The police "discount" corundum

[NNN0LHI]

http://daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=447035

Donald Kufner — Ethics hinder free meals for cops

Oct. 24, 2009, 10:30 am

<snip>Consider the story of Officer Friendly from Any Town, USA. He is working the afternoon shift and his meal time is quickly approaching. Where should he dine tonight? Will it be a half-price burger? A couple of free tacos? Or a full-price meal at the family restaurant?

No, he has a craving for chicken and he knows just the place to satisfy that urge. Not only is the chicken good, but the price is right. As he enters the restaurant he sees the manager, Mr. Sanders behind the counter helping the order takers. He makes certain he gets in Mr. Sanders' line because there will be no mistake when the order is taken and the total tallied. Mr. Sanders takes the officers request and then winks and tells the officer there is no charge. Officer Friendly finishes his meal and goes back on patrol.

Several days later, Officer Friendly is now working the midnight shift and he notices a vehicle weaving from lane to lane, traveling under the speed limit, and stopping several feet back from the stop sign. A sure sign of an impaired driver. Officer Friendly activates the emergency equipment and the vehicle slowly pulls over to the curb and the driver stumbles out of the door.

When the officer approaches, he recognizes the driver, Mr. Sanders. A day of reckoning has begun. Mr. Sanders admits to his consumption of excessive alcohol and the officer knows from experience that he is definitely well over the legal limit. Mr. Sanders belligerently advises the officer that he has given away thousands of dollars of free food to the officer and his fellow companions and now the officer should return the favor. Officer Friendly is facing something that many officers will eventually encounter -- a lose-lose ethical dilemma.

If he arrests Mr. Sanders, the era of free food will come to an end and Officer Friendly will be chastised by his fellow officers for screwing up a good thing. If he allows Mr. Sanders to drive away and he gets in an accident, the officer would be held liable. If he takes Mr. Sanders home or places him in a taxi, it will surely be discovered and he may face charges by his superiors.

Officer Friendly has found himself in a situation he could have avoided.

[baldguy]

1. Officer Friendly is a corrupt bastard & should be kicked off the force.

And his fellow officers should also be investigated.

[madokie]

35. I agree

[Taverner]

78. Doesn't work that way

Just like the old Aesop fable, who will bell the cat?

[geek tragedy]

90. You'd have to fire 95% of the cops then.

The reason cops eat for free is because restaurants like having cops eating in their restaurants.

[itsrobert]

108. Yes, because a free meal to a cop provides a little extra security

for the restaurant and the surrounding area. Others will eat there, especially the elderly as they feel more safe. And if other officers get a free meal than that even more security.

[rd_kent]

99. [phone]

[JackRiddler]

107. So you're planning to downsize the police departments rather substantially, are you?

In principle I think it's a good idea, if you've got the right plan for conversion to a different kind of society already prepared. But an abrupt firing of, oh, I don't know, pretty much 90 percent of the cops simultaneously might not prove feasible.

[TexasObserver]

2. "conundrum"

"Corundum" is a mineral. You have time to change it.


The answer is: the cop will have no problem letting the guy go. Free food is free food.

[Catshrink]

5. The conundrum of corundum

Both rubies and sapphires are corundum (aluminum oxide)

Red rubies are corundum which contain chromium impurities that absorb yellow-green light and result in deeper ruby red color with increasing content. Purple sapphires contain trace amounts of vanadium and come in a variety of shades. Corundum that contains ~0.01% of titanium is colorless. If trace amounts of iron are present, a very pale yellow to green color may be seen. If both titanium and iron impurities are present together, however, the result is a magnificent deep-blue color.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire

[TexasObserver]

6. Do you remember the Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam?

[Catshrink]

10. How chromium remembering this?

William Saffire would puzzle over the conundrum.

[TexasObserver]

11. William Safire would be excited anyone still uses it.

I wonder if we are headed back to a time when few adults had read a book.

[Catshrink]

13. Yeah. I used to enjoy his "On Language" columns.

reminded me a bit of Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style."

I can't get my students to read short passages. It's so sad.

[dysfunctional press]

12. sure i do, rock...now watch me pull a rabbit out of this hat.

[TexasObserver]

16. Yeah, that's it!!

I always loved that show.

[Iggo]

46. nothin' up my sleeve...PRESTO!...(rawr)

don't know my own strength!

