What happens when....

[meldog]

A few weeks ago, I was driving home in Westchase and a female driving a marked car ran a stop sign and almost hit my family.

I called CPD and advised someone about the incident.

Just out of curiousity, what happens to you all when a citizen complains about your driving?

The Officer will be approached about whatever the complaint is and asked their side of it. If it's serious then an investigation will occur, but for something like running a stop sign you might not see anything happen. The Officer could have been enroute to a call or it could have been a mistake. Only the Officer knows that.

Officers are allowed to break certain laws in order to enforce others or respond to more serious situations. Just because you see an Officer run a red light or stop sign don't assume they are just being careless. There might be something going on that you don't know about. If your house was being broken into I think you would want that Officer running stop signs to get there. :wink:

I think they were indicating it was a CPD marked cruiser who didn't stop. Really don't think we can go with the "Call for service" idea if it happened in Westchase. And if he was with his family and was hit by the cruiser, I really don't think he would give a crap what we were going to. Sometimes we screw up. That's more like the comment that should be made to the person.....

Why would a CPD car be in Weschace? I don't think CPD allows take home out of the city.

[meldog]

When I called your department to report that a marked car with a female driving dangerously (and not in uniform) I spoke to someone.. (last name Slaughter???) and I gave him the car number.

You are right. She could have been actively involved in something (and while she was talking on her cell phone and ran a stop sign and very well could have done some damage to my baby girl).. I accept that. And, I do appreciate the job you all do for myself and my family.

But, when I called, the person I spoke to seemed very interested in a Clearwater police car being in Westchase. I was just curious to know the process of what happens when a citizen is concerned.. and almost t-boned.

Again, thank you for all that you do and the risks that you take dealing with the scum of the world!

[JAFO]

Meldog, take the time and recontact the same supervisor you had spoken with before and see what he learned about the situation. He should be able to give you some kind of reasonable response.

Talking on the web site may not give you the correct answers you are looking for and end up talking to persons only guessing without knowing all the facts.

Thanks, JAFO

That female obviously is not in patrol....but then again aren't they working on getting everybody a take home? That's funny.

[JAFO]

Meldog, see what I mean and that last guest doesn't even work here.

Years ago, a neighbor of mine called the Deputy Chief to tell them my family dog barked when I wasn't home, but while I was at work. My family dog was kept inside the house, windows closed (as it was summer) with food, water and the shelter a comfortable bed to sleep on, and the safety of my home.

I had to explain to the Deputy Chief why my family dog barked because a neighbor complained. I had to explain that my family dog was kept in the house, and our windows were not open due to the fact it was July. It ticked me off knowing that while I worked for the City of Clearwater, yet lived in Palm Harbor, I was subjected to complaints at my employer for a barking dog incident. I wondered if I worked at Honeywell, or Tampa Airport, would someone be able to call and speak to my employer about an incident (non-criminal) at my home outside of my employment.

If this same car had been a Fed Ex truck, or say LabCorp, would this same person call the employer to report them, and expect some sort of reply on a web site? If someone speeds in front of me while driving down US 19, do I follow them to their employer and tell them what they did?

So what, now we add "Hows My Driving?" bumper stickers to the back of the cruisers next to the Department's web address? If we live our lives under the premis of "what if" or "could have" or "almost" - we'd never leave our homes, or allow our children out of our house.

[MOD 22]

AMEN!!

Yah that's crap. The same thing happened to me when a neighbor made a false complaint against me. I work in CT but live in Massachusetts and my neighbor made up a story to try and get me in trouble. He was upset that he had to put in a $40,000 retaining wall because I complained to the town about my water problem. Anyway, he goes to my PD making up all kinds of crap (some very serious) which my PD opens an IA on. I was cleared of any wrongdoing (thank god I had witnesses) but it irks me when the average JOE can make a BS complaint about you when you are OFF DUTY and OUT OF STATE. The public knows they can do it and they will continue to do it because they have a bone to pick with cops. :twisted:

[meldog]

I would hope to think that anyone driving in a reckless manner would be called on the carpet to their superiors if driving was part of their career choice.

That does not only include LEO's but FedEx, UPS, Verizon, etc..

