# AZ fast food restaurants to allow deputies to pose as window cashiers to catch drunk drivers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 15, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793 "2009-06-15T02:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/41 "2009-06-17T02:14:22Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I’ve never heard of that. Where’d that come from? In my experience, they make a point of being as hard to spot as possible, and always have. No no no…a guy I know knows this guy who has a cop for a brother, and he told me that cops _have_ to remain visible when they’re tracking with radar. And if it’s nighttime, they _have_ to have their running lights on. Oh, and if you ask an undercover cop if he’s a cop, he _has_ to tell you the truth. Uh huh… ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/42 "2009-06-17T04:05:04Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > No no no…a guy I know knows this guy who has a cop for a brother, and he told me that cops _have_ to remain visible when they’re tracking with radar. And if it’s nighttime, they _have_ to have their running lights on. > > Oh, and if you ask an undercover cop if he’s a cop, he _has_ to tell you the truth. Uh huh… Pardon the hijack, but does anyone know where the whole “If you ask a cop if he is a cop, legally he HAS to tell you, dude”!!! urban legend got started? I mean, on its face it is so assinine----if it were true, there would be no successful undercover operations, right? Still, there are some clueless shady operators (usually from TV shows like COPS it’s hookers and street level dealers) who still seem to take it as gospel. Anyone with the Straight Dope? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/43 "2009-06-17T04:51:18Z")
If police have announced sobriety checkpoints (which seems to be required by law, otherwise why announce it?), then they should have to announce their presence in a private establishment. Right? What’s the difference? This isn’t some undercover sting to nab Pablo Escobar, it’s a stretch of the law to snag drunk drivers. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/44 "2009-06-17T05:49:02Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Pardon the hijack, but does anyone know where the whole “If you ask a cop if he is a cop, legally he HAS to tell you, dude”!!! urban legend got started? > > I mean, on its face it is so assinine----if it were true, there would be no successful undercover operations, right? Still, there are some clueless shady operators (usually from TV shows like COPS it’s hookers and street level dealers) who still seem to take it as gospel. > > Anyone with the Straight Dope? I know I’ve watched “Cops” several times when they were doing the hooker or drug sting operations and they’ve flat out told the perps “No” when asked if they were a cop. I’m guessing it’s an urban myth myself. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/45 "2009-06-17T10:47:33Z")
> [@Sandlegs](#): > > i found a paradigm in my town. the only fasty food type place that was 24 hours closed the walk-in part at 10pm, and to go through the drive through required you be in a car. we tried before to go through on foot, but they said no way. what the hell do i do about that? you are open 24 hours, but only for cars? Stand at the drive through entrance and hitch a ride (yes, I did that once). ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/46 "2009-06-17T18:14:18Z")
> [@oboelady](#): > > Interesting - in today’s Arizona Daily Star, the Sherriff’s department states that the original story was wrong - they are not going to implement this program. Correct. As of Monday the SO had asked 24 different restaurants to participate and was told to take a flying leap by each and every one. While I have no love of drunk drivers, I do have a good deal of respect for these private business owners saying they refused to participate in the law enforcement equivalent of quartering troops. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/47 "2009-06-17T18:18:20Z")
I don’t see that as offensive. It’s not going to inconvenience anyone who’s not driving drunk, unless the deputy is a crappy worker. I do see roadblock checkpoints that arbitrarily stop all drivers as a bad thing. They’re “fishing expedition” and assume you’re guilty until proven innocent. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/48 "2009-06-17T18:19:17Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > Correct. As of Monday the SO had asked 24 different restaurants to participate and was told to take a flying leap by each and every one. > > While I have no love of drunk drivers, I do have a good deal of respect for these private business owners saying they refused to participate in the law enforcement equivalent of quartering troops. Besides, they’d lose a lot of business (relatively speaking) when it became known that there were cops hanging out at the drive-throughs. Why even stay open late-night at that point? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/49 "2009-06-17T18:24:16Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > Correct. As of Monday the SO had asked 24 different restaurants to participate and was told to take a flying leap by each and every one. > > While I have no love of drunk drivers, I do have a good deal of respect for these private business owners saying they refused to participate in the law enforcement equivalent of quartering troops. Quartering troops? Get over yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/50 "2009-06-17T18:47:59Z")
They can still sit in the parking lots and the dining rooms. I still don’t see what’s so “offensive” about the idea. The only people who would need to worry about it would be drunk drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/51 "2009-06-17T19:13:17Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Would you rather have the drunk driver run over your stupid ass out on the highway rather than have them taken off the road ASAP? > > I say kudos to the restaurants, and I would patronize any one that I knew was doing it. \ This isn’t the Pit, **Clothahump**. Tone down the insults. \ ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/52 "2009-06-17T19:52:19Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Quartering troops? Get over yourself. What you said. Gosh, that mean old Sheriff’s Department. Having the nerve to _ask_ business owners if they can station deputies on their premises. ---
**Author:** ![rowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@rowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowe)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793/53 "2009-06-17T22:51:58Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > My uncle (a Dallas cop) tells me the reason why he doesn’t sit outside of a bar at 2am (when the bars close) and start pick’n people off; is because: “That’s not good sportsmanship.” > > I’m not sure if he’s serious or pull’n my leg. > [@EpicNonsense](#): > > I agree. It’s pretty shallow. What’s shallow about it? I’d much rather have drunk drivers be arrested in a parking lot _before_ they have a chance to kill someone… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/az-fast-food-restaurants-to-allow-deputies-to-pose-as-window-cashiers-to-catch-drunk-drivers/499793.md?page=2)