Town cops vs city cops

[Boondox]

It wasn't my intention to paint all police officers with the broad brush of unfairness, but rather to point out my preference for age and wisdom over youth and vigor. Not letting me go into the parts store to buy a replacement bulb until he had written his ticket was a very immature move; even his sergeant realized that. On the rare occasions when we needed a town cop up here on our hill, they have come to our aid rapidly and dealt with our concerns in a fair and most professional manner. We love our local officers, and wish all law enforcement officials showed their level of maturity.

On the topic of ridiculous tickets, however, your post reminded me of the ONLY moving violation I've received in my entire life. I was riding my bicycle in San Diego early one day. (I did a lot of riding back then, typically 500-600 miles per week.) I was riding thru a residential neighborhood on a slight downhill. I heard a car behind me, so I hugged the right side of the road and waved him past me. The car didn't respond, just paced me a couple feet back and to my left. So I figured what the heck, I'll do my Nelson Vails routine and race him to the traffic light up ahead. I really poured it on, and went racing down the road.

Till I heard the chirp of his siren!

The officer pulled me over and asked for ID. I handed him my military ID. He asked if I had a drivers' license and like a fool I offered that as well, though it wasn't required for riding a bike. I was stunned when he wrote me a citation for doing 42mph in a school zone!

The judge was very sympathetic, but it was a moving violation and it was in a school zone. He gave me the option of attending a safe driver course or taking the points. I took the class...and spent the next several evenings listening to this clown of an instructor go on and on about how bicycles should be banned from city streets!

But at least I kept my clean record! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Pete

 

[Egon]

I envy you Pete. It's long been a dream to to get a citation for speeding on a bicycle.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[fishman]

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Yes, the only way I ever exceeded 40 mph on my mountain bike when I was riding regularly was a long, long downhill! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Boondox]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I envy you Pete. It's long been a dream to to get a citation for speeding on a bicycle.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )</font>

Egon -- Well, it DID earn me major points in the local bicycle shop! And that was back in the days when my waistline was 29 inches...and my thighs were 27 inches! These days I count myself lucky if I can sit on one of those tiny leather seats and not bruise myself! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Pete

 

[Inspector507]

If you want to read about a hilarious small town police department click here

 

[Bird]

Incidentally, Frost, TX, has a one man police department and that one man also has a little sideline business; he's an Elvis impersonator; the older version of Elvis, overweight, long sideburns, etc. Let's just say he's well known in the area and you don't want to pass through Frost one mile per hour over the speed limit.

 

[cisco]

Yup, I dislike overweight ex-jocks with a modest education handing me a ticket for some minor issue, but they ARE under pressure to ticket us. Really. My prior post re. the comments of a former state trooper on the recently very stringent ticketing done by the local cops in his town - because the town council had reduced the budget for the 2 cops and their car - was validated by the headlines in our local "rag" today - 3/29/05 (look it up on the net). Well, it was "The Post and Courier" (the South's oldest newspaper - no kidding), which is in Charleston, SC. Headline was "Audits to track slowdown of fines", as "police academy dependent on revenue". So, it seems 3 counties statewide were not ticketing folks enough to meet the funding needs of the state's police academy (gets a percentage of every citation in the state) - so, those county's police departments are being audited by the state. Sort of delivers a message - ticket or else.
So, who do they ticket to meet their quota (because the police chief doesn't like a state auditor in their office) --- well, you and I, what a surprise - for major stuff if feasible, but if not enough revenue is forthcoming, then for anything.
End of story.

 

[fivestring]

Sounds like they want a lot of tickets written in that town !!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

They force the same thing here. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Glad the officer had to stand in the rain to approve the repairs. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Maybe he'll think next time that it's QUALITY not quantity.

 

[Durbob]

If i'm not mistaken isn't New Rome a suburb of Columbus, Oh and i thought they just made them do away with the Kangaroo court the Mayor was holding. It seems i read this in one of my Car and Driver mags.

Dur

 

[jwstewar]

You are correct in that it WAS a suburb of Columbus. The State Attorney General was finally able to get it abolished last fall. I think when it happened everybody locally at a collective, "Whew, about time." /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[milkman]

Danny & Indydirtfarmer,
A truly senseless killing, and if what was said is true, there should be a lot of other people, who didn't do their jobs before this happened, loose a lot of sleep over this. I can't help but think that if they had done their job, the kid would not have been walking the streets that day.

