Policeman tells why he's a "jerk"

From the Sault Ste. Marie SooToday.com:

Why was the police officer such a jerk?
By Pete Vere
SooToday.com
Thursday, May 29, 2008


Over the past few months there have been several complaints about local police enforcing stunt-driving laws. Several epithets have been used to describe the officers. Because SooToday.com tries to remain somewhat family friendly, the word 'jerk' will substitute for a multitude of vulgarities.

Long before Ontario brought in its new law against stunt driving, I came across a police officer who was a real 'jerk' about pulling the licenses of teenage drivers he caught going way over the speed limit. He wrote an article explaining why he was such a jerk. I tried to google it, but without much luck. Anyway, here's my recollection of what the officer wrote.

As a young police officer, he often found himself assigned to traffic duty on the highway. One night he caught a carload of teenagers doing 40 over the limit along a dangerous stretch of the freeway.

He pulled them over, saw that the driver was newly-licensed, and realized the kid would probably lose his license if the officer enforced the law to its full extent. Then there would be the steep insurance increase once the kid went for licensing again. The young lad pleaded with the officer to cut them a break, and remembering his own youthful foibles, the officer didn't want to be a jerk. So he cut the teens a break, gave them a stern warning and let them go on their way.

Half-an-hour later the officer received another call. There had been an accident a few kilometres down the same stretch of highway. When the officer arrived at the scene, he recognized the vehicle, mangled as it was into a rock cut. What was even more haunting, he said, is that he recognized three of the four teens who were dead on impact. They were the teens he had pulled over half-an-hour previous and let off with a warning.

The officer administered what first aid he could to save the fourth before paramedics arrived and took over. The teen would succumb to his injuries on the way to the hospital. Emergency room doctors pronounced the kid dead on arrival.

"I have lived with that accident every day of my police career," stated the officer. "And I still see their faces smashed into the rock cut."

"Had I been a jerk and pulled the license," he wrote. "They would not have liked me, but they would still be alive today."

From that day forward the officer never failed to charge or ticket reckless drivers, particularly new ones. "I don't like being a jerk," the officer wrote. "However, it could be your child's life that I save."

And if my child was the one stunt driving, I too would hope that the police officer pulls my kid's license, even if my kid grumbled and felt the police officer was a 'jerk'.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
Well I saw 2 state highway patrol men stopping traffic in their NEW Dodge Charger with police package today - and if I could have given THEM a ticket I'd have been a jerk too -

No one (not even a cop) needs to kick it in to passing gear at a routine funeral traffic stop - they were BOTH jerks in a fancy fast car.

Good memory HWGA - good to see you.
 

dreamer

New Member
you know? I heard a similar thing (or maybe it was a recounting of the same one) on car radio this week?

I know several years ago, I was not wearing my seat belt...and this was after it became a law. I got pulled over and was given a ticket, and that upset me enough that I began to wear my seat belt, not becuz it is "the right thing to do" but rather becuz I was not wanting to get another ticket for it. Of course I was angry at the policeman who gave me the ticket. Not long after, days? a week? I was sitting in my car waiting for a train to go thru, a car in front of me, another behind me. I was in a brand new car. For some reason, the car behind me, the driver- she wound up putting her foot from the brake where it had been already for a full 2 minutes, onto the gas......her gigantic SUV jumped forward and hit my compact car and threw my car into the car in front of me.
Thank goodness I had my seat belt on! And the only reason I did have my seat belt on was becuz of the police officer I had been curseing out. Boy I sure changed my tune, and became rather grateful that that police officer gave me my ticket.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I can remember MY first ticket. I got it ONLY because I was a teen driving from a street with a major bar on it. And, the officer was under 21 and I refused to sell him beer at the football game earlier. He even flashed his badge to try to get me to sell him beer. Of course I was in a used bookstore/grocery store, not a store with cameras.

I really really resent him - mostly because I know he was dealing drugs while being a police officer.

