, when working for various city's I did maint. on their cars. Would also provide "cover" for them if they needed to get close to a house for investigation purposes. Also have numerous cousins in the LAPD.
Some cops are dicks but most are great people. I'm glad they're around (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

...........b

[Mark Henry]

Although I try not to call them pigs, I've seen some cops that are total dicks.

2 years ago I was driving on a road with an 80kph(50mph) speed limit. I was going with the flow at 100kph and he passed me like I was standing still and started tailgating the car in front of me. He made the old guy, of the car he was tailgating, so nervous that he pulls over. Then he was tailgating a truck. He pulled out to see if he could pass and almost (within feet) did a head-on with an oncoming car. The guy in the truck also pulled over to let this dick by. He raced ahead at speeds of 90mph+ only to get stopped at a construction site. So he saved no time what so ever. I got up behind him and took his number down.

I could tell by the punk bobbing his head up, with his hands behind his back, that this cop was on a prisoner transport. No emergency at all.

Laws he broke:
Tailgating
Speeding
Improper signal
Improper lane change
Driving dangerous
Careless driving (separate charge from driving dangerous)
maybe more

I phoned the cop shop and complained and was told that the matter would be dealt with, yeh right.

In another instance our local deputy chief was charged with DUI by the OPP (like a state trooper) and got off because of the good ol’boy network.

This is but one of many (as in a lot) instances of cops breaking the laws. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

[Brett W]

I can count on one hand the number of cops I have met that are on the level. THis new generation of cops is just a prick with a badge. Probably got beat up in elementary school so he gets a gun and some authority to push people around that have no recourse. I won't apologize for the way I feel. If they are on this board than they will get added to my really short list of good guys.

Nah, if captain pig had run my tag he would have pulled me over for sure. Here it is a 300+ dollar fine.

If the police did something besides write tickets and hassle people I might feel differently but I have yet to see that.

[7391420]

The things that piss me off are,

1. We basically have no re-course for this type of crap. Cops can abuse their power and, if they are local cops, most people dont want to file a report, for fear of reprisal.

2. Most of these issues involve cops wasting their time, and our tax dollars on crap like this, with the end result being that real criminals have less to fear

3. Law enforcement attracts many good people, but it also attracts power hungry, low life a-holes who get off by wearing a uniform and scaring people.

[Jake Raby]

My dad was a cop for 30 years and he has been retired for 20... He tels me of stories of the old days when you'd drag a drunk out of a bar and let his head pop on the steps after a brawl.... Today these guys are nothing like they used to be, and thats why I don't respect them very much...

Hell about 3 years ago I was giving the bug hell and then slowed down and turned in the driveway. When I got in the shop the phone was ringing so I grabbed it...

I was on the phone for a good 3 minutes before a city cop ( I live in the county) came up my driveway with lights and siren blaring... He yells at me and says "who the hell was driving this blue car?" I said, thats me... So he yelled and told me to get off the phone..

He left the lights going (in my damn driveway thats 1/4 mile off the main road on a dirt road.) and commenced to tell me how I was going over 100 MPH through towm < I never even saw the guy! He then tells me that I was running from him, but I wasn't.... didn't know he was there.... I just said look, I'm driving a VW, these things are slow....

About that time my dad pulls up and comes to see whats going on.. ask the cop why the hell he has lights going in the yard. He gave a smartass answer.... My dad just looked at him and said "Hey boy, what fucking toy store did that badge come from anyway, it almost looks real"

I about flipped! Believe it or not, it was the guys first day on the job and he was a boot from hell... I didn't even get a warning....

A beetle going 100, is he high??? (It had a 2613 TIV nicely fitted into the engine bay)

[Brett W]

Most of the older cops understand how it is. They knew what battles to fight and what one to let go.

[anthony]

I'm still pissed about the 8mph over ticket I got in Tahoe. Fucking 6000 pound+ SUVs passing me all weekend at 80-90mph and I get a ticket for 63mph because I happen to leave Tahoe late and nobody is on the road for this guy to give a ticket to.

If my vote counted cops would not be tax collectors harassing safe drivers.

[airsix]

I'll keep my comments to the original issue - what to do when you see a police officer breaking the law:

Catch it on video and turn it in to the local news. If they ignore it turn it in to the other local news channel. If they ignore it, pay the $30 to broadcast it on public-access cable. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

If you don't have it on video you don't have a leg to stand on. I seriously want to put a camera in my car running a 30minute loop that can be saved on demand. I see crap all the time that I want someone held accountable for.

-Ben M.

[Jake Raby]

when I was in the Marine Corp the damn MPs were horrible..

when I was at el Toro I got a ticket for 1 MPH over the 15 mph speed limit! The next ticket i got was for exhibition of speed (popping a wheelie in a squareback that had the top chopped off and painted like a cow with a 174BHP engine) and because it was #3 in a year I had to go stand in front of the base C.O. Kind of hard to explain, so I just told him that there was no excuse...

Two days later I did a clutch job for him on his Jeep, after we started talking cars..... It still sucked though.

[GWN7]

Like with any job your going to run in to guys that abuse their power. I worked for 5 yrs in a combined police/fire station. There was a guy that would give his mother a ticket. He used to run the plates on our cars,for fun I guess. One day he gave the wrong guy a ticket, next day he was walking a beat, which is no fun when it's -40 outside.

Another time the sargent used to complain about our cooking. He came in and said he was getting compalints about the odours (cabbage and garlic soup) I told him to tell them to sign the confession and we would give them a bowl.

Would I like to do there job? Nope, been shot at once that was enough. I had the offer to join the local police, but I chose fire. Figured I didn't want to have to arrest my friends. They end up dealing with mostly the lowest forms in our society and sometimes it affects how they deal with everyone else who dosen't wear blue.

Coming home from Florida one year, I decided to drive the North shore of Lake Superior. Came up thru WI and crossed at Sioux ste Marrie. 10 minuites out of town a light bar goes on behind me. Cruise is on, set at the limit. I get my licence and reg out, get out of the truck. Turns out he was bored. So sat and talked to him for 15 min and gave him some ERIT information I had on products taht I picked up at a trade show. Now he had something to read instead of pulling someone else over to talk to.

On road trips I take my video camera with me. If he was tailgating me, I would have slowed down and taped him.