Did I miss something? Who said they hate the police?Originally Posted by Dawgfan71227
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Did I miss something? Who said they hate the police?
From some of the deprecating (belittling) comments on this thread, one might very well get the impression that some folks might "hate" the police ??
I have and have had in the past lots of friends who were/are police officers. I appreciate what they do. I'd hate to have to pack one of my Uzi's around everywhere. Damn Straight; you can bet the lawyers and politicians won't be out protecting our lives and property!
How many officers do you know personally? Maybe if people in the yard quit yelling "F*ck Tech Police" when a Tech Police Car rides by the Pike house they wouldn't act like jerks to you.There's a thought.
See previous statement. But Hey, don't take my word for it, ask current students and I will bet you that they agree with me. Maybe you should check in with the pulse of the campus every now and then. Seriously, just look at the whole reason this tread was started.....
It's always been that way. When I was at Tech, my roommate this one quarter would turn out the dorm room light and open the window and holler "Hey, F*** the Campus Security" when some dude was driving around patrolling the parking lot, just doing his job.
Much as I admire my friend juice, I think he is wrong on this one. I think he was parked in a handicapped space and should just pay the fine and get along with his business.
Of course, bottom line; DON'T GET CAUGHT ! ! !
And I don't think he should "just pay the fine." First, I'm not 100% sure he commited a violation. Second, he certainly didn't violate the spirit of the law; i.e., to leave open places for handicapped. Had the other slots filled, he would have moved.. Third, Tech needs to be aware of customer complaints.Much as I admire my friend juice, I think he is wrong on this one. I think he was parked in a handicapped space and should just pay the fine and get along with his business.
Of course, bottom line; DON'T GET CAUGHT ! ! !
We all know the campus police do a lot of good. That doesn't mean there is no room for improvement in how they do their job. Common sense would either have been to tell Juice to stay in the car and to move if any one of the other slots fills, or even just move right then. There was no reason to ticket him, and this point needs to be made.
When an officer is on patrol, with his window down, and hears "F*ck Tech Police" everytime there is a group outside the Pike house, for example, do you really expect them to cut someone from Pike a break on a parking ticket, for example, or anything else for that matter? Attitude is everything. Police officers actions are often dictated by the attitude of the person they are in contact with.
Police by the very nature of their jobs are often unpopular. I don't know of anyone that is going to gladly accept a $45.00 parking in a handicapped space ticket, smile and say, "Thank you Officer... I was wrong and I apologize". No, it's always "I parked somewhere I shouldn't have in the first place and that blankety blank cop is a (pick your favorite expletive here) jerk because I got caught. The blue sign with the wheelchair on it is the first clue you should not park there.
You can argue till the cows come home, but if you do something you should not and get caught, it is your own fault. Not the Police Officer's who is doing his job. If you question him for doing his job, that can and likely will provoke a negative reaction toward you.
You can argue until the cows come home, but Juice did not violate the spirit of the law and maybe not even the law, and the fact that the officer was legalistic about it is his own fault, not Juice's, who stayed in the car and made sure there were plenty of spots for a handicapped person to park, and those actions will provoke a negative reaction toward a police officer.
Again, the issue is the definition of "parking." From what I read above, he wasn't legally parked there - if you're doing your job wrong (despite good intentions like helping the handicapped, which I am all for) you're going to get a negative reaction. Particularly when doing your job incorrectly costs other people time and money.
For the record, I'll agree that it doesn't have to get personal and I can even give the benifit of the doubt that the officer wasn't just being a jerk, but was trying to enforce what he thought was the law (although it sounds otherwise).
But the point that keeps getting lost is whether or not the law was actually broken. If so, well ok - pretty strict law and interpretation of the law, but tough - pay the fine and ask where they prefer loading/unloading be done in that situation. If the law was not broken - he shouldn't pay and the officers need to be taught the right way to handle the situation (i.e. tell drivers to "move along" or stay in the car or whatever).
I guess this is the key, right?
That is what I would rely on. I'm not sure what "actually" means. I would argue the rule of lenity:I would try to beat that ticket.When a criminal statute is ambiguous: the more lenient interpretation must prevail. - Justice Scalia
I'd interpret that to mean someone shouldn't be ticketed while the passenger is getting into or out of the car; it wouldn't be parking. But, if the driver is sitting in the vehicle with no sign of merchandise (passenger) being loaded or unloaded (girlfriend is inside dorm), it would be parking.
By the way, it is Click-it or Ticket time again in Louisiana. We even have State Troopers on campus passing out the goodies. Over 80% of all automobile related fatalities in Louisiana involve people who do not have seatbelts.
I do not hate police officers.
I never attempt to aggravate them. I respect that they are charged with protecting me.
That said, many times the officers are too focused on revenue generation rather than public safety.
Many times the attitude displayed is unprofessional and there is no excuse for this. The particular short bald man I referred to is an absolute ass. Protecting the public is not a place for a power trip or a big ego trapped inside a small body.
Best point on the whole thread.
The Tech police do their jobs good when their jobs don't have to do with parking. My freshman year, my roommate and I lived in Hutchison and spent a lot of time at the Nat. During our LAST WEEK of school we went to the pool one day and came back to find our computers, ipods, cameras, and his room key gone. After finding out that it wasn't a prank, we reported the items stolen to the Tech police who came within 10 minutes and got our info and the info about our computers. Tech police actually worked with the Computing Center to track down our laptops using our IP addresses after the idiots logged on to the Tech server. This all happened within 4 or 5 days, during finals week.
After that I swore that I would ease up on my criticism of the Tech police. I did, until about a week ago.
I was riding my bike back across campus, heading back to my house from UP at about 11:30 pm and campus was pretty dead. I crossed over the railroad bridge (the one you walk over, not the one for cars) and looked both ways before crossing the walkway to make sure I wasn't jutting out in front of anyone. I saw a set of headlights coming from my right, about at the Memorial Gym parking lot, and another set of headlights to my left, far enough away that I could make it. Now, I am on a bike that is already moving, so I am traveling much faster than a pedestrian and I proceed to ride across the crosswalk, spending maybe 2 seconds tops in the street. I was at the GTM parking lot riding on the brick path when I see flashing lights and hear a siren behind me. To my surprise, I look behind me to see a LA Tech cop pulling me over, ON MY BIKE. He actually got out of his car and lectured me on how I should not be riding on the sidewalk and how he should give me a ticket. I just played dumb, even though I am very aware of Louisiana bicycle laws, and went on my way, still on the sidewalk just out of spite.
Good job Tech police, I liked you for almost 2 full years.
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