Ask a cop: Why the anonymity?

SALT LAKE CITY -- I would like to thank all the readers of ksl.com for their legitimate interest in learning about law enforcement, asking questions and for the most part having a constructive dialogue on the comments board. I would also like to thank all the law enforcement personnel who took the initiative to answer questions, as I am still working with KSL to be able to reply to more questions in the comment section. I would also encourage that anyone in law enforcement take the opportunity to answer if they feel inspired.

I think a big question some of you might have is why am I “anonymous”? Why have I not identified who I am? Because it is not just me who is answering these questions for you or providing insight into some of the upcoming articles. If I were to identify myself, it would take away from the help that friends and colleagues contribute. People will look for excuses as to why I may have no business answering questions based on whether or not I have credentials. Thus taking us away from the point of establishing a forum where the law enforcement community can answer any and all questions in an environment free of judgment or arrest.

Rather than answer each individual question, I'll start by lumping the answers to similar questions into one broad answer.

In regard to cops speeding, which I tried to answer in the first comment on the website: It seems that most people's concerns regarding cops speeding was speeding on the freeway. I think the general public understands that if we are speeding in the respective city we are patrolling that we are responding to an urgent call, not a half-off sale on flashlights and pocket knifes. I agree that we are held to a higher standard and as a rule should heed the posted speed limit.

Ask yourself this, though: Do you really want the cop on the freeway to go 65? Even when I'm driving in my personal car, I hate when there is a cop car on the freeway, because nobody will pass them as they putter along at 60- 65. I rather enjoy when they fly out of sight and I can go on driving the way I wanted. This was my feeling when I was a “civilian.” If you don't think there are repercussions for driving poorly or speeding for cops, I can introduce you to several officers throughout the course of my career who have lost their cars and drove a desk for a long while. Most cop cars have GPS or other tracking software that monitors their every movement. I'm not fond of it, but I see the purpose. If it makes you feel better, I've never given a speeding ticket because I'd feel like a hypocrite.

Speed traps seem to be another popular complaint from the public, along with traffic tickets in general and the cities' evil plan to line their pockets with your money. Believe me, I received a few tickets in my previous life and I hated every one of them. Put yourself in the place of the officer. Your boss says you need to go out and work. But your job is specific to traffic enforcement. You are told to write tickets to prove you are working. Now departments have different words to describe work output. Sometimes it's a points system, sometimes its just a plain old “you need to get this amount of tickets.”

One way or another, if you don't want to get written up, you are going to write tickets. No one wants to get in trouble at their job. When I was working at a small department, I was told outright, you will write eight tickets a shift or else. So I did. Some I felt horrible about, but it was my job. So officers out there are going to find places to get the most amount of tickets so the boss doesn't look their way.

Why are they asked to write ticket? Well, it's really a complicated issue. Some cities out there actually rely on the revenue generated by their police departments. Some cities get a little upset and want to know why revenue went down on certain years and how we are going to fix this. Gasp! The other side of the coin is how else do you convey to drivers that the way they are driving or maintaining their vehicle is hazardous to the people around them? How many warnings do you give a person?

Law enforcement and cities are always looking for ways to make the roads safer. Unfortunately, the option that gets the best results is to hit people in their pocketbooks. I do have a ray of sunshine, however. Next time you get pulled over, try telling the officer that you just pooped your pants. It happened to me, the person telling that, not me doing it. I let them go ... quickly. Tell them you just got pulled over and warned about it a minute ago and were heading right home to take care of it.

Admit what you were doing and be extremely apologetic. Realize that most officers patrolling are actually looking for criminals and crime. The only guys you may not get out of a ticket with are cops who are on motorcycles, the Highway Patrol or officers specifically assigned to traffic enforcement. The last thing I wanted to do was write a ticket, if you were a fine and upstanding person. That is something I have tried to teach the new guys I have trained.

The last general answer seems to be a popular subject, especially with the new legislative session: laws concerning open carry and carrying concealed weapons. First off, when dealing with police, just notify us of the fact that you have a firearm. I cannot tell you how an individual officer will react, but that's what you do. Let me first say that I believe in gun ownership. I believe in defending yourself if in a life-threatening situation or defending the life of someone else.

I however do not understand the need to own an assault rifle for private use, with ammunition that will penetrate body armor. I have met exactly zero criminals who have possessed and have been wearing body armor. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but I have to wonder why someone would purchase ammunition or a weapon for that purpose. Do you need an AR-15 with 30-round clips to defend your house? From what? Terrorists? If you live in the country, then you can maybe justify it. But in an urban environment, I say no.

Next is the open carry. I understand the 2nd Amendment and how states and people interpret it differently. I however see no benefit, unless you're camping, of having a firearm exposed in public. There are a lot of officers in plainclothes, whether undercover or detectives, and the whole point is to not draw attention to themselves, thus giving the element of surprise. That's especially true since they do not wear vests or have the other protective advantages of a uniformed officer.

I have been to restaurants and have seen open carry groups hanging out, and I was amazed at men and women openly carrying their guns in thigh rigs, holding their children, with no sense of their surroundings or weapon retention. I think a majority or maybe all of open carry participants just want attention. Like the cops who wear police T- shirts and hats off duty.

