[FreePaul]

I listen to a police scanner a fair amount of the time. Officers are frequently asked to stop vehicles for activites which they did not witness. The officers almost always ask why they are stopping the vehicle, what crimes were involved, and who reported the crime. The officers have a responsibility to know what they are doing and why for their own protection as well as for the protection of those they stop. The "just following orders" excuse fell out of favor over fifty years ago. Maybe it is making a comeback in some areas.

[delacoert]

I listen to a police scanner a fair amount of the time. Officers are frequently asked to stop vehicles for activites which they did not witness... The "just following orders" excuse fell out of favor...

From the beginning I have been posting a link to the story about the break-down in communiction from the THP dispatcher. The THP themselves concluded their own dispatcher screwed up. From that point on the communication to the Cookeville Police Officers was hopelessly inadequate. Think about it, the THP troopers, given flawed information, locate a car matching the description of the robbery suspect then ask for help from the Cookeville Police. The Cookeville Police then join in the felony stop based on information that is at least as bad. Now you want hold Cookeville Police Officer accountable for not knowing what was going on?