Jodi… the cars in front of mine were neighbors of mine. I checked, they were there all night just as I was. I agree that there are many officers are wonderful at their jobs… I have at least 3 close relatives who are cops, one a Baltimore City officer. I guess I have an axe to grind or something I dunno. But I felt fantastically relieved of my ire when I posted this this morning. Nothing like a BBQ to make one feel better. 
Assumption.
Assumption contained in rhetorical query.
Assumption.
Assumption.
Are you talking about the police or yourself here?
Assumption.
Assumption.
An aside from me: So you’re pissed at them for finally (in your opinion it’s finally) doing the job the taxpayers pay them to do? Quite rational, that. ::rollseyes::
Aha! A fact! And this one was based on an observation.
Assumption. That is, unless of course, you queried each driver/owner of those vehicles and discovered (providing the response to your query was true) that there had been no ticket. Plus, you’d have to check with the police department anyway. I remember from the misspent part of my youth that some folks considered it amusing to go down the road in the wee hours of the morning and just taking the tickets off of cars.
Oh, so your entire defense is, “But, yer honor, other people broke that law too?” That’s what’s known as an invalid defense. Unless, of course, you can prove in court that you, personally, had been singled out for enforcement of the law.
Then pay the bloody thing now, but ensure you check the nifty box (if Maryland’s traffic tickets happen to have it) which says “no contest/nolo contendre.”
At whose expense? If it’s your expense, pay the bloody ticket and you’re saving cash. After all, you did violate the law, remember?
Her state or your untrained opinion?
Kind of hard to drive through a city like that, isn’t it?
Since you seem (based on your comment) to get a lot of tickets for speeding, have you ever considered slowing down to a safe speed and thus avoiding the entire issue?
Cool. I count seven assumptions made by the very person who berated a cop, in court no less, for making an assumption. Heck, I hope that very cop sees this thread!
That’s a pretty lopsided view of facts.
Then, evidently, you don’t consider those humans who aren’t defending the police, and those who prosecute those police officers caught violating the law, as people, then do you?
I’m raising the BS flag on this one, Lock. Police officers may have discretionary powers for certain offenses, but by no means for all offenses. You imply here that a cop can just decide not to arrest someone for committing murder right in his presence.
Substitute “Blacks,” “Hispanics,” or “(Insert ethnic group)” for “They” and you will notice you just made an incredibly bigoted remark.
So, where, pray tell, do all those drugs, fireworks, etc., in the evidence locker come from? Are they there just for kicks? Or are you pulling stuff out of your rump here?
See above about bigoted.
I think you’re, at a minimum, confused.
BTW, Christina: how’s your Baltimore cop relative feel about your calling him a fucking prick?
Honestly have no idea on that Monty. Haven’t seen him in years. And as I stated earlier, I did talk to each and every drive of the 3 vehicles in front of me (same household) and no, they did not get tickets. Double parked in front of a subshoop was a direct observation although I will admit I am not a mindreader, therefore their motives may be just fine. Seeing as I observed them both stuffing their face in the shop and keeping an eye on their vehicles it a dern safe observation as far as I am concerned. As far as fighting my ticket is concerned and clogging upthe court system… it is my right to do so. I vote, I go to jury duty when called upon, I write my government representatives etc. I get nothing from the ‘system’ but the tacit permission to have drug dealers on the corner and prostitutes given $5 dollar blowjobs on the street right up from me. Not like I haven’t reported that crap either, ,any times as a matter of fact. There needs to be an equilbrium of sorts and that is my point in this I suppose.
Time for bed or these glaring spelling and grammar mistakes are going to haunt me. I can see the nightmare now about the dangling participle again. sigh
Sorry, I don’t think you have much ground to stand on here, and I’m no lover of cops. I’ve never been ticketed for that offense, but I got a warning when I was 17 and have since never parked like that. You break the law, you sometimes get busted, you can’t take it personal. The fact they didn’t ticket all the cars that were parked like that is not an issue, either - I remember reading a joke about a guy who gets pulled over for speeding. When the officer comes to the window the speeder protests ‘I wasn’t going any faster than most of the other traffic! Why did you pull me over?’ The cop asks ‘Have you ever been fishing?’ and the speeder says yes…then the cop asks ‘Have you ever caught ALL of them?’
