I guess I could cite someone for negligent driving, but I’ve never written a ticket for someone doing this. In each case, I thought I was stopping a drunk, because he was weaving all over the road.
Personally, I have better self-control than that . . . I didn’t weave at all the one time I got one! 
I don’t have time right now, but I’ll write some up soon, //\etalhea|).
Hola constable!
What is the funniest stop that you have ever made? I drove naked once on a hot night (sober) once. Would you arrest me?
What was the most harrowing time of your job? Killings, extreme child abuse whatnot?
SENOR
Hi there,
I have a few questions for you…
1)You mentioned something before about an off duty police officer smoking a joint…my husband says he has smoked with an off duty cop at a party before…Don’t you guys get any kind of periodic drug testing done?
2)Lets say you pulled someone over and found that they had drugs and a big wad of cash on them(lets say $1000)How easy would it be for you you to pocket $500 of it and just write up that the suspect only had $500 on his person?Not saying that you would, but it sounds easy enought that I’m sure many crooked cops do it.
3)What happens to the money that is seized? I know drugs etc… get destroyed,but does money get destroyed too or does it somehow go back into the community?
Thanks for this thread,I’m fascinated 
Ok, I’m curious now. You said you could arrest/ticket me for driving while nekkid (DWN?).
But, would you?
Lets say I do something minor, like a California stop, or don’t signal a turn, or maybe driving a little too fast. You pull me over. I don’t seem to be a disgusting pervert or anything. I’m nice, polite, etc. Would you arrest/ticket me? I mean hey, at least you know I don’t have any concealed weapons on me, and doing a search would be a snap!
And somewhat related, have you had an instance where you really probably should have ticketed or arrested someone but the circumstances were just too funny or silly and you didn’t?
How funny are the doughnut stories that you here? Are you sick and tired of them?
Hello.
What size community do you serve as an investigations department?
I’m sure this varies a lot, but what does the background check for a job with the police typically entail? Does the police department–or some other agency–go talk to the would-be officer’s friends, family, previous employers, etc. How far do the police dig into a person’s finances? Medical history? Juvenile record? In case you’re wondering, I’m not looking for a job, but contrasting this with the military’s various background checks for my own amusement (and possibly a short story).
Can you recommend any good books (or movies or any other media) that show an accurate portrayal of what it’s like to be a police officer? Know any to definitely avoid?
How many investigations do you actively run at a time? I always see these cops on TV get a murder case and that’s all they do–pursue just that one case. In Mayberry, perhaps, but that just can’t be true elsewhere. How many cases is it even possible to juggle at once (it seems to this outsider possible to investigate two or three crimes simultaneously, but impossible to juggle twenty)?
How many hours a day do you typically work? Do you get compensated for “overtime”? If so, in what way–with money, days off to be taken later, or what?
Do you personally have any problems with enforcing laws you don’t believe in? Run into any ethical dilemmas? Or do you just say to yourself, “The law’s the law, don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time,” even if you personally believe the crime shouldn’t be a crime. I guess what I want to know is how do you–and other officers–rationalize arresting people for doing things you feel are not wrong. For example, you indicated that you don’t think marijuana use should be illegal . . . and no, I really don’t mean for this to seem combative. I’m just curious because I personally would feel guilty arresting certain people for certain things (like smoking weed).
For some reason, every cop I know (and I don’t know any of them very well) seems to be really right-wing. I used to be in a National Guard unit with a bunch of cops and every Saturday morning we’d get in a big discussion about whatever it was that was going on in the world, and on every issue they sounded like George Bush or somebody. So are you all just a bunch of raving Republicans? It does seem to me from my dealings with different people that police tend to be more conservative on a lot of issues than average. Is this accurate?
Are you guys supposed to keep your flashers on after pulling somebody over? A couple times the police have practically blinded me at night with their cars’ flashing lights as I passed them. Seems like a safety hazard to me.
What’s the deal with reserve cops? Do they really do anything? Do they get training? Do they get money? Do they operate like the military reserves (you know, occasional training and/or duty)? Or what?
Thanks for starting this thread. Thanks for working a job where you make sacrifices to make the world a better place. Thanks for taking the time to wade through my long questions (no human contact today).
Happy New Year!
What would you do in the following situation?
A few months ago, a friend of mine and I were playing roller hockey in the tennis courts of a public park. After a little while, a cop showed up and told us we had to leave. I said that that would not be a problem and that we would leave. I asked him why we couldn’t play there as long as we didn’t do anything wrong. He said that they were tennis courts and for playing tennis and that we could have damaged them by playing. He then went to look for damage on the court which he would then cite us for, he didn’t find any and then ran our liscenses and my car’s plates ( I was parked legally ) for anything. After that he asked what my mother would say if she knew I was playing hockey in a tennis court. I ( kind of stupidly ) replied that she would be thrilled that I wasn’t laying around the house. I was basically trying to get the point across that except for the sign that said no skating, what was the big deal?
