Cops

[Savage_Messiah]

I only voted yes because Mike said he'd break my kneecaps if I didn't......

[DevilDougWS6]

I voted yes. I was in the Toms River Police Explorer program for about 5 years (when i was younger) and did a lot of cool stuff with them. I know a lot of local cops and MOST are cool. ALL are respectful if you respect them right back. A lot of the younger rookies are a little arrogant and think they are the top cop but are still learning. I have seen what they have to put up with and I think that everyone should have the chance to see it as well, and they would feel very different about police officers.

Yeah, they will bust you for stupid crap like talking on the phone, but that law is dumb anyway, it should only apply to people that can't multitask. all officers have to be able to drive, type, talk on the radio etc. at the same time lol. and they dont get paid **** compared to easier jobs. and to whoever said "six figure meter maids" that is one of the most ignorant statements next to "all cops are dirty" they might make $28k a year if they have been doing it for a long time.

I have always had good experiences with cops and have gotten out of a lot of tickets just by being polite. atleast an excess of 25+ mph over and the cop let me off with a no seatbelt ticket (50 bucks and no points?) even though I ALWAYS wear it i have a clean driving record he let me off easy.

I have to admit family members and even military get off easy sometimes, (my ID has gotten me out of tickets before) BUT again the violation was "serious" by law standards, but in reality they were not that serious. Most laws are money makers for the state, so they dont have to raise taxes, which in a sense is good but somewhat BS....so I cant complain. just dont be a dick to them, dont drive like an ******* every where you go, and you will be fine.

I don't understand all these "tough" "gangster" kids that hate on the police because they think its cool or something. Gangs are cowards any way when they pick on one person or outnumber 2 or 3 people just so they have the upper hand. everyone is tough when they are with a big group of people. but can't fight for **** on their own. What they don't realize is that if the police didn't exist, they would probably not be alive, because their parents wouldnt even be alive, because their grandparents would have been killed by a robber that could do anything because who is going to stop him? and that nice car you got? yeah who is going to help you when that gets stolen? go ahead and try to find it yourself.....

One time i was pulled over the cop asked me for my credentials, handed him DL, Military ID, ins. card, regs.....he looks at it, hands it back says have a good night and walks away. I was so confused...he followed me pretty far too before pulling me over, he actually got up next to me then dropped back behind me. he didnt tell me what i did wrong, didnt ask me where i was going nothing! lol it was odd but w/e.

[shane27]

i realize they have a job to do but most of them are sneaky ******* hypocrites

[Icemansghost]

I'm neutral for having met both good and bad cops..

[Knipps]

Originally Posted by DevilDougWS6

One time i was pulled over the cop asked me for my credentials, handed him DL, Military ID, ins. card, regs.....he looks at it, hands it back says have a good night and walks away. I was so confused...he followed me pretty far too before pulling me over, he actually got up next to me then dropped back behind me. he didnt tell me what i did wrong, didnt ask me where i was going nothing! lol it was odd but w/e.

that's most likely why.

I voted neutral as I've had good/bad experiences.

[DevilDougWS6]

Originally Posted by Knipps

that's most likely why.

I voted neutral as I've had good/bad experiences.

yeah..more than likely....but you gotta admit. alot of things that you get pulled over for should not even be a big deal at all.

[redbanditZ28]

I voted no. I realize they are just doing their job, but I have had way too many bad experiences with police officers not doing their job right. And you don't have to be a police officer to understand the wrong things I've witnessed.

1. They are never around when you need them (in my experience at least). My house got paintballed and a punk kid spray painted the back of my garage, and the officer didn't come until an hour after the fact. On top of that, the police in my town rarely if at all patrol. It is a small town I live in and I never see them parked anywhere or driving around when the kids get out of school. I also got stuck on 287 twice in my friend's car and any other time the state troopers are driving up and down 287, but a cop car didn't show up until after the tow truck was already there and even then, he acted mean and rushed us to get the car off the road when the truck was clearly loading my friend's car up.

