Have you had an experience involving the police? Take this poll!

[sojourner]

Since it seems there are two starkly different positions about police officers (well more about certain actions by police officers) among DUers here, I thought a little informal poll might help me understand where people get their ideas, and why they are so entrenched in their opinions. I would like to understand where all of us are coming from (well, I know where the officers are coming from but everybody else...?) --- cuz I figure it's bad enough we're pitted against RW Xtian thugs --- I think maybe we should figure out how to communicate more effectively, a little less emotionally, with fellow DUers (speaking for myself, too!)

For further background see these threads:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1623860
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1617568

Mark your choice and explain your choice below (if you like). Remember, you directly or someone you are close to or know personally...there are selections for "heard about..." so if it's news or tv, use those choices please! Thanks for taking this poll!

edited to add: about actions...cuz it really isn't personal (I don't think)!

[leftofthedial]

1. mixed bag

one group of cops were onoxious, insulting assholes

another was extremely professional and courteous.

[LaurenG]

2. Was married to one for 20 years

Scary mean situation. Not recommended. Long story. Yeow!

[LostinVA]

I was in a seven-year relationship one -- same situation as you

Long story. Horrible. Ended with: a 9mm against my head. When I left, to a "secret" apartment and an unlisted number. Two days later, guess who had my info, curtsy of the Police computer? Guess who's fellow cops followed me about town in their black & whites, came into my place of business, etc.? Guess who's Chief told me too bad -- who's word do you think a judge will believe?

I quit my job and left town. Maybe all cops don't act that way, but the cop culture in this town sure did. I heard stories for years before it happened to me.

[LaurenG]

16. Here's the scary stuff

I've been divorced and I've not seen this guy for years. He asked my son last month about my "liberal activist" work. No one has ever spoken to him about what I do. I live 2000 miles away. He STILL tracks me. My son was very upset that his dad would know anything about me. With the ones who are this disturbed the rules don't apply. You might guess that he is a *bushy.

[LostinVA]

21. My relationship broke up ten years ago

I moved to another state FIVE years ago. Three years ago, I got an email from her. WTF??? Scary crap, man... I have major empathy for you, Ohio...

[Sterling]

54. This was a lady cop?

?

[etherealtruth]

17. I dated one briefly (in my youth) ...

... lets just say that getting away from that psycho took longer than the relationship itself lasted ----- and during that time we had very similar experiences.

[LostinVA]

22. WE should start a recovery DU group

And I'm only half-joking...

[etherealtruth]

23. Oh gosh ...

I forgot about the "date rape," of a friend who foolishly went out with a charming good looking cop that had pulled her over...

She, like me, has had only good experiences when dealing with them professionally.

There is a frightening trend that developed here r/t dating cops:scared:

[LostinVA]

29. I agree about good experiences when dealing with them professionally

But not personally.... it IS scary, huh?

[etherealtruth]

18. Duplicate (sorry, it was that bad)

[MountainLaurel]

59. According to an FBI study

From a few years ago, about 20 percent of police officers surveyed ADMITTED to abusing their spouses or partners. This was around the same time as the fuss over the law that strips domestic violence felons of their weapons: The police and the military complained that too many of their officers would have to be assigned to desk jobs.

[Blue Diadem]

60. You have my sympathy

Suffice it to say I understand..

:hug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

73. I have a good friend at work who was married to a cop

He was a freak. Drank like a fish and was abusive. He used to sit in the parking lot at work and wait for her to get off so he could yell at her. And we work in an elementary school! Our principal had to call his commander and ask him to keep him out of our parking lot. The freak was eventually fired from the force - for coming to work drunk.

[Solly Mack]

3. How about both good and bad experiences?

I've had both

As an aside:

My father was a cop in Atlanta for better than 15 years before going to work for the Medical Examiners Office.(long since retired)

There were a lot of cops around in my childhood - both good and bad.

[EFerrari]

8. Both here, too.

When my husband was ill and psychotic and I called the police to help me, I was arrested because I fit in the back of the patrol car and he didn't. Then, I got to sign wavers saying it was a detention, not an arrest so that I wouldn't sue anyone. If I never see a baloney sandwich again, it will be too soon. :eyes:

On the other hand, now that hubby is stable and working, we do a lot of work in the community. The same police force have been invaluable in work we do.

Go figure.

[Solly Mack]

35. I actually got served home-cooking from a local Mom and Pop diner

while detained. It was pretty good.

But they took my much needed tampons. (I know - TMI - but that made for a really negative experience)

[EFerrari]

38. Good god. What were you going to do, use them

as weapons?

I had the pleasure of the county's hospitality, then got to go home to the same situation with a side of trauma. Yuck.

[sojourner]

49. "Yuck" -- sorry for that....especially the "same situation" -- been there

:pals:

[EFerrari]

50. Yep. A real education.

I work with those same cops all the time now.

One of them, I'll never forget said, "I have to arrest somebody. I just bought a house and we have a new baby."

Here's helping everyone in those situations have better choices.

:toast:

[sojourner]

41. Added the categories but now I'm going to hear "too many choices"

Oh well. :shrug:

[Solly Mack]

42. You have a point.

Can't win from lose sometimes.

Thank you, though!!!!

[Endangered Specie]

4. Ive never had problems with the police,

(mainly bc I dont break any laws), imo they are usualy very professional and do what is, a thankless job. Police usually spend 95% of their job dealing with the scum of the earth and or dealing with people who hate them. YOu can almost see it in their faces how they are suprised when you act decently to them.

Naturally, there are some sour ones in the bunch, but you cannot judge all of them by a few of the worst examples; name me one large group of people that doesnt have its share of rottens.

You can firmly count me in the "pro" column of the "two starkly different positions about police officers among DUers"

[hunter]

19. You might count me in the "pro" column, but I voted "scary as hell."

My single "scary as hell" encounter undid all the "pro" I might have had in me.

[lateo]

5. I had a cop threaten to kick my ass with his nightstick, I was 16.

[flamin lib]

6. Mostly mundane traffic stuff, but once . . .

It was back in 1971 and I was returning to Texas from my last duty station in Virginia. South Carolina and everything I owned was in the trunk of the car so it was low to the ground from being overloaded. The red lights came on behind me so I pulled over. As the officer approached the car I reached for my wallet. I heard two distinct clicks from the vicinity of the driver's window. Turning my head I saw the biggest gun I have ever seen pointed at my face.

Seems that there was a spate of bootlegging going on and the week before a state trooper stopped an overloaded car (with 40 gallons of moonshine in the trunk) and was shot when he approached the car.

Wasn't his fault, just bad timing on my part. Since then I place both hands on the steering wheel palms out fingers spread until the officer and I speak and then I tell him exactly where my hands are going before I move one.

