Cop in a handicapped parking space!?

[Greta]

FWIW... BatteryCharger...

Had you led off with these words and attitude:

... I'm taking a trip to the police department to discuss the matter with them.

... rather than this:

... If I would have saw the cop in the parking lot, I would have yelled at him. I think he deserves to be punished. I nearly called another cop out. What should I do with my photographs? Should I take them down to the local PD and have a little chat about the incident, or maybe I should skip right over them and send 'em to the local news stations?

I would not even have joined this thread. The truth is, I agree with you that the officer was wrong and the issue needs to be addressed. But, IMHO, not in the way you first posted. If it had been me who came across that officer, I would have put in an anonymous call to the non-emergency dispatch and simply said, "Hey, you may want to get ahold of the officer who is on patrol right now in such-and-such area in car # whatever and let him know that a citizen saw him illegally parked in a handicapped spot at the Stop 'n Rob on whatever street. Have a lovely rest of the evening. Buh-bye". Then I would have gone home and slept like an innocent baby knowing that I had done my civic duty by reporting a crime. And I'd have gotten on with my life.

The point of my story regarding my neighbor, is that while you may not be responsible for interfering with a federal investigation in this instance, it is people like you with your righteous indignation and militant attitude who do interfere with federal investigations. And the rest of us end up paying for it one way or another.

More bees with honey, Sir... more bees with honey. Not too mention, you'll live longer if you don't allow your blood pressure to get so out of hand. Might even find some relief from that arthritis of yours too if you're not so uptight all the time.

 

[Nitroz]

I see police break the law every night on the way home, they usually do 10 to 20 over the speed limit, and one time I have seen one do this in a 35mph zone. How is it that their time to get home is more important than mine?

I've seen others turn on the blues go thru a red light and then shut them off shortly after, this has happend on more than one occasion. I've had a Chevy police truck fly up on my bumper, ride my bumper, and then finally fly around me with no blinkers.

 

[fishhead]

Might even find some relief from that arthritis of yours too if you're not so uptight all the time.

As someone who has suffered from chronic pain in the past (but not arthritis) I think this is a bit low and rather mean. Anyway, arthritis is not caused by being 'uptight'.

 

[StarHalo]

I see police break the law every night on the way home, they usually do 10 to 20 over the speed limit, and one time I have seen one do this in a 35mph zone.

The trick is to "wake ride"; get quite a few car lengths behind and then match his speed. If he takes the time to notice you, he'll slow down to the speed limit to see if you'll pass (and then as long as you're there, he won't be able to speed again). If he doesn't notice you, you'll get to cruise all the way across town at twice the speed limit..

 

[Greta]

As someone who has suffered from chronic pain in the past (but not arthritis) I think this is a bit low and rather mean. Anyway, arthritis is not caused by being 'uptight'.

Again the point is missed...

 

[fishhead]

Again the point is missed...

Oh, I see the point you are trying to make. I just think you are failing when you make it personal with remarks about physical ailments.

 

[Greta]

Oh, I see the point you are trying to make. I just think you are failing when you make it personal with remarks about physical ailments.

... and as you do not know anything about my own physical ailments, past and present, I'd say that you pretty much do not have the right to judge whether or not my remarks are valid.

 

[Nitroz]

The trick is to "wake ride"; get quite a few car lengths behind and then match his speed. If he takes the time to notice you, he'll slow down to the speed limit to see if you'll pass (and then as long as you're there, he won't be able to speed again). If he doesn't notice you, you'll get to cruise all the way across town at twice the speed limit..

If I did I would be picked off for sure. These two towns have a major police presence at night and pull people over constantly, except the off-duty guys.:shrug:

 

[fishhead]

... and as you do not know anything about my own physical ailments, past and present, I'd say that you pretty much do not have the right to judge whether or not my remarks are valid.

I can and do judge by what I see.

However, as I personally would not yell at a police officer for parking in a handicapped spot out of fear of getting a dozen bogus tickets for various violations on my vehicle, I will now bow out of this little discussion.

 

[parker2520]

I can and do judge by what I see.

However, as I personally would not yell at a police officer for parking in a handicapped spot out of fear of getting a dozen bogus tickets for various violations on my vehicle, I will now bow out of this little discussion.

You promise and swear to god

 

[lunchboxtheman]

FWIW... BatteryCharger...

Had you led off with these words and attitude:



... rather than this:



I would not even have joined this thread. The truth is, I agree with you that the officer was wrong and the issue needs to be addressed. But, IMHO, not in the way you first posted. If it had been me who came across that officer, I would have put in an anonymous call to the non-emergency dispatch and simply said, "Hey, you may want to get ahold of the officer who is on patrol right now in such-and-such area in car # whatever and let him know that a citizen saw him illegally parked in a handicapped spot at the Stop 'n Rob on whatever street. Have a lovely rest of the evening. Buh-bye". Then I would have gone home and slept like an innocent baby knowing that I had done my civic duty by reporting a crime. And I'd have gotten on with my life.

The point of my story regarding my neighbor, is that while you may not be responsible for interfering with a federal investigation in this instance, it is people like you with your righteous indignation and militant attitude who do interfere with federal investigations. And the rest of us end up paying for it one way or another.