If you pick a career where citizens can see your employers name and phone number on your car... when you do something "wrong" and dangerous- everyone is going to see it and, in all likelyhood, call and tell someone about it.

I am off to work.
Have a great night.

Hopefully the supervisors who take these BS complaints have the brains to realize 99% of them are false. Most complaints made by citizens are people who have been arrested, gotten tickets, etc. By the way MELDOG...where do you work? Maybe some cops can watch you to see what you do wrong and report you for it later.

[meldog]

I am a CPA. I work for large organization locally. I have never been arrested and I have zero tickets. In fact, for a year, I volunteered with your agency (and others) working with DCF in emergency foster care placement for abused kids. I now give my time to the GAL program in Hillsborough County.

In addition to that, working full time and raising a two year old, I also volunteer at the VA in Tampa reading and sometimes just sitting there talking to the veterens that come back from Iraq and have no family or anyone else. I have helped raise thousands of dollars to get everything from knitting supplies to prepaid phone cards to Girl Scout cookies donated for the injured men and women returning from war.

For some reason, you have a chip on your shoulder. I am not a liar or a scumbag.. and MOST people aren't. I am not sure why you think you needed to come at me like that. I am just someone who had to avoid getting hit by someone driving one of your agebcies cars recklessly in the residential neighborhood that I live in.

I realized in reading some of the posts on here, I was better off NOT asking what happens when a citizen has a concern because "we" are always wrong anyway.

I'm Mother Theresa. I do no wrong, and a lot of volunteer work. I'm perfect because of these things. I decided because I didn't get what I wanted out of talking to a Supervisor, I would post something on the LEO's web site (because some how thru my CPA job, all the volunteer work I do, and raising a child alone) I have time and knew that there was a site where I could post something about a cop doing something wrong.

Somehow, this doesn't sound legit -

[meldog]

If you wanted to piss me off, you did.. you won.
I am not raising my child alone, I never said that.

I am far from perfect but you won't find me drunk driving or smoking crack. If that does not sound "legit" to you.. you have a tainted opinion of the world. I believe is being a good person and giving back to the area and the people that serve my country and protect me.

I know about this site because I do police and firefighters taxes for FREE every year. An officer from TPD asked me about deducting his internet expenses and he told me about this site.

Since I now know the true felings about how most LEO's feel about the people of the community, I will not be offering that again next year.

Thanks for opening my eyes.

I have a tainted opinion of the world because what I do for a living, people - and it IS MOST PEOPLE lie to me thru the course of my daily duties. I have a tainted opinion of the world because some people want to kill me because of the uniform I wear... I have to be leary of anyone and everyone I stand too close to.

You came on a cops message board to complain about a fellow officer - what in the heck did you expect? A warm embrace? You claim to be a professional (which is why you told us all about your career) yet posting on a message board about something that a simple phone call to the person you spoke to earlier (because you did know that person's name) would have given you all the answers you desired.

Not stopping at a stop sign is nothing more than a misdemeaner traffic violation, yet you want to make it a Federal Offense. If you reported a specific vehicle, make and model to me after witnessing the vehicle 'stroll' thru a stop sign - I couldn't do anything about it anyway. Traffic Violations must (By Statue) be witnessed by a Law Enforcement Officer - it is considered hearsay otherwise. 300 officers in the department, 10% female, how much time would you like tax dollars spent on this Internal Affairs Investigation? Even bogus complaints are a part of an official record.

Had you been professional in your follow up inquiry, and made a follow up call, and received the answers you were looking for from the person you first spoke to - instead of going on a message board and casting the first stone (i.e. pissing off a couple people) you wouldn't have been fired back upon. You want cops to be professional, yet the public doesn't have to be, and posting complaints on a cops message board about a cop is no where near professional - if there were a public message board about citizens of Westchase, would it be ok if a TPD officer posted something on there about citizens who do wrong in that community and who live on your street? This forum is a Cop community - like family. What did you expect when you came here and criticized a member of our family? Would you be defensive if someone here made comments about your daughter?

It's a cops forum, for cops - not for citizen complaints. I've done nothing wrong here on MY forum about MY family. If you have been offended while posting on this site, that's like having a burglar sue a homeowner because he broke into a house and was injured during the offense. Maybe the burglar shouldn't have been braking into the home to which the burglar wasn't invited, and therefore wouldn't have been injured in the process.....

