# COPS: Rudeness Is OK? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 30, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699 "2003-01-30T20:07:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [February 1, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/81 "2003-02-01T04:33:06Z")
> [@](#): > > **originally posted by shit eater** > I’ll be waiting. Such a horrific act, there must be some record of it. Yeah, there’s a record of it, but since it happened before the days of the internet I don’t have a convenient little link for you. I saw the fucking scars on this girl. She wasn’t fucking lying. If it makes you feel better to call _me_ a liar, then so be it. I don’t really give a fuck. A cop raped this girl and fucking stabbed her and he was out on the streets in just a couple of years. I really wish there was something to link to so I could rub your smug fucking face in it. Keep living in your little fantasy wolrld where all cops are good and everyone who says different is lying. :wally ---
**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:** [February 1, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/82 "2003-02-01T04:40:42Z")
I do have a correction to my story. I said it happened in Grand Forks (where my wife and i went to college and where my wife knew this girl). My wife now informs that it happened out of state (my mistake, like I said, it’s been a while) but she is declining to provide more details because she doesn’t want this woman’s name and personal horror story to be a topic of discussion on a message board…and since my wife is the boss in our family, I am forced to drop the subject. Dopers are free to believe me or not. There’s not much I can do to prove myself, but I swear to Buddha that this happened. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/83 "2003-02-01T04:42:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*😕 > > It was in response to the asinine statement from **Mr. Greg** > Because someone called the police, a crime was uncovered so to speak. The crime wasn’t speeding but instead happened to be that these fucknut cops wear a uniform they shouldn’t. If no one had called, or brought light to the situation, such as **Mr. Greg** boneheadedly suggests, then perhaps these cops would have been involved in an incident far worse then shooting a dog. When and for what situations (a shootout vs. jaywalking) the police should be called is debatable, but what is clear, is never calling them because “they hate help and more work” is pretty fucking stupid. I will go ahead and assume that almost all criminals are caught because of a tip from someone. > > Make sense **Opal**? \*\* No, not really. Your reply was “If no one had called, perhaps those cops would have gone on to do something worse then shoot a dog” which seemed to say that the people were right to call, even though it made the dog get shot, because otherwise the cops might have done something even worse. ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/84 "2003-02-01T05:08:29Z")
Could be worse, you could be traveling through [New Rome, Ohio](http://www.newromesucks.com/tow/tow-6.html) :D. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/85 "2003-02-01T06:56:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OpalCat \* > \*\*No, not really. Your reply was “If no one had called, perhaps those cops would have gone on to do something worse then shoot a dog” which seemed to say that the people were right to call, even though it made the dog get shot, because otherwise the cops might have done something even worse. \*\* Yes whats the misunderstanding? No call = Officers don’t shoot dog, perhaps shoot child later on in careers Call = Officers shoot dog, on video, bringing attention to the fact that they shouldn’t be in uniform. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/86 "2003-02-01T07:07:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*Yeah, there’s a record of it, but since it happened before the days of the internet I don’t have a convenient little link for you. I saw the fucking scars on this girl. She wasn’t fucking lying. If it makes you feel better to call _me_ a liar, then so be it. I don’t really give a fuck. A cop raped this girl and fucking stabbed her and he was out on the streets in just a couple of years. I really wish there was something to link to so I could rub your smug fucking face in it. Keep living in your little fantasy wolrld where all cops are good and everyone who says different is lying. > > :wally \*\* Please point out where I said all cops are good. C’mon, I don’t have all day. Yeah, thought so. As far as this horrible cop you speak of, give me a cite or shut the fuck up. Am I supposed to take your word for it? Here’s a fucking newsflash genius, almost everything took place before the net, and an incident of a police officer raping someone, stabbing someone, lying about it, and getting a lenient sentence sounds like national news to me. There are plenty of horrible acts committed by cops that there _are_ records of, why don’t you start with some of those. