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Ice

Posts:46

01/07/2008 10:04 PM	Alert
Why would you assume that "ghetto trash" is who stole the car? I would love to see your CSI badge. Think about it, you steal a car and drive it to your house roughly in the same neighborhood. Probably not the best idea since your neighbors notice your new car with the broken window in it. Just to let you know, their is a slightly larger city to our north that would be much harder to find a stolen car in.

RichTig

Posts:0

01/07/2008 10:20 PM	Alert
<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Denna on 01/07/2008 9:01 PM Family Guy - For shame. You are blaming the victim. You are saying that we, in Maricopa, are asking to be robbed if we leave our car outside of the garage? If that is the case, then we have a serious crime problem. The police really shouldn't be doing task forces to issue tickets while homes and cars are being robbed daily. I sometimes wear tops that show cleavage. Should I be raped? Does that say, "come have sex with me"? People should be able to park their cars in the street without them being robbed by the ghetto trash that has moved into our community.</div> Could you please identify the 'ghetto trash' ? Names/addresses and such?

Jason

Posts:3378

01/07/2008 10:52 PM	Alert
Posted By GoinCrazy on 01/07/2008 4:21 PM Ok...(cracks fingers before furiously typing like a mad person)... Another thing, you stated the department is "trying to make a quick buck on the back of someone driving inattentively." The problem I have with this statement is if you are driving inattentively, you should not be behind the wheel and it is people like that who cause accidents. If someone is driving inattentively, they deserve the ticket they receive. I continue to see new and innovative ways people drive inattentively. I just recently saw a lady, in an SUV, speeding, smoking and texting right through a red light. I honked at her and she actually looked at me as if I was the one with the problem. Ticketing people after the fact, especially after there has been an injury or fatality isn't helping. We continue to have more and more inattentive drivers that don't know even know the rules, let alone how to handle their vehicle in an emergency. Driving is becoming a layman's task, where no real skill is needed, and that is a dangerous thing, considering that you're commanding a vehicle that can exert great force and possibly kill or maim many people at once. How many people go take a thorough driving test/highway survival course after a ticket? Task forces for speeding do one thing: lower the speed of vehicles at the point that the task force is patrolling. Sometimes even at the risk of near accidents! I've had people nearly swerve into me because they braked so hard (and they were only going 5-10 over the limit!) Nowhere else, and at no other times. Everyone still complains about how fast people go on 347. They haven't really done anything to nail people driving while distracted. How many red light task forces have there been? I've nearly been severely injured/killed several times at our very poorly designed intersections by people that were merely inattentive, not even speeding. I'm sorry, when our driving education system is as poor as it is, I can't work up much sympathy for feel good measures like speeding task forces. Not when you consider the ~40 MPH differential between traffic going the speed limit on Smith-Enke and those that routinely run the stop signs. Not when there are still semis and huge, lifted trucks that run stop lights. Nope, fix the education system and then you'll see an improvement. Until then, keep supporting our revenue enforcement systems and you'll see the small temporary increases in safety. That said, I do appreciate what the police department does. Perhaps they are the only thing standing between us and insanity on our roads.

Joined: Jul 2005

Ptarmigan

Posts:14

01/08/2008 8:23 AM	Alert
<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Ice on 01/07/2008 10:04 PM Why would you assume that "ghetto trash" is who stole the car? </div> Hmm, I wonder. Are the people responsible for the thefts of and from vehicles: A) Ghetto Trash B) Stockbrokers C) The cast of Friends D) Supreme Court Justices

Bob J

Posts:117

01/08/2008 10:44 AM	Alert
"The people responsible for the thefts of and from vehicles" could be the teenage offspring of B)Stockbrokers C)The cast of Friends D)Supreme Court Justices

kharless

Posts:75

01/08/2008 12:41 PM	Alert
I'd like to get back on subject here....about cleavage.... Enough said... Thanks!

47.2 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot! 1,283,412 POSTS (Am I the weaner yet?)