“northern cop” whines about how he was the subject of a false complaint, then shows why he was probably the pride of his department by wanting to know where “meldog” works, so cops can watch to see if she commits any violations. Let’s retaliate against anyone who makes a complaint on a cop. Pure genius “northern cop!”

And then there’s “Tainted.” I hope to God you don’t work for CPD. Since when is running a stop sign a “misdemeanor” traffic violation? And please note, I spelled misdemeanor correctly. Maybe if you did any sort of self-initiated activity, you’d know it’s simply a civil violation. However, from reading your first paragraph, your paranoia that everyone is out to get you probably keeps you locked in your cruiser, in the middle of an open field, most of your shift – lamenting about the numerous hours you have put in as a police officer, yet no one has formally recognized your vast achievements in crime suppression. And when did we balloon up to 300 officers? CPD has been hovering in the 260 range – give or take a few – for the past decade. Also, the personnel assigned to the Office of Professional Standards (by the way, it’s not called Internal Affairs) are paid by city tax dollars to review and/or investigate complaints against those employed by CPD. The taxpayers don’t get a rebate of their salaries or budget if the investigations are kept to a minimum. And lastly, if you are fortunate enough to join this often under-appreciated profession, you should EXPECT “bogus complaints” to be made against you during your career if you do what you’re paid to do – which is to enforce the law; not be shocked or appalled when it does happen. That’s the nature of this beast. If your psyche is so fragile that you immediately go into this sort of aggressive defensive mode, you need to find yourself another line of work.

To you, “meldog,” all I can say is that those who posted negative responses don’t seem to grasp the fact that you can’t have double standards. Officers penalize citizens for running stop signs, yet they should be immune from any sanctions if/when they do it while off duty in a city vehicle? That kind of thinking will only erode the trust and respect the vast majority of citizens share with the members of their local police departments.

The truth is not much can be done to that female officer. If the investigation were to reveal she did run a stop sign, then most likely a negative entry would be added to her evaluation and she’d be put on notice to drive more carefully or face progressive disciplinary measures. No one – that includes citizens as well as officers - can receive a citation for the majority of traffic violations in our state statutes (which includes stop sign violations) if an officer didn’t witness the violation; unless it involves a crash, and thankfully it did not.

And finally, don’t let the few knuckleheads or Neanderthals who decide to post negative comments taint (no pun intended) your opinion of the majority of law enforcement professionals out there who appreciate the public’s support of what we do.

So in your eyes, posting complaints on a message board would be better than making a follow up call with someone in IA? (I mean, they DO call them IA investigations right? Or are they OPS investigations? Have you ever gotten an "IA" or do you get "OPS"?)

I'm no where near paranoid. Officer safety means something to me, and I wish it meant more to some that I work with. Most people do lie to me during the course of my day. Guess with your angelic wings on, they see you as someone who walks on water, yet wears a badge. Wow, where are you working Walt Disney World PD? Are you stupid enough to show your gun side to everyone you meet? Good practice there - How about just unsnapping your holster for them too?

My point was that this poster wants everyone to know what an upstanding person they are. Supposed to be college educated (CPA) and a wonderful parent - yet feels that expressing a complaint on a cops web site was a good decision whereby they didn't believe they'd be made fun of? CPD has a web site, and a way to contact individuals directly and via emails - that's what that site was set up for, not this one.

Wow - Fantasy cop, with no safety skills living in a Fantasy world - I wanna party with you!!

Speaking of partying did ya hear about the banquet? See you next time dude :shock:

How does doing tax returns for Tampa cops and firemen have absolutely anything to do with Clearwater cops?

Luke – you need to go back and read meldog's first couple of posts. She didn’t post a complaint, she wrote of what happened to her and then asked a “what happens “ question. JAFO responded a couple of times with the professionalism one would expect from someone in law enforcement. But rather then let the post end there, others started ranting about past injustices, and then the next thing you know meldog is getting assailed for having the audacity to actually come on to LEOAFFARIS and post something unflattering about a Clearwater Police Officer - on the Clearwater PD forum!

