And since he was only laughing sarcastically, he could have just used one ...
laugh:
Ankeny Police Incompetent!
- Thread starter iowaboy
- Start date
laugh:
You forgot
Your right, the dude did everything right, that is the officer. Having flashers on doesn't give you the right to run a red light and 2 stop signs. I recognize that he was trying to get his mom to the hospital, and the officer recognized that too, once they pulled over and told him, but that is why they have ambulances. What good is it rushing to the hospital if you get in a accident on the way because you ran a red light?
Considering the drivers erratic driving and the way everyone jumped out of the car, I would have likely pulled my gun too.
Did you read the article that he linked to? There is no way you can possibly defend the actions of that officer in that situation, especially after hosptial security came down and told him (the officer) that he should probably let Moats and his wife upstairs to say their last goodbyes.
Also, there was no ambulance needed, as Moats and his wife, along with anyone else in the vehicle, were going to see this woman. They weren't taking her there.
I didn't say historically. It's a recent thing by state patrol. Then again I could have been told by people that don't know.
I have lived in Ankeny for over 7 years and managed a hotel in town for about three. I have nothing but good things to say about the officers I've encountered. I've been pulled over for speeding twice, and just been given a warning (despite having no proof of insurance and an expired drivers license once).
I had to call them from time to time at the hotel, and they were always pretty quick and helpful with whatever we needed. Maybe this new guy is the exception to the norm, but by and large, I think we're pretty fortunate to have the law enforcement we do in Ankeny....
I had to call them from time to time at the hotel, and they were always pretty quick and helpful with whatever we needed. Maybe this new guy is the exception to the norm, but by and large, I think we're pretty fortunate to have the law enforcement we do in Ankeny....
That reminds me of the one time I had an issue getting pulled over. I was living in Baton Rouge at the time but had not switched my plates from the Iowa tags. I got pulled over for crossing a solid white line on an exit. Traffic was backed up to the interstate with people turning right, I was making a left so I skirted the lane down to where it splits.
Well, a state trooper sees it, sees my Iowa plates and pulls me over. He proceeds to read me the riot act on Louisiana traffic laws, including that he can take "my rig" according to state law. I told him I did not disagree legally he could, but I did not think that was the intent of the law. He got really ticked at that point and started getting really loud. I calmly told him the Lt. Governor (who is in charge of tourism) probably did not want this to be the image of LA to an outsider. That sent him off.
He was ranting and raving around, I aksed if I could make a call he said fine since I am towing your rig. I was friends with the Lt. Governor (actually on the way to pick up her daughter for lunch) so I called the Lt. Governor and gave her a run down of my situation - she said simply "Let me speak to the Trooper". When he got out of his cruiser I held out the phone and said "The Lt. Governor would like a word" he looked at me like I was full of crap but took the phone. As soon as he heard her voice he looked sick.
Needless to say his tome toward this out of towner changed. It was pretty darn funny in the end.
Completely agree with everything you said. It was after midnight and they were rushing to the emergency entrance of a hospital. What the hell did this genius cop think they were doing? Not a lot of brain cells at work with this guy.
So not obeying the law is ok if you know the right people. That is the moral of this story I guess.:wink:
I love it when people ***** and moan about cops. They are doing there jobs, sure you have some bad cops here and there, but its very rare you run across them. They are just doing there job, if you have a problem it then go to your legislature not on a message board or go and complain to your friends. One of my biggest pet peeves about kids my age, they complain about the cops too much, if you're going to drink, do drugs, do work on your car that goes against the law, or break any other laws then suffer the consequences and accept it. Its YOUR fault, not the officers fault.
- Mar 27, 2006
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Good story.
Unfortunately I don't have the kind of clout required to pull off something like that. I do know that generally, you are going into dangerous territory when you start arguing the law with a police officer. I was in the car when a friend got pulled over in a speed trap at the same time as 3 other cars. First, he tried to tell the cop that there was no way his radar gun could have picked up the speed of all three of the vehicles at once. Then, he asked to see the radar gun. (The cop said he had already cleared it) Then he asked to know what model of radar gun they were using. Then he wanted to see the record of when the last time the radar gun was calibrated. At first the cop was answering his questions, but eventually he just kept his mouth closed and wrote him the ticket. The last thing he said was, "I'm giving you a ticket. If you want to contest it, the I guess i will see you in court." He was super smooth the whole time and never lost his cool. I was quite impressed. Pete was not qute as impressed.
Back in HS the local cops pulled over a kid that was doing 2 mph over the speed limit. The kid knew why, he was just at a house that the cops weren't fond of the person that lives there so they were hoping to score a bust of some sort. The kid was 18 and smokes and had a pack of cigs on the dash. The cop said that was enough to allow him to search the vehicle so he did an illegal search and found nothing and let the kid off with a warning for the "speeding." The kid asked the cop to write him a ticket for the speeding (so he could protest the illegal search) and the cop refused so the kid then filed a complaint with the city and found out the cop didn't even call in that he had pulled someone over which is procedure for any traffic stop or anything they were to leave their car for on police business. So basically he got screwed over because how do you bust a crooked cop for an illegal stop and search when there was no official record of it?
With the current budget crunches I doubt law enforcement are giving many warnings anymore. The lastest story I heard was someone got pulled over for speeding so he pulled off the street and into a gas station. The cop got all over him about pulling off the road. I thought they preferred you get off a main street so both you and the officer are safer not having to be in traffic!
I guess my opinion is if you get pulled over these days, just stay calm and the least resistent. Don't ask too many questions, don't argue, don't move around in your vehicle. That way the cop doesn't get antsy and doesn't have a reason to go on a power trip. At least that way if they do they can't try to throw some technicall BS at you like you were acting in a threatening manner or something that they can say they handled the situation by the book.
With the current budget crunches I doubt law enforcement are giving many warnings anymore. The lastest story I heard was someone got pulled over for speeding so he pulled off the street and into a gas station. The cop got all over him about pulling off the road. I thought they preferred you get off a main street so both you and the officer are safer not having to be in traffic!
I guess my opinion is if you get pulled over these days, just stay calm and the least resistent. Don't ask too many questions, don't argue, don't move around in your vehicle. That way the cop doesn't get antsy and doesn't have a reason to go on a power trip. At least that way if they do they can't try to throw some technicall BS at you like you were acting in a threatening manner or something that they can say they handled the situation by the book.
No I was wrong to cross the solid white, would have paid the ticket if that was all there was to it. This particular officer had an issue with yankees and needed to be reminded that even yankees deserve respect and professionalism.
I never once argued with him or even raised my voice. I was wrong on the issue of the violation was not even a point of contention.
I have been pulled over here in Iowa many more times and am way, way better connected here (depending on which party has control of Terrace Hill). I have never leveraged those connections to get out of anything. I do not even mention the LEOs I know until after I find out if I am getting a warning or a citation and if it is a citation I don't mention them until I have the citation in hand.
The problem in (mine) and many people's eyes isn't that the cops aren't letting them get away with something illegal, it's that the cops put so much emphasis on fighting trivial things like speeding under 10mph over, underage drinking, marijuana use, etc, that it seems like we're under staffed or not putting a proportionate amount of effort into more serious criminal matters like gang violence, domestic abuse, or methamphetamine. I do agree that there is too much resources put into stopping incredibly minor criminal activities, leaving serious problems underfunded and under-addressed.
- Jun 20, 2006
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