What makes a cop different?

[Kevin3824]

I am siting here thinking and I know that can be a dangerous thing at times but most cops I have ever met seem to think that they are some way immune to the laws of the land.
I would think that even cops would be trained in basic gun safety. One of th first rules I learned in gun safety was never to point a gun at anything you did not WANT to DESTROY. Secondly I learned never to put your finger on the trigger until you have acquired your target.

If a citizen were to point a gun at another person they would be guilty of asault with a deadly weapon at a minimum. Possibly reclaus endangerment or even attempted murder if they pulled the trigger and missed.

It seems to me the first thing a cop does when in doubt is pull his weapon and point it at their suspect. I wonder what would have happened if the two cops at the buffet had 12 guns drawn on them as reaction to them puling their weapon on the 12 there.

I have a thing about cops breaking the law to try to enforce another law. I have seen cops break like 6 laws just to pull a person over for a bad vehicle inspection sticker.

That uniform should not make them immune to the laws of the land.

I also have no interest in their "good ole boys club" they may have either.

I have lost faith in their ability to protect me when I recently saw a State Trooper at the range jump up in excitement that he hit the target from 25 yards after about 60 tries.

BTW The range up SGL Range in Hawley near lake wallenpaupack is really nice and typically not to crowded these days but still has a lot of out of town people there these days. Beware of the conservation officer though he is a stickler for the rules and enjoys writing tickets out. I think he even wrote one to a guy for not removing his targets after he accidentally shot himself in the leg doing cowboy draws last week and went to get stitched up.

anyhow HTH I hear the range calling me again Practice, Practice, Practice

[SHEPHERD321]

They take an oath to perform their duty. I still think that when the situation gets dire and they abandon, like in N.O. it should be a felony crime. Blame the leaders? take a good look at who they are, if you don't trust them, don't work for them.

[Vig]

I do agree with you on several points. I've recently watched a cop point a firearm at three floors of bedroom windows in an attempt to get someone to refrain from climbing onto the roof--yes, I had a gun pointed at my bedroom window with a finger on the trigger. Not the first time the cops have drawn in my presence, but the first time I've had a cop point a loaded firearm at me. I do, however, find it ironic that a cop points a firearm at a person to get them to comply with an order for their own safety...

I've also been stopped by a campus police bike patrolman for speeding in the parking garage (was doing 20, not 5) right under a sign that read "no skateboards, rollerblading, or bicycling on the premisis."

I think that cops break the law to enforce the law sets up a dangerous double standard that ultimately leads to the community disrespecting the badge and only complying with the police because they have a gun.

[Kevin3824]

They take an oath to perform their duty. I still think that when the situation gets dire and they abandon, like in N.O. it should be a felony crime. Blame the leaders? take a good look at who they are, if you don't trust them, don't work for them.

Their oath is sworn to obey and uphold the laws of the state and federal government.

We have seen many times here that they do not even know the law in order to obey or uphold it.

[Pa. Patriot]

What makes a cop different?

Public acceptance and indifference.

[knight0334]

Laws are supposed to apply and protect equally. Having a law that increases penalty towards a certain class, race, gender, etc of citizens is just plain wrong and unconstitutional. I know some of the LEO's here may be offend, and I'm sorry for that, but adding increased penalties for crimes against LEO's goes against what the Constitution is about.

If they want say, cop-killers, to serve more time - they should write the law so that killers of ANYONE should serve more time.


About LEO's breaking the law - we too can provide a justification for breaking laws while arresting someone for a crime. However we cannot, nor the police for that matter, endanger others beyond the scope of the incident while doing so. Look at self defense, killing someone is illegal. And if you kill an attacker, you commit homicide. However there is an underlying justification for breaking the murder law. Or if you witness a kidnapping and no LEOs are present, nor can you contact one - you may provide justification that you were attempting to save that person's life for the redlights that you slowed for but ran when it was clear, or passing in no passing zones, or running a stop sign when the coast was clear without stopping, etc..

[JoeWilliams]

Being a former cop, I think they should (on the whole) be respected for the job they do for us. I also think they need to be watched closely, because what makes them different is POWER, and it does corrupt.

[GunLawyer001]

If cops were never allowed to break the law, then how would they catch speeders? You can't catch up to someone who's doing 80 if you can't exceed 50 yourself. You can't radio ahead and have other officers stop the speeder if you're not allowed to block a thoroughfare.

It's illegal to buy prohibited drugs, should we crucify cops that make undercover purchases from dealers?

I agree that there's far too much of the "brotherhood" thing going on, with "professional courtesy" excusing off-duty drunken cops and speeding cops. Cops lie to protect each other at the expense of innocent citizens. Cops point guns at people where they are not facing an imminent deadly threat, and cops shoot people for nothing more than making sudden moves. Increasingly, cops seize guns from people who are not doing anything worse than driving with an expired tag or coasting through a stop sign, or worse, are just being talked to without any crime at all.

So the balance needs to be drawn better, but we simply can't hold cops who are on duty to all of the same rules.

[Pa. Patriot]

...

So the balance needs to be drawn better, but we simply can't hold cops who are on duty to all of the same rules.

Great point.

We do need to hold them to the same rules where they are clearly abusing self ordained (read, nonexistent) privilege. But again, the public is generally too apathetic to care.

[brokenarrow]

If cops are so bad and you are so good why don't you become one and begin to change the LE environment ?
If you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem. Right ?
I know. You don't have to tell me. It's beneath you. Not enough money.Crappy hours. ect. ect.
Besides, you don't need the hassle of becoming the premier "Top Gun" of all of the commomwealth's LE agencies.