To Protect and to Serve II

#7,051
#7,051
Rasputin_Vol said:
We gotta clamp down on these traffic violators. Speeding, busted taillights and reefer possession... the three menaces of any civil society.
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Lighten up, Francis. I don't even look at anything less than 15 over...I've never written a ticket for a tail light, head light, or Miller Lite...and I've dumped enough traveling herb on the side of the Interstate to keep California stoned for a month.

Sergeant Stadanko I'm not.
 
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#7,052
#7,052
GreyWolf1129 said:
I'm fine with it. FYI, when I work speed enforcement it's usually on an overpass with a laser. I'm not hiding, but you'd be amazed at the folks who zip past at 90+ with me sitting up there in plain view.

I also know I have about 30 minutes at that spot before the "pace" drops to 75-ish. Waze. Which is fine with me, since the goal is to get folks to slow down. I just go get a cup of coffee; check my zones; and then go find another spot.
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Agreed. I'm not much of a ticket writer. I had more than my fair share of speeding tickets before I became a LEO, most of them deserved, a couple weren't, but I like being proactive as a LEO and keeping up appearances in the crap parts of town.

I make a lot of stops but give more warnings than anything. I'm in high crime areas, looking for warrants, dope or intel, but rarely sit still for very long...our cars stick out like a sore thumb anyway.

WAZE doesn't bother me, especially for traffic violations. Unless you're being stupid and endangering other motorists, use it to your heart's desire.
 
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#7,053
#7,053
GreyWolf1129 said:
Lighten up, Francis. I don't even look at anything less than 15 over...I've never written a ticket for a tail light, head light, or Miller Lite...and I've dumped enough traveling herb on the side of the Interstate to keep California stoned for a month.

Sergeant Stadanko I'm not.
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Took a lil' of that for the ride home did ya?😎
 
#7,054
#7,054
Carl Pickens said:
Took a lil' of that for the ride home did ya?😎
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Nope. I'm not your average idiot, and I know that sooner or later, someone will (and has) claimed I took their dope, or their money. We do it all right on the hood of my car...and right in front of the camera.

And I never turn my camera off until the violator drives away, or we pull in to sallyport.
 
#7,055
#7,055
orangeblood79 said:
Agreed. I'm not much of a ticket writer. I had more than my fair share of speeding tickets before I became a LEO, most of them deserved, a couple weren't, but I like being proactive as a LEO and keeping up appearances in the crap parts of town.

I make a lot of stops but give more warnings than anything. I'm in high crime areas, looking for warrants, dope or intel, but rarely sit still for very long...our cars stick out like a sore thumb anyway.

WAZE doesn't bother me, especially for traffic violations. Unless you're being stupid and endangering other motorists, use it to your heart's desire.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

So here's my story: Back in 1991, I got stopped in Mt. Pleasant, SC on my way to work. At the time, I had a Mustang 5.0, same as SCHP and some other agencies were driving. So I downshifted to beat a yellow light at Mathis Ferry Road; beat the light; then throttled back and started over the Cooper River Bridge (the old one). There was a MPPD car at the light. I saw him before I decided to beat the light. So maybe this one's on me, but...

He runs me down, which wasn't hard since I was only going 45; follows me all the way to the foot of the bridge in Charleston; pulls me over; and writes me a ticket for 58 in a 40. Never paced me; didn't have RADAR; and the ticket said the "infraction" occurred on US Hwy 17 and the Cooper River bridge. Fought the ticket, and lost. In court, he testified that he paced me on the bridge for a distance of 1/4 mile. Absolute lie, and I was seething over it. Who in their right mind goes 18 over with a cop on their tail? To this day I remember his name, and what a lying jackass he was.

A few years later, my path into law enforcement began. From that day to this one, I have tried to make sure that I am never "that lying jackass" to someone else. Never get anything on your badge that Brasso won't get off.

I've made my mistakes over the years, but they were honest ones, and lying under oath is a line I will not cross.
 
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#7,056
#7,056
davethevol said:
Have you ever encountered someone with a jammer? Does that only work with radar?
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Yes. They work.
The good ones will jam the radar for 3-5 seconds then shut off. Reason for that, the officer can zone in on who has the jammer

It’s a big ass fine if you are caught with one, especially in a big truck.
 
#7,057
#7,057
Obsessed said:
Yes. They work.
The good ones will jam the radar for 3-5 seconds then shut off. Reason for that, the officer can zone in on who has the jammer

It’s a big ass fine if you are caught with one, especially in a big truck.
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Maybe I just don't know what to look for. I do know that with the Decatur Genesis series in the moving mode, sometimes it's tough to lock on an approaching or departing target if their speed is within 1-2 mph of yours. The Decatur rep said that's to eliminate the radar locking on to a harmonic of your speed, which makes sense.

But the Genesis III has the "faster vehicle" mode, and same-direction capability, which is nice. From experience, laser on an overpass or on the side of the road is just as good, if not better. I can pick the exact vehicle I want to check.

