Ask a Cop Anything Thread

[infinitekidM2C]

what about my question litos?

[Litos]

Originally Posted by .:bHd:.

Do you get paid overtime to appear in court? And also from what you've seen, what is the best way to get the judge to dismiss a speeding ticket?

yes, you get overtime.

i really don't see that - at all.

usually traffic lawyers talk directly with the judge - cops sit mostly on trials with the actual traffic violator - those VERY RARELY get dismissed.

[M3Bahn]

Originally Posted by Litos

yes, you get overtime.

i really don't see that - at all.

usually traffic lawyers talk directly with the judge - cops sit mostly on trials with the actual traffic violator - those VERY RARELY get dismissed.

You're a cop?

[Q4P]

How does a cop afford a 335i and an srt8? Just curious... high rank is my best guess

[Blake]

how many times have you been in a vehicle chase and how many have gotten away?

[Litos]

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

Are you for or against legalization of drugs?...i know you've to follow the law etc., but your opinion on that given what you've experienced.

i can't really comment on this.

it's a WHOLE DIFFERENT topic on it's own.

do i want to see drugs legalized !?!? not as bad as i want to see Cigarrettes made illegal.

i've never been a big "drug guy". i'm a pussy - i was a jock all my life, went to the Marines for 4 years, was a cop for 5 years and have yet to take up smoking or drinking alcohol.

i've never even been buzzed to the slightest degree.

i've had @ 2oz of alcohol in my body for the last 12 years, HAHA !!!!

puuusssaaaay !!!!!

[CollinsE90]

Now the crying is for pussies comment makes sense

[AngelinIsRich08]

God damn getting caught with weed would suck... Have you ever been to a crash sight where the driver was high on marijuana?

[Litos]

Originally Posted by Blake

how many times have you been in a vehicle chase and how many have gotten away?

yeah, cool story.

guy was drunk, ran through a "toll booth" and got a flat tire. drove into my city to change his tire.

once he was done, my buddy and i lit him up because of the report we got from dispatch.

he kept driving - going about 40mph on a major highway HAHAHA !!!!

i had 3 county cops, 2 constables and another city cop giving chase.

the city cop hauls ass past us, throw down spike strips.

guy swerves outta the way HAHA !!!

same cop reels in his strips, gets back into his car, and hauls ass past us again.

this time, he tossed the strips out ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SKY (/double rainbow).

guy hits the strips with both passenger tires.

he pulls into a shopping center, by the time i ran to the front of the patrol car, i see my buddy pulling this tard out of HIS DRIVER SIDE WINDOW HAHAHA !!!!

mexican guy, chubby, tatted up wearing a wife beater.

funniest thing he said was "officer, i know i was drinking and driving, but i wasn't drinking anything while i was driving"......

he was fucking baked......

Originally Posted by M3Bahn

You're a cop?

used to be - i was poor as piss too, HAHA !!!!

i work in the oil/gas field now.....

Originally Posted by Questforpower

How does a cop afford a 335i and an srt8? Just curious... high rank is my best guess

[CollinsE90]

Originally Posted by AngelinIsRich08

God damn getting caught with weed would suck... Have you ever been to a crash sight where the driver was high on marijuana?

You cant prove they are high on bud, and the cops only try to scare you, getting busted isnt bad if you're smart and not a pussy

[Litos]

Originally Posted by sl1981

if a cop that pulls me over gets hit by another car and that driver runs away do i have to get out of my car to check on the cop?

i want the answer to this from a law standpoint not a "you should do this cause we are all people" standpoint.

edit: just read you wanted this from a law standpoint.

fuck, i dunno how to answer that. you DO NOT have to get out of your car.

i'll just leave it at that - the rest of my answer would have been on the whole "we are all people" thing.....

[immiketoo]

Alright, here I go. If you are a complete douchebag, I am going to ignore you. If you have a legitimate beef, lets talk about it.

Originally Posted by E90SoFlo

..... Every shot at someone???? lol jkjk

No, but I have come very, very close. I was working undercover and some shit went bad. I thought I was going to get my ass kicked by this huge muscular badass in a crowd of thugs and I thought I'm gonna have to shoot him first and hope the rest decide to find something else to do. Scariest moment of my career.

What weapon do you carry?

1911. I have a bunch of different brands but the mainstays are: Springfield TRP Operator, Ed Brown Special Forces and a Kimber Raptor.

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

1. How did you become SWAT, years of experience as a LEO? Ex-Military that turned into LEO?
2. Have you been shot in action?
3. What is the craziest situation you have been in?

1. Hard fucking work and the ability to shoot the hell out of the bullseye from almost any position. 17 years. Sadly, no military.

2. No.

3. There are a ton of answers here but for now see the first question in this post.

Originally Posted by panicos81

how do you feel when you fine somebody for a bullshit reason.. i.e lack of plates, speeding 50 in a 30 zone, person in the back seat has no seatbelt etc.. (i got fined for all 3 by the way..)

happy? i fined the m&^%fuc&^ who drives a bmw?
dont care? just business..
sad?? i shouldnt have fined him but i have to get my quota..
any other feelings you'd like to share?

I don't fine people for bullshit reasons unless they give me a reason to, i.e. being a douchebag. Someone must earn this type of treatment. Then, each time they open their mouth, I calmly explain that there is a whole book of violations that I can choose from. This makes me happy. Why? Because I don't come to work every day to take someones bullshit attitude just because they can't take responsibility for their own action/ineptitude/stupidity.

Sometimes I am sad that I am required to do my job. I am truly compassionate towards people's plight and some of the most heart wrenching moments of my life have been on the job.

Originally Posted by sl1981

1) do traffic cops have a quota to fill when giving out tickets?

No, quotas are illegal.

Originally Posted by Questforpower

Why do cops feel the need to pull people over for going 5-10 mph over the speed limit, yet I see real crime happen everyday? Is it an ease or convenience sort of thing?

Disgusts me.

A few points here. Many "real" crimes are solved by conducting traffic stops, so stops are justified. Bullshit tickets aren't which is why we have discretion to issue warnings. Real crime has a tendency to stop when the police are around so its not surprising that you say that. When I was undercover, I saw shit all the time that I had to let go because it was not my mission. Sucks right? Unfair? You bet it is. Hard to swallow as a cop too.

Originally Posted by E90SoFlo

this thread went to shit

Let's try and save it?

Originally Posted by TimZ

What knife do you like to carry as part of your daily gear?

Kershaw 1670 BLKST. Awesome knife.

Originally Posted by M3Bahn

How many donuts do you eat in an average day?

As many as will fit.

Originally Posted by Wakka

What made you want to be an officer of the law?

I got tired of making $29,000 a year in a mindless job? I never really wanted to be a cop at all, but my entire social network converged and said I'd be good at it. They were right. Here I am 17 years later.

Originally Posted by AngelinIsRich08

Ok. Here's mine. Would a cop pull over the nicer car of the two if they were both going, say, 43 in a 35?

It depends on a lot of factors. Yes. No. Depends. Much of law enforcement depends on observing a variety of factors. Vehicle condition is only one of them.

Originally Posted by GregTheStig

I've got a serious, non-stereotypical question.

My old high school's resource officer talked to my government class one day about the law. Someone asked him about speeding tickets and warnings and stuff.

He specifically said that if you get clocked going 10mph over the speed limit (excluding neighborhoods and school/construction zones), that officers are required to give a warning. Not sure if that was supposed to be a nationwide thing, or a Georgia/county only thing.

This is a local thing mandated by the individual department or state law.

Originally Posted by M3Bahn

Yup, it's all about money that is why they are giving tickets out like crazy these days.

The average department gets just $4.00 per ticket. The state gets the rest, so that's not entirely true, unless your local jurisdiction has everything on city ordinance. Then all the juice goes to the city.

Originally Posted by JayKay335i

Is having an out of date inspection in a different state a ticketable offense?

Eff becoming an AZ resident. Registrations up to date.

Depends on the state. There is a thing called the violators compact agreement between states. Look it up if you are curious to know what states are affected in your particular situation.

Originally Posted by Quick6EF

If a woman you were trying to detain sprayed you with her breast milk, would you be mad?

Depends on the breasts.

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

Are you for or against legalization of drugs?...i know you've to follow the law etc., but your opinion on that given what you've experienced.