The truth is all cops are human. We are not capable of being perfect: perfect when it comes to driving, or perfect when it comes to officer safety. We can only hope that when we do make a mistake, it’s a small one where the consequences might be negligible. Are there people out there who are chomping at the bit, just waiting for that opportunity to expose your mistakes to anyone and everyone that will listen – OH HELL YAH! Just read some of the other posts not only the Clearwater PD forum, but on any of the forums on LEOAFFAIRS.

This job puts you in a powerful position; for the lack of a more politically correct way of putting it. With that comes a lot or responsibility, and even more scrutiny by others to make sure you’re not abusing that power. If you cannot live with or handle that kind of every day pressure, do us – but more importantly you – a favor and find another line of work. This job is not for the meek or those who are easily offended.

You, and others, may not like or appreciate that her post wasn’t a warm & fuzzy one dealing with a member of CPD, but that’s’ life. The First Amendment guarantees her, and anyone else, the right of freedom of speech and expression - however the moderator of this forum has the right, if he/she decides a post has violated the terms of use, to delete it. Meldog’s posts are still here, so maybe your beef should be with MOD22. If you want exclusivity, stick to the password protected FOP10 website.

LEOAFFAIRS is open to anyone with a computer and an opinion. You apparently want the CPD forum limited to only CPD officers; and maybe outsiders – but only if their posts are positive in nature. Now who’s the one living in a fantasy world?

Oh, and by the way – with my ‘angelic wings’ I don’t walk on water, I gently hover over it. Which is why I can’t ‘party’ with a biped like yourself.

To Mikey,

I'm not tooting my own horn but your idiotic post about me forces my hand. In my ten years as a "street cop", I have been the Officer of the year THREE times. I have 13 life saving awards and been given countless other awards by my police department. I have been very seriously injured ON DUTY where by the grace of GOD I was lucky enough to survive. I enjoy my job and I'm well respected by my coworkers. You on the other hand...more on that later!

Anyway, I was being facetious when I made the post about wanting to know where meldog worked. If you didn't understand that then you need help. You come off as holier than thou but in reality you are nothing but an overpaid RAT! By reading your posts it's clear to me that you work in Internal Affairs. The thing you don't realize is ALL cops hate RATS like you! You are not respected nor are you considered a real cop. I have only been subject to one IA investigation in my entire career and that turned out to be BS!(UNSUSTAINED) That experience was hell because of you RAT 8astard IA guys who assume we are guilty before you hear the real story. Truth is, you guys head hunt because if you didn't, you wouldn't have a job! Thankfully, I follow the letter of the law and stay out of trouble. BUT, I have seen too many good guys go down because IA had a hard on for someone. In closing I want you to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself this...AM "I A" RAT? A RAT is someone who, behind the smiles and charm, can be terribly obstinate and controlling, insisting on having things their way no matter what the cost. These people tend to have an immense control of their emotions, which they may use as a tool to manipulate and exploit another person, both emotionally and mentally. Rats are masters of mind games and can be very dangerous, calculating and downright cruel if the need arises. Quick-tempered and aggressive, they will not think twice about exacting revenge on those that hurt them in any way. Rats need to learn to relax sometimes, as they can be quite obsessed with detail, intolerant and strict, demanding order, obedience, and perfection. IF I TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE A RAT...AM I LYING?

[JAFO]

The last guest’s name should be changed to “Tooting my own horn”.

Every cop, regardless of department that works hard is the successful completion of their duties on a regular basis fits the bill for the “Police Officer Of The Year” award. Many times awards are won by a single incident, not repeated efforts and true award winners will be the first to admit that fact. We don’t have time for showboating and grandstanding around here. Sounds like “tooting my own horn” needs a larger full length mirror so they can see themselves better.

Those that have won awards here at CPD are excellent officers put in a certain situation requiring them to take the action they deemed necessary at the time. It’s through proper training and teamwork that things get done properly. I don’t think you work here because we don’t have enough doors wide enough for your head to fit into unless you’re the person hanging around in the sally port all the time.

Meldog did nothing wrong. He asked a simple question and I gave him answers, nothing more. It’s obvious that many including “tooting my own horn” does not understand the proper role of a supervisor and spend too much time watching your shadows rather then just doing your job. If you had any decent supervisors and knew how they worked then you wouldn’t be so biased.

