Got a ticket today

[Gaijin]

Sorry, I had to post in here again on this.

I hated doing traffic but it was unfortunately part of the job.

Everytime I stopped someone it was a coin flip if I was going to be killed, shot, stabbed, assaulted, hit by a passsing motorist (friends of mine have had all the afformentioned happen to them on traffic stops) yelled at, accussed or being a racist and racial profiling ( though often times I did not know the race of someone I stopped until I was nearly up to their window ) told I was "harrassing" someone, asked if "don't I have anything better to do?", argued with and generally made to feel awful like I was inconveniencing someone or bothering them because I was doing my job. I have had people berate me right in front of their kids sitting next to them or in the back seat. I have been offered bribes people assuming that I must be on the take as they have seen this on TV (whatever), (BTW that is an instant trip to the cross bar hotel), and had women cry hysterically thinking that will help or attemp to use their sexuality like I am some gullible loser. I have had people run from me on traffic stops. Pulled over stolen cars and got into horrific pursuits. Some of the most awful fights I got into were the result of traffic stops where the driver ended up having a warrant. I could go on and on...
There is NO upside for an officer in doing traffic stops.

Why!? Why!? Would I enjoy this!? I hated it. Least favorite thing I HAD to do when I was a police officer. When an officer near me went out on a traffic stop I immediatley if I was free started rolling in his/her direction. They just have such a propensity to go sideways fast.

I would rather have a stick stuck in my eye than be assigned permanently to the Traffic Detail, which only does traffic enforcement, DUIs and accident investigations (fatals and serious injury wrecks.)

Exhausting the stereotypes generated, the misconceptions and the dislike for "cops."


I don't recommend that job to anyone. Ever. Glad I am done.

[Gaijin]

Sorry for the double post.

[seand442]

I've spent nearly a decade working traffic. Everything that has already been said is true. People tend to think that traffic enforcement is "chicken$hit" and designed to only pad city budgets. Those same people have never had to tell mom and dad that their child is dead because a drunk blew through a red light and killed them. Quite possibly, the worst thing I have had to do. Until people learn that driving a car is the only thing you should be doing when you are driving a car, police officers will continue to enforce traffic laws and people will continue to bitch that it is unfair and that officers should be catching "real criminals."
On that note, I'm out. Goodnight TRF.

[lavaman]

yea, well those of us who have worked the street could all tell some stories. but no one here would believe them, and we'd get banned in 30 seconds flat.

so lets leave it at this:

google a poem called "a cop on the take"

and in the mean time, for all my brother LEOs, when you have hit the end of watch, go work one more case....

[dba]

Originally Posted by Gaijin

I would rather have a stick stuck in my eye than be assigened permanently to the Traffic Detail ( which only does traffic enforcemet, DUIs and accident investigations (fatals and serious injury wrecks.)

Evening Gaijin,

I was lucky enough to work with my younger brother while on the job. We both tour on motorcycles during our off times. When he went into traffic to ride motors on duty, someone asked me if I was also going to do it also. My answer was somewhat like your's above, it went, "I'd rather have my prostate examined than permanantly work traffic."

Cheers,

David

[Gaijin]

By the way the most Internal Affairs complaints an officer generates which by the way are a seriously stressful and exhausting experience are generated by traffic stops. I had a few complaints all painstakingly investigated in my career. I was exonerated each and every time.

This one though takes the cake. Working a MANDATORY seat belt enforcement detail. Trust me I did not volunteer for this.

Spot a white male in a black Benz not wearing his seatbelt (and yacking on his phone by the way, but no law against it at that time. )

I light him up and he attempts to elude me shooting down a few sidestreets and pulling into a driveway. WTF..

Finally get to approach him and he curses me berates me and is rude like you can't imagine. All the while I am polite and "sir" this guy to death. He can't produce a license or his insurance but if I let him run inside (he is in his driveway) he can get them for me. That's not gonna happen. All the while yelling at me. Meanwhile his front seat passenger is soaking this all in. Well you know you are required to have your license and insurance IN your car with you while operating a motor vehicle. So I go back to my car and cite him for the seat belt violation, failure to carry proof of insurance and no DL on his person (which by the way is an arrestable offense at the officer's discretion and a $1,000 fine.) I decide to take the high road and just cite not arrest though this guy had me so upset with his behavior that my whole day was ruined and I was shaking with anger at him. Though he never would have known as I continued to be polite and professional. I could have arrested him and towed his car. I did not.

