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Red-light fines to go to police, firefighters (for running lights without reason)
Dallas Morning News ^ | 08:24 AM CDT on Thursday, April 12, 2007 | By TANYA EISERER

Posted on 04/12/2007 11:49:11 PM PDT by weegee

"Our policy is pretty clear that they have to drive within the traffic laws" except under those circumstances, said Police Chief David Kunkle, who is meeting with police association officials Thursday to outline the new policy.

[snip]

So far, the Dallas Police Department has received notice of 103 marked vehicles and six unmarked vehicles running red lights, said Lt. Sally Lannom, who helped draft the new policy.

[snip]

"I think what they're worrying about is what if it's 2 o'clock in the morning, you're headed to a call but it's not an emergency call," Cpl. Bristo said. "If I roll right through that light, I might save myself a minute or two. With some calls, that minute or two can make a lot of difference."

[snip]

Cameras recorded an officer on routine patrol not only running a red light, but also turning left from the center lane rather than from the turn lane. "He is being counseled in an effort to correct his driving," Lt. Lannom said. "We're looking at correcting the driving habits of officers."

(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: abuseofpower; codeofsilence; cultureofcorruption; dallas; donutwatch; doublestandard; policestate; redlightcameras; revenuetickets; texas; thugwithabadge
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To: weegee; NucSubs
You dont know what your talking about. These guys are complaining because they arent even allowed to run hot to calls unless a violent crime has happened. Its common for fire a police to run red lights with lights and sirens or slow down at the light turn on top lights and run through. If they stop at every light it increases response time by 10-15 minutes. People get pissed, criminals get away.

We have a device on our truck that turns light signals from green to yellow to red before we get there. Sometimes they fail or sometimes citizens run them and smash the cars and trucks and say it our fault.

After midnite the traffic is minimal. People get tired of hearing sirens screaming by at 2:00a so we go lights only on large streets. Cops do that too.

Its not these guys are blasting through an intersection without looking or slowing down, they dont want to die.

Chief Kunkle has hog tied them so much in so many ways they cant do the job the best they can and they are fighting back.

Nucsubs lives in the armpit of America and thinks all cops are like New Jersey cops. Evidently knowing four cops gives one the right to declare himself an expert on the other 2 friggin million.

21 posted on 04/13/2007 7:44:39 AM PDT by DainBramage
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To: DainBramage
Hit a nerve did I?

I known exactly what I am talking about. If you could read, you would see I mentioned I know twelve cops and specified the abuse of six. Its not these guys are blasting through an intersection without looking or slowing down, they don't want to die.

Ya, actually, they are. They're killing civilians in NJ on a regular basis.

I specified I lived in NJ...that cannot account for all of the abuse. But have it your way. All NJ cops are power abusing maniacs then.

How many Muslims or illegals or gays or any other group that YOU might generalize about must you know before your generalizations are fair? I never said all 12 million cops in America were corrupt. I said that power abuse is rampant in my experience. Not all Muslims are terrorists either.

People who chose to become police officers, like many other professions, have a certain personality profile. That means they share many of the same skills and flaws.

22 posted on 04/13/2007 8:42:04 AM PDT by NucSubs (Rudy Giuliani 2008! Our liberal democrat is better than theirs!)
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To: longtermmemmory
Police are immune from citations. They cite “professional courtesy”

Although it's common, I'd hardly say LEOs are "immune." The "rule" is that although you can ask for 'professional courtesy,' the officer who pulled you over is under *no* compulsion to grant said courtesy.

Usually it's granted for relatively minor traffic violations - speeding (not reckless driving), illegal U-turns, that sort of thing. It's almost never given for more serious traffic violations, and in fact, most LEOs I know get pissed when a brother LEO asks for courtesy under such circumstances.

