Fear of the law

[RD-Sam]

These people are really getting on my nerves with all these new gadgets, I got on to someone for texting me the other day, I don't have time for that crap!

I had a fella helping me move some cows today and his job was to shut the gate after I led them into a concentration pen that had gates going to other pastures but also the working pen. He was supposed to shut the gate behind them when all were out but he was nowhere to be seen. Seeing the other gates were closed the cows started getting ansi and began heading back to the field they came from and then I saw bozo the gate closer was texting on his dang phone. You would think people would have more sense.

They don't, I hired a guy to help me pile brush one day(asked me for work 3 or 4 times), seemed like every time I looked over there, he was texting. Needless to say he was not asked to work again. I swear, I wonder if 95% of these young people today don't have brain damage or something. :???: It's a rare occasion when I see someone with a kid these days with any manners or a concept of what work is.

 

[Ryder]

We were recently invited to eat at a familys home that had three sons. 16,14,10 years of age or thereabouts..
The kids ate with and visited with the adults and were three of the nicest and most respectful young people I have seen in a long time.

The mother started out home schooling them and then others in the community asked her to schoool their kids. She now has a school with 20+ kids.

She is an energetic and fun sort of person. But she does not tolerate any misbehavior and if one does not make a reasonable effort to learn, she "invites" them to leave.

She is doing something right without the government.

 

[farmwriter]

I know there are some genuinely good people in law enforcement, but I can tell you too - for any of you that haven't had any brushes with the law - we are all walking around (or typing at home) free on the say so of half-witted, ill-educated government employees making just above minimum wage. Long story, so I'll try to condense it for you.
Had a family member that had a little dust-up with a local cop. Personal beef, and the young buck with a badge decided to flex his authority. Court could pretty well see that was the case, so it was pleaded down to a fine and probation. It took 2 years and I'd hate to know how much money to make puddle-of-drool clerks in various city, county, and state offices get the paperwork right to show that the case went to court, was appealed, and pleaded down. In fact, he was taken back to jail long after it was over because a license check for speeding showed he had a revoked license - which was never the case. Total screw up from the get go, all because 2 boys that oughta know better thought they needed to have a pizzing contest.
Big eye-opener for me on just how much the government is screwed up and can screw us over without the least bit of accountability.

 

[john250]

Justice is an industry, these days. I say that because I have watched a county go from a sheriff and one deputy to a department with 8-10 deputies. The jail has gone from 4 cells to 75 beds. The courts have gone from one judge (who rode a circuit) to two full time judges and they tell us we need a third judge.
The population is the same, if not slightly lower than the population in 1950.
People haven't changed, as far as I know, but people get arrested a lot more often these days.
Of course anyone questioning this bloated system is said to want criminals running loose.

 

[3waycross]

Justice is an industry, these days. I say that because I have watched a county go from a sheriff and one deputy to a department with 8-10 deputies. The jail has gone from 4 cells to 75 beds. The courts have gone from one judge (who rode a circuit) to two full time judges and they tell us we need a third judge.
The population is the same, if not slightly lower than the population in 1950.
People haven't changed, as far as I know, but people get arrested a lot more often these days.
Of course anyone questioning this bloated system is said to want criminals running loose.

Did you forget that the first rule of ALL government agencies is to perpetuate themselves and grow. The only growth industry we have in America is the prison system.

 

[gimpyrancher]

Lately, we have so much news in our local paper about one "former" cop after another in court over major felonies. Murders, rapes, robberies, etc., etc. It's not hard to understand why respect has wained. When I was young, if you were in an accident, the cop that arrive was down on his hands and knees caring for us. Now? They will watch you bleed out while waiting for the ambulance. My sister was broadsided by a cop doing 80+ mph down a main drag without lights or siren. 15 years in a care home. They watched as she left a "6 foot fluid trail."

Note any news coverage of a major accident involving police officers. It's the public that helps them and keeps them alive until help arrives. Then the helpful public is disrespectfully shooed away and the officers carry the bleeding officer to a patrol car and drive them to the hospital. Generally speaking, cops used to be one of us. Not so much anymore.

