Good Experiences w/LEO's

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IronGeek

New member
There's been lots of talk (myself included) about LEO's being uncool. But that's not the whole story. I'd like to relate some of the many good experiences I've had:

Once I ran out of gas on the off-ramp getting to a gas station, entering a large busy intersection. A LEO rolled up & put on his lights, escorting me to the other side while I pushed my full-size truck (with my elderly father inside) to the other end. He pulled up & asked if everything was ok, & I said I was fine now, grabbing a gas can outta my toolbox. Thanks, officer!

Several times I've been pulled over & the officer was more than fair & reasonable, letting me go with a bit of advice rather than any number of citations he could've issued. Thanks to all LEO's who work in the spirit (rather than the letter) of the law.

I'm sure there's more I will recall...

How about you all?
 
I have nothing but good experiences, they always cut me slack when I am stopped. :)

On a serious note, 90+% are good guys, but even fellow LEOs can tell who the knuckleheads are when we get stopped. The 10% or less who have no people skills. Just like any other profession.
 
I've had a number of cop friends over the years. I gotta say ... I think if some of those guys weren't cops, they'd be criminals. I'm amazed at those that just like being a cop because they can be the big man with the gun -- there are a certain percentage of little caesars with badges and "authority."

Negative out of the way, though ... there are a lot of good cops out there. Guys who like being out with people and lending a hand while looking hard for the bad guys. I've known a couple who spent their whole careers on the streets when they could have taken a more "indoor" job just because they liked being out in the public.

Do a ride around with a cop someday and see what they deal with; it's amazing that ANY of them have an ounce of decency left after a few years of that.

My hat is off to those of you who do and still keep positive and professional.
 
I've had too many good experiences with cops to mention. One night in high-school, the neighbors wife, and his only daughter were killed in a car wreck. This DPS trooper comes and has to tell him, but he does the legwork first. He talks to my father who informs them that they go to the methodist church. The trooper then uses our phone to call the minister. They use our house as a staging ground. They go tell the man and from that day, I realized the complex work that cops do daily that you don't read about in the blotter report.

I worked in a jail a while and I found that 66% of them are truly the most decent folks I've been around. Unfortunately, just like the one dead rose in a rose garden, the one bad or AH cop stands out and takes the shine off the badge.

For some reason I get nervous when I'm driving and I see a police car, but when I see a cop in uniform standing around, I feel much safer. While I don't always agree with the laws they enforce, I do realize that when my grandmother has a stroke or other ailment, it is likely that the first on the scene will be a cop to help the paramedics find the place. Cops do incredible work for little pay and lots of stress off-the-job. I thank all of you out there who do the job because society couldn't function without you.
 
I've had 6 ride-alongs in 6 different cities over the years and I can attest to one or two points.
Your going to get what you give.

1) Be an A$$ and the response is not gonna be in your favor.

2) Cooperate, be polite and expect and get that in return. Often if its minor traffic stuff you get a verbal.

I've been through 5 domestics with LE and I'm here to tell you I wouldn't put on a uniform and go even as a backup. People turn on those that are called to help and it can get ugly quick.

If your sole experience with LE has been with the 5-10% that belong behind a desk then I can see where your experience is biased. No amount of training will make anyone that’s unsuited for a position a better "person" in performing their job, be it Cop, Mother, Business owner or Teacher.

I was taught at an early age to respect positions of authority. Funny how that attitude works.
 
I guess I should preface this with the fact that I get pulled over extremely often because i have a lead foot. I am always extremely courteous and level headed, and most of the officers I talk to give me the same treatment. I have only had one bad experience with a cop who pulled me over, and I don't know if he was having a bad day or if he was always like that, but he was a true a__. As far as cops not pulling me over, the cops who run the gun range are great guys, and the police where I work are all pretty cool with one notable exception who has a huge chip on his shoulder. As far as my place of employment, whenever someone talks about how bad the cops are, they are simply talking about that one officer whether they know it or not, as he gives the whole force a bad name.
 
Thanks for this thread, it gives us "LEO bashers" a chance to actually be unbiased and tell the truth :).

I've had a ticket "fixed" by a deputy that wrote it because I wound up at a party that he was at the next day after the ticket. He got to know me, I him and liked my excuse (I had just gotten new tires on my car and a line of us (I was in the rear) decided to "race" (I just got caught up in the flow of the crime). Clocked us going 70mph (single file line) in a 35.

I was given a warning instead of a ticket in Rome NY. I was speeding under a bridge and was pulled over. My excuse (and it was true), I get "uneasy" going under bridges. He laughed and let me go.

But, those aren't the important ones. The one that is most important is when my mom's car quit on her. She was pulled over and a Deputy pulled in behind her to see what was up. She then let my mom use her personal cell phone (the Deputy's) to call me to come out to help. She didn't have to do this but she did.

I've got nothing but the deepest respect for the Sheriff's Department here in Lane County.