2. I had a bad scenario where I got pulled over for doing the speed limit in So. Bound Brook. Apparently me driving with the windshield wipers on when it was misting out at 12:30 AM and doing 25 in a 25 zone was seen as conspicuous. I was coming home late at night from work and it was a long day and the officer pulls me over for impeding traffic. Bare in mind there is no one on the street at all except me and the cop car. Even then, I was not impeding the speed limit when he said he clocked me as doing 25 in a 25. Insert foot in mouth for him. He then accussed me of drinking because my eyelids looked heavy and I was slightly tearing from being tired from not getting any sleep the night before and working a double shift as I explained to the officer. I gave the officer attitude because he started accusing me after I told him what I told him, and I completly disagreed with him as to why he pulled me over. I even asked him point blank "Are you accusing me of something?" I let that be known to him in a serious voice. Unlike what everyone else thinks, he actually didn't give me attitude back. He ran my license and just said have a good night. One for me, zero for the cop who is ticket hungry. Bare in mind, I take pride in the fact that I never speed when I drive and also that I don't drink alcohol or do any drugs at all. The cop was trying to do nothing more than to give the only car going by (me) a ticket for something and he didn't have squat to get me on and I called him on it. Doing nothing more than wasting my time.

Never get intimidated by the cop. All you have to do is ask for their badge number (assuming you did nothing wrong like me) and they realize they are in serious trouble for doing something that they shouldn't have done to a pedestrian. There is also the media if you feel that you have been wronged. That rarely happens though.

3. Lastly, I stopped to check on two cars in a fender bender on 287 and to see if both drivers were okay. They were and exchanged info. The lady who got hit from behind drives off and the guy that hit her is left talking to me. A plain white unmarked Dodge Durango pulls and starts beeping the horn at us. This SUV has no identifying police decals or anything on it. It looked like some random white Durango. I don't really pay attention to what the guy is beeping at and the guy I am talking to does a hand motion like "hold on a sec" or "it's okay, move on". Neither of us realize it is an unmarked police car. The less than intelligent state trooper doesn't put on the lights or sound the signal and is behind tinted windows. He also waits for about 3 mins before he gets himself out of his SUV to come up and talk to us. He yells at the guy who hit the girl with his car for not acknowledging him. The trooper acted very cruel and stupid in this situation. He gave no indication that he was a trooper until he stepped out of his car, and by that time, he was already mad for the guy I was talking to for not acknowleding him. He then yells at the poor old guy to move his car off the road ASAP. If he never got out of his White Durango, neither of us would have never known he was a state trooper at all. Thats what you get for having an unmarked, tinted window vehicle and not getting hitting the sirens or flashing the lights.

4. I am at a German festival in Chester and as my family and I are walking around, we see this old couple. A husband is trying to get his wife to wake up and he is shaking her and her body is limp. She isn't responding and the husband is yelling for help and random people at the festival are just passing by and doing nothing. It was surreal. So I act quickly and run to a police officer patrolling the event telling him that an old lady either fainted or isn't responding. First he doesn't even acknowledge me and is talking to a guy he knows, while I am standing there and he knows I am trying to talk to him. Second, I tell him what I saw and I tried showing him where the couple was and he continues to talk to his friend for like a 1 min afterwards and then he slowly walks behind me following me to the old couple. He didn't perform CPR or anything and just tried yelling at the lady to wake her up. The guy was useless. He acted like he didn't even care. I mean if that was one of my family members, I would have had a field day reporting this guy for not doing his job. Fortunately, the rescue squad got there and eventually woke her up.

It is true that there are good and bad cops, but their sense of duty often clouds their judgment and actions. And like someone else said, I feel that police should get in as much trouble for doing things wrong as pedestrians do. I almost feel they should get even a harsher penalty because they are the authoritative figures on upholding the law and they should know better than an average pedestrian. I often see cop cars making illegal u-turns or doing something illegal and they aren't responding to a call either when doing the things. I mean I am like you guys. I have friends that are cops, but the job gets to their head too much at times depending on the person. But these are just my personal experiences. To each his or her own. In my experiences, their motto isn't to serve and protect, its to annoy and harass. I respect them for putting their lives on the line and my response doesn't go for all cops everywhere, but there are some bad ones within NJ. But I always tell my friends that are police officers to keep safe out there.

[lastcall190]

Originally Posted by ar0ck

Most of the cops I have encountered in the past 5 out of my 6 years of driving have been relatively young and pretty cool. If you show them respect they will return the favor most of the time.

I've managed to talk myself out of A LOT of tickets by just being polite & honest.

