Good For Her!

[longtimer]

Ralph sums it up nicely but I would also add this point. The power that we give police in order to protect us means that we have every right and even a responsibility to hold them to a higher standard than most other professions.

[JGRobinson]

Short and sweet LT, you nailed it!

[Clipper]

Goodness me, I answered you quickly in that last comment at midnight BZ, as I rapidly caught up on comments made while we were out, and just before shutting the computer down for the night. Didn't mean for it to sound so grumpy and cranky. Looks different reading it again when I am wide awake, hehe. That was not the intent. Another case of not being able to place inflection and tone of voice in a written communication. I meant to pick on ya and fire your little dupa up a little.

[Swimmy]

I forgot to mention the binghamton cop who threatened to arrest me for lying, which he ultimately ended up apologizing for later. And another binghamton cop who ticketed me for not stopping at a stop sign. It was evident by his demeanor toward me that he profiled me as a deadbeat based on the neighborhood we were driving through. Two witnesses, in addition to myself, agreed I had stopped. Ironically, one was also a cop, "off duty." The binghamton cop sat through the rest of the trial just to see the result. He had a huge smirk on his face after testifying. Easiest ticket dismissal I ever had. :-) And I think my smirk and laugh was bigger in the end.

In addition to JG's other sister's problem, I turned in a state trooper who gave his sister and her friends "get out of trouble free cards" so they could drink to the point of blackout intoxication and drive home. I did it after I heard one of her friends bragging about playing with a Utica city cop and not showing the card first. She blew a .18. As he was about to arrest her, she flashed the card and the cop let her go. This girl and her friends all chuckled and acknowledged that it is awesome her brother is a state trooper.

One of my swimming alumni was a former state trooper before joining the FBI. He told us that if we were ever in the Albany area and pulled over to tell them we were working for him (or something or other) and that he'd take care of the ticket for us. I never tried it, but others did and confirmed it worked.

Then there was that story about a year ago where a cop found himself in the middle of an accident on his way to another accident. If I recall correctly, the cop's accident was a result of his excessive speeding without consideration to weather and road conditions. But no ticket was issued.

Then there is my best friend who believed he was unfairly treated because he is Asian. When he went to the police station to make a complaint, he was escorted out of the station and told that he would be arrested if he came back in. Then, the Chief came out with a ticket for "too tinted windows" already signed and served it on him. They then tested the tint and found it was within the legal limit, but told him that it was reduced in 1992. As a law student with access to many more resources than some solo practitioners, he learned that not only was his tint within the legal limit, but that the limit was actually increased in 2003. The DA threatened to charge my friend with a misdemeanor for his behavior at the station that day. It went before a judge and the judge threw it all out because the law was clear. So my friend filed a notice of claim and is in the process of prosecuting a civil suit against the DA and the police department.

I'm tired of the "cops put their lives on the line for our safety all the time" justification for allowing them to not be held accountable to the same laws the rest of us are and to justify not giving them the same penalties the rest of us are subject to just because of a badge. A criminal is a criminal, regardless whether in front of or behind the shield.

[Ralph]

Touche`