Ptarmigan

Posts:14

01/08/2008 12:44 PM	Alert
<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Bob J on 01/08/2008 10:44 AM "The people responsible for the thefts of and from vehicles" could be the teenage offspring of B)Stockbrokers C)The cast of Friends D)Supreme Court Justices</div> Interesting that you don't mention that they could also be the offspring of ghetto trash. Surely, stealing cars is a pretty trashy activity, wouldn't a car thief, or the kind of person who would steal from a car, be ghetto trash by the very nature of their actions.

caveman

Posts:1014

01/08/2008 1:46 PM	Alert
<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Ptarmigan on 01/08/2008 12:44 PM <div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Bob J on 01/08/2008 10:44 AM Surely, stealing cars is a pretty trashy activity, wouldn't a car thief, or the kind of person who would steal from a car, be ghetto trash by the very nature of their actions.</div> Wouldn't it depend on the kind of car they were stealing? If you are stealing dodge neons and cavaliers you are probably ghetto trash but if you are stealing high end autos you are more likely to be a professional car thief.

Sinbad

Posts:3033

01/08/2008 1:55 PM	Alert
<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Jason on 01/04/2008 7:12 PM I saw it too. With all the traffic, we were lucky to break 35 MPH in the 45 when I went through. Hopefully they were going after red light runners.</div> LOL.... but let the speeders go! ha ha ha ... I say Hang them all. <img src='http://www.85239.com/desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/blink.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Blink' align='absmiddle'>

Just doing it one day at a time. Change is good and it should be looked upon as an improvment! not a problem. ______________________________________ *************************************** San Diego Super Chargers! GO!!! Joined old forum March 2006 Post count: 3068 + these

JasonY

Posts:1874

01/08/2008 1:57 PM	Alert
Saw a ton of police Saturday evening at the northern entrance of Cobblestone, finally they might pay attention to the red light runners.

"Your village called.........they're missing their idiot"

Sinbad

Posts:3033

01/08/2008 2:05 PM	Alert
Some of you have gone on and on and on and on long enough for me to become Numb to the problem. SO.... I chaulk this thread up to Not giving a care.... See yeah!

Just doing it one day at a time. Change is good and it should be looked upon as an improvment! not a problem. ______________________________________ *************************************** San Diego Super Chargers! GO!!! Joined old forum March 2006 Post count: 3068 + these

Jason

Posts:3378

01/08/2008 2:45 PM	Alert
Posted By Sinbad on 01/08/2008 1:55 PM Posted By Jason on 01/04/2008 7:12 PM I saw it too. With all the traffic, we were lucky to break 35 MPH in the 45 when I went through. Hopefully they were going after red light runners. LOL.... but let the speeders go! ha ha ha ... I say Hang them all. At the time I went through, there was so much traffic no one could speed.

