The Unhappy Me thread

[retina]

Originally Posted by chalsall

IMO, police officers have one of the hardest jobs imaginable. No one likes them, except when they need them. And they can be killed while simply doing their job.

Police can be supportive without being dicks. A citation for doing nothing wrong is just someone being a dick. Backing a car is not doing anything wrong unless you fail to pay proper attention and cause damage. If this is in the USA then IME many police workers just want to be dicks. It seems to be the norm there. In a lot of other parts of the world (OMG there are other places?) police actually earn respect from the population, because they aren't dicks.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by retina

Backing a car is not doing anything wrong unless you fail to pay proper attention and cause damage.

Backing up, or changing lanes is not wrong, but doing so unsafely or recklessly is, and is illegal in many jurisdictions.

[Xyzzy]

Originally Posted by chalsall

And they can be killed while simply doing their job.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-d...ce-w_b_6373798

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by dcheuk

There was like 1 or 2 car spaces between us, he wasn't right behind where I am backing to. It's kind of arguable unless we see the dashcam.

If you were backing into traffic, and the "1 or 2 car spaces" is how close he was after he stopped, you might have been cutting it a little close. The dash cam will indeed tell the story. If the camera saw you backing in to traffic, and "establishing position," significantly before the officer applied the brakes, you could probably have the ticket dismissed. If it saw you cutting it a bit close, you'll have to pay up.

[Till]

Originally Posted by dcheuk

I backed out of a parking lot, got honked by a police officer because he was there, and he turned around and issued me a citation for "unsafe backing". Do you guys think I should be outraged he is being a douche or he has the moral ground for issuing me that citation?

Next time, give him a hundred bucks and tell him that the rest is for him. You will feel great afterwards

[kriesel]

Originally Posted by Till

Next time, give him a hundred bucks and tell him that the rest is for him. You will feel great afterwards

Perhaps, assuming he does not tack on an attempted bribery charge. In some jurisdictions (I think most), officers are not legally allowed to accept payment for traffic citations. It's not among the choices given at https://www.dmv.com/wi/wisconsin/pay-traffic-ticket
Officers typically will refuse to accept a wallet containing a driver's license in response to their request for the driver's license card that must be carried while driving, or the insurance card that must also be present. They typically specify show me your license card, please. And if necessary, specify remove the card and hand it to me.

[Till]

Originally Posted by kriesel

Assuming he does not tack on an attempted bribery charge.

Sure, thats a risk. But why should it be bribery if you pay your fine?

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by Till

Sure, thats a risk. But why should it be bribery if you pay your fine?

Seriously ill-advised... There is a reason the officers issue the tickets, but don't accept payments (or, at least, shouldn't).

A slippery slope for both parties. How does the officer know it's not a "sting"? How does the briber know they won't be targeted for future infractions?

[Till]

Originally Posted by chalsall

Seriously ill-advised... There is a reason the officers issue the tickets, but don't accept payments (or, at least, shouldn't).

A slippery slope for both parties. How does the officer know it's not a "sting"? How does the briber know they won't be targeted for future infractions?

You are the wiser man. It was just a dream I had after one or two occasions when I felt badly treated by bad-tempered officers...

[kriesel]

Originally Posted by Till

Sure, thats a risk. But why should it be bribery if you pay your fine?

The Internal Affairs Bureau gets interested. Think cops looking to get other cops fired, arrested or imprisoned. The difference between a $40 fine and $100 cash is a problem. Patrol officers are not authorized to collect payment of fines. That's part of the purview of the courts. Could be different for a campus cop, I don't know. I've successfully contested a parking ticket at a campus parking enforcement office, by showing up with the parking permit that was in my vehicle when the ticket was written, within minutes of issuance of the ticket. (Too fast to have gotten the permit from my office later, by nearly an hour.) In that case, if I recall correctly, it was a rental car I was driving, so I could also have gotten stuck with the rental car company's legal costs, which in America can be considerable. It was a trip on business while an employee of the same campus issuing the ticket, from a satellite location of the same campus. They were supposed to provide fleet cars for such trips, but shortages were routine.

All that aside, I enjoyed your initial post about pay on the spot and with a big tip.

[VBCurtis]

Originally Posted by Till

Sure, thats a risk. But why should it be bribery if you pay your fine?

Pretty sure "the rest is for him" is exactly a bribe. you're not tipping him for pulling you over!