Why do some cops seem arrogant?

[GerSan69]

I'd like to give everybody a "like" in this thread. I may not agree with every post but they're all interesting. Thank you.

I worked for the sheriff at the county jail before the police dept hired me. I learned (sometimes the hard way) how to treat people firmly but respectfully to get them to do what I needed them to do. I applied that in my first assignment with the police, and it's served me well to this day. I like to think that 34 years hasn't changed me, but of course it has. I'm not always perfect, but I try to be.

The most important thing I've learned is that a policeman has to take his authority as seriously as he expects others to respect it. Not much I can add to that.

 

[nick93]

My cousin married a policeman so as far as I'm concerned he's my cousin and I will do anything for him. His job isn't easy on him or his family and he tries to help his community the best he can. The thing that stinks is he has thrown himself in to his job to the point that outside of our family his only associates are LEO. The kids birthday parties always include friends from various boroughs. Often I feel bad for them. listening to them talk it often turns to office politics and chronic run ins with village idiots. The job takes over to the point many of them know nothing else. Are there jerks there ?usually one but the job didn't make them a jerk they just came that way.

 

[Faulkner]

I was working with a young rookie officer that I was mentoring and after a few days he mentioned to me, "why are most of the public we deal with such jerks?"

 

[jimmyj]

Some CIVILIAN ate all the jelly doughnuts ??

 

[timn8er]

So, are you saying you subscribe to this logic? Just curious...

 

[lonejacklarry]

So, are you saying you subscribe to this logic? Just curious...

There are always people that do not like the police and/or do not like anything about them or their actions no matter how honorable the intentions. I've seen enough posts on this and similar subjects to know that regardless of the intent some people are prone to bash the police for some real or imagined wrong.

This is just one author's attempt to explain why things might be the way they are. I probably won't change one person's thinking about the subject if I offer my opinion. Let's leave it at that.

 

[timn8er]

I can't believe that this is the way most LEO's think. if this is true, then we as a society are in even worse shape than I thought. There are always people that don't like anyone, let alone policemen. That rant seems to espouse the "us against them" attitude. I respect LEO's when they respect me. If they start the interaction with the attitude that whomever they deal with is a "dirt bag", nothing positive will ensue.

 

[Eagle223usa]

and, of course, there is another, obvious conclusion: some of us are a****les.

Close, ONLY supervisors!

 

[feralmerril]

Years ago I had a captain that was a retired marine that went through world war two. He had a short mans complex I think and he could pee off the pope. He just had a highly obnoxious personality. I knew him well and of course we got into it a few times but yet we were friends. I believe he was probley of German decent as I am myself. He had a son stationed in germany and took a trip to see him. When he got back he was telling me about his trip and commented how obnoxious the german people were. I cracked up and he wanted to know what I thought was so funny and I told him!

 

[SgtLumpy]

I'm not real sure we don't know what kind of trash cops have to deal with---my wife probably does, she has been dealing with me for 50 years.

I'm absolutely confident that you, nor your wife, do know.


Sgt Lumpy

 

[jimmib]

being almost 69 years old I have seen good and bad people in every walk of life....I have met many more good leo's than bad...I think we have a tendency to hold them to a higher standard,but they have bad days too...if I had a bad day it didn't make the evening news and that is the biggest difference...I treat anybody the same way that I am treated and expect the same from anybody...I would have been a policeman earlier in life if it had paid better to start...I had passed all the tests and was ready to go, but the pay just wasn't their...I will respect them as long as they respect me

 

[SgtLumpy]

...I guess SOME have got the "I'm above the law attitude" and the I'm the man attitude" because of their badge & gun, but again, MOST are descent Guys and Gals who just want to return home to their family's at the end of their shift.

Actually, cops are "the man". They pin a badge on us, give us a gun and tell us -

"You're now the man.

Go fix everyone's problems. Try not to get killed. But if you do, we'll hire a piper and give a flag to your wife. Don't tick off the mayor's daughter when you catch her drunk, speeding and posessing cocaine. Try not to injure anyone who spits on you or kicks you in the groin. Try and resolve the marital problems of the alcoholic husband and abused wife who's been married to each other for the last 25 years, but try and clear that call in 10 minutes. Be sure you write an equal number of tickets to blacks, whites, latinos, gays, Indians and any other group that thinks they're above the law. And even if you just get finished watching a kid blow his own brains out with a 12 gauge, try and be friendly to the guy at Burger King who's having a disagreement with the teenager behind the counter.

You're the man. Any questions, ask your seargeant".


