Things that draw attention....or should

[Turn Key]

A county Sheriff in Texas announced at role call, the week after 9/11, that if you see a driver that has a table cloth tied on his head with a fan belt, pull him over!

 

[mercop]

Props to mercop. I agree with you 110%. I just got a gun off the street because I followed a big guy in a pontiac sunfire long enough for him not to signal and me to stop him. (The state I work in is not a CC state and the guy was a gangbanger and a felon)

Nice.

One of the 9/11 hijackers was stopped on Rt 95 about 2 miles from where I work for speeding by a MD trooper that I know. Can you imagine how he felt when the hijackers were identified.- George

 

[pinshooter45]

Nice.

One of the 9/11 hijackers was stopped on Rt 95 about 2 miles from where I work for speeding by a MD trooper that I know. Can you imagine how he felt when the hijackers were identified.- George

No I don't know how he feels but I think I have a good Idea through some personal experinces I've had. Things like that maybe at least are part of the reason Suicide rates are High among LEOs. I could not be one. Because if I had been the first officer on scene here in Indy where they found a little 3 or 4 year old hanging in a closet on a coat hanger DEAD. I probably would have lost it and dispensed some lead poisining.

 

[mercop]

I have some child abuse stories that I do not care to share. About 150 police die every year in the line of duty. It has been estimated that about three times that many take their own lives. - George

 

[Eddie]

I have some child abuse stories that I do not care to share. About 150 police die every year in the line of duty. It has been estimated that about three times that many take their own lives. - George

Yup, its a rough job, its hard on the body and hard on the mind. The pay is nothing compared to the risk taken. Oftentimes public appreciation for the work done is zero.

 

[drillsgt]

I fully support profiling. As long as the law is followed and no one is stopped or questioned without cause, meaning they have done something wrong. I love to watch Cops on Tru TV and G4. It is amazing how many people that get pulled over, give up their rights so willingly which results in them getting into more trouble than what they were originally pulled over for.

Good point about searches, I go over this extensively in the courses I teach but I still have yet to convince my wife that "just because you don't have anything to hide" doesn't mean it's a good idea.

 

[mercop]

Never consent to a search, it is akin to inviting Dracula into your house.- George

 

[groovatron]

I think the people that have a problem with profiling are actually not understanding what it actually is. A good officer, TSA person, etc. has a large number of profile types to be on the look out for. Some may be combinations of types. They are primarily recording a person's behavior and analyzing psychological characteristics. This could include, but is not limited to observations about race, sex, ethnicity, social class, etc. The ultimate observation has to do with behavior. Behavior is the straw that breaks the camels back. It turns profile into suspect. In airports and other high security areas, profiling is a must. But security cannot rely on profiling alone. Along with it must be a completely random, trust no one approach. Last week when I was at the airport, my 2yr old boy was "wanded" and TSA felt around the inside of his car seat that we had for carry-on. Swabbed for traces and the whole bit. My blonde haired blue-eyed toddler and his cute all-American southern girl mom are about the least "likely-to-be-profiled" people that exist. Didn't bother me a bit. As long as there is no intimidation involved, search and scan away.

To sum it up......Profiling is an important tool in recognizing a potential threat. Whether you are a guy at the gas station or a LEO on patrol, profiling is a neccessary survival skill. People should not rely on profiling alone and learn to trust no one in a public setting.

.....wow, that's sounds a bit paranoid

 

[mercop]

Today I saw another "good car". Another beater with two scruffy looking guys in their early 20's. Neither wearing a seat belt. They also had beads and crap that made it look like a girls car. The first thing that went through my mind was that it was the driver's girlfriends car and he had borrowed it. Lots of times during the day when you stop these types the girlfriend/wife is out working her a$$ off and he is out trying to buy crack. Again this all occurred in about 30 seconds before I turned off to go to the gym.

Not to worry here though, the police here either seem to be scared to do their job, unmotivated or lazy. I have been living around here for two years and have never seen anyone standing outside a car in handcuffs or a car being searched.- George

 

[Chondro788]

Around here if you see a grown man riding a bicycle it's usually because he's a drunk without a DL .

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Profiling is an important tool in recognizing a potential threat.

The problem here is that any serious threat is going to be coming from someone that blends in. This will likely be overlooked by LEOs that are wasting time and energy looking to get their arrest and conviction record up by picking the guy that doesn't fit in.

 

[mercop]

The problem here is that any serious threat is going to be coming from someone that blends in. This will likely be overlooked by LEOs that are wasting time and energy looking to get their arrest and conviction record up by picking the guy that doesn't fit in.

They only fit in depending on what lens you look through. Mine is different than yours. So we should look for the guy that blends in and target him, he is the terrorist? So we should ignore the guy that does not fit in? Man this is going to be really hard to teach officers.

Several years ago we did the with the whole racial profiling thing we had to do this check list for every stop we did. I guess the theory is that you should not target someone because of their color but instead ignore them because of their color. My argument was that if I patrolled Mars I would lock up Martians.- George

 

[ThrottleJockey]

My argument was that if I patrolled Mars I would lock up Martians.- George

lol, that's good!