Murders and rapes are generally not observed. No point in the police responding if they didn’t observe it.
Washington State again - Bill to restrain cops on traffic stops
- Thread starter Snattlerake
- Start Date
What we are seeing is a backlash against cops because of a century or more of abuse by them.
I'm not a whiney liberal,,,
Nor am I a "defund the police" advocate,,,
But I am all for taking away the picayune reasons a cop can pull you over for.
Back in 2018 (I believe) I was driving home at night from Ok City to Stillwater,,,
I had been down to the city to help my brother move to a new home,,,
It was cold so I was wearing my old USAF field jacket,,,
And driving an older model (1978) Toyota pickup.
Now bear in mind that I was in my late 60's then,,,
I had normal hair and wasn't speeding,,,
But it was night on Hwy 33.
A highway patrolman pulled me over,,,
He said it was because my license plate light was out.
After I showed him my license and insurance verification,,,
That should have been the end of it with a warning to fix the light.
But no, it wasn't over.
He wanted to search my vehicle,,,
I told him not without a search warrant or probable cause.
He then threatened me with calling for a drug sniffing dog,,,
And started to make threats of me being arrested for "obstruction".
Nothing is more frightening than to have a person with a cops authority harassing you,,,
I must admit that I was shaking (more from rage than fear) in my seat.
I told him exactly where I had been and what I was doing out so late at night,,,
I also told him that I had no better place to be so call his dang dogs,,,
I was frightened but I knew I was clean as a whistle.
He circled my truck shining his light everywhere he could,,,
He was very careful to not touch any of the things in the truck bed,,,
I was waiting for him to move even one little thing so I could claim an unwarranted search.
Then that sonofunmarriedparents made me sit in the cold for 20 minutes,,,
Presumably while he called for the drug dogs that never showed
He eventually let me go with a verbal warning to fix the light,,,
He was so frustrated because he just "knew" he had a redneck law-breaker.
He stopped me because I looked like some poor redneck who had to be guilty of something,,,
It was a fishing expedition plain and simple and there wasn't a thing I could do about it but endure.
So yes, I'm all in favor of limiting the reasons a cop can pull you over,,,
The latest one here in Oklahoma is that damn law,,,
Prohibiting driving in the fast lane.
Right after it was enacted I was pulled over by a Highway Patrol on Hwy 51,,,
I told him it was because of the abundance of wildlife crossing the road,,,
I drive in the center to give myself a few more moments to react.
In the 17 years I've been driving from Stillwater to Ripley,,,
I have sustained expensive damage to my cars.
A HUGE raccoon took out my Toyota's front suspension,,,
Another raccoon or dog dented the heck out of my grill and ruined the radiator,,,
And last but not least a damn deer took out the nice, newly paid off, Nissan Sentra that I loved.
He let me off with a verbal warning but the problem is still there,,,
Cops have too dang many ways they can stop you,,,
All because "they just can".
I'm for limiting that behavior in any way possible.
Aarond
.
I'm not a whiney liberal,,,
Nor am I a "defund the police" advocate,,,
But I am all for taking away the picayune reasons a cop can pull you over for.
Back in 2018 (I believe) I was driving home at night from Ok City to Stillwater,,,
I had been down to the city to help my brother move to a new home,,,
It was cold so I was wearing my old USAF field jacket,,,
And driving an older model (1978) Toyota pickup.
Now bear in mind that I was in my late 60's then,,,
I had normal hair and wasn't speeding,,,
But it was night on Hwy 33.
A highway patrolman pulled me over,,,
He said it was because my license plate light was out.
After I showed him my license and insurance verification,,,
That should have been the end of it with a warning to fix the light.
But no, it wasn't over.
He wanted to search my vehicle,,,
I told him not without a search warrant or probable cause.
He then threatened me with calling for a drug sniffing dog,,,
And started to make threats of me being arrested for "obstruction".
Nothing is more frightening than to have a person with a cops authority harassing you,,,
I must admit that I was shaking (more from rage than fear) in my seat.
I told him exactly where I had been and what I was doing out so late at night,,,
I also told him that I had no better place to be so call his dang dogs,,,
I was frightened but I knew I was clean as a whistle.
He circled my truck shining his light everywhere he could,,,
He was very careful to not touch any of the things in the truck bed,,,
I was waiting for him to move even one little thing so I could claim an unwarranted search.
Then that sonofunmarriedparents made me sit in the cold for 20 minutes,,,
Presumably while he called for the drug dogs that never showed
He eventually let me go with a verbal warning to fix the light,,,
He was so frustrated because he just "knew" he had a redneck law-breaker.
