Oregon attorney slaps a policeman with an illegal parking complaint

The Canadian Press ^ | 19 Apr 2008 | The Canadian Press

[devere]

“As a practical matter-leave the cops alone.”

That’s good practical advice, which is why one can only admire a hero who ignores it.

[count-your-change]

Why not?

[count-your-change]

Hero? By what sort of standard?

[Loud Mime]

I have several small-violation tickets; one costs me over $400; but my badge carrying friends even get a pass for drunk driving and speeding.

If they break the law they should be cited like everyone else.

BTW: Late night signals should become four way stops. I abhor waiting for nobody and it will slow the drunk cops down.

[count-your-change]

What? “Out of control cop”? Huh?? “Police state”? Good grief man! Get a grip! It was a illegal parking not commandos dropping from black helicopters.
Yeah, as a practical matter, the cop who has discretion in many cases to issue me a ticket or not I'd leave alone when he parks in a no-parking zone. I'd use my discretion.

[AlmaKing]

He can park in a parking spot just like the rest of us joes. He’s not going to lose any response time by doing that.

[AlmaKing]

Oh, I can think of a lot worse jobs than being a cop. That’s not an excuse to break the law.

[AlmaKing]

Yeah, that’s called a police state.

Ask my coworker who had two soldiers put rifles to his head at the airport as he tried to explain what an oscilliscope was.

[AlmaKing]

Could be, but he’s got the guts to do what we should be doing.

FreeRepublic - don’t we support Freedom and the Rule of Law? If cops don’t obey the law, it undermines their credibility.

[AlmaKing]

In my best Borat ‘ NOT ! ‘

No double standards.

[AlmaKing]

I think they need to be scrutinzed doubly.

They’re given power over us; they need to be regulated and monitored.

That whole Constitutional checks and balances thing seems to get in the way for me.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

What? “Out of control cop”? Huh?? “Police state”? Good grief man! Get a grip! It was a illegal parking not commandos dropping from black helicopters. Yeah, as a practical matter, the cop who has discretion in many cases to issue me a ticket or not I'd leave alone when he parks in a no-parking zone. I'd use my discretion.

Out of curiosity, where do you, personally, draw the line at a cop's lawbreaking? IOW, what laws would you give them a pass on, and which would you like to see enforced?

[count-your-change]

The Constitution's checks and balances have to with the separation of powers of the branches of the federal government not with some publicity seeking lawyer and an illegally parked cop car.
The police are regulated and monitored and scrutinized, perhaps not to the degree you think they should be but nevertheless they are.
You know, when I see a drunk weaving down the highway I try to get their plate number but I never think of calling a lawyer on my cell phone.

[LambSlave]

Bryant told the weekly paper that when he asked Stensgaard about his car, the officer asked Bryant: "If someone broke into your house, would you rather have the police be able to park in front of your house or have to park three blocks away and walk there?"

I'd rather the cops didn't show up at all. I can shoot burglars better than they can; all the cops would do is put my life in danger.

[Pure Country]

Fire trucks need to respond to emergencies as well and I never see them parking illegally.

Apples to oranges. Firemen don't patrol the streets in their trucks. The lawyer needs to get a life.

[rwilson99]

Not exactly...

If the cop tasers the attorney and I defend him then you’re right...

However... I do my best to get around parking regulations all the time... I see the cop not taking up a legal space as a good thing for the restaurant and the officer if he is needed to quickly move into service.

The attorney is the guy on the power trip... it seems like his dream might be to one day be elected to head up his condo board.

[count-your-change]

It's not a matter of giving anyone a pass, something I'm no position to do in any case. It's about not taking such a punctilious attitude toward violations of the law that are de minimis in nature.
No, the cop shouldn't have parked where he did. But the last time you parked were your wheels just the right distance from the curb? No? Ticket for you, Ever drive with a tire a bit low on air? Unsafe equipment! Ticket for you. Ever stop at an intersection with you bumper extending over the intersection marker? Ticket for you! Sound reasonable?
Or should you get a pass? How vigorously to enforce minor traffic laws calls for the use of some judgment involving the circumstances at the time. That's why the law gives the police some discretion in the enforcement of traffic laws.
If you favor punishing every small infraction of the law by police then you have to apply that same standard to yourself. I rather think you won't do this.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

It's not a matter of giving anyone a pass, something I'm no position to do in any case. It's about not taking such a punctilious attitude toward violations of the law that are de minimis in nature.

If the laws are so de minimis in nature, then why are they on the books? Why are they enforced at all? Is it public safety or a profit center for municipalities?

Here's why I give cops no slack on the laws they expect the rest of us to obey.

My wife recently had a biopsy on her breast. Because the shoulder belt caused discomfort, she slipped it behind her back. A Highway Patrolman saw it and pulled her over to write a ticket, but when he walked up to the car, he saw that she was wearing the lap portion of the seatbelt. She explained the reason why, but he showed no sympathy and wrote her a ticket for improper wearing of a restraint.

Out of the so-called goodness of his heart, he said that there was a provision in the law that allowed for a variation, such as she was excercising in cases of medical condition. He said that if she got a note from her doctor and fought the ticket, that he would show up in court to help get the ticket dismissed.

So, rather than exercising his discretion then and there and letting her go, he would rather waste her time by having her contact her doctor to get a note, waste the doctor's time having to write and mail the note, go to court, not once, but twice. First, to plead not guilty, then a second time to fight the ticket.

Naturally, he gets paid to go to court. We civilians, do not. We get to eat it.

Here's a video for you to view. It's of a parking enforcement officer in NYC who parked in front of a fire hydrant while eating lunch. She then attempts to drive the vehicle without wearing her seat belt in spite of the placard inside the car that says that the vehicle shall not be driven without the driver wearing a seat belt. (Dumb Woman Cop Busted

Were her violations de minimis in nature, too?

[timm22]

I think it's a good idea to exempt emergency responders from a lot of our parking regulations. As others have pointed out on this thread, we want the police to be able to respond to emergencies as quickly as possible.

However, if the lawyer's statement is correct, the law in his state only recognizes exemptions in certain circumstances. The proper solution then is to change the law, not to place police officers above the law.

[count-your-change]

Ah..I see, your wife received a ticket, unjustified in your view, even though there was a way to prevent it or undo it after the fact, and now you just can't let it go.
Here's some advice, Don't store up and nurture injustices done you-it makes for a rotten attitude and an unhealthy mind. Don't live in the past, angry over what you can do nothing about now-Doing so makes dealing with the present more difficult. Try to maintain a measure of balance in your thinking-If receiving a ticket is the greatest injustice you experience in life you will be the most blessed human alive. In short, it's history, get over it, learn from it, get on with your life. You'll be a better person. Good day!