Well said with the Paul Harvey video man. Thoughts on red light running? I see it way too much for my own comfort here, if I'm first in line at a light, I'll usually wait a couple seconds before going it's that bad around here...
Police perception amongst the general public.
- Thread starter Dunckel
- Start date
Do you know anything about automated license plate reading systems? I know there are a lot of departments that are using that technology now, including in Washington. I can’t seem to find any real details on how much data is being collected and held, but I was curious if you knew how extensively the system is being used.
I guess for a more pressing question, as a cop, how do you feel about these automated systems that can be basically used to create gigantic databases that save a car's plates, location, date, time, etc indiscriminately all day every day which can then be used over a length of time to basically to map out and track a person's movements for however long the system has been in place?
I guess for a more pressing question, as a cop, how do you feel about these automated systems that can be basically used to create gigantic databases that save a car's plates, location, date, time, etc indiscriminately all day every day which can then be used over a length of time to basically to map out and track a person's movements for however long the system has been in place?
How do you feel about tonights story of a Colorado LEO pepper spraying an 8 year old student? I'm not sure how I feel about it myself. My first thought is, why can't a trained cop take care of an 8 year old without such measures. But, I don't know all of the details either.
AND.........do you feel like (right or wrong) this child's parents will win the almost certain law suit? If it were my child, I would definitely consult a lawyer. I don't always advocate law suits for everything that happens, because I know that no matter how much a settlement is paid, it is ultimately the public that pays the money.
AND.........do you feel like (right or wrong) this child's parents will win the almost certain law suit? If it were my child, I would definitely consult a lawyer. I don't always advocate law suits for everything that happens, because I know that no matter how much a settlement is paid, it is ultimately the public that pays the money.
I saw that, but the kid has an anger issue and has had the cops called on him before. He's also big for his age.
Don't do it??te72;1695795 said:
That's a good idea. Again, there are alot of circumstances that account for whether I cite them for it. If you haven't been able to pick up on it yet, I'm a pretty laid back guy. If I'm stopping someone for running a red light, it's because they really ran it. I don't mean they were in the intersection when it turned red. I only stop someone if it was red before their front wheels crossed the crosswalk.te72;1695795 said:
Our dept. equipped two patrol cars with the plate readers, in order to test them. When they worked, they were okay. We found alot of stolen cars with them, but, we couldn't justify spending the money on them for what they did. They also made the car look ridiculous. When a picture was taken, the only thing the Officer could see was the picture of the license plate. If it came back as a stolen car, it would give an alert. From there we had to manually verify, by running the plate like we normally do. When the WACIC (Washington Crime Information Center) and NCIC (National Crime Information Center) results confirmed it was stolen, then we could stop the vehicle.Cz.;1696365 said:
I honestly think it's ridiculous for an honest person to worry about it. I'm sure several members here would disagree, but the way I see it, does a person really have an expectation of privacy when they are in public? I don't care if someone is tracking my everyday movements while I'm out in public.Cz.;1696365 said:
You're right, we are lacking details. The thought in my head is probably like everyone elses'. Why couldn't a cop, or anyone really, control an 8 year old, even with a stick? That Officer probably thought pepper spray was his best option given the circumstances at that time. Do I think it was excessive? Not really. Sure, the Officer could have gone hands on with the kid. Maybe the cop didn't want to take a chance on getting hit. I know, he's 8. But I don't want to get hit if I can avoid it. So we've established he doesn't want to get hit. So now we climb the use of force ladder. We started with Officer presence. That didn't work. Moved to verbal commands, which didn't work. Pepper spray was the next step. I'm not sure if anyone reading this has been pepper sprayed, but it sucks. Imagine the pain of taking a cumshot to the eye from the devil. However, it only irritates the senses. It's a far better cry than an Officer tasing the kid, or whipping ass with his asp/baton.ForcedTorque;1696409 said:
Oh I'm sure the parent(s) will sue. And as absurd as it would be, probably win. It's absurd because to win a judgement, you have to prove some sort of damages, whether it be material, or psychological. The mother, who seems oblivious to the fact her son has had the cops deal with her son twice before, should be the one to be punished. I'm not a judge and don't hand out sentences, but she should have to at minimum pay for the damage her son did to the school property.ForcedTorque;1696409 said:
A little sideline on that topic. IMO privacy is one of those things that society as a whole is evolving away from. And I'm not talking about losing it by law - the younger generations don't appear to value privacy. Most of the -20 generation puts their whole life on display, through youtube, facebook, twitter, and photobucket.Dunckel;1696503 said:
For example, smartphones tend to add information to the exif tags in pictures with such things as GPS coordinates and time. It's easy to strip out, but the under 20 crew just doesn't care. I guess when you're posting nudie pics of yourself, the location and time really isn't that big of a deal.
Dunckel;1696503 said:
Oh, I try my best not to, the only time I'll even think about it is if someone that would be unable to stop without rear-ending me is right on my ass. Another pet peeve, but that's another topic. I just see many people doing it out of laziness, talking on phones and being oblivious (or apathetic), etc... rarely (around here at least) is it a thing of necessity. We have a LOT of semi-truck traffic around here, and I can understand that a rig of that size requires more time to stop than our lights allow, but the other people annoy the hell out of me.
