Being a law enforcement officer can be a difficult and dangerous job. The general public seems to be generally unaware and unappreciative of this simple fact. Traffic stops, second only to domestic disputes, are the most dangerous of all encounters for LEOs. An officer never really knows what kind of cranked up nutjob he might encounter, and many of his own have been injured or killed during an otherwise “routine traffic stop.”
There’s an awful lot of “roadside lawyers” out there whose sole purpose in life seems to be to heckle, harass and provoke these wonderful hardworking folks. Whether it’s whipping out and waving a Constitution in the face of an officer or arguing, ignorantly, the intricacies of traffic rules or special relativity, these morons seem to think that the proper place to contest a ticket is on the roadside. It’s not. That’s what traffic court is for, you morons.
The only reason I bring this up, is that an EDITED video was put up on YouTube that has the usual cop-haters out in force screaming “police brutality” or “Attica!” or whatever these cockroaches usually whine about when any story critical of LEOs hit the news.
New Democrat (the artist formerly known as the last “honest” conservative) John Cole predictably whines about the incident, unfortunately going so far as to call police “jack booted thugs,” and his leftist commentariot runs wild with the red meat. The response was so great that Michael D. just had to follow it up with more. John Cole wannabe, one Mr. Furious, makes a lot of noise about it but also fails to say anything rational.
I warn those working in law enforcement or those with loved ones doing this important and commendable work should steer clear of those idiotic rants. When one reads the comments of those who actually know what they’re talking about, it’s clear that this is all much ado about nothing. The linked forum contains a discussion by former and current officers, as well as a couple of ignorant trolls, but fortunately sanity prevails there.
Here’s some wise advice that everyone should heed. Always respect your local police, and if you see them out in public, perhaps even in a store ahead of you buying a cup of coffee, be sure to thank them for what they do. I don’t think they hear it often enough. Whenever I chat with them here in my town they are always very friendly, and my local police officers have wonderful senses of humor. I’ve met several of them around here and they are some of the nicest folks I have had the pleasure to meet.
The police are our friends, not our enemies. And they are as human as you are. So be sure to be courteous and treat them as you yourself would like to be treated. Don’t be a jackass like the moron who got himself tasered. He was clearly arguing and resisting all the way (over perhaps a $100 citation), was informed that he was under arrest, and could well have been going for a weapon. If fired upon by this man or his twitchy wife, he’d have been left for dead by the side of the road. Cop haters always seem to forget that. It’s pathetic.
— Psycheout
Blogs 4 Conservatives 
November 24, 2007 at 7:15 pm |
LFO???
What does that stand for – law forcement officer?
November 24, 2007 at 7:49 pm |
Actually LFO stands for Low Frequency Oscillator. I guess that’s not really relevant, so I changed it to LEO.
Thanks for pointing it out!
November 24, 2007 at 10:26 pm |
I am a State Trooper and have run into this kind of chatty moron far too often. All the idiot had to do was sign the citation and go on his way, but he’s probably seen one too many tv shows. Arguing with a troop rather than complying with his commands is a good way to find yourself in a world of hurt.
Letting tards get away with this kind of bull just means the next time he gets pulled over he’ll be even less cooperative. And having run across this kind of person plenty of times it’s obvious that it would have escalated no matter what the officer did. He did the right thing by ending it quickly and safely.
I really appreciate this post. People need to treat troopers with respect. It goes a long way.
November 24, 2007 at 11:25 pm |
Here’s some wise advice that everyone should heed. Always respect your local police
Yup. No problem here. I am always respectful. I am NOT a cop-hater. But I will point out when I think they are wrong. They are not perfect and they screw up, as this cop did.
Don’t be a jackass like the moron who got himself tasered. He was clearly arguing and resisting all the way (over perhaps a $100 citation), was informed that he was under arrest, and could well have been going for a weapon.
If you read my post and most of my comments I concede that this guy is being argumentative and challenging the cop, but “resisting” is too strong a term—and one that has a specific definition when you’re talking about arrest. This cop never uses the word “arrest” until a minute after he tases the guy. He does not tell him he is under arrest while he’s in the car, once he exits the car or even when pointing the taser at him. And he does NOT warn the guy that he is about to be tased.
The cop f–ked up. Once he decides to arrest the guy, he needs to get to it. Ask him to exit the vehicle, and then, remaining right there, as soon as the motorist is clear of the vehicle, announce the arrest and have him assume the position. Over and done with, no fuss no muss.
Instead, this clown let’s the motorist engage him about the traffic signs and responds by casually asking him “okay, hop out of the car.” Then, instead of immediately announcing the arrest he turns his back to the suspect and strolls back to the patrol car to put the clipboard on the hood, giving the motorist the impression that they’re going to review the traffic signs.
Now, all of a sudden the cop turns around and the guy is right there. Clearly panicked (he reaches for the taser immediately) the situation is out of control for no reason.
