Why are cops such jerks?

Question

Recently my mom's neighbor called the cops on her for cutting down a bush that was on the property line...they agreed on cutting it down but not on what to do with the brush. I was amazed they even called the police, but I was there to help with the work when the police showed up...by that time there was a lot of yelling and verbal abuse going on and I asked the officer to have everyone go to their homes and let me just take the brush away in peace instead of having everyone work together and he told me to shut up and stay out of it or he would arrest me!

Just wanted to clarify a few things...I never said ALL cops are jerks, nor did I say SOME cops are jerks...I didn't qualify it but the officer I described (and a few others I've dealt with) was a jerk in my opinion.

Also, I never tried to be the "boss" or interfere, when the officer asked me who I was and why I was there I told him I was there to help clear up the brush and end the situation and ASKED if it would be possible for me to do so in peace without being yelled at by my mom's neighbors. That's when he snapped at me...I understand that some of you may think I was interfering and trying to be the boss, I was just answering a question, asking for help, and trying to offer what I still feel was a reasonable quick easy way to defuse the situation.

Finally, since then it has come to light that the officer that snapped at me has a personal relationship with the daughter of the couple who called the police that day...

Here are a few of my past dealings with police...

1) I was sexually assaulted by an off duty cop who offered me a ride home from a nightclub after his friend took off with my ride.

2) I was pulled over for driving 26 in a 25 zone and the officer had my car towed away, at 9pm, when my infant child was in the car. His reason for towing, "speeders shouldn't be allowed to drive" I had to walk home, alone in the dark with my baby. Thankfully I was less that 1 mile from home.

3) When I called the police to report a break in to my landlord's property they threatened to arrest me since I wasn't there when they came to check out the damage even though I called back to let them know that I had an emergency. Calling them from the hospital where my boyfriend was having an apendectomy was not enough, they bullied me verbally, called me a liar, threatened arrest and made me go in to give them a statement and when I was done they told me they'd alreadly found out who had done it.

yes, I realize there are some cops who do a good job...but

Overall, I can't help fearing them, not becasue I do anything wrong, but because, I've seen too many instances of them simply abusing power and so my question is Why? Why are they jerks (those who are) Why do they abuse authority? Why is it condoned and allowed? That they "are people too" or "deal with a lot every day" doesn't excuse it to me...would you let a Dr. off with those excuses? Would you let a phamacist off if they were "just human" and gave your child a drug that harmed or even killed them? No, because we can SUE them for malpractice but the system as it stands is too unbalanced in favor of the police and citizens have no rights, it appears to me. Suck it up is what some of these answers say since you may need us some day...that's NOT good enough!

BTW, someone asked if I was 12. No. I'm a 41 year old woman. There IS an issue here, I'm not a whiner, there really IS a problem.

Answer 1

Cops are people, too. He was probably just as annoyed as you were for having to deal with such a petty situation. He could have handled it better, though. If he felt the need to be a jerk, he should have directed it at the neighbor who made the call that wasted his time and not at you. You, after all were just trying to help!

Answer 2

You are considered to be interfering. If you call the police, they show up, they are in charge until the matter is resolved... Period. You don't give orders to the officer, major blunder. If someone takes the time or has risen to the level of having to call the police, things are out of hand. The officer must think the worst (95% of the time, some situations are obvious), if not he risks his own life and those he is sworn to protect. There is a possibility that he may have been irritable due to the, from his perspective, silliness of the situation.

Anyway, he was called in because those there could not handle the situation. If you could have done so, why was he called in? He may have had more important situations to deal with at that time.

Answer 3

Every officer is different. Your question is once again is on the "All Cops are Jerks" personally, although I'll get all thumbs down I'll dare to say it. When your life is danger, they cant get there fast enough, if you lost your child, they would be the ones doing the footwork while you're a blubbering pile of tears and snot, when they are disrupting your daily life because you are not following the local laws, they're jerks and henchmen.

