DividedWeFall
New member
I always feel it's better to do whatever it takes to keep a cop happy and send me on expeditiously on my way than to make waves and risk a costly avoidable drawn out confrontation.
Dealing with the police
- Thread starter Jeff22
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Get a case or incident number when reporting an incident.
It will be the way to follow up.
Also, if it is a repeat situation (drug house, loud parties and various bad neighbors etc) you want to attach that incident to the case or incident number, otherwise it gets scattered and is a low level issue.
If you an get enough incidents on file, then it triggers a response (they get billed, charges get pressed, it gets taken more seriously than a one off)
Insist on your rights. No I do not do what makes the officer happy, I do what I need to get my situation handled. Its my taxes and I am a good citizen, I get the service, not the scum (I do know it has to be on their time line due to emergencies).
Case in point when my neighbor tore out my property corner and was trying to take over 2 feet of my property.
The officer just wanted to let it go, blew it off.
I would not, I called in my surveyor who confimred the location, it was gone, it was 30 inch rebar and you do not remove one of those accidentally.
I would not let it go until I had an agreement that the neighbors would let the surveyor put the corner back in (concrete monument this time!).
Yes LEO is busy, but they are also there to serve us. You loose your neighborhood and they are going to be busier than ever. You loose your qulaity of life along with it. Some time spent snuffing something now can save tens of thousand latter as well as keeping your area crime free as possible.
Be polite, but be firm if you are not being taken seriously or blown off.
It will be the way to follow up.
Also, if it is a repeat situation (drug house, loud parties and various bad neighbors etc) you want to attach that incident to the case or incident number, otherwise it gets scattered and is a low level issue.
If you an get enough incidents on file, then it triggers a response (they get billed, charges get pressed, it gets taken more seriously than a one off)
Insist on your rights. No I do not do what makes the officer happy, I do what I need to get my situation handled. Its my taxes and I am a good citizen, I get the service, not the scum (I do know it has to be on their time line due to emergencies).
Case in point when my neighbor tore out my property corner and was trying to take over 2 feet of my property.
The officer just wanted to let it go, blew it off.
I would not, I called in my surveyor who confimred the location, it was gone, it was 30 inch rebar and you do not remove one of those accidentally.
I would not let it go until I had an agreement that the neighbors would let the surveyor put the corner back in (concrete monument this time!).
Yes LEO is busy, but they are also there to serve us. You loose your neighborhood and they are going to be busier than ever. You loose your qulaity of life along with it. Some time spent snuffing something now can save tens of thousand latter as well as keeping your area crime free as possible.
Be polite, but be firm if you are not being taken seriously or blown off.
Bailey Boat
Moderator
Yep, we're too stupid to read, too stupid to figure anything out for ourselves, we're just the stupid public. And some cops wonder why we don't particularly care for them. When the "force" treats us as being stupid and ignorant, that tends to be the attitude returned.
When I explain the exact ordinance I want enforced and the cops wants to know if I have a law degree it tends to infuriate educated people. You don't have to be a lawyer to READ the local ordinances and laws.
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Marquezj16
New member
This is where we separate a professional Police Officer from someone learning the ways. It does not matter what your mood is as an officer, when you serve the public, you must be professional at all times.
Single Six
New member
We are aware that we are expected to always be professional. Curiously, it seems that we're seldom, if ever, expected to act like human beings. We are no different than anyone else; we have "bad days" at work, same as anybody, and sometimes, it can be very difficult to constantly maintain that textbook professionalism that the majority of us strive for. I suggest that you do a Google search for a very brief, but very much on point, piece entitled "Me, The Lousy Cop" and take the few seconds required to read what it says.
OldMarksman
Staff
And that is somehow intended as a meaningful response to the helpful suggestion, "....look at the officer’s credentials. Just keep in mind that you don't know what an authentic police ID card for that agency looks like. (I don't know what official ID cards for the surrounding agencies look like, either.)" ??
Individual citizens may report suspected violations, but it is up to others to decide when and how to enforce ordnances.
Reading local ordinances and laws is one thing, but understanding the ways in which individual ordinances fit into a tapestry of others and of state laws, knowing the case law, and knowing how a municipality enforces those ordinances are something else.
With one exception, years ago in Calif., all my interactions with law enforcement, local or state, have been of the highest quality. We have a small but efficient police department in my little town. The officers wave on patrol if you're outside; one officer stopped me on my block to chat about my dog as we were walking. If you treat LEOs with respect and are friendly, I'm guessing you'll get that back. Copping an attitude, being belligerant, etc., will not get you what you want, which is to be turned loose, sans ticket or arrest ... Most cops have a scary, dangerous job and I can certainly understand why they wish to get on top of a situation immediately, so I never take offense at being told to keep my hands in sight or step from my vehicle, if that's what is being asked ...