The cop is the professional. The motorist is a civilian. The cop possesses all the information—on the infraction, on the procedures, on the impending arrest—and he has not shared any of that with the suspect. HE never asserts authority with this guy until holding a weapon on him.
That’s a bad job on the cop. If you can’t see that, you’ve got a problem. I’m not saying the motorist wasn’t being a smart-ass. But being a smart-ass doesn’t mean you are subject to assault.
November 25, 2007 at 12:47 am |
Panicked? You’re out of your mind, sir. The perp was arguing and resisting arrest. Frankly, I don’t see anything else my fellow officer could have done there. If the guy can’t understand what “put your hands behind your back” means, that’s his problem.
The motorist was trying to take control of the situation. When you are issued a citation, accept it. The time to argue about it is in court before a judge. You’re not going to change the mind of the patrolman on the scene by being a total asshole. Not going to happen.
He doesn’t deserve administrative leave or suspension. He was just doing his job. That’s what we do. Don’t like it? Obey the law.
November 25, 2007 at 12:49 am |
By the way, if the idiot had simply read and signed his citation, he’d know exactly what he had done wrong. Instead he chose to argue. Bad move. Very bad move.
November 25, 2007 at 12:52 am |
Ugh, and another thing: it’s not smart to tell someone they are under arrest when they are argumentative and behind the wheel of a car. That kind of idiotic advice would likely lead to a high speed pursuit, leading to death and/or injury of the suspect, his wife and possibly others.
Asking the guy to step out of the car was the right thing to do. Stop second guessing and MMQBing when you have no idea what our job is like.
November 25, 2007 at 8:36 am |
Mike,
Thanks for the feedback. To be clear, I would never behave the way that guy did, and I am not necessarily defending the way he interacted with the cop, but I think there was a serious communication problem happening throughout and the cop never asserted control of any kind until things were out of hand and a weapon was drawn. I’ve seen other posters claim the cop was baiting the guy—I don’t agree. But I DO think he did a bad job handling the stop.
No, I am not a cop, and I have the utomost respect for god cops and recognize that it’s a tough job. My dad was a thirty-year pro firefighter, and I grew up hanging around the station and knew plenty of cops—I am not a wiseass cop-hater who second-guesses or blames cops every time out.
Give me you honest assessment here…did the cop mess up by not handling the arrest as soon as the motorist exited the car or not? It seems to me, he should have asked the guy out of the car, maintained position, and immediately had the guy put his hands on the roof. Not, turn and walk away, lose sight and control of his subject and then jump right to max-confrontation mode.
Obviously the guy failed to follow the “Turn Around!” command, but think he was taken aback and in shock, not resisting/fleeing.
Thoughts?
November 25, 2007 at 2:05 pm |
That’s my impression too. I mean, the guy had no idea why he was asked to get out of the vehicle, started walking toward the officer, and the next thing he had a taser gun pointed at him. It certainly didn’t appear very professional, that’s for sure.
November 25, 2007 at 2:49 pm |
I might have done things differently in the same situation, but it wouldhave made little difference. I’ve dealt with this kind of guy before. He would have kept arguing and resisting no matter what was done. He wanted to be in control of the situation, once he’s under arrest that cannot be tolerated.
I don’t want to second guess this officer, since I wasn’t there. But everything worked out the way it should have. Nobody was hurt and the guy was successfully taken into custody. I know seeing the guy take a ride is a bit disturbing, but it really didn’t hurt him, it simply made him compliant. That’s what tasers are for. That’s why they’re such great tools out in the field.
As to whether he did anything wrong, I doubt it, but I don’t work in his jurisdiction. If he followed department policy, there should be no consequences. There should probably be a review regarding officer safety, but there’s no reason to crucify him as some in the public want.
Have you read some of the comments to the Youtube video? What’s said in there is really ugly. Probably just a case of Internet bravery, though.
November 25, 2007 at 9:42 pm |
What’s said in there is really ugly.
Yeah, I’ve read some pretty ugly stuff each way on YouTube and elsewhere. thanks for having a civil discourse with me on this.
Take care and be safe Trooper Mike.
November 26, 2007 at 12:09 pm |
The double-edged sword of immediate internet feedback — you soon realize how idiotic and petty some people can be.
Not ever having been in a law-enforcement position, I won’t even venture to comment on the officer’s handling of the situation. I would, however, imagine that when you stop someone, your every nerve would be firing on all cylinders. Stephen King actually had a fairly moving description of what it feels like, in his novel “From a Buick 8.” I admire our boys (and girls) in blue — to go to work every day, knowing that you are risking your life…well, I could only wish we all had such bravery.
November 26, 2007 at 3:24 pm |
Well said, Lyssie.
December 7, 2007 at 11:06 pm |
[…] See also: Support Your Local Police. […]