Joined: Jul 2005

GoinCrazy

Posts:190

01/10/2008 12:03 AM	Alert
----Ptarmigan, this is my first post and had to get on using my wife’s name because I usually never get riled or care what others say. It’s American and you know what they say about everyone having an opinion. Anyway I actually got a laugh at you ignorance on this matter. Three continents of driving and 11 years of military police make you an expert on police matters, kills me!! It’s not a competition but I have you beat by one continent and 16 years of true police experience. I worked the streets in California, worked true law enforcement military bases with the air force and now with the feds. I am sure your military police experience is nothing like working the streets of a local municipality. Don’t get me wrong the military training is great for the capacity it serves and I did learn valuable and life saving stuff. This is my disclaimer before I rip into your blog, as you did for my wife’s. You said... >>Do you not think that the public would be better served with a task force to reduce domestic violence, gang activity, drug use or graffiti? Of course not, there's no money in that. When someone finds a way for the Police/City to make money from say, Domestic Violence, then my friend you'll see a task force operating there most rickey tick.<< -DV task force is funny. With all your experience do you really think such a unit would have an impact on DV’s. I think my tax money was wasted on your military training. I will give you credit on the others since specialized units attacking these problems could be useful. With that said these special details, are funded through federal and state grants that are already paid and on the table for local departments to utilize. The simple fact is if MPD does not jump on it some other agency will pick it up and the city of Maricopa is left out. Yes, we pay for them in taxes but it is decided on those higher levels and not at our level where we could have a say on it. So why not take it, if it is available? You said... >>Quite possibly, however, again, more could be achieved by focusing those resources on issues that are, in all fairness considerably more serious, . I have first hand experience of this. What happens is that the public fully supports the activities of the department for a while, and then, after people, their friends, their families and their co-workers get tickets, the police department starts to alienate the very citizens it is supposed to serve. I'm not certain that's a good thing. I think the police may get a better response from the public by perhaps issuing the odd warning. This department tends to reach for the citations rather too fast. Now, I don't mind getting a ticket. I've been driving for almost 20 years on three continents and have picked up a few of them over the years (three to be exact), but I truly believe the this ticket happy attitude is not in the best interests of either the citizens, or the Police themselves. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to assist them now.<< -Again these task forces take nothing away from the city. The department brings in extra officers, paid for by the grants, to conduct the details. The usual force is still on the streets to answer the calls of the city. I don’t know what an “odd warning” is but these officers have great discretion in writing the ticket. The chief wants 6mph over to be written but you again are not there for all the stops these officers conduct. More traffic stops result in a verbal warning and not cited (maybe the exception are the motorcycle officers). Trust me on this one, and yes it is a good tool to educate the citizens without bring on animosity, they are not ticket happy. If you still don’t believe me pick up a scanner, monitor every traffic stop to see what is verbal and what is cited. Or just log in the total stops and compare to the weekly reports given out by the department to see how many citations were written. ALSO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL BE BETTER OFF IF YOU DIDN’T GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO ASSIST THEM. IT’S A SHAME WITH ALL YOUR TRUE POLICE EXPERIENCE. You said... >>1. I have complained, but for some reason, the MPD are somewhat reluctant to call me back. I have, in the last 2 weeks seen one officer execute a dangerous U turn, one officer drive down the suicide lane causing others to swerve to avoid him, one officer driving along at night without lights, two separate officers speeding, and an officer fail to stop at a stop sign. I could care less what call they received because Arizona Law states that they must drive safety in response to an emergency call, and that they must display audible and visual warnings when driving outside the traffic laws. As, at no time were such warnings displayed, the officers were not driving in accordance with the law, and were therefore no better than those they ticket. This, my Dodge charger driving friend, is hypocrisy. It's also abuse of authority and unprofessionalism. I certainly expect better. Not only did I witness these things, but due to the sheer amount of bad driving I have seen from MPD (not PCSO or DPS I hasten to add) I have started recording said poor driving using the video feature of my cellphone. I will be making a CD which I intend to deliver to both the Chief, City Council, new City Manager when he gets here and also DPS. I'm going to post it on a website, which I will call www.copacopscantdrive.com.<< -First thing, if complaining to someone to get your name noticed is important, give me your name and number and I will make sure you are contacted by the right people in the department. I know many officers there and that is not the reason I defend them. If you seriously witness acts by the officers that put citizens in danger, then some of your points are valid. BUT these acts by themselves could be done for a reason. You were a cop so explaining why it is done is redundant. If you forgot I will refresh your memory. Again, I don’t condone putting citizens in danger but to keep pace with the criminal element, unorthodox maneuvers are needed to keep them within an arms reach of the law. You are right ARS 28-624 states drive with due regard for safety. Unfortunately in that line of work, officers are placed in a hard position. It is human nature and public demand to arrive as fast as you can to help out but the consequences are severe if something goes wrong. These officers put their jobs on the line every time they are responding in this sue happy society. If an officer is found reckless or even just to be at fault termination is inevitable. Do you lose your job if found responsible for causing a major accident? Most people keep their jobs when they have been convicted of DUI. Do you think police officers have that luxury? Also being watched at all times doesn’t help. Let me follow you for 10 hours straight of driving and you can tell me how you feel. 98% of police officers are trying their best with what they have to work with. When the 2% go out-of -line, it just brings down the rest because the citizens, like you, think that action represents the whole department. The process is hard enough to get hired as a police officer but there is no fool proof method to find all the bad apples. Most other occupations do not have to worry about an employee messing up and have the public knowing or even