Subject: Re: Cops: Can't Live With Them, Can't Live Without Them

From: [email-masked] (John W. Bienko)
Date: Sat, 22 Apr 1995 14:17:23 GMT

Photo radar is unquestionably a money grabber. The units are often positioned
in areas where the roads are designed for traffic that 
could travel safely at more than 100 k. The cars and the roads
are designed for speeds greater than 100k and thus tempt the
driver to follow the natural inclination to exceed the limit.
Then there are roads that are poorly designed and they too
are posted at the 100k limit.

--
Longing to be closer to to the sun, the wind and the sea!
Spiritually at: Latitude 21 degrees 19' 9" North.       _!_       
Longtitude 157 degrees 56' 31" West. Aloha!        ___o_(_)_o___

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From: [email-masked] (Jamie Yanak)
Date: Mon, 01 May 1995 21:31:14 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (STANGL T) wrote:

> Jamie, what state ARE you a cop in anyways?

I'm not a cop anymore. I left the Sheriffs Department 12 years ago. I was
thrown from my motorcycle, while trying to catch up with a speeder, after
being cut-off and forced to run over a muffler at 75 mph, because the
pea-brain in front of me couldn't hear my siren, from 10 feet off his rear
quarter panel. 

Six months before that, my fiancee was killed giving a field sobriety test
to a drunk driver on the side of the road, when another drunk came along,
hit his cruiser, and pinned him between it and the first drunks car.

I completely recovered from my injuries (physical at least), but decided
I'd sacrificed enough for the $18,000 a year I made, and resigned.

> Responding to and emergency in NC or VA, they must use one or both up to
a >certain distance from the area they are going to

Never had any such restrictions. Some departments do, but to my knowledge
they are "Department Policies," not "Laws." 

>If a cop in NC or VA causes an accident without lights or siren on, THEY
ARE AT FAULT!

Surprising... Most places they are at fault regardless of whether or not
they were using lights & sirens, if it can be shown they were not using
due care for the other traffic. An ambulance driver here just recently got
out of jail, after 5 years, for an accident he caused responding to
another accident.

You don't need to tell me about who's at fault. I used to live w/it
everytime I turned my lights and siren on. People coming out of driveways
right in front of you, pulling left instead of right. I don't think you
could find a cop or
squad driver who hasn't had his share of close calls. And most of them
will tell you it wasn't their fault, people are just dumb when it comes to
driving, they don't pay attention. I know, I've lived it. The guy who cut
me off didn't even stop. Who knows if he to this day even knows what
happened? 
 
> And, BTW, I have seen many a cop hit his lights to get through a red
> light, and followed them for MILES, and they were NOT going anywhere
> important, often going to lunch.  They were NOT responding to a call -
> they went in and sat down to eat.

They could have ben responding to a serious call to back up another car,
and then were told to disregard when the other cars arrived and found the
problem not as serious as first believed.

 Happens all the time. (I used to feel real silly, on those kinds of
calls, go tearing through an intersection, then get the call from the cars
already on the scene to slow down, and all the people you made pull over
at the previous light, catch up with you at the next one. You just want to
hide. 
   (Like at ...The Donut Shop!) 
 
> Cut the self-righteous crap, there ARE cops out there that abuse their
> power, just like ANY other job.

I wasn't being self righteous. I originally responded to someones post
(you might have missed a lot) who was making all cops out to be power-
hungry tax collectors, and had the attitude that every mornings drive to
the office, should be like the Cannon Ball Run. 

I tried to explain that cops get the atttitude they have (don't like
listening to excuses about speeding) because most of us have already seen
one to many "bad accident".

Sorry, but after what I've been through, I have a very low tolerance for
obnoxious drivers.

And I would never deny there are cops out ther who abuse there power.

I not only have KNOWN some, and KNOW some, Ive BEEN one. I'm not proud 
of that, but sometimes you really do "Have to have been there."

J Y

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 Jamie-Andrea Yanak    **   A pretty girl is an accident.
    CYBER-VIXEN        **   A beautifull woman is an accomplishment.
<[email-masked]>   **      **             **             **
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