Although I haven't been pulled over yet in the 3.5 years since I've been in Texas (keeping fingers crossed), I have found over the years that cops are pretty much the same everywhere you go; and the one thing they all seem to have in common is a pretty strong humanitarian streak. It takes a special kind of individual to put on that uniform every day and then go out and serve an often ungrateful public. One of my good friends is a cop in northern California, in the bay area, and I've heard more than one of his stories about giving someone a break because he sensed that something was troubling this individual, that they already had a very full plate, and the last thing they needed was another unhappy thing to deal with.
I have seen at least one member of this board who is, or was (I don't remember), an LEO who made a comment to the effect that "my job was to issue the citation. Mercy is the judge's job." And that is fine, for the most part, because in most situations, the ticket is exactly what the driver needed to get in order to modify their behavior, or at least, to punish them for refusing to modify it. But part of what cops get paid for is to exercise a great deal of judgment, discernment, wisdom, and a smidgen of compassion. How many times would that ticket issued to someone who is already overburdened in life be the one thing that would push him or her over the edge into truly dangerous behavior — when cutting that person some slack with a warning to to "be careful, go home and get some rest," would be exactly what was needed to help that person? Although the Supreme Court has put paid to the first part of the motto says, "to protect and serve," I like to think that most cops never lose sight of either part of that, including the "and serve" part.
I worked closely with a lot of cops for the 5-6 years I worked in an ER, and I am tremendously entertained by the worldview that a lot of cops develop... ...lots of dark humor and
great stories. That's why I love blogs like
The LawDog Files and
Cowtown Cop.
You're correct in that your CHL isn't a "get out of jail free" card, but I am glad that the Keller officer extended you the benefit of the doubt.
One time, a local NYPD precinct station desk sergeant in the Borough of Manhattan made a phone call on my behalf to Western Union (who was refusing to help locate a money-gram that had been sent to me and that they had lost), threatening them with legal action, and then he took up a collection for this young long-haired nobody, gave me a ride to the subway station in a squad car, told the guy in the ticket booth I had been robbed (a flat out lie) and to put me on the train for free. Those guys were the best, and I still get a little misty remembering how much help they were to me at a time when I
really needed a little help and didn't have a friend in the world to stand in my corner with me.
God bless all of you who work in Law Enforcement. May you never lose sight of what made you want to become a cop in the first place.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"
#TINVOWOOT
had fallen off (actually the sealer melted and it slid off...dang texas heat!)
