follow up to Va sheriff pulls over Nj convoy

I just loved the part where the out-of-state cops said that Va should have escorted the convoy(s) because they were "vulnerable to possible terrorists attacks".

I can see the headlines now: Osama Bin Ladin, while hiding in a cave in Afghanistan, discovers that a convoy of police officers is driving through Virginia and decides to immediately implement an attack. Not withstanding the difficulties of coordinating such a thing from halfway around the world with no notice, Mr. Bin Ladin immediately launched his attack at a moving target comprised of several NJ police cruisers driven at a high rate of speed with lights and sirens on........."

This whole thing is a JOKE! Power-abusing police officers got caught violating the law and, rather than clean up their act, they piss and moan about "professional courtesy". Next, they turn against and verbally denigrate those officers who were just doing their job and protecting innocent civilians from their dangerous actions.

T'were my name Roane, I'd show up at Speziale's office unnanounced, but with a camera crew, and hand him a gift certificate good for a BIG box of donuts. I think it'd be kinda awkward and difficult for Sheriff Speziale to show Officer Roane "the same courtesy up [] in New Jersey" as he said.
 
Just called The number found here.

Deputy that picked up said he has yet to hear about this.

I told him to google it, he did, and he laughed, said that they should of been ticketed, when they are out of theyre county they (cops) are civilians.
 
When they're in their county they're still civilians. They aren't military police and subject to military law are they? Nope, they're subject to civil law and they're civilians.

<signed> Picky about Accuracy
 
It was on Sept. 18 that Augusta County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Roane spotted a convoy of New Jersey officers - from Passaic County and the Wayne Police Department - in police cruisers returning home from a Hurricane Katrina relief mission. Virginia State Police had received multiple 911 calls from I-81 motorists complaining the convoy, with as many as 13 cars, had forced them off the road. Roane was dispatched because a trooper was not available.

Roane managed to stop five or six cruisers, while the rest continued down the interstate. He asked them to cut off their emergency lights and to slow down. Virginia law bans police cruisers from topping the speed limit and using lights unless responding to an emergency.

That stop earned Roane a rebuke over the telephone later that day from Speziale.

“If you think that that’s not a disgrace, you should take that badge off your shirt and throw it in the garbage,” Speziale said in a taped conversation with Roane. “This is unacceptable, and I’ll tell you what, I hope I get the opportunity to show you the same courtesy up here in New Jersey.”
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Professional courtesy is one thing, if you ask for it. But if you get frantic calls from citizens, as a police officer ROANE did, he had to do his job and check it out. If this convoy, police or no police were violating state laws, and endagering other motorists, they should have been subject to the same penalties as you or I would be. Nothing pissed me off more than a police officer BLATANTLY IGNORING the law, simply because they are police officers. That, in itself is part of the reason people get so biased about the police. The 10% bad make the other 90% look bad too......
 
That Sherff is a pompus P.O.S.

They'd better not break the speed limit in my town. Our dept policy states, in regards to speed enforcement, 0-5mph over the posted limit, leave it alone unless there are other circumstances requiring a stop, 5-14mph over, officers discretion whether or not to give a citation, 15mph or better, write a citation, period, no excuses, no matter who it is.
And no matter what we do on a stop, there is paperwork involved. We are not allowed to give verbal warnings anymore, everything has to be on paper to cover our butts if someone complains about a stop.
 
Some police, basing their rationale on a code of professional courtesy called the Thin Blue Line, argue that local deputies and state police should have ignored the convoy.

This code backs the share of support received at the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office.

“I think most, 80 percent of people, see it for what it’s worth … and realize that Virginia authorities acted inappropriately and unprofessionally,” Maer said.
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No, 80 percent of people who contacted the Passaic County Sheriff's Office want a freebie next time they are hauling butt through there and they get stopped.

Passaic Deputy: "Dispatch, this is 31, I've got a speeder here doing 20 over. His name is John Smith and his license number is 12345678. Anything on him?"
Dispatch: "He wrote a letter to the local paper calling the VA cops unprofessional jerks. Send him on his way."
 
