# How could a police officer be this wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 30, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759 "2012-06-30T00:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/141 "2012-07-09T20:22:32Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > No doubt. But have you ever exceeded the speed limit? Yes, and I’ve been ticketed for it. What’s your point? > [@Magiver](#): > > no but maybe not 911. It’s not an emergency regardless what the police officer told you. Some places seriously do want you to direct all calls to 911 and let them sort them. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/142 "2012-07-09T23:10:12Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Yes, and I’ve been ticketed for it. What’s your point? > > Some places seriously do want you to direct all calls to 911 and let them sort them. Do you dial 911 when you see someone speeding? ---
**Author:** ![G-SE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@G-SE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G-SE)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/143 "2012-07-10T00:53:24Z")
I’m going to wager that in 3 more days we’ll see a new post by Wheels about his membership being cancelled at yet another gym, and how unfair it is. Probably because another member complained about some guy taking pictures inside his car everyday for a month. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/144 "2012-07-10T01:21:30Z")
> [@G-SE](#): > > I’m going to wager that in 3 more days we’ll see a new post by Wheels about his membership being cancelled at yet another gym, and how unfair it is. Probably because another member complained about some guy taking pictures inside his car everyday for a month. If Ambivalid got inside the guy’s car every day for a month then yeah, that would be pretty bad. As is you nicknaming someone in a wheelchair “Wheels.” What are you, ten years old? In 1950? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/145 "2012-07-10T01:28:46Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > If Ambivalid got inside the guy’s car every day for a month then yeah, that would be pretty bad. > > As is you nicknaming someone in a wheelchair “Wheels.” What are you, ten years old? In 1950? Yeah! At least put “Hot” in front of it! And change the “s” to a “z”. I’m a grown-ass man. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/146 "2012-07-10T01:31:48Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Do you dial 911 when you see someone speeding? No (I wouldn’t call anybody over a traffic complaint), but I guarantee that there are police departments that want you to do that. Some will even redirect you to 911 as soon as you say you have a complaint, and sometimes _that_ will land you with a 911 dispatcher who will bitch you out for calling 911 for such a picayune matter. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/147 "2012-07-10T09:35:12Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > As is you nicknaming someone in a wheelchair “Wheels.” What are you, ten years old? In 1950? Could [be worse…](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/112440/Spazz-wheelchair-blasted.html) I am bewildered by the progression of this thread, by the way, and hope that we can find out who the douchebag in the fancy car is quickly just to wrap this up. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/148 "2012-07-10T11:33:47Z")
I don’t think that “spaz” was ever a derogatory term for a handicapped person in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/149 "2012-07-10T12:37:33Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Sure but what makes you think I get so bothered by every one that ‘gets away’? This thread is about **one specific** illegal parker who repeatedly used the handicap parking spots at my gym. I saw this car many times before I even thought to look at the carefully placed placard on the dash board; and I simply reported the violation to the gym staff themselves several times before I directly phoned the police myself. > > I am having a hard time understanding what, _specifically_, you think I should LET GO (I do appreciate the caps, I was having to squint). Should I have **not** called police? Is that it? After I had already reported him several times to the gym employees, should I have just ‘put up with’ all future incidents with this car parking illegally? Because you can’t “catch em all”? Sure, but you sure can catch those that just sit there with a fuckin’ bullseye on their hoods. _Day after day._ Ok you proved to me that you are not bothered by it at all and it does not intrude on your life in the least. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/150 "2012-07-10T13:45:43Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Yeah! At least put “Hot” in front of it! And change the “s” to a “z”. I’m a grown-ass man. :mad: Sorry, man, I’ve been calling you “Chair.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/151 "2012-07-10T13:53:44Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I’m a grown-ass man. [xkcd](http://xkcd.com/37/) It still works, slightly different meaning, but it works. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby\_Slippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Ruby\_Slippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby_Slippers)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/152 "2012-07-10T14:35:45Z")