Obsessed: I'll check with our DPS (commercial vehicle) guys on the jammers. I work with GSP a lot, and I've yet to hear the first one (outside of Atlanta) talk about them. Maybe it's a big-city thing. Or maybe we don't know what to watch for.

Relax, Ras...just tell me it's you and I'll write the warning instead...:cool:
 
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#7,059
#7,059
No, actually we've all discussed this without your knowledge. Should the opportunity arise, we're going to handcuff you...dress you up as AOC (heels and lipstick included)...and force you to sing "We Are the World" at the business end of a Taser. Then we're going to post it here.

luther will probably offer to marry you online.

I owe you the truth.
 
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#7,060
#7,060
Rasputin_Vol said:
I think I can drive in your domain, but @tim , @Grand Vol and @orangeblood79 will probably pull me over, bust my taillights and my ribcage and sprinkle coke on my dash to make it look like a kingpin arrest.
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Dude, do you really think that low of me?

I have close friends with whom I have fundamental philosophical differences but still call friends.

I pulled over someone recently who I swore could have been you, DTH, or Huffines. Dude immediately called into question the legitimacy of the reason I pulled him over, stated his disdain for the intrusion, and then did everything but throw blatant insults my way.

At first, I was like...he's talked himself into as many tickets as I can find but then I was like...a screw that. All that would do would reaffirm his stereotype of me and the profession I love. So I killed him with kindness and sent him on with a warning...even though he was traveling nearly 20 over.

I'm not that guy. Few are. They just get the headlines, not the majority.
 
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#7,061
#7,061
GreyWolf1129 said:
No, actually we've all discussed this without your knowledge. Should the opportunity arise, we're going to handcuff you...dress you up as AOC (heels and lipstick included)...and force you to sing "We Are the World" at the business end of a Taser. Then we're going to post it here.

luther will probably offer to marry you online.

I owe you the truth.
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You forgot the spray. We're going to spray him.

And his hands. And his junk.
 
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#7,064
#7,064
Interesting fact

Mississippi sheriff depts don’t have radar guns. Only officers allowed to shoot radar are local and state police.
 
#7,066
#7,066
Obsessed said:
Interesting fact

Mississippi sheriff depts don’t have radar guns. Only officers allowed to shoot radar are local and state police.
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I didn't know that, thanks for the tip!

Not that I ever see any. I see more troopers/sheriffs between Chattanooga and Dandridge when we come home for the holidays than we see in Mississippi the rest of the year. I55 from Meridian to the LA border is almost always a racetrack.
 
#7,067
#7,067
Im
GreyWolf1129 said:
I like Ras. He keeps me grounded. I'd drink a beer with him.
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I like Ras a bunch. For much the same reasons. We agree about a lot of things, and the things we dont, i stop and consider his perspective. Thats having respect for a different view. He Also never gets duped by the media into getting caught up in this racial wedge job they are trying to pull. Politicians do the same thing. Divide and conquer. There are some guys on here that i consider buddies that have some pretty racist viewpoints sometimes, and he doesnt get upset or caught up in that, either. I have respect for his views enough to question some of my own when it comes to history and geopolitics. He has enlightened me about several things leading up to WW1 and 2 for example, which i went on to read about. I love to learn, and its apparent he does as well. We dont really agree about Israel or Russia, but really thats about it. Cool cat. Seems like you are posting in here more lately, GW...we are glad to have ya.
 
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#7,068
#7,068
I grew up in East Tennessee. Powell, if you'd care to know. My family goes back generations in Knox, Anderson, and Union counties. Moonshine and tobacco were the cash crops for them. I've traced us back to the Civil War, and the push for the State of Franklin. We were lily white, but Union supporters. While General Sherman might be hated to this day in certain corners of the state (and definitely the South), he was a brilliant strategist, and he understood that "total war", in the end, would save lives. Both Union and Confederate. Sherman is right up there with Patton in my book. If my grandparents, God rest their soul, knew that, they would disown me. I understand completely.

Joined the Navy at 17. Spent 20 years there. Submarines. Nobody cared what your skin color, political affiliation, or religion was. Just do your job. We all stood watch, ate, played cards, chased the Soviets, showered, and served together. I had the honor to serve with some good men over the years. Maybe that's where I learned what MLK preached, which was to judge others not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I consider his "I Have a Dream" speech right up there with anything Washington, or Lincoln, or Roosevelt, or Reagan did.

The story of "how I became a cop" is long and weird. But I did, and I tried to never let the badge weigh more than I did. I've made my mistakes...made an arrest when maybe there was another option; wrote a ticket just because I could; and let my ego rule instead of my heart. But over the years I learned, matured, and mellowed. I've also cried, openly, at a wreck where an innocent child died; same for a dog that ran out in traffic; and had to ask the Good Lord to guide my hand when I had to end the suffering of a deer that got hit by a car. Served no-knock warrants at 4 a.m. on a known drug dealer who we knew would shoot if we gave him time; learned the hard way that you hear the bullet before the shot when someone's shooting at you; attended two funerals of deputies I worked with who gave their life in the line of duty; and withstood the scrutiny that comes when you have no choice but to shoot back, or first. Been so scared I experienced "terror piss", and been so mad I refused to transport a guy we arrested for molesting his 10 year-old daughter. Made every mistake a cop can make, and so far...knock on wood...I'm still here.