Nice to see that cops aren't above the law everywhere. Personally, I think those cops should've been arrested for wreckless driving (20+mph over the speed limit in my state). Police officers are supposed to set an example and are therefore held to a higher standard in my eyes. No one should get away with this and therefore the NJ cops punishment should've been all the more severe.
 
+ a couple.

Either 95mph is dangerous, and justified only by emergency, or it is not. Either we make exceptions for equipment, driver training and/or job description or we do not.

Last I checked, we "do not" in any case. Citations are in order.
Rich
 
Professional courtesy is a two-way street. I don't have a problem with extending it for a minor infraction, but I expect it in return. The courtesy I expect is a respect for my officers and the job they're sworn to perform. Actions like the Jersey cops displayed showed total disrespect and contempt for Virginia officers, and it put them between a rock and a hard place: Either break the Thin Blue Line, or tarnish the Badge, and the integrity of the officers wearing it. When someone puts me in this position, I'll polish the badge, every time. When another LEO throws it in my face and expects me to wink and look the other way, he has crapped on me in more ways than one, and I feel absolutely no obligation to "extend the courtesy" :mad: . What astounds me is that the Jersey sheriff complained, loudly, about a warning! I really do hope that sheriff calls me sometime to complain about my officers living up to their oath. Guaranteed I'll give him a new definition to the term "a** chewing" and he'll need a dual cheek transplant. :mad:
 
"These are New Jersey law enforcement officers."

Yep, they certainly are, with an emphasis on NEW JERSEY LEOs.

Which means that they have absolutely no standing in Virginia other than as citizens transiting through the Commonwealth.

They already got a professional courtesy when they didn't get tickets for violating Commonwealth laws.
 
NJ Rolling Stock

Reminds me of my cousin a few years ago. He was stopped by a large Metro Police officer. When he offered his badge for identification he was told "I didn't ask about your place of employment, I asked for your drivers license". Sounds like the right way to me.
 
"These are New Jersey law enforcement officers."

Yep, they certainly are, with an emphasis on NEW JERSEY LEOs.

Which means that they have absolutely no standing in Virginia other than as citizens transiting through the Commonwealth.

They already got a professional courtesy when they didn't get tickets for violating Commonwealth laws.
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Sorry, but New Jersey law enforcement officers are just better than other people. Really they are. You don't even have to ask one to know that. Reread the Sheriff's comments and you'll see.
 
An email from whoever is handles Speziales campaigns:
Did Speziale blast Roane? Yes he did...the convoy was not travelling 90 mph...it would be impossible to travel 90 mph in convoy and maintain the line...were their lights on? Yes they were...just like they are on during a funeral procession...or other "convoy" situations...it is for safety, and to keep the line intact. Speziale's people were not the only ones stopped. VA stopped Wayne PD, NYPD, NJ State Polioce, Little Falls PD, and others...they were rude and obnoxious, addressing the officers...some of them ranking officers...as "Boy" and telling them that VA is a "different world".

Speziale stuck up for his people, and he is getting blasted for it. He doesn't mind, because everyone up here agrees with him. There are many, many stories about VA and how they think theyt are part of a "different world"....I have news for the residents of VA....they are part of the USA...no agency from VA sent assistance to New Orleans...yet they harrassed those agencies that did...
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What would you guys say to this?
 
Oh brother! :rolleyes: . I'm reminded of the age old, oft repeated dialog of "Sir, I clocked you at 50 in a 35. I wuz not! Wuz too!..." I seem to recall that Roane was responding to a number of civilian complaints, and not acting on his own. I guess all the people that complained were just in a bad mood that day. Can't do 90 on an Interstate??? Shoot, I've had 18 wheelers blow past me approaching that! What it all boils down to is evidence. Hopefully, Roane had his VICS on, which will put an end to "he said, she said", but he probably didn't think he'd need it while dealing with fellow cops. Thus the saga of "wuz not! wuz too!" will probably continue :( .
 
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