Dunkel said:
Sig worthy material right there! I've read this thread a lot and thought I would pass along a good LEO experience. I had just picked up my shiny perfectly working (GASP!) Supra from my buddy's shop. I was just pulling onto the on ramp for the highway and noticed that a State Trooper had pulled in behind me from the opposite direction. I had replaced my rearend with the 4.30 LSD and the appropriate speedo gear in the trans, but still wasn't confident that my speedo was going to be correct.
So I merge onto the highway and stay in the slow lane. The Trooper was still right behind me. I move over in case he wants to pass. He moves over, too. Uh-oh, I know what's coming next. I move back over to the slow lane...he follows. Now it's just a matter of time. Yep, lights in the rear view. Keep in mind on was right on the speed limit as best I could tell.
I patiently wait with the windows down and both hands on the wheel so he could see them when he approached. It took a little while, but he finally came up to the window and said that I was good to go! WTF?! He said that when he first ran my plate, the "Q" actually looked like a "0" and of course couldn't find the record. In his defense, it really does look like a zero until you're right on it. He said I had a really nice car and that you just don't see them around where I am so he ran the plate to make sure it wasn't stolen. Nice that he was looking out for my ride!
Now, I have one or two bad stories, too, but that guy was pretty cool.
That's good to hear, Furious. The Officer acknowledged his mistake, and let you go just as he should have. He stopped you for the plate issue. Once he figured out he made a mistake, he couldn't legally detain you any longer. In all honesty, it was an unlawful detainment from the start. Theoretically, you could sue him civily.
I'll never forget an incident that happened when I was training. I was riding with a Training Officer. He was driving and told me to call out anything traffic related that I saw. A few seconds went by and I saw a Honda Civic with no front plate. (Illegal in WA.) He didn't see the car, so I pointed it out to him. He never saw the front of the car. So from only my observation, we stopped it. My Training Officer contacted the driver, and I observed from the passenger side. I heard my Traning Officer say, "The reason I'm stopping you is because you don't have a front plate." He paused for a second and then said, "You do?" We both went to the front of the Civic....Yup, he sure did. He walked back to the driver and said, "I'm sorry, I made a mistake and you are free to go. The driver said thank you and drove away. I remember the awkward silence sitting in the patrol car for what seemed like an hour, but was only a few seconds. He looked and me and said with great severity, "Don't ever do that again. You make damn sure you have a lawful reason to detain someone. I'm not going to lose my house, and everything I've worked for because of you." It was at that moment I realised how serious the consequences from my actions could be, from an honest mistake made from something so insignificant to me. At that moment, I suspended someone's Constitutional rights...illegally. That scared the shit outta me.
I'll never forget an incident that happened when I was training. I was riding with a Training Officer. He was driving and told me to call out anything traffic related that I saw. A few seconds went by and I saw a Honda Civic with no front plate. (Illegal in WA.) He didn't see the car, so I pointed it out to him. He never saw the front of the car. So from only my observation, we stopped it. My Training Officer contacted the driver, and I observed from the passenger side. I heard my Traning Officer say, "The reason I'm stopping you is because you don't have a front plate." He paused for a second and then said, "You do?" We both went to the front of the Civic....Yup, he sure did. He walked back to the driver and said, "I'm sorry, I made a mistake and you are free to go. The driver said thank you and drove away. I remember the awkward silence sitting in the patrol car for what seemed like an hour, but was only a few seconds. He looked and me and said with great severity, "Don't ever do that again. You make damn sure you have a lawful reason to detain someone. I'm not going to lose my house, and everything I've worked for because of you." It was at that moment I realised how serious the consequences from my actions could be, from an honest mistake made from something so insignificant to me. At that moment, I suspended someone's Constitutional rights...illegally. That scared the shit outta me.
You know, speaking of being pulled over in Utah while driving a Supra, I had a rather similar thing happen to me. I bought my Mk2 in AZ, flew down there, did a few days of maintenance on it to make sure it would survive the trip home, went to the AZ dmv, changed the title over, and bought a 30 day (could have been 3, I dunno) temp tag for the drive home...
Anyhow, get over the UT border, get about 30 or so miles into the state, and pass by a UHP officer sitting in the median. I knew I wasn't speeding, but saw him coming my way. Had become used to it by then, so I slowed my pace and he caught up, flips the lights on... I pull out my insurance card and license, after about 10 seconds, he walks up to my passenger side, leans down, says "the reason I stopped you today was because I couldn't see your temporary plate in the window, but I see it now. As such I have no further reason to detain you, have a nice day."
I said my thanks and went along with my day. Probably the most pleasant stop I've ever had.
Anyhow, get over the UT border, get about 30 or so miles into the state, and pass by a UHP officer sitting in the median. I knew I wasn't speeding, but saw him coming my way. Had become used to it by then, so I slowed my pace and he caught up, flips the lights on... I pull out my insurance card and license, after about 10 seconds, he walks up to my passenger side, leans down, says "the reason I stopped you today was because I couldn't see your temporary plate in the window, but I see it now. As such I have no further reason to detain you, have a nice day."
I said my thanks and went along with my day. Probably the most pleasant stop I've ever had.