George Zimmerman popped for speeding in Texas...

[The Annoyed Man]

Gee, same day I got stopped by a Southlake policeman for speeding, had a gun on my hip, got off with a warning; and it didn't make the news at all.
Seriously, Southlake cop let me off with a warning, now that's news!!

That's almost a miracle!!

That was probably my friend. He works for Southlake PD and says that he hates it that some of the officers write bull tickets. That said, my last police stop was in Southlake, and it was for a dead brake light. I got a warning ticket.

[nightmare69]

Zimmerman is now Waldo.

[sjfcontrol]

Texas Officer to be Questioned About Zimmerman Stop

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/02/te ... latestnews" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[EEllis]

BTW, EEllis, I don't think the LEO who stopped him committed any great crime in texting the stop to his buddies, but I do think it is pretty cheesy. It shows a kind of disregard for the privacy of others. In the healthcare industry, people get fired and rightly so for doing this kind of stuff. His having been stopped and ticketed may legally be public information, but in fact, it's nobody else's business. And by having it gotten from word of mouth into the media, it's one more burden of stone heaped upon Zimmerman's controversial back. It's a problem endemic to our culture these days.....we have no more respect for other people's business anymore. We love gossip, innuendo, and public scandal, because we are a culture without shame. And unlike the truly shameless who deserve the scorn heaped on them by the public and driven into a froth by the media, all Zimmerman did was use deadly force to legitimately defend himself from use of deadly force. For that, he's going to be hounded for the rest of his life, thanks in no small part to the media.

So in the big picture, did the LEO's lack of discretion further fan the flames of undeserved and racist outrage directed against INNOCENT Zimmerman now that he is truly proven not-guilty, or did it help to calm things down? I think that question answers itself. When the media hyperventilates that he was legally in possession of a legal gun in a legal car as if he had committed a crime, and makes a big deal about the fact that he wasn't particularly headed anywhere......as if that is a big crime.....A) that is the direct result of the cop's indiscretion, and B) the stop really isn't news, except that it's George Zimmerman. How stupid is that?

If I were in Zimmerman's shoes, I'd be not a little irritated at the cop in question, and and I'd be pretty bitter toward law enforcement in general, if this is the kind of unfair treatment I could look forward to in the future from the very people of whom I would expect better.

All this based on some noises heard over a bad video? Whatever, the bashing over unknown facts that people are just positive of is getting a bit much for me.

You must not have an smartphone with an onboard camera. That was clearly a cellphone camera shutter, and clearly text typing noises. There was no mistaking those noises.

So you want a cookie? I know what it sounded like, I know what you assume, I don't believe the bashing over assumed facts is any better.

[suthdj]

Zimmerman is now Waldo.

My thoughts exactly.

[bdickens]

If any of you saw GZ during your regular work duties, I'm sure you'd text a buddy or two.

I'll guarantee you I wouldn't.

[The Annoyed Man]

BTW, EEllis, I don't think the LEO who stopped him committed any great crime in texting the stop to his buddies, but I do think it is pretty cheesy.......

All this based on some noises heard over a bad video? Whatever, the bashing over unknown facts that people are just positive of is getting a bit much for me.

You must not have an smartphone with an onboard camera. That was clearly a cellphone camera shutter, and clearly text typing noises. There was no mistaking those noises.

So you want a cookie? I know what it sounded like, I know what you assume, I don't believe the bashing over assumed facts is any better.

There is a BIG difference between "bashing," and the word "cheesy" that I used when I stated (above) that I didn't think that the LEO had "committed any great crime in texting the stop to his buddies....."

If any of you saw GZ during your regular work duties, I'm sure you'd text a buddy or two.

I'll guarantee you I wouldn't.

Ditto......although if I ever ran into him face to face, I'd shake his hand and tell him that I hope people begin to respect his privacy. And I'd hand him my business card, which has my home address on it, and tell him if he's ever in the area to give me a call and come over, and I'll pour him a cup of coffee. I'll bet he'd appreciate someone just being nice to him instead of what he's been getting......

[tomtexan]

Ditto......although if I ever ran into him face to face, I'd shake his hand and tell him that I hope people begin to respect his privacy. And I'd hand him my business card, which has my home address on it, and tell him if he's ever in the area to give me a call and come over, and I'll pour him a cup of coffee. I'll bet he'd appreciate someone just being nice to him instead of what he's been getting......

I'd buy him a steak dinner and give him a medal.

[fickman]

Texas Officer to be Questioned About Zimmerman Stop

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/02/te ... latestnews" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another police department putting on a dog-and-pony show to respond to pressure from the media. I bet Forney gets it right. . . they already floated an excuse for him. Internally, somebody will slap the officer on the back of the head and say, "Use silent mode next time! How loud do you need your buttons to be??"

Then they'll have a cookout and bash the idiots in the media.

My prediction.

I've always thought it's funny that CHLers can be paranoid and worry constantly about doing anything wrong and the consequences of police. Most LEOs I know are equally paranoid. . . they think everybody's out to get them. . . embarrass them, get them fired, cause a problem. They're obsessed with doing their jobs right and worried a camera will catch anything out of context and harm their career.

A year ago I stumbled across an LEO forum where they were discussing CHLs in Texas. . . the consensus was that they get flogged if they do anything wrong, so tread carefully. I almost posted it here twice but refrained because 1) my write-up was very long, tedious, and gave me tired-head, so I can only guess what it would've done to ya'll, and 2) I didn't want to publish the LEO forum, even thought it is readable to the public.

Back to the main point, I expect nothing to come from this "inquiry", which is exactly what should come from it.

[baldeagle]

It's getting pretty bad when a person can't even be a human without bitter criticism. The cop, IMO, did nothing wrong. The media blew it completely out of proportion like it was the world's biggest deal that Zimmerman was acting legally and got treated like any normal citizen would under similar circumstances. How many times have we read here about CHLers being stopped and getting a warning instead of a ticket?

[Gunner4640]

It's getting pretty bad when a person can't even be a human without bitter criticism. The cop, IMO, did nothing wrong. The media blew it completely out of proportion like it was the world's biggest deal that Zimmerman was acting legally and got treated like any normal citizen would under similar circumstances. How many times have we read here about CHLers being stopped and getting a warning instead of a ticket?

I've read many posts on this site and other chl sites and not once did I find that someone got a ticket who had a CHL.
The media does more damage than they do good. Just sayin..

[bdickens]

I have it on good authority that you may very well still get a ticket even if you do have a CHL.

[O6nop]

Did everyone notice that GZ went a little out of the way to tell the cop he was a face on TV, and "didn't you see the name?". He should know by now how to keep things quiet if he is trying to keep a low profile.

[The Annoyed Man]

Did everyone notice that GZ went a little out of the way to tell the cop he was a face on TV, and "didn't you see the name?". He should know by now how to keep things quiet if he is trying to keep a low profile.

He may well have been surprised that the officer did not seem to recognize him right off the bat. Who knows why he said it? Maybe he gets this a lot. His question wasn't a challenge..... like "how dare you stop me....do you know who you're dealing with?" It was more like a "you really don't recognize me?"

[G26ster]

Did everyone notice that GZ went a little out of the way to tell the cop he was a face on TV, and "didn't you see the name?". He should know by now how to keep things quiet if he is trying to keep a low profile.

He gave that answer in response to the officer's question about going "nowhere in particular," when the officer asked, "why do you say that?" I believe Zimmerman was letting the officer know why he would say that by letting him know who he is, and that he is keeping a low profile and wants his privacy by letting no one know where he is going. I don't think he was trying to do otherwise.