You find someone that supports law enforcement and you actually treat them like this? Sorry, but it’s you that may conside finding a job elsewhere because your not doing a very good job as a cop. Being a police officer in any jurisdiction is a give and take or better yet a working relationship, not a one way street. You have some growing up and maturing to do. Let’s hope that mission is completed within your lifetime.

People come here and post by anonymity. There’s a logical reason for that but some take it to extremes and blast people as if they were representing this agency. If “tooting my own horn” really worked here, I’d love to meet him.

To Officer 'I Toot My Own Horn':

Police officers have the all too real ability to negatively affect the lives of others. In the case of issuing traffic citations, it’s mostly financial. The definition of “facetious”: intended to be humorous but often silly or inappropriate. Writing that the cops should watch meldog - what do you find humorous about that, especially when it’s coming from a cop? More like inappropriate.

That lovely rant of yours though does prove my point. There are some in this profession who crave accolades, but cannot handle anything negative directed towards them. And what’s with “If I tell you that you are a rat…?” You called me a RAT in the very beginning of that paragraph! However, a lot of those qualities you associate with being a RAT are also qualities that are required to be a successful in this profession, for example – “immense control of their emotions, which they may use as a tool to manipulate and exploit another person, both emotionally and mentally.” Tell me this isn’t a requirement for any detective assigned to the Crimes Against Children Unit. Is there no room in our profession for officers to “demand order or obedience?” Tell that to the officers who got stuck trying to control the ‘animals’ that came out to the Wild Splash concert over this past weekend. And aren’t all good police officers “masters of mind games?”

Your post not only shows you don’t have the intestinal fortitude to do the thankless job associated with being assigned to the Office of Professional Standards, but that you have no intelligent defense to your initial post – so you must resort to insults.

Dr. Phil will see you now…

By the way, where did you find that oh so eloquent definition of a “RAT?” I’d like to frame it (again, no pun intended) and put it up on my office wall. Sorry, just being facetious!

No matter how you try to paint it, the fact remains that you are a RAT! You proved my point! You are NOT respected by other cops and you never will be. You must be a lonely person. I bet your dog even hates you! :lol: Now scurry away little RAT I'm done with you!

I would like to know if it is possible to get 13 Life Saving Awards in 10 years of being a police officer at Clearwater?

Are they separate incidents or did you save 13 people on a capsized boat?

Or are you hanging out at On Top of World?

It is truly a remarkable achievement to be in the right place at the right time to be involved in a single Life Saving Incident so kudos to you if the count is right.

I.A. has a tough job to do and I wouldn't want to do it. I imagine that most of them that do that job are torn between friendships and investigations but still do their jobs professionally. I believe that in most cases the officers are in the right when they are doing their jobs but I.A. might be mandated to do an investigation anyway based on a complaint or at the direction of the Chief. This by it's nature causes apprehension, anxiety and mistrust from the target officers or officers in general. I understand the mistrust of them because they hold the power to ruin you if an unfavorable spin comes out of the investigation.

I don't like to be second guessed on when I'm fighting with someone either and I do think it is possible for an I.A. investigation to morph into something it shouldn't be and never was. That said, somebody has to Police the Police to keep checks and balances. I can't think of any officers out there that didn't get into this line of work with the sole thought of providing for their family's and doing the right thing for the community, but statistically speaking, not all employees of any organization are pure in this thought process and some need to be weeded out.

I like the way our system works for the most part. Send the minor allegations back to Division Level to be handled appropriately and leave the major allegations to I.A. to handle.

If you find yourself going to I.A. get representation and don't lie.

With having said all of the above, I don't think because you are assigned to I.A. you are a "RAT". A "RAT" should more appropriately be defined as someone who scurries in the background trying to get people in trouble for their own benefit or amusement and not someone who is taking corrective measures to improve the professionalism of the agency and the image of all of the rest of us.

Ahhhh, You said "IA" and Mr Perfect said it wasn't called "IA" that it's the "Office of Professional Standards" He said there was no "IA" which is why I asked him if he himself had ever gotten an "IA" or do they call them "OPS"?

Ofcourse there has to be a way of Checks and Balances - that goes without saying. Yes, I'm sure it's a tough spot to be in when one of your buddies gets a BS complaint from someone that you know you didn't do, and were not even involved in, yet because you are a Public Employee, anyone can make a complaint about you because you were the last name they saw when being placed in the back seat of a cruiser.

