TexasCHLforum.com

srothstein wrote: Well, from the point of view of a long time experienced Texas officer, I would have to say that you have some valid points and a somewhat jaundiced view also.

I do have a cynical view of DPS and sometimes let that get the best of me. Today was one of those days. I am not a fan of DPS, and was very disappointed to read OP's account of a particular Trooper's conduct during his traffic stop. That said, I appreciated reading your post and the other posts in this thread -- part of the reason for being here is to learn from everyone else and I definitely figured some things out today

KRM45 wrote:

bwahahaha wrote: I'm speaking of both. DPS was one of a host of agencies I looked into around 2000 before joining a federal agency. I'm aware of the DPS' duties and respectfully stand by my earlier comments regarding their service.

Oh, my... a "Federal Agency" I'm sure they are much more beneficial to public safety than the DPS...

Sorry, my point was that I've seen the DPS from a different perspective than most, not that I went to a better place. Apologies for mentioning it...seriously.

flintknapper wrote:Are you speaking of Texas Dept. of Public Safety Troopers or just the "highway patrol" in general (nationwide)?

If the former, I would submit that you know very little about what they do.

I'm speaking of both. DPS was one of a host of agencies I looked into around 2000 before joining a federal agency. I'm aware of the DPS' duties and respectfully stand by my earlier comments regarding their service.

flintknapper wrote:I appreciate your right to have (and express) an opinion, but wouldn't an "informed" opinion be of more service to us all.

Here is a good place to start your education:

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/

Flint, thanks for the link. I checked out the link and found that it reinforces what I already believed about the agency. If you have a link that shows I'm wrong when I assert that most people will never deal with a Trooper in anything but a traffic stop capacity, please post it. If I'm misrepresenting the DPS' traffic duties, I'd be happy to discuss/admit that. I haven't seen anything that suggests that I am. I'd like to see formal statistics that show what trends exist in terms of Trooper workload. An agency's official website can provide useful info, but it can also be misleading.

For what it's worth, I found the opening of a 1999 DPS press release regarding an academy graduation particularly telling: "AUSTIN – An additional 105 troopers soon will be patrolling Texas roadways following their graduation today from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s 116th Training Academy."

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_s ... 041699.htm

DPS certainly presents itself as a pretty one-dimensional agency.

flintknapper wrote:

bwahahaha wrote: The Highway Patrol is largely a do-nothing agency (I don't count drug interdiction ops and traffic patrol as useful).

All in all, what a disappointing interaction with this guy.

MY........thats a bit unfair don't you think?

I think it's fair. To be very generous I'll call them a "do very little agency" instead. They nab intoxicated drivers, provide some relief to full-service agencies w/r/t collisions (OTOH, full-service agencies burn patrol time backing them up on traffic stops), and occasionally take persons wanted for felony-level offenses off the street.

The vast majority of their time, however, is spent driving around in circles running moving radar in largely unpopulated areas. They're revenue collectors -- and I think that's all that they are. Do they provide any kind of meaningful benefit? I'd love to see an accurate, impartial study that shows they do. I'd be floored.

I don't consider them to be on par with any full-service police agencies.

Big Calhoun wrote:
I was a little bummed about getting a ticket but like I said, he had me and I wasn't going to try to offer excuses. Very pleasent, professional, and personally, I couldn't ask for a more friendly contact. Kudos to Texas DPS...

I may be in the minority here but I consider this a bad contact.

Why?

He disarmed you -- why?

He didn't trust you enough at the end of the stop to just give the gun back. C'mon -- back of the seat?

His small talk about the make/model of your gun was ridiculous given the fact that he'd taken your gun.

His small talk was made in order to attain cooperation, not because he's a nice guy.

He instructed you to rearm at the next rest stop -- not ATS.

He cited you for a victimless "crime." You harmed no one through your actions. You (allegedly) exceeded an arbitrary speed limit and were treated as a criminal for it.

Bottom Line: HE MADE IT CLEAR THAT HE DID NOT TRUST YOU, EVEN AFTER YOUR CHL STATUS WAS VERIFIED.

It's not as if you initiated the contact.

The Highway Patrol is largely a do-nothing agency (I don't count drug interdiction ops and traffic patrol as useful).

All in all, what a disappointing interaction with this guy.