[Jokerman]

36. I made the mistake of digging in the glove box for my registration

as the officer was approaching my car. After finding the document I looked in the mirror and saw him standing behind my car with his gun drawn. I promptly dropped the registration on my lap and made both of my hands visible. I apologized for not thinking about what I was doing, he apologized for drawing on me, he checked my license and registration and sent me on my way.

Funny thing was that he had me dead to rights on speeding but after the mutual scare followed by mutual apologies, he let me go.

[BillZBubb]

7. Anti Viet Nam protest in DC.

My head/police billy club. Not pretty. I was not being violent or resisting in any way. The cops just charged our line in the street and started wailing away.

Ah, the smell of tear gas and the sight of blood!

[flamin lib]

15. Hey, amBushed, what year and what protest? I was there for

both the Vietnam Moratorium and the May Day protests. I was the one wearing green . . .

[BillZBubb]

51. I was at both.

I got clubbed during the May Day demonstrations. I got arrested TWICE. I was in the vicinity of the Lincoln Memorial when I got hit and arrested. I was walking towards the Justice Department building when I got swept up the second time.

Were you in the DC Armory? That's where they held me after the second arrest with a few thousand of my friends.

[flamin lib]

52. The green I was wearing was OD green. I was part of a "riot

control battalion" sent TDY to DC every time there was a disturbance. No, I didn't take part in any of the stuff that happened to you or to others. I was a draftee and not happy about my choice of wardrobe much less the assignment.

It was a very strange time to in the Army. On the way to DC all the "hippies" waved peace signs at us and we waved back. For four days we shouted at each other, threw things and on occasion abused each other. Then, on the way back to Virginia, we would wave peace signs at each other. Like the WB Road Runner cartoon where the Road Runner and the Coyote punch the time clock, do battle and then punch out.

I'm still waiting for the flashbacks I'm supposed to have . . .

[0rganism]

9. Depends on the context

I've had plenty of interactions with them over the years, some have been excellent and some have been downright ugly. On the way to the anti-bush1 demonstration that got Portland labeled as "little Beirut", I asked a riot-gear-clad (black) officer if he liked what he was doing, and he replied, "It's a job." They may even agree with what you say, but they might just have to trample you with a horse and douse you with pepper spray to keep you from saying it. It's a tough position for them, too, to be sure.

I think we should remember that the cops are performing the ultimate blue-collar job, sometimes a very dangerous and distasteful job, but one that gives them huge power and proportional responsibility. For this they deserve respect and gratitude, and also careful civilian oversight with complete accountability.

[sojourner]

26. I like your last 3 statements...

but there is a certain tension between that respect/gratitude and civilian oversight/accountability thing that seems to out of whack. On my end I guess it's because I can totally respect individual cops...but taken as a totality I fear their power and seeming lack of accountability. Read the comments here and you'll see that the negative encounters we have tend to completely undermine any good that might once have been accomplished.

I appreciate your balance most of all. Thanks for posting!

[0rganism]

62. It's a difficult balance, to be sure

I can't say that it's always been easy to respect the cops, and I certainly don't condone the free-ride they seem to get with the justice system whenever they do fuck up. But when it comes down to it, it's their job to arrest a lot of people who have done some truly nasty things, while still preserving the body of evidence and civil rights necessary to indict and convict. They're like the janitors of a lawful society.

The degree to which the police regularly overstep is a direct reflection of the amount of authoritarianism, classism and racism we've come to accept as a society, IMHO. We cannot expect to change outrageous police behavior in isolation, doing so requires a sea change in how the society views crime and punishment. However, those organizations working towards the correct level of accountability are absolutely essential to developing the overall perception that it can be done at all without hamstringing the police departments' ability to enforce laws.

[sojourner]

65. concur heartily...spot on analysis. I get so emotionally involved that

it becomes difficult to acheive, let alone maintain that desirable balance.

That's why I wanted to do this poll. Try to get a broader perspective, without all vitriol that's been dripping on other threads. And try to keep my own "stuff" mostly out of it.

[noonwitch]

10. Mostly, I deal with them as a professional

In children's services, so I find they are professional in their responses.

Interestingly-some of my CPS colleagues dealt with Budzeyn and Nevers (the cops who killed Malice Green) and said that they were great to have on child removal cases. It's too bad that they weren't relegated to that duty and kept away from the patrolling duties. Nevers should have been taken off the streets and given a job like that, or safety officer at schools long before he was in a position to beat a man to death.

[distantearlywarning]

11. Had both a very good and a very bad experience with a cop

and a few in-between. While I think that perhaps more bad people are drawn to the profession than good ones because of the power, cops in general are a mixed bag, just like humans in every profession. I have nothing against cops, and assume that each individual cop is ok until they show themselves to be bad people.

I also have sympathy for the viewpoint that being a police officer is a dangerous, scary job where you are constantly exposed to the worst that the human race has to offer, and where you may be afraid for your life every day you work. Being in an environment like that takes its toll on the psyches of police officers.

Also, my uncle was a police officer in two different large cities. He left the force after 20 years because his department was corrupt - racism and thievery going on. But he was one of the good guys, and there are others like him out there. Some of the stories he has told me about things he saw during his time on the force makes me wonder how he stayed a good guy (child and animal abuse, other horrible stuff). And yet, even after 20 years of being a cop, he was still one of the most upright, honest, and kind people I have ever known.

His wife and he once let me live with them for months rent-free while I solved some life problems - never asked for anything, took in my cats too, cooked for me, were nice to me when I was sad, and were some of the best roommates I ever had. This man is the type of person who picks up baby birds that have fallen out of the nest and takes them home and wakes up every 3 hours to feed them by hand so they don't die (he's done this at least 5 times since I've known him). Very, very kind and good person. And it's his face I see first when someone says "police officer".

Not all cops are bad. Give them a chance before you judge them...

[sojourner]

33. thank you so much for posting!

-- thing is they started out as the "good guys" in my mind... the "best guys" in fact. years' worth of random encounters...never criminal encounters, but plenty to make me wonder about how they can be given such power without better oversight. so I do judge the negative consequences when I see them...and feel they should be held to account lest they fulfill that awful proverb: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[barb162]

12. yeah, traffic tickets

and they have always been professional

[Jokerman]

13. Cops are like other people, some good, some bad.

However, in my opinion, too many people become cops for the wrong reasons. Sometimes they are just bullies that hope the badge will let them get away with abusing others.

This is why it is important that police officers are carefully selected, well trained, well paid, and subject to civilian review.

[etherealtruth]

14. My experience with the police while they were doing their job ...

...has always been good. For what it's worth: I'm white suburban and "middle class."