Sgt Lumpy

 

[westy39]

Well this is an interesting topic. I can say with some authority (22 years as a street cop) that there are no perfect cops. The Police are held to a higher level in many ways. The average Officer is a fairly good guy and it takes a special person to leave the job at work and go home like nothing terrible happened. I will say as cops we tend to see the worst part of human behavior and we try not to think that all citizens are dirtbags. When I started in 1985 I was arresting certain people and when I retired in 2007 I had the pleasure of arresting their grandchildren, some people are just a waste of oxygen... Then there are the times when the so-called average person says quite simply "thank you " and those simple words almost put you on your butt with surprise. I had a good career but I came to realize that TRUST is a very fragile commodity in my chosen occupation. It is such a good feeling to have almost all citizens second guess your actions as well as our supervisiors. I don't mean to sound offended as after being called about every name in several books I have a seriously thick skin and really don't give a dam if when I dealt with you while I was in uniform you felt I wasn't kind enough to you. I will say I did go out of my way to treat people as they treated me and usually I treated my contacts better than they treated me. Yes, I am sure I came across as arrogant and perhaps even "rude". It is hard to be nice to some guy who just beat the s*** out of his wife and kids for the third time. I will say I believe that 90 to 95% of the people in our city are good people and at times do stupid things. Then there is the 5 or 10% that really are evil...... People are unique and every situation is different. Just my thoughts from the Big Sky Country..

 

[kbm6893]

There are a few members of this Forum who very obviously despise LEO's or any other authority. They are the ones who regularly and intentionally offer false statements re: what can/cannot transpire lawfully in the course of a LEO's workday or aver they 'don't have to obey instructions.' Not making this up; a review of posts will substantiate this.

I don't take it personally and usually attempt to prove them 'wrong' and try to help them understand.

Two instances always pop into my head when I see threads like the instant one. 1. A poster(s) states that police cannot testify or offer evidence in 'favor' of a suspect. Absolutely, positively, FALSE. In fact, exculpatory evidence must be revealed. 2. Or such statements as 'I don't have to do what a cop tells me...ever.' Well you do...within reasonable standards. I recall a post in which the member stated words to the effect...'I don't have to exit my car if I don't want to do so.' Well, you WILL, one way or the other if a LEO wants you to. Fact.

Too many folks deny responsibility. Cannot tell you how many were subject to my arbitrarily and capriciously and without reason 'stopping' them for various wrongdoings. Nobody was ever wrong...was always me. Back in the day many were subsequently found to follow the 'challenge authority' philosophy.

Oh, boy.

Be safe.

I agree. Plenty of cop haters out there and quite a few on this site. Reminds me of the idiots who open carry for the sole purpose of drawing a cop's attention and instigating a confrontation. The truth is that NONE of my family or friends have ever had a negative interaction with a cop. I'm retired now and will admit to speeding pretty much every day. Since I retired (12 years ago), I have been pulled over 4 times. That's once every three years. The odds of you even interacting with a cop (unless you're a criminal) are pretty slim. Most people live their lives without giving cops a second thought.

it is MY opinion that those with a negative opinion of cops have that opinion for a reason. Just like the saying "everybody is innocent in prison".

 

[Old Corp]

^^Will echo and agree with kbm893 and Big D -

And THIS forum is one of the better ones. There's an outdoor/hunt/fish forum as well as a shooter's forum that's specific to my area. I've about stopped even visiting those forums because of the anti-LE, cop-hating vitriol spewed there.
Some of the 'operators' we all laugh about are some of the worst.

Yep - do my best to ignore it. Kinda hard to since I spent about 30 years serving the people of my city, while doing my dead-level best to treat everyone as well as they would allow me. All the while putting some very bad people away.

I'm more than a little proud that even after a deadly force encounter that I survived that entailed a much-publicized visit to my city by the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton (and attendant protests/demonstrations...) , that I still returned to work with a good attitude and really enjoyed opportunities to help people. They didn't come every day, but regular enough to keep me happy.

Yes, I wrote traffic citations, served warrants, arrested both men and women for beating on each other at domestics, quelled bar fights, arrested drunk drivers (and delivered death notifications at 0400 due to drunk drivers), knocked down doors on drug search warrants with armed bad guys inside, tracked down bank robbers, found lost children and recovered stolen property from countless B&E's and the list of other duties performed could fill pages. Did my JOB, and well. For that I am vilified by some. Sorry - just seems like a raw deal to me.

