Parking a squad-car in a fire lane.....for coffee?

[9mmepiphany]

If an Officer is on a call for service, you park where you have to.

ensuring that we're positioned where no one can block us in.

i reminds me of having a new trainee driving his first night. we went to a call at an apartment complex and he's driving around looking for a parking space.

i had to explain to him what the "E" on our plate stood for and why we always park where we can swing the rear doors all the way open...there is nothing worst than getting back to your car struggling with a guy in cuffs and not being able to get your back door open

[oldsmoboat]

i reminds me of having a new trainee driving his first night. we went to a call at an apartment complex and he's driving around looking for a parking space.

i had to explain to him what the "E" on our plate stood for and why we always park where we can swing the rear doors all the way open...there is nothing worst than getting back to your car struggling with a guy in cuffs and not being able to get your back door open

I thought the "E" meant it was exempt for registration fees?

[ChuckBooty]

they have a tough job that demands much sacrifice i think they deserve a little slack on parking as long as its not on a playpen full of babys i'm cool with them parking anywhere they are not directly impeding trafic

be it on the sidewalk,loading zones,handicap,fire hydrants,center turn lanes,bus stops, bus lanes,front lawns

I'd say Marines and Soldiers have pretty tough jobs too. But you bet your *** they'd be ticketed if they did this.

No they should not park there. I need a Bee Line to Starbys in the morning and that's where the engine goes.

Silly cops, there's better parking at the donut shop anyways! :P

I can understand fire engines going there. It's KINDA what they're for. And if a FIRE ENGINE is parked there and there happens to be a fire...well great! You're already there! If a police officer parks there and there happens to be a fire it would potentially cause problems.

I say they can park wherever they want. Like someone mentioned...if they get a Code 3, would they not want there car as close as possible? LEO's have a tough job, so they park for 5-10 minutes to get some coffe. Don't you think, if there was a call for a fire...that they would be one of the first ones to know other than the FD? Not like they can't move their cars.
I see no issues with it...only when civilians do it and get away with it due to ignorance/laziness, that irks me.

This may be true if there is absolutely no parking. But in this case the illegal parking only saved them about ten to fifteen steps. Running at full speed, that's, what, three seconds?

BTW....we have a CIVILIAN police force in America. So this thread WAS about civilians doing it and getting away with it due to ignorance/laziness. Sorry to irk you.

i've done it and it is an easy access thing, i'm not really off-duty during my coffee break or lunch...i've gone many shifts without lunch, it's just part of the job. if there are other open spots just as close, i'll park there, but i'm not going to run down the block to my squad car if a hot call comes it.

the other thing to consider is that we need to keep an eye on the vehicle so folks aren't tampering with it. and before you ask, yes i check all around it when i've been out of the vehicle before i get in and start it

This is probably the best explanation that I've heard. Although I'm pretty sure that it's exceedingly difficult to break into a patrol car. But I think that you guys should do this only as a last resort. Any way you slice it, it IS bad public relations. People DO look at you like you're abusing your power.

Same with when LEO's are driving along talking on a cell phone. Even if it's legit (IE work related) call. It looks bad.

If they were getting coffe for the office, get a parking space.

.....

If an Officer is on a call for service, you park where you have to.

I don't like a double standard. It sets a bad and people are out there watching.

Exactly!

I'm a military recruiter so I spend the majority of the day out and about in uniform. I constantly feel the pressure of wearing that uniform out in public. Everything from keeping myself in good shape to how I order a cheeseburger needs to be done in a way as not to bring disgrace upon that uniform.

And I realize that LEO's are civilians, however you all still represent your government, your agency, and your community. If you become cavalier about how and when you express your authority, you run the risk of losing the support of the public. So I'm not suggesting that you put your ability to respond to a call at risk, but you should try to keep in mind that the public is ALWAYS watching and ALWAYS judging you. Remember....protect AND SERVE.

[Triad]

In this day and age, nothing LEO's do will ever make everyone happy. Have done it on occasion but for reasons already stated. If I ever get called to the carpet on it, I believe can justify why I did it.

[ledman]

If they were getting coffe for the office, get a parking space.

That is why PD have Volunteers! They go get the coffee for the office folks!

