Police speeding in school zone

[LandPirate]

I can't speak for other agencies. At mine, we are held to a higher standard. I know not every agency is like this. Sometimes behavior like this is just accepted and it shouldn't be.

That said, if you see one of our guys busting lights, stop signs and speeding it's because they're going to a call. Some calls require that you get there pronto but maintaining silence in your approach. Hold up alarms in banks or other businesses is a prime example. You don't want to tip off the bad guys have arrived when there's an armed suspect inside. He might do something foolish like take your wife or mother hostage. You don't want him to realize the po-po are here until he's out of the bank. So you don't respond with lights and sirens blaring.

[SmithEC]

I won't speak to that particular incident, but I'll take this opportunity to say that I think lunch time school zone lights are stupid. If someone ain't smart enough to keep themselves from being run over, they probably shouldn't be leaving campus for lunch.

Outside of such things as school zones, I wonder if maybe there shouldn't be somewhat of a requirement for Law Enforcement folks to exceed the limit by at least 3 MPH. The requirement for DPS guys on the highway should be about 5 MPH above the limit.

If you put a Trooper on US 59 in Victoria and set the cruise at 68, 69, or 70, how long is the line of cars behind him by the time he gets to Houston? I guess folks get an idea that maybe their speedometer may be off by a mile or two, and maybe the DPS guy's detector is maybe off by a mile or two. This business of folks being scared to pass a cop doing less than the limit drives me nuts.

This business of apologizing is just silly. I would have called and acknowledged that you were right in that I was in violation of the law, but that is about as far as it would have gone.

Any time I hear of someone "almost getting plowed", I have to wonder how much it cost to "almost get your car repaired".

.

[Won Hunglo]

It's all good folks. I just spoke to the officer. He got a new rod & reel from the UPS man. He had a legit reason to speed through the school zone.

[BlueWaveEd]

The UPS story is a cover for the real reason. The Hot Donut light at Krispy Kreme was on.

The real reason is the UPS package required a signature and he didn't think anyone would call him on the speeding.

[htalamant]

Originally Posted by LandPirate

I can't stand that. I'm an officer and believe that we MUST set an example during our routine patrol. It's a different story when you're going to a call. I would hope that the officer got a reprimand. I remind my troops all the time to be conscience about this.

On a slightly different note, when working school zones you'd be surprised how many teachers, faculty and bus drivers speed through them. I've written more than a few bus drivers tickets while their bus is loaded with kids. Mad Moms in Minivans are pretty bad too. I guess they're in hurry to get home and watch The View or Oprah.

I back this statement up 100%. I am very thankful I work in an agency that is very conscientious about this topic. Incidents like this make it much harder for us to get support all across the board. Thanks Pirate 'cause you took the words out of my mouth. We need to lead by example before we can set a standard. -Hector

[BATWING]

Originally Posted by mastercylinder

no, it's not. it's an all too common occurance.

Thats whats I said....

does it matter? if i speed through a school zone, can i ask the cop "did a child get hurt or run over?" bull----.

Yes it matters. You do not have a badge and patrolling a beat. It is what it is and a fact of reality that most social elite, politicians, public officials etc can get away with alot of this the general public do not. Right or wrong it's the way it is.




i believe in a non-emergency situation, cops are supposed to obey the traffic laws just like everyone else. to say that cops get to disobey the law because they have more authority is horse poo poo.

That may be what you believe but unfortunately this is the real world

[monkeyman1]

he should write himself a ticket, then fail to appear ...

[4-Stroke]

There are way more good cobs than bad but somehow the bad ones are more visible. I, however, have encountered with some cool guys lately. I was stopped twice last couple months and got off with just a warning on both occasions. I also was checked by 2 cool game wardens last Saturday. I hope this lucky trend will last for a while.

[htalamant]

We had a guy who used to work with us a few years ago. We used to call him "Mr. Heavy Foot" 'cause he was always catching flak for speeding. He was a helluva guy and I miss working with him 'cause he could make "any" situation no matter how morbid or sad, stressful or jacked up...absolutely funny!!!

I am not exaggerating when I say that he would always get into trouble with our supervisors. We would hear his call unit number being called out from time to time throughout the shifts and one time he was"clocked" on radar and written up by a supervisor. He was reprimanded for driving way too fast in his Crown Vic.


So now you know our agency is obviously "very, very strict" about us speeding and have absolutely no tolerance in this type of behavior. There is no hesitation in policing our own which is why I agree with this agency's standards. It's important to set the example.

Well.....one night, I got into some trouble on a traffic stop. Knuckle to knuckle brawl with two guys and I wanted backup not "quickly" but NOW!! Well, there was "Elmer Fudd" (I am not saying his real name)...man, I was glad he had a heavy foot that night! Then, after it was over with, he got wrote up...again!!!

Mr. Heavy Foot went onto another agency and I still keep up with him from time to time. He now drives a Dodge Charger. Souped up to the max!!! Yikes!! And yes folks...Elmer still has a heavy foot! -Hector