[Iggo]

43. It's spelled Ruby Yacht...

...but it's pronounced Throatwarbler Mangrove.

[Brickbat]

7. Heh. I clicked on this thread because I was like, "Police corundum? WTF?" I didn't even think of

conundrum.

[DireStrike]

8. I thought: "Since when do the police have any control over the price of corundum?"

[Ikonoklast]

36. Well, you know, 'The Man' has always been grinding us down.

Fight The Power.

[DireStrike]

111. Well done!

Bastardi non carborundum!

[TexasObserver]

9. I was hoping to tip the OP off before his hour to edit ran.

Then I would have deleted the whole thing about "conundrum." I left it, though, lest some poster start using "conrundum" incorrectly. It's easy to get them mixed up.

[NNN0LHI]

72. Went to bed right after posting it or I would have fixed it

Thanks for trying though. I do appreciate it.

Don

[Liberal_in_LA]

81. lol n/t

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

17. Why is it felons always paint with a broad brush?

[Iggo]

45. LOL. nice one.

:rofl:

[vadawg]

50. lol i missed this replay, pretty well played..

[imdjh]

4. I think they don't see it in the same terms a court would.

I have observed this locally and recently.

I'm sure the owner of the Chinese take-out doesn't feel like he's bribing the police officer, it's nice to have the cop sitting there eating his dinner during the last hour of operation, and the most vulnerable time for robbery. From the cop's perspective, it's just a meal, that has to be eaten someplace. But it adds up to $1500/yr, and neither the officer nor the storekeeper would find a $1500 lump cash transaction to be acceptable. But they do it.

By the same token, the officer who get two packs of cigs from the corner store, hands the store owner a ten (more than enough for two packs) and take his change (over six dollars) and puts it in his pocket without looking at it; probably doesn't think he's doing anything terribly wrong. He's not allowing another store to be robbed while he sits watch on this one, it's just a courtesy from the storekeeper to the cop. It's about $1000 a year.

And if you asked anyone involved it it was really worth it to be busted for what they are doing, surely they would say that it wouldn't be. But they do it. And why?

I'll tell you - Tradition!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdfX7ut8gw

[bertman]

14. I only have one small problem with the free food gig for the officer. What if another

restaurant owner down the street feels that it's inappropriate to give an officer a free meal just because he's a cop? Will the officer extend the same "professional courtesy" to the owner who doesn't give him free food?

What about gas from the gas station? Or magazines at the newsstand?

When does it stop?

What if the officer begins to expect the freebies and when he doesn't get them from some businesses he treats them differently, as in he doesn't shake the door handle to be sure it's locked when he does his midnight rounds?

Interesting post.

[Liberal_in_LA]

83. Taken a step further...why not free stuff to the tax auditor, court house officials, DMV employees?

[bertman]

85. Good points, Liberal_in_LA.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

15. Can This Author Prove This Is Actually A Problem Or Is He Just Writing A Hypothetical In Order To

make a point that doesn't exist? Prove this is an actual problem. Prove that other officers have 'chastised' a fellow officer for 'ruining a good thing'. Prove the author wouldn't arrest the drunk.

This is a theoretical post with almost no real validity.

[Fumesucker]

18. My daughter happened to marry the son of the local sheriff..

I know for an absolute fact that she has gotten out of traffic tickets simply because of the fact she is related to the (now deceased) sheriff, the cops see her license and ask "are you related to Sheriff X" and then put away the ticket book when she tells them she is his daughter in law.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

19. And That Relates To The OP How Exactly? Talk About An Irrelevant Response...

[vadawg]

21. yup the way we were told to handle the free food thing is always expect to pay

if the company has a policy of fire/cop discounts then you are allowed to take it, if its something of a more personal nature, ie just the shop assistans idea then you cant. 7 Elevens etc have a polict of free coffee for cops as they feel this encourages cops to come in more often and acts as a detterent, some might say thats unfair to other stores and mayby it is, but we gotta pee and get coffee somewhere....

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

23. Thanks For Providing Some FACTUAL Sanity.

I hate bullshit op-eds full of rhetorical or theoretical situations that are designed with no other purpose than to make cops look bad for things in reality that don't even truly exist.

[Fumesucker]

42. People getting treated differently because of who they are..

Whether it's someone who is related to an officer or someone who gives free food to an officer or someone who is politically powerful, different treatment happens.

