Danville, Virginia: Police opening car hoods to block their own dash cams.

a reply to: korath

Ford used to make the Crown Victoria and GM made the Impala to be platforms for a "police package."

Back in the old days, the light bar had mechanical rotors for the lights and was quite heavy; so the passenger compartment needed a sturdier roof. Both makers had skid plates, and improved oil pan, etc. for jumping curbs and road debris.

GM quit making a police package in the 1990s. Ford made one into the 2000s.

A lot of departments went to the Chevy Tahoe because of it's more robust cooling system, and the comparative ease of beefing up the electronic system.

The Tahoe civilian stock model will quickly run down the batteries if you leave the lights on and doors open, for like 20 minutes. Add on some "vampire circuits" that stay on 24-7 and it's a real problem keeping the radio and computer powered up for the NLETS (cop internet).

The problem is real.

But with the level of suspicion available on this board, its obvious that if you even SEE a cop, there's a problem with the criminal justice system in this country. The real crime of the police is apparently that they exist.

One of the protesters was told that it was a black cop who shot scott. His respose was, something like "a cop isn't black. a cop is blue."

So the police are a race now. And it's ok to hate them for their race.

This won't end well.

originally posted by: hounddoghowlie
a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

Well all these extra systems are run off a battery...the engine does not need to be running so to use the open bonnet as an reason to why the car is running hot is well...criminal...and that is being generous...

what do you think keeps the battery charged up? the alternator. what turns the alternator? the engine.
duhhh.

also most of a cars electronics run off the alternators voltage and current. in older chevy's you could disconnect the battery and the vehicle would still run. can't do that now days as the circuit includes the battery. also when the load in the alternator becomes to great the battery supplies extra current

That's why there is such a thing as dual batteries.....one for the car to start and run its electrics the other battery, which would generally be some sort of deep cycle battery to run all the extras....

The key element in being a smart ass is to actually be smart otherwise you are just an ass

That's right you have nothing else but deflection to use.......sorry not buying your stories....

originally posted by: Shamrock6
The incredible amount of effort put in to trying to turn this in to something it's not, both in this thread and the "source" material is laughable. As if there aren't enough issues to deal with already, the length people will go to in an effort to manufacture an issue is simply preposterous.

Oh please...the incredible amount of time and energy you guys spend trying to make out the police force in America is simply struggling and unable to account for its own mistakes...all the while charging people and jailing them for making mistakes ...yeah you really have the moral high ground there

Former LEO here:
Unlike civilian cars, squad cars are on ALL the time. Therefore sitting there idling the engine can begin to overheat, the AC starts blowing hot air, then when you're done with your call you go from sweltering to greenhouse sweltering. If you knew you'd be stuck somewhere for a while and it was a hot day the guys would sometimes open their hoods to help cool the vehicle. I'm not a mechanic by any means, so I can't say how effective this is.

PS If they were doing this on a traffic stop (the only time the hood would be blocking the video from capturing anything of any importance) it's extremely dangerous for the officer. You're sitting there (as the officer) checking the susp on your MDT, checking the plate, whatevs...with the hood up. They could come out of their vehicle with a gun and be on top of you before you even realized they were coming.

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

So let me guess you use vehicles that cannot cope with the stress of being a cop, you use computer systems that cannot handle the information and you use cameras that just seem to fail when they are needed most.....

The picture you are painting is that LE is pretty much retarded...you cannot even with the funding you receive create and implement a system that is functional and actually works......

Tell me did you use the same retards that were used to implement obamocare ?

This is really sad....this is why people like myself believe that you are full of #........

I would really like it if you could show me where i got it all wrong if you can...!

Dude, seriously, sign up for a ride along in a major city. You have no clue.

I started on the force in 2005. I was driving 90s model squad cars with no cage. I'm a 5'1" female, I'd have some huge male suspect buckled in the front seat next to me, taking them to jail by myself! The other guys I worked with were like whiney tit babies if they didn't get the nice new squad cars (you go pick up your keys after detail every day). I constantly got left with the hoopties. One time my Sarge got onto me for how many cars I was downing (taking to the garage) I jumped right back at him because I was the only one willing to drive the pieces of sh*t so of course they were breaking down on me more.

