It has been said – and I agree – that the typical person (i.e., the person just trying to get through the day, do their thing) has more to fear from a cop than a (non-official, non-uniformed) criminal.
Harsh? No, a reality check.
I’m in my mid-40s and – so far – have not been robbed at gunpoint by an ordinary criminal. But I have been robbed at gunpoint literally dozens of times by cops, who have a license to rob me. Cumulatively, the total I’ve had to “stand and deliver” – in the felicitous phrase of the appropriately named highway robber of yore – comes to thousands of dollars, over the past twenty-something years. It’s dressed up, of course – in order to make the cop feel better about himself and what he’s doing (he’s just keeping us safe, etc.) and also to douse the rage of his victim by getting him to accept what’s done to him as something other than it is.
That being, a robbery at gunpoint.
After all, I have committed no crime, properly speaking. I have caused no harm to anyone. Yet I am molested by a guy in a uniform – with a gun on his hip – because he has noticed I am not wearing a seat belt, or because my vehicle does not have the requisite tax stamps upon it, or because my velocity is greater than the velocity posted on a sign. It may not be any of these things. It may be simply that I happen to be on a given road at a given time. I – and all the others who happen to be on that road at that time – are forcibly compelled to interrupt our journey, roll down our windows and submit to a roadside inspection-interrogation, with the implicit threat of lethal violence if we fail in the slightest way to Submit and Obey.
It does not make me feel safe. Does it make you feel safe?
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16 comments:
Welcome to the NWO it will only get worse.
quit your whining! i agree you are not a criminal by the standards you put forth, but you are still liable for your vehicle and how it is driven. i am a police officer, and i have to pay all taxes and fees to to MVA to keep my vehicle in line with the traffic law. i cant tell you how many people are driving around salisbury, especially at night, that have no insurance or drivers license at all. i know i would not want to be hit by someone like that, because youre pretty much screwed after that with the money coming out of your own pocket. day to day, we probably handle more aggressive driving complaints then we do drug complaints, simply because more people notice some fool driving down rt 13 at 80mph then they do a drug dealer whos trying to lay low. i agree there are usually more important things to deal with, but we cant ignore the minor calls. and as a police officer, i may be in the minority, but if you are over 18, i could care less if you wear your seat belt or not. but you better have your kids belted in and be off that cell phone, because i do see the good intent in those laws and enforce them whenever i can. get your vehicle straight and change your driving habits, and you will probably have less contact with the police. makes sense, dont it.
anonymous 1:44
and then you speed down 13 you don't have seat belt on you are on your cell phone all the same laws you are to enforce on us but you violate because you have the badge and you can do it. so until we can change your habits why should you try to change ours
It makes me feel safe being with my COP!!
I agree with 1:44. I won't ticket a driver for not wearing a seat belt. My discretion. I actually couldn't care less if you wear a helmet on a motor cycle. These are areas I believe the state intrudes into civil liberties. BUT kids should be in a seat belt or child safety seat as appropriate. If you want you brains spread out all over the highway - it's your business as far as
I'm concerned. There are many laws that fall on both sides of the fence in my opinion that a prudent police officer has within his discretion to enforce. Some shouldn't even exist. The government has a responsibility to have laws protecting you from others....such as laws against murder, theft and the like. The police officer has a responsibility to enforce laws as he/she deems appropriate for the circumstances. Example. If a thug is dealing drugs and gets caught AND has a handgun on their person.....they catch a handgun charge on top of everything else. However, if I catch someone for speeding and upon stopping the vehicle I learn that the driver wasn't paying attention, is a working person headed home from a long day, has no criminal history and has a loaded handgun in the glovebox for self defense....well....they are gonna get a pass on that. I feel that our state has overstepped it's authority under the constitution to forbid people from exercising their 2nd amendment rights. I choose to exercise my discretion in that way.
1:51 are you sure that that it is the officer who posted at 1:44 who does those things.. nope.. you are not. so STFU. I think the short lived era of cop bashing has died on this blog. get over it, seriously.
I agree with 1:44 also, NOT.
He's the fool cruising rt. 13 at 80 mph.