caring about it. It is people like you that stir things up and others jump on the bandwagon in criticizing the police department. This is why I should have started my career as a firefighter. They are great guys and do outstanding services to the community but do not get the backlash that police get. Don’t forget firefighters have dangerous jobs but they do not have to wear special vests for the whole shift. These officers make only 50k a year and put their lives on the line and could be kissing their family goodbye for the last time when they leave to go to work. You said... >>hang on a second. You just said that people driving poorly deserve a ticket. Now you are saying slack should be cut? You can't have it both ways. Either we're having a zero tolerance policy towards bad driving, or we're not. If we're punishing and harassing the citizens, then we should certainly be punishing and harassing the cops to the same, if not a greater degree. If the citizenry are accountable for their driving, then so should the cops be. As for having people critiquing my every move. I've spent 11 years in the military, and have worked for some time as, you guessed it, a Police Officer (I'm not anymore) and so I know what these guys go through. It also makes me more critical of them because their badge is an obligation to be better drivers, not a shield from the same laws you and I are bound by (at least when you're off duty anyway).<< -Again, officers are held accountable. In fact they are held to a higher standard. You should know that. Even off duty their actions can have severe consequences where someone else could have been hooked up for DV the night before and be back at work the next day. Officers can’t do that. In fact a law come out and affected them more so. New DV laws came out in the late 90’s that took away officers jobs because of prior DV’s, which may have occurred decades ago. Sometimes firefighters are in the same situation, Ramsey’s incident, but others in that circumstance would have been able to keep their job. If an officer received a citation, and they do, a memo or reprimand is issued to their file or PIF and kept for a period of time. If you received a ticket, would you get a memo in your file? You said... >>All irritating, and yes, I bitch about all of them. However, the trash truck, landscapers and tow truck aren't writing other people tickets for their grass shedding, trash dropping and rick throwing infractions. The police however are, and that therefore means that their eye has to be plank free before the citation pad comes out.<< -What is plank free? Again many more traffic stops end up as verbal warnings. I know a few officers that only write if they have to. Even though I have been around the block a few years and currently work the same capacity with the federal government, I do frequent ride alongs, and I am impressed with the professionalism. Also, I have witnessed the PR that goes with the job and MPD are doing the best they can. Ticket writing is not their first instinct or priority, take my word for it. If you drive these streets enough you will see that violations just fall in their laps and do you want them to just drive with blinders on? Yes, the speed limits are too low in spots but it is not the officer who determined the speed and places those white and black signs into the ground. You said... >>I've had very few dealings with the Police since moving to Maricopa, however, a young PCSO officer attended a report I made before the MPD were operational. He was polite, and did a great job. I called the Sheriff to praise the officer. I'll give credit where it's due, and my only problem with the MPD is the way that they drive. If their driving were above reproach, I'd not have a problem with them issuing tickets for similar infractions. It isn't, and they seem a little ticket happy for my liking. I'm sure they're all wonderful people, but to act like their poor driving should be forgiven because they do a great job elsewhere, is frankly, a little silly. If they pull over a Doctor who saved three lives in the ER that day, does he get a pass? What about the Paramedic, the teacher, the soldier just back from Iraq? Do they get passes for driving badly because they do good work? Should they, or is this something only cops get forgiven for?<< -Did you forget you were a police officer before? Did you write everyone or not do traffic stops at all? Maybe your Commander took away all your discretion. I have worked for many Commanders, Chiefs, supervisors, and everybody in between and never had discretion taken away. Of course it is a powerful tool and occasionally abused but contrary to your belief a rare situation. Again I reiterate, most traffic stops end up a warning, including for those professions you mentioned. Also I have heard that officers in the Phoenix valley have written citations to other officers committing traffic violations, so no one is exempt (actually foreign diplomats are). The wife and I have also received speeding tickets before but you don’t see me bitching and complaining. We broke the law and received the appropriate punishment. Everybody forgets it is the citizens that vote in the people deciding the laws, who then expect the law to enforce them. They are just doing their job and what is expected from the ones who keep them employed, thus providing for a family. If someone is mad about a certain law or violation, take it up with the ones who can change it, not the police. You said... >>There's over 60 of them anyway. That's actually a fairly high number for this size of community. And yes, I'd pay more taxes for the cops to have decent equipment, decent training, and targeted task forces (for which federal and state grants are almost always available. Maybe they could even use some of the ticket revenue.<< -This section clearly indicates the ignorance. Call the department; they will let you know how many there are so don’t shoot your mouth without knowing the facts. WAIT, I will save you time so you can write and complain some more, since it seems like you have nothing better to do. The newest officer has a call sign of M42. Two great officers have recently left for better pastures, so that leaves 40 officers for the streets. Take away the two Chiefs, SRO, PIO, two Detectives, and recruitment, and that leaves a number far less than your over 60 statement. WOW they must be good because people think there is more of them. Good job on their part. In fact they are about 15 short of what is authorized and are doing the best they can to deal with a very demanding city. It seems possible to put one on every corner of JWP -There is a lot less street corners on JPW, than actual street corners within city limits. Have you looked at the city map lately? A lot of streets are a very long distance from one side of the city to the other. Take for example a major incident occurring in the city, taking a few officers off the street and then there is a call in Tortosa but the only officer free is just clearing a call on Ranch in Alterra. Also the call is a 911 hang up and the officer cannot go code. That is a long time before the officer gets there and those calls could be dangerous for the household. BUT you don’t want them to go a little over the speed limit, in a safe way, to get to the call. Make sure when you need help tell the dispatch to inform the officers of the proper speed when responding.

Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference. Unknown

Devil Dog

Posts:406

01/10/2008 2:19 AM	Alert
If you go the Speed Limit - you have nothing to worry about!

"Always Moving Forward"

beowulf

Posts:427

01/10/2008 7:26 AM	Alert
<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By GoinCrazy on 01/10/2008 12:03 AM ----Ptarmigan, this is my first post and had to get on using my wife’s name because I usually never get riled or care what others say. It’s American and you know what they say about everyone having an opinion. Anyway I actually got a laugh at you ignorance on this matter. Three continents of driving and 11 years of military police make you an expert on police matters, kills me!! It’s not a competition but I have you beat by one continent and 16 years of true police experience. I worked the streets in California, worked true law enforcement military bases with the air force and now with the feds. I am sure your military police experience is nothing like working the streets of a local municipality. Don’t get me wrong the military training is great for the capacity it serves and I did learn valuable and life saving stuff. This is my disclaimer before I rip into your blog, as you did for my wife’s. You said... >>Do you not think that the public would be better served with a task force to reduce domestic violence, gang activity, drug use or graffiti? Of course not, there's no money in that. When someone finds a way for the Police/City to make money from say, Domestic Violence, then my friend you'll see a task force operating there most rickey tick.<< -DV task force is funny. With all your experience do you really think such a unit would have an impact on DV’s. I think my tax money was wasted on your military training. I will give you credit on the others since specialized units attacking these problems could be useful. With that said these special details, are funded through federal and state grants that are already paid and on the table for local departments to utilize. The simple fact is if MPD does not jump on it some other agency will pick it up and the city of Maricopa is left out. Yes, we pay for them in taxes but it is decided on those higher levels and not at our level where we could have a say on it. So why not take it, if it is available? You said... >>Quite possibly, however, again, more could be achieved by focusing those resources on issues that are, in all fairness considerably more serious, . I have first hand experience of this. What happens is that the public fully supports the activities of the department for a while, and then, after people, their friends, their families and their co-workers get tickets, the police department starts to alienate the very citizens it is supposed to serve. I'm not certain that's a good thing. I think the police may get a better response from the public by perhaps issuing the odd warning. This department tends to reach for the citations rather too fast. Now, I don't mind getting a ticket. I've been driving for almost 20 years on three continents and have picked up a few of them over the years (three to be exact), but I truly believe the this ticket happy attitude is not in the best interests of either the citizens, or the Police themselves. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to assist them now.<< -Again these task forces take nothing away from the city. The department brings in extra officers, paid for by the grants, to conduct the details. The usual force is still on the streets to answer the calls of the city. I don’t know what an “odd warning” is but these officers have great discretion in writing the ticket. The chief wants 6mph over to be written but you again are not there for all the stops these officers conduct. More traffic stops result in a verbal warning and not cited (maybe the exception are the motorcycle officers). Trust me on this one, and yes it is a good tool to educate the citizens without bring on animosity, they are not ticket happy. If you still don’t believe me pick up a scanner, monitor every traffic stop to see what is verbal and what is cited. Or just log in the total stops and compare to the weekly reports given out by the department to see how many citations were written. ALSO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL BE BETTER OFF IF YOU DIDN’T GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO ASSIST THEM. IT’S A SHAME WITH ALL YOUR TRUE POLICE EXPERIENCE. You said... >>1. I have complained, but for some reason, the MPD are somewhat reluctant to call me back. I have, in the last 2 weeks seen one officer execute a dangerous U turn, one officer drive down the suicide lane causing others to swerve to avoid him, one officer driving along at night without lights, two separate officers speeding, and an officer fail to stop at a stop sign. I could care less what call they received because Arizona Law states that they must drive safety in response to an emergency call, and that they must display audible and visual warnings when driving outside the traffic laws. As, at no time were such warnings displayed, the officers were not driving in accordance with the law, and were therefore no better than those they ticket. This, my Dodge charger driving friend, is hypocrisy. It's also abuse of authority and unprofessionalism. I certainly expect better. Not only did I witness these things, but due to the sheer amount of bad driving I have seen from MPD (not PCSO or DPS I hasten to add) I have started recording said poor driving using the video feature of my cellphone. I will be making a CD which I intend to deliver to both the Chief, City Council, new City Manager when he gets here and also DPS. I'm going to post it on a website, which I will call www.copacopscantdrive.com.