As to why you got picked - it could have been random chance, it could have been he picked the worst parked car out of those he was considering ticketing, it could be that he had ticketed most of the other people in the past, or that he was planning on ticketing them the next time he came through if they were still parking illegally. Who knows? Unless you know this police officer and think he may have a personal grudge with you, I wouldn’t take it personal. Hell, it’s only a $20 ticket, as someone who has payed several multi-hundred dollar tickets I don’t understand why you care.
Fair enough. But, please ensure you mention this thread to him when next you do & let us know his reaction.
Or they didn’t admit they got it or someone else with a slightly misspent youth similar to mine did the ticket grabbing thing.
Glad you mentioned that’s a direct observation. Are you or are you not aware that the police officers are not off shift, nor even off duty, when they are “code 7” to get some sustenance for the remainder of their shift? The police officers have to be near their vehicle in the event they get called in the middle of their “7.” Now, you really wouldn’t want them to have to run all the way across the parking lot from that sub shop, would you? After all, the emergency to which they will respond might be one to rescue you.
You say “stuffing their face” and the rest of the world says “eating their lunch while still on immediate call in the event of an emergency.”
How about you ratchet down your vitriol and look at this rationally?
You also have a right to proceed through a four-way stop after coming to a full stop. Sometimes it’s a good idea, as when there’s no traffic blowig through the other stop signs. Sometimes it’s just not a good idea, as when an 18-wheeler, for example, blows through the stop sign. You still had the right, but it didn’t do you any good.
<Checking the Constitution of the United States of America and discovers this has absolutely nothing to do with having rights in this land.>
Whoop de do. Still doesn’t give you the right to violate the laws. Said laws, by the way, passed by those same representatives who won in the elections in which you presumably voted.
This is a record. The BS flag raised twice in one thread. There’s no tacit permission to have drug dealers on the corner, etc. Some neighborhoods have been taken back from the drug dealers and the prostitutes. But that required working with the police. You evidently don’t give a hoot about them doing their job but would rather berate them for…you guessed it!..doing their job.
Interesting theory you posit here: someone’s getting a blow job so it’s okay for you to blow off a law. Is this theory limited to just traffic offenses or does it carry into felonies also?
I have a friend who is a Baltimore cop who regularly risks his life for people like you. On his behalf, fuck you and learn how to drive and park.
Also, how do you know that nobody else got a ticket? Couldn’t they have already picked theirs up off the windshield?
My friend has been shot at, spit on, and had his police car rammed by some of the finer citizens of Baltimore. Have a little appreciation for what cops do and pay your ticket.
Zette
Christina, I simply must say, I’m impressed with your ability to not get angry in response to the tone of some of our posts. There’s nothing as galling as blowing off steam in the Pit and then having a dozen or more people telling you all the flaws in your logic. It happens all the time, and most people get understandably peeved in response. You’ve stayed level-headed, and that’s admirable.
So while I don’t agree with your original rant, I had to acknowledge your coolheadedness as we all pile on take the other side. I think you’re wrong, but I also think you’ve got a better temper than I can claim for myself.
Well if I had kept my head before posting the OP… then perhaps we wouldnt have this grand opportunity. FTR I do respect the officers that I note that do their job. I once received a ticket for not stopping at a red light before a right hand turn. The officer who stopped my car was 1. completely right about what I had done, 2. concerned about my well being and the wellbeing of others 3. was a wonderful representative of the law overall (no sarcasm, I really mean that) I didn’t pay the ticket without going to court. I told the judge I was guilty, explained the circumsatnces, and recieved a lower fine and no points. If I did it, I have no problem in admitting it, and I will do the same thing when I go for the parking ticket. It isn’t like it will be a big deal as far as clogging a court… it is a separate thing, you have traffic stuff and the real deal and judges for each. It just felt good to get my ire out, better than sucking it up and being mad on the outside. As for Zette’s cop friend, tell him thanks for doing his job and risking his life. I do appreciate that. Sounds like he has got one helluva district to deal with.