[vadawg]

47. lol you do realise that everyone gets treated differently than everyone else period

whether for good or bad, as humans we are complex creatures every interaction btween us is complex and different. yes there may be times when its the free food guy who gets away with a ticket, but the free food guy who gives discounts to the union guys get a break on his plumbing and electrical work, the discounts he gives to seniors gets more of them into his business. no two relationships are the same. Some of them are bad like the cop letting the guy away with the ticket just because of free food, it happens, but so does the cop letting someone off with a ticket due to the fact thery tell him they cant afford to fix the taillight and pay the ticket, but i guess that dosent fit the fascist corrupt cop meme...

[Fumesucker]

58. A naton of laws, not of men means nothing to you then I guess?

I never bother arguing with a cop over a ticket, I don't give them sob stories, I shut my mouth and speak when spoken to.

I guess it's stupid to expect cops to act in a professional manner, eh?

[vadawg]

63. you do understand that the law gives us the discretion in a lot of cases whether to ticket or not

depts then set their own rules and regs. so if i pull you over for speeding say 70mph in a 55mph, i can give you the lecture about not speeding ask you were you are going coming from, run the tags and your licence, and if everythign sound ok and you come back clean i can let you away with a warning, perfectly legal, or i can give you a ticket, again perfectly legal. Discrection is a very important part of the system when i t comes to arresting,convicting etc...

[Fumesucker]

67. Recognizing a fact and agreeing that is a moral and correct thing are two different things..

One is either breaking the law or one is not, if I'm breaking the law I expect to be appropriately punished for it if I'm caught.

[vadawg]

70. you are breaking the law in both, but the law allows the officer to either ticket you or to give you

a warning at the officers discretion. So the officer is following the law and the regulations whether you think so or not. as i stated a large part of our job is using our discretion,

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

87. Facts Matter. Unfortunately Some Are So Stubborn They Will Continue To Hold On To Ignorant Opinion

in the face of them.

Good job vadawg; but I fear you're wasting your time.

[Fumesucker]

88. Two people get caught breaking exactly the same law..

One gets punished, the other does not.

That's not justice in my book.

You obviously disagree.

[vadawg]

89. someone get caught breaking the law, they tell the cop they broke the law and the reason

the cop finds it reasonable and warns them not to do it again, there it is discretion. There are lots of offences that we have discretion with, you want a zero tolerance policy, try it and see how quickly you complain about the cops giving out millions of tickets...

[Fumesucker]

95. You and I both know it's far more *who* is breaking the law than why..

Thing is, I'm one who is more likely to get off than many, white male, late middle aged, reasonably clean cut, fairly well spoken, don't give an officer any crap at all, keep my hands on top of the wheel, no sudden moves, all that jazz.

In fact I got off a ticket a couple of years ago for just that reason, if I'd been a black teenager I'm pretty certain the trooper would have written me up, I think I was doing sixty seven in a fifty five zone.

As I already stated my daughter has gotten off at least twice because of who she married, so police discretion has worked to the advantage of me and my family.

I think you may have the idea that I'm anti-police, in fact I've been treated both very well and very badly by officers at various times, I try to keep an open mind and treat people as individuals, even cops. I've conversed with you several times in the past and you come across as a pretty good guy as far as I can tell, we just disagree on some things that's all.

[Taitertots]

91. Explain to me how the police are like a plumber

When I give $50 to the plumber to show up on time it is a tip.
When someone gives a $50 to a police officer it is bribery and a crime for both of them.


Are you really going to equivocate letting someone off on a tail light ticket with being bribed to give certain businesses special treatment?

[vadawg]

92. you missed the point as always, the point is that companies and businesses

do stuff all the time to attract and keep customers, they give discounts to many groups of people as they find this makes good business sense, whether that group is the aarp, local union, firefighters, local emts local cops, teachers etc etc, there is no problem with this for my agency as long as its the company policy and not the individual server or register operator doing it.

[Taitertots]

100. The point is that when they give them to police for special treatment it is bribery

Would it be alright for me to give money to a judge trying my case? Isn't it just good business sense to bribe judges so they use discretion if you end up in court?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

57. BZZZZZZZTTTTTT.

Sorry bub, your comparison was completely nonsensical in relation to the concept in the OP.