The equipment sucks. When the city gets new equipment or software it's always either low bid (cheapest possible) or brother-in-law (someone knows someone and they get the contract).

There were more times I could count where we had to borrow batteries out of the complainant's TV REMOTE to put into the digital cameras to take pictures of family violence injuries!

I could go on and on about all the ghetto BS I had to deal with. But I made do with what I had and got the job done.

a reply to: ladyvalkyrie

you should know by now...

that is just too logical for ATS.

the sad part is that next year when it gets hot, the city might decide that it's better to just pay to repair the damages to their cars than to try to defend themselves from these kinds of accusations. danville is far from being a rich city. it could find better uses for it's money.

a reply to: dawnstar

Gawd I need to get off this thread. The police bashers are frigging ridiculous beyond words!

I didn't check any of the OPs sources, because I've lived this sh*t.

NONE OF THOSE PICTURES ARE FROM TRAFFIC STOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Basically if you're an officer and you pop the hood on a traffic stop, you're an idiot and you would deserve to get shot. NO ONE DOES THAT. I guarantee every single one of those pics are from long ass calls/investigations and there is absolutely nothing of interest going on where the camera is pointing.

Police work is 5% action and 95% slow moving, boring sh*t. Investigating, paperwork, etc. You could literally spend 4 hours on ONE call. There were times when I spent 2 hours searching for a theft suspect, found him, and then the complainant didn't want to press charges after all. It's a whole bunch of frustrating, drawn out BS. I'm not complaining because all the 'thank yous' and 'you're the coolest cop ever' and even 'you right' from arrestees made it worth it, but damn y'all, seriously, you have no clue what the job entails. Cops are not rolling out from the station at the beginning of their shift looking for people to screw over/shoot and cooking up ways to get away with it. Yes, I'm sure it happens, but only like one in several million times- and probably not even that much.

Like I told hopenotfeariswhatweneed, do a ride along. In a major city. In the evening. On a weekend.

a reply to: ladyvalkyrie

I've run into plenty of good cops, and only one or two that I would consider not so good. before we go condemning all cops as monsters out to get us, maybe we should consider what life would be like if no one was willing to take on the job and we had to live without them and we either living in a militarized police state or an a state of lawlessness. because, you start telling cops that they can't protect themselves when they feel threatened, well, no one will accept the job on those terms.

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

The key element in being a smart ass is to actually be smart otherwise you are just an ass

well being smart is something your apparently have a problem with.

deep cycle batteries are not made for high amperage discharge, they are made for lower steady discharge. and are not designed to recharge fast, although they do make dual purpose deep cycle batteries that can take a fast charge, it still would be cost prohibitive to install, cables long enough to reach what ever point the charging/ power supply distribution point is for the equipment. take a real good look at the engine compartment of their cars or even yours, no room in there, so they would more than likely have to be mounted in the trunk which is most cases are already full,( you do know the cost of cable which are made of copper are expensive, further distance = more cost), relays and all the extras need to put them in the cars. plus cost of the batteries, chargers if dual purpose are not used. then there is what is called the charging cycles that would reduce the life of the batteries.

A good quality deep cycle lead acid battery will cost between $50 and $200 and, if properly maintained, will give you at least 150 deep discharge cycles. The purpose of a deep cycle battery is to provide power for trolling motors, golf carts, fork lift trucks, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and other accessories for marine and recreational vehicle (RV), commercial and stationary applications. Dead batteries almost always occur at the most inopportune times: across the lake, during bad weather, or on the 17th tee.

"will give you at least 150 deep discharge cycles"., no time at all in a police vehicle.

Discharging, like charging, depends on a number of factors such as: the initial state-of-charge, depth-of-discharge, age, capacity of the battery, load and temperature. For a fully charged battery at 70° F (21.1° C), the ampere-hour rating divided by the load in amps will provide the estimated life of that cycle. For example, a new, 72-ampere-hour battery with a 10-amp load should last approximately 7.2 hours. As the battery ages, the capacity is reduced.

a 10-amp load should last approximately 7.2 hours, i would dare say that with all the equipment running it would be a lot more than a 10 amp load.

both come from here,
DEEP CYCLE BATTERY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


departments that have a big fleets or smaller departments with smaller fleets, all have budgets. putting in deep cycles batteries would increase the cost per car, and maintenance that is required on deep cycle batteries they would not be able to afford it.. maintenance to it's fleet is one of the biggest cost on a police budget.