Single Six
New member
I see a lot of anti-police stuff on the Internet these days. Some of it is bad, and a lot of it is just plain, unabashed hatred for LEOs. I hate to say it, but I've even seen some of this on TFL on occasion. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and no one I know of in the LE biz expects the public to love them. If that's what we wanted, we'd have become firemen. I will also candidly admit that there are some police officers who are arrogant, abusive, and occasionally, even criminals themselves. I should point out, however, that these people were already jerks, or even potential criminals, BEFORE they started in LE, and no amount of pre-employment screening, psych testing, etc., will keep them out completely. Nevertheless, they are still the minority. I ask only this, of both my fellow TFL folks, and of the public in general: Please consider judging LEOs as individuals, rather than as a group.
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Fishing_Cabin
New member
Well said Single Six.
As to the earlier mention in the thread about wanting all officers to be "polite, productive and well trained." In a perfect world it would be possible, but not in life as we know it. Law enforcement, as with other vocations requires a balancing act between being polite, productive and well trained. Being trained takes time, and that time can take away from being productive, as well as vice versa. Being polite, in most encounters is what should be expected also. It is also important for folks to understand there are some situations that vary by state/local law that a law enforcement officer can do nothing but refer to another person such as a lawyer, etc.
As to the earlier mention in the thread about wanting all officers to be "polite, productive and well trained." In a perfect world it would be possible, but not in life as we know it. Law enforcement, as with other vocations requires a balancing act between being polite, productive and well trained. Being trained takes time, and that time can take away from being productive, as well as vice versa. Being polite, in most encounters is what should be expected also. It is also important for folks to understand there are some situations that vary by state/local law that a law enforcement officer can do nothing but refer to another person such as a lawyer, etc.
Single Six
New member
Thanks, Fishing Cabin. I just really wanted to get that thought out there.
Another "well said" to SingleSix
on a different point-
There are also seven magic words that almost always work when faced with a cop that is reluctant to enforce an ordinance …
"I want to swear out a complaint." It immediately tells them you are serious, and believe yourself to be in the right.
It also (usually) puts you on the hook to show up in court. If you’re not willing to do that, though … how important is it that the ordinance is enforced ? Why should it be important to the cop if the person "wronged" doesn’t see it as important enough to see it enforced himself?
on a different point-
Both the cop and complainant have the obligation to keep their emotions in check.
There are also seven magic words that almost always work when faced with a cop that is reluctant to enforce an ordinance …
"I want to swear out a complaint." It immediately tells them you are serious, and believe yourself to be in the right.
It also (usually) puts you on the hook to show up in court. If you’re not willing to do that, though … how important is it that the ordinance is enforced ? Why should it be important to the cop if the person "wronged" doesn’t see it as important enough to see it enforced himself?
Funny, everywhere I go, cops are different … even in the same town, or even in the same neighborhood. Whenever everything looks the same, I try to check my vision.
btw, not a cop ... had plenty of run-ins with bad cops(some extremely serious), and plenty of good encounters with good ones too.
btw, not a cop ... had plenty of run-ins with bad cops(some extremely serious), and plenty of good encounters with good ones too.
Marquezj16
New member
When you let your bad day affect the way you treat an individual, then you are not doing your best. This has nothing to do with being human or feeling stressed, pressure, anger or anything else.
I have nothing againts police officers. My best friend and his brothers and Dad are all in law enforcement. Some of my best buds in service are in law enforcement. They all leave their personal problems behind when they are on duty.
Let me ask you this, have you ever had to perform CPR or any lifesaving measure on a BG after they have shot at you or your friends?
You're personal life can be all messed up but when your profession is to protect the public, you can't let it affect you. You stay professional.
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Single Six
New member
Tricolordad: Thank you for underscoring what I've already said. Meanwhile, I fail to see how you can label us as "all the same", unless you've met, talked to, and spent time with every individual LEO in this country. Until you've actually done that, petulantly dismissing us all with a blanket statement such as yours only shows you to be just another cop-hater. I repeat: Google search "Me, The Lousy Cop." It says it all.
Single Six
New member
Marquezj16: At no point did I say that having a bad day affects how I treat individuals. However, by virtue of your statement that it "nothing to do" with being human or stressed, you have validated what I said earlier: We are often not expected to be human. Yes, we strive for professionalism. Yes, we strive to maintain the highest degree of it, in spite of whatever difficulties our personal lives [or our jobs] have thrown our way. But no one I know of gets it right, all the time, 100%. To answer your question: No, I have not had to perform CPR on anyone who had tried to murder me or another officer. My question for you is: Have you ever worked as a LEO?
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