# Moronic Cops **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 23, 2009, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444 "2009-03-23T10:03:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/81 "2009-04-15T13:18:08Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > IANAL, but you screwed up. At least here in Virginia, and I’d be surprised if it weren’t true there, a cop can’t just blanket as you to step out of your car because he feels like it, he has to provide a reason. In fact, being in the car is generally the safest place for you to be for both of you. Well, here, in California, the cops can do and do do whatever they want. He provided no reason for me to step out of the car. > [@](#): > > Second, at least in Virginia, he has to provide a legitimate reason for pulling you over, Well, theoretically, that is what they must do here as well. The officer stated that I ran a red light, which was an outright lie. > [@](#): > > and making up a broken license plate light or that your plates didn’t match your car doesn’t work. Why not? In this case, my plate lights most certainly DID work, so it was just another lie. > [@](#): > > If he can’t provide a legitimate reason, he has to let you go. If he says your plates don’t match, your registration disproves that. That was Officer Friendly’s THIRD excuse, that also turned to bullshit. “Oh, we thought you stole a plate from a convertible, oh it is a conversion van!” Never mind that this information is not on the registration information. > [@](#): > > If he says your plate light is out, it’s easily verified as well. At this point the motorist is intimidated, and not likely to challenge the officer. > [@](#): > > On a couple of occassions I’ve had cops pull me over for bogus reasons saying my tail light was out, when it wasn’t, or that I was speeding, when I wasn’t, or insisting that I must have stolen property in my car without a good reason and that he could search it without a warrant, when I didn’t and he couldn’t. Good for you. They often back down when a citizen stands up to their bs. > [@](#): > > Also, as others mentioned, going through a yellow isn’t “perfectly legal”. If you had time to stop, you should stop, and that is open to interpretration. Nope: \*21453. (a) A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection, and shall remain stopped until an indication to proceed is shown, except as provided in subdivision (b). \* There is nothing in the vehicle code about yellow lights, other than they are a warning that a red light is imminent. Cite: _21452. (a) A driver facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal is, by that signal, warned that the related green movement is ending or that a red indication will be shown immediately thereafter._ > [@](#): > > Sounds to me like you possibly went through a questionable yellow NO SUCH ANIMAL. And the light turned just as I was entering the intersection. > [@](#): > > and he either fat fingered your plates (and he should have asked you for your registration first thing ANYWAY) or, more likely, he was giving you leading questions to try to get you to incriminate yourself. In other words, he pulled me over with no probable cause, and was on a fishing expedition. > [@](#): > > Bottom line, know your rights and don’t stand for them to be violated or jerk cops will walk all over you. Regardless, you didn’t get a ticket, so use it as an opportunity to learn what your rights are when you’re pulled over in your area so you can better handle a similar situation in the future, and just let it go. I was lucky. Does this excuse the behavior of the cops? I guess, under your regime, citizens that aren’t as informed as I am, and without the moxie to stand up to the police, deserve what they get? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/82 "2009-04-15T13:24:11Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > All of the OP’s encounters witht he Po-po have one thing in common. > > Based on his posting record, I would be willing to bet that he challenged the cop at every turn. That would turn even the most level-headed, reasonable cop into a dick pretty quickly. Yet I was not cited in this incident. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/83 "2009-04-15T13:25:28Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Just out of curiousity, if they had had time, would it have come back as a convertable? Only if I had recently ignored a height restriction. (driving a conversion van is a pain in the butt) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/84 "2009-04-15T13:26:54Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Assuming any of them actually happened as stated, if at all. Those other two threads seem mighty implausible. The world is a stranger place than you may imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/85 "2009-04-15T13:37:31Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > These are ones who will rear-end you if you attempt to stop. Oddly enough, one of my first BS encounters with the police was just that! I think this is one I haven’t mentioned here before. I was driving down a side street in Anaheim, and there were two stop signs within about 20 feet of each other, due to staggered cross streets. A car had been tailgating me down the street, and I had no idea it was a cop car. At the first stop sign, I was almost rear-ended, as I pulled off, the guy was right on my ass, so I slightly ran the second one. On come the lights. Cop comes up to me: “Have you been drinking?” “I might ask the same of you, you almost rear ended me at that last intersection”. “Well, you ran a stop sign.” “I didn’t want you to rear end me there.” I was 17, just licensed, and of course sober. Let me go with a “warning”. Assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/86 "2009-04-15T13:56:28Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > The OP is a drama queen with a hard-on for cops. If I saw the OP on the business end of a “Don’t taze me, bro!” in a video on You Tube, I would side with the cops until convinced otherwise. He is the whiny bitch who cried “oppression.” I am a civil libertarian that has had plenty of examples of how police operate. My best friend growing up is now an officer in Chicago. I asked him about police corruption. His reply? “I can only speak from what I have seen, and I would say it is about 50/50.” I asked him what he thought about LA cops: “I don’t want to think about it.” I grew up around cops, I knew a lot of cops on the south