Yes, there is a difference between a Sustained IA (Or maybe it's a Sustained OPS in Mr Perfect's book) and one ruled Unsustained. Is the process of being called in any less and questioned like YOU were the criminal and now you have to prove yourself? Nope, no one likes the process, being involved with someone who is a target of the process, or even being threatened with the process.

I agree that BS complaints should be handled on a front line supervisor level. Yet sometimes, BS complaints go right to IA, oops, I mean The Office of Professional Standards and a file is created, and an "IA" or "OPS" has been started.

I want to know how Mr Perfect was posting here during the day, while in his office (because he made the comment he wanted to hang a certain definition on his 'office wall') and on tax payer time, using a tax payer computer while sitting at a tax payer desk. I think we should start an "IA" no wait, he calls it an "OPS" on him, and waste the time of those Professionals in that department.

You could have been succinct, but alas you have chosen to treat everyone to more of your words of wisdom (read: sarcasm). The first paragraph should be enough for those reading your latest post to accurately gauge the level of maturity you’ve attained in your self-proclaimed stellar and award-winning career in law enforcement. It also explains why you’re still harping about that ONE bogus complaint made against you.

Once again your retort consists of insults, threats and the numerous mind-numbing “is it I.A. or OPS” references. This is the same kind of thoughtful and incisive writing one might find in a copy of Mad Magazine. However, I was torn. On one hand I was flattered to see that I moved up from “RAT” to “Mr. Perfect.” But on the other hand, I was sad to see you didn’t include a definition of “Mr. Perfect.” :cry:

Keep these ‘gems’ coming (one can never have too many exemplars of how NOT to write). And as for your powers of deduction – BRILLIENT!

Hey - Brain Trust!

Take off the mask and learn to read. 2 different people/postings regarding 2 different topics. You, Baby Einstein - can not figure that out?

I read both, and in neither can I find a threat.

One poster called you a Rat.

A totally different poster referred to you as Mr Perfect, as you portray yourself as that in your self-rightous "my office" drivel.

One poster mentioned being a LEO from the North - Connecticut I believe.

A totally different poster questioned you on your previous rant regarding the use of the term "IA" -

I bet Humpty Dumpty was/is a difficult read for you also. :roll:

Mr. Mask...You are correct my friend! I didn't write the post titled Ummmmmmmmm. In fact, I didn't write the other two or three posts who disagreed with MR. RAT. Apparently, MR. RAT isn't as "BRILLIANT"(that's the correct way to spell it) as he thinks. His deduction skills are terrible and his reading comprehension is unsatisfactory AT BEST. Apparently, I have MR. RAT'S whiskers in a bunch. His tail is so twisted, he can't get past the fact that someone has the audacity to disagree with him. Well MR. RAT, many people disagree with you! Get over it and have a piece of cheese because life is too short!

To Audie Murphy...I wasn't bragging when I wrote about my success as a Police Officer. I was merely explaining to MR. RAT that I am not a malcontent or disgruntled cop as he insinuates I am. I love my job and do it with pride! MR. RAT didn't like the fact that I informed him that 99% of cops DO NOT respect IA cops. To answer YOUR question, YES it is very possible to get 13 life saving awards in 10 years. And NO they weren't all one incident. In fact, there were 8 different incidents where I helped people out of a situation where they would have died without help. If you want or need the exact circumstances of each incident I will gladly post them. If I came off as holier than thou or supercop, that was not my intent. It just burns my a$$ when people like MR. RAT accuse you of being something you are not. Then again, that's his job isn't it?

Am I reading that right? 13 life savings awards from 8 different incidents? WTF???? Did they give you a different plaque with the name of each person you saved? Do you wear 13 life saving award pins along with the 3 officer of the year pins on your uniform every day to let all know who exactly they’re dealing with? When is your shrine being dedicated?

Hooray! Yet another unloaded weapon (Keep the Mask On) has decided to join this literary gun battle. Your post reads like you watched “The Da Vinci Code” one too many times.

