TPD cruiser P7044 is a dangerous driver

[Townsend]

The cop in Cruiser P7044 was driving like a maniac on Riverside South of 31st heading North to 21st st.

After riding my donkey until I could get over she cut off another driver to exit 21st street. (changed lanes and slammed on her brakes)

Running no lights.

She didn't need to be anywhere as far as I could tell because she stopped at the light and waited.

Maybe she could try to use a blinker to warn the rest of us.

Gunning her engine like she was NASCAR isn't saving us any gas on her way home either.

In CF's words, "Bah".

[Conan71]

There were five or six OHP's with their lights flashing all around a semi with his hood up just SW of the Vinita toll gate yesterday, and I watched a trooper pull an incredibly stupid u-turn not much further from there.

Still trying to figure out why a stalled truck off on the shoulder warranted such a waste of man-power. I'm really beginning to wonder if there is ANY management in the OHP.

[sgrizzle]

If you hang around harvard late at night, you'll see TPD's own private highway.

I've read over and over that they "obey the traffic laws unless using lights and sirens" but I watch the exact opposite almost every day.

[cannon_fodder]

+1 grizzle.

By law they are required to obey traffic laws unless sirens are running with the one exception of approaching the immediate area of an arrest in which running sirens may jeopardize the action.   Common sense rules IMHO.

A part of my firm represents criminal defendants, I do research and writing for them and appear on occasion.  Here is how a typical drug bust goes down:  police receive sketchy information or otherwise "know" someone has drugs (they are usually right btw), the find the person driving their car and pull them over for failure to turn into the near lane/failure to make a complete stop/failure to signal a lane change or some other traffic violation that is never on camera, never cited, and probably never happened.  "Smell" drugs.  Search the vehicle.  Arrest.   [again, I question the method not the effectiveness.  Every instance I know of they were correct, but still not right]

Yet I see officers commit these exact same "stoppable" offenses every day.  When was the last time you went a week without seeing:

1) A cop grossly speeding on a highway
Not ~5 over, but 10-20 mph over.  Fast enough that you speed up to see how fast they are going and give up after hitting 10 over and they are pulling away.

2) A cop turn on their lights, go through a red light, and turn them back off

3) A cop not use a signal for a lane change

4) A cop not turn into the near lane

5) A cop not make a complete stop i) to turn right on red or ii) at a stop light

6) A cop weaving in and out of traffic erratically

7) A cop speeding excessively on a less traveled road (ie. late at night, riverside on a weekend)


No, it isn't the end of the world.  But when SOME people think all cops are dirty to start with, these lazy actions enforce that view.  Doesn't the concept apply to police:  if you enforce the small laws the bigger ones become less of a problem?  But when a person sees a cop publicly flaunt regular traffic laws (as they write tickets for the same), it's easy to make a small jump into their overall credibility.

I don't begrudge a driving mistake or some necessities (sometimes to make your next turn you can't really turn into the near lane, 5pmh over will happen with the flow of traffic), sometimes there are probably reasons for the driving . . .  but in general police officers are no better drivers than the average Tulsan.  That's saying their bad.  Certainly they aren't an example of how to behave on the road.

[Townsend]

No, it isn't the end of the world.  But when SOME people think all cops are dirty to start with, these lazy actions enforce that view.  Doesn't the concept apply to police:  if you enforce the small laws the bigger ones become less of a problem?  But when a person sees a cop publicly flaunt regular traffic laws (as they write tickets for the same), it's easy to make a small jump into their overall credibility.

I don't begrudge a driving mistake or some necessities (sometimes to make your next turn you can't really turn into the near lane, 5pmh over will happen with the flow of traffic), sometimes there are probably reasons for the driving . . .  but in general police officers are no better drivers than the average Tulsan.  That's saying their bad.  Certainly they aren't an example of how to behave on the road.

When she made me get out of the way and then floored it once I moved I thought to myself "What an A-hole".  Then when she forced those two cars to brake so hard they nosed down I thought to myself "What a major A-hole".

I lose faith in and respect for the cops every time I see an example like this.