Fullerton Police!!!

[drtdevil93]

ok, for the second time this week while just driving along slowly and legally, i was almost hit by a police car. the first time he decided to take a sharp turn on a red light in front of me (i had just gotten the green) and i had to stop in the middle of the intersection. 5 hours later after watching xmen2 (it rules) my light turns green, i pause (just like my old man taught me) before going, and i saw something coming so i waited and a cop flies through the red light going easily 55 in a 35 zone. neither time did they have any form of siren on. and at the first one, there was a cop next to me that wasnt hurrying, and didnt take off, indicating to me there wasnt a real emergency they were responding to.

i was raised to respect cops, and always give them the benefit of the doubt, but these cops seem to think they are above the law. they can pull you over for any reason, thanks to a vehicle code book which is purposely vague and obtuse; and they can cite you for the stupidest most harmless offenses. but who is watching over them. i know internal affairs watches over a lot of their work, but they dont see the dangerous driving habits or the power-tripping attitudes too damn many cops seem to have.

although i still dont agree with the f. the police people, i understand their stance more and more.

erik

 

[Desert Drifter]

I too was raised to respect police, however i am getting sick and tried of officers who abuse their power. Two weeks ago i was driving back from San Diego to San Luis Obispo i was pulled over in ventura while stopping to get gas. It was like 4am i was driving the speed limit and obeying all traffic laws. I was pulled over entering a gas station by two CHP officers for not having a front bumper on my prerunner which is lame but still within reason. They took my lic and reg. but never ran them, and then took turns threating me with fix-it tickets while they checked out the suspension on my truck. Next, they started asking me how much i'd been drinking and smoking that night. I was completly sober in the middle of a 5 and a half hour trip. After the D.U.I. test and another five min of harrassment they let me go and went on the harrass the gas station attendant in the parking lot. I let wishing they'd just have given me the $10 fix-it ticket and left me alone, instead of having to deal with 15 min of harrassment.

I don't mean to bash on all police, i have met some pretty chill cops, but one's who abuse their power like this really create a bad name for the rest.

Tim

 

[martininsocal]

Well guys, here is your answer. You can do something. Believe it or not, you can file a complaint against an officer if you feel they have overstepped the bounds. And it is a real threat to them. Most policies require an actual investigation of what occured. For many, the complaint then becomes part of their permanent record and has an effect on things like promotion, transfers, etc... But don't think you can screw with cops just because you got aticket and want some revenge. I have seen this work both ways, some cops who screw up are denied promotions due to the number of complaints in their jacket, and I have seen someone from the public lose a civil case and have to apy restitution for filing a false complaint. Cops record all kinds of stuff in the line of duty, both video and audio. If its riteous, file a complaint.

 

[homey]

Well, sirhk100 and myself actually got threatened by a cop once! He actually said "I hope you get hit by a car and die". I am totally serious when I say that too. We were riding our bikes in a skate park that was for skateboards only. We immediately went to the police station and filed separate complaints against the officer. They did absolutely nothing for us and kind of shrugged us off. I still remember the cops name after 4 years too and I'm sure Khris does too. This guy really had a chip on his shoulder.

 

[sirhk100]

Ah man, that guy was a jerk... I will never forget that!!!

 

[THNKPNK]

Dont let a few bad 'seeds' per se ruin it for the rest of them... there are ALWAYS bad seeds in a group/organization... heck, look at us racers/prerunners and the greedy folks that seem to STEAL [daddy didnt love me] from other peoples trucks/shops to get a head in life--- stick to Anaheim, we're cool folks and have too many other things to worry about than minor traffic violations =) LIke keepin all the drunk folks at the Edison Field/Arrowhead Pond/Disneyland/Hooters in line!!!!

<font color="pink"> CU OFRD </font color>

 

[Desert Drifter]

Martin

I filled a complaint about 5 min after the incident occured and was suprised at how upset the CHP guy was about his officers behavior. He even apologized for the event and said it should not of happened.

Tim

 

[bajaboy]

Hey Guys ,

After a brief career in law enforcement , I can tell you guys this , Always file written statements on a officers or deputies wrongful actions. Verbal ones just go in one ear out the other , Written ones may be reviewed and go on record. It does help prevent certain "bad seeds" from getting promotions. As far as Fullerton PD goes , they have been getting lots of negative media coverage, someone is going to get busted there soon.

Please don't let one bad cop make ya think all cops are bad , I owe my life to a few of them !

Bajaboy

 

[homey]

There were 4 of us that filed a written complaint against the officer, so 4 written complaints for 1 incedent! That was up in Arcata though...I don't think they really care about too much up there.

 

[sirhk100]

The cops were too stoned and worried about munchies then to care about us. How about the cop that couldn't catch the guy that one morning that was handcuffed and running blindly with a shirt pulled over his head. That's pretty bad when you're chasing a guy in that predicament and you still can't catch him!!!!

 

[homey]

Ha! Yeah, the cop had a donut in one hand and a radio in the other! I think he chased the guy for about 40 yards before he had to stop and catch his breath.

 

[drtdevil93]

dont get me wrong, i in no way am anti-police. i used to work for the city of fullerton, and know many of the officers, and am friends with a few.
here's the problem when that cop flew through that light, im not thinking to get his car number, im thinking oh SH17!! and after they have done it, what am i supposed to do chase him to get his number? i believe that in itself is illegal. the problem is that those things they do arent monitored by themselves. police exist because people cant be trusted to just do the right thing, but who's to say a cop can be trusted to do the right thing? and there isnt always someone there to let it be known when a cop is doing the wrong thing. now i can get a hold of the police chief, and will probably go talk to him about the problem.

heres a good one to use: AFTER you have seen that the cop is out of line, and it isnt just that you are being a jacka$$, i will point to the side of their car and say "now is it the protecting or the serving part you are doing right now?". then i ask to talk to the watch commander. if you are right about it, 99% of the time they will back down at this point. if they dont, youd better be sure you are right.

erik

ps. a volunteer EMT friend of mine told me if he gets beeped to respond to something and is stopped for speeding on the way, its their policy to fire him. i dont mean speeding in the ambulance, either.

 

[toyotaguy]

wait the emt or the police man gets fired?

 

[84toy]

Im pretty sure he meant the emt

 

[drtdevil93]

ya, the emt. he was a volunteer guy (they gave him a pager), and if he was on his way somewhere responding to a page and caught speeding, he'd be fired.

erik

 

[martininsocal]

drtdevil- We do the same thing with our Volunteers. If we receive a complaint from Law Enforcement about their driving, we will take away their pagers and the only way they can respond is on the engine with the paid crew. You can't violate state vehicle code laws just because you are going to emergencies. Infact, the second biggest killer of firefighters (after heart attacks) is Volunteers responding to calls in their own vehicles. The vehicle code is very specific about what we can and can't do, and most of the time if an emergency vehicle is in an accident, it will be the operators fault, regardless of whether the lights and siren were on or not. We can only request the right-of-way, not take it.

 

[drtdevil93]

shoot, i lost 2 stars

erik