[christian_gates]

This guy should be immediately fired, publicly.



This amounts to dereliction of duty, and actually seems pretty similar to cases where sexual or racial harassment are demonstrated; it's pretty clear that this guy was part of a system that fostered indifference and negligence towards injured motorists.



While the proximal response time may not have been affected, I would imagine that a good attorney should be able to demonstrate that systemic response times are slow due to exactly this type of behavior.



I have enormous respect for police officers who enforce real laws - they have a dangerous, difficult and under-appreciated job. However traffic enforcement, due more to desire for revenue by states and municipalities, is something for which I have virtually no respect - dangerous behaviors are ignored, while harmless technical violations are aggressively addressed.



cdg

 

[christian_gates]

I sent a response to the Connecticut Governor's office and actually received a response. I recommend you all do the same. This is a chance to get involved and deal with unwarranted and ridiculous law enforcement bigotry against motorcycles.



If you sit here and do nothing, you are only hurting yourself.



cdg

 

[christian_gates]

Re: Down with Blue

Don't rule out the proliferation of non-lethal weapons that nevertheless are both extremely painful and potentially quite damaging. Cops are much more likely to resort to "intermediate" force these days, to the detriment of often generally law-abiding citizenry engaged in nothing particularly criminal.

cdg

 

[christian_gates]

I fully agree that police officers working real crimes have a difficult and underappreciated job. However, I believe that traffic enforcement has led to a lot of the animosity described, and the primary issue - and this has little to do with the police - is that cops are used as tax collectors and insurance adjusters.



If traffic enforcement was focused on reasonable safety and not revenue generation, then I think that attitudes would change. Travelling 80 MPH across I-70 in Kansas is virtually never "dangerous" by any reasonable standard, but I guarantee that you'll get a ticket if you try it for any extended period.



This situation creates a natural adversarial position - cops are doing work that at heart they know is useless when compared to their primary mission, making them bitter and resentful, while the citizenry is enraged at destructive and intrusive financial penalties.



Oh yeah, all-in a DUI costs quite a bit more than $1K. I know many people who have gotten them, and the consensus is about $10K - serious money for most people.



cdg