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

[ChuckBooty]

I've gotta chime in here Chuck. I've been doing this 32 years and counting. While I agree that LE should not park in fire lanes as a routine and never in a handicapped except in an emergency, your post is starting to sound a little anti-LE. I've seen many of your previous posts and you've never projected that attitude, so my guess is that it was NOT your intention to sound anti at all.

You're right...it wasn't. The thread was meant #1 to ask a legit question (I honestly didn't know if patrol vehicles were given cart blanche permission to park in the red) and #2 just to give a heads-up to officers who may have become a bit cavalier as to when they exercise this authority. The "heads-up" came because of the conversations and comments taking place when the officers left (by the way...I remained silent when everyone started talking smack). I think that the gap between CA LE and The Public is widening greatly (especially now during Obama's reign) and I think that this gap is bad for everyone involved.

The "fade to black" comment was (obviously) full of sarcasm. It was meant to point out that, while there obviously ARE plenty of valid reasons for an officer to park in the red, there are also times when a small inconvenience (IE parking in a normal spot) could also (indirectly) help bridge that aforementioned gap.

Look at how some of the posters here were OFFENDED by the word "Serve". This kind of thing is pretty much exactly why I started this thread. And believe me, I understand it. But thats why y'all get paid the "big bucks". You need to be above all of that. And that's also why I never want to be an officer. I don't think I have the type of discipline that it takes to keep my mind clear and not take this type of thing personally. It's thankless work. I respect ALL LEO's...but especially the ones who can "let it roll of their back". It's thankless work.

[eltee]

I saw something very similar to that in SF years ag, except the leaky hose coupling was inside the car.

We all laugh when we see these situations...but from my experience the city attorneys in their effort to SETTLE everything tend to pay off claims (inflated or otherwise) from the owners of these cars. Owners get new glass, a paint job, carpets, upgrade the seats, claim their gazillion dollar sound system got water damaged, etc. They tend to have the last laugh.

As to parking a unit in a fire lane, hey, my unit has a fire extinguisher and I know how to use it so consider me a VFF! J/k...I would admonish one of my own if I knew about it. In our area, people always take pictures of stuff like that and send them to the bosses, the media, etc.

[ledman]

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

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.

First off, Marines and Soldiers, are not LEO's, so that is a moot point. We are just like anyone else.
To me, LEO's are not above the law of course, but are the law. To set an example to the public, yes, and I do not think a LEO stopping for 5 minutes to buy a coffee is not abusing his powers at all. Lets get real here, some of you guys are being REALLY anal about this. This is the least of our problems, lol, really.

If you drive up, and see a Cop car in the red Zone, and you see the cop inside of Dunkin Donuts...you are ASSUMING he parked there to get coffee...how do you know what happened before you showed up? There are many scenarios as to why he could be parked there other than just stopping to buy coffee. Never assume anything.

And ChuckBooty, I am Not sure what thread you are talking about...this thread is clearly about LEO's, according to the OP, parking in the red zone, unless I missed something in the OP's statement. I know there is a Civilian Police Force(Volunteers)...and no, they should not be parking in the red zone, unless there business dictates them to. Why do I say that? Well, if I did see them parked there, I would not assume they parked there to go buy coffee.

I stand firm on my opinion, if a LEO wants to park in the red zone to get some coffee, so be it. I am not against it at all...if he is on duty, he is on duty, and stopping for a minute to get a coffee is not going to hurt anything. There could be 100 other reasons, as to why a Police car is parked in the red zone.

Remember, this is my opinion, that is all, so if you want to attack me for my opinion, well, then you have bigger issues

You all can throw out all the scenarios you want, good or bad, but in the end what matters is that the Police are there for us. I have the utmost of respect for our LEO's in California(and everywhere for that matter) and the job they have to do everyday.

And if there was a fire, I am SURE that the Police would be aware of this right? Do they not get alerted to these things, like a fire, right in the officers location? I would think so, I am asking, so anyone who can enlighten me, I would like to know. I mean, people have police scanners at home, and they hear all the calls, so why would the officer at the said location parked in the red zone where a fire broke out, not be aware?

[MAVERICK]

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.)

Is this the same cop that blocks the access to the house for the fire engine a arriving ambulance? Then the other cops show up and block the Engine and Ambulance from leaving with the child?

[ivanimal]

Is this the same cop that blocks the access to the house for the fire engine a arriving ambulance? Then the other cops show up and block the Engine and Ambulance from leaving with the child?

Dont you have anything better to do than make up childish scenarios?

You are being given a short leash here.

Ivan

[yzErnie]

Is this the same cop that blocks the access to the house for the fire engine a arriving ambulance? Then the other cops show up and block the Engine and Ambulance from leaving with the child?

Is that comment really serious?

Just last week we responded to a baby not breathing call within 1 minute and the hose draggers were nowhere to be found. I drove Code 3 to the hospital with a deputy in my back seat giving the 1 month old baby CPR. We had arrived at the hospital, got inside and the ER personnel were working on the baby when the FD showed up at the scene.

Oh, and btw, with the efforts of my deputy's CPR the baby survived. Unfortunatey, the baby also tested positive for a serious contagious disease and will probably succumb to that illness before the year is over. My deputy's exposure to that disease is on everyone's mind. But, you probably don't care about that.

If you really are serious with your comments above, your perception of LEOs is terribly misguided.

[Samuelx]

ledman, thanks for your reply. That's exactly how I felt BEFORE I became sworn - even before I was even Interested in becoming sworn...