23 posted on 04/13/2007 8:48:55 AM PDT by Terabitten (How is there no anger in the words I hear, only love and mercy, erasing every fear" - Rez Band)
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To: Terabitten
Yeah, my brother in law who is a state trooper in MN has to always obey traffic lights/laws when he is not responding to a call with lights/sirens. A ton of locals and troopers got tickets when the new red light cameras were running and they all had to pay their tickets like everyone else.
They MUST use lights and sirens when exceeding speed limit to a call now because of a drunk woman who was hit while crossing the highway after bar close late at night. The sheriff who hit her at 70MPH with no lights or sirens on pretty traumatized. He’s never gonna be the same, and neither are the rules for them.
24 posted on 04/13/2007 9:04:51 AM PDT by miliantnutcase ("If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it." -ichabod1)
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To: Terabitten

“It’s almost never given for more serious traffic violations, and in fact, most LEOs I know get pissed when a brother LEO asks for courtesy under such circumstances.”

http://www.copswritingcops.com/


25 posted on 04/13/2007 9:07:34 AM PDT by VRing (Happiness is a perfect sling bruise.)
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To: Erik Latranyi

“Anybody who drives a good deal has seen it many times. A police car passes you at high speed with no lights nor siren on.”

With all due respect, you do not know what you are talking about. I take it you have never been on patrol, especially at night.

About half of what cops on patrol do is respond to calls, many of the calls are not emergency level, worth turning on the sirens and lights, but certainly worth speeding up if the road is safe at the time. For example, alarm calls drop all night long. Almost all are false alarms. If the cops had their sirens on for all the calls, the entire neighborhood would have trouble getting a good night’s sleep. So out of courtesy, especially at night when there are few cars on the road, cops will go easy on the sirens.

Also, turning on the lights sometimes causes the cars in front to act erratically, so can be easier and safer to pass without the lights on.

Of course, some cops may just be on the way to get a cup of coffee. You never know.

“If I do get stopped, I will allow the officer to write me a ticket and then I will make a citizen’s arrest and write him a ticket.”

That’s a great idea. Just go ahead and make that arrest. Heck, go down to the local police station and insist that they issue a ticket book just for you to keep handy.
But first, please consider reading the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, so you know how to effectuate an arrest. [Hint: Play careful attention to Chapter 14.] Also your may want to familiarize yourself with the Transportation Code. Please do spend time reading all of it, maybe you might catch the bit where it talks about police vehicles and speed limits.


26 posted on 04/13/2007 9:08:43 AM PDT by Stat-boy
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To: NucSubs
No you didnt hit a nerve you made a fool of yourself. Here is your exact quote:

I know about a dozen cops and all but two were braggarts and menaces to society who abused their power all the time.

You know about twelve and ten are menaces to society "all the time". Now thats generalisation to the extreme, as if you know wha they do all the time.

Im a firefighter and drive an emergencly vehicle every single shift. I know firsthand what its like in the Dallas FortWorth metroplex (which is where this article is talking about). I know hundreds of Police Officers and work with them on almost every single 911 call I go on. They are very professional, very dedicated and very careful to protect and serve the citizens.

There are accidents, but many times they are the fault of the citizens who arent paying attention, listening to loud radios and not hearing sirens, or talking on cells.

Sometimes people pull out in front of firetrucks so they can sue the city. Often times we come up behind drivers who instead of pulling over to the right slam on the brakes right in front of us. It happens very fast and can be very very dangerous.

You dont like cops so you jump on thread acting like you know something that you dont then try to change your words to cover. Pretty lame.

27 posted on 04/13/2007 9:09:12 AM PDT by DainBramage
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Comment #28 Removed by Moderator

To: VRing

I was going to mention those cop boards.

Reading those boards is nauseating. They think they are entitled to do whatever they want, whenever they want, without
hindrance.

Why should some woman get off a ticket because her brother is a cop? Why shouldn’t cops have to obey the laws they are supposed to be enforcing?


29 posted on 04/13/2007 10:22:17 AM PDT by Politicalmom (I'm confused. The GOP doesn't need social conservatives, but socons made them lose in 2004.)
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To: JMack

If you says so, I believe you. That is not my experience by a long shot.