Bingo +1000000

[79CamaroDiva]

I've only gotten one COMPLETELY BS ticket in my life, and don't judge all officers by the one ass i've met. It was around 11pm one night in Lodi, I was making a right turn that was at a light but the right turn lane had a yield, and there was a dip in the road, so my lights went down. Next thing I know the cherries go on behind me and I'm like wtf? I pull over, he comes up and asked me why I flashed the oncoming car? I was completely dumbfounded and just gave him a blank stare and then said "huh?" It was one of those moments when I was expecting something completely different; maybe a tail light out, going 2 over the speed limit, loud exhaust, SOMETHING. He repeated himself and I said I didn't. He goes "I saw you," I said "Officer, really, I didn't. There's a dip there, maybe you saw my lights go down there, I don't know." Then he proceeded to tell me that there were so many violations on my car that he could write me up for and I told him everything on it was 50 state legal. I handed him one of my PBA cards, but at the time didn't know that the guy who's card I had was Bergen Co Sheriffs Dept, I thoguht he was Clifton, so when he called in, it was wrong.

The cop gave me an obstruction of vision ticket for my HS tassle hanging in the rear view mirror. I'm dead serious.

Other than that, I've never gotten a ticket I didn't deserve, like someone else said. I've met my share of pricks on a power trip, but I appreciate the nice ones, and I'm glad that they are a visible force.

[bubba428]

this thread is chock full o long posts....

[jts98z28]

im pretty neutral...the cop at my H.S. is the coolest guy ever, last year i fought sum kid outside of school and video taped it and showed ppl,, and the cop didnt get me in any trouble in/out of school. and he told me 1 day that i should put my seat belt on cause he saw me drivin without it, but he didnt write me a ticket of anything...but theres sum cops that are just dicks, its just their personality though,like they were ******* b4 they became a cop

[Knipps]

Never get intimidated by the cop. All you have to do is ask for their badge number (assuming you did nothing wrong like me) and they realize they are in serious trouble for doing something that they shouldn't have done to a pedestrian. There is also the media if you feel that you have been wronged. That rarely happens though.

If you're driving a car, you're not a pedestrian.

[redbanditZ28]

Originally Posted by Knipps

If you're driving a car, you're not a pedestrian.

I meant citizen or civilians. I couldn't think of the words when I was posting that.

Either way, you get my point.

[Blacdout96]

Neutral cause ive had both worlds upon me. some are nice, some take their job too seriously, and some are dicks or sneak ****s.

[SupermanX24]

i'm neutral. Yes, we need police to keep the idiots out of our streets and we need them to protect and serve. But I have friends that are cops, and they say that there's alot of cops out there that get their jollys off giving out BS tickets and what not.

[01blackz28]

50:50 Therefore neutral. Some arrogant pricks. Some pretty cool guys

[79T/A]

Wow! Been off the forum for a bit due to work and I'm impressed with the four pages this thread has gotten.

I've been a police officer for eight years now and despite what I see every day, I still enjoy my job. I've wanted to be a cop since I was very young because my dad was a cop. He retired recently and could not wait to do so because the world is a completely different place than it was in the late 70s when he first got on the job. Back then, it was cops and robbers, good guys and bad guys, no in between.

The police officer of today has to deal with a lot of different issues. We are expected to be counselors, mediators, fixers of everyone's problems. We have to think before we do anything, from a simple traffic stop to whether or not to stop and frisk someone on the street. The words 'reasonable suspicion' and 'probable cause' are at the front of our brains, and the fact that everyone in this day and age has a camera phone sometimes makes us hesitate (Which can get us killed).

Here's a story for some of you who don't understand what we go through. I swear this really happened.

I showed up for work one day in a sour mood (And I take pride in the fact that I have never taken a bad day out on the public). Wasn't feeling my best. I went to fetch a cup of coffee and a woman recognized me and said, "Do you remember me?" I told her I didn't. She went on to explain that a year or two before, I had shown up at her home when her child was having a seizure. It turned out to be related to a fever and I was able to calm the parents until the ambulance arrived. Anyway, while I didn't think I really did anything of note on that call, she went on to thank me as if I'd reached inside her kid and pulled Satan himself out of his little body. She finished by saying how much she appreciated my coworkers and I.