I'm so flawed it's not funny. But my saving grace, if I have one, is that I care. Serve and Protect. You've heard me say that before. Basic mantra of those of us who are privileged to wear the badge. That's who I am; that's what motivates me; and that's what I defend here. Ras rubbed me the wrong way, way back when (I'm too lazy to go back and find the post), but in the days that have followed, I've learned that he and I are largely cut from the same cloth. We just took different paths to get where we are today, which is not that far apart on most issues.

So yeah, I'd drink a beer with him.
 
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#7,073
#7,073
GreyWolf1129 said:
Maybe I just don't know what to look for. I do know that with the Decatur Genesis series in the moving mode, sometimes it's tough to lock on an approaching or departing target if their speed is within 1-2 mph of yours. The Decatur rep said that's to eliminate the radar locking on to a harmonic of your speed, which makes sense.

But the Genesis III has the "faster vehicle" mode, and same-direction capability, which is nice. From experience, laser on an overpass or on the side of the road is just as good, if not better. I can pick the exact vehicle I want to check.

Obsessed: I'll check with our DPS (commercial vehicle) guys on the jammers. I work with GSP a lot, and I've yet to hear the first one (outside of Atlanta) talk about them. Maybe it's a big-city thing. Or maybe we don't know what to watch for.

Relax, Ras...just tell me it's you and I'll write the warning instead...:cool:
Click to expand...
Those laser things scare the crap out of me. Everytime i see one pointed at me i think its a gun. Ive seen a couple that appear to have scopes on them.
 
#7,074
#7,074
orangeblood79 said:
Dude, do you really think that low of me?

I have close friends with whom I have fundamental philosophical differences but still call friends.

I pulled over someone recently who I swore could have been you, DTH, or Huffines. Dude immediately called into question the legitimacy of the reason I pulled him over, stated his disdain for the intrusion, and then did everything but throw blatant insults my way.

At first, I was like...he's talked himself into as many tickets as I can find but then I was like...a screw that. All that would do would reaffirm his stereotype of me and the profession I love. So I killed him with kindness and sent him on with a warning...even though he was traveling nearly 20 over.

I'm not that guy. Few are. They just get the headlines, not the majority.
Click to expand...
If you ever pull over DTH, don't look in his trunk. You'll think he's a weapons smuggler but in reality he'll just be on his way to the range.
 
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#7,075
#7,075
GreyWolf1129 said:
I grew up in East Tennessee. Powell, if you'd care to know. My family goes back generations in Knox, Anderson, and Union counties. Moonshine and tobacco were the cash crops for them. I've traced us back to the Civil War, and the push for the State of Franklin. We were lily white, but Union supporters. While General Sherman might be hated to this day in certain corners of the state (and definitely the South), he was a brilliant strategist, and he understood that "total war", in the end, would save lives. Both Union and Confederate. Sherman is right up there with Patton in my book. If my grandparents, God rest their soul, knew that, they would disown me. I understand completely.

Joined the Navy at 17. Spent 20 years there. Submarines. Nobody cared what your skin color, political affiliation, or religion was. Just do your job. We all stood watch, ate, played cards, chased the Soviets, showered, and served together. I had the honor to serve with some good men over the years. Maybe that's where I learned what MLK preached, which was to judge others not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I consider his "I Have a Dream" speech right up there with anything Washington, or Lincoln, or Roosevelt, or Reagan did.

The story of "how I became a cop" is long and weird. But I did, and I tried to never let the badge weigh more than I did. I've made my mistakes...made an arrest when maybe there was another option; wrote a ticket just because I could; and let my ego rule instead of my heart. But over the years I learned, matured, and mellowed. I've also cried, openly, at a wreck where an innocent child died; same for a dog that ran out in traffic; and had to ask the Good Lord to guide my hand when I had to end the suffering of a deer that got hit by a car. Served no-knock warrants at 4 a.m. on a known drug dealer who we knew would shoot if we gave him time; learned the hard way that you hear the bullet before the shot when someone's shooting at you; attended two funerals of deputies I worked with who gave their life in the line of duty; and withstood the scrutiny that comes when you have no choice but to shoot back, or first. Been so scared I experienced "terror piss", and been so mad I refused to transport a guy we arrested for molesting his 10 year-old daughter. Made every mistake a cop can make, and so far...knock on wood...I'm still here.

I'm so flawed it's not funny. But my saving grace, if I have one, is that I care. Serve and Protect. You've heard me say that before. Basic mantra of those of us who are privileged to wear the badge. That's who I am; that's what motivates me; and that's what I defend here. Ras rubbed me the wrong way, way back when (I'm too lazy to go back and find the post), but in the days that have followed, I've learned that he and I are largely cut from the same cloth. We just took different paths to get where we are today, which is not that far apart on most issues.

So yeah, I'd drink a beer with him.
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So you have your PHD too?
 
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