[Fumesucker]

60. Nonsensical to someone who is incapable of seeing anything that they don't already agree with..

I didn't expect you to see my point and you fulfilled my expectations to a "t".

There are none so blind as those that will not see.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

62. BZZZZZZTTTTTT Again.

I see your point just fine. I just happen to see it for the nonsensical point it is, and called you on it.

The blindness is your own, and you're projecting with your 'seeing anything they don't always agree with' comment.

See, you and so many others here kneejerk into your positions. I actually take the time to think about each argument and side first, weigh them on the merits, and take the right side accordingly. I let reality dictate my position. You; however, let knee jerk reaction dictate yours.

[Flaneur]

75. You're funny.

[vadawg]

22. you do know that millions of people have gotton away without a ticket

without even being married to a sheriff, personally i dont ticket other cops, emts, nurses, teachers or anyone for minor stuff unless they wont take the lecture, its an easy choice the lecture or the ticket....

[cherokeeprogressive]

40. My military ID got me out of literally dozens of traffic tickets.

Once in Georgia, during a "You in some trouble, boy" moment with a state trooper who had the Smokey Hat and mirrored sunglasses. I think I was doing something like 90 mph on I-95. I gave him both my driver's license and military ID and drove away two minutes later after having been told "Mr *******, I need you to slow down, son".

[vadawg]

53. crap i forgot about my military policy, i generally dont ticket military members

especially when they are going or coming back from leave, they get the goddamn slow down speech....

[NNN0LHI]

61. What do you do in the case of a woman with a bunch of kids in a junk old car?

That is the scenario that gives me the willies. I have asked myself if I were a traffic cop what would I do if I caught a woman in that situation speeding or driving recklessly? Do I write her a ticket and maybe those kids don't have anything to eat or no new clothes for school because of the money needed to pay the ticket? Or would I let her go and then a day or two later find the same women and kids in a terrible car accident?

That is why I could never be a cop. I wouldn't want to be making these kinds of decisions. For no money. Or discounts. I would be a nervous wreck thinking about this kind of stuff.

Don

[vadawg]

65. thats a good one, i have let people in that situation off with a warning

i give them the reasons why they need to slow down etc etc, so if a couple of days later the crash happened i wouldnt feel guilty because even if i had written the ticket she would still have sped, but its one of those hypotheticals that comes up a lot. We generally have to do what we feel is right at the time when the situation comes up, thats why i hate themonday morning quaterbacks who were not at the scene when the incident happened. We generally try to do the right thing and if it all goes tits up as long as we act in good faith we are usually okay....

[NNN0LHI]

68. My teenage daughter came home in tears one day after getting caught going around RR gates

She didn't get a ticket but she sure got lectured about the bad things that could happen when doing that. Having it happen right in front of everyone in town that drove by made it doubly effective. I know for a fact she never went around another one since. And that was almost 20 years ago.

Sometimes warnings do work.

I know that one did.

Don

[vadawg]

73. i hate when young people do dumb shit like that, i would have chewed her out as well

and nowadays the obligatory call home is included.. might even have ticketed her as well if i didnt think the message was getting through, just to make sure she had to go to court and have the judge drive the message home...

[Ikonoklast]

64. Where can I cite 'my policy' to a judge in a court of law?

So, you admit that you enforce the law differently, for different people?

If it is a certain person belonging to a certain organization, he gets a 'lecture' but no ticket.

If it's just someone that has no connections to an organization you deem meritorious, he gets the citation?

Interesting. I always thought that the laws were for everyone, enforced equally without regards to position, standing, or class.

Silly me.

Now I know better.

Thank you for confirming what I suspected.

[vadawg]

66. nope they can still get a ticket, they just get the courtesy of maybe being a little more of an ass

during a stop before the lecture becomes a ticket, its all down to the officers discretion.

[Ikonoklast]

80. In my town, it used to be that way.

Really long story, it involved just such a situation of the local police given a courtesy by a local store owner, and they took unreasonable advantage of it.

Really, really unreasonable.

After the city manager was made aware of the situation, innocent employees were threatened with dismissal for following the directives given to them by management, because they got legally entangled in the investigation. Subpoenas, grand jury testimony, the works.

The union quickly stopped that foolishness.