side, and I have the utmost respect for honest officers. The sad fact remains that a large portion are willing to ignore the limits of their authority, dispense street justice, and are corrupt. That being said, I have never had a use for the police. They have never prevented a crime from happening to me. When my house was getting repeatedly burglarized, they did nothing and laughed at me when I said I would take care of it, until I caught the bad guys and handed them over with a bow atattched. They did take the evidence at that point, so good for them. My girlfriend and I were discussing the matter with the checker at Ralphs last night, and the checker volunteered that her neighbor was a Burbank cop, and the bottom line is we have very low crime here so they have nothing better to do than mess with people, and a large part of their duty these days is to collect revenue. I do notice that almost every time I see a pullover here, it is an older vehicle, as mine is. I never see thug Armenians with their Escalades or Benz’s pulled over, and they drive in a way that terrorizes normal people. I fear for my Girlfriend who doesn’t drive. I pray she is never run over by one of these douchebags when she is crossing in a crosswalk someday. I have never seen an AMG Mercedes pulled over. It is always a Hispanic, or a black, or a white guy like me with facial hair, driving an older model. Stand up for your rights, folks. If you are harassed, make it clear that you won’t take it. It has worked for me. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/87 "2009-04-15T14:04:18Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > Well, generally most cops aren’t bad guys. I’m not saying all cops are great- they aren’t, and I suppose it’s true in a way that they aren’t “on your side.” Their job is to catch bad guys, and after a while I suppose that everybody looks like a potential bad guy. > > I am married to a former prosecutor, and our biggest family value is “don’t talk to cops.” 🙂 As a DA in an infamous county, he saw plenty of cases fucked up by dumb or bad cops, and he rarely trusts them. Having said that, I would never, ever, mouth off to a cop during a ticket, arrest or whatever. That is NOT the time to argue, unless you want to see yourself on YouTube as a tutorial on police brutality. 😉 Friendly, polite and helpful, to a point. > > If stopped or questioned, I would give the minimum information required, and then let them know that I have done nothing wrong, I am very willing to help them, and that I would be happy to talk about it further as soon as my attorney arrives. > > Police work can attract folks who score pretty high on the fascist scale, and the job can change some people who might have started out as true believers but became assholes because they deal with assholes every day. Others just want to do the job, keep their heads down and not get shot. Rarer still are the ones who want to help people, get and keep the bad guys off the street, and make a difference. This is the most sensible post I have seen in a long while. Thanks. For a board that is supposedly populated by a bunch of libs, I am amazed at the response I get when I post true stories of how I have been treated by the police. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/88 "2009-04-15T14:10:28Z")
And I have a perfect excuse to get out of jury duty. I will simply state that enough cops have lied right in my face that I automatically discount their testimony. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/89 "2009-04-15T14:26:19Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > Stand up for your rights, folks. If you are harassed, make it clear that you won’t take it. It has worked for me. For some reason, I find that last sentence extraordinarily amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/90 "2009-04-15T14:31:17Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > I am a civil libertarian that has had plenty of examples of how police operate. It does look like you’ve witnessed some clear examples of police being dicks. Then again, you’d probably have fewer bad experiences if you didn’t say things like “I might ask the same of you, you almost rear ended me at that last intersection”. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/91 "2009-04-15T14:36:25Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > And I have a perfect excuse to get out of jury duty. I will simply state that enough cops have lied right in my face that I automatically discount their testimony. This is possibly the least endearing thing you’ve said yet, and that’s saying something. Speaking as someone who’s had family repeatedly harassed by cops (my wife’s sperm donor was a wildly successful narcotics detective who happened to also be a cheating, child-beating son of a bitch), I still give 'em the benefit of the doubt, because 95% of the cops I’ve known or run into have been normal guys trying to do a fucking hard job and who catch a lot of bullshit. Hell, the one time I got a ticket (totally legit, 48 in a 25), the cop knocked it down to the next lower offense because I was polite to him, even as my roommate and his brother (also in the car) were (respectively) criticizing the cop on everything (personal grooming, uniform standards, speed detection method used) and making nigh-literally non-stop oinking noises. And regardless, none of your experiences are any excuse for shirking jury duty–hell, you should be MORE inclined to go on it to save your fellow-citizens from police abuses, right? Instead, by saying the above quoted, you show your true colors as just another selfish, entitled whiner who (judging by your own stories) drives like a dick. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/92 "2009-04-15T15:01:20Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > Instead, by saying the above quoted, you show your true colors as just another selfish, entitled whiner who (judging by your own stories) drives like a dick. Well, I drive a Doge 2500 conversion van, and driving like a dick is pretty much not an option. I drive within the speed limit, or sometimes below. I live in the Burbank/Glendale area, and am surrounded by crazed Armenian drivers, who DO drive like dicks. Driving a big van you really do have to drive differently. Every move has to be deliberate. Just changing lanes to the right, I have to make very sure that I am not merging into someone on my blind spot. Folks have a way of swerving around me, left and right, because I drive the speed limit (God forbid). I am in no hurry, and the last thing I want to do is cause a TC. As a cheapskate, it would raise my insurance! One of my girlfriends is Armenian and she will tell you what a toxic environment exists in the Glendale/Burbank area for drivers. Dickless road racers going 70 on Glendale Blvd. is a common sight, but I have never seen one of these dudes pulled over. But drive an older car, and get ready to be searched… ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/93 "2009-04-15T15:18:06Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > Every move has to be deliberate. Just changing lanes to the right, I have to make very sure that I am not merging into someone on my blind spot. Wow. You must be, like, Super Driver or something. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/94 "2009-04-15T15:29:43Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > Well, I drive a Doge 2500 conversion van, and driving like a dick is pretty much not an option. I drive within the speed limit, or sometimes below. I live in the Burbank/Glendale area, and am surrounded by crazed Armenian drivers, who DO drive like dicks. Driving a big van you really do have to drive differently. Every move has to be deliberate. Just changing lanes to the right, I have to make very sure that I am not merging into someone on my blind spot. Folks have a way of swerving around me, left and right, because I drive the speed limit (God forbid). I am in no hurry, and the last thing I want to do is cause a TC. As a cheapskate, it would raise my insurance! Yeah, yeah, I used to drive a Suburban and a raised-roof conversion van, in fact I learned to drive on the latter back in the day. The fact is, you’re bitching about getting pulled over because of stupid shit you do–“slightly” running a stop sign? Especially in a conversion van, NOT stopping for a yellow? Shit. > [@](#): > > One of my girlfriends is Armenian and she will tell you what a toxic environment exists in the Glendale/Burbank area for drivers. Dickless road racers going 70 on Glendale Blvd. is a common sight, but I have never seen one of these dudes pulled over. But drive an older car, and get ready to be searched… Clearly the cops think differently of your driving abilities than you do. I live in one of the most traffic cop-heavy cities (due to the college idiot culture) in the country, I drive a beater Neon at speeds somewhat above the limit most of the time, and I’m a guy with facial hair. Yet I’ve been pulled over exactly once, because I don’t drive like a dick. I expect that I’d find the same to be true in Burbank, because I don’t drive like a dick and I’m not a dick when I do get pulled over. By the by, way to ignore the jury duty comment. Considering it’s the thrust of my “You are a selfish asshole” argument, it says something that you simply bypassed it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/95 "2009-04-15T15:45:44Z")
I’m pretty sure that yellow lights are timed so that it will give you distance to stop so you are not in the intersection when it turns red. At least the ones around here are. Even if it’s icy (which is often) I manage to stop and not get caught in the intersection when it turns red. I will occasionaly go through if I have sombody on my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/96 "2009-04-15T15:55:53Z")
So, going back to the original incident, why do YOU think they pulled you over? Are cops so power hungry or bored in your area that they really enjoy pulling people over for no reason? Possible reasons: -“Look! A van. I hate vans. I hate people who drive vans. I’m going to pull this one over for no reason.” -“Look! A guy with a beard. Just who does he think he is? I’m going to harass this sucker.” -“Man I’m bored. I feel like harassing someone, anyone. Mmmm, how about that van right there.” -“People need to respect my authority! Like right now. I need to stroke my ego… right… NOW! And the first vehicle I see is… THAT VAN!” Any of these look reasonable? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/97 "2009-04-15T16:32:59Z")
I bet all Burbank/Glendale cops are Armenian. It’s the only explanation. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/98 "2009-04-15T16:48:06Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It does look like you’ve witnessed some clear examples of police being dicks. Then again, you’d probably have fewer bad experiences if you didn’t say things like “I might ask the same of you, you almost rear ended me at that last intersection”. Then again, some us would think that merely getting a warning after (a) running a stop sign and (b) mouthing off to the cop who witnessed it isn’t such a bad experience (especially considering the experience that could have resulted). ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/99 "2009-04-15T16:51:03Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > Yeah, yeah, I used to drive a Suburban and a raised-roof conversion van, in fact I learned to drive on the latter back in the day. The fact is, you’re bitching about getting pulled over because of stupid shit you do–“slightly” running a stop sign? Especially in a conversion van, NOT stopping for a yellow? Shit. > > Clearly the cops think differently of your driving abilities than you do. I live in one of the most traffic cop-heavy cities (due to the college idiot culture) in the country, I drive a beater Neon at speeds somewhat above the limit most of the time, and I’m a guy with facial hair. Yet I’ve been pulled over exactly once, because I don’t drive like a dick. I expect that I’d find the same to be true in Burbank, because I don’t drive like a dick and I’m not a dick when I do get pulled over. > > By the by, way to ignore the jury duty comment. Considering it’s the thrust of my “You are a selfish asshole” argument, it says something that you simply bypassed it. Yes, the cops think I drive like shit. Notice they DIDN’T cite me? As far as jury duty, I am just being honest. If the system was fair, they might consider a person that doesn’t trust the cops with jury duty. Good luck with that. The moronicity in this thread is disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444/100 "2009-04-15T16:52:05Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I bet all Burbank/Glendale cops are Armenian. It’s the only explanation. Sadly no. In this racially mixed city, almost all the cops are white power types. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moronic-cops/490444.md?page=6)