The Top 40

Today I was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop to simply tell someone that they had a taillight out.

This kind of traffic stop is used to look for other offenses and has nothing to do with 'safety'.
This kind of traffic stop is NOT a kindness.

Wrong pkerot….a burned tail light is a matter of safety and cops don't go around all wound up with suspicion about "other offenses" when they encounter one. Grow up.

I worked as a cop and it was the most thankless and underpaid job I ever experienced but in that period I came to understand, very clearly, how cops think and why they act as they do.

My recommendation to all of those folks who have swallowed the "hate the cops" BS is to get out and ride with the police before you open your mouth. What you will learn will astound you.

If the citizenry continues to treat law enforcement as their enemy they should not be surprised if law enforcement comes to believe them.

Law enforcement holds a lot of potential power. They could do lots worse than they do but they are held, and hold themselves to a set of morals and values that limits them. No such restraints are on the miscreants and suspects with which LE comes in contact.

Think of a game: the cops come across some guy that's doing something illegal. For the guy, the worst outcome is he loses his freedom when he is locked up. For the cop, the worst outcome is he gets killed. Sound fair?

I have worked with LE in the military and out and I am 80/20 comfortable around them. there are some bad 'uns but for the most part I think they are good guys.

The one and only time I've ever been stopped was for a burned tail light. The car I was driving was my mom's from out of state, and I don't think I was even on the insurance yet. In other words, there were a few things about the situation that could have been problematic, if he was looking to give someone a bad night.

He didn't ask to search the car. He just told me it needed to be fixed, and I also needed to be on her insurance. Oh, and have a nice night and drive safe.

I don't remember if I thanked him, but I hope I did.

Thanks, Jack. For everything.

Being older, I have had a lot of good interactions with cops, especially highway patrol, and cops in rural areas and places where there are tourists.

That said, I can take care of myself. If I see someone who needs help, I don't need to be a cop to help them. If I should need help, I found that people passing by are often just as much if not more help than a cop would be. Being a police officer is less dangerous, per capita, than farming, commercial fishing, and coal mining. I can get by without a cop better than I can get by without food or electricity. Perspective is important.

By the way, notice that the policeman says, "Today I will not catch ...". The police come in, usually, after the crime has been committed. Did you ever have a burglary? Did the cops ever get any of your stuff back?

Also, watch Electra Glide in Blue sometime. If you know how it goes, the fact is that the bad cop who planted evidence got the good cop killed. Maybe that's what happened in NYC.

Small town cops have a slightly different attitude from big city cops. I've lived both place and have encountered both types of cops.

I believe cops are the largest threat to the well being of all citizens of the US regardless of race.

Using the cops own records, you are 10 times more likely to be killed by a cop than anyone else.

I have no use for them.

I work in an industry subject to MUCH extra scrutiny from police and "special police" just for our industry as well. I've worked as a pizza delivery driver, and I do and/or have worked hours that have me driving at "suspicious" hours.

NOT ONCE has the cop(s) I've come into contact with been less than generous. In almost all cases, my honest explanation of what I was doing, a minor violation of law/regs, was met with NO TICKET or penalty. But then again, I haven't spent my entire life training to project the thug vibe and I don't turn even the most minor contact with a cop into my one chance to fix the whole damn world.

Certain states in this country have a well-earned reputation for super strict enforcement, and I have been in those states as a member of a special enforcement group. I've never had a ticket even for violations I have deserved which would earn the jurisdiction a few hundred dollars.

I've lived and worked in majority-monority areas and as common as the whine "the man is keeping us down" is something approaching 24/7 preparation for going berserk at the next contact with LEO.

I've had a cop in the family and have worked with former and retired cops. I've heard from them several times "if you aren't a racist when you become a cop you will become one while you are a cop." This is entirely because of the nature of the people you meet all day, every day. You are not meeting a cross-section of the community. You are meeting the same trouble-makers over and over and over and over for years at a time.

I'd rather have the cops, with all of their problems, than help The Leftists destroy the only thing standing between civilized life and the thug-life that will prevail once the ACLU and the CPUSA get what they want from cops. Don't do things you know are illegal and don't turn your episode with a cop into a combination law school class and MMA event.

I've been around cops all my life. Cousins were Feds. I was too, Marshall's Service for a while. Uncle the Warden of Weschester County NY Penn. Nephew now NYPD. Current neighbor was the chief in an Ohio town. What comes of this?

One thing is the cops now retired wouldn't join today. Every cop knows who the assholes are in the community. They used to be able to grab them, give them a thump and drag them home to parents who would 'correct' behavior'. Parents now cannot do that. Neither can the cops.

Arrest them, sit in the precinct filling out the paper work while the perp goes back on the street to raise hell again. Put the arm on him again and he'll scream brutality. I'm a victim.

The only thing the man is holding him down from doing is committing another felony.

Libertarianism is nice and I am a Libertarian, but it can go too far. From the individual to the Nation there needs to be a strong righteous code that is enforced giving no one side favor. Until then we're going to have a rough time.

ghost, I have to disagree with you on this: I believe cops are the largest threat to the well being of all citizens of the US regardless of race.

The larger threats would be criminals that rob, loot, rape and murder people and a fascist government.
Copa are the least of our worries.

When a private thug attacks you you can kill him without regret. When a gov't thug attacks you and you kill him you will regret it, massively.

You will recognize the private thug instantly and react accordingly. You will not recognize the gov't thug because his costume will cause you to believe he will not harm you until it is too late.

It is possible to avoid all private thugs. The largest network of thugs in the US are gov't employees and they will seek you out no matter where you are.

I can't think of one thing the gov't thugs do that is beneficial.