How far can LEO go?

[xtn]

My brother had this idea...

One day each month would be a day of no traffic laws. You can speed, run stop signs, drive drunk or whatever else you want to do. All the safe people stay home that day. All the nutjobs go out and kill eachother off, making the roads safer for the rest of us the rest of the month.

 

[Mounted Madness]

At this point we don't really know what their behavior was because you can bet there's more to the story than what's in that article. The officers may or may not have done what they're accused of. If not, it's a shame a lot of people will believe what they read because it was in the news (or they read it on the Internet). And of course if it's only half true, the officers may be fired (and should be) and have criminal charges filed against them. It would, of course, be interesting to know what the facts actually are.

We had a Winnipeg cop accused of assault on a male not that long ago. The kid who filed complaint went on for a several days, was interviewed by the media and basically, the local uniforms were getting smeared by this little jerk.

End result, kid confessed that it was all made up. Subsequently charged with filing false complaint.

Stressful enough on the street without some waste of skin filing bogus complaints against you.

 

[Mounted Madness]

Ouch; but not as bad as the show our finest put on in Vancouver a few years ago.

Egon... That whole incident was bad from the get-go. I was PO'd over the fact that the Force was playing hide and seek with the video, then when it was finally returned and released to the media, it was clear why. Damage control.

Watching the video, from my experience the mind set was displayed in the body language, which set the tone, which concluded with the fellows death.

No matter the spin, the man is dead. As well, the ramifications continue to impact the constables involved as well as the Force.

It's amazing how quickly something can spin out of control and end in tragedy. People just don't seem to realize that police deal with such events every day and a 'perfect' response is expected at each and every event.

Considering the millions of calls for service police respond to across the continent every year - the number of complaints against members is almost non-existent, but as the cliche states, excrement occurs!

There's no excuse for purposely screwing up short of claiming cerebral flatulence.

 

[Soundguy]

first, let me say, awesome response. second, thank you for your service.

now to a couple questions, and questions only... ok.. maybe a lil discussion too.. I'm not insinuation or pointing a finger.

1, I completely agree with running warrants and checking legality ( expire / stolen ) of any visible tags on tow, towed, or trailered vehicles.

2, not sure if it works in your state.. but I know in florida, a LEO can tell if you have a concealed weapon permit befre he even gets to your window.. so the car tag, must link to the driver license, which must also link to the gun license in some way. which is cool.. i'm very suportive of law enforcement, and I'd rather the leo ask me if I am carrying my weapon, than me have to broach the subject and offer that I am armed as i hand my license and cwp over.. ( ps.. I imagine a leo with a legally armed civilian is likely safer than an unknown civilian.. cwp holders, at least in florida according to the latest statistics i have seen, are among the most law abiding cross sections of citizens.. )

now down to the question.. ie.. concerning owning the load you are hauling. here's an average scenerio.. I'll use me as an example. I load up my old ford tractor with a loader on my 16' trailer has lamps, brakes, is tagged legally, etc... put it behind my old dodge.. street legal.. yada, yada.. insurance.. good license.. etc.. say I'm heading down the road to my farm to move some bales of hay I have stacked against the fence into a couple pastures for the cows.. now.. I own the old tractor... but I can pretty much guarantee I don't have a reciept for it .. and of the few units I do have that actually got a reciept.. I can virtually guarantee they won't be in my truck glove box.. they are liekly hidden away in an old file I may have made on the tractor when I got it.. or lost.. or .. well.. maybee just never got one from a private transaction, especially since we don't have to tag our tractors here.

ok.. there's the preface... i get pulled over by you.. for whatever reason.. looked like i swerved.. load didn't look ballanced.. uh.. rock jumped up and busted a turn signal after I got going.. etc.. whatever.. routine traffic stop.. If asked if i own the tractor, I'd answer yes.. if asked if I could prove it.. that would be a head scratcher... where would we go from there...?

( i'm waiting for another cool writeup like your previous post.. it was well thought out and shows good character.. .. so.. no pressure or anything... )

soundguy

As for the traffic stop, as long as it does not delay the person stopped for an unreasonable amount of time, it is within our scope to do a little investigating if we have the opportunity. For the same reason I check to see if the operator has warrants, I might want to know if he owns the equipment that he is hauling. It doesn't take long for me to find out and I will happily send them on their way when everything checks out. I hate to use the term but a large majority of my job is "routine" but I always plan for the small percentage that is not. I hope that people don't take it personally, I treat everyone with guarded respect. After all, I have a wife and kids that I WILL come home to every day after my shift.

Hope this helps. :thumbsup:

 

[chopped]

well it happens this one is well documented.
YouTube - ‪Deputy Dumps Man From Wheelchair‬‏
However. its sad that when a cop does a good job it doent make news or to the top of u tube ...

 

[Bird]

Bird, If I may,what is your description of "youngsters"

Raymond

:laughing:Well, my grandkids are 22 years old and I still consider their parents to be kids.:laughing: And yes, grandkids is properly plural. One daughter has a son who is 22 (this month) and both daughters married men who had daughters by previous marriages, so I've got 3 grandkids that are all 22.:laughing:

In this thread, there's been a number of comments about not being able to prove you own a tractor, or other property, that you are hauling on the roads if an officer stops you and checks serial numbers and such. You should not have to prove you own the property. It's up to the officer to find proof, or at least some evidence, that the property is stolen.

Why does a traffic officer, instead of some other special officer, check serial numbers of property during a traffic stop? If he/she does not check it and it's later learned that the property in question was stolen and he/she let it go, you can imagine what the rightful owner and the news media are going to say about that lazy and/or incompetent officer.

 

[Bird]

Consider as well, the training of today compared to 'back in the day'. We didn't have armour, semi-auto pistols, computers, and a SWAT. We were SWAT

:laughing:The reason I got a laugh out of that comment is because of the number of times my wife and I've seen SWAT teams on the TV news doing things that one or two of us would have been expected to handle years ago.:laughing:

 

[Soundguy]

:evidence, that the property is stolen.

Why does a traffic officer, instead of some other special officer, check serial numbers of property during a traffic stop? If he/she does not check it and it's later learned that the property in question was stolen and he/she let it go, you can imagine what the rightful owner and the news media are going to say about that lazy and/or incompetent officer.

I take it then a notation about the sn is made in a log, and then later checked against 'stolen' reports?


soundguy

 

[ultrarunner]

I was brought up to never question a police officer on duty... yes sir was how my folks told me to respond.

That being said... it is disturbing that several local agencies have made the news this year because of officers confiscating "Stolen" or Contraband items and selling or giving the items away...

Behavior of a few casts a shadow on everyone wearing the uniform.

So far, no tractors were in the mix. Mostly drugs, jewelry and expensive items like laptops and power tools...

So, in effect, a few officers had carte blanche to do as they pleased... even run a prostitution ring in one case... and the guys were part of vice...

 

[two_bit_score]

:laughing:The reason I got a laugh out of that comment is because of the number of times my wife and I've seen SWAT teams on the TV news doing things that one or two of us would have been expected to handle years ago.:laughing:

You were also the original homeland security.