That's true 03USMC... One time a cop was speeding up behind me with the lights and siren on. I knew I wasn't in the wrong, so I pulled to the side and kept going slow. So the cop passes me and the guy in front of me stays right in the middle of the lane going exactly the speed limit. Big difference, huh?

Like I said... we might as well spend 12 years learning all our laws. Or at one point or another we'll all end up breaking the law.

In my opinion, those who are assigned to uphold the law should be held more responsible for being seen to obey it.

That may be fine in theory but it could be highly impractical in achieving maximum efficiency, so,.... we have to make allowances within reason, the same as in many jurisdictions where the Police on the beat have the authority to make judgements on whether an offender is arrested or merely given a warning.

This is where it all becomes very sticky,.... who is good enough to draw that line. Don't ask me!

I guarantee that those who criticise the Police, if put in uniform for a short time, would soon learn that it is not quite as simple as it seems.

It is vital that we obey the law, however it must be administered in a practical way.

My father has been practicing law in NY for almost 40 years. When he started his practice being a lawyer was a extremely prestigious career. Then the ABA started to lower the standards of who was admitted to the bar allowing the corrupt, megalomaniacs, or egomaniacs into the bar who resort to wasting the state's time and money with such pointless lawsuits such as this.

Its exactly these cheap tactics that have sullied the legal profession.

I don't understand why they'd lower the bar. The last thing we need is a surplus of lawyers.

agreed, i mean something of this manner i can see as being acceptible, but other crap is just bs, like them turning on sirens to go through red lights

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

I don't understand why they'd lower the bar. The last thing we need is a surplus of lawyers.

I dunno either. My dad was top two in his class anyway, so he's unaffected.

Originally Posted by senojekips

In my opinion, those who are assigned to uphold the law should be held more responsible for being seen to obey it.

That may be fine in theory but it could be highly impractical in achieving maximum efficiency, so,.... we have to make allowances within reason, the same as in many jurisdictions where the Police on the beat have the authority to make judgements on whether an offender is arrested or merely given a warning.

This is where it all becomes very sticky,.... who is good enough to draw that line. Don't ask me!

I guarantee that those who criticise the Police, if put in uniform for a short time, would soon learn that it is not quite as simple as it seems.

It is vital that we obey the law, however it must be administered in a practical way.

I'll say this. I think the officer who did it, made a bad judgement call. He should have found a different resturant or used a drive thru. Me I bring my lunch from home mainly because if I didn't I'd probably pack on about 300 pounds. But most Cop's know (or should know) that we are under the microscope on duty.

At my department we've had the following "lunch" related incidents in the last 6 months.

1. Citizen complains that he observed a Deputy at lunch in a resturant for 35 minutes (we get a 30 minute meal break) he knows cause he timed him. Further he is a tax payer and he feels that deputy has breached the public trust and defrauded the tax payers and should be disciplined.

2. Citizen complains that they observed two county units at a resturant at the same time, AND WHO IS PROTECTING THE COUNTY if they are at lunch together. The officers in question were in an in service training class that had broken for lunch not on-duty and subject to call.

3. Deputy on evening shift is observed at dinner with his wife and child. It's the childs birthday and daddy is working so they met him for dinner.
The citizen felt it was unseemly that he should be having dinner with his family in public and on duty. Never mind that a evening shift officer in my Dept generally only sees his family on his days off. The citizen was upset.

So I bring my lunch. Park my vehicle in a State Park eat my lunch catch up with the paperwork and BS with the Ranger. Because I know that out there somewhere is some no life SOB who would begrudge me my meal break or somehow take offense to the amount of time I took (never mind how many meals I've left half eaten and responded to a call),where I ate or what I ordered.

Yeah, you have my sympathy. I have a mate who was a Firefighter in our Metropolitan Fire service, they had the same problems 30 years ago being reported for taking the firetruck to pick up a snack whilst they were on duty. What wasn't stated was that the truck was due to be taken for it's run which is required when not used for the 12 hour shift. All of the crew must go with the truck incase of a turnout whilst this is being done, and it was in a dedicated mealtime so what they did was just the safest and most efficient use of time and money.

Well this is a first but I really can't choose a side in this discussion, I can understand why he did it and people that have so little in their lives that they felt a need to report this guy really piss me off but on the other hand I have no doubt that if it was me or anyone else here that had done this we would have been given the fine and told off for breaking the law.