I always try to be respectful, but that changes when I'm treated like trash. :cry2:

 

[plumber_greg]

When I first stated my opinion on cops and the courts, I thought I probably was in the minority. Guess I was wrong. gs

 

[dun]

For the most part it's a lot like the "kids today" syndrome. The majority are ok but it's the bad apples that get the press

 

[Ryder]

When I first stated my opinion on cops and the courts, I thought I probably was in the minority. Guess I was wrong. gs

I don't know if you are in the minority or not, but you are not alone.

Too many have the mind set that there is them and then the rest of us.
It is my understanding that sociological studies bear this out.

I don't think my 8th grade civics book told the whole story.

 

[cfpinz]

I've got nothing against cops in general, some of them are good friends. There's good and bad in every group, but there seems to be an awful lot of self-justification going on these days.

 

[john250]

I wouldn't want to do the job at any price.

What can be fun about breaking up fights and arresting drunks? A friend of mine is still doing this. He works the night shift by choice and mostly patrols the after midnight bar scene. He is not a big guy, but I guess he has a manner that keeps him from getting hurt.

Q.Why in the world do we pay cops to write $20 seat belt tickets?
A. The Feds pay for it. The county gets to put a couple more police on the department and the courts get to grap a few bucks for keeping the record. Everyone wins.

Q. Why do we pay cops to search and destroy marywanna?
A. There is almost no control on mj. Here, possession charges are always a secondary charge: i.e. you get stopped for being crazy drunk and the cop smells something or there is a domestic disturbance and the house smells like something is burning. Commerce moves on undisturbed. It is sold and bought with near zero risk of arrest.
Yet we put a lot of (expensive) helicopters in the air and a lot of men on the ground and we pull a few plants out of some cornfield and put the pic in the paper.
Separate funding, is all I can figure. Feds pay for the choppers, but they don't pay to arrest users and sellers.

Society has a legitimate interest, I think, in discouraging the use of mj--but this is a flat waste of money because use is not being effectively discouraged.

 

[cfpinz]

Funny you should bring up the weed. There was a series of pot busts in our county last week. One of the local gardeners got word ahead of time and when the militia showed up he was out there on a little Kubota tractor bushogging it down, had about 75 plants left to shred. Funny thing was he was using a stolen tractor and a stolen bush hog. Duh.

 

[john250]

Funny you should bring up the weed. There was a series of pot busts in our county last week. One of the local gardeners got word ahead of time and when the militia showed up he was out there on a little Kubota tractor bushogging it down, had about 75 plants left to shred. Funny thing was he was using a stolen tractor and a stolen bush hog. Duh.

"Really Dumb Lawbreakers" is a seperate thread. :lol: :lol:

 

[dun]

Funny you should bring up the weed. There was a series of pot busts in our county last week. One of the local gardeners got word ahead of time and when the militia showed up he was out there on a little Kubota tractor bushogging it down, had about 75 plants left to shred. Funny thing was he was using a stolen tractor and a stolen bush hog. Duh.

I didn;t know you had stolen a kubota

 

[IGotMyWings]

I retired after sixteen years carrying a badge & gun. My training was 480 hours FTO (field training), followed by twelve weeks at the academy. The respect issue does go both ways. I dealt with many people I'd taken to jail, and I'd say that 90% of them (after some time) understood that they screwed up, I caught them, and the price was paid. I treated them with as much respect as the situation would allow - it's hard to remember to say "sir" when you're fighting to cuff someone! Officers, today, are a different breed than me and my bunch of old timers. We did business checks, foot patrols, and got to know our citizens, and they got to know us. Now, it seems (I've actually heard these from young cops) the feeling is, "I'm not a security guard", "They gave me a car for a reason!" and "If they want to talk to me, too bad!"