As far as the police being called over a bush. The cop personally was probably rolling his eyes after the first minute over this. They cut a bush and then they fight over what to do with it? Geez...

So anyway, you come along, "Hi, I want to get involved!" Any mother that had two kids fighting and then the third came across to butt-in would be yelled at by the mother to stay out of it! Sorry that you got yelled at. But I guarantee that he was just annoyed over the situation. Besides here's another thought. Would you bring a councilor in to diffuse a bank robbery? No. So probably safe to say his great at his job as far as dangerous situations but something as petty as what to do with a bush after its cut, he wasn't trained on how to diffuse feuding neighbors and he saw you as nothing more than one more person to get added to the fray and then have three people yelling at each other to deal with. Could he have handled it better? Absolutely. Thus my apology to you for his sake towards his yelling/threatening. What happened after that?

Answer 4

You are placing the blame on the wrong people. The FACT of the matter is that those cops were called into a volatile situation. You yourself admit that there was a lot of verbal abuse happening. The cops didn't know what was going to happen. They didn't know if someone had a gun or was going to get ticked off and attack someone or what. Was that cop harsh? Yes, probaby. But he was doing his job. Besides, it is not fair to stereotype all cops as jerks just because one in a bad situation was a jerk to you. People die in situations just like the one you describe. In your case it was probably just a matter of bad neighbors, but the cop had no way of knowing that. You should be mad at your idiot neighbors, not the cops. You are probably right that the cops never should have been called out in the first place, but that is not their fault.

Answer 5

There are great cops and there are not great cops. And no one can dispute that fact! Just like every other profession in the world. Good people and not good people exist.

Looks like you got a not-nice cop. Yes, you should respect police....but not blindly!!

They need to respect you too!

It's a shame that this cop had such a short fuse that a little yelling and arguing would make him yell at you like that. Cops are supposed to be trained on how to diffuse the situation and NOT how to make it worse! I have a strong feeling that his supervisor wouldn't agree with how he treated you!

Don't take it personally. And don't let his behavior change the way you view all cops. Some are power hungry and are only in the position because they want to tell people what to do; but there are police out there who truly want to help people and know that they are there to serve you and help make easier for everyone - they are the good ones!

Answer 6

My simple question is: "Who appointed you boss?"

You may not like my question, but I bet you its the question the police officer had. Whatever he was trying to accomplish, in my humble opinion, you were interfering. Resolving this situation may not have been to your liking, you may have even had the best solution, but again, my point is that "who appointed you boss?" .

I"m the first to admit that some police are jerks. Some are racist, some are just bad cops. Police are a reflection of our society and our society has some people who are jerks. But, bottom line, they are in authority when its legal for them to do so and interjecting our solutions to their situations may not always be the right thing to do.

Answer 7

I will admit that sometime police officers can be rude, but think of the job they are doing. It is very difficult to determine who is right or wrong in situations like this one. It is better to stay out of the officers way. If he was called to resolve this issue let him do his job. Don't be upset he probably had a long day. Most officers are stressed out a lot during the course of the day.

Answer 8

Not all cops are jerks. A few are very nice. Others are just stressed from the difficult job they do (that might depend on the area they work in too!). A lot of them come to believe they are above the law, since there is no one holding them accountable, and so they become prideful.

Like any profession, it's a mixed bag. Don't discount all cops just because you had a bad experience with one!

Answer 9

Most of the other posters are correct, you should have stayed out of it. Next time, just watch the show and keep away.
When called to a neighborhood dispute of any kind, there is always the possibility of weapons involvement. The officer was protecting _you_ and himself and partners from possible bodily harm.

Answer 10

what are you, like 12? If you had any idea what a police officer faces every day, you would not be so damn disrespectful. He may have felt you were interferring. and that gives him every right to say what he did! Think about mouthing off the next time you need to call 911 and there's no one to answer!