2:36 your a fool. STFU
The era will continue as long as cops think they are above the law.
Here’s some information some of you won’t believe, but it’s true. If you read the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR is data collected by the FBI in regards to all police departments in the United States, that includes police officer misconduct) Based on information contained in the UCR’s (for 2011) on a per capita basis, police officers are two times likely to murder someone and six times more likely to sexually assault a person than a regular citizen.
There are good cops and there are bad cops.
Unfortunately in todays society there seem to be a lot more bad cops than good cops.
You should act respectful to both "types" until it becomes apparent that they are in fact bad cop(s) that you are dealing with
So let me get this right? The police are picking which laws they want to enforce?
I have never had any problems with the police personally but it does make me mad when you see them on their phone while flying down the highway. More than once they have come across the line into my lane.
This writer complains he's had to pay thousands in fines over 20-something years?
Sorry, but you sound like a danger to me and my family on the road.
While there are stories of cops going over the line and laws that make lines no cop should ever have to step to, God bless our police for stopping speeding whiners who go without registration, insurance or whatever that the rest of us do.
The only time I have ever been stopped by a police officer was when I had a tail light out. I thanked him because I never would have noticed and I once had a neighbor rear-ended and hurt because his tail light was out and the car behind didn't see him in bad weather.
I find that the State Boys are well trained and professional. I also find that the Barneys of various counties and towns can be bad new. I'm grown up now, and haven't had a ticket in many many years but some of the stuff I see on the news, I don't blame people for not trusting the police.
If you're wondering why police officers are on their phones while driving, it is because there is some information being communicated that they don't want over the radio waves for everyone to hear. Some information is actually sensitive, and would be better communicated through phone. Yes, I know, 30 years ago they couldn't do this. But they can now, and they will. So give it a rest.
I am not an officer. But I have a close family member who is. He is not the butthead type that you see on the news, those type of officers make his job even harder. He does look out for the greater good, and believes in community policing, meaning he wants to build trust and rapport within communities. And maybe it is leadership, or lack of, that makes his job that much more difficult. If a cop is a jerk to you, as long as your rights have not been violated, take a second and think about what he/she may have going on. Maybe they just worked a 12 hour overnight shift until 8am, had court at 830, then at 1pm, then had to go back into work at 8pm. Sounds like a lot of sleep in a 24 hour period, huh? Just like you get tired and frustrated with you job, so do cops. And probably from dealing with buttholes like you. (Not you, Joe, just a general "you")
The State Police are revenue generators. Plain and simple. The sheriff's office is the leading law enforcement agency in any county. They have authority over all state and local law enforcement in their respective counties. They have that constitutional authority under the idea that the sheriff is elected by the people. Small town police departments - including Salisbury Police Department - exercise different discretion than MSP or Sheriff's office's because they police using a different philosophy.
Or they should be. Small law enforcement agencies are more likely to be sensitive to the needs of the small neighborhoods within their town and tailor their law enforcement efforts so as to address those needs. They are also more likely to remember the oath they took and respect the rights of the individual. Just sayin'.
20+ years of driving, thousands of dollars and traffic stops from dozens of cops?? Either this guy has absolutely no business driving a vehicle on the road or his whole article is total BS. In my first few years of driving I was stopped five or six times and had to pay my share of fines - and I deserved it because I was wrong. Nothing wrong with officers using a little discretion in enforcing laws. Nobody's perfect and as long as the people I come in contact with are cooperative and admit that they are doing something wrong I've got no problem issuing warnings for minor traffic offenses. If I wrote a citation for every violation I observed I'd spend all of my off days in court and my department would go nuts over the OT pay. Be safe fellow LEO's.
I drive over 50,000 miles a year, all you need to do is be patient until one of those troopers comes flying by you at 30 mph over the speed limit then tag along for the ride. If he has the audacity to stop you ask him why he's in such a hurry, and by the way they don't respond to crimes with no lights or sirens across three counties!happens all to often!
Welcome to the NWO! shut up and pay like everyone else! and yes they are only revenue generators for the state! When was last time you saw them patrolling the ghetto?
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