Again, thank you for starting this thread.

Wayne
 
I've tried to get to know most of the LEOs that come to the ER

whether it's a medical clearance for a drunk going to jail, or a personal deal, I try to gey them through my doors as soon as possible. I'd rather they be out on the street working than wasting time sitting in the waiting room. I live in a town of 65,000, so it's easier to do than if I still lived in a large city and worked at the "knife and gun club" trauma center.
They appreciate the fast treatment, know what vehicles I have, where I live and responded in record time when my wife called 911, gun in hand, as a punk was trying to break down our front door. Kid thought a dealer who sold him "bad stuff" lived there. Turned out the meth lab house was down the street (we've since moved).
Maybe it's a "wash my back, I'll wash yours" situation, but I look at it as just trying to look out for each other.
 
One time an Army buddy of mine got some time off during the summer and came up to Troy to visit my brother and I and some other friends. His name was Andi and the four of us including my brother and Matt decided to go paintballing. We decided to try up near the town dump as there are lots of gravel mounds and ditches there to run around and provide a dynamic environment. So he pulls off near the highway, we get out of his car and suit up. We are all dressed in woodland camo BDUs and have the plastic paintball masks. We trudge up the bank to our shooting area with our markers and begin to play. We've went through several rounds and our hoppers are getting empty so do the whole "not it" thing and I end up being the slowest and in doing so volunteer myself to go fetch the paintballs, which are now about 150 yards away. We all take off our masks to get some air on our faces. I am just getting back with the paintballs when the first squad car pulls up. We all say "o crap" in unison but at this point are thinking we might have missed a "No Tresspassing" sign or something and can just leave to avoid any problems. Then two more cars and the City Sherrif's truck pull up behind the first and they all get out with hands on the grips of pistols in holster with the thumb breaks already off. They immediately size up the situation. One of them approaches us with a smirk on his face and says "if you guys don't speak Arabic we're wasting our time here." They then explained that someone has driven by as we were prepping and reported that "men with machine guns and gas masks were going up behind the dump." They asked to see my Tippman so I let them. One officer even joked around and shot his buddy's car with it. But it gets better. They left and we decided we had enough excitement for one day so we headed back to Andi's car. As we crested the embankment there were two more squad cars pinning his car in place with officers behind the engine blocks. We could see a scoped Springfield Armory M1A and an AR-15 laying across their hoods and it was readily apparent that just a few moments ago, these officers had been knelt down expecting the worst. We held our markers up by the barrels above our heads and implored them not to shoot. "Don't shoot us!" exclaimed Matt, "He's in the Army," he said, pointing to Andi. "The US Army!" I added. When we got down to Andi's car, one of the officers just shook his head and said, "You boys have no idea how many guns were pointed at you...f-ing terrorists..." Then they got in their cars and drove away. That's about as good of an encounter as I've had with the police.
 
Actually caught a break last night.

Coming up the Dulles Toll Rd towards the Greenway tollgate, it's posted 35 (down from 55 before, and 65 after the gate) a 1000' or thereabouts in advance of the tollgate. I was coming in a little hot but most everyone does there if going through the Smartag lane. It was around Midnight and no lights till you get to the gate, and he was sitting in the median facing me. Had me dead to rights.

I did everything right: put on the dome light, kill the radio, lower the window, put on the parking brake, and wait with hands on top of the wheel. Handed him my license and registration, and my CHP (in VA it's a Concealed Handgun Permit) even though I don't have to. Answered "no" and "no" to whether I had been drinking and whether I was armed (I knew he meant was I carrying, no quibbling over terminology), both of them true. He was back in just a couple minutes, much less time than if he'd been busy writing. Told me to be careful, sent me on my way. First time I've gotten a warning in some time, especially from a State guy.

Whoever you are, officer, my thanks!

- 0 -

And my thanks to all the other LEOs out there putting their lives on the line for little reward and less appreciation. Respect, yo.
 
He's in the Army," he said, pointing to Andi. "The US Army!" I added.
Click to expand...
LMAO

In my youth I was a drunken moron. Then one day I got arrested for D.U.I. (one and only time thank God). At the time I made note of the arresting officer's name because he "pissed me off".

About a year later I'm driving home late at night (sober) when I come around a corner to a cop car halfway across the road, door open, rollers on. I pulled over and noticed a big hole in the brush on the downhill side of the road. I jumped out and ran down the almost vertical embankment to find the policeman dragging injured college age kids from a car that I would have sworn was going to explode in flames any second.

Long story short we got the kids to safety, and when the smoke and chaos cleared a little I got a look at the cop. On his shirt it says Officer Kent. I reached out to shake his hand and said "I'm sure you don't remember me, but you arrested me once for drunk driving... thank you." And I got in my car and went home.
 
I have had mixed experiences when it comes to police officers, but I do not fault them most of the time, because they have to deal with dirtbags sometimes, and it can be stressful, even for the best of us.
 
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