How do you feel when you are around a police officer?

As other posters have said, if I am driving I am nervous (expired tag). If i am not driving they don't bother me at all.

I am more worried about crime than the police, I figure if there are police around and something happens (robbery etc...) then they will deal with it and I won't have to.

In fact the last time I talked to a cop, I was in Los Angeles traveling and I was trying to find a bar that allowed illegal cigarette smoking. I saw a cop car and asked them (I figured it is their job to raid those places so they might know, and asking isn't a crime) and they were really nice about it. They even suggested a couple of places.

well is this just in reference to American police or police around the world in general ????

because my personal experience with the police has pretty much always been good here in Australia and over in the UK..... Fair play back in the day I did get up 2 some lairyness and had to expect the members of the local force to be a bit full on with us but what do u expect......

My step dad is a copper here in Australia and I have spoken and met a few of his work mates and they all seem like top people that have no plans of taking over the world and putting us all in camps like in the USA.....

I just think everyone in the USA needs to chill out a bit and not be so full on and paranoid about everything that goes on in the world.........

Just as Frankie said........ " relax "

All depends on if it is the one I am buying a cold one for or the one that I know is an @$$ that likes to play bully. Most of the time they don’t bother me. But as I said I know some that are bullies that like to abuse their power and around those I definitely mind my p q.

Yea ive watched cop car lights evolve over the last few years and wondered just what in the hell they turned into.
You went from a basic 4 or so lights, red, blue and white to something that resembles a kaliedoscope.
Multiple lights with about the same color but many more white lights configured with many mirror type reflectors situated at different angles so that it reflects the lights in many different directions.
It is kind of disorienting but at the same time its kind of mesmorizing, its very distracting when passing one on the side of the highway.

An interesting little story for everyone who has said they like to mouth off and answer back to cops.... My dad is a retired police officer and he told me about when he was a traffic cop and used to pull over people for speeding. Anyway, one night he was working and clocked a car going quite fast over the speed limit so pulled it over. Originally he just intended to say he understood the roads were quiet and there wasn't any traffic but for the guy to just watch his speed as the roads were icy and there'd been a few accidents that evening along that stretch of road on black ice then let him go on his way.....however when he approached the car the guy who was with his girlfriend and obviously trying to give it the big man act jumped out of his car and started swearing and getting in my dads face before he even had a chance to say anything....so to cut a long story short instead of giving the guy a friendly bit of advice my dad held him at the roadside whilst he went over his car checking everything, tyre treads, functioning lights, breath test, insurance, tax, seat belts, chassi number, etc. In the end the guy left after 45 minutes with £120 worth of fines for illegal modifications as well as the 3 points for speeding and his sppeding ticket. My dad wasn't a cop who was out to victimise innocent people but he believed if people treated him like dirt then why should he treat that person leaniently like he had intended to.

Hopefully the people who say they talk to cops like dirt and call them pigs and other things take something from this story and realise that the way you get treated by the police is going to differ based on how you treat them. Obviously there wil be the occasional idiot cop but as a whole theyre just humans like me and you.

reply to post by theendisnear69

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Maybe drinking and driving, and smoking weed might be activities you want to curtail. Just an observation.

around police officers I feel completely safe. There are specific reasons for this feeling.

1 I am Caucasian.

2 I don't resist arrest

3 I don't commit crimes

So when I talk with an officer, I feel completely safe, I know that I won't be beaten, or tazed.

I have been arrested before. Each and every time the officers who arrested me have been professional and courteous.

I respect all men in uniform and even govt civilians. However, I dont respect police brutality and abuse of the public's trust like we saw in SF.

reply to post by onetruesaxon

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Yeah I learned early if your not a dick to them a lot of the time they will let you go with a warning or less of a ticket than you could have had. I have to stories like this.

The first story is I was on this little back road not paying attention to how fast I was going because cops out rarely any where near this area. Well I pass a state trooper. He flashed his lights at me so I buckled up and slowed down. Look back up in my rear view and there he is. I pulled over he asked me for my license and such . Asked me back to his car. We were joking around with each other the whole time. Instead of a hefty speeding fine he gave me a seat belt ticket and told me to just slow down.

The second story was another state trooper. I was going about 90 down the interstate. Well what could have been a reckless driving ticket turned into about a ten minute cussing and rant. I just simply yes sir, no so, I know sir. And just generally was respectful with him. After his rant he gave me a have a nice day, and I said the same to him and thanked him, and we parted ways.

As I said earlier I know some cops that are dicks that just love being a bully. But a lot of them are regular Joes like you me. They are only doing there jobs. And also if you know good and well that you deserve the ticket just shut up and say yes sir no sir.

We had one chief in the small community next to mine that if you knew him and was just respectful with him. You wouldn’t have to worry about any ticket, but if he gave you one you new you deserved it. This guy would take people home that had been in the bar drinking. He would also give the people that he knew were still able to drive a heads up. He would ask how long it would take you to get home and add five minutes to and say don’t let me see you again.

