Yeah, my brother got away with the civil penalty more than once. That was a loophole our family did not appreciate.
I suspect that most people who refuse the breathalyzer are driving drunk. Everyone wants to stop drunk driving deaths, right?
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@TomSrOfBoston To be clear, my point was that if my brother had actually suffered criminal penalties, maybe that would have convinced him to get sober. Instead, the civil penalty was literally his ‘get out of jail free’ card.
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There was a survey asking about experiences with police… a significant percentage* said that they were treated unfairly by a police officer, and more knew people who had been treated unfairly by a police officer. This obviously reduces the trust between police and others that is necessary for effective police work.
*Among White people, 13% personally experienced unfair treatment, and 27% know someone who had. Among Black people, the percentages were 42% and 68%.
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I’ve been pulled over exactly once in my life for allegedly running a red light. And by coincidence, it was the same day H left our garage door open overnight in a very safe neighborhood and some stuff was stolen (worth less than our insurance deductible). Turns out the officer who pulled me over was the same one who took the report. I said, “I’m sure I had a green arrow.” (Wasn’t the only car to go.) I don’t know. Maybe I was wrong? He let me go. This was 35 years ago.
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I feel fortunate to be in an area that strongly supports law enforcement. I feel we are all on the same team.( and yes, both my kids and I have had encounters with them).
I dont know why people work as cops in places where they are not valued or appreciated. Maybe that explains police shortages in some places
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I worked on the floor above the police department for 25 years and sometimes helped them with their work. Mostly I find that they are just people too, trying to make a living. I’m sure some are jerks and power hungry, some are lazy and incompetent, but for the most part they just want to earn a living.
I’m the one who always gets pulled for weird things. Hanging air fresher in a car? (Thanks H!! That was his thing until I got pulled). That did scare me because it was a plain clothed cop in an unmarked car and I didn’t recognize him, and he wasn’t particularly nice. But I was scared to ask for anything because I didn’t want to tick him off. But at the same time I was like ??? I knew I wasn’t speeding. I had no idea the air freshener thing was illegal. He was obviously trying to look in my car for something else, but fortunately I keep an empty car. He let me go.
I did also get pulled for running a stop sign while taking the kids to school. It’s a stupid set up. The main road at the T intersection has the stop signs, the side street does not. Maybe 500 cars go through there per day. I literally drove through the intersection at 5mph with my foot hovering over the brake when I saw him. Ugh. He looked like it was his first day. I ranted and raved until he walked up and then I was very nice. Yup. I didn’t completely stop. When he gave me the ticket and left, I told my kids. It might be a stupid set up traffic wise. But in the end, he was right and I was wrong. Just pay the ticket and move on.
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I live in an area that isn’t heavily patrolled by LEOs. It is considered a ‘safe, affluent’ area which practically means fewer LEOs watching/catching our neighbors in misdeeds. My personal experiences with LEOs, by and large, have been neutral to positive.
And I would still tell anyone and everyone to not speak with cops. I linked to the video above because there is no benefit to speaking with LEOs for 99.999999% of those with whom cops want to speak. The LEO on the video acknowledge this openly.
I’ve told my children repeatedly how to interact with LEO…and every conversation reiterates to NOT talk with them (ask if you are being detained…if the answer is no - leave. If the answer is yes, immediately request a lawyer and refuse to answer any and all questions). Never allow police to enter your home, never agree to any search.
I’ve also told my children to never install facial unlock on their phones, as LEO can take their phones, hold them up to their faces and unlock their phones with or without their permission.
I’m big on protecting my rights, my children’s rights and the rights of my fellow citizens. LEOs have plenty of power to conduct their business, they don’t need me to abrogate my or other’s rights.
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But the bad apples are defended more than the good apples. Cops who turn in bad cops are actually putting their lives at risk, so to pretend ‘it’s just a few bad apples’ really misunderstands the problematic issues with policing nowadays.
The system is set up to never be fixed
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A whole other area of discussion be the militarization of police departments. Lots of excess military equipment has been donated to local LEOs. Many civil service systems give extra points to veterans, so many of them take the exam to become police.
Sure, most cops are good folks, but there are too many who delight in being the badass, how dare you ask them why they are being stopped???
Sheriff Andy Taylor, where are you???
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I understand. And I assume you expect the LEOs to treat you with at best cold indifference to your well being,in response. That works, but is a lot less pleasant to live in. But if it works for you, that is fine.
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The idea that LEO should dish out their protection and service depending on who they personally decide is more deserving is itself an abuse of power.
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They are there to uphold the law. Anything more is discretionary, and as some cities have found, not in the union contract. Treat people as you wish to be treated is a solid maxim for a reason.
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Treating some citizens, but not other citizens, with “cold indifference to (their) wellbeing” because the first group knew and dared to assert their rights is not upholding the law. It is abusing their power.
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Nope. Pretty sure the union contract does not demand offering warmth, sympathy, emotional support, or going above and beyond one’s duties. Public employees can and do “work to the contract” when they feel the situation warrants; some police departments in some cities seem to be doing this. Perfectly legal; no one is required to do more than the contractual minimum.
This may result in fewer crimes solved, fewer arrests, or less police interaction with the public, but that is to be expected.
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I’ve always been respectful to police officers I’ve interacted with and have found them to be respectful back. I do agree that no one should voluntarily incriminate themselves.
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Agree. But checks and balances are necessary. 
Never said it did. But not carrying out one’s duties because a person dared to assert their rights is an abuse of power. The very idea that police only serve those show them respect is indication of the extent of the problem
Yes! Edited my post; it’s been a few years.
I do find it ironic that often those who complain about the low rate of solving crimes are the first to hop on the never talk to the police bandwagon. I guess that you do not want any witness to talk to the police ( why should they?), Nor anyone with tips or information that might help solve or prevent a future crime, even if such a crime were against you. Solving and preventing criminal activity depends heavily on public cooperation. The public isn’t required to cooperate. We can all see how that turns out in some jurisdictions.
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