I may upset some people with this but I call ’em as I see ’em. I have spoken to open carry participants and reviewed their forums and I have yet to see a benefit that made sense to having the law or participating in it. Are we trying to return Utah to the Wild West?

So you are openly carrying your gun, you get into an argument with another person and they are immediately intimidated by the fact that you have a weapon. It does not matter your level of presentation of the weapon or even referring to it. You are always bringing a gun to any fight or squabble. It is laughable that there is a law even being passed to further solidify open carry by using language that a person can only be cited in relation to open carry if they are using the weapon in a threatening manner. Last time I checked, that was aggravated assault, which is a felony. That or displaying a firearm in a fight or quarrel, which is also covered under a citation.

In a time when mass shootings seem more and more commonplace, we the citizens of Utah see nothing wrong with someone walking around, with firearm in hand, holstered or slung, near a mall, school or other populated place just because we can?! How dare the cops confront that individual. He's just expressing his rights. So please, for the rest of the people not carrying, cover up your guns. We get it already, you have one and know how to use it.

Now for the specific questions:

Dear Officer Anonymous,

I was driving down the freeway the other day and saw a vehicle with two occupants that had been pulled over. There were four police cars there, with lights flashing. Why so many? Are there certain kinds of calls that require multiple officers to respond, or do other officers just show up?

And what do you really do when you're sitting off the side of the road with a radar gun for an hour. Nobody can sit in a car that long without going nuts. I can barely stand to wait in the school parking lot for five minutes. What do you do to keep from being bored out of your mind? — Brational

Good question, Brational

Traffic stops are some of the most dangerous situations officers can be in. We don't know who the person is that we have stopped, whether they have weapons or what their mental state is. Depending on the situation, we can have many officers on one stop. Sometimes other officers show up to see if they can help, to talk or for a number of other reasons why you would need to talk to a co-worker, just like when you stop Keith in the hall of your workplace to talk about football.

I don't run radar off the side of the road, and you're right, I would go nuts doing it. But there are a lot of guys that do it and some that are required to. It's like any other mundane part of a job. You make a game of it. You start seeing if you can see how fast the plane is going overhead. You listen to the radio to see what those crazy politicians are up to. When I have had to sit at certain places for long periods, I just enjoy people watching and trying to figure out what they are about. Mental exercise, I guess.

Dear Officer Anonymous,

When an officer wants to stop you on the freeway, should one wait till the next off-ramp and exit the freeway, or should one pull over immediately to the left or right side of the freeway? It just seems dangerous to stop on the freeway with all the officers that have been hit. — Sorensizzle

Sorensizzle,

If the trooper or other police vehicle is trying to get somewhere fast, they should always try to pass you on the left side of your vehicle. If you see them attempting to pass you, just move when safe to your right. If, however, they are centered behind you on the freeway and it appears they are pulling you over, I would pull to the closest shoulder.

If I was pulling you over on the freeway and I was in the car-pool lane, I would be happy if you pulled to the left onto the shoulder. Officially, when approached by an emergency vehicle you should pull to the right. But if it's rush hour and it's not feasible or safe to pull to the right, then left you go. If the officer writes you a ticket in that instance for not pulling to the right, then that officer is a jerk.

Dear Officer Anonymous,

My son is 14 and has had a group of friends since kindergarten that he still hangs out with. Unfortunately a couple of these boys are starting to get into trouble: stealing cellphones, smoking weed and who knows what else. I've talked to my son about making wise choices and choosing good friends, but I'm just his mom and I don't think it's sinking in. He tells me they have been his friends forever and he can't just "dis" them ... besides, they'll "beat him up.” Do the police departments offer any kind of mentor programs for kids? Maybe even something to kind of scare them? — Worried Mom

Dear Worried Mom,

Ask a Cop:

Got a question for Officer Anonymous?

Got a question for your local police officer? Ask Officer Anonymous by posting your question on the Comment Boards.

First let me say that you are not “just his mom.” You are his parent, his mom and the boss. People can preach up and down about how to raise kids, but in the end you have to do what works. Sometimes you have to be creative. There are numerous mentor programs, like Big Brothers, free counseling, counseling through school, and when he gets a little older he can go to Police Explorers at different police departments.

The problem you have now is it is apparent he is heeding what his friends are saying and not what you are saying. No matter how many times you have talks with him about wise choices, he is not making them if he is stealing and using drugs. The time is for action and to ask for help from people who can offer assistance in these matters.

It also sounds like his friends are not friends. I didn't have any friends who threatened to beat me up. I also don't think scaring him will work because he may retreat further into his friends group. He needs to be shown a different path and a different group to identify with. You may want to ask him what he wants to do with his life or who he wants to be and get him going on that. If he likes music, get him to job-shadow a DJ. If he likes planes or the military, introduce him to the Civil Air Patrol or similar type groups. Give him a different path that matches his interests and see where it takes him.

This is in no way legal advice and you should take it as answers given to you by a law enforcement officer in your community. I am not representing any specific law enforcement agency.

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