I left the store feeling ten feet tall and my day was instantly improved. Not even an hour later, I was dispatched to an apartment building to check a 9-1-1 hangup. I rang the doorbell. No answer. I rang another doorbell to gain entry to the building and this little old lady shuffled out and opened the door. Here's our conversation:

LADY: "What do YOU want?"
ME: "Your neighbor called 9-1-1. I need to see if they're alright."
LADY: "Why'd you ring MY bell?"
ME: "I'm sorry but they didn't answer their door."
LADY: "Well, I hope you get shot up there!"

Needless to say, I didn't get 'shot up there,' and the call turned out to be made in error, but my mood was in the toilet again. I'd managed to have one person treat me like gold and one person treat me like poo in less than an hour in the same day. This is what we signed up for, whether we like it or not. But we're human. We're people. We have a job to do. We go to work, deal with everyone's poo, get pooed on, and are expected to do it all without emotion and above all else, with professionalism.

Now, I'm not saying that's an excuse for cops to treat people like poo. But it does happen. I'm also not going to pretend that all of my brethren are angels, either. I'm not stupid enough to believe we're all perfect. Some of us are indeed criminals in uniform. I pray everyday never to become one of them.

By the way, I'm not intimidated by anyone who asks me for my name and badge number when I'm working. Sometimes, I give it before they even ask. That is because I make it a point not to say something to someone or do something to someone that I know in my heart is wrong. Am I perfect? Of course not. I try to make it a point not to treat the public like crap, even though there are many who deserve to be. For every bad cop, there are ten bad civilians. Our jails and prisons are full of "innocent" people, right Mike? (Not that I know you, but I'm sure you'll agree).

Is there a brotherhood? You're damned right there is, and I'm damned proud to be a member. Again, I won't pretend that everyone of my brothers or sisters is right every time, but I will be sure to find out the facts surrounding something before I condemn one of them.

The truth is, unless you are a cop (Or in some cases, military personnel and God bless you if you are), you don't know what we go through. You don't know the feeling of chasing someone and not knowing how it's going to turn out if you catch them. You don't know what it is to fight for your life (Okay, some of you might, but this is an occupational hazard for me). You don't know what it is to have a firearm in your hand, pointed at another human being, and having to decide whether or not to shoot and where the round is going to go if you miss in a split second (I thank God everyday I've never had to shoot anyone and pray I never do). Worst of all, you don't know what it's like to kiss your family goodbye, walk out the door, and not know whether or not you're ever going to kiss them...or even see them...again.

I'm sorry a good deal of you have had negative experiences, but I really wish folks would not just paint all of us with a broad brush. As stated by someone earlier, we are individuals and yes, some ***holes do become cops and remain ***hole cops until they retire. I'm not asking for violins, or a hug and a pat on the back. I'm just asking that before you condemn every cop because you got a traffic ticket or twelve, or because a cop didn't tousle your hair and say, "Run along, ya little scamp!" instead of locking you up, remember that we're all different and we're all human. Hate the player, not the whole team.

Me? I grew up wanting to be a cop and driving a Camaro. Did I get out of a ticket or two because of my dad's PBA card? Sure. So have a lot of people who didn't grow up to be cops. I won't pretend that I don't speed once in awhile (Although I do make it a point to pull over to talk on the phone, because I don't want to be labeled a hypocrite) or that I'm perfect, but you don't know me personally, so don't assume that just because I wear a badge for a living that I'm garbage because of what I do for a living. It's a JOB. Like most people, I do the best I can at my job because I like it, but it's much more important to me to go home at the end of my shift, be with my family and play with my toys!

Sorry for the monologue Bubba, but being who I am and doing what I do, this thread definitely hit home, especially since I freely give answers and opinions when someone posts up legal questions. I wonder what some of you would think of me if you'd met me before finding out I'm a cop? But that's kind of impossible since my Trans Am probably won't be done until I retire and I just outed myself.

Anyway, I thank all of you who have an open or neutral mind on the subject, but I don't think that anyone who said no is an ***hole, either. I don't know you well enough to judge, and if you live in my town, I'll go just as fast to help you as I would anyone else if you were in need because that's what I'm paid to do.

And no, you can't have a PBA card. I'm all out of them and don't know any of you personally.

[2RARE84s]

Well said! I am really glad I read that whole post.