He stopped me because I looked like some poor redneck who had to be guilty of something,,,
It was a fishing expedition plain and simple and there wasn't a thing I could do about it but endure.
So yes, I'm all in favor of limiting the reasons a cop can pull you over,,,
The latest one here in Oklahoma is that damn law,,,
Prohibiting driving in the fast lane.
Right after it was enacted I was pulled over by a Highway Patrol on Hwy 51,,,
I told him it was because of the abundance of wildlife crossing the road,,,
I drive in the center to give myself a few more moments to react.
In the 17 years I've been driving from Stillwater to Ripley,,,
I have sustained expensive damage to my cars.
A HUGE raccoon took out my Toyota's front suspension,,,
Another raccoon or dog dented the heck out of my grill and ruined the radiator,,,
And last but not least a damn deer took out the nice, newly paid off, Nissan Sentra that I loved.
He let me off with a verbal warning but the problem is still there,,,
Cops have too dang many ways they can stop you,,,
All because "they just can".
I'm for limiting that behavior in any way possible.
Aarond
.
I agree. To be fair as a Washingtonian born and raised the Californians messed my state up. We were not smart enough or brave enough to stop them at the border or deport them back to their state. Take it as a warning for any state they move too…
The Californians started it but it was an influx of East Coasters that killed WA.
Not sure I agree with that. Met very few radical east coasters vs Californians. Same when I lived in Texas. In my limited experience most people from the east were escaping stupidity as opposed to the Californians who were importing it.
I think the real heart of the issue is that the police see us citizens as adversaries and common citizens as potential criminals. a police officer shouldn't be looking for reasons to throw people away or ticket them...the goal should be to deter and protect society. If you pull over someone for a minor violation, it's better to give a warning than a ticket. I wouldn't mind getting pulled over if i thought the cop was gonna treat me fair.
It'd be nice to be able to trust the police and their motivations, but hell i don't even want to talk to the cops. everything you say can be used against you in a court of law, as they say. the police officer should be more like a firefighter and less like a predator seeking to abuse their authority.
It'd be nice to be able to trust the police and their motivations, but hell i don't even want to talk to the cops. everything you say can be used against you in a court of law, as they say. the police officer should be more like a firefighter and less like a predator seeking to abuse their authority.
Having never been an officer I have a limited scope of knowledge. However, both of my parents were police in WA. It is true there are a few bad officers. However, IMO that is because they have not been reigned in by the veterans or fired. My mom always said you don’t know if a “regular citizen” is good or bad. Every interaction needs to be seen to the end. The most compliant and respectful person can turn at the drop of a dime and try and kill you. Sometimes I think we forget that the laws are made by politicians and not the police. They just want to come home to their families. But I agree anyone abusing power needs to be held accountable to the fullest extent but in my experience the vast majority of police are there because they care and want to protect.
i'd like to think what you say is correct, because of course it is the law enforcement that are in the wrong that get the most attention.
I don't have any personal experience nor do i have any close friends or relatives who are in law enforcement, so i don't have the full picture. I can only give an opinion based on my layman's observation, which is a very limited viewpoint..
i do want to acknowledge that law enforcement is by the nature of it a very dangerous and unpredictable job. an older, wiser gentleman once told me that when you become a law enforcement officer it sort of separates you from the rest of society. Who you associate with, who associates with you...It also changes your outlook on people. You start viewing people in a different light as a result of constant contact with the darker elements of society.
It's true that politicians make the law, not the police, but sometimes how it is interpreted and applied by law enforcement and the judiciary is not necessarily even keeled. A law is by nature a binary thing, the discretion is up to the officer.
So it's not a problem that there is a law that allows seizure of potential drug monies, but it is a problem when the law uses it to enrich their dept at the expense of innocent motorists.
it's not an issue that it's a crime to loiter or disturb the peace, it's an issue when police use that discretion to arrest people minding their own business. Or charging people with resisting arrest when they're the ones being overly physically aggressive.
what about this ****?
cops do stuff like this, and they 'investigate' themselves, find no wrongdoing and you can't sue the individual officers because they have ******** immunity protection for what amounts to crimes.
there are a lot of cops out there that are good people, no doubt, but the judiciary in this country, and the departments themselves, are too lenient on law enforcement and give them too much benefit of the doubt. there is no oversight in this country.
sure, maybe such overt violations are rare, but when they happen to you at the hands of an authority you have no recourse against, it feels particularly offensive.
It is nice to be able to see the other drivers, to let them go ahead. Be nice to others, just maybe others will be also.
What is our country going to be like if we do not have LEOs doing their jobs?
Similar threads