My experience is a whole lot more like “Animal House meets Copland” than “Adam 12”.


30 posted on 04/13/2007 10:27:16 AM PDT by NucSubs (Rudy Giuliani 2008! Our liberal democrat is better than theirs!)
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To: DainBramage
You are the fool...and apparently have poor reading comprehension as well as memory since THIS is what YOU wrote.

Evidently knowing four cops gives one the right to declare himself an expert on the other 2 friggin million.

Uhmm...so...you said I claimed to know four cops...when I actually said I knew three times that.

And speaking of "lame", you also never answered my question. Have you never generalized? Do you ever generalize in the war on terror? You think I have a problem with cops out of thin air? Or could it be I have a problem with many cops because of the abuses I've seen?

31 posted on 04/13/2007 10:35:06 AM PDT by NucSubs (Rudy Giuliani 2008! Our liberal democrat is better than theirs!)
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To: Politicalmom

“Why should some woman get off a ticket because her brother is a cop?”

Laws are for little people, not agents of the state.

That’s the reason a reflexive smile crosses my face when I hear of something bad happening to one of them.


32 posted on 04/13/2007 10:36:07 AM PDT by VRing (Happiness is a perfect sling bruise.)
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To: Erik Latranyi
If I do get stopped, I will allow the officer to write me a ticket and then I will make a citizen's arrest and write him a ticket.

Try it and they'll have your license.

33 posted on 04/13/2007 10:46:47 AM PDT by HIDEK6
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To: DainBramage
30+ years in the fire service here. Driven everything from a command car to a ladder truck here in Alaska on really crappy roads and in winter conditions. Trained lot of probies in emergency vehicle operations.

One of the most important concepts that new drivers MUST learn is proper intersection "etiquette"(most emergency vehicle accidents occur at intersections)

Always be able to stop when approaching an intersection, even on a green light. Red lights and sirens should ask politely for the right of way, not demand it. When the weather is bad, I require a full stop at every red light before proceeding through the intersection.

There is no excuse for driving any other way. Study after study has shown that the time advantage gained by bthe use of red lights and sirens in minimal.

34 posted on 04/13/2007 11:22:19 AM PDT by Species8472 (We will never Forget !)
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To: VRing
http://www.copswritingcops.com/

Yup. There are several sites like this on the net that really bring to sharp relief, the fact that too many cops think they are above the law. Sadly, most of the time they are right.

35 posted on 04/13/2007 11:22:41 AM PDT by zeugma (MS Vista has detected your mouse has moved, Cancel or Allow?)
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To: Species8472
When you stop at a red light and then go through you are still running the red light . I described the same tactics you describe in earlier posts

Its not always the fault of energency responders, whether you are able to stop or not, and thats what these people assume. While I agree, in your first alarm territory it doesnt make much difference in a 40 mile an hour firetruck, but to cops driving across town it saves alot of time. This chief wants them to stop and wait for green.Imagine that after ten red lights.

Im sitting here right now with a 30 year patrolmen at the firehall and he concurs with me.

36 posted on 04/13/2007 11:34:05 AM PDT by DainBramage
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To: VRing
That’s the reason a reflexive smile crosses my face when I hear of something bad happening to one of them.

Real classy. People like you make this place look bad.

37 posted on 04/13/2007 11:38:10 AM PDT by DainBramage
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To: DainBramage
Its not always the fault of energency responders

How true! The way traffic laws are written in my state place the full blame for any crash that happens under red lights fully on the shoulders of the EV driver. Not fair in my opinion, and as a result the departments (Police, Fire and EMS) in my state are saddled with some of the highest liability insurance rates in the nation.

38 posted on 04/13/2007 12:03:55 PM PDT by Species8472 (We will never Forget !)
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To: DainBramage

“People like you make this place look bad.”

Funny, I thought that the constant shilling for more and more Big Stupid Government was giving this place a bad name.


39 posted on 04/13/2007 1:43:19 PM PDT by VRing (Happiness is a perfect sling bruise.)
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Comment #40 Removed by Moderator


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