Trooper who pulled gun on speeding cop had ticketed another
Trooper who pulled gun on speeding cop had ticketed another Miami officer earlier
From Sun-Sentinel.com
Quote:
In late September, after 12 years as a Broward traffic magistrate, Tom Wich encountered something he had never seen before: a police officer standing before him as a defendant in a speeding case.
"I'll be honest with you," Wich told me Friday. "It was a first."
The defendant, a Miami police officer, was fined for speeding with his civilian car while driving off-duty in Deerfield Beach.
The Florida Highway Patrol trooper who wrote him up: Donna Jane Watts.
The same Donna Jane Watts who famously pursued and detained another speeding Miami officer, Fausto Lopez, a few weeks later on the Florida Turnpike in Hollywood. Watts said Lopez weaved through traffic in his cruiser at 120 mph, and cited him for misdemeanor reckless driving. Lopez's excuse: He was late for an off-duty detail at a private school in Coconut Creek.
That Oct. 11 incident, in which Watts approached Lopez with her gun drawn and handcuffed him, became national news with the release of images and audio from her dashboard camera last week.
"If I was a road deputy, my first reaction if I saw a cruiser going that fast would be, 'Somebody stole a police car,' " said Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti. He said Watts' approach with a gun was appropriate.
In some law-enforcement circles, Watts is being pilloried for breaking the code that cops don't cite other cops.
But I think she should be saluted for doing her job, and correctly holding police to the same standards as the rest of us. If anything, she (or her superiors) went easy on Lopez; a civilian might have been charged with felony fleeing and eluding.
"We can't be hypocritical," Lamberti said. "We can't hold motorists accountable and not abide by the same rules."
When those sworn to enforce the law act like they're above the law, we're in trouble.
It goes for the little things like speeding, and it goes for the big things, like the two Fort Lauderdale officers charged with multiple felonies including kidnapping, racketeering and theft last week. Billy Koepke and Brian Dodge, members of the street crimes unit, are accused of shaking down criminal suspects and stealing drugs and cash.
The common thread is arrogance.
They carry guns, have the power to arrest and put their lives on the line every day to protect us, but that doesn't give police the right to thumb their noses at the law — and us.
Most cops are honest and dedicated. But when police chip away at the law, expecting to get special treatment or "professional courtesy" from colleagues when they flout small stuff, it's inevitable that credibility, trust and respect take a hit. If police think they have a license to speed, might they also fudge a report, plant evidence, lie on the witness stand?
Lopez's actions showed contempt for others on the road.
"Ma'am, with all due respect," a shocked Lopez said after Watts handcuffed him.
"You don't respect me sir," Watts shot back. "You don't respect these people out here."
More power to her.
Re: Trooper who pulled gun on speeding cop had ticketed anot
So watts... does all this mean you would write one of your fellow troopers????????????? It sure sounds like it
Re: Trooper who pulled gun on speeding cop had ticketed anot
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guest990
So watts... does all this mean you would write one of your fellow troopers????????????? It sure sounds like it
Watts would write a fellow trooper, yes sir she would...she's a rat...
and to the Sun-Sentinel reporter who gives her "more power to her" : stop making Watts the hero. Granted, Lopez was wrong. Yes he was. He should be dealt with accordingly. But Watts was even more wrong for pulling a gun and pointing it at a police officer, handcuffing him, threating him like a criminal, ahhhh, and lets not forget DISOBEYING AN ORDER FROM HER SGT... I know something was wrong with her when I met her at a "gathering"... F&%$#@ng retard...
Re: Trooper who pulled gun on speeding cop had ticketed anot
My man, I have heard of an anecdote from a former trooper who now works in a different agency that gets my blood boiling when I think about it. He said on an occasion he was traveling to Disney World with his family. He said he was pulled over by FHP. Well that trooper and he went to the same academy, and that trooper gave him a ticket. So the answer is YES, they will cite their fellow troopers to include their mothers, fathers, children. :shock:
Re: Trooper who pulled gun on speeding cop had ticketed anot
I wonder what spin this same reporter would put on this story if all the facts were the same, but it was not a cop, but rather a 65 year old grandma. Would it be ok to stick a gun in her face, pull her out of the car, scream and demoralize her for speeding????? Would the FHP or Broward FHP think she did a great job? No one has excused the speeding.....its the treatment and behavior of Watts thats at isssue.
Re: Trooper who pulled gun on speeding cop had ticketed anot
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guest
I wonder what spin this same reporter would put on this story if all the facts were the same, but it was not a cop, but rather a 65 year old grandma. Would it be ok to stick a gun in her face, pull her out of the car, scream and demoralize her for speeding????? Would the FHP or Broward FHP think she did a great job? No one has excused the speeding.....its the treatment and behavior of Watts thats at isssue.
Exactly! The public hates cops, whether they say it or not. They detest cops getting away with stuff. I have even heard citizens complain about a cop speeding to catch up to a speeding motorist!
Watts better think twice about trying to cite officers/agents that are performing their official duties. I know certain federal agencies that will tear her a new one if an agent is stopped for speeding and ticketed when her/she is on duty and speeding because it is required.
Re: Trooper who pulled gun on speeding cop had ticketed anot
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guest
I wonder what spin this same reporter would put on this story if all the facts were the same, but it was not a cop, but rather a 65 year old grandma. Would it be ok to stick a gun in her face, pull her out of the car, scream and demoralize her for speeding????? Would the FHP or Broward FHP think she did a great job? No one has excused the speeding.....its the treatment and behavior of Watts thats at isssue.
Exactly! The public hates cops, whether they say it or not. They detest cops getting away with stuff. I have even heard citizens complain about a cop speeding to catch up to a speeding motorist!
Watts better think twice about trying to cite officers/agents that are performing their official duties. I know certain federal agencies that will tear her a new one if an agent is stopped for speeding and ticketed when her/she is on duty and speeding because it is required.
food for thought though: If a Fed or any LEO is speeding because he/she is is required to do so then he/she should have enough sense to run code 3/10-18 (lights and sirens). I'm just saying. I have seen many unmarked cars speeding with lights on- I dont even bother with them...You feel me? You get my drift?
