so who is the idiot here?

[Nolacopusmc]

dammit, I just got back to my computer and was really looking forward to really getting into it with you on some of the things you said. Then you had to go and write this. I will never agree with you on certain ways you think about things, you have your ways and I have mine. If everyone agreed the world would be a boring place. I have always said, like anyone else, there are good cops, and there are bad. I think some of the stuff you say is down right ,how do you say it, JBTish? On those issues we will continue to butt heads and part of me likes the process, as I think you do to a certain extent.

What you wrote here gives me hope man, it lets me know you are not just a adrenalin junkie on a power trip. Those guys are out there, I think my uncle{retired LEO} was one of them. Some guys start out that way, I know some of them. Others, it happens over time, I am sure you know some of them. You on the other hand, I definitely think there is by far more good in you then what I consider bad and today is the first day I have seen that from my point of view.

I can only hope and I know the chances are slim but if ever we should meet in your professional capacity. I would hope that on that day you would remember that not everyone who carries a gun is out to kill you. I carry a gun for the same reason you do, I want to go home to my family at the end of the day. Although my job is not to seek crime out as yours is, crime does exist. If that were not so there would be no need for those in your profession. Unfortunately, police for the most part are reactionary and not preventative and that is why we as citizens choose to arm ourselves.

Just remember that there are always two sides to everything and yours or mine is not always correct no matter what each of us may think. You may not think it normal for me to open carry a weapon and feel the need to check me out. As I would think it not normal for an officer to question me for OC as you have said in the past you may do. If at that time we can both try to look at things from the others point of view I believe our encounter would be educational for both.

My name is Todd and I believe yours is Brannon, I would like to address you as such in the future as I think it allows me to think of you as a person and not just a cop.

Todd

Thanks Todd. I believe that was sincere and very mature. More mature than I am admittedly capable of at times online. Remember, there is probably 60% or more of the message that does not come through on here. I am willing to bet that if you ask any 20 people from here who have met me in real life, 19 of them will say I am a good guy. I know I get into it pretty heavy on here at times, and that is just my nature. My mind works faster than my typing and it gets a little frustrating.

If we do meet in person, you will see that i am more on your side than you will ever know. problem is I have dueling and opposing objectives. In my heart i think like you most of the time, but I still have a job to do that although altruistic and ethical in my practice, is often at odds with how I think things should be.

but as I am known for saying, I operate in reality, and it may not be right, but it is real.

Again, I thank you for what you said, and I truly do look forward to meeting you in person.


(try to take this into account when I type things on here. while they often come across as such, I am normally not as venomous as I seem)

At the end of the day, I think I do more good for good people than bad.

 

[VeedUp]

Why buck the system, if you have nothing to hide show him your id and roll out, whats wrong with trying to become friendly and just explain you know your rights and if it makes you sleep better at night I'll show you my id. My hat's off to those LEOs for not just taking him in and confiscating the tape. Those guys did an awesome job, and probablely don't have time to be worried abut this fuctard. How about we try to make their job a little bit easier, instead of him trying to figure out if he's got some emo sensetive rights punk or a real criminal about to blow his head off.

 

[Witness]

there are a lot of reasons why people choose law enforcement as a career. many are for the same reason that people become social workers, teachers, firemen, and join the military......they genuinely want to help people.

However, most importantly, I wanted to to be a part of something positive that was bigger than just me. that is the same reason I joined the Marine Corps. I like the camaraderie, brotherhood, and teamwork that comes with this type of profession.

I would be lying I I didn't also like the adrenaline that comes from the small moments of controlled chaos that are are inherent in law enforcement. For me, I enjoy the challenge and the mental exercises trying to catch bad people brings.

Since I am generally dealing with people at their worst, I normally have to go home with the knowledge that I indirectly helped the good people in society by being the one who confronted the bad.

However, there are rare moments when I get to directly and immediately see the positive fruits of my labor. Over my approximate 13 year career, I have enjoyed the satisfaction of wiping the blood from the eyes of an 8 year old girl in a traffic accident with my bare hands, only to see the sparkle of life when I thought for sure she was dead.

I have felt the sincere appreciation through tears and hugs when I found a woman's lost 4 year old boy at Mardi Gras....a couple of times.

I have sat in a high school gymnasium and watched a "worthless, ignorant, juvenile delinquent" graduate high school, because in the letters he wrote to me, he said had I not taken the time to stop by his school once a week and talk with him, he definitely would have dropped out. before this he hated the police and never really thought anyone but his mother cared if he lived or died.

I have jumped into coolies, ditches, two bayous , and a swamp to rip people, mostly drunks, from wrecked vehicles, one mildly on fire.

I run until I thought my heart was literally going to burst after a guy wanted for raping his stepdaughter who was about 10 years old. I will never forget the feeling of satisfaction when he ran into a parked car, and i basically passed out on top of him from exhaustion.....but we got him. He went to court...he is in prison. Good guys win one.


Then there are the little moments, like when I pull someone over, and they get all pissed off at me, yelling and screaming and calling me seven kinds of m..therf..cker, only for me to smile and say, "Sir, I just wanted to tell you that your gas tank cover was open. be careful and have a nice day." They realize they were wrong and apologize.

The times when I help someone change a tire or push their car off the road only to have them say, "man, I really appreciate that. I didn't think cops did that anymore."

Then there is the old ladies who call for every ridiculous, inane, non-criminal ******** thing you could imagine that is a complete waste of my personal and professional time, but after I "check the area", they clutch their chest and say, "Thank you baby, I feel so much better." She goes to sleep soundly, and I go back to work.

These types of events are rare and hopefully come at the right interval to help you through those times when you really start to question why you even bother. When you catch the guy you personally saw pull the trigger, yet he walks for some procedural area on the part of the DA, or when you personally strip search and pull 4 oz of crack from the anal cavity of someone who you just arrested in a bar fight, yet he walks because the lab lost the evidence.

These rare moments help you get through your personal failures, like when you didn't catch the guy who just shot four people because he was a little younger and a little faster. Or, when she dies at the scene of the accident because it was on a road that you had never heard of before and it took you an extra 90 seconds to get there.

I could go on, but the main reason I do it is for the same reason that I still get a chill down my spine when I hear the National Anthem, Marine Corps Hymn, Taps, or I see a United States Marine in dress blues...it makes me feel good about myself as a person and is in keeping with what I think should be right in this world.

Jesus dude, I feel like giving you a hug

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

I am surprised at how maturely both parties discussed the issue.

I am surprised he didn't get drawn on and felony trafficed after I learned he was open carrying. It's a bad idea to approach a traffic stop to begin with, but if *I* were the COP in this situation and he right out purposfully approached my traffic stop and was open carrying I may have made him go prone until it was over. Obviously I would not do that just walking along, but this is a traffic stop and for all I know he could be the nutbag brother or boyfriend looking for retribution. Bad bad bad idea.

He's a complete f**ktard, he has NO business doing what he's doing and if there is a "problem" with an area or a particular ociffer, then he should learn the meaning of the term "discreet." If this guy were doing this for the purpose of doing it, he would have been discreet. He's not, he's doing it for the purpose of a confrontation, period.


Oh yeah, he also needs to learn that even 1000% innocent he HAS TO TELL HIS NAME! And not lie. He does not have to produce ID without cause, but he HAS TO ADMIT HIS NAME. This particular little event has been all the way through the Supreme Court previously.