I am taking a little vaca right now in Alex Bay and was walking around Boldt Castle today thinking about this thread. I really believe if I was to meet naaman in person I would like him. He seems like a decent person from his reactions to what was really an attack on him and his profession. I am very thankful for the opportunity to debate this topic with someone who gave the time to show from his prospective what it is like to be a police officer.
As for Blade it would seem as if he has a chip on his shoulder and really didn't add anything positive to sway my opinion, in fact he only solidified my original stance on the way I feel about most of the police force.
One common denominator seems to ring true here by admission of all the officers who have posted on this thread...there are some jerk cops out there and there are some good ones. I don't doubt for a minute that there are some good cops out there. But as blade said "if the cop really wanted to be a jerk....", well for me I am not going to take that chance that I bend and kiss their ass and it turns out they are the jerk cop anyways. Nothing would piss me off more than to kiss ass and get the ticket anyways. I have a pretty good sixth sense about people and I can tell when the cop is walking up to the window what kind of experience I am about to have. Like carguy said... out of all the times I have been pulled over I only get ticketed 50% of the time, so no I don't act like an asshole to the cop until he acts like an asshole to me.
Hey, I don't have the nickname BLADE because I will stand by like Naaman and have people insult me. I respect Naaman greatly. I saw he tried and FAILED to sway you people so I'm not about to play nice with you. I was about to be as civil and nice as I could because I was hurt by the comments you people made. Then after seeing Naaman be called "little friend" and belittled again and again, I came in his defense and in defense of my profession. I'm out of uniform buddy, so it's fair game. Naaman tried to be nice, and "kiss your butt" but you all kept attacking anyways.
Do you really believe that just because a cop says that he knows there are "bad apples" or "jerks" in his profession, that should "solidify" your ignorant belief that most, if not all, cops are "jerks". Also, I could care less about swaying your opinion. That is exactly what I was telling naaman in regards to the futility in trying to "sway" certain people with ignorant beliefs.
You're a hypocrite. You say "
I am not going to take that chance that I bend and kiss their ass and it turns out they are the jerk cop anyways" which means what? That you're NOT going to show respect because the cop
might be disrespectful to you afterwards? Then you end with this: "
so no I don't act like an asshole to the cop until he acts like an asshole to me."
So, since I wasn't as polite as Naaman, I 'solidified' your so-called opinion. Well, I'm flattered to have such a powerful influence on you
Let's see, I have the natural disadvantage being black (oops maybe I shouldn't say that, else you may again accuse me of having that proverbial "chip" you mentioned before atop my shoulder), I've been pulled over nearly 30 times. Very few of those times were for any good reason other than D.W.B. I've been given TWO tickets during that time. While a police officer, I have been pulled over about 6 out of that 30 times. Yes, I didn't get a ticket partly because I was a cop, and mostly IMHO because the cop knew I didn't do anything wrong. On at least 5 of those occassions, I just sat their and listen to the cop insult me, even AFTER telling them that I was a cop myself.
On one occassion, I had a city of miami white female cop drive extremely fast right up on the tail of my NSX as I was cruising at 30mph down a residential road. I assumed she wanted to pass me and we were currently on a one lane road. Soon after the road became two lanes and she had the opportunity to pass me. She didn't. She just kept riding my tail. So, I changed lanes quickly and slowed down. This HAS to be someone I know, I thought. The police car pulled along side me and this woman yells "You aint sh*t! You think you're hot Sh*t in your fancy car?! What the hell was up with that lane change, you didn't even signal a**hole!?", "Who do you think you are Blasting that damned music". I was playing ahem....the Blade Soundtrack..go figure...and I had the knob up halfway on my STOCK stereo system (which one of the speakers wasn't working on my '91 NSX). So, my music wasn't really that loud.
I replied "I changed lanes because you were riding my tail ma'am!".
It was then that she ordered me to pull over. She took her card out and threw it at my face after I identified myself as a police officer, telling me that she has 19 years on the force compared to my mere 2 years, and she called for backup where three more 'good-ol boy' cops showed up. It was the day before X-mas eve, and I had just gotten off work. I left my police jacket in my locker and the heater in the NSX wasn't working at that time. BTW, I didn't have a take-home car, though that should be obvious. I stood out there in a sweaty t-shirt (wearing body armor makes you sweat as your skin can't breathe) in the cold for 45 min. They insulted me, belittled me, and at one point, my cell phone which was still inside my car began to ring. I knew it was my girlfriend worried as to why I wasn't home yet. I walked over to my car to reach for my cell phone, and the white female cop pulled her gun on me and yelled at me to get back from my car. Once again I was taunted and insulted until a sergeant finally arrived on scene.
The sgt. made the woman let me go. First, I threatened to file a complaint; but the sgt. said that she would order that I be written a ticket if I did. I can assure you, I wasn't speeding, I did absolutely nothing wrong to warrant a citation. As for my 'lane change' per Florida State Statute, a signal is only required when making a turn, or changing lanes on a highway, we were on a slow side-street. I humbled myself, got in my car, and drove away. I later learned that this woman that pulled me over wasn't even on duty and has a history of racial incidents.
I have MUCH worse stories than this regarding my treatment from other cops. So, don't talk to me about my "chip" on my shoulder. So far, the excuses people like you have given me for hating cops are trivial and pathetic. I will get up in your face and tell you what I think when you start attacking ME and MY profession.
I can give you many more stories of great things cops have done, (did I mention that my life was saved...oh yes I did, but I'm sure no one cared about that
) but wait...I forget...no one wants to hear about those stories right? We only care about the bad, the evil corruption involving the stolen bottle rockets, tow truck drivers paying off cops, or those jerks that are speeding without lights and sirens like when I think my fellow officer might be in a potentially dangerous situation and I need to get there fast but I don't have authority to run lights and sirens from dispatch, oh but Johnny Paranoid is driving 15 miles BELOW the speed limit in front of me and if I pass him and speed on to help my co-worker, I'm ABUSING MY POWER.
Listen, I'm not going to "sway" you from your "opinion"
And I'm not here to. I'm here to defend an honorable profession for which, and I'll say it again, you could never do yourself.
Fact is, YOUR the one with the chip on your shoulder, along with everyone else on this thread that have attacked an ENTIRE PROFESSION based on your TRIVIAL experiences with a FRACTIONAL number of officers within that profession. It's probably why one out of two times you've been pulled over, your butt ends up getting a ticket
I should get one of my biggest, smelliest, hairiest co-workers to do a cavity search on you!!!