alternators that are used in police vehicles are higher output than a normal alternator, most passenger cars alternators are any where from 80 to 140 amps output. police alternators are any where from 140 to 300 amps output and cost about the same or less as one deep cycle battery, that does not have to be replaced after a 150 charging cycles and can run all of the equipment without extra parts or maintenance. not counting the extra cost of paying the people to install one.

there is no need to pay extra money for a deep cycle battery and extras, that a high amp output alternator can handle and not have to be maintained or replaced nearly as much.

so i guess that you are not smart enough to be a smart a@@, and fail at trying to be one hunh?

a reply to: dawnstar

That's the thing, EVERYONE, cop or not, has the legal right to protect themselves. If someone is attacking you, you have the right to use force to stop that attack. If someone's trying to rape or kill you (or another) you have the right to use deadly force against them.

You might face charges for it (like I was charged with assault for defending myself) then the facts come out and you'll be found 'not guilty'. Or, like me, the charge will be dropped before there's even a trial. (FYI this incident was off duty, long story)

Same thing with cops. Shooting? Investigation. If they weren't justified they're going to be fired and charged with murder. I'm not going to lie, police departments do cover up some sh*t if the officer has the right connections. But there's no way to cover up for a shooting.

It's getting kind of sickening all the 'police shoot black man' stories that keep coming out and everybody running to join the BLM riot without knowing or checking the facts. And there's absolutely no discussion about the thug culture that contributes to so many black citizens legitimately charged and jailed with crimes.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard "You're just f**king with me cuz I'm black!" ...um "No sir, I'm 'f**king with you because I caught you red handed with stolen property in a building that's closed to the public in the middle of the night."

a reply to: ladyvalkyrie

the riots are starting it seems before anyone has time to check the facts. a couple people tell their stories and they're off and running. is it too much to ask to wait a couple days and let the investigators investigate what actually happened before you go about destroying crap and hurting innocent people?

but, I am beginning to find myself wondering.
the event after 9/11 began the institution of a police state. so now, every time someone goes into an airport, they risk being bombarded with radiation or searched and even little kids have been slapped on the do not fly list and prevented from flying.
all in an effort to protect us from the scary terrorists. which, many in the gov't would like for us to believe are still out there, regardless of our efforts and loss of freedom.
now we have this happening, and what are we hearing?? oh, ya, we need to start stop and frisk!! always portraying it as it would only be those bad guys that would be stopped, but as we saw with the airports, it was grandmothers, babies, and everyone in between.

I have been telling people for years now, above anything else, remain peaceful, because this kind of crap will just give them reason to clamp down more, and they really would like to have us all clamped down before the economy goes boom! the riots are just helping them do it and I wouldn't be surprised if it was those in our gov't that are orchestrating this to begin with.

and it's our local police and sheriff that many are hoping we can win to our side. they will be the ones that the federal gov't will be hoping to enforce their unconstitutional rules. so, by all means, let's declare war on them now!!!

a reply to: dawnstar

It really seems like we're in the midst of a race war being manufactured. Reality is not near as bad as it's being portrayed to us and the masses are lapping it up.

And you're 100% right, this whole 'f**k the police' attitude that everyone is jumping on board with is just going to send the whole situation into a downward spiral. The police are a**holes? Then the citizens give them more disrespect. Then the police are BIGGER a**holes. Then the citizens really get stupid. Then the police really get stupid. And so on.

My whole time on the department the most heinous corruption was up top. But you never hear about that. 'They' control the media. They'll throw an individual officer under the bus. They'll protect crappy officers with ties. They'll demonize good officers to get rid of them. And all the while 'they' up top are getting away with bloody murder. And it's not just the top police brass, it's the City Councils and City Managers too. You almost NEVER hear about someone like that getting in trouble. Do you really think it's because they're such a shining example of morality? On the rare occasion someone does make the news (like a mayor charged with corruption) it's not because it's an isolated case, it's because they crossed the wrong person with ties stronger than their own.

a reply to: hounddoghowlie

Sigh !! Here we go again, why bother writing up all that crap, you only looked at one type of battery and ran with it.....since you are so clever i will leave it to you look up lithium batteries...they claim to do around 5000 cycles down to 20 -30% charge....so do the math if you are using a 100 amp hour lithium battery ...

