I am sure corruption goes on. Have no doubt. I work in a city that serves about 50,000 and we adjoin Daytona Beach so during special event months we grow to about 300,000 plus ( race weeks, bike weeks, spring break and BCR - Black College Reunion)

In 21 years I have never personally witnessed any excessive force being used. Many times what appears to be excessive to an outsider is not. Just grab on to the 6'4" 250 pound man that is in a steroid rage or suffereing from cocaine psycosis. The force used may appear excessive, but when your chemical weapons don't work, the persons neuro sensation levels are shut down it gets to two choices... Physically do what you have to to get him in custody or shoot them...

Do some officers shoot too quickly - maybe, I don't know I wasn't there. I will say that some officers place themselves in positions where they have to shoot and shouldn't have been there in the first place - like in the exit path of a car...Shoot the car or driver and you still have 3500 pounds of car heading down the highway...

Current Federal Codes - 1983 and 1987 are the civil rights codes for actions while under color of office. BTW - there is no statute of limitations for wrong doing by an officer.

 

I was wondering. How many of the people here who despise their police departments, attend their community meetings, city meetings, or whatever may be the case. If you are so unhappy with the people protecting your property, get in the groove. Find out the ways and means. Although it does take time, it can work. Develop an interest, and make a difference. If your not already, become a contributing member of your community and make your community a place where you want to live. Or, do as I did, move out.
It is america, the people are the voice, make yourself heard. It might take forever, but people will listen. If your right.

 

i have read several post about getting tickets, being pulled over for nothing, or harrasment. i got my d l when i was 16, lost it before i was 17, got it back 6 months later, lost it 1-2 months later, got it back a year later, and lost it the last time about 2 months after that. i groaned and complained about the cops all the time because i was getting tickets for driving without a license after that. it took 5 years, and about 10 police officers and state troopers to help me get a d l again. yes they wrote me the tickets, i deserved everyone i got, and when i finally grew up, they helped me get them back. they do a thankless job most of the time, and very rarely are they recognized for doing their job. i like to PERSONALLY thank each and everyone that does his job, whether it helps me or not. i will go to the station and find the officer or officers involved and shake each and everyones hand. give them an atta boy, and tell them i appreciate what they are doing for the community.

yes there are police officers that shouldnt be police officers, and there are firefighters that shouldnt be firefighters. and there are people that would cry and whine if they were hung with a new rope.

talk to the cheif of police in your community, ask him if he has enough officers. he will tell you no, he could use a few more, if the city had the money to pay them. a lot of them work over time for nothing but to help the community out. and wha do people do in return?, they cuss and yell at them. make obscene gestures at them. and degrade them every chance they get. it is wrong to do this. would you keep your job if people yelled at you all day long? i dont think so!

next time you get pulled over, think about it before you cop an attitude. were you speeding? did you roll thru that stop sign? did you cut somebody else off? the traffic laws are there for a reason, and the police do not enforce them to the letter of the law. think about how many times you have gotten away with something you should have gotten a ticket for. then be nice and thank the officer and appoligize to him for whatever you were doing. it will make his day and yours go a little better!

no, i am not nor have i ever been in law enforcement. i never had the urge to try that. i couldnt have been anyway with my police record.

 

Posted by Jimbare;

talk to the cheif of police in your community, ask him if he has enough officers. he will tell you no, he could use a few more, if the city had the money to pay them. a lot of them work over time for nothing but to help the community out. and wha do people do in return?, they cuss and yell at them. make obscene gestures at them. and degrade them every chance they get. it is wrong to do this. would you keep your job if people yelled at you all day long? i dont think so!
_______________________________________________

Your right,...If I went to the local sheriff's outpost here, or especially to the main office, and asked them that - they would say they are understaffed.....lol. This has nothing to do with reality however - because the reality is that THIS particular Sheriff's Office where I live, has enough armaments, (yes, I said armaments) equipment, and manpower to seriously rival a small army- and I'm not kidding.

The Sheriff's Office it'self actually more closely resembles an army base than it does a law enforcement headquarters.

I counted at least 12 helicopters (one of which was bought with drug money) numerous buses and semis which were all highly modified with expensive electronics to provide moveable headquarters in the field- and no doubt have some form of armor plating as well, we have a special ops team that consists of deputy's who are highly trained and equipt with fully automatic / specialty weapons, a whole fleet of vans used for work release prisoners, and more sheriffs cars and suburbans than anyone could possibly count without writing them all down- and that was only what was at the office at the time! These guys even have a submarine! I have no doubt the Marion County Sheriffs Office could conquer a small nation by itself - if they got the jump on it. For craps sake, Ocala( the largest town in this county) is practically the boonies - why all this hardware?
And this is only a fraction of the total number of law enforcement to be found in the area, there are also all the numerous local police forces, the largest of which is the Ocala Police Department -which, while nowhere near as impressive as our Sheriff's Office, is still no slouch either. And then there's two Florida Highway Patrol barracks also located in this county.

All this money and more parents than ever are being required to drive their kids in to school themselves because the bus runs have been consolidated and shortened due to lack of school funding.