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/87 "2003-02-01T07:13:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*Yes whats the misunderstanding? > > No call = Officers don’t shoot dog, perhaps shoot child later on in careers > > Call = Officers shoot dog, on video, bringing attention to the fact that they shouldn’t be in uniform. \*\* Then I still stand my my statement that I think your position is “Wow. So you’re saying we need to give the cops busywork because left on their own they’re dangerous?” because I don’t see a very big difference between that and what you posted. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/88 "2003-02-01T07:43:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bricker \* > \*_\*rsa_ suggested that cops use the drug dog as a scam - that is, they cue the dog to react. If this were so, then you’d expect to see a great many cases of false positives for that particular dog, and a savvy defense attorney ultimately discrediting alerts by that dog based on those many false positives. In addition, this conspiracy would require that the dog trainers and all the cops working with the dogs be in on this massive coverup. For these reasons, it’s unlikely that the police cue their dogs. The dogs are very well-trained, and can simply smell drugs. If you have any evidence to the contrary, please trot it out; in general, dog alerts are correctly regarded as a reliable indicator of the presence of drugs. > > - Rick \*\* First of all, I have wondered about this myself. False positives would never be reported, so there would be no record and defense attornys would not be able to rpove it. Cops can train their own dogs…It is quite probable that some cops have trained their dogs to “alert” on command. sveeral cops I have known feel that the end justifies the means. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/89 "2003-02-01T08:05:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bdgr \* > \*\* False positives would never be reported, so there would be no record and defense attornys would not be able to rpove it. . \*\* I disagree,Say if a cop did train his dog to alert on command and as a result this particular cop and dog have many a court cases based on alleged false positives. This would come to light one way or another, I mean one glaring fact would be established eventually, that this particular cop/dog have many a false positives. In this sense I think that type of thing would be self-defeating for Jon Q Bacon No? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/90 "2003-02-01T17:00:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by unclviny \* > \*\*How about, > Telemareting cops who drive SUV’s and use the “handicapped” stalls, I just hate those bastards. \*\* Tell me about it. One look at those guys and you just know they’ve got prehensile rectums. ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/91 "2003-02-01T17:29:22Z")
Prehensile rectums of goatse-esque proportions? ---
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/92 "2003-02-01T17:55:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tony Montana \* > \*\*I disagree,Say if a cop did train his dog to alert on command and as a result this particular cop and dog have many a court cases based on alleged false positives. > > This would come to light one way or another, I mean one glaring fact would be established eventually, that this particular cop/dog have many a false positives. > > In this sense I think that type of thing would be self-defeating for Jon Q Bacon > > No? \*\* No. When the vehicle is searched and no drugs are found, that person wouldn’t get arrested, so there wouldn’t be any court case. Most people who get searched and let go are going to be glad that’s all that happened. They 're not likely to complain about a cop who didn’t **obviously** do anything wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/93 "2003-02-01T18:19:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalashnikov \* > \*\*No. When the vehicle is searched and no drugs are found, that person wouldn’t get arrested, so there wouldn’t be any court case. > > Most people who get searched and let go are going to be glad that’s all that happened. They 're not likely to complain about a cop who didn’t obviously do anything wrong. \*\* You’re not thinking it all the way through. When the dog does alert and drugs are found, the case goes forward. As evidence for a suppression hearing, the defense lawyer is entitled to explore how often the animal registered alerts that turned up nothing. It is at that point that the scheme would fall apart. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/94 "2003-02-01T18:20:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalashnikov \* > \*\*No. When the vehicle is searched and no drugs are found, that person wouldn’t get arrested, . \*\* Oh sorry, I meant if they found something other than drugs, say illegal weapons, a very large sum of cash, etc ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/95 "2003-02-01T18:25:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OpalCat \* > \*\*Then I still stand my my statement that I think your position is “Wow. So you’re saying we need to give the cops busywork because left on their own they’re dangerous?” because I don’t see a very big difference between that and what you posted. \*\* Well If I witness something dangerous or illegal, I’ll call the cops. I expect other people to do the same. I guess the difference is when an individual will call. If I witness a shootout and call the cops is that giving them busywork? How about a bank robbery? Someone driving in an erratic manner? A couple arguing on a street corner? I was just saying that it was stupid to say that one should _never_ call the cops (my response to Mr. Greg). Like any decision you should temper it with common sense, but I think in the case of calling the police it’s better to err on the side of caution. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/96 "2003-02-01T18:58:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tony Montana \* > \*\*Oh sorry, I meant if they found something other than drugs, say illegal weapons, a very large sum of cash, etc \*\* That still doesn’t fly. If the illegal weapons, stolen stereo equipment, dead body, whatever, were found under such circumstances, it would ordinarily be admissible as evidence. A competent defense attorney would be thus even more motivated to supress the fruits of the search, since it would be obvious that the dog alert was inaccurate. Once again, he would be interested in exploring the track record of the animal in question. Either way, it’s a losing proposition for the cops to have a drug dog that alerts on anything but actual drugs. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/97 "2003-02-01T19:31:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tony Montana \* > \*\*I disagree,Say if a cop did train his dog to alert on command and as a result this particular cop and dog have many a court cases based on alleged false positives. > > This would come to light one way or another, I mean one glaring fact would be established eventually, that this particular cop/dog have many a false positives. > > In this sense I think that type of thing would be self-defeating for Jon Q Bacon > > No? \*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Kalshnikov_ > No. When the vehicle is searched and no drugs are found, that person wouldn’t get arrested, so there wouldn’t be any court case. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Tony Montana_ > Oh sorry, I meant if they found something other than drugs, say illegal weapons, a very large sum of cash, etc Yeah, thats what _I_ was getting at…lets agree to agree. ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/98 "2003-02-01T19:46:50Z")
Is it too much for police to apologize for their actions? Do they believe by admitting a mistake they are sullying their profession’s image? Most of the arguments I’ve heard for police officers have been “They’re human” but by not apologizing they are presenting themselves as less than human by implying in their _flawless_ judgement they still find you suspicious and they’ll get you sooner or later even though there were no weapons, drugs, sex-related material or enormous sums of cash on your person or in your vehicle this time around and one day _you_ will slip and meet the iron fist of their law. That it is beneath them to treat you as a law abiding, tax paying citizen who is to be treated as innocent until proven guilty. I am assuming there are legal reasons why police officers do not apologize because admitting a mistake would open themselves up to a whole realm of litigation or internal review but I believe police officers would be viewed in a more respectful light if they were respectful to the citizens they _serve_ and maybe apologized when they realize granny in the black Mercedes they pulled over, yanked out at gunpoint and interrogated for five hours isn’t the Columbian drug czar who just smeared a five year old girl for kicks. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/99 "2003-02-01T20:20:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raisinbread \* > one day _you_ will slip and meet the iron fist of their law. Bah, I don’t worry… ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699/100 "2003-02-01T21:11:06Z")
{sigh.} My Dad is a retired police sergeant, third-generation cop. My grandfather died in his 50’s but he was a police captain at the time, and also a police prosecutor (not everyplace has those.) Cops feel like ‘family’ to me, it is a brotherhood of sorts - but I don’t want that job, I don’t like really like seeing my family members in that job, I don’t want my kids being cops. It’s dangerous. I’ve gone on ride-alongs, it’s very eye-opening. That said, I can understand perfectly what some people are saying here…and haven’t fleshed it all out in a coherent theory, but there does seem to be a military mentality in the police force nowadays. The LEO of today is not the patrolman of yesterday for a lot of reasons. The criminals of today are worse too, for a lot of reasons. My Dad retired, went to law school, and is now an attorney. I seriously thought he’d flipped his gourd when he told me he was going into defense…but it does make sense for him, he was personally sued while on the job for $1 million by a convicted murderer over a custody issue. (Long story, no cites.) The murderer had a good case, even if he did kill his own child’s mother. At that point, I think, I conceded that no one in their right mind is going to _want_ the job of police officer and voluntarily subject themselves to this crap, just for a day’s pay. We have the system we deserve, and this is what it looks like. JMO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-rudeness-is-ok/151699.md?page=6)