As far as cost goes considering the cars are made for the police they could include it in the inventory, hell and if somehow that was not enough amps they could stick a friggin solar panel on the roof to solve the issue but i doubt in an 8 hour shift that would be necessary....the entire set up for each car including chargers, solar panels and battery would be about 1k per car....

a reply to: ladyvalkyrie

Im not really interested in going on a ride along but thanks for the thought....as far the crappy equipment goes well what can i say, you guys and gals are tasked with keeping the peace and you are sent out with sub standard equipment all the while putting your lives on the line.....makes sense

Perhaps the police need to go on strike and demand better equipment or perhaps sell some of that military gear and buy some decent equipment....its not like the police do not generate any revenue ! hell they were making so much money stealing from the citizens they claimed their computer systems would fail trying to audit the seized monies....

At what point is there some sort of accountability....?

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

I told you...all the corruption is up top. Where IS the accountability? They're friggin untouchable. The unions are too busy playing their politics game to actually help the patrol officers. They only go after 'approved' issues.

The chiefs of the department I worked for broke the law and left me disabled then fired me without doing an actual investigation. I complained to the City Manager's Office, the EEOC, the FBI, the media and the Ethics Committee. I was ignored by all of them. The Ethics Committee told me the statute of limitations was up for my complaint...it wasn't. When the Ethics Committee is corrupt, well...you're boned.

The average officer on the street is just trying to do a decent job with what they've got. All the REAL shady sh*t is happening behind closed doors and you will NEVER hear about it. Everyone should be making a stink about police CHIEFS and city officials wearing body cams and making phone conversations available to the public.

YOUNG LIVE MATTER!! YOUNG LIVES MATTER!!!

oh wait a minute, victims and cops aren't of the right race...

a reply to: ladyvalkyrie

Well that sounds pretty awful....i have to say though if your management, or those up top are so corrupt there has to be a trickle down effect...much like having crappy parents chances are the cats and the cradle will play a role...

I am not sure how the people or the police themselves can really stand for this crap.....the police on the street should be making noise about this or really they are no better than those they are protecting in management...even if they are doing so passively by turning a blind eye...

Good on you for calling them out, it is a shame that your colleagues did not have your back...!

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

If you try to complain they will fire you. End of story. It happened to my friend and it happened to me (actually I didn't know my friend until right before we were both fired, but we're still in contact) They will either find some piddly BS thing to fire you over, or create one. This technique is super effective for keeping other officers subservient. Keep your eyes down, mouth shut. Don't rock the boat or you will be on the receiving end of a witch hunt.

I have a Sergeant friend in another major Texas city who tells of an officer (of midlevel rank, I believe) who went so far as to file a lawsuit. But the city has the resources to drag something like that out for waaaay longer than an individual can last pouring money into a lawyer. And don't bother going to the media, you will be ignored. If it doesn't fit their agenda they aren't trying to hear it.

I've been bashed for asserting this before, but I maintain that it's true and can provide stats to back it up: the department I worked for favored black officers and routinely dumped on white officers. Couple that with the fact that you see the black thug culture in the urban setting on a daily basis and it's not surprising that racist tendencies are reenforced. Personally, I am not racist in the least and I can differentiate between resenting the system and resenting a race, but I can also see how an officer with racist ideals would feel justified after a while.

And you're totally right that sh*t rolls downhill. The officers get treated like crap from the public, then get treated like crap from the department. Good effort is not rewarded. Even a minor slip up could cost you your career if you find yourself on the receiving end of a witch hunt. But rather than see a bunch of abuse, I mostly saw a LOT of apathy. Officers no longer giving a crap about helping people and doing a good job. Just doing enough to get by. I guess non-action is slightly better than abusive action....but it's still crappy.

Thanks for listening to my point of view! When I try to tell people about all the crazy stuff I witnessed regarding department corruption I have been dismissed as a conspiracy crackpot (I'm sure ATS members can feel my pain on this one). But if anyone took any amount of time to cross question me or look at the evidence I have they would soon see that I'm 100% correct. *shrug* What can ya do?