Thoughts on your Police Officers

[LarryC]

Well at my age I have seen many changes in the LEO's and the management of the police forces. In all I really believe 99% of the LEO's are honest - but as has been stated some young ones are very arrogant. They take the attitude that they have the "Power" and are better than the citizens they serve. I have ridden with my FIL (a city deputy) many times. Most evenings were very uneventful.

I don't feel police are underpaid, but pretty fairly compensated for the duties they perform. The fatality rate in Leo's is far below many occupations. When I was a young man the Police in my area were highly respected, almost all were good friends of the people of the community. They believed in Justice - rather than the Law. When stopped for any reason, usually they tended to explain what was done and why it should not be repeated. Unless it was a obvious disregard for the law, seldom was a ticket issued.

I remember as a young man being in bars when a fight broke out. Almost every time the police were called, the issue was settled immediately and the people involved sent home. Today there are assault charges filed and everyone taken to jail. Cost to the family is quite a burden for a misunderstanding. (No I haven't ever been arrested, nor been in a bar for several years).

The other issues I have are not in any way connected to the LEO on the street. Mainly, I believe the assignment of traffic duty is mainly to obtain money - not in any way to protect citizens. In 90+% of the traffic tickets issued (no I haven't had one for many - many years - nor even been stopped except for a taillight out in 20 years) the speeding was in no way endangering anyone.

However two times I have had a reason to call the LEO's in over 20 years: My sons car was broken into in my driveway,his wife's purse stolen, and a few years later my van was also broken into and a radar detector and a couple other items stolen. Both times the attending officer stated I would probably not see the items again. NO followup or evidence was collected, never heard another word after filing the report. I seriously doubt anyone even looked at the report, if they had used the "Traffic Cop" resources, they may have not only found the items, but stopped a budding criminal career.

Another issue is that in my opinion I receive no "protection or Prevention" of crimes in my area from patrol cars driving by at night. Any BG that is intending to pilfer my shop or break into a house can see the headlights a least 3 blocks away. I would love to see at least some foot patrols, even if it was just parking the car and walking down the alley a couple blocks and using a different alley to return to the car - a couple times a night. In 45 + years living in the same house I have never seen a patrolman on foot!

 

[miguel]

I <heart> the Hamilton County Sheriff's department. Any interaction I've had with them has been 100% positive. Ditto Noblesville PD.

 

[Hoosier Cowboy]

I live in the sticks here in southern Clay County so we don't have any "city" cops and the Clay County Sheriff's Dept. handles everything. I've never had a problem with the CCSD, in fact I'd rank them as one of the better sheriff dept's in the state in my opinion. They do a great job patrolling even the outlined areas of the county and are very active in trying to control the drug issue that faces the county. I know or have had dealings with most of them thru me being on the local FD for over 13 yrs and they are a good bunch of guys. No complaints here yet!

 

[schafe]

Welcome to INGO, BOLTGUN ! It is good to have more voice of LEO on here. I hope you stay.
If you do, I think you will find most folks on here respect LEO, even some who have had a bad experience with them.

On another note: If you hold a citizen at gunpoint, and find out it is a case of mistaken identity, a simple apology while the citizen is recapturing his breath and heart rate, might go a long way in the PR department.
Not that I would know anything about that

 

[VUPDblue]

I have never had a bad interaction with any LEO. I do concede that there are some out there who are more abrasive than others. I dont think I'm one of the abrasive ones but I do not hesitate to write tickets to those who need them nor do I hesitate to arrest those who need arresting. I am sure if you asked those folks their opinion of me they wouldnt all have a very positive one...

 

[92ThoStro]

I have never had any run-ins with IN DNR, but they were very polite and professional in TN, and KY. I think most people don't like them because they are more invasive than regular LEOs. I remember we were docking and a CO was backing his boat up to the water, with a dead coyote in the back of his truck. He stopped what he was doing, asked for our licenses, searched our live wells, and bait buckets, and sent us on our way.

ETA: Maybe people don't like them because some carry illegal invasive fish in their pockets and plant them in peoples boats so they can steal the boat, truck, and all the fishing gear and auction it off? I hate when that happens. There was also this one time when they "found" a rhino horn in my bag, I tried to tell them I wasn't a poacher, but they didn't believe me!

 

[Walkersdlx]

I haven't been so lucky with the cops in this area. Some are ok, an will treat you like a human or buddy. Others are just out to **** you, and will do dirty ****. ..... like.. I had my car smashed by a snow truck a few years back. The city officer didnt want to file a report because there wasn't enough damage. Later found out my car was totaled 8500 to fix

 

[Hoosier Cowboy]

I personaly find there are far more issues with State Troopers than local LEO's like city & county. Most ISP officers are arrogant *********s in my opinion, not all but most.