<< -First thing, if complaining to someone to get your name noticed is important, give me your name and number and I will make sure you are contacted by the right people in the department. I know many officers there and that is not the reason I defend them. If you seriously witness acts by the officers that put citizens in danger, then some of your points are valid. BUT these acts by themselves could be done for a reason. You were a cop so explaining why it is done is redundant. If you forgot I will refresh your memory. Again, I don’t condone putting citizens in danger but to keep pace with the criminal element, unorthodox maneuvers are needed to keep them within an arms reach of the law. You are right ARS 28-624 states drive with due regard for safety. Unfortunately in that line of work, officers are placed in a hard position. It is human nature and public demand to arrive as fast as you can to help out but the consequences are severe if something goes wrong. These officers put their jobs on the line every time they are responding in this sue happy society. If an officer is found reckless or even just to be at fault termination is inevitable. Do you lose your job if found responsible for causing a major accident? Most people keep their jobs when they have been convicted of DUI. Do you think police officers have that luxury? Also being watched at all times doesn’t help. Let me follow you for 10 hours straight of driving and you can tell me how you feel. 98% of police officers are trying their best with what they have to work with. When the 2% go out-of -line, it just brings down the rest because the citizens, like you, think that action represents the whole department. The process is hard enough to get hired as a police officer but there is no fool proof method to find all the bad apples. Most other occupations do not have to worry about an employee messing up and have the public knowing or even caring about it. It is people like you that stir things up and others jump on the bandwagon in criticizing the police department. This is why I should have started my career as a firefighter. They are great guys and do outstanding services to the community but do not get the backlash that police get. Don’t forget firefighters have dangerous jobs but they do not have to wear special vests for the whole shift. These officers make only 50k a year and put their lives on the line and could be kissing their family goodbye for the last time when they leave to go to work. You said... >>hang on a second. You just said that people driving poorly deserve a ticket. Now you are saying slack should be cut? You can't have it both ways. Either we're having a zero tolerance policy towards bad driving, or we're not. If we're punishing and harassing the citizens, then we should certainly be punishing and harassing the cops to the same, if not a greater degree. If the citizenry are accountable for their driving, then so should the cops be. As for having people critiquing my every move. I've spent 11 years in the military, and have worked for some time as, you guessed it, a Police Officer (I'm not anymore) and so I know what these guys go through. It also makes me more critical of them because their badge is an obligation to be better drivers, not a shield from the same laws you and I are bound by (at least when you're off duty anyway).<< -Again, officers are held accountable. In fact they are held to a higher standard. You should know that. Even off duty their actions can have severe consequences where someone else could have been hooked up for DV the night before and be back at work the next day. Officers can’t do that. In fact a law come out and affected them more so. New DV laws came out in the late 90’s that took away officers jobs because of prior DV’s, which may have occurred decades ago. Sometimes firefighters are in the same situation, Ramsey’s incident, but others in that circumstance would have been able to keep their job. If an officer received a citation, and they do, a memo or reprimand is issued to their file or PIF and kept for a period of time. If you received a ticket, would you get a memo in your file? You said... >>All irritating, and yes, I bitch about all of them. However, the trash truck, landscapers and tow truck aren't writing other people tickets for their grass shedding, trash dropping and rick throwing infractions. The police however are, and that therefore means that their eye has to be plank free before the citation pad comes out.