The other side of the coin is, for example, I stopped a Corvette one night for 48 in a 30. The driver was a fella with his 10ish year old son in the passenger seat. As I tried to explain the reason for stopping him, he was berating me for not catching real criminals and such. He got a ticket. It's things like that which create the lack of respect for the law and those who enforce it. The son sees his father doing what he did, and he grows up with the same attitudes. Heck, there was one lady who thought I was the devil in uniform until her husband had a heart attack. I was the first one there, and I started CPR. When the fire department and ambulance got there, I let them take over. When he was loaded into the ambulance, I followed them to the hospital, taking her to be with her husband. I was okay in her book after that. Even though she didn't respect me, and I knew that, I didn't let it interfere with my duty. Sadly, he didn't make it...but we tried.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, to those who like to nitpick cops - there was one post about seeing officers who were fat and therefore unprofessional - don't hate them all, not even the fat ones. I'm 6'1" and was 280 when I started in police work. It's amazing how quiet a bar fight got when I'd walk in. My shoes were always shined, my badge and other certification pins were mirror polished, my aim with my firearm was true (I held the classification of "expert") and my reports left no detail unclear.

There are bad apples in every bunch, heck, I remember a thread on here where a guy talked about feeding turkey droppings to his cattle! Doesn't make us all bad!

 

[cfpinz]

Funny you should bring up the weed. There was a series of pot busts in our county last week. One of the local gardeners got word ahead of time and when the militia showed up he was out there on a little Kubota tractor bushogging it down, had about 75 plants left to shred. Funny thing was he was using a stolen tractor and a stolen bush hog. Duh.

I didn;t know you had stolen a kubota

And I thought that was pigweed...

 

[GMN]

I think we are lucky to have the sherrif we do, really a straight up guy, goes out of his way to help people, even the smallest of circumstances.When there was a bomb threat at the elementary school, he assigned himself there or one of his deputees, for awhile until they determined it was a hoax. When the local hoodlums were going around smashing mailboxes, ours got it, plus they took my farm sign, that tipped me over into calling the Sherrif, he came out, took a report, even said if the sign showed up, he would bring it back, within 3 hours he came back with my farm sign, and later on, the hoodlums were found and arrested. Don't seem like much, but to me he will always get my vote.

GMN

 

[Ryder]

I think we are lucky to have the sherrif we do, really a straight up guy, goes out of his way to help people, even the smallest of circumstances.When there was a bomb threat at the elementary school, he assigned himself there or one of his deputees, for awhile until they determined it was a hoax. When the local hoodlums were going around smashing mailboxes, ours got it, plus they took my farm sign, that tipped me over into calling the Sherrif, he came out, took a report, even said if the sign showed up, he would bring it back, within 3 hours he came back with my farm sign, and later on, the hoodlums were found and arrested. Don't seem like much, but to me he will always get my vote.

GMN

Seems like he is worthy of your vote.
You must live in a sparsely populated area to get that kind of attention?

 

[ALACOWMAN]

talking to a friend yesterday , he was telling of some guys that broke into some amish homes in Lawrenceburg TN. while they were at a funeral,,, stole some cash and other items, they caught em... the amish werent gonna press charges and gonna make em work it off,,, needless to say after the first day they let the sheriff take em in :lol2:

 

[TexasBred]

I retired after sixteen years carrying a badge & gun. My training was 480 hours FTO (field training), followed by twelve weeks at the academy. The respect issue does go both ways. I dealt with many people I'd taken to jail, and I'd say that 90% of them (after some time) understood that they screwed up, I caught them, and the price was paid. I treated them with as much respect as the situation would allow - it's hard to remember to say "sir" when you're fighting to cuff someone! Officers, today, are a different breed than me and my bunch of old timers. Now, it seems (I've actually heard these from young cops) the feeling is, "I'm not a security guard", "They gave me a car for a reason!" and "If they want to talk to me, too bad!"

We did business checks, foot patrols, and got to know our citizens, and they got to know us.

I remember those days. That was when the officer was not only an officer but a gentleman and a friend even tho he also upheld the law. I've been stopped a few times over the years mainly for going a little to fast and it never crossed my mind to say anything to the officer except "Yes sir, No Sir and Thank you sir" even tho he might have written me a ticket. :lol2: