ASK A LEO (Law Enforcement Officer)

[SCmike]

Originally Posted by yumbeef

wrd on female officers. they dont have any sort of watered down test like fire fighters?

Nope. They go through the same course and hardship as the males

[Limeade]

Originally Posted by zinger637

Last week I got the green light finally for class 212 HPD academy starting December 5. You have any heads up or tips?

Congrats! Just don't fuck up. Don't be cocky, just stay humble, do your work and do it well. Get a study group together and you'll do a lot better on the exams that will fail you out of the academy if you don't pass them.

Don't ask stupid questions before a break, don't ask stupid questions before lunch Hit me up via PM if you have more questions.

Originally Posted by yumbeef

do yall pull over and ticket folks who don't have rear passengers buckled up, or kids without the child safety seat?

Not a huge ticket writer so I don't really harp on rear seat passengers but I do get really mad when I see a kid not in a child seat. Matter of fact a kid not in a child seat is a quick way to get your ass in hot water without about any cop imo.

[Jasdeep]

Originally Posted by Jasdeep

I have another great question. My son (3 months old) HATES it when the car stops. So when you pull me over and hear my son crying like crazy because we are stopped. I was speeding lets say 15phm over the limit. I was acting calm as I can and positive with my son going nuts. Would you let me off with a warning? Or try to talk to me and give me a ticket over the crying baby?

[Limeade]

Haha, kind of hard to say. I mean I won't explicitly say that I'll give a break to anyone for anyone reason because that's sets a precedent that I can't live up to. But I'm usually very considerate of circumstances.

However, I will say that using that no stopping thing as an excuse for rolling through a stop sign with a kid in car is likely to get you in trouble. Doing anything dangerous with a kid in the vicinity only exacerbates the problem.

[Limeade]

Originally Posted by zinger637

Thanks for the congrats I appreciate it. Very good information limeade and take that to heart. Have orientation in couple weeks and class is around the corner. This class consist of 72 cadets and pretty stoked about it.

Haha, well good luck. That academy goes by quick even though it's a 6 months long. Before you know it you'll be driver's training and firearms training. Ragging out police cars on the track is fun.

[Limeade]

Originally Posted by Jasdeep

What are some reasons for a police officer to speed through streets or highway without their lights on?

Numerous/Too many to list

Calls are coded for priority, the priority dictates the expected response time and type of response that the officer uses, i.e. Lights, Sirens.

There is only ONE call where lights and sirens are used continuously and even then that's not always the case. Code one calls are the ones where you see officers running full lights and sirens, but with discretion and good reasoning they can run silent as they get closer to the actual destination.

Why would they do this? Think about it, if I'm going to a burglary in progress or anything in progress for that matter do you really think it's appropriate to pull up with a loud siren? Probably not, it tends to scare off the bad guy.

Originally Posted by _max_POWER

How often do most officers run traffic lights for no reason other than not wanting to wait at the light? I see it happen all the time.

There would be no way for you to know that they have "no reason" to do so unless you were the dispatcher or that officer.

Like I said above, calls are coded and those codes dictate our response.

Example: I get dispatched to a code two assault with injury/just occurred call. Code two means I do NOT go lights and sirens the entire way, it means I use my light and sirens to go through intersections and heavy traffic.

Some people get bent out of shape when they see us turn on our lights on and sirens and then seemingly go back to normal once we've gone through the intersection....I'm going to say this and I hope it sticks....we are SUPPOSED to do this. This is how we are taught to respond.

But keeping with the scenario, things changes and it changes how we respond during the initial call. So lets say I am still going code two to that assault call. I pull up to a light and throw on my lights and sirens, then I clear it and turn them off. I keep going and then dispatch says "unit blah blah, this call is getting upgraded to a code one assault in progress, the boyfriend is back and neighbors say he is kicking his girlfriend in the face"

So now lights and sirens go on full time and we are speeding now until i hear "unit blah blah, show me arriving on unit blah blah's call" that means a unit got there before me. He arrives and sees that nothing is going on, the boyfriend has left, so he says "all units responding code one slow it down suspect GOA slow it down to code three" and so I slow down and proceed to drive like normal.

So what have I done/what have people seen me do? They've seen my turn on my lights and go through a intersection then slow down and drive like normal, then they've seen me turn them on and haul ass for a short distance and then once again go back to normal driving like nothing has happened. To some I may look like a jackass doing whatever the hell I want but that's far from the case.

Responding to a call is fluid and dynamic, there is no science to it.

Hope that helps

[03DSM-RSX]

Originally Posted by yumbeef

arrest or not arrest this guy
http://houston-imports.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=633834
lets say someone messing with his car at night and he shoots them

he's gonna face a grand jury of his peers and pay lots of attorney fees to help convince ppl he is not a murderer but merely someone defending himself.

[Limeade]

Originally Posted by Jasdeep

Ever spot a shady/fake cop? If so would you call for back-up. Exactly like this case that just happened on Monday:



http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?se...cal&id=8422409

I've personally never spotted a fake one but I went to a call once where one got caught trying to get into someone's house and there was a brief shootout between them and the officers. It's fairly rare that you hear/see things like that. Most of the time their attempt to look like a police officer is laughable.

As for backup, yeah I'd call for backup but I probably wouldn't be afforded the opportunity to wait for them, back up is few and far between in Houston.

Originally Posted by _max_POWER

Limeade if my question seemed disrespectful at all I for sure didn't mean it that way.


I just see this and can't help but wonder if the dude just didn't want to wait at the light. I know if i had the ability to skip lights when no cross traffic is there, i would.

Thanks for your answer.

No problemo, I didn't take it that way at all, in fact I was waiting for someone to ask a question like that so thanks. I guess I could see the temptation if we could run lights off duty but on duty we really have nowhere to go.

Originally Posted by yumbeef

arrest or not arrest this guy
http://houston-imports.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=633834
lets say someone messing with his car at night and he shoots them

Well he's certainly done himself a disservice by posting that online. I would think that he would have a difficult time justifying lethal force in that situation but I hesitate to speak on/give my opinion on anything so serious. In that situation it would be homicide conducting the investigation assuming he killed someone but in either case it would be the DA/Grand Jury making the call for an arrest.

Originally Posted by kiovo

How long is too long?

My questions..

1. What rights as citizens do we have to request a supervisor report to the scene if we feel an officer is acting inappropriately (referencing your example above of "drumming up" a PC to search you)?

2. What is Texas law concerning having your ID at all times, including those times in which an officer might ask for it? My example is that I was walking home from my child's elementary school one morning when our neighborhood constable pulled up next to me, began a conversation, then asked if he could have my license so that he could log that he had a "community interaction" with me, as required by his supervisor. I normally don't carry anything but a cell phone when I walk my child to school, but I just happened to have my DL this day because you have to have it to get a hall pass to see your child's teacher. Otherwise, I would not have had it. So what would have happened between me and the Constable?

The Supreme court has not ruled on what constitutes too long. What they have said is that it can't take any longer than a reasonable traffic stop should take. The reason they haven't set a specific time limit is because that can vary depending on many factors. I've heard that "reasonable" can be anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes in totality but that's just what I have heard. As long as the officer can articulate why it was necessary to hold you that long than he is covered.

Of course anytime you are arrested the charge itself is read before a Judge during a probable cause hearing and he will make the final determination.

1.Most departments allow you to ask for a Supervisor, there is nothing saying you can't but the "drumming up of PC" wouldn't be a worth while endeavor unless you actually felt the officer was lying. We don't consider smelling marijuana to be a niche PC search, it's quite common.

2.If you are not legally detained or under arrest you do not have provide your information. I'm fairly certain there is no law stating you must provide a ID/TDL or any other specific document unless you are in a vehicle. However if you are under arrest or legal detention you must ID yourself by giving correct information, failing to do so is called "Failure to ID" So to answer your question nothing would have happened to you with the Constable.

Hope that helps.

[03DSM-RSX]

Originally Posted by kiovo

2. What is Texas law concerning having your ID at all times, including those times in which an officer might ask for it? My example is that I was walking home from my child's elementary school one morning when our neighborhood constable pulled up next to me, began a conversation, then asked if he could have my license so that he could log that he had a "community interaction" with me, as required by his supervisor. I normally don't carry anything but a cell phone when I walk my child to school, but I just happened to have my DL this day because you have to have it to get a hall pass to see your child's teacher. Otherwise, I would not have had it. So what would have happened between me and the Constable?

