On 4/29/2017 10:47 PM, Savageduck wrote:
On 2017-04-30 01:32:09 +0000, "Mayayana" said:

"Savageduck" wrote

| Do you suppose the friendly officer might give you a break
| at that next speed trap scam?
|
| You have a very twisted view of reality, and I am sure that you would
| not hesitate to call 911 when you have a need for law enforcement or
| other emergency services.
|

It's all true.

In your mind, and as portrayed in fantasy.

I have nothing against cops.

Apparantly you do.

It is a tough job.

Yup!

At the same time, they get very good
benefits. (At least where I live. They're gov't workers,
which are just about the only people still getting
pensions.)

As I have said, I cannot complain about the benefits I earned while I
worked, and my pension was also earned, and not without my monthly
contribution (we do not get Social Security, just MediCare). I also
contributed to my 457 and 401 accounts.

Every once in awhile the local papers
publish the astonishing overtime pay. some in
boston making 300K+ with overtime.

There are overtime hogs everywhere. However, not all of that overtime
is voluntary. Many times officers are ordered over due to staff
shortages, and unanticipated incidents.

What some fail to recognize is that in many cases it's simply cheaper to
have officers work overtime than it would be to hire more officers.
What LEOs encounter and are responsible for is unpredictable, conditions
can change in an instant. It's not easy to predict a precise amount of
hours that will be needed from one day to the next.


Mass seems to
be the only state where, thanks to state police
lobbying, an actual cop is required to be in attendance
for all road work. They sit there in their cars, lights
flashing. Required by law.

That depends on the State. On California State routes, and some
Interstates where major work is in progress, and sometimes (but, not
all times) when CalTrans is engaged in work on State/Interstate Hwys
You might find a CHP officer in attendance. There is a reason for that:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/paffairs/workersmemorial/worker-fatality-statistics.html

https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/facts_stats/safety.htm

I believe in CT an officer is always on hand at a construction zone.
You illustrated exactly why these laws/regulations exist. People do not
drive as cautiously as they should through construction zones, at least
from what I have seen as I've traveled through them and I've traveled
through more than I can remember.




When I was a teenager I worked at a drugstore.
At least half the local cops expected to come in and
get whatever they wanted for a token price. I asked
the pharmacist about it. He said if we didn't pay them
off they wouldn't show up if there was a break-in.

When you were a teenager, where? I don't doubt that you experience
that sort of corruption. However, today, that in my experience is the
exception rather than the rule.

In Suffolk County as well as other (if not all) departments, accepting
freebies or reduced rates is against regulations. But I have to say
that I see it all the time, particularly at a convenience store near my
home that I'm in quite often. One particular cop walks in, gets her
coffee, snacks, etc. and just walks out. Everytime, and I've seen it
happen quite often. After my son got on the job, other cops pointed out
all of the local businesses in the precinct that "do the right thing"
which is code for giving the officers freebies or reduced rates. Sadly,
accepting freebies is not the exception around here. I've told my son
never to accept one and as far as I know, he's heeded my advice.


Though there was one detective who absolutely
refused any discount.

A man of ethics.

I've never met a fireman who didn't have a second
job. High risk, yes. But enough free time for two jobs.

I don't know what sort of FD they worked for, but I would take into
consideration the type of schedule they worked. Different departments
work different schedules. Some work 24 hours on, 24 hours off, with 2
consecutive days off every two weeks. Some work far more grueling
schedules with 4 x 24 hour days on, and 3 days off. Not many have the
energy for that extra job.

Some of them have second jobs out of necessity. As someone with your
years of experience, you know there were times when cop and firefighter
salaries weren't high enough to support a family. My father-in-law is a
retired NYC Battalion Chief. When he started in the FDNY, he had to
have a second job to support his family because his paycheck wasn't big
enough. He knew that it would be some time before his job in the FDNY
paid enough. But he loved his job and stuck with it. I think that the
camaraderie of firefighters in the FDNY is much better than it is in the
NYPD. Their daily situations are different. They literally live with
each other when they are working and they work as a larger unit than two
cops who are partnered and patrol the streets.


For you to deny those things would be immature,

Deny what things? That some firemen work a second job when they are
not scheduled to work? Sure that happens, but that is not what most of
those folks do, it is only what you believe ALL of them do. That is
your particular prejudice. In my case, I was subject to being ordered
over for additional hours due to staff shortage or unexpected
incident. I have also been called back, and ordered in to work hours
after getting home. It is not a 9 to 5 job with weekends and holidays off.
just as it would be unreasonable for me, as a contractor,
to contest the fact that plenty of contractors cheat
people. In neither case are the stereotypes the norm,
but in both cases the nature of the job lends itself to
fulfilling those stereotypes.

My point exactly, and also not every public employee, cop,
firefighter, road worker, or DMV desk jockey is corrupt.

Not every? I think "not every" is not a fair way of putting it. It's
"the vast majority" of public employees. It's a slight minority that
are dishonest.


The last cop I talked to was the one who caught me
in a speed trap scam several years ago. He started
asking all sorts of questions, like where was I going?
Who did I work for? I finally said none of his questions
had anything to do with my infraction. He got haughty
and wrote me extra tickets, for a dirty license plate
and not wearing a seat belt. He didn't pretend that
he wasn't lying about that. I was wearing a seatbelt.
He just smiled and challenged me to argue with him
again. I contested the ticket and won, but the fees
cost me about the same as the ticket!

So, you encountered an asshole cop. They exist, and they should lose
their jobs. Many do.

What you should have done is file a formal Citizen's Complaint. Most
every law enforcement ageny has a means to formally file a Citizen's
Complaint. Check your State DOJ, and Municipal/City PD web sites for
more info.
For Mass. for example there is this.
http://www.mass.gov/eopss/agencies/msp/citizen-concerns.html

Everyone knows the only way to get along with such
cops is to grovel. They need to be boss. It's happened
to me time and again. Of course it doesn't happen every
time. My next door neighbor is a retired cop. Very
sweet guy. And if I need to I'll call 911. and I'll appreciate
the help. So please don't get all high and mighty about
respect for cops. To ignore the potential for corruption
would be naive and dangerous.

I am not getting "high and mighty about respect for cops". When it
comes to respect, cops like anybody else need to earn that respect.
However, you seem to have some ingrained prejudices against law
enforcement officers and other public employees. That I take issue
with because that is not how I conducted myself in Law enforcement for
25 years, and it is not how the vast majority of officers, and
firefighters I have worked with, conduct themselves.