Hey guys........thanks

[Whitten]

I was just watching TV a few moments ago, yes it was Spike but I usually don't care for the Police videos. I watched today as three officers got shot at, and just shot period and I thought to myself, no wonder these guys are so weary of everyone.

I took some time to quite my anger with a recent situation that I have been observing first hand between some friends and an LEO, and just thought for a moment.

You guys really do lay it on the line, and to be honest I am surprised that their aren't more jaded cops out there than there already is. I know that there are always going to be those guys that are fresh out of the Military and are gung ho about being a cop and act like an ass accordingly but for the most part you guys are very much under appreciated and given a bad wrap for no reason.

It makes me proud to know ya'll. Anyone that is willing to risk their life for low pay, daily disrespect, and generally being a target is a servant in the truest form. I thank ya'll for what you do, and your willingness to be understanding albeit a bit irritated at times. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate what you do daily. I will have a much better outlook on things the next time if ever I get pulled over again.

Thanks again guys,

Michael Whitten
Grandson of Lt. Tony Whitten Retired Dallas PD and Fire Dept.

 

[jshen]

Good to hear kind words

My experience has shown me that ex-military are a definite plus to LE. When I was LEO most of my friends and adjoining territory officers were ex-Ranger, Green Beret, Seals....and were the guys you didn't want to exhibit a desire to "resist arrest". For that reason, they had very few difficulties. Now, with "different responsiblities" for insuring every single right, regardless of how abusive and violent a person becomes, they have to figuratively "hold hands and sing 'Cumn by Yah"..it makes life very difficult for LEOs and frankly beyond my limits were I still there.

I must admit, when studying for the bar exam...I needed time to do so..and the Dept would not allow me to take 3 weeks vacation...However, on one night just 2 weeks before my ONE week vacation was to begin, some drunk butt at a local Waffle House was creating a stir and instead of arresting him...I took him home only to have him spit on me in his front yard and attempt to hit me...My 5 cell Kel-light to his head...put him darn near into the afterlife...with 32 stiches lingering over me for my 2 week suspension...My direct boss, tied that directly to my vacation and....hell, I passed the bar.......I never asked for trouble as an LEO...but when flaunted in my face..well...you can guess.

 

[Whitten]

I guess I should have clarified, the kind of LEO's that I have had bad luck with were guys that were fresh out of the military and hadn't really seen much action. For the most part they picked on kids From Walton like I was because they thought we were all silver spoon fed ungreatful twerps, which is true for 90% of the kids from East Cobb. It just always rubbed me the wrong way because I was brought up in tough times and money was tight so I sort of resented being treated like a rich kid. It was those cops that gave me a bad attitude because they proactively assumed that I was a jerk and never gave me a chance which in turn rewarded them with a like response.

In my experience guys that have seen combat and less than admirable situations seemed to have a cooler attitude and a much more understanding nature. I liked dealing with officers like that...the ones who didn't do the threatening and the name calling. I really liked and respected those guys. It was the cops that yelled at me (no one yells at me not even my father and he would be the only one I would allow to do so) and basicly acted like jerks for no other reason than to be an ass that gave me the untrue notion that all cops were the quenticential "Dick Cop."

I have grown up and things have changed and now I am seeing guys my age out there doing the job, and I have to say that if put in the same situation my temper would get the best of me. I have a much better respect for you guys that keep a calm cool temper about stuff. I especially have a greater respect now that I realize just how much danger you guys are in every day. At any rate sorry for talking your ears off. I just wanted ya'll to hear something positive and not about what kind of Radar Detector do you advise..( I know it would be a V1..but hey it is better not to speed on public roads hahaha.)

Thanks again guys, and feel free to comment. I would love to hear back from you all about experiences good or bad...rather it be good.

 

[Vancouver83LTD]

I've had only positive experiences with cops thus far :shrug:

 

[NyteByte]

The cops that keep their cool and are responsible with the power they are given are the ones you really have to admire. :thumbsup:

Unfortunately, there are far too few of them.

 

[Whitten]

The cops that keep their cool and are responsible with the power they are given are the ones you really have to admire. :thumbsup:

Unfortunately, there are far too few of them.

Big 10/4 there, but I know see why so many lose their cool. It is a majorly stressful job.

 

[Lawman85]

The cops that keep their cool and are responsible with the power they are given are the ones you really have to admire. :thumbsup:

Unfortunately, there are far too few of them.

I disagree with you. The evidence is the other way around. Hot headed, power hungry cops are the minority. The problem is when an officer does something wrong they are plastered all over the media, making the problem appear larger than it is. When an officer does something right, there isn't a news crew there to film it and congratulate him. The reason is that good news doesn't sell, bad news does.

Think of it this way..... in my agency we have 5 precincts in the county, running about 10+ officers per shift, 3 shifts a day. Each officer does 5 to 6 traffic stops a shift... do the math and that is... 750 - 900 stops A DAY! That doesn't include our traffic unit which is 12 people large and average 15 stops a day per person... Out of all of those stops, we generate a complaint once every 6 days.... That's one citizen complaint out of 5400 stops!!!! So there is the evidence of how many hotheads vs. calm cops there are.

 

[Whitten]

That is a great ratio there Lawman. In my experience most cops are great, but I have been unfortunate enough to encounter the ones that were hot headed or arrogant. I call that luck of the draw because I honestly believe that 9 out of the 10 cops on duty at any one time are just as you explained calm and collected.