I dated a cop when I was young ... by the time it was over, the phrase,"kinda scary," is appropriate.

My cousin was married to a cop ... violent, bizarre and frightening are descriptive of her marriage by the time it ended.

[quiet.american]

20. Police Story

Last year, at two o'clock in the morning, my apartment intercom buzzer buzzes. I figure somebody's got the wrong apartment (happens often) and they'll go away. It keeps buzzing. I finally get up to answer it. No one says anything. So I go back to bed.

Five minutes later, buzzes again. I ignore it.

Five minutes later, loud banging starts on my apartment door. I jump out of bed, grab my baseball bat in one hand and my phone in the other to dial 911 and ask who's at the door.

It's the cops.

They swear they received a call from my apartment to 911.

I know that up until 20 minutes beforehand, I was sound asleep in bed and DID NOT call them. However, now I DO call 911 to verify that these are indeed cops outside my door, because anyone can rent a uniform (alright, so I'm paranoid.)

911 tells me they can't verify that they sent any cops over to my apartment. The cops start yelling they're going to break down my door unless I let them in.

So, having little choice, I let them in.

They come in, and walk through my whole apartment looking around for... I don't know what. (I've never "been in any trouble," and only once received a traffic ticket, twenty years ago -- which I paid then).

They still refuse to believe that no one called them from my apartment.

Finally, they call in to confirm my address -- the dispatcher gives them my address -- but the apartment building is located ON ANOTHER AVENUE!!!!

The cops promptly apologized -- NOT.

They just looked extremely sheepish and finally left.

==============
On the other hand, any time I've needed assistance (directions, mostly) on the street, NYC cops have usually been very courteous and helpful to me.

[skids]

24. Minor traffic run-ins. Most have been OK, but a few... Geez.

My last job involved servicing telecommunications huts along the side of a highway. Since I used my personal car for this, I often had to deal with state troopers that stopped to check me out. This happened enough to be fairly annoying. Now, I'm the kind of polite guy that can usually manage to talk myself out of a ticket for a minor non-speeding traffic offense, by being polite, overtly cooperative, and somehow managing to, within that framework make it clear that I'm the also the kind of guy who appeals such tickets (mainly because I'm a good driver and any mistakes I do make are usually technicalities. Plus I seem to win when I appeal, so it's generally worth it.)

Most were OK about it, but some were flat out assinine. One burly guy in an unmarked SUV who didn't want to allow me to cross the highway divider and lane at a maintenance turn-off (yes, the guy truly did not trust me to cross the street on my own) was beat red, extremely aggressive, and you could see he really wanted to give me a ticket but couldn't figure out a violation to pin on me. Another was yelling at me on the minor matter expired inspection sticker, which was funny because he was very short and despite the uniform I could tell from his bearing that he was gay in that sort of submissive "pretty boy" way (bearing no malice or intolerance against gays, just he was definitely a "bottom") and he was straining against his own nature to be intimidating and obnoxious as if he had been poorly trained to do so. The posture just didn't fit him.

Oh, and then there was that time long ago in college when I owned a decrepit VW SuperBeetle and got stopped driving back from a organizational meeting by a cop fishing for DUIs. He asked if we were drinking, and then when we said no, he asked well what do I smell then? To which I had to answer "gasoline" because, well, you know how VW beetles are. That cop was acting tough but that kinda threw him off.

Another obnoxious encounter I was a passanger for. We were pulled over because my friend was being aggressively tailgated, and tapped the brake lights on what turned out to be a cop. He lambasted him and told him "that's how road rage starts" and asked why he didn't let him pass when he gave the "universal symbol for let me pass". By this he meant flashing his high beams. Unfortunately (and unbeknownst to him) for him, we had a 50-year-old well established lawyer in the back seat so we were basically laughing him off, which perturbed him. My friend *almost* said to him "Oh really, I thought that was the universal symbol for I'm an asshole" but we didn't want to waste our time on a vindictive ticket.

So in the end, I don't get really worked up about cops. Two of my best freinds do though -- and one of those has an ingrained emotional trauma that causes it, because he was severely beaten by a police officer for no good reason as a young teen.

Oh, I forgot to mention the funniest one of them all. In college, a few of my friends and I were hanging out on a public bench because there was no AC in the dorms and we wanted some fresh air. A cop came along, asked for our IDs and started shining a flashlight in our eyes. We immediately started sassing him, like, he called us in on his CB has "388s" or something and we were like "so what's a 388: Suspicious Person?," said with a mocking waver on the "suspicous person." Anyway one of the guys was the dingiest geek/hippy type you've ever known. I mean, he never cleaned, and every place this guy lived a grime of some sort would settle in his abode, and he was well known for it. The cop looked at his license, and asked him "what's this substance on your license?" He said, just dirt, at which point we all had to bite our lips down real hard because he scraped some of the four-years-accumulated grit off our friends license and TASTED IT. Ewe.

[sybylla]

25. No category for my response - both

I've been in cars that were stopped by police and accidents where the police were called. I have been the driver in about half of those stops and a passenger in the other half. Probably 60% of the time the experience was as relaxed as any of them can be and entirely full of respect from both parties.

The other 40% ranged from strategic incompetence on the cop's part in an obvious effort to avoid paperwork, to absolute incompetence on the cop's part in not completeing a thorough investigation and subsequent paperwork in an accident in which my husband was injured, to one angry, asshole county cop who I think would have beat my husband up if he didn't have me and our two little boys in the car with him. The guy was cranked and everything my husband said to him in a very patient and respectful tone cranked him up some more. In the end, he didn't get a ticket, just a warning - most likely due to the fact that he remained calm and respectful (far more calm and respectful that I could have had I been the one stopped).

I've always been respectful to the police officers. We have always taught our kids that it doesn't pay to be anything but respectful to police officers, even when they don't deserve it. I am hugely grateful that they were too young to remember that asshole cop. I think he alone could have convinced them all cops are jerks.

[sojourner]

43. added two new categories....both/good and both/bad

[sybylla]

44. thanks, n/t

[Hard_Work]

27. two bad episodes

One from my late teens, the other from my mid twenties. In the first, I was waiting on a bus a couple of blocks from my then girlfriend's house in the middle of winter, when a cop decided that a young Black man in a leather coat carrying a briefcase was obviously a drug dealer, or implementing SOME nefarious scheme. He stopped his car, got out and asked me for ID. Then he patted me down, checked my briefcase (had books and schoolwork in it), told me to watch my step, got in his car and left.