For all this law enforcment personnel thats available we still have rising crime rates county wide - but you can go to any court on any given day and find lines out the door - people who have court dates to be sentenced and pay for infractions of various local penal codes and traffic infractions. Dosent make a whole lot of sense to me when the local police department and sheriffs office teams go from store to store setting up and busting clerks for underaged liquoer sales , and in the meantime do nothing about the crack dealers they pass along the way from one store to another.

Like I said- some officers are plain punks with authority(probably as high as 10 percent)- but thats not the biggest problem that I see, the biggest problem I see is how the other 90% of good officers are being utilised by the government (city /county/ municipal/ state / local) for frivolous tasks to better suit the governments own interests instead of those to whom they are responsible. In this role, law enforcement becomes big brothers henchmen. We all know about traffic quota's - and the pressure put on police to meet them- quota is the only reason the motorcycle cop still exists.

The way I see it, alot of well meaning, decent people who happen to be police officers are being used as a tool by government to suppress the population into servitude (ever see a Governor get a traffic ticket or DUI? - What cop would dare give it to him?) We MUST serve our government and our leaders at all levels- or PAY THE PRICE! , and it's law enforcement which is used to make sure we do! Too many people who make the laws are above the laws so strictly applied to others.

Ever see these laws about "Kill a cop, you get LIFE!"? Why do you suppose that is? Do you really think that the government values one life more than another? If good ole' Joe gets killed by some punk when he reports to a crime in progress, and awhile later his killer is caught- that killer will do life ( he should get the chair) - but let that same guy kill anyone else, and he could be out in less than 10 years. This is'int because the government(s) feel the pain of Joe's family, or the anguish of his friends. It is'int because Joe was a great guy who always helped everyone every chance he got. It's because the killer himself is not looked at as so much a killer as he is a rebel. His assault on the police officer was seen as an assault on the government itself, and while the government has shown time and again it's tolerance for murderers, it has no tolerance for insubordination.

Those of us who can think for ourselves resent this extension of misapplied authority and it's even worse when it's coming from one of the few cops who truly is a jackass.

 

I appreciat both firemen and policemen but my uncle and cousin are firemen so I kinda appreciat them a lil more.

 

Deleted for masking profanity

 

You can't compare the two. While both are brave (so are boxers and many investment bankers as well as pit bulls puppies) one man has to make split second decisions that could put him/her in jail for life. You can't overpay a good Cop. Most people don't like to be corrected, firemen don't do that, they will save your life even if you are a escaped convict man, Cops will be in your face.

We need both in our civilized society, I'd give up the Firemen before the Cops.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/2396928

 

I am really surprised that this thread has gone on this long... It almost makes me sad to see so many people complain about a very needed service... I understand that many have had run ins with the police that may have been less than desirable but... really now...and yes I have been given a ticket that I felt was unfair but nonetheless I took my punishment and kept my mouth shut.
I said this before... There are bad in every profession but you cant let it stink up the whole bunch... Maybe those in doubt need to do a ride a long and really see all the crap police have to put up with and I would bet you would be amazed.. There is so much more than we see on "Cops" We need police as much as we need firemen... Do you know how many cops have delivered babies? Check in on the ederly? Cruise our schools for the creeps? and the list goes on....We need more! It is a really tough job on both sides and they both deserve the same respect IMHO

 

DougD, when I was a teen I had a run-in with one of your Officer's during the busy time of Spring break, this Officer was professional towards me and only wanted my compliance with the law which I gave (Lots of Beer on the beach is a bad thing). This incident in turn made me want to become a Police Officer. I did that and have been one for 15 yrs.
Thank you for what you do and Be safe out there!

Sinister,

I lived almost all my life in Marion County, I lived in Anthony just outside of Ocala. I drove big trucks and still do. The cops loved to mess with us. I gave them evey chance in the world by pleeing out while leaving the Burger King on Sliver Springs Blvd on Friday and Saturday nights. I had the same outlook on Officer's as you when I was younger. I have since become an Officer and I look back on my run-ins with Officer's and use that to make my contacts to this day. I have never asked for anyone's respect I only try to gain it. If I have to write you a ticket because of a violation I only do so to get you to comply with the law that I have taken a oath to enforce and that includes protecting your rights as a citizen.

I would enjoy talking or typing more about the Ocala area due to leaving the area several years ago and have missed a few things that have happened around that area.

 

Kurt Cobain had a sticker on his guitar that pretty much summed it up for me-

"Vandalism - Beautiful as a rock in a cop's face."

l8r

 

i have a ton of respect for cops, me being a firefighter EMT myself i go to some unsafe places, and i love it when a cop secures the scene for us or controls traffic. they kinda get a shaft deal becuase they have to enforce laws and no one likes tickets. but my feeling is this, you broke the law knowing the conseqences, so why are you made because you got caught? i have been caught twice for speeding, ticket both times. i told the cop exactly what happend and was honest about it. i knew what i was doing and i got caught, so insteed of wining about it i just took it. both times the cops were nice about it and bumped down the speed to help me out. they don't have to do that, but it's nice when they do.

by the way i am looking at becoming a cop. i think it's a great job. that takes a certain kind of person.

 

Small world huh...???

My philosphy is this... Being polite to one another is just as contagious as being rude. When you treat someone with respect they are more like to do the same to others...