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SALT LAKE CITY — One of the readers of my article had several questions, and since I'm low on ideas — I blame golf — I've decided to answer them.
How do they know if people in the HOV lane with tinted windows have a passenger or not?
I heard they have special thermal cameras that can identify how many live persons you have in the car. That's why I get a sleeping bag and fill it full of cats to replicate the body heat of a human while I'm speeding down the HOV lane. In actuality you are not allowed to tint your front window, so that is one option, the other is that you can usually be pulled over for several other reasons and that's when they find out that it's just you.
What are those flashing yellow lights on the side of the HOV lane?
They are sensors that tell if you are registered as a Republican or not so the troopers know how much they should ticket you. As far as I was told, the lights verify whether a vehicle has an express pass or not as it drives by the sensors on the HOV lane. I could be way wrong on both however. I'm sure a trooper can clarify if I'm way off base.
Do cops tend to see people cynically, given that they have to deal mostly with the scumbags of the population?
That is something I fight on a daily basis. It is hard to trust anyone you deal with even off-duty. You catch yourself doing checks on your kid's soccer coach. Pondering the idea of putting up hidden cameras for a new baby sitter or setting up a sting on my extended family ’cause I know one of them is stealing my Skittles out of the pantry.
I've had several talks with my wife to help me come back to reality and keep telling myself that most people are good. It's tough because no cop wants to be a victim. It stinks when anyone gets taken advantage of, but its worse for a cop as co-workers will think you are a lesser cop because you got your vehicle or house broken into and your equipment stolen. You can doubt yourself more and end up being more cynical and a bigger jerk to the public so no one can get one over on you.
What does the service do to weed out cadets who become cops to satisfy an ego need for authority, or who were bullied as kids and want to be put in a position of authority?
There is no way to filter or screen those recruits out until they are on the road making mistakes every day and eventually embarrassing the department or getting sued. We hire who we can and we get a lot of good officers, but like it has been shown, it takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. Most departments can identify the problem children, but it can be really difficult to get rid of them early enough.
Every bad officer feels like they are owed the job and will sue to get their job back. Unfortunately when you are dealing with government jobs, especially law enforcement, they need really good reasons to fire. I know several officers right now that have no business being officers but they haven't done anything serious enough to get fired.
If you were a criminal engaged in a high speed chase who decided to surrender, how could you defuse the hyped up cops so they didn't come throw you on the ground and grind your face in the pavement when you are willing to surrender peacefully?
I would first off not flee from police. But since this is a hypothetical about actually already fleeing from police, I will attempt to answer. Police are told that when a suspect who has fled comes to a stop that they should treat it as a “felony stop,” which means set up behind the vehicle and call the suspect out of the vehicle from their patrol cars. Pursuits however can be dynamic, and if you have been crashed into or had a PIT maneuver performed on your vehicle, the cops may be up close and personal. Your best bet in that situation is to immediately raise your hands and obey every command they give you. Don't say anything but yes sir.
Being in a pursuit is high stress and high adrenaline for the officer, especially the more wildly the suspect drives and the more danger he puts everyone else in. Like Chris Rock said, If you run from the police, just know they are bringing a “butt whooping” with them. I'd love to reassure you that every cop will react professionally all the time, but every person is different and they all react differently to stress.
What do you think about that "sovereign citizen" lady a couple of weeks ago?
I think sovereign citizens in general are silly. They are people that don't want to follow the laws of the land or pay taxes but enjoy the use of everything the government does or provide. I don't think they really appreciate that they can act like loons in this country and we tolerate them to a certain extent. But these are the people that I am most weary of, more than gang members or ex-cons. Sovereign citizens think that if they give up their Social Security number or change their name, etc., that they can do whatever they want and that the country owes them or doesn't. They confuse me. As far as I can tell, every case or ploy that they have attempted has met with poor results. In the end they are just people who are too lazy to work hard, contribute and play well with others.
Is there a mechanism for cops to anonymously get cops they know to be crooked investigated by Internal Affairs? Is it likely to happen?
Yes and Yes. It happens quite a bit. We realize that cops can get a bad reputation quickly because of one bad one. We also realize that we can get into a lot of trouble by not reporting a problem or covering it up. Now more than ever police departments stress this. We need to police ourselves and get the bad examples out of police work. Most police departments, especially the bigger ones, have dedicated Internal Affairs investigators and will meet with you privately to discuss problems. I do get worried about smaller departments who have one or two administrators that handle everything as they can tend to have more bias towards specific employees or want to cover up problems so their department doesn't look bad.
I notice that there appears to be nothing that enrages police more than a private citizen failing to bow to the officer's "authority." Do you see this characteristic? Is there any attempt to mitigate it in the force?
I have lots of things that enrage me more than a citizen not bowing to my authority. For instance, I get super angry when the self checkout machine at the grocery store won't recognize my items in the bag. I hate when my work computer automatically wants to restart from some updates while I'm working. I get peeved when people drive 10 miles an hour down a city street, weaving back and forth while they try to find an address.
I think we are making every effort to mitigate overbearing officers. I would like to see more effort by citizens to work with the police in circumstances that can be dangerous for the officer.
I have always tried to stick to the approach of giving lawful orders to citizens. If it wasn't lawful, how was I going to back up my words besides violating their rights? I'll use the example of someone videotaping a police activity. If they have a right to be there and they are not interfering with an arrest or investigation, then they can remain. However if they are saying things to stop a victim or suspect from speaking or inciting other people to interfere or obstruct justice, then I can tell you to leave. If you do not, then I can arrest you.
I think we are making every effort to mitigate overbearing officers. I would like to see more effort by citizens to work with the police in circumstances that can be dangerous for the officer. Examples are the drum circle in Liberty Park, large sporting events where fights break out, or the street lawyer who walks up to an arrest and starts giving his two cents when he has no idea what the circumstances are. We are actually trying to do our best, but we rely heavily on the fine upstanding citizens of Utah to report problems and mitigate issues that could be dangerous for officers. I think our state is one of the best at doing this, but there is always room for improvement.
This article is for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice. I do not represent any specific agency or government. Please send questions to askacop@ksl.com