At least give your name and dob. That constable sounds like he is genuinely recording a "citizen interaction" so he can put it on his work card that he did something. There is a class C arrestable offense for refusal to give name, dob, and/or address. An officer may be investigating something that he cannot divulge to the citizen that he is asking. but if he asks, those are the only three things you must give to a peace officer.

[03DSM-RSX]

Originally Posted by davIS300

Would a mid or high level car with good cornering abilities get in trouble for gripping a right turn with a green light at a higher than normal cornering speed, but below the speed limit, get in trouble? No tire chirping.

would it stay in its proper lane before and after turn? if yes, then no trouble? but y catch unnecessary attn to urself

[Limeade]

Originally Posted by 89CRXSI

Man breaks in my house, I shoot him with wifes gun. I'm a felon. Do I go to jail?

Can't give you legal advice, sorry. That would be up to a grand jury to decide. But I can say that as a felon you cannot even have access to a firearm.

[Limeade]

Originally Posted by 89CRXSI

So what do you as a leo recommend for the felon. Arrows? Bats? Bricks? Is the wife not allowed to have a firearm in the house?

That's a hard question because as a felon I believe you are federally prohibited from even having access to a firearm. I would advise vigilance and good security, but I realize that may not be comforting. So I would suggest contacting a lawyer who can give you proper legal advice.

[Limeade]

Originally Posted by aboogabooga

how do phone harassment laws work? my brothers girlfriends ex keeps stalking her all the time and he called him a couple times via *69 telling him to fuck up and what not, and used a text service through the iPod touch that gives you some random number to text from. now the guy says he's going to file harassment charges and what not, he said he used some website called trap talk to trace private numbers and he's going to try to get him arrested in what not. is there legally much he can do? or enough to go to jail for?

I'm a little confused on who is filing harassment charges against who but I'll explain what can happen.

Harassment, especially telephone harassment can be hard to prove. But if the investigative division following up on the report can prove it then a warrant may be issued by the DAs office for that persons arrest.

But just filing a report doesn't necessarily mean anything will happen. Anyone can file a report, but if the necessary information or elements of the crime aren't there then it will be fruitless.

[Limeade]

Originally Posted by 10js

During the summer did you use this shit? looks cool, bro.

I don't own one but I've use them on a couple of occasion.... the work really well.

Originally Posted by Forever Alone

If an angry customer reaches at me across the counter at work since I denied them a sale price, can I stick him in the face

Sorry can't give you legal advice. It's always best to avoid conflict though especially physical altercations.

[Limeade]

Originally Posted by Forever Alone

Lol, we used to share the same job my friend. I won't mention your name but, hope your doing alright buddy.

<turbopassat guess that joke didn't work.

Haha, well in that case swing away or have Marcos hit'em.

[chinh]

I've notice a lot more cops are driving around with their radars on. So that my valentine radar would start beeping from like a mile away. Usually they're in motion not stationary.

Are they doing it on purpose to give you a false sense of security with radars? Would they then leave it off to catch speeds, most of the time using laser

Do most traffic Leo use laser now? (was too expensive but now money is invested)

[fuente27hpv]

depends on the department, we are a small department and we use lasers. The radars pay for themselves after a few tickets.

[fuente27hpv]

Most of the time night shift is the busiest shift and we are constantly running calls. Also, any time we conduct a traffic stop, it could be our last one and there are alot more idiots and bad guys out at night. I dont care how good you are or think you are, action is always faster than reaction. It is also easier to see simple violations during the day, such as seat belts, inspection and registration stickers, etc

[Jeebus]

say its 4am on a weekeday and you go to mcdonalds and notice a guy on the side of the drive through, not really in plain view, taking a piss because the line is too long. YOu approach him and he isnt drunk but he has had 4-5 beers. Take him in for PI, ticket, anything?

[winc281]

Public indecency? Maybe disorderly conduct. I don't think there's a valid excuse for urinating in public as far as the law's concerned.