The second was me coming out of Autozone, getting into my car, and finding myself surrounded by police. One removed his gun from his holster and approached the driver side of the car and demanded I get out. I asked him what was wrong, he responded "get your black ass out of the car and on the ground, NOW!" Which of course I did. They told me the car I was driving had been reported stolen. When they looked at my registration and compared it to my driver's license confirming that I was, in fact, the owner of the car, they left. No apology, no nothing.

Left an obviously sour taste in my mouth. Although I have friends who are cops and are good people.

[BiggJawn]

28. The 6 scariest words you'll ever hear...

"Step out of your vehicle, please..."

Unpleasantness ALWAYS follows

[newswolf56]

30. Both. I've had extremely good experiences when...

...I was interacting with the cops as a member of the working press, extremely bad when interacting as a demonstrator (and worse in the South when I was a Civil Rights activist). But in NYC "working press" status (including wearing big dayglo-orange official press cards) doesn't guarantee anything: I was nightsticked in the face by NYPD/TPF for covering a riot in 1967 though I had excellent relations with most precinct cops/dicks during the same period.

(I didn't answer the poll above precisely because it was too either/or -- no "both" category.)

[sojourner]

39. sorry...an oversight I will learn from. Appreciate your comments though!

[sojourner]

45. fixed that ...didn't know I could! But now it's overly long.

:shrug:

[blindpig]

31. good/bad

I've been roughly handled by police and arrested when arrest was unnecessary. I've been at a demonstration where a lot of people got the shit beat out of them but I ran fast(that was a while ago!). I've also been arrested when arrest was warranted. I've had a cop save my life.And I was ever so thankful when the police arrested the punk(a murderer!) who robbed me with a gun in my face.

One of my best friends is a retired LEO. We argue annually about these things, particularly sting operations which I feel are just plain wrong. Life sure is complicated.

[sojourner]

40. "Life sure is complicated"...so true

[ArkDem]

32. I was given a concussion by an officer after a traffic stop. I kept

asking why I was being stopped and he told me that if I said one more word he would beat the shit out of me. He was not a liar. It was 1970 and I had shoulder length hair.

[sojourner]

46. Exactly the sort of thing that would get me in trouble...well, not now

that I know that asking questions is BAD.

[Burma Jones]

34. I've had several experiences

Three Speeding Tickets - No Big Deal, one in Maryland, one in New York and one in New Jersey.

Speeding warnings:

Once I was driving home (in my Mom's car) after my shift (I cooked)from the TGI Fridays off of the Gulf Freeway at the Fuqua exit, doing about 90 in the access lanes, after having about 7 martinis. I was pulled over by two of Houston's finest. I told the officer that there was probably a 9mm Baretta in the Glove Box and that I would open the Glove box and pull the Registration out VERY carefully. I vaguely remember him laughing and saying that it's OK, he didn't figure me for dangerous. Anyway, I got off with a warning and was told - I swear to God - that if I wanted to drive that fast I had to use the main road - to which I responded - Hell, I just thought y'all had REAL BIG highways in Texas....

I passed an unmarked police car on I-40 on my way to Wilmington NC about 10 miles after turning off I-95. It was about midnight and I was driving my wife's car which was festooned with Grateful Dead and various Eastern Philosophy bumper stickers. The officer asked where I was going and I, in my best (authentic) southern accent told him I was goin down to Wilmington to see my Daddy (I was 37 at the time). He checked the license and registration, and made a pretty thorough sweep of the car's interior with his flashlight, and then lectured me on the usefulness of Cruise Control.



Getting Frisked and Handcuffed:

In Galesburg, IL, I was frisked, handcuffed and arrested for participating in a riot. The riot was a snowball fight with about 200 participants at Knox College. There was some violence and fighting occurring in the melee. A hand grabbed me and I swung and hit what I thought to be a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity but was instead, a Galesburg, IL policeman. Some three hours later, I was released because the Police were not invited on the campus and the Magistrate did not agree that a snowball fight constituted a clear and present danger......

And my best Cop story....

In Gaithersburg, MD, there is a road that connects 355 and 117, this road is called Game Preserve Road. The road goes under frequently used railroad tracks using a one-lane, 19th century bridge. Legend states that if you sit under the bridge as a train goes overhead, you can hear the ghost of the Headless Horseman - Maryland version. So, some friends from the Markland Medieval Militia and I were sitting in an empty area right next to the tracks awaiting the next train. The car was full of daggers and swords and two of the guys were wearing chain mail. We were all wearing Thor's Hammers around our necks, much like Christians wear crosses. A police car passes by, we take no notice because, for once, we are not drinking or getting high. Soon afterward, three cruisers pull up, six officers get out of their cars and as the first one catches sight of the daggers and swords, he pulls out his revolver (yes, revolver) as does the other five and they yell at us to keep our hands up etc etc etc. Our windows were down, I was riding Shotgun, so the Driver and I each have cocked guns pressed against our temples. We exit the car and assume the position. As they frisk us and determine we are not armed, the ranking officer starts grilling the driver about the weapons. Now, the Driver is an African American AND in a Medieval Militia and performs in Renaissance Fairs and is an honors student, oh and was also an all-county Nose Guard - so he's big, black and menacing ---- unless you talk to him. So, the whole "we dress up and play" story wasn't going down too well. They start yelling at us about whether they would find stolen property in the trunk and other such tough guy cop stuff. One of the guys in the back seat was giggling (once the guns were holstered) - one of the cops, in one of my favorite lines ever said (I swear this is true) "You won't be laughing when you feel the cold steel of the cuffs on your wrists Smiley" - I've called people Smiley ever since. At that time, a more Senior officer pulls up and gets the story from the lead cop there and asks us to confirm. He tells the younger officers to let us go, that nobody would "make this kind of shit up." Apologizes to us and tells us that this is private property and that there should be a No Trespassing sign, etc, etc, etc. We laugh and say we were just happy not to be shot.

A Run In with MPs:
I also happened to come across a back way to Camp David while driving around, completely stoned, in my Pickup Truck with a couple of my friends up in the Catoctins. Anyway, I had driven across a few streams, down a bunch of Forest Service roads when two guys in Camo with M-16s are in my headlights. Figuring making a quick getaway would be stupid, and that these guys are probably not at all interested in whether we had Pot, I stopped. We were asked to get out. I don't remember much of the details, but I did hand them my Dependent ID card (my Dad was a Navy Captain at the time) and we were told to get lost and forget how we got there.......

[MadHound]

37. Very few of my encounters with police have been good

A few have been mediocre, and several have not been pleasant. I lived in Springfield Mo for four years, and got pulled over either walking or riding my bike eight times, just for the standard hassle(who are you, can I see your ID, what are you doing, etc. etc.) Yet the one time that I need them in that hell hole, guess what, it takes them forty five minutes to show, yet the police station is literally only a block away.:eyes:

I've had to deal with them on a professional basis a few times, and they have been professional. I have dealt with them a couple of times in Columbia Mo, and neither experience was anything to write home about. I was stopped on my bike once for wearing a military surplus winter face mask, and recieved the standard hassle from not one, not two, but three cops. And when we had a shooting in my old neighborhood, it took them a while to get there, and basically they were just going through the motions.

I think that at one time being a police officer was a noble profession. The police culture pushed the whole idea of protect and serve, that a police officer is a public servant. There are still officers who abide by those ethos, but they are few and disappearing quickly. Today's modern cop has an attitude that they are wardens at an open air insane asylum, and they will maintain order by any means neccessary.

[SmokingJacket]

47. When I lived in the south with a Washington plate on my car...

I had no end of trouble with the police. Got pulled over on a Sunday for speeding, almost ended up in jail because they wouldn't let us go until we paid the fine and we didn't have $100 on us, and they wouldn't take our checks because the banks were closed! How whacked out is that?? They were unreasonable and aggressive and we were young, polite, and quaking in our boots. We managed to call someone who could bring cash, phew.

Another run-in at a protest (anti white-power march) I did get arrested. Argh. Let the south soon after.

When I've lived in the north I've had almost no interaction with the police at all, and the few times (calling them when my drunk neighbor was beating up his wife) they've been very nice.

Not to bash the south, I love it there, and southern liberals rock!!! But southern cops scare the shit out of me.

[alarcojon]

48. Latino, routinely treated with less than respect

I should add that I am a law-abiding professor and have never been involved in gangs or crime, other than smoking weed :smoke: , and my dealers were all white guys!

I have been pulled over twice for speeding in Chicago. The first time, the cop said "Chico, can I see you license." The second time, a different cop said "Jose, can I see your license." I wasn't aware they taught that "technique" in the police academy.....but they made sure I knew they knew I was a minority. The reason for that should, I think, be clear.

Another time, my college friends and I were :smoke:ing on the beach after it closed. A cop came up and asked us what we were doing. I had no drugs on me, but the cop honed in on me (out of a group of about six) and let the rest of them proceed unimpeded to the car. He kept hassling me until my white friend came over and asked "officer, is there a problem," after which he let me go. Yes, I was the only minority in the group.

I have to say that, since I moved to a smaller town and got older, I have had no problems with the police. I know there are a lot of good cops, and it certainly is a thankless job, but I also know that there are many cops who will always treat a black or Latino male with less respect than they will treat a white male. I will always believe it is systemic, and reflective of the fact that this society has a ways to go before we reach, as Martin put it, "the promised land."

[Nevernose]

57. Chicago cops are more racist than any Southern good ol' boy

I base this entirely upon anecdotal evidence:

I was at a wedding of a close friend a few years ago, and was seated at a table with two of his cousins who happen to be Chicago cops.

Now, I grew up in the South. I went to a segregated school (in the 80s, no less, well after Brown v. Board), I have family members that are in the Klan, I went to college not far from where they dragged James Bird to death. I thought I was used to racism. I was wrong. The things these guys talked about, BRAGGED about ... I was shocked speechless. And since then, I've met far more virulent racists in Chicago than anywhere else, including the South. MAybe that's just personal experience and not indicative of something standard, I don't know, but I do know that I feel a little horrified when I think of some of the people there that I've had the misfortune of meeting. I also know that you won't find cops bragging about their racism in public like that in many other places in America.

[alarcojon]

61. Interesting perspective

Yes, Chicago cops were pretty bad. Still love the city, though.

[ovidsen]

69. "Chicago could teach the South how to hate" - MLK

That may not be an exact quote, but it's close. Dr. King made the remark after he was targeted by brick and rock throwing thugs while leading a civil rights march there in the 1960s. The police were criticized for standing by and watching during all this....

I lived there in the '60s and the 70s, and still have family there, and Chicago has yet to totally reject racism. I still love it, though.

[newswolf56]

53. Went back and voted now that the poll was modified. (Voted...

...both/positive).

Despite what I said about NYC and the South (above) I have to say the most terrifying cops I have ever met are in Seattle.

In one incident during the middle '70s I was pushed around and roughed up and threatened with a potentially fatal beating merely because I demanded to know why a citation wasn't issued to the high-ranking military officer's underage son who was illegally driving Daddy's Cadillac and rear-ended me at a stoplight, then tried to flee the scene and stopped only when I reached into his moving car and grabbed the keys out of the ignition. This infinitely obnoxious kid nearly destroyed my car -- had the damage gone $100 higher the insurance company would have totalled it -- but the cops flatly refused to ticket the kid: he had only a learner's permit but left no doubt he already knew his membership in the oligarchy made him above the law. Worse, after I protested the cops then also claimed I had seen the military ID on the kid's car (impossible because it was behind me) and deliberately "stopped short" to cause the accident -- this allegedly as some kind of anti-military "hippie" protest. I was with my dog and two other people (my own girlfriend and a mutual friend of ours), and it was very clear to me the only reason my accident wasn't suddenly and mysteriously fatal was their presence. When the cops led me behind an abandoned gas station and began shoving me against its wall, I have never been so terrified in my life, and this was only the beginning -- when I filed a complaint I started getting death threats on my unlisted telephone number. Welcome to Seattle, where during the '70s the cops even once shot up the black ghetto just for kicks (true story!).

Supposedly it's better there now, but frankly -- knowing the festering pale underbelly of Seattle far too well -- I strongly doubt it.

I am not in the least bit soft on crime -- I believe pukes and scumbags (especially violent street criminals) deserve maximum hard time -- but when the cops allow their politics to trump their ethics (as so often happened during the '50s, '60s and '70s), we are in deep trouble. Especially since, at least in our culture (though probably not in every culture), the mindset essential to being a good cop so easily morphs into the mindset of fascism. It is my belief the police should be treated like a firearm: dangerous but vital -- something to be very carefully handled and very meticulously aimed, to be discharged only at the (constitutionally) proper targets.

[Nevernose]

55. I've had more bad experiences w/ cops than you can imagine

I'm just a bad luck kind of guy. Even in the bad old days, when I was an addict, I looked like a Mormon (when I wore my black and white waiter uniform on the way to work, people assumed I was a missionary).

Once, after being arrested for a seven year old speeding ticket, I got thrown in jail. An old homeless man had managed to smuggle in a cigarette into the holding cell, and when he smoked it, they called the SCRET unit (they're like a SWAT team for jail). They began beating him with nightsticks and kicking him -- a seventy year old man. When I spoke up, they beat me, too.