Here is some cool info, I was reading through my Grand Father scrap book from his days as an officer and read all of his letters of commendation. What was most moving, were the letters from people to him. He has several in there that thanked him for what he did to help, and even one from a kid who he had to straighten out. The kid was vandalizing and running with the wrong crowd and my Grandfather caught him but instead of busting him he took him to the house of the person that he was vandalizing and made him appologize. 3 years later that kid wrote him a letter from where he was at college. He explained to him that had he not repremanded him that he would have never made it to college and would more than likely still be following the same crowd. That letter broght tears to his eyes when I read it to him...it told me just how much that meant to him. Do ya'll ever get people doing that for you? If not you should, after seeing how much it meant to my grandfather, I think that is something that every cop should be privilaged enought to experience. Sometimes hearing some encouragement can be just what is need if you are getting trampled on by the job, or just feeling plain burned out.

I would love to hear some good stories.

 

[Vancouver83LTD]

Whitten said there are far too few of them.
He's right.
The majority are good - frankly though there are a few bad ones, and frankly one is too many - look at it this way
96 good cops to 4 bad cops
luck of the draw, you have a 4% chance of getting a power hungry one.
That SHOULD, in a perfect world anyways, be 0%

 

[Lawman85]

Whitten said there are far too few of them.
He's right.
The majority are good - frankly though there are a few bad ones, and frankly one is too many - look at it this way
96 good cops to 4 bad cops
luck of the draw, you have a 4% chance of getting a power hungry one.
That SHOULD, in a perfect world anyways, be 0%

Good point... but then again... in a perfect world would we even need cops??

I have gotten a few letters from people. I mostly run into kids several months, or years, after busting them for something. I've had 2 come up and hug me, just out of nowhere. It took me a few minutes to remember them but it was pretty cool. One of the neatest things was after attending a local town hall meeting, I came outside to see that our police car had been written all over. Someone had drawn hearts in the dirt on the windows (it had been raining all week) and the words "We all love you guys" all over the car... I wanted pictures of it before the next rain came.. but that didn't work.

 

[Vancouver83LTD]

Good point... but then again... in a perfect world would we even need cops??

I have gotten a few letters from people. I mostly run into kids several months, or years, after busting them for something. I've had 2 come up and hug me, just out of nowhere. It took me a few minutes to remember them but it was pretty cool. One of the neatest things was after attending a local town hall meeting, I came outside to see that our police car had been written all over. Someone had drawn hearts in the dirt on the windows (it had been raining all week) and the words "We all love you guys" all over the car... I wanted pictures of it before the next rain came.. but that didn't work.

Touche
hug you? Hearts?
I'm curious what do letters say? what do busted kids who hug you been busted for?

 

[Lawman85]

Touche
hug you? Hearts?
I'm curious what do letters say? what do busted kids who hug you been busted for?

One girl was a juvenile when I busted her for marijuana possession, curfew violation, etc. etc.. She thanked me for not giving her a break and forcing her into the system. She said she had been busted before but they took it easy on her and she got away with it. Her parents weren't strong enough to deal with her and putting her in the juvenile system worked wonders. Last I saw her she had a good job, good grades and was applying to several division 1 colleges.

 

[stangd1909]

... but then again... in a perfect world would we even need cops??

A better point.... :thumbsup:

 

[EvergreenSVT]

I have never met an off duty cop who wasn't a cool guy with a great sense of humor. On duty most cops I have met were professional and courteous, you just have to understand that they have to control the situation, and some of the things they do aren't meant to be rude, and its not personal. For every jerk cop I have met, I've met two or three that I would go to war with, if they asked me to come.

 

[hillie16]

Lets put it this way. There are over ONE MILLION contacts between an officer and the public PER DAY. OVER ONE MILLION PER DAY. Even if 100 of those people complain each day, I say that's a damn good ratio.

 

[numbaonestunna]

yup...

I have never met an off duty cop who wasn't a cool guy with a great sense of humor. On duty most cops I have met were professional and courteous, you just have to understand that they have to control the situation, and some of the things they do aren't meant to be rude, and its not personal. For every jerk cop I have met, I've met two or three that I would go to war with, if they asked me to come.

This is kind of the understanding that I've come to realize. A lot of the police that I've encountered have been what I considered unnecessarily rude, when the situation didn't seem to merit it. However, I can see how one situation where the LEO doesn't have control of a situation is far worse than ten where he seems less than cordial to the people that he is dealing with.

For instance, I got in an accident during a snow storm... my car slipped on the ice and hit a tree. By a freak chance, I had been washing my car and taken out the registration and insurance (both of which my car had) For some reason, the LEO couldn't look up my registration on his computer, so he patted me down and put me in the back of his car. My friends (I was on the way to church, so we were all dressed up) came over to see what was going on (why am I being put in the back of the police car?) and they got yelled at and threatened. At the time I was angry because the LEO seemed unnecessarily rough with me (um, I just crashed, if I had stolen the car, why would I wait for the cops to come?) and my friends, but after talking to another LEO, he said that although it may have seemed rough, what if my friends had had less than good intentions? Then it would have been two people outside the vehicle and one uncuffed guy inside the rear that the officer would have to deal with. I didn't complain about it to anyone, and the LEO apologized after he looked up my registration. I shook it off, and told him not to worry about it, and then he let me on my way. <shrug>

 

[RoadZOmbie]

I see it as simple as can be and it always works.....if I stop someone for a routine stop or for any other reason.....RESPECT...is the key role in every situation....you respect me, I respect you and things might go even better than the person might have expected