Story from a Minnesota state trooper. Hilarious, but what's wrong with this story?

http://www.merlinsilk.com/2012/02/06/story-from-a-minnesota-state-trooper/

This is a hilarious story. But as you read it, do you see anything wrong with it? I did. I was thinking it all the way through as the writer explains. As you read past the funny part, you'll see why.

http://www.snopes.com/crime/justice/carrypermit.asp

Made up story.

So what?! That's hardly the point, is it. It doesn't matter if it's a made up story. ROFLOL!

Aesop's fables are made up stories too, but they carry good lessons.

Aesop's fables never claimed to be true. Making up a hypothetical story to prove a point is one thing, making up a story and calling it true is another.

Well then honestly, no I see nothing wrong with it. The woman in the story was speeding, she deserved to be pulled over.

And yes, the cop should totally be allowed to ask about her weapons. I don't see why anyone would be up in arms over that. When I was pulled over, the cop saw my school district parking permit and asked what school I taught at and what subject I taught. Not offended. When I was in a car accident shortly after moving to Virginia, the officer saw my out of state license and asked when I moved here and what for. Not offended. Cops are allowed to ask questions. If the fake lady in the fake story is choosing to have 3 fake guns in her fake car and carry a fake permit for them, she should be willing to answer fake questions to a fake legal authority.

I disagree. There is no law that requires her to answer those questions. He had no authority to ask those questions of her. He did have the authority to pull her over and ask for the license and registration of her vehicle and to give her a ticket if he so chose for speeding or whatever....as it pertained to driving.

I've been pulled over before for speeding and then asked where I was going, where I came from etc. I didn't say it, but felt like saying, "It's none of your business. If you are going to give me a ticket, go ahead and do so." If you want to answer a bunch of questions about your personal life, that's your choice, of course. But it is not required. And it is not required that the woman in the story answer questions about what kinds of guns she owns or whether they're in her possession.

How does that change the outcome or the discussion that we're having?

Well just call me chattel, then. I don't have a problem with an officer asking me questions that makes him feel safer doing his job. That's how I would want to be treated. *shrug*

Huh... I did'nt get it... Can someone explain?

Police are worse than Hitler.

You have a concealed carry and have the gun and don't tell them I hope they pull you out and beat you!

They teach you first thing is to say I have my ccw and I am carrying. Your an idiot if you don't. Get yourself shot. I don't care. My family and friends who are police officers, FBI, highway patrol better not pay for some idiots stupitity.

I'm all for guns. We shoot every weekend and someone breaks in they are gone. But I am so sick of the disrespect towards the cops.

When you're pulled over, I thought you're required to alert the officer of any guns you have in the car and of their location? And if you're not, it's probably not a good idea not to, lol.

Yes, I believe it that some cops would very possibly shoot one for carrying a gun, even though it's our right, especially when we have a permit. They shoot people for a lot less than that. Nearby in Everett Wa a cop shot and killed a man for sitting in his car drunker than a skunk, but doing absolutely nothing. He was too drunk to move and wouldn't get out of his car. It was wedged in between two other cars so he couldn't go anywhere. A cop ordered him out of his car, which he was unable to do and then shot and killed him.

In Seattle an old man, a native American had a whittling knife. He was loved and well known by Seattlites...a fixture of the city for sitting on a bench and whittling artful things from wood. He was deaf. He didn't hear the cop yell at him and then he was shot dead.

I could go on. There are many such stories about police shooting and bludgeoning people with no justification.

If the constitution of the United States says we have a right to keep and bear arms and we have a permit and a cop shoots citizens when they haven't drawn on him, the cop is no better than a common murderer. If a cop is being threatened or being drawn on, of course he has a right to defend himself. But not until. And asking if one has a gun in the car when it's put away in a glove compartment and not being drawn on the cop, then the cop is not being threatened. If the cop has a definite suspicion or probable cause, then that's a little different. I realize that it's dangerous for cops in many circumstances. But to take average citizens or that old lady in the story and start prying into their personal belongings, which they have a right to have, is none of their business imo.

I don't disrespect all cops. I've been stopped by some very polite ones who stuck to the business at hand. One time though, I was asked where I was going, where I came from. I was stopped for going 45 in a 35 zone. I am a very conservative looking, conservatively dressed, upper middle class type with a nice car. I could not possibly look like some common thief or drug dealer. There is no reason for a cop to have to know where I'm going, where I've been and what I'm going to be doing. My only vice is having a bit of a lead foot...not too much, but sometimes a few miles over. I've gotten way better lately because there are cops stopping people every single mile you go on the freeway now. They're EVERYWHERE. The heavy arm of the law is felt much more than it use to be. Only thing is...they're more concerned about people driving 8 or 10 miles over the limit than they are about people running red lights, weaving in and out of traffic dangerously, tail gating like you would not believe and generally driving aggressively or speeding excessively.