And speaking of the SWAT team, they once raided my house. I woke up on the couch where I was sleeping with my 4 year old daughter when they kicked open the front and back doors and stormed in w/ machine guns and black helmets. I spent three hours in the front yard in handcuffs, my kid crying at my leg and the neighbors watching. When they decided to put me in cuffs, they surrounded me and said "separate him from the kid." Thank God I didn't own a gun -- no one goes around "separating" me from my child (they could have tried asking nicely). As it turns out, four illegal Mexicans had parked their car in front of my house, shot some heroin, and passed out. The police ran the plates at random, then decided to kick the door in.

Once, when walking down the sidewalk directly in front of my own apartment, I managed to get arrested by the vice squad. I spent an hour in handcuffs on the hood of the car in 110 degree weather answering the question "What are you doing in this neighborhood? Which is it: hookers or drugs?" "Man, I LIVE in this neighborhood. That's my place right there. And you're the cops, YOU tell ME whether it was hookers or drugs" (it was neither, btw -- I'd bought a big gulp at the 7-11).

Once, when a buddy and I had wlaked to the store for more beer, we came back to find his car in the middle of the road and a couple of squad cars around it. We told them we had no idea what happened; the description was three teenaged, thin, African-American males. We were both males, but no one in their right minds would have mistaken us for teenagers, thin, or AFrican-American. They put us in cuffs and spent the next hour knocking on my neighbor's doors to ask them if they'd seen us stealing our own car. It was one in the morning. The neighbors all said "No, those aren't the guys."

The police in Roswell, New Mexico take their drug dogs to every motel parking lot almost every night. A dog barked at my moving truck. FOUR HOURS I spent watching them unload the truck, only to find the big fat nothing that was in there. The dog "kind of liked" one of the packing blankets, and after he curled up and went to sleep on it, the police gave up. I kind of forgive them, though; the dogs are rarely wrong, a drug dog barking is probable cause, and the police their were courteous and professional. Beautiful dog, too.

The funny thing about that last incident is that by then I was actually working as a part-time probation officer, mostly doing client intakes for juvenile offenders, going to court, making kids pee in cups, evaluating them for services, that sort of thing.

The stories I know of personally and have read about our local police in the papers would curl your toes -- way, WAY worse than anything I've experienced. Officer Pease, for instance, of the LVMPD, was cleared of his third incident of killing a suspect -- EVEN THOUGH THE CORONER COULD NOT DETERMINE WHETHER IT WAS THE GUN SHOT AT CLOSE RANGE TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD OR THE THROAT SLIT FROM EAR-TO-EAR that killed him.

And, despite all of this, I usually find myself supporting the police. Most of them are good men and women trying to do their best to make the world a better place.

[proud2BlibKansan]

81. I knew a guy who was an over the road truck driver

and he was sleeping in his rig in Roswell, NM when the cops woke him up, searched his rig, found ONE SEED and threw him in jail. The rig belonged to the company he worked for and he had no idea where the seed came from. He hired an attorney, spent a couple thousand dollars and got off, mainly because he tested clean when he was arrested. His lawyer also persuaded the company he worked for not to fire him.

[Dave Reynolds]

56. I received 4 stitches in the head after a tap with a nightstick

for saying something insulting.

I was 19 and stoopid.

[foreigncorrespondent]

58. Both, but positive wins out.

During my hoon days of illegal street drag racing, I would get nicked by the cops a lot. And not always when I was involved in drag racing.

Here in Australia (back in my day of course) if you own a car (usually Holden or Ford) with a V8. Do some work to the engine, slap a dual exhaust system on it, slap some mags and fats on you are gonna get picked on. Well that was me.

I used to hate the cops for this very reason. I couldn't just go for a drive to my sisters without at least getting looks from the cops.

Times have changed though. (Now they nick kids with four cylinder mean machines. LOL)

Now into my late 30's, I have gotten to know several police officers through different dealings, and they have been just great. They tend to want to help you out more. But, that could come with age. The older we get the more respect we earn from the police.

As I said though, positive wins out. I have had more positive contact with police than negative contact. Especially in my line of work.

[Jack_DeLeon]

63. My encounters with the police have been neither good nor bad...

I've gotten 3 speeding tickets.

Obviously the encounter cant be "good" because they used thier discretion to give me the tickets, however it wasnt a "bad" enocounter because all 3 times went smoothly and the officers didnt try to overstep thier authority by trying to search me or my car.

I am not intimidated by police officers because I refuse to allow others to intimidate me.

All that being said in general I wouldnt suggest involving the police with anything if it can be helped. The police arent there to help you and they cant or wont protect you.

[nashbridges]

64. OK, white guy, might not be the best reference

But I had one experience with cops that was so exceptional, it negated any problems I had in the past. When I was a teenager and a college student I ran into plenty asshole cops, sometimes when I was doing something I shouldn't and other times when they were just being assholes.

However, when I was 23 I was standing on a street downtown at 8:30 pm in the evening and talking to a friend, and the entire world went dark. I vaguely remember my friend yelling "Stop! Stop!" and regaining sight on the ground long enough to see a fist racing at my face before everything went dark again. Then, in between poundings, everything started going red, and I couldn't feel anything but blood swooping off my face when my head bounced against the sidewalk.

Long story short, the police (as luck would have it) were a block down the street at a club waiting for the point in the evening when they could arrest the drunk and disorderlies (and thus be assholes) and they made it to my rescue in under two minutes because a parking garage attendant called 911 when she saw some guy beating the hell out of me.

I still believe that most police departments have a problem with high school bullies attempting to translate that "skill" into a career, but they showed up, pulled the guy off me, and arrested him. They didn't beat him, they didn't fight with him, they just handcuffed him and let him piss himself in the street.

DC services being what they were at the time, there was a 45 minute wait for an ambulance. There was a detective that showed up to take a statement and he took one look at me, asked me to identify the man that hit me, and took me to the hospital. Not only that, but when the front desk wanted me to fill out insurance forms before I could be admitted, he lied and said I was bleeding out of my ears and needed to see a doctor right away. (I'm sure that made someone else in the emergency room think he was an asshole - it's just that it worked in my favor that time, otherwise I would have called him on it).

Every single cop I saw that night behaved in a more professional manner than I would have if I had the strength to beat the crap out of the guy that hit me. And why did he do it? Strung out on something, he tried to rob a couple earlier in the evening and didn't succeed, and he was apparently pissed off about it. He thought he saw them when he spotted me and my lady friend.

No matter, whereas the cops did a great job, the DC justice system did a shitty job, and since the "defendant" didn't show up for his first two court appearances, they issued a bench warrant for the guy and let it go. It's been 8 years, and that man hasn't shown up on a docket in DC at all. I'm still saving up money to fix my nose, since I can't breathe through one nostril at all.

