imported post
Hawkflyer wrote:
altajava wrote:
SouthernBoy wrote:
I know I'm going to get flamed for this but here goes.
You see, this is what can really pisses me off about police. First off, let me get it out up front. I am not a cop hater or a basher. I support LEOs because I understand they have a hard enough job as it is.. especially in light of their salaries.
But I have a great deal of problem with LEOs who are more than willing, either through ignorance or just plain power tripping, to make illegal arrests and harass law abiding citizens who are doing nothing more than practicing their rights, which is FAR more important and significant than a cop going off the handle.
I'll leave my rant at that and just say once more that I fully support the good LEOs. I have nothing but disrespect and anger towards the bad ones.
I'm not flaming you but it has nothing to do with salary. They do have a difficult job. In my short 40 years I have only met one LEO that did not deserve the respect the uniform commands, and I have met a lot of cops in my misspent youth(I can cite traffic laws better than most cops).
Well I have met a lot too. It is a mixed bag just like any other human endeavor. There are FAR more good ones trying to do an honest job based on why we hire them, than bad ones, but the bad ones get the most press. It does not help when people subsequently paint ALL LEOs with the same brush.
I agree with all who responded to my little "rant". I have only had one bad encounter with an LEO and he was an Arlington, VA motor cop. All of the rest, local, county, and state have been professional and fine in my opinion. While it may be difficult for the lay person to penetrate the LEO fraternity, I find that acting "normal" (as in not acting intimidated or nervous) and showing a bit of a sense of humor goes a long way in breaking down that veneer and putting one on a people-to-people basis.. at least to a degree.
Thanks for not thinking of me as an LEO basher or hater because nothing is further from the truth. Only those who operate outside of the law or take advantage of their charter are the ones with whom I would have a problem. I suspect we all might tend to think there are more of these LEOs, in regards to OC'ing because we see these reports on this site. But I would bet there is a small percentage across the state where such problems are likely to occur.
As for salaries, that was a general statement on my part. I suspect there here in this part of Virginia, LEOs are paid pretty well.. we have several in my development and these are nice homes.