Ask A Cop!!! Post Your Questions Here!

[Knight1989]

No kidding, I have nothing but the utmost respect for firefighters and EMS workers. The public service field is a thankless one, with little pay, and tons of stress. But the people you work with are secound to none, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Yes my expandable baton is an ASP. Ive carried a couple of other brands over the years, but I always come back to my trusty ASP.

 

[RonDawg]

Do you ever shoot guns to blow off steam? I'll assume it's at the range!!!

Actually, I find other diversions. Most cops believe it or not are not "gun nuts" and think of their weapons as simply a tool for the job.

Hey... I tried to get you to talk about OC spray!!!

There's really not much to talk about, other than it hurts like a !@@##$$$

Why is it that I never see cops hiding in peoples driveways...they are always in a "public place" when they are parked at a speed trap. They can definitely hide in my driveway and catch a bunch of people.

In addition to needing the private property owner's permission to do this (as already mentioned), there is a significant portion of the population that have a problem with law enforcement using private property to enforce public law. They feel there's something inherently wrong with the concept of borrowing a citizen's own property to enforce the law.

Unlike Knight, there's no law in CA that says I cannot "hide" while conducting traffic enforcement, only that I do so while in uniform and in a "distinctively marked" patrol car with a minimum of a forward facing, steady burning red light and a siren. However, many urban and suburban driveways have too many obstructions (foliage, fencing, sometimes even buildings) that make it great for hiding a patrol car, but also hides my view of any violators. Motorcycle officers have an easier time hiding themselves, but they still have to be able to see the violator.

Do you ever have a really crappy day, and then go to work and think to yourself:

"That's IT!! Today, EVERYONE'S getting a ticket, EVERYONE'S going to jail, EVERYONE'S cars are getting impounded, and EVERYONE'S getting deported, dammit!"

As human beings, cops will have their bad days and their good days. I'm not going to deny that we have our emotional ups and downs.

When I'm not having a particularly good day, I stay cognizant that I'm not in the best mood, and adjust accordingly.

interesting toys would the expanding baton be the famous ASP or click click whoop it stick?

The ASP is simply one brand of collapsible compact baton. There are others out there, but they are generally all known as "ASP's" as they were the first to the market, just like side-handle batons are often called "PR-24's" even though that's a trademarked name of a particular baton manufacturer.

personally i have a great respect for LEO's as im working on a movie with a local dallas radio host who is doing a movie about police and also has a foundation that gives money to the familys of fallen officers in the dallas area.

Thank you.

 

[RonDawg]

But the people you work with are secound to none, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

That's the part that most people don't understand about this line of work. There truly is a "brotherhood."

I've met cops from around the country, and even though I'm in LA I have contacts all over the state of California, along with the Puget Sound region, Florida, Louisiana (yes they had to deal with the horrors of Katrina), Ohio, Michigan, Texas, Washington DC, even Boston (one of my more interesting ridealongs was with a friend who's a trooper with the Massachussetts State Police).

I've also met cops in other countries. As I stated earlier I personally know a couple of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers; I've even done a couple of ridealongs with one of them, and helped him out with a fatal traffic collision investigation during one of those ridealongs.

I've also done ridealongs with a couple of UK police forces (I have friends there too, and have a "bobby" hat to show for it). My hat is off to these folks, as most of them do their policing UNARMED. It was definitely a weird feeling as the officer I was with pulled someone over on a rural Oxfordshire road, miles from the nearest village, at night, and the officer's most "lethal" weapon was an ASP. Sadly, the way things are going over in Great Britain, the "unarmed bobby" might become extinct in the not too distant future.

The best though was Australia. I spent three weeks there, and I drove from Cairns past Sydney all the way to Melbourne and eventually Adelaide. The Aussie cops that I met along the way were extremely welcoming, and one even spent 2 or 3 hours of his shift having coffee with me as we compared policing between our two countries.

 

[TJcop]

Personally, I'd like to see them bring back my grandfather's "baton"....the leather sap with the spring loaded lead ball in the end. Now that's an impact weapon!

 

[adurso]

Personally, I'd like to see them bring back my grandfather's "baton"....the leather sap with the spring loaded lead ball in the end. Now that's an impact weapon!

That would be a blackjack, with the spring, the flat "sap" is also called a slapjack...I've got a whole drawer full of them...Unless you are trained and practiced with one you will revert to "caveman" strikes under stress and whack someone in the noggin, this is good for at least three stitches, unfortunately a head strike does not end the conflict, may even escalate it, a strike to the temple may drive splinters into the templar region of the brain causing death...this is why most departments do not allow them any more...batons are better, distance-wise, and easier to train people with, and much better liability-wise....

 

[TJcop]

Yeah, but the current expandable batons we use are basically throw aways. One use and they get bent to crap. Personally, I've never even used my baton, other than to poke at stuff or move nasty looking clothing while searching.

 

[keruxts]

SeanQ:

Your ticket is not invalid and the safest thing for you to do is bring it to your judge/magistrate and ask what the fine is going to be. If you really want to be a pain ask for a jury trial on the traffic offense and watch it get knocked down to court cost.

 

[keruxts]

I usually give nurses and ER Docs a pass too...... I never know when I'll need one.

 

[Missdirected]

Yeah, but the current expandable batons we use are basically throw aways. One use and they get bent to crap. Personally, I've never even used my baton, other than to poke at stuff or move nasty looking clothing while searching.

Hey there, now isn't that supposed to be the job of a snorkel?

 

[BigJetDriver]

Personally, I'd like to see them bring back my grandfather's "baton"....the leather sap with the spring loaded lead ball in the end. Now that's an impact weapon!

Actually, the old impact weapons have been discarded because in use they cause more actual physical injury than the newer ones, and because their appearance is "psychologically distressing" to the citizens.

The new ones are less menacing while being carried, more effective in neutralizing combative activity, and, if used properly, cause less physical damage.

Remember: No coco, no pee-pee, no popo!!