I’m still waiting for any of you to come up with something original, witty, or just plain interesting. It’s always the same: whining about being wrongfully accused (although that was a somewhat funny movie staring Leslie Nielsen - but forgive me, I digress), 99% of all cops don’t respect/like investigators assigned to the Office of Professional Standards, my opinion is backed by the X# of awards I’ve won (but I’m not bragging or otherwise stroking my own ego), MM is a “RAT”, MM is “Mr. Perfect,” blah, blah, blah. BORING!

This bears repeating: when someone runs out of intelligent things to say, or in these instances write, then he/she will resort to insults. I’d expect that from children, not adults purporting to be college educated law enforcement professionals.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to un-bunch my whiskers, straighten out my tail, and get back to tending to my curds & whey.

The Officer could have been enroute to a call or it could have been a mistake. Only the Officer knows that.

Officers are allowed to break certain laws in order to enforce others or respond to more serious situations. Just because you see an Officer run a red light or stop sign don't assume they are just being careless. There might be something going on that you don't know about. If your house was being broken into I think you would want that Officer running stop signs to get there. :wink:

Good try troll. With no lights or sirens all traffic laws apply. Not that anything will ever be done but technically ...

Awesome job in being involved in 8 different incidents and saving 13 people. Some guys have always been and always be a sh!t magnet and happen to be in the right place at the right time. Sometimes I can get streaky like that but on a much lower level. I believe you because it wouldn't be too hard for someone to research it, at least at this agency anyway.

To the guy who asks if you wear all of your awards, I'm not sure if that would be an accurate gauge as I don't wear any of mine and I have a few too. To be honest, I don't want to look like one of those Russian generals in the old war movies and I also don't feel like putting all of those pins on everyday. Call it lazy but I don't want to make a spectacle of myself and how many times does the back of the pins gadget have to fall of before your over it. My reward is watching my kids walk around my house proudly sporting those pins on their shirt while wearing the Class A issued hat with the badge on it.

If you have been fortunate enough in being directly involved in saving one life, let alone 13, you should take a lot of pride in that and trying to defend yourself on this site is a lost cause.

Chances are, all of us bantering back and forth on this site know each other and most assuredly like each other but, for whatever reason, anonymous posts can trigger different perceptions in different people. For example, if we sat around in a circle talking about these things there would be much more respect given. However, posting on a website causes the conversation to lose the inflection it was meant to have and can rub people the wrong way causing insults and personal attacks.

Very nice words. Thank you for ringing in.

Has nothing to do with a citizen being right or wrong. You just sound like all the other whiners that call over stupid stuff like this. If it had been a red escalade who would you call to complain to?

It was mentioned earlier that sometimes marked units have to get to a call quickly and it may not require lights and sirens. Perhaps the unit was on the way to a burglary in progress and did not want to announce her arrival.

I admit the resume is impressive and as a Veteran myself I appreciate your service to the Vets, but I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill just because it was a marked cruiser. The same reason we don't see an Officer on the news everytime they save someones life or catch a bad dude. Rest assured the first time messes up it is everywhere and all of a sudden all cops are bad.

Firemen have it easy. They sit in the firehouse, play ball, eat, watch plasma TVs, and when they go on a call they are always the hero no matter what and get all the glory.

During a hot call the fire department sets up down the street while the cops go in and secure the scene yet you don't see everyone going googoo and supporting the police.



I am a CPA. I work for large organization locally. I have never been arrested and I have zero tickets. In fact, for a year, I volunteered with your agency (and others) working with DCF in emergency foster care placement for abused kids. I now give my time to the GAL program in Hillsborough County.

In addition to that, working full time and raising a two year old, I also volunteer at the VA in Tampa reading and sometimes just sitting there talking to the veterens that come back from Iraq and have no family or anyone else. I have helped raise thousands of dollars to get everything from knitting supplies to prepaid phone cards to Girl Scout cookies donated for the injured men and women returning from war.

For some reason, you have a chip on your shoulder. I am not a liar or a scumbag.. and MOST people aren't. I am not sure why you think you needed to come at me like that. I am just someone who had to avoid getting hit by someone driving one of your agebcies cars recklessly in the residential neighborhood that I live in.

I realized in reading some of the posts on here, I was better off NOT asking what happens when a citizen has a concern because "we" are always wrong anyway.