I am of mixed opinion here. I do not advocate government control of everything, but I have also seen how fucked up people get once they become involved with drugs. If there were controls, overdose could be reduced, quality could be improved and much of the stigma of drug use could be abated, BUT, abuse would still happen, impairment while driving/flying etc. would still be a problem. Legalization would result in some serious penalties and fines for non-compliance. This is a big ugly mess. Mostly, it comes down to people's self control or lack of it. I know people who blaze that are responsible and successful. I know people that are drug free who can't keep their shit together. There's everything in between and in a society of entitlement and responsibility shifting, I don't know if we are ready for it as a society.

Originally Posted by sl1981

what is the average education level of a patrolman?

No idea. Metro areas usually require a degree, rural areas are happy to have a warm body.

[Litos]

Originally Posted by AngelinIsRich08

God damn getting caught with weed would suck... Have you ever been to a crash sight where the driver was high on marijuana?

no, but one of the most amazing sites i had ever seen was a burn victim.

trailer park caught fire with an elderly man in there.

man was in a wheel chair when his house went up in flames.

Good Lord, i can still see his charred hand hanging out of the window.

i can only assume that he tried crawling on the floor to the window to either yell for help or to get out.

heat must have been too much because all that i could see was his hand hanging out of the window.

very brutal scene - i have chills right now typing it.

[Kiemyster]

Originally Posted by Litos

instantly pull them out of the car - throw cuffs on them and "detain" them. empty out their pockets, take their DL and set them in the back of your car - again, they're only being detained. tell him he's pretty much fucked and let it be VERY CLEAR that you will have his car in pieces on the side of the road if he doesn't cooperate and tell you where everything is at - because afterall, smelling weed gives the officer every right to search that vehicle without consent.

arrest and processing will come later - go get everything you can find in that car - tear it the FUCK UP !!!! LOL !!!

p.s.
when the wrecker driver shows up, he'll take all the parts and pieces that you pulled off of the car during your search and throw them inside of the car.


yes, dude had a baggie stacked inside of a DVD movie case - BLOW


read first response.


i bagged him. went to jail on Class B i believe because of the amount he had.

wow your a dick. sorry bro. I promote putting away coke heads and hard drugs. But damn? if someone has just weed on them? yes, your at dick status.

but this said, I have the highest respect for the fine officers who serve new york. I have no respect for florida police officers, as they have no respect for anyone.

So to any NYPD officers reading this thread, im not brown nosing, im not ass kissing, but im just saying a truthful and sincere thank you, for being the fine exemplary officers of the USA. I have dealt with all kinds of cops, and I would never speak a word discriminating NY officers and detectives. You are truly the best our nation has to offer. Not only do you operate in NY State, but you also have divisions palced ALL OVER THE WORLD to keep our city safe. I proudly support and promote NY Police.

[CollinsE90]

Mike I know you're very good at writing stories, which is why I asked what your craziest(SWAT related) experience is.

[Litos]

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

wow your a dick. sorry bro. I promote putting away coke heads and hard drugs. But damn? if someone has just weed on them? yes, your at dick status.

but this said, I have the highest respect for the fine officers who serve new york. I have no respect for florida police officers, as they have no respect for anyone.

you probably don't have kids.

imagine if you parents were driving on the same street where some jackass in a Mustang Cobra was just smoking some dope.

and then all of a sudden he OMGWOTLOLz right into your mom's face !!!!

say your sister or little brother is in there with them.

kid smoked a $5 joint and just massacered 3 members of the same family....

taking someone to jail for running a stop sign is justifiable, but CLEARLY dick status.

taking someone to jail for putting everyone's life around them at risk is FUCKING WINNING......DUH....

[CollinsE90]

You need to smoke bud man, you act like its heroin or meth

[Kiemyster]

^^^ thats a cute story. go ahead and blame the weed for everything that happened. lol

[Express]

why did my question go unanswered?