I asked him if there were any places that he knew of that we could play without any trouble, and he said that he wouldn’t care if we played in the street.
Anyway, after about 45 minutes, he let us leave. No ticket or anything, but he did take down our information and tell us not to do anything in “his” town again.
Basically, what would you do a few 21-22 year olds who were officially doing something unlawful but weren’t really doing anything that would bother or hurt anyone?
At no point did I get confrontational, I was calm and stayed about five feet away from him, so I couldn’t think of any reason he had to suspect us of anything. We weren’t swearing, drinking, doing-selling drugs, or even making much noise. We weren’t using the only court there was either. I did hear several “fucks” and “shits” from the tennis players when the cop was there though.
Also, in this case, I didn’t expect us to be allowed to play there, I would have had no problem with him simply telling us that we had to leave. So would you look for something to bust me on? Or would you realize that we weren’t hurting anyone and that we could be doing a lot worse and let us be.
P.S. The point that I really wanted to get across - but was smart enough not to say it to him - was that if everyone between the age of 18 and 25 played hockey in tennis courts then his job would be a lot easier. Or should I have said that?
What would you do in the following situation?
A few months ago, a friend of mine and I were playing roller hockey in the tennis courts of a public park. After a little while, a cop showed up and told us we had to leave. I said that that would not be a problem and that we would leave. I asked him why we couldn’t play there as long as we didn’t do anything wrong. He said that they were tennis courts and for playing tennis and that we could have damaged them by playing. He then went to look for damage on the court which he would then cite us for, he didn’t find any and then ran our liscenses and my car’s plates ( I was parked legally ) for anything. After that he asked what my mother would say if she knew I was playing hockey in a tennis court. I ( kind of stupidly ) replied that she would be thrilled that I wasn’t laying around the house. I was basically trying to get the point across that except for the sign that said no skating, what was the big deal?
I asked him if there were any places that he knew of that we could play without any trouble, and he said that he wouldn’t care if we played in the street.
Anyway, after about 45 minutes, he let us leave. No ticket or anything, but he did take down our information and tell us not to do anything in “his” town again.
Basically, what would you do a few 21-22 year olds who were officially doing something unlawful but weren’t really doing anything that would bother or hurt anyone?
We weren’t swearing, drinking, doing-selling drugs, or even making much noise. We weren’t using the only court there was either. I did hear several “fucks” and “shits” from the tennis players when the cop was there though.
Also, in this case, I didn’t expect us to be allowed to play there, I would have had no problem with him simply telling us that we had to leave. So would you look for something to bust me on? Or would you realize that we weren’t hurting anyone and that we could be doing a lot worse and let us be.
The funniest I can think of was a car doing 10mph, weaving completely across both lanes. I was sure I had a serious drunk behind the wheel. I hit the lights, and immediately a girl’s head popped up in the passenger seat.
I still had the guy get out and do field sobriety tests, because there was a smell of intoxicants in the car. While I’m giving him the tests, his car (which he left running) ran out of gas! I them both a ride home, and the girl kept trying to get in his pants the whole time. She thought it was funny, he was dying from embarrassment.
Probably not. It would probably depend if someone had complained.
**
Child abuse. I’ve seen a six-year-old girl who was beaten to death by her foster father. I still see her sometimes in my dreams.
hmmm, this post really shows the ups and downs of the job, doesn’t it?
The funniest I can think of was a car doing 10mph, weaving completely across both lanes. I was sure I had a serious drunk behind the wheel. I hit the lights, and immediately a girl’s head popped up in the passenger seat.
I still had the guy get out and do field sobriety tests, because there was a smell of intoxicants in the car. While I’m giving him the tests, his car (which he left running) ran out of gas! I gave them both a ride home, and the girl kept trying to get in his pants the whole time. She thought it was funny, he was dying from embarrassment.
Probably not. It would probably depend if someone had complained.
**
Child abuse. I’ve seen a six-year-old girl who was beaten to death by her foster father. I still see her sometimes in my dreams.
hmmm, this post really shows the ups and downs of the job, doesn’t it?
I’m in my fifties and I must say the nicest officer I have ever met happened to be the one who gave me the worse ticket I ever had. I was driving a white Bonneville at about 7:30am. I was going very fast as I had to pick my wife up from her 11-7 job and I was late. He clocked me at 115 and pulled me over 7 miles after clocking me. He was on an overpass. when he finally pulled me over I was in the parking lot of the convalescent
home waiting patiently for my wife.
He got out of his cruiser, shaking his head. because I was not the ruthless drug trafficer he was looking for in a white Grand National. Oh well. He still gave me a 296 dollar mail-in ticket. He was very polite and respectful, and that is most likely why I didn’t give him any lip.
Question-How much stock do you put into have a good attitude when you stop someone?
**
Amazingly, no, most departments do not do random drug testing. Since most cops belong to unions, that is usually fought (for the same reasons other unions fight it, i.e. reliability, false positives, targeting individuals). I personnally think that we should be tested regularly, but that just isn’t the case.