[ShadowHawk]

**** DA POLICE!!! Just kidding...please don't pull me over...again!

It depends on where you go, can't answer either way. My hometown of Edison is great, the police do their jobs and don't bother you for stupid ****. And many are car guys too, so they'll let you slide to an extent.

Seaside, Metuchen, and Woodbridge cops should be NUKED! They look for ANY/EVERY reason to give you crap! Sneaze, and they will ticket you. Take a dump, and they ticket find you. BREATHE, and they WILL ticket you!

It's my personal opinion that any cop that pulls someone over for tint/no front plate/colored marker lights/etc/etc is a total DOUCHEBAG with nothing better to do. They should worry about speeders & wreckless drivers and not petty ****.

Other than that, I have no gripe with police. Just do your job and leave me alone and we're cool.

[creeper]

typically i just try to stay away from them. i don't do anything stupid so police respect me for the most part. i've heard some pretty bad stories but all the cops i've run into were pretty cool.

only time i was annoyed with a cop was when my z28 got hit. got rear ended and pushed into the truck in front of me. while filling out the report or whatever the cop came up to me and was like "soooo what happened is you hit that truck and then the other car hit you correct?" and so i was like no, that is not what happened. she hit me and pushed me into the truck. seemed like he was trying to put some of the blame on me, but it may have been an honest mistake. not sure.

another night some punks threw some eggs at my car. i hunted them down and called the police as i was chasing them. after the cops caught em they came over and were talking to us abt how fun chases are. they seemed really down to earth and you could tell they were nice guys. gained a lot of respect for them that night.

[r0nin89]

Originally Posted by ar0ck

Most of the cops I have encountered in the past 5 out of my 6 years of driving have been relatively young and pretty cool. If you show them respect they will return the favor most of the time.

I've managed to talk myself out of A LOT of tickets by just being polite & honest.

After my first offense Ditto on this statement.

If you treat a cop with respect that he deserves than usually he will treat you back with gratitude for not being a dick in plain english.

[JerzyIroc]

i voted yes but i should have but Neutral. it really depends on where you are. here in jersey city the cops are pretty chill. they'll cruise next to you doing 40 in a 25 as long as everyone is going with the flow and not driving like a prick. stuff like that they'll let you go. I personally like the way the JC cops are. they have more important things to worry about. as long as you dont do anything stupid they tend to leave you alone. even in newark its the same. and even when you do get pulled over they're chill as hell. as long as you're honest and not a prick, theyll usually let you go. Often with a lesser ticket than you deserve if you even get one. However, towns like Montclair, Bayonne, nutley, and smaller towns from my personal experience, they're just bored. im convinced a lot of the cops in the smaller towns are really just bored and have nothing better to do than to find something just stupid to pull you over. ive been either pulled over, or in a car thats been pulled over for literally doing 28 in a 25 at 3 am with NOBODY else on the road in Bayonne and in Montclair. Its just rediculous. They follow you for miles just waiting for you to do the most retarded and simply insignificant vilation kown to man to just pull you over. And no matter how nice you are they're dicks. I personally know two cops in montclair and a few in JC. Im as nice as possible to cops cuz at the end of the day they are there to protect and serve so i ALWAYS give the upmost respect to cops whether they're being pricks or not. But unfortunatly not every cops is like 79t/a, an honest cop who is doing their job. A lot of times they reallyt are just ******** with a big head giving every other good cop a bad name.

[NJ346]

I voted yes because I've never had a problem with them even though everytime I leave high school my radar detector get's pinned(profiling?). Anyway, leaving work today I definitely felt like I deserved a ticked for what I did and a cop was going the other way and either didn't notice,didn't care, or realized I wasn't about to do anything else stupid. So anyway this is what I did: leaving work about 20 minutes ago I had these kids yelling "light em up", so I opened my cutout but wasn't about to do a burn out in the place i work. So anyway as I'm getting on rt. 9 I punch it, and let me say this is the first time I really thought I was going to loose the car, the ass end came out and next thing I knew I was staring at a telephone pole. With luck on my side I corrected it and next thing I knew, there was a cop passing me going the other way. I was having a pretty bad day so I was pretty sure I was getting a ticket. Anyway I just wanted to share my story and btw, my uncle is a retired irvington cop so I have a lot of respect for what they do.