[Samuelx]

Look at how some of the posters here were OFFENDED by the word "Serve". This kind of thing is pretty much exactly why I started this thread. And believe me, I understand it. But thats why y'all get paid the "big bucks". You need to be above all of that. And that's also why I never want to be an officer. I don't think I have the type of discipline that it takes to keep my mind clear and not take this type of thing personally. It's thankless work. I respect ALL LEO's...but especially the ones who can "let it roll of their back". It's thankless work.

For someone who supposedly "understands it", you were pretty quick to throw it in our faces by stressing the "serve" part (as in subSERVient). The "serve" part is also often thrown out there by the same people who claim to pay my salary (even if they are on welfare and don't pay taxes). FWIW, I let a LOT of things roll off my back and, out in the field, I'm one of The Most mellow and patient deputies you will ever meet - I just may not come off that way online...

[ledman]

ledman, thanks for your reply. That's exactly how I felt BEFORE I became sworn - even before I was even Interested in becoming sworn...

Sure thing you are welcome. Do the police hear fire calls on their radio band? I am just curious, I would think they would at least be aware as if it's their beat, they should be informed, correct?

[yzErnie]

Do the police hear fire calls on their radio band? I am just curious, I would think they would at least be aware as if it's their beat, they should be informed, correct?

Thankfully, we do not have to share a frequency with the fire dept and our dispatch centers are completely seperate. Our dispatch will lt us know when they are rolling somewhere in town. All 911 calls away from the freeway (close to the frwy they go to CHP dispatch) come into our dispatch and are then forwarded to the nozzleheads dispatch.

[Rhythm of Life]

If the lights aren't on, your not in a rush, so park like a normal person.
If the lights aren't on, your not in a rush, so don't run stop signs.
If the lights aren't on, your not in a rush, so don't speed.

etc etc etc

This is how many LEO I've encountered lost my respect. People who employ the double standard will never be people I look up to.

[MAVERICK]

Is that comment really serious?

Just last week we responded to a baby not breathing call within 1 minute and the hose draggers were nowhere to be found. I drove Code 3 to the hospital with a deputy in my back seat giving the 1 month old baby CPR. We had arrived at the hospital, got inside and the ER personnel were working on the baby when the FD showed up at the scene.

Oh, and btw, with the efforts of my deputy's CPR the baby survived. Unfortunatey, the baby also tested positive for a serious contagious disease and will probably succumb to that illness before the year is over. My deputy's exposure to that disease is on everyone's mind. But, you probably don't care about that.

If you really are serious with your comments above, your perception of LEOs is terribly misguided.

This is the truth I have seen it more then once where a LEO has blocked us in or blocked our access. Take a look at how everyone parks next time.

Congrats on saving a life this is definitely not the norm. How Many LEO's have an EMT or performed CPR other then in a class room? not many . It not a good Idea to take the child to the hospital by squad car. Most every FD in Ca run Paramedic engines there a life saving drugs that you don't have and the national response time on scene is 5 min. It is better to start CPR and wait for the the FD to get on scene so that they can tube and push drugs.


I don't dislike cops. I'm a Fire Captain/Peace Officer

[6172crew]

If the lights aren't on, your not in a rush, so park like a normal person.
If the lights aren't on, your not in a rush, so don't run stop signs.
If the lights aren't on, your not in a rush, so don't speed.

etc etc etc

This is how many LEO I've encountered lost my respect. People who employ the double standard will never be people I look up to.

One of the dumber things Ive read here today.

When 3 cars respond not all will have permission to roll with lights and sirens. The desk SGT will tell/inform which cars can roll with lights or sirens.

Go on a ride along one day and you will see it for your self. In my buddies area he cant just rip around with lights/sirens blazing when responding to an emergency. We were inbound to a call about a motorcycle accident and was not allowed to use siren but we could use the lights. Im sure the guy who crashed would like to know we drove as fast as possible to provide him help.

On another one we had a lady about to jump off a cliff, do you think lights and sirens would have helped her out? The desk SGT didnt think so.

I guess he could have turned them on so you wouldn't loose any respect for him right.

[Gundam]

If the lights aren't on, your not in a rush, so park like a normal person.
If the lights aren't on, your not in a rush, so don't run stop signs.
If the lights aren't on, your not in a rush, so don't speed.

etc etc etc

This is how many LEO I've encountered lost my respect. People who employ the double standard will never be people I look up to.

You think cops speed and run though signs for ****s and giggles? Do you think cops risk getting a DC on their record for absolutely no reason? Where do you think they're going if they're in a rush? They're not going home, they're not catching a movie, they're not late for a meeting, etc. When cops drive fast they are going to calls. When cops drive fast to calls without their lights and sirens it's because the call isn't a Code 3, but the officer feels their is still a sense of urgency.

Here is an example I saw all the time....Dispatch hears a woman and man arguing. Woman is crying and you can hear the man in the background yelling at her. Although there hasn't been any violence yet, and the yelling alone is not enough to assume violence will occur, you know damn well what's going on, and what may occur if you take your sweet time. So do you putt along at 45mph or do you drive with a purpose? I don't know about you guys but if it was my loved one, I would want the police to be there as quickly (but safely) as they can.

[jdsons]

Red zone...

Red zones are for emergency vehicles, even cop cars. It looks bad, unless it is an emergency.

Handicap parking is off limits, needs to be a CFS and/a serious situation.

Did they pay for the coffee. That issue seems to upset more people. Officers often take, coffee, food, ect...back to the station for those who can not leave, dispatchers, watch commander ect...

jdsons