Nobody needs to ensure I'm secure, that my own personal job. If the government doesn't ALLOW me access to means of providing my own security, then a police officer has got to do it. If the government doesn't provide them with the proper tools needed to protect me, then they are failing to uphold their responsibility to its citizens. As for your staunch defense of police officers, there certainly are some police officers who are good people and work hard and deserve much better pay. But there are a whole lot of bad ones too. They abuse the law and abuse their badge. In the Cafe section there is a thread about videos, and one person linked to a video of cops breaking the law, and blatantly denying it. My father just got a ticket for talking on his cell phone in his car. He wasn't, the cop LIED to his face and told him he was. The cop even INVADED his private property by requesting to see his cell phone, which showed no EVIDENCE of a recent call. But he still got a $100 ticket. My father got his badge number and called the department. I hope this guy is fired, he is a criminal and I DO NOT trust him with my security, that is MY OWN job, and the government better LET ME DO IT.
Sorry 'bout that, I just got a 'lil carried away. Now understand, please, that I do not hate cops. As I said, there are plenty or good cops out there, and I know quite a few. I hope I didn't upset anybody. If you are a LEO, I salute you as long as you uphold the law as I must and you respect citizens as you wish to be respected. There are unfortunately just too many who don't.
I might add: The PO also treated my father very disrespectfully from the start. My father always says to keep away from cops, and do what they say. This officer had no right to do what he did. Why are law abiding citizens being treated like criminals? A PO isn't supposed to treat law abiding citizens like criminals.
I dont wish to start a debate here on cops, but Id like to point out that encounters with cops are not always nice, usually because your being stopped for some type of violation or investigation.. With that being said, your encounter is going to be sour from the beginning.. Couple that with a summonse and your surly going to have sour grapes in your mouth.. The Law Enforcement profession, as with any other job, is going to have a few bad apples in its employment and those are far and FEW when compared as a whole..
Just a few points to note in your story:
LIED - In your fathers point of view maybe, but what the officer believes he saw should not be construed as a lie..
INVADED - The cop asked to see his phone, he could have said no, but instead he gave it to him.. I doubt he had a gun to his head or it was forcibly removed.. You give permission, its not invading anything..
EVIDENCE - Like any other moving violation, the cop is the one that needs to prove the charges did actually take place (Innocent until Proven Guilty) If the judge finds your father guilty because the cop was able to prove the charge with his testimony at court, then blame the justice system..
SECURITY IS YOUR OWN JOB - I cant begin to tell you how I feel about this statement.. If it is your own job, then maybe you can, on your own free time of course, do the following: 1) Patrol your neighborhood 2) Issue summonses and make arrests regarding public safety since they indirectly affect you in some way 3) Answer your communities concerns, or at the very least handle your very own concerns 4) Put yourself in dangerous situations with only a split second of reaction time to protect someone you dont know or even yourself 5) Take your own criminal reports and investigate them
TOO MANY WHO DONT - That should read "a few who dont".. In any case, I very highly doubt that the cop who issued your father a summonse for talking on a cell phone did it because he was bored or didnt like the way your father looked or the type of car he was driving.. Judging from the circimstances that you conveyed, it seems that your father was in some sort of debate with the cop whether he was on the phone or not which would probably explain the disrespectful part of the story as well..
LAW ABIDING - Your not law abiding if your being stopped for a even traffic violation - Last time I checked they are laws as well.. It doesnt necessarily make your father a criminal, but the treatment towards criminals should be the same as for non-criminals if put in the same exact scenarios.
I dont think your a cop hater, but you seem to have a perceived idea of how a cop should act with someone.. This is not to say that a cop shouldnt be respectful or courteous with everyone, but in certain situations are difficult to enact upon.. In fact I can recall countless times when the subject is the one being disrespectful and discourteous to the cop and got back the same attitude from the cop.. Just take a step back and dont judge cops by your fathers account of events which may just be different than the actual events he conveyed to you..