Its not fair when you are confronted by a law enforcement officer as they can lie to you but you can't lie to them. They can also use excessive force without being provoked and you can't do anything about it.

I feel they are no different then me....

I feel nothing around them as I have done no wrong, therefore there is no guilt or worries.


IF you are referring to what I think of them that is a different story, I think they can do a better job thats for sure and I for sure think that they break the law more or less than the other.

Police are very much like bees or hornets in that if you are relaxed and respectful, they usually reciprocate. I'm hispanic in an area where there are many problematic hispanics unfortunately. I don't get hassled, harassed, searched, ticketed, or detained. A lot can be said for unwavering eye contact and respectful responses. Honesty does go a long way as well... if you're like me and have nothing to hide.

I don't know how I would react.
Definitely not safe.

I've never been approached by a police officer, but I would answer his questions truthfully. And if I have weapons or illegal substances concealed in my car, I wouldn't tell them and if they want to look throughout my car I would tell him/or her that I don't consent to a search. They can't really do anything after that.

Cops aren't on our side. You can't be friends with the police, they will throw anybody in jail. They will seize you and your property without a reason, despite the fact that it's against our civil liberties. They ignore our rights, we don't have any rights. If you talk about your rights they will usually tell you that you don't have any rights. It's their word against yours, and God forbid if you have any Marijuana on you or cigarette papers. Oh yeah and even if you don't they can always just plant the evidence on you because it's their word against yours and yours is worthless because you don't have the badge and the gun. Usually when cops plant drugs it's not POT it's man man # , like heroin, cocaine, or speed, insuring that you will go to prison and they will no longer have to worry about you again (thus ruining your entire life) So how do I feel about cops, try explaining to one why your sign says will you be the one to restore faith in my humanity (you know what with all the shameless acts of murder and everything going on in the world) and wonder why exactly they could possibly take personal offensive to such a thing, unless they themselves are responsible for some of the reasons I would be so ashamed to even be a human being. (But I can't say that or surely I would be dragged off to jail for speaking my mind, because that is how this country operates on double standards, double speak, double think and crap that just isn't fair for anybody. I avoid them.

I feel neither, since i rest in my self, and i do have every week confrontations with a police man where i have my daily doing.

best regards.

Loke.

No matter if I eating in a restaurant, driving down the highway or sitting on the beach every time I see cops there's this momentary flash of fear and then when I realize I'm not speeding, or don't have on open container of alcohol on the beach etc. Then I feel like they're just regular guys doing their jobs, yes some are great guys, but most are dangerous and they belong to a fraternity that doesn't include anyone not wearing a uniform or in their family's.

So yeah, nowadays almost anything can be construed a crime so you find oneself checking to make sure you're in order. Talking on the phone, wearing a seat belt, eating while driving, too dark tinted windows, child seats for persons under 85lbs etc. etc.

When I get pulled over I say my "yes sir" and "no sir" and provide them with my papers as briefly as possible. I'm a large white man with a cop like hair cut most of the time, I have USAA insurance which until the past few years was only military officers, other feds and their families (now I think they insure enlisted persons too)so that all helps a bit.

Scared - hell yeah scared. I was nearly killed by them while taken in custody, for refusing to press charges and failing to show up in court, being poisoned by their paddy wagon & then refused hospital attention for nearly 24 hours as I was having a heart attack that resulted in 5 days in ICU and permanent damage. Yeah, it's pretty scary when they have complete control over your life and they don't give a crap.

[edit on 14-1-2009 by verylowfrequency]

reply to post by Blundo

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If it's a choice between the two, I would also say SCARED.

Though, to be more accurate away from those options, I would say more SUSPICIOUS.

I accept that not all Police officers are bad, and that a vast majority join to do good. But my view is that they are quickly forced into a culture where they are the elite, and everyone else is a criminal able to be manipulated and controlled as they see fit.

Thankfully it's not as bad here in the UK as it seems to be in America, but Police seem increasingly more about restriction, control, limitation and detention than protecting and serving the community.

We're getting there, but we're not quite so upfront about limiting freedom of assembly as in America. When I see riot police with batons controlling a peaceful demonstration in the UK, or plain clothes police trying to incite a riot so they can arrest en mass, I'll think again.

Well, I don't feel scared, or apprehensive around cops, after all, I am a sovereign, and they are my servants. I am quick to let them know that too, when one tries to harass me over anything.
Years of study on the Common Law brought me to this, and although I am a law abiding citizen, for the most part, I am still a free man.

i feel like being watched, nuthn else

One need not fear police that are enforcing the laws of the community, even if you disagree. If you disagree with a law, you should welcome the opportunity to challenge it in a courtroom as a good citizen. Even if you lose, I bet you'll learn something if you approach it in the proper manner. Judges don't like to argue nonsense. Judges do like making new law.

One should fear police with an agenda. Any agenda held by law enforcement, regardless if the intent is for good or for ill, will be perverted over time.

The trick is being able to tell the difference and acting accordingly.

[edit on 14-1-2009 by cogburn]