Downtown Seattle in the business district on one street are people going to and from work, respectable, working people. The cops are there, dressed all in black now with helmets, looking more militant than ever, ticketing jay walkers while just down the street...one block, on the next corner and around the corner on the perpendicular street, there are drug deals going on, scum bags hanging around doing drugs and bothering people and NO cop is doing anything about that! There have been shootings on that other street, just around the corner from where my daughter works in a high rise at an architectural firm. Her company warns the employees not to get off the bus on that other street. That's the only place her bus stops around there. So, there are the cops, handing out jay walking tickets, hiding behind things on the freeway ticketing people going just a little over the speed limit and letting drug deals and shootings go along as they were.

My daughter got a jay walking ticket. (Granted, jay walking is dangerous and against the law, so fine...so be it) Just afterward, she heard a drug dealer giving the sign to another druggy (there's a particular sound or call they make) and it was obvious what was going on. They have no scruples. And that cop did nothing whatsoever. Nothing!

So, do I respect all cops? Hell no! If it weren't for corrupt cops, I don't think we'd have the drug problem we have. Why else do they do nothing? Do I respect some? Sure.

I guess.... But one here and there still might shoot you.

It's pretty dumb to highlight one part and not another.

Cop has to follow the law but the citizen doesn't? Interesting. You want to carry follow the rules. Cops usually have guns pointed at them by criminals.

Speeding tickets generate revenue. Drug busts usually don't. It's usually about the money. But, given how many cops have been shot on a routine speeding stop, yeah, it's usually a good idea to be up front about what weapons you have on you.

Yea I don't know... sometimes I feel like police just try to make small talk to make you feel more at ease. I hit a checkpoint on my way home from working at the boys' residential group home (teenage boys) one night, the officer was like "where ya comin from?" I said "I work at ______ " he chuckled & said "have a good night!"

I highlight the parts I want to emphasize, in this case the charming description you made of me.

Oh, and I most certainly do follow the rules!!!!

respect is not a right. act like you deserve it & it'll be given (that doesn't mean act like a no weiner having bully, it means remember most people ARE basically law abiding & treat them that way).
the dirty scumbag cops aren't really the problem (they're generally stupid enough to get themselves caught), the problem is the "good" cops that protect them instead of arresting them.
for the most part if a cop knows his brother in blue does something illegal & doesn't rat him out, they generally get a reprimand & occasionally fired (not a huge problem most just go to another PD). a civillian OTH is sometimes charged as an accessory. and in the Marines, depending on the rank of the person w/ the guilty knowledge & how actively they concealed the information, they are sometimes punished MORE severely than the original offender. that's why most people still respect the Marines, they still have confidence in the integrity of the institution as a whole. cops not so much.

militarization is a seperate but equally damning issue. it's just bad policy that promotes a divisive elitist attitude & encourages the unnecessary use of excessive force. the overwhelming majority of "no knock" warrants could be better handled by subterfuge against those deemed potentially violent & then a polite, proffessional serving of the warrant. nor does it confer the safety to the officers so often claimed.
case in point 2 hours north of me. acting on the "tip" of a newly exgirlfriend (should have been a redflag to investigate more thoroughly), the local drug task force decided to conduct a no knock raid on a combat vet being treated by the VA for PTSD. despite having body armor & automatic rifles and violently entering his home after midnight while he was asleep the heros got their butts royally whipped by the 9mm pistol armed vet. in three different exchanges of fire (from his bedroom, his kitchen & his carport), the vet managed to wound SIX officers (one later died at the hospital). the wounded vet then extricated himself from the situation & surrendered to a cop on the cordon TWO blocks away. that braintrust instead of cuffing him & putting him in the backseat "called for backup." there is great dash cam footage of the vet waiting PLAINLY empty handed in a kneeling position at gun point to be taken in to custody. then after a couple of MINUTES three uniformed officers tackle him & repeatedly punch & knee him while they roll him over & handcuff him. had he truly been a hardened criminal the vet could have gotten clean away that night. results of the search, a dime bag of weed, some pots, two bags of potting soil & a "grow" light (conflicting reports as to whether it is a real grow light or a regular flourescent) for which he is currently being charged w/having a "growing operation." all on a vet w/ no criminal history beyond traffic offenses.
the cops could have prevented this whole incident at so many levels. they could have investigated the allegations & the individual (the raid happened 3 days after he broke up w/ his girlfriend & within 48 hours of her "tip" to the cops). they could have picked him up in a "traffic stop." they could have politely knocked & served the warrant. they could have done a whole ass job of executing the no knock instead of a half assed job (you know get the lay out of the house, establish an inner cordon so he couldn't leave the house & maybe use flash bangs to disorient him) but then they probably wouldn't get to shoot their automatic weapons.
i have facillitated federal, state & local agencies' training. i have friends & in laws that are local LEOs. the more i see them train & the more i hear of their on the job experiences, the more i lose respect for the institutions. thats even w/ the understanding that there are aspects of the job no one should ever have to do (like scraping toddlers off the road because mom or dad was too lazy & self absorbed to pull over & make them put the seatbelt on).
it's like the lawyer joke, 99% give the rest a bad name.