He does. I’ll pass it along.
Zette
Christina, you really are a wonderful person and I admire you a lot. You really can’t let these little things get to you so much. I mean, put in perspective with everything else you have gone through, this is really a very minor thing. I know it makes you angry that this made your mother so upset, but the cop was just doing his job. I’m glad you’ve calmed down and hopefully you can reach a peaceful resolution with the BPD. 
Ah, but here’s the rub. You really don’t know what their job is nor how it’s supposed to be done.
I have to ask: How the dickens did you ever get, let alone maintain, a driver’s license? You are a self-admitted danger on the road.
So you were aware then that the cop was doing the cop’s job. What, pray tell, changed between then and now for you to get all bent out of shape when another cop was doing the cop’s job?
You lucked out on that one. Out here in Cali, if you try that, you’ll still get stuck with the minimum fine.
Oh, now this is just false. You evidently have a problem with admitting it - note here that I am actually equating “admitting and accepting the consequences like an adult” with “admitting it.”
So you, the self-admitted danger on the road, have decided that traffic offense aren’t “real stuff” and thus nobody has to follow the laws? Aren’t some of those traffic offenses on the books felonies? I guess you just answered one of my questions above.
Well, instead of being mad at someone who was doing their job, why not be mad at yourself for doing something wrong? Or better yet, learn a lesson from all those tickets you’ve been getting!
Evidently, he patrols yours. (Yes, that was a sarcastic remark.)
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Christina25 *
**
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Christina25 *
**
Monty,
Some Police do keep confiscated materials, please check your local papers and you will find evidence of this. FYI - http://www.apbnews.com/cjprofessionals/behindthebadge/2000/05/23/drugmoney0523_01.html
Most Police will not give a ticket to a fellow officer or the family member of a fellow officer, most Policemen will freely admit this. Please ask any attractive female aquaintence how many tickets she has received and I’m sure you will find discretionary enforecement at work.
Regarding my remark about Blacks and Hispanics - you think I’m confused ?
Hows this - http://www.aclu.org/profiling/report/
And this - http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1998/dom/980615/nation_driving_while.html
And this - http://racerelations.about.com/cs/racialprofiling/
I’m not making this up Monty. A simple google search on “police corruption” returns over 360,000 hits. So, with documented evidence and personal eye-witness information I stand by my generalizations.
Kind Regards,
Lockfist
No kidding, sherlock. However, you said that police officers have the right to pick and choose the laws they will enforce. That is false. However, since you’ve asserted that they have that right: pony up with the statute which gives them that right.
Cites, statistics, evidence?
Or not. Anyway, do you have cites, statistics, evidence proving this assertion also?
I said that you had already made a bigoted remark about the police and then you, in the same post, made a comment about how Blacks or Hispanics would feel if someone discriminated against them. That’s why I said I think you’re confused. Not to mention that you now proved that you completely missed the point.
[quote[I’m not making this up **Monty**. A simple google search on “police corruption” returns over 360,000 hits. So, with documented evidence and personal eye-witness information I stand by my generalizations.[/quote]
You misspelled “anecdote” and “prejudices.”
A further note: Neither “some” nor “most” equal “all.”
Well Monty I’ll thank you for the clinic in debate. I can always use a good lesson. Bottom line is that Police should be held to higher standard. Its a vicious cycle, to be sure, but we always need to be aware of the power we give our fellow humans over upholding the law.
You’re welcome.
Evidently.
Oh! I get it now! You and Christina25 want the police to follow the laws but you don’t think Christina25 has to follow the laws.
Not in the world of the Real & Mature. In this world, folks admit and accept the consequences when they break the law.
How about: “We always need to be aware of the power we legally grant to those we give the power to uphold the law.”
Since citizens can also have the power to arrest, we all have the power to uphold the law. That can be done by first following the law.
Oh, yeah. Syehoc acted like a crybaby when he got caught.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=69346