A long time ago, I used to not have a problem writing people tickets for driving like I did. I figured I got cited for most of it when i was not a cop or when I was off duty (yes, I have gotten tickets when off duty) and I knew I could get the ticket when I drove that way. I saw getting caught as being fair since I had gotten away with it so much and figured they had too.Fangs wrote:I've almost considered videotaping LEOs as they drive and then producing the footage when they pull me over for driving like they do.
As I got older, two amazing things happened. First, my driving actually improved. i was no longer in as much of a hurry to get anywhere and learned to wake up a little earlier to get to work. Second, I realized that even if I knew I could get a ticket, it really was hypocritical to write people tickets for driving the way I did.
So, I have not written a ticket in at least 15 years (and probably closer to 20) unless I honestly felt the driver was driving worse than I did. really. And I have taught that as a guideline to cops for at least the last 10 years too. I found it amazing how many of the older cops would agree with me and how many of the younger cops would laugh but think about it. Most of them will probably switch in a few years also.
I know it does sound bad, but there still could have been an emergency. I have lost count of the number of times I started to go to an emergency call, only to be canceled by someone else getting there. It happens. Yeah, in a larger department than SM it will probably happen more often, but it has even happened in Luling. Especially in the small towns, it happens because the cops go to almost everything. In Luling, I responded to every emergency call no matter who it was for. We went to fire calls because we could get there first and we knew they would need traffic control, we went to EMS calls because we could get there first and usually help (in the strong back and weak mind category of help - some people are hard to lift on a gurney), we went to the police calls obviously, and we even went to the emergency water and electric calls. Again, we could get there first most of the time. We usually beat the others to the call because we were the ones already in cars in motion. We could almost always verify if they were truly needed and how badly. Mid-sized towns like San Marcos are probably the best for cops being cops and you should see this less there.I used to live a block from SMPD and I rarely if ever saw them use blinkers. Don't get me started on how often I'd see them running red lights just because they can. As in, they turned off their sirens and then pulled into Subway and ate afterward, in case anyone was going to ask, "How do you know there wasn't an emergency?"
But if you do see it, feel free to call the department and complain. Get the car number painted on teh side of the car so the chief can identify the driver and let them know what he did wrong. Most chiefs worry about their people and the reputation they get. I know Chief Williams would take action in San Marcos over this. He is a pretty good chief and interested in both the people and his officers.