I'm as thankful for our 1st Amendment as much as our 2nd, so I'm sure the bashing will continue.
I do believe that the LE detractors that always seem to have the answers would not last a week doing the actual job.
Cubicles are safer, as are 'net forums.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Like most little boys, I wanted to be a police officer for a long time, my aunt dated a police officer when I was in high school and riding with him and talking to him ended it. It was not for me. He was a good guy, but he clearly spent his days with the bottom 10% mentioned above. More running crazy people to shelters and domestic violence than apprehending bad guys. The pay was the kicker. Next to school teachers, police must be the most under payed profession.

 

[Brian41]

Very interesting thread and didn't know so many had a poor opinion of LEOs. I follow the laws and generally traffic laws too now that I'm older. My experiences with police officers have generally been positive and mostly for traffic violations which I was guilty of in the first place. I did meet some officers in a block club and later shooting handguns with several at their range and found them good guys.

What I do know is the city of Flint where I sometimes do business in and have a father-in-law that lives there has lost many of their officers and they're missed. I never see them patrolling any longer and understand response time is two hours for non emergencies. If your house gets broken into they may tell you to call your insurance company and come into the office for a report they're so short handed now.
Maybe some officers are rude but those in Flint would sure like to have more of them about now.

 

[cballman]

I will have to agree with a lot of the posters here. But first I am not a police officer, I have never served in the Military. I have the utmost respect for these people because they are doing a job that I didn't want. I have had some very interesting interactions with Police officers over the years. a month or so ago I was driving home from work and got pulled over. My fault I was stupid and driving to fast. I done what I was told and apologized, was waiting for my ticket since I was doing over 70 in a 55. Police Officer walked back up to my truck and said to slow it down and have a good night. I also live in a somewhat small town. I know some of the officers left. Had a little trouble with neighbors son, Police was called on non emergency number and asked who was on shift. And explained to dispatcher why. She sent the officer over and we stood out in front of driveway after commotion ended and talked about guns and had show and tell. Only trouble I got in was with the wife cause we were blocking driveway and she had to go to the grocery. I know long post but I am old now and I don't care. When dealing with Police officers they can be the nicest people that you ever want to meet OR be an --- and then you will be treated accordingly. Most of all the Police officers are people that have a family, a house and another vehicle to drive which also makes them citizens just like us.

 

[johngalt]

I wouldn't want that job. I don't have the temperment for it, I couldn't deal with mostly the bottom rung of society all day long every day.

I haven't had too many 'official' interactions - twice speeding, one ticket, one warning. Of course I didn't like being stopped, but it was my fault. Both times the police were courteous and professional.

My car was broken into twice (stolen stereo), the officer that came was sympathtic, took the report, told me not to expect much and left. Both times they seemed like decent, personable people.

A few months after the 1st stolen radio, I got a call from a detective. They had stopped a kid with a car full of stolen stereos and asked if I could go to the station and identify mine. I went home, got the original box it came in, and went to the police station. The detective was waiting for me, and was thrilled that I actually showed up. She was disappointed that mine wasn't there though.

If I am out walking the dog and a cop drives by, I usually wave hello. If I am in line with an officer at the fast food joint, I'll at least say 'howdy', sometimes even strike up a conversation. One time in Cincinnati I was out riding my bike, an officer had traffic stopped due to a downed power line. I had to get off my bike and walk my bike around it through someones yard. He looked bored, so since I was off the bike anyway I stopped and said hello, ended up having a pretty good conversation about bikes. After that, I would see him occasionally when I was out on my bike, and we would wave to each other. I would like to think I made a friend that day. Talked to a few officers at the local gun club, they all were good guys, didn't have the us vs them attitude.

I miss SW Ohio, they seem to have done an excellent job weeding out the thugs and training them to respect the people and their authority. I can't say the same about other places I've been. One thing I like about Ohio is there is no state police (they do have a state highway patrol). All law enforcement is local, and live in the same community they are policing. I think this encourages respect both ways.

My brother has had different experiences, but he has lived in Illinois all his life, mostly in Chicago. He has run into more than a few that by his description, seem to enjoy their authority a bit much. In his latest encounter he got a jaywalking ticket for crossing a street with no traffic. That seems a bit much, almost poking someone in the eye just because you can. If you are going to deliberately antagonize people for no good reason, then you shouldn't complain that people don't respect you.

A couple things I would like to see done away with: fishing expeditions and their authority to lie to people in their attempts to coerce them into giving up their rights. It is a crime for me to lie to the police, I think I am entitled to the same from them.

 

[GerSan69]

That rant seems to espouse the "us against them" attitude.

Funny you should mention that, tim. From this side of the "fence" it feels like the anti-cop people are the ones that have the "us vs. them" attitude, or at least "me vs. them."