Ask A Cop!!! Post Your Questions Here!

[Ber Rabbit]

Jeeeez! Why do you want to do something like that with someone's kid?!

I can tell you, if you had tried that stunt over here, you'd:

1. Loose your drivers license BIG TIME!
2. Get a grand ticket. We're talking at least 1000-2000 USD.
3. Have you truck confiscated at the risk of having to pay extra registration taxes, since 2-3 seated trucks have less import taxes here. This could mean having to pay 15-40.000 USD before you'd get your truck back... NO I'M NOT KIDDING! Small trucks have green license plates to show they can't have back seats.

Wanna try?!

Over 18 isn't a kid My husband and I saw 2 adults in the back of a pickup and he said the driver could be pulled over for that and I believe it's not against the law. Both were sitting in the bed with their backs against the cab and all body parts inside the bed. We had a pickup when I was a kid and my sister and I rode in the back a lot of times and dad always insisted we sit with our backs against the cab. There was usually plenty of gear/hay in the bed of the truck when we were hauling the horses and we didn't have to worry about sliding to the tailgate once we were seated.

I never said it was smart I've seen drunks sitting on the sides cruising around the local festival and the cops tell them to sit inside the truck but that's on private property. I did get to see one guy who failed to heed the cops warning get thrown from the side into a road sign, luckily the truck was going slow and he wasn't hurt too badly.

I saw an accident scene where there were several people in the back of a pickup that rear-ended a car on the highway. I know I saw 2 people face down on the pavement and a fire fighter was just standing there looking at one leading me to believe they were dead. One of the people in our group said he counted 9 people laying around in various states of disrepair.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[papps953]

I was late seeing this, and I can't read through who knows how many pages of questions. Here are my answers to a few:

My state's funding is basically divided into two budgets: transportation and general funding. My wages come from the transportation budget. Less than 50% of the revenue goes to the state's general fund. (Some goes to the county and city [if I'm in the city limits when I write the ticket])

It's not up to me to decide if a law is constitutional. (This is why we elect judges.) There are laws I don’t' agree with, but it's not my place to decide which laws I'm going to enforce. (It would be like a checker at Wal*mart saying "I like this guy, I won't charge him for his groceries.")

You would be surprised how many people I catch with a radar detector. For one I use a laser. It emits a narrow beam of light. By the time your laser detector goes off I have your speed. Having a detector is legal in Washington, but almost always guarantees a ticket.

If I make a mistake on a ticket I write (printo) it can be amended in court to correct it.

I try not to eat donuts in public, and I don’t' drink coffee.

I carry an H&K 40. I haven’t shot anyone, but thought I might have to a couple times. Last time was a guy with a knife. I wanted to be a trooper with the Washington State Patrol since I was 16.

I've let a few officers go for speeding. Something more serious, like a DUI - you're sol. One trooper I work with is stricter on officers speeding.

Washington State Patrol
18 years of chasing cars (feel like an old worn out dog)
I’m moving to detectives in February (hurray!!)

The Washington State Patrol does not have an age limit. (It is discrimination)
There is a mandatory retirement at age 60.
High school diploma or equivalent
25 years of service to retire at 2% per year of the top 5 years. (A person working 30 years retires at 60%) Military time does not count for the 25 years, but add 2% a year.

Speed is quickly approaching DUI as the leading cause of fatality collisions in the U.S.

Window tinting is not only an officer safety issue, but also a driver safety issue. If you pull up to a four-way stop and can’t see the other driver, how do you know if he/she looks at you?

We don’t have a quota on tickets per se. We are expected to be out working. The department has determined the “minimum” expectations a person who is doing there job should meet. If an officer is out stopping cars, generally the tickets take care of themselves. Of course every job has a lazy slug.

Bill B.

 

[BigJetDriver]

...I'm sure they pickup my attitude when I get pulled over...

Oh, one night a cop in a SUV was on my "A", and I didn't even know there was SUV cops cars. Oh well, I thought this guy was trying to harrass me and I sped up. Not a good idea, he waited till I was doing a 100 before the lights went on.

......haha, it's all fun and makes for good bar stories with your buddies.

PS. My worst one so far, in South Africa I was caught three times in one day by the same cop, all for speeding? Geezuz!!!!!

Shaka, my man,

Except for the bit about having a hard time with rules, (with which we are already well familiar), I didn't think you had learning disabilities.....but you're making me wonder here, buddy!!

 

[Ann Marie]

Not that I would ever....but I do like playing "what if" games...

Say I was to give a police officer or anyone for that matter the finger, you know the middle one, could I be cited?

I can't decide if it would fall under obscene gestures or freedom of speech. What if I was deaf and couldn't say (*^&^%(, then could I use the sign language?

 

[ShakaZulu]

Not that I would ever....but I do like playing "what if" games...

Say I was to give a police officer or anyone for that matter the finger, you know the middle one, could I be cited?

I can't decide if it would fall under obscene gestures or freedom of speech. What if I was deaf and couldn't say (*^&^%(, then could I use the sign language?

Try it, let me know what happened, this could be fun.......dang, I hate the jail food though.

 

[adurso]

Not that I would ever....but I do like playing "what if" games...

Say I was to give a police officer or anyone for that matter the finger, you know the middle one, could I be cited?

I can't decide if it would fall under obscene gestures or freedom of speech. What if I was deaf and couldn't say (*^&^%(, then could I use the sign language?

Speaking of deaf people and sign language, long ago in a galaxy far away I was a young detective....driving down a main road one day my partner and I spot a uniformed officer speaking with a man who is waving his hands and fingers about, I knew enough to recognize American Sign language and thought nothing of it, my partner went haywire and began screaming for me to pull over, when I did so he ran over to the deaf man and smacked him in the head (I did say this was a long time ago), then began flashing his fingers as well, I thought for sure my partner had lost his mind; as it turns out, the feloow was cursing the officer in sign, my partner had grown up with a deaf friend and knew sign very well. In Virginia curse and abuse is a crime....turns out this fellow had been doing this for years....

 

[TJcop]

Once again, this thread has gone crazy! Knight, when do you work??? Unless you're at a desk all day....geesh!
Ok, time to answer some of your questions:

Giving me the finger: While I can't get you for the birdy...I'll find another reason!

Swearing at the po-po: Just part of the job. Again, not a wise choice...see how far it gets you.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Hopefully, his mother washed his hands out with soap. Hrmph!

 

[TJcop]

Cops in SUV's: I currently drive a Tahoe squad. I'll be giving it up on Sunday, since I'm switching shifts. In Wisconsin we have squads from traditional Fords to Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs, Intrepids, Impalas....you name it!

How to get out of speeding: Honesty my friend...honesty.

 

[adurso]

Someone asked about chasing cars, as a young uniformed officer I was paired with an older officer who knew everyone in the city it seemed. Driving along one day I fell in behind a Lamborghini, my partner suggested pulling up next to the car, whereupon the driver glanced over and took off! I began to chase him, adrenaline flowing, we went onto an interstate where the car really took off, then at around 110 the driver dropped down a gear, ended up next to me and flipped me off! I was rather put out about this, to say the least, he then took off and rapidly outdistanced me. But, I had his plate number, and boy was he gonna get it! My partner and I went to his house and waited, I daydreamed of the revenge I would wreak upon the driver....When the car pulled into the driveway I ran across the road yelling only to have the driver holler over to my partner:"Hey, Rocky, we got another new guy all aggravated".....