So I'm not painting all cops as assholes, and I'm not painting all cops as saints, I'm just offering this one time that I know of where they did exactly what they were supposed to do and then some. And fuck yes, I was happy to see them.

[sojourner]

66. Thanks! It's important to hear this from someone other than the LEOs

themselves...I appreciate you sharing it.

[nashbridges]

70. LEO?

Forgive me, I'm new...I don't know what that means.

[sojourner]

77. I just learned it. Law Enforcement Officer. Seemed better than cop.

[nashbridges]

80. Call 'em what you want

That man would have killed me without outside intervention. I remember thinking at the time I wished they would. They didn't, so they get credit. They took control of the situation and apparently behaved exactly as they were taught, which included keeping me away from him from the time they showed up.

Even when I had to ID him, the detective and two uniform police officers were next to me, 15 feet away. The culprit was on the ground, handcuffed, rolling in a puddle of piss with another two uniforms on either side. Once I made the ID, they picked him up and let him get into the car "feet first motherfuckers!" as he requested. If I was one of the officers there, I would have thrown him in headfirst just to be an asshole. Go me.

And he's still out there. He probably wasn't a DC resident to begin with.

[sojourner]

84. Roger that..."would have killed me". And really do appreciate that

they were so professional. The LEO thing is what they refer to themselves as, apparently (on other threads here), and as I've been pretty outspoken on those threads I am trying hard to be civil and balanced in my approach.

Sorry you never got the justice you desired, and deserved.

[nashbridges]

94. Justice..

"Sorry you never got the justice you desired, and deserved."

Not, and I need to stress this, NOT the fault of the officers at the scene. Washington DC circa 1996 had a legal system that worked like this:

1) Crime committed.
2) .....

There were many, many people who never got any closure for crimes committed during the 90's. There was no system to speak of, and the best defense was simply to ignore it. Most non-murder cases simply were dropped.

It's getting better, but fuck the people who couldn't be bothered to do their jobs when I got hit.

[sojourner]

97. Thanks for clarifying...just curious, though. You don't think I implied

they didn't do their jobs did you? Cuz certainly NOT my intent. I meant what I said. I appreciate your account, and am glad that you had a good outcome. Well, except for the lack of follow through within system.

[Guaranteed]

93. Yup. Sometimes they're a real relief. nt

[RiffRandell]

67. Got pulled over for speeding and

was totally guilty. Hadn't had anything to drink, husband was out of town in another state. Ordered me out of the car on a dark road to look at the radar. I said, no no i believe you, just write me the ticket and I'll go home. He says OUT OF THE CAR NOW MAAM. I was scared shitless. Then wrote me the ticket with no carbon copy underneath....didn't notice that until I got home. Husband was really pissed and called the chief which was I was like wrong move-----we live in a small town outside Atlanta. Also throughout was telling me "I needed to treat him like I wanted to be treated." :puke:

[qanda]

68. I respect most police officers, but there are some bad apples

I have had both positive and negative experiences with them. I cannot answer the poll because my experiences leave me with a neutral feeling.

[sojourner]

78. noted. thanks for posting!

[Merope215]

71. I've only had good experiences

But I'm a 19 year old blond girl, so it's not so much an issue for me, I guess. :shrug:

[MrSlayer]

72. My dad was a police officer for 30 years, my cousins are all officers.

And hell, even the ones that have arrested me treated me fairly. I have a pretty good idea what the job entails, a lot more than the average civilian, so I tend to be on the officers' side most of the time. It's thankless, unappreciated and downright scary sometimes. You are dealing with the worst elements of society most of the time and putting your life on the line in the service of others all the time. There are bad people in every job but most of them just want to get home safe at the end of the day the same as you and me. The best day a cop can have is a day he gets no calls while on duty. Their portrayal here by some people as blood thirsty murderers and power tripping tyrants is unfair and unjustified.

[sojourner]

83. I appreciate your comment - thanks! People here were asked to report

how their experience with a police officer made them feel. I'm sorry if it bothers you that some people have not had such good experiences. It's worth noting that quite a few folks have had really good experiences -- and both sides are important to hear, IMO.

[proud2BlibKansan]

74. I was a wild hippie in my youth

so I can tell lots of bad cop stories. My male friends who had long hair were pulled over regularly - for no reason. One time a cop told the driver to go get a haircut, that he looked like a freak.

Then when my own kids were young teen drivers, I noticed the cops had not changed at all. They still loved to pull kids over and hassle them. I even called our county prosecutor to complain.

When my sister lived in Chicago, her friends told her that if she was ever pulled over, to fold up a $20 bill and hand it to the cop when they asked to see her license. Her boyfriend did that. The cop handed him back his license and said 'have a nice day, sir'. Yes, the cop kept the $20.

On the other hand, my school has a partnership with the local cops and they are wonderful. They volunteer to coach our kids' sports teams, they mentor some of our troubled kids, and our DARE cop is one of the finest human beings I have ever known. I am proud to call her my friend.

So I guess there are good cops and bad cops, like in any other profession.

[Solon]

75. Scary the first time, learned one important lesson....

Back when I was about 13-14, my friends and I would ride our bikes to the dollar show(1 dollar per ticket for a movie, and a LIVE pre movie organist, that kicked ass!), or to the quick shop(7-11) for drinks or snacks, and just hung out. We were regulars, and there was not a NO Loitering sign anywhere in this whole stip mall, and surrounding buildings. There was also the RC shop and the Bicycle shop as well. Anyways, so we stopped by the 7-11, I got a Barq's Root Beer, my buddy just got some cash on his birthday and stopped by the bicycle shop to get some things. I waited on the sidewalk, and sat down on the edge of the parking lot, no benches, and my ass was hurting sitting on the bike. Anyways, I was drinking the root beer, and BOOM, it goes flying out of my hand, and there is a cop standing over me, looking all mean and shit, he almost broke my wrist(bruised badly) kicking the can out of my hand. After he walked over and grabbed the can, even sniffed it, then, realizing his mistake, he just muttered: "Looked like a beer to me.", didn't even so much as glance at me, and walked away.

That has pretty much colored my experience with cops ever since, I have dealt with them since then in a couple of accidents and a couple of speeding tickets. At all times, I was always respectful, never even so much as made eye contact, basically treat them as mentally ill that may snap at any moment, that is probably the best way to treat them.

[sojourner]

85. That's funny because that's kind of how I have learned to act...

Like they're mentally ill or something and you have to be really careful so they don't snap. I never heard it put into words like that...thanks for sharing.

