FireMedic129 said:
The highlighted part of this post is the only part I have a problem with. I do not see how a person that has a good understanding of their constitutional rights can be called "Pig Headed". Those rights are given to us for our protection as US Citizens, including protection from over zealous LEO's who infringe on those rights (cause that's never happened, right?) I know that most LEO's are decent officers that want to make a difference in their community, but can you say they all are??
For some reason I never saw this when it was originally posted. Let me try to explain because I think I may not have worded it the best way.
I don't really have a power trip, this is a job to me. If I pull you over for something relatively minor I usually give people the opportunity to admit their mistake. Its one of my pet peeves... I want people to take responsibility for their mistakes. If you run a stop sign and admit it and tell me you'll never do it again, you'll probably get a warning. If you run a stop sign and want to argue whether or not you ran it, I will gladly write you a citation and bring the video to court and let a judge decide. My job is to prevent future traffic infractions. If you admit your mistake and convince me that it won't happen again, I have done my job. If you want to sit on the side of the road and argue the definition of "stop", I am more than happy to let a judge explain it to you. Its not an issue of "RESPECT MY AUTHORITY", its an issue of doing my job to enforce the
law and educate the offender. If you won't take the opportunity to learn from a warning, you'll learn from paying a citation or talking to a judge.
When I am referring to an idiot who "knows their rights", I am talking about one of those people that doesn't know their rights but stubbornly thinks they do. For example, as I stated before, in Maryland it is illegal to display prohibited colors like red and blue. Johnny Knucklehead has a red and blue strobe light on his dash but it isn't turned on. I pull Johnny Knucklehead over and tell him it is illegal to display red and blue. Johnny THINKS that he knows his rights and THINKS that I am not allowed to stop him cause the lights weren't turned on, they aren't the newest technology, I didn't have jurisdiction to pull him over, etc etc. Johnny decides he wants to have an argument with me because he thinks he knows what he is talking about. Thats why I put it in qoutes, because it is meant with sarcasm (which I realize doesn't translate well in the written word).
I don't mind when someone talks that knows what they are talking about when it comes to their rights, and I don't mind people asking me questions when they don't know their rights. Its annoying when someone doesn't know their rights and wants to claim that I am violating them. Some personal favorites;
-Wrote a guy a speeding ticket, he fought it in court. His argument was that since I was parked in a church parking lot to shoot laser, it was not a valid stop. He was under the impression that churches are somehow sovereign states and therefore the stop was invalid. He paid the ticket and court costs after a judge heard the story.
-Arrested a drunk driver and searched the car incident to arrest. Ended up finding something illegal in the car, can't remember what it was now. She, a recent grad from UNC
LAW SCHOOL argued that I never asked permission to search, so it was an illegal search and she was going to beat the criminal charges AND sue the department. She paid the tickets and was convicted of the criminal charges plus court costs after the judge watched my in car video.
-We have a county code that requires you to identify yourself to a police officer who was reasonable cause to stop you pursuant to a suspicious situation. I stopped 2 guys who matched the description of a robbery that occurred recently. I just wanted to confirm their identities and perhaps snap a picture to send up to the detectives to help them close the robbery. One guy gave the required information but refused to allow me to take a picture... we will call him Bill. The second guy told me that he didn't have to tell me anything, cause I didn't have a reason to stop him. Lets call him Steve. I got the information from Bill and released him. I sent Bill's name to our detectives, they tracked down a mugshot for Bill and used it in a photo array. The victim thought he might be involved, but wasn't confident enough for an arrest warrant to issue. Steve refused to tell me his name cause he thought he "knew his rights". Steve was arrested, photographed and fingerprinted. Steve had never been arrested before, so his prints weren't on file. After he was printed, detectives were able to close out multiple robberies and stolen vehicles. Bet you he wished he didn't "know his rights", because without those fingerprints he never would have been convicted and would probably be a free man. As it stands, he is currently serving a multiyear stint in prison.