 

[Mrmonte]

I havent had an official interaction with a uniformed officer in probably 8 years. Last time was when I recieved a ticket for speeding in a school zone. The officer cut me a break and gave me a ticket for less than I was going. I was probably up to 55mph by the time I saw him. (I dont normally drive like an idiot)

For as much as people talk about police officers around here you would think that everybody gets pulled over once a month.

 

[Mark 1911]

My experience with the Munster PD has been limited, but my impression is they are top-notch and very professional. Munster is no hot bed of crime, but we have our share. The PD is typically very low key. I have had a few false alarms on my house alarm system and their response times have been very fast, within a few minutes. Granted, Munster isn't that big so there is probably always a cruiser not that far away. I've never been ticketed for a false house alarm.

In 2008 we had major flooding which affected a large percentage of the homes in Munster and forced many people from their homes. Electricity was a little spotty for about a week, so some of the neighborhoods and houses were quite dark at night. It was a prime situation for theives trying to exploit what was a huge loss for many folks. The Munster PD initiated walking patrols of the affected neighborhoods, and I got to know the guys patrolling my neighborhood. That was a very nice thing to see in a very bad situation.

Back when I was about 25 years old (30 plus years ago) I didn't live in Munster but had a part time job there. I was stopped for doing 55 in a 35 in my boss's delivery truck. The cop who stopped me was actually apologizing for stopping me, before he wrote me a ticket. Even I would not have been so polite in that situation. I admit I deserved that one!

When the weather is nicer, I do a lot of bicycling, sometimes with my wife, I also do some jogging. I am always carrying, and I have passed in front of squad cars at stop signs on the bicycle while OCing, and have been passed by squads while jogging and carrying SOB with exposed grip. I can think of at least 4 times when they could have spotted my OC, and two of those times when there is no way they could have not seen it. One of the squads hit his brakes and slowed down but never stopped or said anything to me. I have never been stopped or questioned or engaged in any manner regarding my OC.

Generally speaking my few interactions with the police in my town have been courteous and professional. All-in-all, based on the horror stories I hear from other people, and from what I see in the news, I would have to say that Munster has a model police department. If all police departments were as professional as ours, it would be a huge improvement all around.

 

[gregkl]

Worked with quite a few officers and game wardens when I lived in VA. Never had any issue with them.

Got some deserved tickets over the years and some were petty B.S., probably non unlike most of us that have a lot of miles driving down the road.

Most I have met since I lived here have been fine.

I only have one gripe with our Lafayette PD and IMO it is with the Chief. The LPD officers look like criminals! Varying degrees of facial hair are okay if they do undercover work, but if they are in uniform and drive a marked squad car, I think they should maintain the same standards of appearance as the military requires.

They don't need to look tough, they just need to be tough!

 

[Mark-DuCo]

My only complaint is when I hear my female friend bragging about how she get off with warnings for going 25, 35, and even 40 mph over the speed limit and I get a ticket on my first time being pulled over (not bad for being 22 at the time) for going 68 in a 60.

 

[gregkl]

My only complaint is when I hear my female friend bragging about how she get off with warnings for going 25, 35, and even 40 mph over the speed limit and I get a ticket on my time being pulled over for going 68 in a 60.

I had friend who is a state trooper and he said he NEVER lets a pretty female off from a ticket. He says then they call the station, file a complaint saying stuff like; "I think he pulled me over just to get a better look or flirt with me". Then when said captain asks if he wrote her up and he says "no", then it creates potential problems as to really why he pulled her over. If he ticketed her, than it removes doubt as to why she was pulled over.

 

[wintram]

I mostly have dealings with IMPD, but ever now and then sheriff's deputies of the surrounding counties( this is thru work I am not an habitual offender) most of the older leo's
say 15+ yrs are great guys friendly willing b.s. about anything very pro2nd. younger fresh out of the academy guys seem to have a chip on their shoulders but I think that is the generation gap. I have a much lower opinion of my local sheriff, but that is a political difference

 

[CTS]

I have never had a bad interaction with any LEO. I do concede that there are some out there who are more abrasive than others. I dont think I'm one of the abrasive ones but I do not hesitate to write tickets to those who need them nor do I hesitate to arrest those who need arresting. I am sure if you asked those folks their opinion of me they wouldnt all have a very positive one...

