cop arrests woman speeding to see sick father, what do u think of this?

Question

i just saw this on this news tonight and it gave me one more reason why i can't stand cops. not like i needed another one...what do you all think about the cop and how he handled the situation. most of them are just guys on a powertrip. i honestly haven't met a nice cop yet who has properly handled a situation.

http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_123140815.html

you all make good points. i agree, pulling over a woman going that fast was perfectly acceptable. i was more referring to what he said to her like "and now you won't get to see him because you're goin to jail" and the ripping her from her car and slamming her on the hood. im not an officer but i can think of a few other things he could've done. issue her a warning and tell her to slow down and wish her well. if he's allowed, offer to escort her to the hospital if its such an emergency. tell her he has to write her a ticket, explain he will do it as quickly as possible and he is sorry about her dad.

oh and to the person who thinks i dont handle myself right and thats why i dont meet nice cops...try growing up in a small town. one cop got my best friend expelled from school because he wrote down false testimony on his papers to convict him of sexual assault. the girl even confessed to making it up for attention and the cop still wouldn't take back what he wrote. i tried to report someone for stalking me for months and threats. cop couldn't've been anymore unsupportive and blamed me for the whole thing. told me it was my fault because i had a myspace and was being a dumb girl. another time, i was kissing my bf in his car at a park even before the park closed. the cop called 2 other cops and the sheriff to interrogate us and tried to get both of us to confess to my bf trying to rape me. my dad beat me once and my bf even saw it all on the webcam. know what the cop said to me? maybe if you weren't a bad child your parents wouldn't have to beat you. my dad hit me for doing hw too late.

so maybe before you accuse someone of not handling themself right, you should know the situation. i am not a bad child. im 19, with a 3.5 GPA at a good university. i never drank before college or partied or slutted around. ive never done any drugs or smoked. but ur right aren't you, i don't know how to handle myself.

Answer 1

You need to understand two things regarding the Police.

1) The population of the Police is actually pretty representative of the general population. You have some really smart cops and then average bright followed by some who are truly less than average in intelligence. The ability of an indivudual to deal with situations on the street is clearly influenced by just how smart they happen to be.

2) The polices of the department and training of the officer dictates his response as well. L.A. cops and San Diego CHP's are notorious for their quick use of weapons. This is due to training and policies. Theses officers have been given permission to react quickly and violently by the authorities of their department resulting in more shootings than other departments with similiar duties to the public.

3) The state of mind of the cop counts as well. Was he exhausted or under stress from other situations for example.

4) Many cops will tell you they go into the force to help others, or to catch bad guys. That is often true. However, many times this is true as well. They are attracted to power and authority and value projecting this power on others. We have all seen the type. Moral authority, black and white on many issues, considers themself the source of good and a true american and patriot.

So, in this case the cop was correct to pull over and issue a citation. The woman, as tragic as her situation was, did not have the option to leave. The cop decided that he could not trust her story or was uncaring about her plight, or both. His comments when he cuffed the woman were so entirely out of line any reasonable supervisor would put him on desk patrol pending an evaluation of his mental health. Anyone who would taunt and scold a women who's father was possibly dying is obviously unbalanced and likely even stupid. Is this the type of person we want on the street dealing with the general public? The job of police officer makes extraordinary demands on individuals. Some are not up to the task. This officer has shown he is not, or needs further training and guidance. He was truly a stupid *** who showed the whole world just how ugly he is.

Answer 2

well lets look at a couple things here , from the point of view of a police officer ( me )

i clock a vehicle doing 63 in a 35 zone , this is a instant ticket
i don't care if the virgin Mary was driving that car
going almost twice the fast as the posted speed limit puts EVERYONE out there at risk, kids , other motorist , pedestrians you name it


2ND the woman's father is already at the hospital , it's not like he is in the vehicle with her

3rd do you know how many times i have pulled over a speeding motorist to hear things such as this , or my wife is having a baby . or my dog ate my sons home work
heck i even had a guy tell me once that he was speeding to get home because him and his wife where trying to have a baby and she was ovulating ,, ( yes i let him go , can't keep a man away from some action )

4th once stopped , she took off , starting a pursuit . now i would of done the same thing as this officer , he was and is 100% justified in his actions . and nothing will come out of this , for him i can 100% guarantee you , the national FOP has already stated that they will step in for this officer if need be

Answer 3

That's amazing. I recently paid a speeding ticket for the same: 63 on a 35. I was coming off a 65 mile zone and into a small town and did not realize it since I was looking for directions, but I did not get arrested because when the cop pulled me over and told me what I'd done I was like: "OMG! Thank you. I am so sorry and explained myself. " I did not try to go before I got my ticket, even though I was late due to the time it took for him to write the ticket, but I can see why she would have grown impatient and tried to get to her father. he should have escorted her to the hospital with his siren instead of issuing a ticket. If she was lying, he would have known then and could have issued her a ticket for speeding and/or charged her with false repoting. That would have been the humane thing to do. STORMER: You are jumping the gun. Are perhaps a cop or the relative of one? Speeding is not what got this woman arrested-else I would have been as well, but that's not a good reason to tell the person asking the question they don't know how to handle themselves; she is just feeling compassion for the woman because of her ill father. That is the correct way to handle oneself. Oh, not that it matters but: I had a clean license before this incident so when I went to court the DA let me plead 55 on a 35 and I got 4 points on my license and a $145 fine. It could have been worse so I am thankful for that, but much more thankful I was stopped rather than hurt myself or someone else.