[immiketoo]

Originally Posted by dth656

i'd be curious to get your take on the following situation:


many years ago, in my first job as a civil engineer, we often had projects in a bay area municipality. local public works regulations stipulated that if any work was going to affect the traveled way, an off-duty PD was required as part of the traffic control plan.

i remember one project; we were working on a saturday. i was off to one side w/ the project drawings, while the construction crew were standing around waiting for some equipment to arrive. the off-duty cop (note: they had to be present in their squad car + uniform, the OT paid for by the company doing the construction i think), chatting up the construction folks, basically bragging about the fancy SUVs he had bought for himself and his wife, "not on his cops salary, and that if they wanted any "stuff", he could hook them up out of the evidence locker". i don't recall any longer the exact slang term he used for "stuff", but i figured out that it probably meant drugs/narcotics. the construction guys figured out that this was a good time to get back to work, and wisely so i think.

questions:
-what % of PD are corrupt?
-what % of internal investigations actually lead to corrupt cops being put in jail (or is it usually swept under the rug)?

This is almost impossible for me to answer since I am not in the corruption business. I am not and therefore I would not be approached by those that are. I do IA investigations now, and while we don't have corruption, people do make bad decisions. If I catch you besmirching my profession, I will make sure you no longer work in the field. Jail is a very difficult proposition due to the wide variety of options departments have. But, jail has happened, it's just not as common as other remedies.

Originally Posted by Bakeme521

Seems like a bunch of questions and no answers. But I'll ask and maybe we'll get some answers.

I talked to one of my police friends and he said when he's radaring/lasering on the interstate for speeders he only shoots the left lane. He said not only is riding in the right lane when not passing the law but it's actually much smarter bc the people in the left lane should be passing therefore going faster, or appear to. Do you have this strategy also?

This sounds like a good idea except you are assuming people follow that rule. In Chicago, everyone drives their slow ass POS in the left lane and screws up the flow. My strategy is to be a sneaky bastard.

Originally Posted by .:bHd:.

Do you get paid overtime to appear in court? And also from what you've seen, what is the best way to get the judge to dismiss a speeding ticket?

Yes. Prove you weren't speeding.

Originally Posted by express705

did you know that the crown vic is 1 second slower in reverse (0-60) than in drive?

top speed in reverse is 63 in your cruiser too. test it, with your bullshit "calibrated" speedometer.

Nope, didn't know that. Might have to try that out the next time I drive one of those

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

So what do you do when you pull over a car for speeding and yet the car smells like smoked weed? have you ever come across this? how did you handle it? did you bag alot of people for smoking weed? or did you let most of them go?

serious questions, i want serious answers. thanks bro

I ask them where the weed is. If they are honest and it's a small amount, and they aren't douchebags, I might make them dump it and smash their handblown glass pipes. If it's a lot, they lie or are jackasses, I arrest them. (Remember, it is a violation of both possession and DUI law)

Originally Posted by Questforpower

How does a cop afford a 335i and an srt8? Just curious... high rank is my best guess

Wouldn't know. I have an M3 and a cat.

Originally Posted by Blake

how many times have you been in a vehicle chase and how many have gotten away?

Before they were prohibited by the huge liability? I was in three and I bagged all three.

Originally Posted by sl1981

if a cop that pulls me over gets hit by another car and that driver runs away do i have to get out of my car to check on the cop?

i want the answer to this from a law standpoint not a "you should do this cause we are all people" standpoint.

No, it's your right to be an uncompassionate a-hole.

Originally Posted by AngelinIsRich08

God damn getting caught with weed would suck... Have you ever been to a crash sight where the driver was high on marijuana?

Yep. I was dispatched to a call where a Jeep Cherokee was spinning on it's roof after an accident. Guy was crawling around on the roof trying to figure out how to get out. After I opened the door, he looked me dead in the eye and said, "I need to split before the cops get here." I was in full uniform. Lab reports said weed, barbituates, cocaine and alcohol. He went to jail.

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

Mike I know you're very good at writing stories, which is why I asked what your craziest(SWAT related) experience is.

Getting shot with a beanbag less lethal round during training out of a 12GA shotgun. Ouch. Yes, I volunteered. Not my best decision.

[Q4P]

Originally Posted by immiketoo

Wouldn't know. I have an M3 and a cat.

Sneaky answer... how can you afford the cat?

[Forcefed3]

Why is it okay for you to speed and not us?