<< -What is plank free? Again many more traffic stops end up as verbal warnings. I know a few officers that only write if they have to. Even though I have been around the block a few years and currently work the same capacity with the federal government, I do frequent ride alongs, and I am impressed with the professionalism. Also, I have witnessed the PR that goes with the job and MPD are doing the best they can. Ticket writing is not their first instinct or priority, take my word for it. If you drive these streets enough you will see that violations just fall in their laps and do you want them to just drive with blinders on? Yes, the speed limits are too low in spots but it is not the officer who determined the speed and places those white and black signs into the ground. You said... >>I've had very few dealings with the Police since moving to Maricopa, however, a young PCSO officer attended a report I made before the MPD were operational. He was polite, and did a great job. I called the Sheriff to praise the officer. I'll give credit where it's due, and my only problem with the MPD is the way that they drive. If their driving were above reproach, I'd not have a problem with them issuing tickets for similar infractions. It isn't, and they seem a little ticket happy for my liking. I'm sure they're all wonderful people, but to act like their poor driving should be forgiven because they do a great job elsewhere, is frankly, a little silly. If they pull over a Doctor who saved three lives in the ER that day, does he get a pass? What about the Paramedic, the teacher, the soldier just back from Iraq? Do they get passes for driving badly because they do good work? Should they, or is this something only cops get forgiven for?<< -Did you forget you were a police officer before? Did you write everyone or not do traffic stops at all? Maybe your Commander took away all your discretion. I have worked for many Commanders, Chiefs, supervisors, and everybody in between and never had discretion taken away. Of course it is a powerful tool and occasionally abused but contrary to your belief a rare situation. Again I reiterate, most traffic stops end up a warning, including for those professions you mentioned. Also I have heard that officers in the Phoenix valley have written citations to other officers committing traffic violations, so no one is exempt (actually foreign diplomats are). The wife and I have also received speeding tickets before but you don’t see me bitching and complaining. We broke the law and received the appropriate punishment. Everybody forgets it is the citizens that vote in the people deciding the laws, who then expect the law to enforce them. They are just doing their job and what is expected from the ones who keep them employed, thus providing for a family. If someone is mad about a certain law or violation, take it up with the ones who can change it, not the police. You said... >>There's over 60 of them anyway. That's actually a fairly high number for this size of community. And yes, I'd pay more taxes for the cops to have decent equipment, decent training, and targeted task forces (for which federal and state grants are almost always available. Maybe they could even use some of the ticket revenue.<< -This section clearly indicates the ignorance. Call the department; they will let you know how many there are so don’t shoot your mouth without knowing the facts. WAIT, I will save you time so you can write and complain some more, since it seems like you have nothing better to do. The newest officer has a call sign of M42. Two great officers have recently left for better pastures, so that leaves 40 officers for the streets. Take away the two Chiefs, SRO, PIO, two Detectives, and recruitment, and that leaves a number far less than your over 60 statement. WOW they must be good because people think there is more of them. Good job on their part. In fact they are about 15 short of what is authorized and are doing the best they can to deal with a very demanding city. It seems possible to put one on every corner of JWP -There is a lot less street corners on JPW, than actual street corners within city limits. Have you looked at the city map lately? A lot of streets are a very long distance from one side of the city to the other. Take for example a major incident occurring in the city, taking a few officers off the street and then there is a call in Tortosa but the only officer free is just clearing a call on Ranch in Alterra. Also the call is a 911 hang up and the officer cannot go code. That is a long time before the officer gets there and those calls could be dangerous for the household. BUT you don’t want them to go a little over the speed limit, in a safe way, to get to the call. Make sure when you need help tell the dispatch to inform the officers of the proper speed when responding.</div> ------------------------------------------------------------- You have to much time on your hands...hope you are retired haha and not one of our fine popos sitting on the computer all day...Anyhow this thread is pretty funny

