Lights & Sirens when speeding?

[BigDogatPlay]

[ / thread ]

[eltee]

To those readers of this thread contemplating going into police work, welcome to the world of real police dichotomies. One of the things that amused and frustrated me the most in 27+ years as a cop was all the "experts" who knew more about policing and the law than the police. We will never convince everyone that black is black and white is white, some folks know otherwise and nothing will dissuade their opinion.

How often do cops hear someone tell us we couldn't arrest them for (fill in the blank) as we cuff them and cart them away? How many of us have had someone tell us we can't do something (i.e., exceed the speed limit without lights and sirens, lie to suspects during an interrogation, etc.) or that we had to (by law) do something they want ("...tell my neighbor to clean up his front yard!").

If someone thinks a cop is breaking the law, there is the phone. Let that cop's supervisor ... supervise and make a decision. If the supervisor supports the cop's actions but the accuser still insists the law is being broken, he can go up the chain of command. There are lots of checks and balances in the real world of policing.

While there are the "codified laws" (penal code, vehicle code, CCR, etc.) there are also court decisions, A.G. opinions, practices, etc. which allow exceptions to be made. Gotta' go deeper than just the obvious when dealing with the law. Some places you can do seemingly outrageous things because the county and state prosecutors agree it is OK to do so, therefore absent a violation of some federal regulation you are good 2 go. We used to have a "code two and a half" which meant running fast but without lights and sirens but they told us to stop putting that on the air. Imagine your wife and kids are at home and hear a noise downstairs and call 9-1-1. They are not in immediate danger, so the local dept. might not consider it a code 3 run (lights, sirens, full speed ahead). Would you prefer the responding unit to go the posted limit, coming to full and complete stops, etc. or would you prefer he get there fast. That's what alot of high speed no lights runs are about, not a code three call but someone needs a unit quickly.

The OP may have a legit beef if units are running fast for no reason, but there might be a reason to run fast but not code 3.

Finally, to prospective LEO's, you may run a legit Code 3, get there as quickly as humanly possible and STILL get yelled at for taking too long. Policing is a world of can't win and Murphy's Law situations. Still the best job in the world.

[sharky959]

I'm not criticizing cops because I know they are trained in high speed driving, but there have been a couple of times when the CHP has blown past me on the highway doing well over 100 MPH with no lights and I nearly had to pull over and change my pants. If you are CHP, please consider turning on your lights when you do this. It will cut down on dry cleaning bills

[Spanky8601]

I'm not criticizing cops because I know they are trained in high speed driving, but there have been a couple of times when the CHP has blown past me on the highway doing well over 100 MPH with no lights and I nearly had to pull over and change my pants. If you are CHP, please consider turning on your lights when you do this. It will cut down on dry cleaning bills

By the time you would see the lights, all it would do is illuminate your soiled pants.

[TRICKSTER]

I'm not criticizing cops because I know they are trained in high speed driving, but there have been a couple of times when the CHP has blown past me on the highway doing well over 100 MPH with no lights and I nearly had to pull over and change my pants. If you are CHP, please consider turning on your lights when you do this. It will cut down on dry cleaning bills

Yes, turn on your lights so the idiot in front of you can panic, slam on the brakes and stop in the lane in front of you. In a perfect world, we could turn on the lights and everyone would pull to the right and stop. This is not a perfect world, it's a world full of morons who think that they only have to pull over if they think they are in the way or did something wrong. It's an attitude we see right here on CalGuns, the I know better than the cops and I can pick and choose what laws to follow and how to interpret them.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Stick a fork in this already.

[epilepticninja]

[retired]

Stick a fork in this already.

I've only read the first page and last one (been away due to back problems) and I agree. This one is done.