Was this cop being a jerk?

Question

I was driving home yesterday. I was in a school zone doing 20 mph when a cop comes speeding down the road behind me. He tailgates me until I turn off to a side street. He starts to follow me down it then he does a U-Turn and goes back out to the main road. I don't know what he was trying to do. It was a total WTF moment.

Answer 1

If I had done that to you, It would have been because you did something I didn't like, or you just stuck out for whatever reason. In any instance, your car could have looked like a reported stolen vehicle on our "hot sheet", or you may have fit the description of a suspect vehicle who had fled the scene in the area.
He may have followed you thinking you would do something, or he would find something; however, you must have had everything right because he did not stop you. When I complete a stop, the return takes a minute or so. Even when I run it myself on my MDT (mobile data terminal). Thats why I would follow you. If I didn't and drove away, and it returned 10851 (stolen) then I couldn't recover the vehicle, because your gone, and i'd be a moron.
It's sucks because you feel like a criminal when that **** happens, but we are just doing our job. We appreciate when people are understanding because in the end, we woudlnt' be able to do our jobs as effectively if people weren't cooperative.
In the end, were only after the bad guy, and every once in a while, we jam up the innocent guy.
Kudos on being safe in the school zone though, I realllly hate speeders in school zones. I cite them for EVERYTHING when I catch them.

Answer 2

Today's cop is not like the ones from years (many, many years) past. Notice how many have military like haircuts and the mentality of shoot first, ask questions later? I don't know what happened (I'm doing some research into it), but cops have gotten very stupid in the sense of education. Most states/cities require only a H.S. diploma or G.E.D. Only a handful require a 4 year degree. So, what? Well, college means taking classes like psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology...invaluable information on how to deal with and view people, especially when you are a PUBLIC SERVANT.

Also, I've noticed many have a "them vs. us" mentality when it comes to the public. We are ALL potential bad guys to them. It's a matter of poor training and ignorance.

Answer 3

I think sometime they test you to see what your response will be. I was driving in Montana in a rental on Florida plates. A cop overtook me, drove a mile ahead and parked on the emergency lane. In Montana u have to move over 1 clear lane when passing emergency vehicles. They probably thought I wouldn't know this because I was on Florida plates. As soon as I passed the cop resumed their journey.

Answer 4

i understand really some officials in my section, maximum are very tremendous. even with the undeniable fact that, some new men were further to the stress, and what a group of dickheads they're! i imagine the longer they're a cop, the nicer they're. The beginners seem complete of themselves, and they sense the favor to act like a not ordinary-***. the way I see those beginners is, they sense they prefer to act difficult, or act more advantageous in the direction of others. all of it is going back to severe college mentality.

Answer 5

He was either looking for a car like yours, or he ran your plates on the MDT in his car. It takes a little bit to get a return on a plate check. Or he may have been "fishing" to see if you would do something dumb. The last one is kinda sh***y, but it happens. No way to answer your question conclusively. Most likely he was just doing his job though.

Answer 6

More likely they were following a car in front of you and didn't want to be spotted so they pulled off the street till the other car was a safe distance away and then continued pursuit. It's not always about you!

Answer 7

Ignorance is making blanket statements based on nothing more than your own perception, about a group pf people and then condemning them for developing a "us vs. them" mentality. Why is it acceptable to make such broad generalizations about law enforcement, but it's racist if done to group of people?

G.P. Jackson seems to have an "us vs. them" mentality also Julia. How do you feel about that?

Answer 8

Could be your car matched the description of one they were looking for, and he followed you until he got a report back on the license plate or got a good look at you.

And thanks for driving safely in a school zone...

Answer 9

most cops are SOB. I hate when you see cops doing things normal people do and normal people are given tickets. Cops think they are above the law. citizens should be able to ticket cops if they do something wrong

Answer 10

I live in a small town situtation like the above happen all the time. I chalk it up to that they are bored and want to see what the girl with blue hair is doing.