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Danny & Indydirtfarmer,
A truly senseless killing, and if what was said is true, there should be a lot of other people, who didn't do their jobs before this happened, loose a lot of sleep over this. I can't help but think that if they had done their job, the kid would not have been walking the streets that day. )</font>

The biological father is at fault. He's a carreer criminal who has been in and out of prison most of his adult life. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

The step father is to blame. A 40 something year old "man" who's trying to play the role of "gangsta" /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

The mother is to blame. She allowed BOTH of the father figures to remain in his life. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

The judge that released this kid only days earlier, AFTER he had already shot one other person, and SHOT AT 2 young women in Indiana a few days before that, is at fault. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

I could go on and on.... I won't. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Officer Peter Grignon, age 27. married 1 year and 3 days, paid the price for the sad mistakes of others.

WE OWE THIS OFFICER, AND ALL THOSE MEN AND WOMEN THAT LAY THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE EVERY DAY, A HUGE DEBT OF GRATITUDE.

I'll get off my soapbox now...

 

[DannyD]

Stay on that soap box all you want, but make room, I am a big boy.

I have known a few officers, personally. They do a job that most of us could not stomach, would not do for the pay they get, or can not do.

 

[milkman]

Well said, I'll take it no farther or this thread will go political. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Von]

Pete, Your bike riding ticket reminds me of a ticket I got in college. I got one for disobeying an officer! I was skateboading down this steep hill (at night no less), and this cop pulls up beside my buddy and I and yells "pull over". I yelled back "I don't stop until I run out of hill!" When we got to the bottom he gave us both tickets! When we went to court the judge said that there is no law against skateboarding. He stated that its not too smart to do at night on a hill, but its not illegal. So the cop had no right to give us the tickets, so he threw the cases out! I still have the ticket somewhere.

 

[Jagmandave]

I've had 2 interesting encounters with the gendarmes........

I was driving thru a small suburb about 10 pm one evening with my best girl in my Dino Ferrari. I was lit up on the main street and a young cop told me I had a taillight out. We both walked around back and Lo and behold, they were all working! He stammered for a minute then the real reason he stopped me came out - he had never seen a Dino and wanted to know all about it! We had a pleasant 10 min conversation and he let me off with a "warning"...........

Another time, I was shooting squirrels with an air rifle at my house in the suburbs cause they had chewed thru the soffits and gotten into my attic and made a mess. I was circling a tree in the front yard looking for my next vicitm when I heard a deep voice say "Put the rifle down!" I looked down the street about 4 houses there were 2 police cars and a officer behind his door watching me. I broke the rifle open and yelled out that it was an air rifle and they drove up to my house. Two 20 something officers got out and explained that it was illegal to shoot squirrels in the city. I explained what had happened to my house and while they sympathised they said I still couldn't shoot them. I said no problem, and that I was going to take the gun back to the sports store 'cause the guy who sold it to me said an air rifle was legal, and they said that would be fine. We were all set tp part on a nice friendly note (the way these things should go IMHO) when a "veteran" drove up to check on us. He proceeded to read me the riot act, even went so far as to inform me that since a squirrel was a fur bearing animal it was protected and that I could get in a lot of trouble for killing one! I was incredulous and started to inform the lout that a squirel is a rat with a bushy tail and I sure as **** could kill a rat if it got into my house but something about his redfaced demeanor told me just to hush. I'm no kid myself, but I think he was just posturing in front of the young'uns, showing them how to handle the perp (they actually looked a little embarrassed at his behavior) and it really pissed me off. I got his badge number and made a complaint, but never heard anything more................

I know they see the worst of people every day and it's hard for them not to judge, but this was on a pleasant Sunday afternoon, with a non-combative, co-operative citizen, it should not have gone this way...........

 

[SPIKER]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If you want to read about a hilarious small town police department click here )</font>
Here I thought inspector was going to post the artical about the PERRYSVILLE COP who while playing "Quick Draw" in the police station garage shot a hole though the windshield of the cop car. so he drove out to a local road and thenn called on the radio for HELP and proceeded to draw his gun out to shoot into the ground calling that some drug dealer was shooting at him and he accidently shot himself in the leg. the massive man hunt for this " non-existant" drug dealer was underway all over the state cops were warned about this shoot on sight drug dealer in a small white car. something like 40 people were pulled over and cars searched that day looking for the shooter before the cop admitted to what he had done. he was found guilty of several charges but O don ont know if he has served any time for them... they did shoot some guy there about 4 weeks back in a major drug bust of meth lab. this town is I belive maybe 1000 or less people. I now work in that town.. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif good job bad cops (well that kind of goes lots of bad cops in ohio. they have to meet their quotas and don't care who gets ticked right or wrong...

my GF's sister WAS a cop @ Manfield State pen, (where ohio death row was up to 2 weeks back) and was hhurt on the job. seems she turned in one of the other jailers for abusing a inmate so all of the other jailers let the inmates beat her up and would not protect her as she was a wissel blower... same goes for cops on the beat. it is protect you're own as they are you're back up... even lie like dogs for each other... sorry sore subject.

just my 2 cents worth...

MarkM errr no not me someone else. hey where did that search light compe from??? /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif