I think it is fine to question before handing over anything, if fact I find it prudent. Seeing as I have a right to secure myself, my belongings, my property, and my papers against unreasonable search and seizure. I think it's only fitting that the cop give the necessary reason for collecting these things first as that would be in accordance with our rights.
Fair enough. The problem comes in when you tell them and they are in denial (which about 70% of the people I deal with are, 95% for officers in other areas of my city) and want to argue with you instead of give over the license and reg. Thats an unnecessary delay which could result in the individual getting arrested because they want to run their mouth and refuse to comply with lawful orders on a lawful traffic stop. Once I have a license in hand and can identify the individual, and THEN they want to argue. Thats fine, they can talk to the air while I go back and write them a ticket or do what I have to do. Which if they are acting like an ass, 100% of the time they are getting that ticket instead of a warning because I am not required to give anyone a warning. Be disrespectful, you don't deserve discretion.
That's fine, you don't have to personally respect me in the least. What you have to respect is the law and the rights and liberties of the individual. Those are first and foremost.
This is where I find your attitude to be counter productive. A mutual respect between the police and the community is the most effective way at solving community problems. I fear you lived in an area where police didn't uphold these values and now you've been tainted to be disrespectul to law enforcement for good.
The badge isn't immunity from the law or license to do anything you want. It comes with great restriction and responsibility.
I agree.
I do not think that it is well understood at large. I think many get in charge and are consumed with power and act accordingly.
I agree, only substitute "many" with "few". Of course, this is area specific. Personally I find people who have issues with the police the most are people who live in areas like the New England states, the states surrounding the great lakes, and individuals in California. What the **** is wrong in those areas is beyond me, I can only speak for myself and my people.
You do seem to like to play this down.
Not really. The whole problem with the drug trade and the enforcement of controlled substance laws is that both sides are full of corruption. I don't get involved unless it lands in my lap.
Maybe you're in the three sigma out wing of the distribution and your station is composed of only good cops; but that's not the case everywhere. And police abuse, brutality, and tyranny does exist. On a greater scale than you really want to admit.
The problem is opinion and misinformation. Opinions on a situation of "police abuse" are many times way off base. As is the information given about situations that really aren't police abuse at all. The Crowley/Henry Louis Gates situation is a good example. There are still people who go around saying he was arrested for breaking into his own house. Thats not true, and those stories cause alot of harm when they aren't even the truth. The media and other story reporters dumb down the issue to make it seem more extreme than it is. Just go on youtube and look at the titles of police abuse vidoes. Alot of them say, "Tazed for Speeding" when you watch the video, the guy is stopped for speeding, gets out, attacks the officer, and gets tazed. That is not tazed for speeding, that is tazed for attacking the police. That is my issue with """police abuse""" that is reported.
What I find amusing is that you consider this all to be some grand conspiracy against the police.
There is no other reason for the intentional misinformation that gets spread around, see above.
Maybe you have the greatest police department of all time; but even if that's true it doesn't speak to the countless others and the larger amount of documentation depicting police misconduct.
Maybe I do
In the end, you want to sit there and chastise me for my distrust of the police.
Its not your distrust of the police, but the manner in which you show it that causes the problem. And in this sense I dont mean YOU literally, but those like you who distrust the police. If you silently distrust the police and cooperate with them while they do their thing, there are no problems. Its when people raise a big fuss over nothing is when nothing turns into something. This is not to be confused with a "bow down to me lowly citizen" type attitude. But even if a police officer is doing something unlawful, cooperating, informing him what he is doing is wrong, and then taking it up with the courts is the best answer. The reason I say that is because people fail to realize most of the time that the officer is acting within the law, they just dont know what within the law means, because their understanding of the law doesn't go past high school civics.
But it isn't me you should be shaking your finger at. We're on the outside. Yes there are good cops, but there are a significant number of bad cops too. How do I know which one is pulling me over? I don't. I have no way of telling which one of you is good and which one of you is bad. Thus it is wisest to err on the side of caution.
As long as erring on the side of caution doesn't include getting in a verbal fist fight with someone and refusing to comply with what one THINKS is unlawful when it is in fact lawful.
I will assume the cop is bad until proven otherwise.
I find it funny people say this, and then turn around and getting angry while accusing police officers of assuming someone is a suspect/criminal until proven not. Talk about double standards.
If you don't like it, you need to wag that finger of yours at your fellow cops who are doing bad and abusive things.
Sure, I'll do it when I see it. Ive only met one officer that I had serious disagreements with when it came to what he calls "articulation" where it actually meant "lie". That officer no longer works in my division.
That's the reason I can't trust the lot of you. Make a more concerted effort to crack down on wrong doings and honestly and fairly punish those who abuse the power and sovereignty of the People. Till that time, I have no choice but to mistrust you all. I may be able to personally say "That Caine, he's a great cop". But I can't say that of the whole.
When it comes to minor things like pulling people over for bull**** reasons, I tell the person I disagree with them, and then I let our court system fix the problem. There is nothing worse than having a bad reputation in the court room as a guy who makes bogus stops on a regular basis.
