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I thought it was the norm as well. Isn't it professional courtesy to ID yourself as LEO in a situation like this? If she hadn't and the cop caught grief from his supervisor for ticketing her, he would have thought "why didn't she just tell me she was a cop!?"

I have cop friends and family, including a Chief of Police. He told me that he has avoided tickets before by showing his badge.

I once got pulled over for speeding right outside a cafe that I had driven to, to meet a cop friend. After getting written up, my friend came out of the Cafe and talked to the cop who pulled me over and ticketed me. The cop came back to my car and asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were meeting with (cop name)? I wouldn't have written you the ticket!"

My thought was I didn't want to put my friend in a tight spot. It was my problem.

Bottom line is I don't have a problem with a cop using discretion when deciding to write a ticket for a minor traffic offense, and taking into account what the offender does for a living, especially if it's something like a cop, EMT, etc.

I also know guys who have avoided tickets for being a war veteran. Are those who can't stand cops getting "special treatment" as outraged when a vet gets the special treatment?

> Bottom line is I don’t have a problem with a cop using discretion... <

Government officials represent the all of us. So if anything, I would argue that they be held to a higher standard. To give cops special breaks just widens the divide between the governors and the governed.

But I do see your point, and I respect it.