Any officers of the Law on this board?

[bornl33t]

I need a big favor before I blow the flame of all times about cops.

I got pulled over around 3 am on my way home from work. When I asked what the problems was the officer, pointed out the my right tail light was out. Then came the usual mumbo jumbo, where are you coing from, what is the big flashlight for etc. ( I was going to ask if he was jealous of my big 6 cell maglight, but that would have pry gotten him pissy ).
After he ran me through he came back with a warning. So I asked him if I could check my light. BOTH LIGHTS WHERE ON!!!!!! He said that my car had 2 bulbs in each taillight and the right side was missing one. Please tell me this is a joke... it's gotta be.. we pay them over 30,000 as year for this stuff!?!?!?!
Would someone tell me if this is legal? He can't pull me over for this? Can he? I mean if I were to pull the other bulb out on the left side he would have never noticed it.


Either way, I've lost all respect for any cop in Iowa. I'm shure they serve a purpose elsewere but not Iowa.
That's 5 times I've been pulled over by a cop within a block of my house.
3 warnings for tint
1 for doing 29 in a 25 - I kid you not, I have the ticket.
1 warning for a broke/none broke tailight.

[slateman]

I'm and ADJ ( Admistration of Justice) Student so I have some idea as to your answer.

I've noticed one thing about cops: THEY CAN PULL YOU OVER WHENEVER THEY WANT TO!! Now that I got that out of the way...

According to the law, a police officer has to have a reason or pattern for pulling you over. Give them time and they will find a reason. In your case, the officer probably didn't care whether your tail light was out or not, that was what they call "probable cause". He was probably checking to see if you were drunk or traficing drugs. (Believe it or not, a lot of drugs come through Iowa on there way to big cities). Remember: It was 3am and nothing good happens after midnight.
Get your taillight "fixed" adn drive as close to the speed limit as possible at 3am. As for the tint, I don't know much about it so this may sound dumb. Can you pull it off and sell? (You know, buy more paint
)

All in all, I'd say give the police another chance. If something like this happens, get the officer's name and the street and time where you were pulled over, and go down to the local police station. Ask someone senior what is going on. Remember: BE POLITE!!!!!!! (AAnd don't ask the cop to hold your beer while you look for your license j/k)

[Snappy]

Cops are out there to help us. Something like 1 out of 10 people driving past midnight are drunk, so you're chances of getting pulled over after the bars close are good. That was most likely his motivation. It's a pain, but that's the price we pay. Would you rather be in Mexico? I've been pulled over twice, once for driving without my headlights (right after pulling out of a parking lot in a well lit environment) and once for speeding and reckless driving through a construction zone. I got one ticket, can you guess which one? Yup, driving without lights. Funny how things like that happen.

[Flamebo]

I don't know what to tell you... Cops get away with murdering people and planting unregistered guns on them and just get a suspension if they get caught...

I'd like to pretend all cops were good cops, but from my experience only about 1/3 of those employed to "serve and protect" actually do.

[shartley]

... some AO Members used to BE Cops... one might choose their words a bit better. What was posted was well enough, so I did not feel the need to add to it. However, I now caution those who may speak of things that are the exception and not the rule, but assign it as a NORM. I too am often disappointed at what I see now days, but I would never claim to assign CRIMES committed by a few dishonorable people to the rest of the hard working folks who do a job harder than most realize and who are thanked far too seldom.

Police officers are people, just like everyone else. However, they have a job that few realize how difficult it can actually be. So maybe a bit more thought and understanding could be used by those who look upon the profession from the safety that it provides them. And a few bad apples does not make a rotten orchard. I guess however, we could also assign the actions taken by a few paintball players and say that all (or the majority) of players are as the same. I hear paintball players complain about the misconceptions the public has about the sport and its participants... See a pattern here?

[AGD]

As the owner of a police training facility for 9 years and having a partner who is a chief of police I think I can add something here.

First of all cops have the worst job in the world because peoples attitudes toward them generally suck. They have to counter this attitude with attitude of their own to KEEP THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL. I have dealt with hundreds of cops in training and when I first started doing it I though "yea I bet I can tell who the cops are just by the attitude". Well I was completely wrong. They are just Jo Average with great acting ability. When you are talking to them in average conversation they are perfectly normal. When they point a gun at you and start yelling, the change is startling! That is my first point.

The second point is this, in 9 years NOT A SINGLE COP SURVIVED OUR COURSE! Every one died like a dog. When they came into the room, they died, when the entered the closet they died, when they opened the frig they got cut in half. I have seen them cry, get paralyzed with fear, piss in their pants and hold their hands up in front of their face like a little kid trying to stop the bullets. We never could video the debriefings because of what was said in there was tragically ego crushing. Hearing cops admit "I was dead", "I couldn't cover my partner and he got shot" amd "I didn't see him pull the gun until he shot me in the head" gives you an idea about what they face on the street. Cops are likely to get shot first in any encounter.

My third point is that COPS ARE JUDGED THE SAME WAY YOU ARE! They are NOT given any special treatment if they shoot someone without legal justification. ALL of our training was based on what is or isn't a legal shoot. The same thing for any of you if you shoot someone. Look on the net, you can find dozens of situations where cops are on trial and could and DO go to jail for bad shoots. Most of these situations are poorly understood by the public. They just hear "they shot an unarmed man". Cops can legally shoot an unarmed man if he believes, by the actions of the suspect, that his or his partners life is in danger.

So lets look at the big picture, your a cop, odds are your going to get shot if something goes down. If you do shoot, your going to trial and explain yourself. Every person you pull over can kill you so EVERY stop is a felony stop. As he walks up to your car he is a sitting duck, this is called the kill zone because the cop has no chance for cover or reaction if you pull a gun. He can't see you too well that's why they put the floodlight in your car. He wants to see your hands but you are digging around for your wallet. He has about 3 seconds to determine if you are a threat or not so the quickest way to do that is give you a command and see if you follow it. You, The Innocent, get upset the cop is giving you a hard time for right turn on red. If you do what he says the worst that happens is you walk away with a ticket, for him the situation is under control enough for him to take his hand off the gun in the holster.

Moral of the story, cops don't want to get killed or kill you on the job. They might have to kill you if they just THINK their lives are in danger and explain it to the jury later. The only thing that makes them secure is bossing you around and you doing it, it has absolutely nothing to do with you, its the only way to determine if you are Mr Nice.

If you want to make traffic stops go easier do what other cops do. Put BOTH HANDS way outside the window on the side of the car door. The cop will likely ask you if you or someone you know is in law enforcement. That is the icebreaker to get out of the ticket....

Cop killer,

AGD

[Shaft]

Tom's point is well made. The best way to get out of a ticket is insure that the cop is as safe as can be. Don't go digging in your glove compartment. If he wants your insurance and its in the glove compartment, tell him that it is.