**
In most cases, it would be very easy for a bad cop to take some of the money. Lots of cops have been caught doing this and were canned and sometimes charged with theft. We try to prevent it with checks and balances and procedures, but it can be done.
**
If it is drug money, the money is forfeited and put into an account for drug investigations.
First, if you’re a male (don’t want to make that assumption again), you probably haven’t violated the law. Unless someone saw your genitals and reported it, no law has been broken (at least in Washington, you cannot commit indecent exposure against a police officer - because the courts have decided that we can’t be “shocked”).
If I do have a witness/victim, yes, you will be cited. I don’t think there is anything wrong with nudity per se, but society does. And I know that many sex offenders start out with exhibitionist crimes, so I think it’s a good idea to get their names in the system.
Oh, definitely sick of them! I do enjoy a doughnut now and them, but I simply can’t eat one while in uniform. It isn’t worth the ribbing I’ll take.
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It is a tourist town, with about 3,500 full-time residents. On holiday weekends we may have as many as 75,000 in town (with the same number of cops - we just run faster).
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It does vary a great deal, depending on the size of the department and budget available. I do the background checks for my department. We run a criminal background check (using fingerprints), polygraph, psychological, credit check, employment history, speak to family and cooworkers, etc. I don’t usually have the opportunity to interview neighbors, though I know that many larger agencies will do this.
**
You know, I rarely read or see movies about police work. I find that they never show what my job is like, because my brand of police work isn’t interesting. I’m told that NYPD Blue is very accurate, but bears almost no resemblance to what I do on a daily basis. If I conducted interrogations like they do, I’d be out of a job in a week.
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I usually have about a dozen cases open at a time, but most don’t take constant work. They will often sit for some time while I’m waiting for evidence to come back from the lab, waiting for statments, etc. When I have had a major case like a homicide, everything else gets dropped and I work exclusively on that case until it is done or at least until it is wrapped up enough that I can relax a little.
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I work a 4-10 schedule, but I usually work a 12 hour shift at least twice a week. I do get overtime pay at time and a half.
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Rarely. I don’t enforce some (such as seatbelts) that I don’t think are important. I do enforce the drug laws because it is obvious to me that this is what the majority of our society wants me to do. I use my discretion, however. I often let people go if they are holding a small amount of pot, but larger amounts/dealing/growing never get a break.
**
I see that as well. I’m about the only Democrat in my department, though I do tend to be conservative in that as well. Republicans are usually more supportive of law enforcement and strong laws, so most cops lean that way.
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Yes, we are. It’s for liability, if someone runs into us. I am always reminding our younger officers to at least turn off the strobes, which are really blinding.
As with most things, it varies. I started as a reserve here. At first I was unpaid, then they paid us $75 a month, then we got paid for a few shifts a month, then they stopped paying again. Currently we don’t pay our reserves, but we do provide all of their uniforms and equipment (a lot of agencies don’t). As a reserve, I had to pass a reserve academy that had less than half the hours of the regular academy. Even so, when we were short-handed, they let me work shifts all alone. It was crazy and a liability nightmare. Currently our reserves ride with a regular officer and never work alone, but they do have full police powers while on duty.
**
Usually, I prefer to let people enjoy their lives without interfering, even if something is “technically” illegal. I’m betting that the cops had been requested by the parks department or someone like that to enforce the regulations. If we’re asked to give special attention, we’ll usually do so.
No, you were smart not to say it. No matter how you put it, it would probably come across wrong. We are aware that there are always worse problems in the world to deal with, but we have to deal with the one in front of us at any time.
(mini rant, not directed at you at all)
Nothing pisses me off like someone yelling at me while I’m writing a ticket that I should be off arresting murderers and child molesters. Believe me, I would rather spend every minute of every day busting the really bad people of the world, but sometimes the only thing I have at the moment is this guy driving 15 over the limit. We do what we can.
I always appreciate a good attitude, and I always try to have one as well. I always treat people respectfully and try to make the situation as painless as possible. With me, you will either get a ticket or a lecture, but never both.
First off, thanks for doing this. It’s fascinating to get real answers from a police officer, and it makes me realize that there should be more forums for this, both on the internet and in reality. It’s amazingly helpful.
And on to my question. You work for a rural town, pop. 3500 or so. How much do you know about the people in the town? I was astonished when I found out how much of my home life back when I was a teenager was known to the police in the area, despite the fact that we were never involved with the police. How many secrets about your community do you know? I know that in the course of your job, you find things out about people which, while they’re not crimes, are not common knowledge. Like who’s sleeping with who etcetera. What would you say is the difference between a police officer’s understanding of his town, and an average layperson’s?
Also, does that kind of knowledge make interacting with you community different sometimes?
And, on a completely unrelated subject, you seem to have been working hard to become a police officer for some time. When did you start on this career path, and what was your inspiration to do so?
Thanks again for an entertaining and educational thread.
Badge: Thanks for answering my questions. This is a very informative thread. Have a great day!