DIRTY BIRDIE User is Offline

Posts:342

01/10/2008 7:46 AM	Alert
LOL Pay Attention and Don't Speed!

GoinCrazy

Posts:190

01/10/2008 9:56 AM	Alert
"You have to much time on your hands...hope you are retired haha and not one of our fine popos sitting on the computer all day...Anyhow this thread is pretty funny" My husband posted that. It was his first and probably last post, too. He never gets on here, but that PTarmigan riled him up. Carry on...

Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference. Unknown

Jason

Posts:3378

01/10/2008 10:43 AM	Alert
-What is plank free? Again many more traffic stops end up as verbal warnings. I know a few officers that only write if they have to. Even though I have been around the block a few years and currently work the same capacity with the federal government, I do frequent ride alongs, and I am impressed with the professionalism. Also, I have witnessed the PR that goes with the job and MPD are doing the best they can. Ticket writing is not their first instinct or priority, take my word for it. If you drive these streets enough you will see that violations just fall in their laps and do you want them to just drive with blinders on? Yes, the speed limits are too low in spots but it is not the officer who determined the speed and places those white and black signs into the ground. It means that before they try to remove the speck from someone else's eye (going 5-10 MPH over the limit on a straightaway with the flow of traffic) they should make sure there aren't any planks in their eye (talking on the cell phone, while making a turn without a signal, running stop signs/red lights). I think we all understand that they have a difficult job, but that does not excuse some of the behaviors that have been seen. At least, that's the way I read it.

Joined: Jul 2005

asugrl

Posts:360

01/10/2008 10:49 AM	Alert
<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By DIRTY BIRDIE on 01/10/2008 7:46 AM LOL Pay Attention and Don't Speed!</div> Or just pay attention. You will find it hard to get pulled over or get into an accident when your eyes are actually on the road, scanning for cops and dumb drivers. I think that's the only way I've never gotten a speeding ticket or an at-fault accident. Well, defensive driving and some luck, lol.

Jason

Posts:3378

01/10/2008 10:55 AM	Alert
Or just pay attention. You will find it hard to get pulled over or get into an accident when your eyes are actually on the road, scanning for cops and dumb drivers. I think that's the only way I've never gotten a speeding ticket or an at-fault accident. Well, defensive driving and some luck, lol. There are a few places in RED (for example) that the MPD can hide, such that you won't see them until it's too late. Especially when they park their motorcycles illegally on the sidewalk.

Joined: Jul 2005

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