[BillCA]

First of all, police and fire unit are exempt from a great deal of the vehicle code while on duty. They must exercise reasonable and prudent care in vehicle operations, but you can't really cite them for failing to signal a turn or rolling a stop sign when responding to a call.

That said, if there is plenty of parking available, I think most officers will avail themselves of it. When you see them obtaining coffee for four, six or eight, you don't know if this is coffee for the sub-station office or if it's for the guys who have been manning an incident CP for the last 4 hours while negotiating with a hostage taker.

For themselves, if they're getting a quick cup to continue their patrol, I don't find it a big deal unless their parking creates congestion and the need for others to squeeze past/around the officer's car. Then again, the sight of a PD unit parked at the curb also serves as a temporary deterrent to how many would be shoplifters and thieves?

I'd rather have the PD park in a red zone than a handicapped zone. That's just rude.

Lastly, if there is any kind of emergency - fire, ems, robbery, etc. if someone comes out of a business and looks for arriving authorities, he'll see the PD car and probably run down there for assistance. Unlike a civilian, the officer will move his car promptly in response to a developing incident simply because he's tied in via radio/cellphone.

[Blademan21]

Back when I worked on a private ambulance that was the 911 provider we got a ticket from a local cop for parking in the red zone in front of the grocery store. The other cops were not happy when they hear about. Ironically I had to responde to treat him when he was bumped by a car and nocked over. It came out as a officer down. As you can guess we did low level flight to get there to find he had basically fallen.

"It came out as a officer down". So you took your time getting to him because of a ticket? Was that your idea of payback? Sad.

[Samuelx]

Pretty obvious where the OP stands on LE...

+1 on what BillCA said. I try to park legally whenever possible. If I don't it's usually because I'm in a hurry with legitimate work-related issues.

[sar_man]

"It came out as a officer down". So you took your time getting to him because of a ticket? Was that your idea of payback? Sad.

What part of "low level flight" did you not get. We treated him like we would treat anyone else. I just felt that karma was showing up.

[Blademan21]

What part of "low level flight" did you not get. We treated him like we would treat anyone else. I just felt that karma was showing up.

My bad. I missed your meaning of low level flight. Just that the way your post was written, the spelling and grammer,it was a little hard to understand. Again my bad.

[nick]

"It came out as a officer down". So you took your time getting to him because of a ticket? Was that your idea of payback? Sad.

Low level flight - driving very very fast, as in "Officer, was I speeding?" "No, ma'am, you were flying too low"

[Blademan21]

Low level flight - driving very very fast, as in "Officer, was I speeding?" "No, ma'am, you were flying too low"

Yea Nick, I got it. My bad,OK.

[RobG]

We have a fire radio so we know if/when they are coming and can move in time We do not park in the red but sometimes its the only accessible spot.

[nick]

Yea Nick, I got it. My bad,OK.

You sure? I got a few more jokes

[SoCalDep]

Fade in from black....

A cop walks into a coffee shop. It's 10am and he's tired because he's four hours in to his second shift. He's getting his second cup this morning because it was a busy night and it's catching up with him. He pays for his drink and as he waits he hears a call on the radio...Medical request, Code 3, Child found in pool....Unresponsive.

He yells "I'll be back" (he knows he probably won't today) and runs out of the door.

Freeze Frame.

This is like a "Choose your own adventure" book. How fun. Except it's your 2 year old child that your babysitter just pulled from the pool. She's too panicked to do CPR and could barely get out the basic story over 911.

Now do you really think that cop parked in the red zone so he could get his coffee 10 seconds faster? He's getting paid regardless. He's gonna throw that coffee out the window if he's actually in his car when the call goes out. He's gonna drive fast. Maybe a little too fast, and he's gonna hope that fire gets there first...The problem is there's a reason these medical calls get dispatched to law enforcement with a code 3 response...We have units all over and often get there faster. So he knows he's likely to be there first.

So I ask you...how many seconds do you want that cop to waste going to your child's drowning call while he negotiates out of the parking spot? Because that's why he's parking backed into two spots so he can get into his car faster, and that's why he parks in the red.

Choose your own adventure.

(P.S. Parking in handicapped spots is B.S. unless necessitated on an emergency-type call. I never park in the handicap and if a spot is available that allows quick entry into my car I take it over the red zone.)