I go back up to the car and when he sees the $1,000 citation he is floored. He looks devasted. I take pity on him and void the citation leaving him with just the fail to carry insurance (which I tell him I will dismiss if he comes in and shows proof to the court clerk.) The seat belt ticket I tell him I will dismiss if he attends a 4 hour class given by local ER Doctors and Nurses on seat belt safety ( these people are very qualified to scare you straight into wearing your seatbelt.) I was able to verify that he had a valid license on the computer though he had a horrible driving record. All in all I cut this guy some major slack.

What thanks do I get? He beefs me to Internal Affairs saying that the only reason I stopped him was that he was get this "white" and driving a Benz in a nice neighborhood. Haha! What a twist that was. Of course he used the magic words that I was "rude" and IA took the complaint. Geez. Like I don't have enough on my plate.

He comes in and gives this horrific statement about how badly I treated him until...


they interviewed the passenger (his friend) who sat quietly throughout the entire traffic stop observing his and my behavior (thank God I got his info/name and phone number and wrote it in my notebook.) The passenger's response to IA? This is a quote "That poor officer ate shit with a shovel from my friend who was a complete asshole and out of line." "The officer was polite the entire time!." "I was hoping that he would have drug my friend out of the car and arrested him to shut him up." Haha!

IA calls back the original complainant (the driver) and faced with his friend's statement he withdraws his complaint. No recourse or repurcussions for him for making a false written statement against me.

Still went in my file as a complaint though which could hinder promotions or transfers. Never said sorry to me though I did not expect it.

Did I mention how much I hated doing traffic stops?

[Gaijin]

One last point. Maybe.

The use of the word "cop" As mentioned before it has become a mainstream part of the English language though I still bristle at it when I hear someone use it who is not a police officer. Especially kids. It is a bit disrespectful.

Police officers call themsleves cops and each other cops. We earned that right. If you are not part of that sub culture its probably not a good idea to call a cop a cop.

[Gharddog03]

Some people will just not understand. I don't even bother explaining.

[Ed Rooney]

Originally Posted by BarkMaster

Glad you didn't have to pay, but did you get your "say"?

Unfortunately, no.

[lavaman]

Irony, I got a ticket yesterday. Huge one because cop bagged me as I had just exited the frontage and elected to take foot off gas rather than hit brakes. Its an intersection I have gone though thousands of times and nearly been rear ended for keeping it under the limit there. More irony, I had just told someone about that spot about 20 mins earlier. So mad. But not at the cop. Its,my own damn fault

[dba]

Originally Posted by Gaijin

IA calls back the original complainant (the driver) and faced with his friend's statement he withdraws his complaint. No recourse or repurcussions for him for making a false written statement against me.

Still went in my file as a complaint though which could hinder promotions or transfers. Never said sorry to me though I did not expect it.

Did I mention how much I hated doing traffic stops?

Afternoon Gaijin,

Once the guy withdrew the complaint, your record should have showed "Unfounded" instead of "Exonerated." Your behavior didn't need exonerating. You did nothing wrong. In California, it is a crime to knowingly file a false complaint against a police officer.

I was always polite and professional with my interaction with the public, (and administrators), but I had a plan to kill everyone I met, (including administrators) just in case something went sideways. This down to earth, no BS approach would sometimes come across as rude and I would get the complaints; at one time having three separate IA investigations occurring simultaneously. The investigations revealed it was more a matter of style than substance but it was still a pain as these things stay in your file for a minimum of five years.

My response? I stopped writing tickets. Unless the stop resulted with a misdemeanor being present, (Unlicensed driver or something like that), I wrote warnings. When the administration told me I needed to get my warning to ticket ratio better balanced; I’d tell people that they were getting a ticket because I was told to write more tickets; thus leading the violator to the conclusion that there are indeed quotas that need to be met. Once they called to complain, it became the administration’s problem.

Cheers,

David

[Benz2nv]

Around the year 1700, the slang verb cop entered English usage, meaning "to get ahold of, catch, capture." By 1844, cop showed up in print, and soon thereafter the -er suffix was added, and a policeman became a copper, one who cops or catches and arrests criminals. Copper first appeared in print in 1846, the use of cop as a short form copper occured in 1859.

[esm]

is there a CCTV footage you can acquire?
if not, it'd be your words agsinst his....

[dba]

Originally Posted by Benz2nv

Around the year 1700, the slang verb cop entered English usage, meaning "to get ahold of, catch, capture." By 1844, cop showed up in print, and soon thereafter the -er suffix was added, and a policeman became a copper, one who cops or catches and arrests criminals. Copper first appeared in print in 1846, the use of cop as a short form copper occured in 1859.

Never heard that one, and I was a cop for a long time. I'd always thought in the early days, it was because the badge was made of copper. Learn something new every day. Thanks.

Cheers,

David

[Ed Rooney]

BBC America has a good new show called "Copper". It's set in 1864 Manhattan.