I am by no means trying to "bash" you, I just need to state some opinions.
Same song. Same verse. "Ive been a cop for 30 years! How do you know more about it than I do!"
I believe that most, say 75% of law enforcement, are there to actually protect and serve. The rest, at an alarming increase, are there for the power trip of hiding behind a badge, and act as pre programmed robots who do nothing but "follow orders". They also know that there is some protection from what us low life civilians get. Thankfully, more and more are coming out against this tyrannical form of government.
You made your bed, my friend. There are lots of jobs more dangerous than yours, which in the latest polls doesnt even break the top twenty. Im not trying to take away from what you do, just putting it into perspective.
I have a few questions... First, is it worth it? To have your family threatened, risk life and limb for a job that the pay/work load is completely unbalanced? Second, are you a peace officer or law enforcement? There is a difference. A peace officer protects people from others who would commit crimes against them and realizes and upholds the oath taken to protect first the Constitution and then the people. A LEO blindly enforces the law without care as to the people he his affecting. Do you write seatbelt tickets? Pull people over for other non-victim violations like a license plate lights out and tinted windows? If your superiors give you orders to do random stops for registration checks, would you?
Your answers to these questions will really shed light on what kind of police officer you believe you are.
Stay safe my friend.
I am of the opinion that it is NONE of my business what people do with their vehicles, as long as they are not putting other people's lives in danger. If someone doesn't want to wear a seatbelt then that is their prerogative. To be honest I rarely wear mine, because I have seen first-hand the damage that the restraint device can cause.
I am a peace officer, but I also have to enforce the laws at times. I can tell you that MOST of the time I do not like arresting people, but it is part of the job, and is a necessary part in order to protect other people's rights from criminals that would like to infringe upon them. I do NOT like taking people's liberty away from them, but the people that I have arrested were doing those very things to other people on the street.
As for the threats, it just comes with the territory. I will NOT give in and allow the VIOLENT criminals of my county to interfere with my DUTIES as a peace officer. I CAN do more good in my position than in any other, and if I have to deal with the threats then I will for the sake of everyone. I would rather myself be in this position than someone who has no respect for other's birth-rights, or those that are on a power-trip.
Plenty of people here are complaining about peace officers and so forth, but if they really feel the way they do they should do what I did, and enter the profession themselves and change it from the inside. If we continue to set by and watch as tyrants take over our peace officer positions, then we will surely have a REAL standing army right here in our borders. I was sick and tired of hearing about all of the bad that was going on inside the profession so I decided I would do something about it.
When I do arrest someone for an act that harmed another's rights, I am in a position where I can speak with them about it and ask questions. I have moments where I can get one on one time with these people and let them know what it really is they have done, and that an infringement on someone else's rights is a VERY serious offense. Some people don't care and these are the ones that doesn't bother me. If it doesn't bother someone to deprive another of their rights with violence, then I don't care to throw them in jail. However, occasionally I will reach someone and get them to understand just how horrible their actions were, and that makes ALL the difference. In this pursuit however, I do run across violent individuals that like to threaten. Being as they have already committed violent acts, what keeps them from doing so again towards myself? I want to be able to protect myself from them if they did attempt to do so, because if I am not able to do so then I will NO longer be able to protect the rights of my brothers and sisters because I COULD end up dead.
I am in this profession because I want to help people and stand up for them -- nothing more, nothing less. I am one of those rare individuals that will actually give people MY advice on legal matters. I like to inform people of their rights, and if I hear that another officer infringed on their rights I am the first to inform them of it, and I will inform them of what they can and cannot do when it comes to exercising their rights. Just the other day another officer tried to claim to a passenger in a vehicle that he had to show his I.D. or else he could be arrested. I immediately clarified the facts to him and he closed his mouth and set quietly in the passenger seat, and NEVER did show his I.D.
It is amazing how ignorant people are when it comes to THEIR rights. We need the good guys and girls to enter the field so that we can educate and protect people. This job IS dangerous at times, but the danger is worth it in order to be in a position where we can make ACTUAL CHANGE.
Of course we really don't know what it is like until we enter the field; I can attest to this first-hand. MOST people that we deal with are very rude and have no regard for other people, much less other people's rights. But if people like US do not start entering this field and move it BACK towards the peace officer role, then eventually we will be living in a all-out police state. I DON'T want this, and that is why I am a PEACE officer.
I refused to set on the sidelines while the position of peace officer turned into a full-blown LEO position.