I know that doesn't mean they are mentally ill. Or that they are going to snap. They could be just wonderful people, but I always have that feeling inside...like, "I'm not safe here".

[Guaranteed]

92. Yup, good way of putting it.

I'm good with the mentally ill, too. They like me.

It's a talent, what can I say.

[Solon]

95. More like an abusive relationship probably...

Having a drunken spouse, and over the years you learn how to not push his or her buttons, so they don't hit you. Same with police and society at large I imagine.

[fortyfeetunder]

76. A car load of musical instruments...

and I was driving my brand spanking new car to an music rehearsal. I got pulled over, no, not because of a moving violation, but because, I had placed the license tab in the wrong place on my auto license tag. No shit kidding, that is what that cop told me. He went as far as to look me up on the criminal database, and asked me if I had been arrested before.

What made me worry more -- I don't normally carry receipts for my gear, but I was afraid this guy was thinking 'I was in the wrong part of town' with my instruments in a brand new car..

[eridani]

79. Won't the answers depend a lot on who you are?

I'm a very harmless-looking middle-aged white lady, and I expect and get reasonable treatment when being stopped for a dead taillight. I know better than to expect similar treatment if I am at a demonstration of some sort and get caught in the wrong block.

For all too many people, there really isn't any difference in what they would expect of the above two situations.

[sojourner]

87. I'm same demographic. Had some different sorts of experiences though.

(Never been arrested for anything...) Point of this poll is to help me find where our perceptions of the police are coming from. Hoping it will help in development of some level of understanding - on both sides! Thanks for posting!

[GarySeven]

82. police are THUGS without a single exception

I am a white guy and have hated police ever since the 68 convention. I said hate and I mean it. I have never had an encounter with a police officer in which the cop acted like a decent human being instead of a thug with a gun with the power of the state behind him.

Firefighters are heros, cops are thugs and nothing but.

[sojourner]

89. Sorry for that...

Guys I worked with kept trying to figure out why firefighters are so admired while they (cops) are feared and often, hated.

We jokingly pointed out that firefighters are physically fit - and they save lives without taking lives. No lethal weapons to scare the crap out of people.

[Missy Vixen]

86. Where to begin

DH is a volunteer of several years' duration with a limited commission in a local police department. He tickets those who park in disabled parking zones without legally being able to do so. We know a large number of the force in that town. The VAST majority of those men and women are outstanding people and do their jobs professionally and with compassion for those victimized by crime.

I am a former city councilperson in our community. As a result, I know everyone on our local police force. Our police officers exceed the state and all psychological testing criteria, and I am very, very proud to name several as friends of ours. We are lucky to have an amazing police chief. When one of our officers needed counseling as a result of some horrific family problems, Chief got the guy help and a medical leave instead of firing him. That officer is still doing a great job in our town today. Like the cops above, I would trust them with my life, and I don't say this lightly. Even those who hold office in a small town find themselves the target of unwanted or threatening attention from the denizens of FR.

On the other hand, DH's father is a former state trooper. He's also an abusive dry drunk, and not allowed in our home.

I'd like to thank the author of this thread. I realize that there are many who have had less than savory experiences with police officers. I still believe that the vast number are more interested in "serving and protecting", and I'm glad I will never have to do their job.

Julie

[sojourner]

91. Thanks for your comment, Julie!

[indigo32]

88. I have had numerous experiences with the police

all traffic related, most reasonable enough (I'm pretty harmless looking), some quite annoying. I am thankful I've never been victim of a violent crime. I am thankful for the job they do. But then I've never been arrested or beat up in my protesting career either. I've never been a black man. I don't know that I can excuse those issues for those people. But I also know some are not all.
On a personal note I have a good friend who's partner is a cop. She's a very nice woman really, who has alcohol issues.

[Guaranteed]

90. I've gotten stopped a couple of times when I shouldn't have been.

Also, one time my girlfriend and I were eating in my car across the street from my house when I was about 18, and a cop who was driving in the other direction stopped, JUMPED out of his car, ran over to mine, and shined his flashlight in at our food as fast as he could. Must have been embarassing to him.

But, to be honest, I've gotten away with some stuff, too, where I could have gotten in big trouble. I took out my friend's mom's car with him when we were fifteen. We got pulled over, but the guy just called my friend's mom (she was a deputy sheriff, and he knew her) and she came and picked us up. I also got TOTALLY wasted and crashed my bike when I was 19. The cops knew I was wasted, and had my bike the next day. I walked straight into the police station, told them what I did, and they just gave it back to me (probably because after tearing off half of my face, they figured I'd learned my lesson). They could have given me a "BUI" (same as a DUI) And another time I was having a little "sesh" with a couple of friends in an unbuilt area of a very, very rich development when some rent-a-cops blocked us in from behind. I think they knew we were stoned, but I managed to talk my way out of it.

I've gotten away with a lot. I've got one of those faces.

Knock on wood.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

96. I've had both good and bad experiences

I don't know whether, as a sociological phenomenon, police work tends to attract certain personality types. There might be individuals who feel the need to exercise power over others and feel a sense of self-righteousness about it who enter police careers. But there are probably just as many who enter police work to selflessly serve the community and who want to promote security and decency in their neighborhood. Incidentally, I understand that fewer and fewer police actually live in the neighborhood in which they patrol, which is an unfortunate fact, I think.

I've met police officers who have helped me a great deal, such as a very kind one who assisted me when my cousin died. As an attorney, I've also had the opportunity to cross-examine a few police officers in traffic accident related matters. Some of them I destroyed on the witness stand because they were frankly lying their asses off. But others were honest to a fault. Some police I've found to be racist. One night, when I used to have an office in Long Beach, California, I found a large black man who was stretched out in the middle of a busy street, motionless. I had no cell phone so I drove over to the nearest pay phone next to a coffee shop. There I found two policemen in their car, eating donuts (not joking) and drinking coffee. I told them about the man and one said "what do you want me to do about some drunken n----r?" I also practiced law with a retired policeman who told me that the Rodney King incident was more common than one might think and that police enjoyed taking it out on "lowlife scum" like that (he wasn't condemning it - he was promoting it as therapy). But for every apparent bad cop, I've found good ones, very decent ones in fact.

I think police, like lawyers, doctors, teachers and others reflect the general population. Again, maybe some professions tend to draw certain types of individuals, while other professions might tend over time to cultivate a certain attitude towards the world, such a paranoia. But all in all, I think that the police have a hard job. There's tremendous poverty in America that breeds gangs, drug use, and violent crime. I would not want to be a policeman and I think we need them. I try to give them the utmost respect at all times, even when I don't get courtesy back from them. You can't always tell whether you're dealing with a bad cop or just one who's had a real rough night. They're human beings, too.