Answer 4

She drove off after being pulled over and told to wait, that he'd be right back. That's called attempting to elude an officer. I saw absolutely nothing wrong with the way the deputy handled the situation. As far as I'm concerned, the sheriff who suspended the deputy was dead wrong in his actions and just another reason that law enforcement officers and the law gets the lack of respect they do. As far as you not meeting any officers that have handled a situation properly, is it that they failed to handle the situation properly, or is it that you disagreed with their handling of the situation? I'm betting on the latter. PS. who cares what you have for a GPA? Mine was a 3.9 in college, so that makes me better than the next guy? I don't think so, and at 19 you still consider yourself a child? You are obviously right, you still are. Grow up and get a clue.

Answer 5

This topic has already come up and been answered.

It's difficult, but you have to keep your presence of mind when rushing to the hospital... otherwise you risk not only your own life but the lives of everyone else you are driving around. How does causing another series of injuries help the sick loved one in the hospital?

The policeman could have been gentler, maybe, but he had no way of knowing whether the woman was telling the truth or fleeing a murder scene.

Tough call... in the end, the dad survived.. so all's well that ends well.

Answer 6

you have this thing going where the cop will always be wrong...if the cops let everybody act the way they want to then there wouldnt be any use having cops and anarchy is what you would have...I cant tell you how many stories I have heard...sick parents,dying children,fallen aunties,90% of it is BS....Ithe way I handle it is to offer to follow them to the hospital or ER....but we just dont fall for any old story we hear...we cant...people on here will tell you outright they will lie to their dead mothers to get out of a ticket,what do you think some scuzzball on the street will tell you?...but I understand..you never drank or slutted around til you got to college(your words)...so you would never dream of telling a cop a lie to get out of a ticket til you got to college?......I know I am wasting my time but try this....watch one of those reality video shows for awhile that show cops car videos and see what we deal with then put yourself in that cops position and see how you would react after several years of those kind of lies.....oh,BTW..when I offer to follow them to the ER?....Im hitting about 80-20 that say.."Oh,just give me the ticket"....but I understand...to you,all cops are bad and we will never do it the way YOU want....but next time you are being beaten by an abusive partner or you hear a noise under your window at 3am,dont dial 911....all cops are bad...remember?

Answer 7

Approximately 6.2 million reported crashes occurred in 2004. Speeding - defined as exceeding the posted speed limit or driving too fast for conditions - is a factor in nearly one-third of all fatal crashes.

Try these statistics on for size:

Speeding-related crashes resulted in 13,192 fatalities in 2004. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, 2005)

When speed increases from 40 mph to 60 mph, the energy released in a crash more than doubles. (IIHS, 2003)

I'm not going to bother grabbing the statisitics on distracted driving for you. And yes, with her father in the hospital and her state of mind, she was more than distracted. Combined, she was a danger to everyone on or near the road.

Answer 8

She was wrong to be speeding, as she could have caused an accident and hurt herself or, worse, someone else.

She also needed to take some deep breaths and calm herself down, as, again, her impulsive behaviors (speeding, driving away from the officer) did her no good, her father no good, and potentially a lot of harm to herself and others.

Now, having said that, he was dead wrong from start to finish. He could have taken note of her distress and anguish and offered to escort her to the hospital--at a much safer speed--following behind him.

Certainly, that's would have happened had she been pregnant and needing to get to the hospital. I see absolutely no reason for his lack of respect or consideration for her in her situation. Compassion and common sense would dictate this.

Further, I hope she sues the a*wipe for manhandling her (as well as the city stupid enough to hire him), esp. since he's too stupid to turn off the camera so he didn't out himself. (Reading about this incident, I couldn't help but remember Rodney King--amazing how the justice system works, or doesn't work, in America, huh?)

Finally, I think that the City and the police department should think twice before they give a little boy a gun and a badge. He could hurt himself.

Answer 9

That cop could had accompanied that lady to see whether its true. Giving her a fine for breaking a law is one thing. But stopping her to see her sick father and if his sick father died before she could see him, then can the cop be responsible. That cop must be either sick in his mind. If we want a machine to give ticket to people than we have robots and not a human cop. I hope the police academy train more humane cops and punish those who instead of helping the community, cares only about his quota and his promotion (as a result of issuing tickets and hitting his quota).

I once met a cop, who insist on me not stopping at the stop line which I slowed down to a halt for a second or two and the thing is I checked the traffic and there's no cars at all on the road. I also know that a cops car not switching the headlights on was driving behind me. The 2 cops gave me a fine of $300. At that time, i was younger and did not pursue justice. But look at that, there are many lousy cops around. I will never forget that incident. It caused me to go hungry for a week as a result of the unjust fine..

As for this case, if u r in the woman's shoes u will be losing your sense of speed as a result of his anxiety. The cop should excorted her car instead. Anyone who really know what is love and kinship or had lost a loved one will know how the woman felt.

Answer 10

She drove off while he was writing her a ticket! Of course he'd arrest her. That's what I would expect to happen. That's what should happen!

I've met many nice police officers. Have you ever thought maybe the common factor is that YOU need to learn how to "properly handle a situation"?