I have heard this statement numerous times in my career while conducting traffic enforcement. It comes from those who do not wish to take any responsibility for their driving behavior, but blame the officer for their “misfortune”. They throw in our face the fact that we have “discretion” and if we weren’t such a (insert expitive here), we would just give a warning. They try to explain what would happen to them (my parents will kill me, I will lose my job, I will lose my CDL, I cannot afford to pay for a fine), in an attempt to garner some sympathy from the officer. Future consequences, however, should never be factored in when using officer discretion. Officer discretion is not to be determined on a case by case basis, but on the seriousness of the violation. Just because someone won’t get killed by their parents, just because someone won’t lose their job, just because someone won’t lose their CDL if they get a ticket, is it really fair that they are cited to the exclusion of the ones that face this utter destruction in their lives due to one traffic ticket? I trust the answer with all police officers is no. The argument could be made that they did not see the importance enough to comply with traffic laws, why should that be the responsibility of the police officer that pulls them over?
There was one incident (if you have read this before in another article, I apologize, old age and all) where I had come up to a T-intersection and was in the left, left turn lane (not a typo). There was another left turn lane to my right. In that lane was a mother driver who had two small boys in car seats in the back. While the light was red, she was turning back attempting to deal with them, looking occasionally ahead at the traffic light. To my left was a four lane highway in a business district with a speed limit of 45 mph. To my right was the beginning of the bypass expressway with a speed limit of 60 mph. We police officers called this intersection “The Foot of the Bypass”.
It was at that time I heard a truck horn to my left. I noticed an 18 wheeler barreling down at the intersection at an excessive speed I estimated to be at least 65 mph. I was in a position to see his light was turning yellow and he would not be able to stop, so he accelerated to at least 70 mph. I looked over to my right and noticed that the mother was not paying attention to what was going on because of her boys. When the light turned green, she began to let off the brake and I had a split second to thow my siren and lights on simultaneously pulling partially in front of her making her slam on brakes. I was sure that I would be hit by the tractor trailer since I was in his path, but he was able to swerve out of the way barely missing me. What was a look of confusion from her became a look of horror when the mother saw the tractor trailer flash past us.
Taking just a moment to collect myself, I went after the tractor trailer and pulled it over. The driver stepped down and met me just behind his trailer. He immediately stated that he had a heavy load and was not able to stop in time. I looked at the tires of the trailer and observed that they were not bulged out as trailers that are overloaded but were normal. He told me he was only going 60 mph. I told him that the area was a 45 mph speed limit. He told me that when he entered the city on Holland Road, it was 55 mph zone. I informed him that he was right because it was the rural part of the highway. He had gone by at least 4 45mph speed limit signs before he got to the intersection. I then told him that I needed his CDL, registration for his rig and proof of insurance. He became beligerant and indignantly asked, “So, what, are you going to write me a ticket? I’m going to lose my CDL just because you are a (insert derogatory explitive here). You can’t even give me a break??!! You’re ruining my life!!!”
I paused to choose my words carefully because my adrenaline was still pumping within me, and then, lowering my voice, I replied,
“Sir, did you see me throw on my lights and siren and pull partially into the intersection?”
“Yeah!! What sort of (explitive, explitive, eplitive) stunt was that? You almost made me kill you!!!”
“The reason I did that was because a women beside me in a van with two small boys was about to pull in front of you because she did not hear your horn. I blocked her and in doing so put myself in your path. I am going to write you for running the traffic light. I could also write you for speeding based upon my estimation of your speed and your admission. I could also write you for reckless by speed based upon my estimation of your top speed. That’s two breaks right there. But your biggest break you’re getting today is that you don’t have to be arrested for manslaughter of that woman and her two small boys. You would have to live with that for the rest of your life. That sir, would ruin your life and end theirs. I think you are getting off easy today.”
So, that was a fairly extreme example of what I am speaking about, but it shows the extent of how people will attempt to throw the blame back on the police officer for addressing their behavior with a summons. I’ve said this before, that this is akin to someone jumping off a cliff and blaming gravity for the outcome. Why do some members of the public have this type of attitude when being addressed for their violation? I got a couple of ideas why.
First, I believe that many who blame the police are those who already have a disdain for the police and this would be something they believe would strengthen their argument. “Oh, that (explitive) officer could have given my a break, but he just had to be a (explitive).” There are those who believe we wake up in the morning and are chopping at the bit to see how may lives we can ruin today. They may not understand that we have a responsibility to the citizens of our jurisdiction as a whole, to our supervisors, and even to ourselves as we enforce the law. Enforcing the law is literally in our title and therefore the essence of what we do. With the advent of body and dash cams, the ability to willy-nilly give out warnings or breaks are over. The camera footage is not only for the eyes of our supervisors, but can also be FOIAed (Freedom of Information Act) for inspection by the news media and private citizens. The news organizations would have a field day if they were to see officers giving breaks for serious violations, and then contrawise, writing tickets for lesser violations.
The second reason I believe that some blame the police is because (cringe, yes you will hear it from me again) of entitlement. Oh these individuals could care less on how many tickets you write on others, but how dare you write them a ticket, because after all, they are them. We have had city councilmen, police officers from other jurisdictions, and other dignitaries, who would ask the officer, “Do you know who I am?” In the old joke the officers quips back, “No, why? Don’t you know who you are?” Unfortunately, in reality there is no humor, but someone trying to throw their political or entitlement weight around to escape the consequences of their behavior. There have been so many times I have been told that they will have my badge. There have been times I wish they had succeeded. But not one time was I in jeopardy of losing my job due to the intimidation of the violator, which, incidentally, can be prosecuted as Obstruction of Justice in Virginia (fair warning to political officials, the body cam will pick up your attempt to bully the police officer and may be something your opponents will use against you during election time. Just saying.). If you want to learn more about the antics of entitled people I have encountered during my career, click on the articles here: The Entitled Ones and The Entitled Ones–Act Two. It may shock you how people really feel about themselves.
I will end this blog with a YouTube video of a congressional candidate who attempted to bully the police officer and kudos to the police officer who dealt with this individual with professionalism and bravery in the face of these unnecessary intimidation tactics :
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