I ahve NEVER resented any officer who pulled me over for anything other than this. We had a car with a wire problem to the tail-lights. Kept thinking it was fixed, then would get a ticket because it was out. husband got most of them, he drove it the most (to work). BUT if we weren't pulled over husband would NEVER have seen it and might have been hurt very badly.

So we paid the fines, thanked the officer if they gave a warning (cause it showed up several times and they asked if we had been to see a professional about it - and we kept the receipts in the glove box, so they knew we were trying).

I appreciate the officers who work so hard to keep us safe. I think it is much harder to write the tickets than to let people go with a warning.

Esp now that my Wizard is learning to drive.
 

Anaheimfan

Blue Collar Boy
I'm an hour and a bit away from Sault Ste. Marie.

I'm in agreement with all of you, I wish we had more jerks like this.

We just got a new cop transferred to our OPP detachment, I see that patrol car pull over a car every 5 minutes, it's amazing, and I'm so glad to see it.

I feel for this officer, having to live with that accident, thankfully he learned from it.

His being a jerk is saving a lot of lives.
 

eekysign

New Member
Sigh. Traffic cops are such a love-hate thing for me. I've been pulled over illegally before----once, and i'm not even kidding, because according to the officer, "There was a report of a disturbance at the gas station you just left.". Now, I watched this guy make a u-turn in the gas station parking lot, just after entering it, to start following me (hah, so I made SURE I followed all the rules of the road to a T!). There was no disturbance in the gas station while we were there. He never went inside the gas station, nor stopped to speak with anyone, and the place had about 25 cars parked outside, so even if there HAD been a report, there's no way he could have tagged me as the "problem INSIDE the building" just on a quick view through my car window as we passed each other, instead of one of the other 40 people running around the place.

He then asked me "how much I'd had to drink"---not "have you been drinking". I answered (honestly, i do NOT drive after drinking) that I hadn't been. He then asked how much my PASSENGERS had been drinking. Not that that's a reasonable question, as my passengers are allowed to be drunk if they wanted. Which they weren't. Only two were of age, the other two were UNDER 11 YEARS OLD. And not one of us had even had a beer. He only left me alone when I pointed to my passenger's Mom's car, stopped along the road ahead of us, and asked him to go talk to HER if he had any questions, as she'd been inside with us. Then he hemmed and hawwed and spent 20 damn minutes running my info, and finally, grudgingly, let me go.

My best friend also got pulled for "swerving" early one morning, which she says she wasn't, and I've never seen her do it, so I'm gonna go with her on that. She responds appropriately, hands him all her info, then he tells her he thinks she's got drugs on board, since she was "swerving", and he wants to search her car---he HAS to ask, 'cause he doesn't have any proof of any wrongdoing. She says no, that she would be late for work. He then tells her "Oh, well, if you say no, I'll have to call the canine unit, and that'll take another 45min or so to get here". Which is illegal, as far as I'm aware. She lets him search, since he gave her NO choice, and of course, he finds nothing. He literally throws her license and info back at her, and stomps away. She didn't even know if she could leave, until he suddenly drove off. AUGH.

I love beat cops, and really, most cops I've ever met. I've neighbors and good friends that are officers, currently serving. They're usually amazingly kind people, who truly have the best interests of the public at heart. But if the nation's police forces want to get the respect they deserve, they have GOT to start policing themselves for these types of traffic officers. Some traffic guys/gals are great---but we've allllll met too many of the other type. It's gotta stop, 'cause most people "hate cops" 'cause of traffic issues. What does that tell you? It's no good. :)

Man, you got me riled up. There's justifiable-"jerk" and then there's JERK. If they rid themselves of the second type, more people would relax about the first. Just my two cents.
 

Sheila

Moderator
Sadly, we lost a family of five heading out on spring break vacation within the last few days. The 6th may not make it. The 6th is the father, grandfather, husband, and father-in-law of those that died. It wouldn't surprise me if the emotional trauma doesn't kill him if he happens to survive the wreck.

Seems a teenage girl was driving at a high rate of speed and lost control of her car.

The teenage driver died also. Luckily her passenger survived.

Yes, I wish there were more "jerks" also.
 
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