More bees with honey, Sir... more bees with honey. Not too mention, you'll live longer if you don't allow your blood pressure to get so out of hand. Might even find some relief from that arthritis of yours too if you're not so uptight all the time.

I agree with you 100%, but you could have made your point in a less inflammatory way. I'll refer you to the first page where I did just that. You've done nothing but start flames here.

 

[parker2520]

Bout half hour ago I called in a few neighbors to join me review some of these posts. They can't believe what they are reading. " Breaking the Law ", Commiting a Crime "' Violating the Constitution ", Abuse of Authority ". Ha ha we are having a good laugh. YOU PEOPLE ARE A RIOT......

 

[Kid9P]

Can't believe this hasn't been locked yet

 

[DimeRazorback]

... and as you do not know anything about my own physical ailments, past and present, I'd say that you pretty much do not have the right to judge whether or not my remarks are valid.

Do a persons own issues really create an excuse to take a low ball swipe at someone?

Maybe he has anxiety issues, hence why he is "uptight".

My mother suffers from arthritis, is that due to her being uptight after having a loaded shotgun held to her head 10 years ago in a bank robbery?

This is all speculation on my behalf, but that has been shown by other members in this thread already to a great extent.

 

[StarHalo]

 

[adamjh3]

I see police break the law every night on the way home, they usually do 10 to 20 over the speed limit, and one time I have seen one do this in a 35mph zone. How is it that their time to get home is more important than mine?

I've seen others turn on the blues go thru a red light and then shut them off shortly after, this has happend on more than one occasion. I've had a Chevy police truck fly up on my bumper, ride my bumper, and then finally fly around me with no blinkers.

For your first example, there are times when you need to make a silent approach when responding to a call.

A story for your second example: The other day at work my partner (we're EMTs, not police officers) and I were on our way to grab some lunch when we got a call with a code 3 (lights and sirens) response. We were sitting at a red light when the call came through so on go the code lights and the siren, shortly after we cleared the intersection the call got cancelled and we ended up pulling into the establishment at which we planned to dine about 300 feet up the road from where we shut our lights off. I bet that looked like abuse of an authority from an outside perspective, but the point is, make sure you have ALL of the facts before rendering judgment.

Your last example, there is no excuse for that. I have had it happen to me as well, it's a blatant disregard for the safety of others on the road.

 

[mvyrmnd]

I'm not trying to get my butt kicked here, but my inner 12-year-old can't resist this one:

Can't believe this hasn't been locked yet

While the people with the power to shut down the thread that are participating in the argument, the thread will continue. Certain parallels may be drawn to the original point of the thread, which is the misuse of power.

(This post is offered completely tongue-in-cheek, please don't hurt me!)

 

[crossliner67]

Can't believe this hasn't been locked yet

My thoughts exactly. Maybe the administrators are having a breaktime too or are just opting to remain reticent due to "peer presence". I am w/ BatteryCharger on this one because here in the Philippines there are myriad abusive law enforcers. Some of them are even my friends but I don't smile nor get amused when they "brandish" their steel or badge unnecessarily. If they are really close w/ me I give them a bit of a verbal remonstrance.

 

[StarHalo]

(This post is offered completely tongue-in-cheek, please don't hurt me!)

How dare you talk about misusing the power of shutting down the thread while the people with the power to misuse the power to shut down the thread are using their power to participate in discussing not misusing power

We're confiscating Bindi Irwin.

 

[Boudreaux]

I have several friends and a neighbor (who is also a friend) who are LEO's. I understand the low pay, rough hours, missed holidays and the lack of respect by the public. I truly feel for these guys.

The vast majority of people who go into law enforcement do so for the right reason, they want to be Law Enforcement Officers. However, there is that other 5% who join law enforcement because they are bullies.

This brings me to my pet peeve of LEO's who break the law. My special dislike is speeding. For some reason, many LEO's do not think the speed laws apply to them. I could site dozens of specific examples but that will do no good.

I have tried the calm approach and it hasn't worked for me. I'm usually told that the officer was most likely on an emergency call when he passed me in the 60 mph zone like I was standing still. The fact that he was not in uniform never seems to make a difference. I'm usually told that the complaint will be passed on to someone (often the supervisor or the special "public affairs officer") who will return my call. NONE of my 4 or 5 calls (over 20 or so years) have ever been returned. In the couple of cases where I risked retaliation by calling back, I have been told there is no record of my original call.

When I have pulled to the side of the highway and called the offender's agency (on the non-emergency number) I have been told that I cannot be told if that particular unit is on duty or not....

All LEO's should understand two things:

1) THEY ARE THE ROLE MODELS!

2) THE QUESTION OF SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT!

(ie., if the LEO breaks any law, does he also break the law dealing with murder?)
The public does not know which laws are respected and enforced by the LEO when he personally breaks ANY law.
Selective enforcement also has major effects on any officers most needed virtue, CREDITABILITY.

About the 5% who are just plain ole bullies, most can easily be identified by very simple psychological testing. It is amazing how one bully can entice good officers to go along with his schemes. Bullies by nature are very vendictive. Also, bullies have psychological profiles that do not lend themselves to any level of respect for themselves, others, or the laws. A good law enforcement agency should weed these few out and remove them from law enforcement.

The vast majority of LEO's who, like most of us are, law-abiding citizens, you have my deepest regards and respect for the terrible, thankless job you do!