I'm likely just a nit

[guids]

I do this stuff late at night, and Im not a cop, I dont see what the big deal is. I rarely wait for a light to turn at 3am when no one else is around.

[EMc]

[ QUOTE ]
Cops are douches. They became cops because they were picked on and teased as kids, and feel like they didn't get the proper amount of respect that they deserved. This is why cops and people who work in security power trip all the time. By turning on the siren they're able to make people respectfully move out of their way.Giving people like that a respect switch(aka the siren switch) will always result in a an abuse of power. They're addicted to power and respect, even if it is fabricated.

[/ QUOTE ]

umm....no.

Bob,

You know how sometimes you use the copier in the office to make a personal copy? Or do some personal stuff at work? Its just a fringe benefit, just like this. And besides, aren't cops more effective when they aren't sitting around doing nothing?

[SamIAm]

I'm not willing to say "Cops are douches", but I have gotten the impression that being an officer is a low-paying, high-paperwork, no-fun job. They might have gotten more respect around 9/11, but now they're back to the image depicted in this thread. It seems like the only benefits of the job are the "fringe benefits" above. Doesn't that select for employees who DO like to abuse power?

[bmxicle]

Yeah i would think this is fine. Like especially in situations where that where it is 100% safe, and not wasting anyone's time...why waste the cop's time. People always love to use the arguement that cops should be doing something more important with their time...well there isn't a bad place to start.

Obviously if they are doing dangerous stuff, or stuff that seriously inconveniences people then that's a little different.

[Autocratic]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Cops are douches. They became cops because they were picked on and teased as kids, and feel like they didn't get the proper amount of respect that they deserved. This is why cops and people who work in security power trip all the time. By turning on the siren they're able to make people respectfully move out of their way.Giving people like that a respect switch(aka the siren switch) will always result in a an abuse of power. They're addicted to power and respect, even if it is fabricated.

[/ QUOTE ]

umm....no.

Bob,

You know how sometimes you use the copier in the office to make a personal copy? Or do some personal stuff at work? Its just a fringe benefit, just like this. And besides, aren't cops more effective when they aren't sitting around doing nothing?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm pretty sure that that analogy sucks. Obviously there is little harm in a cop making a safe turn even if it's illegal. But there's little harm in ANYONE making that same turn.

The real problem is not cops using their lights to get through traffic. It's that this is often a symptom of a larger disease, where officers enforce the law because it's their job, not because there is some practical purpose for the existence of that law. It's more than feeling "above" the law. It's about not understanding what makes being a cop honorable (at least in theory).

[jeffnc]

That's something that normally would bug me, but I'm a little nitty about it in the opposite direction. I feel that cops should be able to move more freely in traffic than all other cars, because that's their job.

This is much different than, say, an ambulance with no one in it to turn on it's lights for an illegal right on red. Their job is to transfer sick people in an emergency. No sick people, no need to bend the rules.

Cops, on the other hand, are often traffic cops, and need to move with more freedom in traffic, and sometimes need to be somewhere else, without it really being an emergency. For the same reason, they should be allowed to speed while not in an emergency, for the simple fact that they need to maneuver themselves in traffic differently than we do, so they can monitor traffic.

The lights are a way to warn us they are moving in an otherwise illegal fashion, which is what they should do.

If the cops were really bending the rules because they're lazy, then I take it all back (and I'm sure some do sometimes.)

[jeffnc]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm pretty sure that that analogy sucks. Obviously there is little harm in a cop making a safe turn even if it's illegal. But there's little harm in ANYONE making that same turn.

[/ QUOTE ]

Theoretically they are trained, professional drivers, so I'm more comfortable with them speeding, making funky turns etc than the average driver. In practice, yes it's safe for most people.

[ QUOTE ]
The real problem is not cops using their lights to get through traffic. It's that this is often a symptom of a larger disease, where officers enforce the law because it's their job, not because there is some practical purpose for the existence of that law.

[/ QUOTE ]

[M2d]

you kind of are a nit. the first two...perks of the job, no one is harmed...not a huge deal. third one is probably a code 2 call and he only used the siren to get through the traffic as quickly and efficiently as possible.

[M2d]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not willing to say "Cops are douches", but I have gotten the impression that being an officer is a low-paying, high-paperwork, no-fun job. They might have gotten more respect around 9/11, but now they're back to the image depicted in this thread. It seems like the only benefits of the job are the "fringe benefits" above. Doesn't that select for employees who DO like to abuse power?

[/ QUOTE ]

this is serious tard-speak. of all the cops i know (I know many) the percentage of d-bags is much less as the percentage of d-bags in the general population. maybe you just bring out their bad side?

[kurosh]

One night, I made a left turn at about 1AM when I had a green arrow and didn't notice a cop with his lights on coming. I turned in front of him with about 2-3 seconds to spare. He pulled me over, so I guess wherever he was speeding to wasn't that important.