I don’t believe I’ve ever posted in one of Jamie’s threads before, but I want to say that I think those who are continuing to insult him are out of line. Yes, I remember that he started out as a hothead. But he has since shown that he listened to the feedback he received and modified his behavior. I think he’s being entirely reasonable here, and I don’t think insulting him is justified. Maybe we need to keep in mind that he’s not just using handicapped parking to avoid walking – or wheeling – a few extra feet. Handicapped parking includes more space, a necessity for a wheelchair user. It also includes a curb cut to allow the wheelchair to move from the parking lot to the sidewalk. Regular parking might be pretty much unusable for someone like Jamie. And this thread isn’t really so much about abuse of handicapped parking as about the apparent difficulty of issuing a ticket to a business-owned car. Seems to me lika a perfectly reasonable subject. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/153 "2012-07-10T15:04:46Z")
BTW Hot Wheels (see I listen) to answer your original question, in my jurisdiction the officer is completely wrong. There is no problem writing a parking ticket to a business as the registered owner. I can not guarantee that is the case everywhere. Despite what others have said, and I believe they are telling the truth for where they are, calling 911 for a parking problem could be seen as a misuse of 911 where I am. And that can be considered a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/154 "2012-07-10T21:11:49Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Could [be worse…](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/112440/Spazz-wheelchair-blasted.html) Do Californians really use “spazz” to mean “wild and crazy” in a _positive_ way? > [@Magiver](#): > > Do you dial 911 when you see someone speeding? No, but I don’t really care about speeders. But if I did see a speeder, who should I call? The non-emergency line and tell them there was someone speeding? What are they going to do? At least a -911 call might get a dispatch call to any cops in the vicinity who might have a chance of being in a location to find them. The one time I did see a speeder I was concerned about, he was going in excess of 90 mph and passed me on the left on the shoulder. I didn’t call -911 because (a) I didn’t have a cell phone then, and (b) the cops were behind him. And just because some locations do want you to call -911 for all issues doesn’t mean my location does. > [@Ruby\_Slippers](#): > > I don’t believe I’ve ever posted in one of Jamie’s threads before, but I want to say that I think those who are continuing to insult him are out of line. … I think he’s being entirely reasonable here, and I don’t think insulting him is justified. … And this thread isn’t really so much about abuse of handicapped parking as about the apparent difficulty of issuing a ticket to a business-owned car. Seems to me lika a perfectly reasonable subject. Agreed all around. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/155 "2012-07-10T23:58:48Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Do Californians really use “spazz” to mean “wild and crazy” in a _positive_ way? It’s more in the sense of being really excited, as in “OMG, I’m spazzing out because I got tickets to the new Spider-Man movie.” It can also be used for minor mistakes, i.e. “I’m such a spaz, I forgot we were planning to meet at 3:00.” It absolutely does not have the derogatory connotation that it has in the UK. As a native Californian, I confess that I heard and used the word all the time before the [Tiger Woods incident](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/pga/2006-04-12-woods-apology_x.htm) without ever knowing that it had a derogatory meaning elsewhere. Since that time, I have avoided the word, and have explained the issue to several people when I heard them using it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/156 "2012-07-11T00:26:11Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > No (I wouldn’t call anybody over a traffic complaint), but I guarantee that there are police departments that want you to do that. Some will even redirect you to 911 as soon as you say you have a complaint, and sometimes _that_ will land you with a 911 dispatcher who will bitch you out for calling 911 for such a picayune matter. Well having been bitched at for calling over a car break in (IN PROGRESS) I was a little surprised that any dispatch system short of Mayberry RFD would want the call. In my case it was all I could do not to ask them if shooting them warranted a call-back or should I call waste management for curbside pickup. Yes I was a bit miffed at the dispatcher and/or the city’s policy. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/157 "2012-07-11T00:30:07Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > [xkcd](http://xkcd.com/37/) > > It still works, slightly different meaning, but it works. The wiring diagram underneath that is hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/158 "2012-07-11T00:58:50Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > And change the “s” to a “z”. > [@Loach](#): > > BTW Hot Wheels (see I listen)… Not really. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/159 "2012-07-11T01:02:30Z")
While I am still waiting on the sergeant’s return call to explain the exact protocol, I did confirm today with the gym staff that the man-or his car rather- **was** issued a ticket once already. This happened just about a week before my incident, and the gym-manager on-duty at the time witnessed the ticket being written and placed on the vehicle. So that pretty much confirms my initial suspicions. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759/160 "2012-07-11T01:04:53Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Well having been bitched at for calling over a car break in (IN PROGRESS) I was a little surprised that any dispatch system short of Mayberry RFD would want the call. > > In my case it was all I could do not to ask them if shooting them warranted a call-back or should I call waste management for curbside pickup. > > Yes I was a bit miffed at the dispatcher and/or the city’s policy. Bejeezus. What kind of crime ridden city do you live in? The one where Batman is doing most of the work? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-police-officer-be-this-wrong/626759.md?page=9)