Yeah, most of the time when I heard "this cop did so and so" my first question, and it's information that is typically mysteriously missing, is why they were even talking to an officer in the first place. I've had non-casual encounters (not just out walking around and saying hi) with officers very few times in my life, yet some folks seem to interact with them almost weekly. I'm sure it's just those mean cops harassing the innocent.

 

[jkwparrott]

As an ex LEO I can say that I also never let a woman off from a ticket. A lot of them tried really hard to get out of them but none succeeded in doing so.

The only complaint I have ever had about LEOs in general is that they don't seem to care any more. When I was younger and got pulled over for speeding or anything, they would call in and find out a little about me. "You've never had a speeding ticket, so I'm going to give you a warning. Slow down." was the normal way things went.

Nowadays they don't care. I have honestly had one speeding ticket in my life, five years ago. My speedometer was acting up due to a transmission problem and I had never had a ticket before. But the LEO just wrote a ticket and walked off.

Of course that was a motorcycle trooper and I'm sure that basically all he ever does. Most LEOS I have interacted with have been very good people. When a neighbor called the police because my family and I were shooting at our private range the cop who showed up was very interested in our variety of guns and even shot a few rounds with us before leaving to tell nosey neighbor to mind his own business.

When our house a broken into last year the cops did a great job getting all of the information and figuring out who was responsible. They still have not caught him, but they will.

 

[Sgtusmc]

My last encounter with law enforcement was back in '91. I came home on leave after the gulf war and invited some friends over to my apartment. We were drinking and having a good laugh but apparently too loud for the neighbors below. The cops knocked on the door, I let them in and they immediately started pushing us around and asking questions. My closest friend exclaimed that they're celebrating my surviving the war. One of the cops said big eff'ing deal and started using my home phone to call his wife or GF. They basically loitered around for about 15 minutes while we sat there doing nothing. They finally left.

After that we decided to go outside and get some fresh air. Probably 9:00 pm. We were standing on the sidewalk in front of my apartment talking to each other when cop cars come rolling up on us with lights and whooping sirens. Same cops came up to us and said they received a call that a 'gang' of people were causing a disturbance. No chance in explaining how peaceful we were talking, they told us we had to stay inside the apartment.

Shortly after going inside, another friend shows up at my door all frustrated. He told me that he pulled up to park, turned his ignition off and started walking towards the door Of our apartment when some cops stopped him, put him in cuffs and sat him down asking questions.

Now, cops have become militarized and no longer play the role of the peace officer. They WANT to be feared. They exacerbate situations more often than diffusing them. They elevate their level of force the moment a citizen justifiably asserts his/hers rights. Cops are tired of hearing about your rights. They like the type of citizen that will politely bend over for them while smiling. It makes their job easier.

Yeah, it sounds like I'm bashing cops but what I'm really against is today's law enforcement methodologies. Look at the Stanford experiment. Any joe can be given authority over others and turn into a monster. I dont have the answers cause the rule book wasn't placed in my hands. If you're a good cop, then more than likely you're a good citizen. That's what we need more of.

Edit: actually forgot, my house was broken into 2008 and was burglurized. Cops showed up, didnt even do a walk through, no info taken, just left.

 

[BE Mike]

Some of the most anti-authority types I've known were active duty military. Don't know why. Just an observation.

 

[92ThoStro]

As far as vehicle break-ins go, what do you expect them to do? I don't think there is anything they can do at all besides document. You are lucky you got a car out there, and it wasn't just a "file a report" by paper or online from the victim. They aren't going to launch an investigation or anything, fingerprint your car, and bring in the CSI team to collect hair samples. All they can do is keep an eye out for what you lost, in case they pull another car over, and the items happen to be in the back seat or something. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I haven't been so lucky with the cops in this area. Some are ok, an will treat you like a human or buddy. Others are just out to **** you, and will do dirty ****. ..... like.. I had my car smashed by a snow truck a few years back. The city officer didnt want to file a report because there wasn't enough damage. Later found out my car was totaled 8500 to fix

Why do you need a report? Did the snow truck guy refuse to exchange information with you?

 

[churchmouse]

My 2 cents, LEO's are under paid and I believe if you run from a cop, they have the right to shoot you in the face......

Well, I agree with the pay part but having tried to outrun them in the very early 70's (Yes, dumb and irresponsible) I am so glad to have just gotten my ass whipped over being shot in the face. Night in jail on top of the A$$ whipping mentioned, car impounded, major fines/fees and points on license causing suspension.......Lesson learned.