The employees were also threatened and harassed by the police officers involved who thought it was they that turned them in, even though it wasn't any of them that called the city with the complaint; it was a private investigator who was gathering evidence for a divorce action by following a police officer who was cheating on his wife while supposedly on patrol duty.

Employees were getting pulled over as they left work; threats left on answering machines, wives being followed by police cars for no reason...intimidation of the sort usually done by stupid punks.

Four cops were allowed to 'resign', three others were demoted and eventually quit, quietly. I knew of more that were involved, but they dodged the bullet on this one. They got to take an 'early retirement' soon after.

This was on a force of 24, at that time.

Cost the city a ton of dough on that little disaster. Cost the owner of the store a little bit more, I think. His store was soon burglarized, the safe opened, $50k went missing. Biggest theft, ever, in this city.

The detectives investigating the heist never seemed to very concerned about solving that one, although the one officer I have known for years told me he'd tell exactly what went down on that one, one day after he retires.


Well, after this fiasco, if a local polo was seen taking a free glass of water, he needed to explain to city council why if he wanted to keep his job.

[vadawg]

84. yup different places different regulations, people forget that all depts are different

some good some bad, same as the officers in them, same as the politicians who write the laws, same as the people who vote for the politicians. Problem is everyone thinks that every cop in the world is dirty and that they can do no right... honestly i just come on here to be beat up now, at first i thought he maybe i can give a cops view on stuff and why certain things go down the way they do, but honestly its not even worth it anymore,

[Taitertots]

93. Basically you admit that you are corrupt

How does it feel to be a corrupt cop?

[Name removed]

94. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

98. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NNN0LHI]

20. The author of the article was the police chief of Bradley, IL for a couple of decades

So I suspect he knows what he is talking about.

And I eat out in that town on occasion and I have witnessed detectives and off duty cops with the entire family in tow pulling out their badges to get their discount when paying their tab. Firemen too.

Don

[vadawg]

24. yup its probuably company policy, same as i get to use the rec centers for free as well

do you think that places that offer discounts to union members, aarp members, aaa members should not be allowed to ...

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

26. Exactly.

For some reasons though if cops get it though, it means they're corrupt evil fascist bastards who should be brought down hard. :eyes:

Thanks for all that you do vadawg.

[vadawg]

27. WTF lol im not used to getting anything nice said about my job here

so im not sure how to react, but thanks....

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

31. LOL

I'm one of the rare ones here that try and defend the boys in blue whenever I can, since time after time here people will use exceptional incident after exceptional incident to try and disparage cops as if the exceptions are the rule. In reality, the overwhelming majority of them are way too cowardly to ever even begin to be able to handle doing the job you do. So yeah, I've been quite beaten up in the past here for being pro-police overall in the cop bashing threads.

Funny thing is I've had more run in's with the law than you can imagine, have actually been the victim of bad cops, have been harassed and many bad experiences with them etc. I'm just not dumb enough to think isolated examples are the rule. I know the good they do, the stress of their job, the dangers they face, and the heroics they pull. I'm sure we ALL here would have a million reasons to thank you for things you've done and continue to do (if you're still active... I don't know much about you).

[vadawg]

32. yup at work right now, only place i get to use a computer....

[cherokeeprogressive]

44. If I ever start my own business, vadawg, stop by and you'll get the Law Enforcement Discount

AND I'll let you use my computer.

[vadawg]

49. lol depends onthe business i suppose, the wife will be annoyed if its a gentlemens club shall we say

:)

[cherokeeprogressive]

52. LOL! Given the problems associated with a business like that...

I think I'd rather start something like a boutique type ice cream parlour.

[vadawg]

55. what problems, :) lots of money, free bar, what more could you ask for :)

[Flaneur]

76. "Exceptional incident after exceptional incident..."

Maybe they aren't so exceptional then.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

86. No Maybe. Fact Dictates That They Are In Fact Exceptional.

10 exceptionals vs 100,000 standards still deems the 10 to be quite exceptional. Nice try though, but FAIL.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

25. You Mean Until He Was Ousted.

No reason whatsoever to believe he might be bitter about that or anything... :eyes:

Any facts behind his statements? No? Then sit down and shut up.

[NNN0LHI]

29. Yea, what should I believe? You, or my lying eyes right?

:crazy:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

33. You've Seen A Drunk Driver Let Go Because They Gave A Cop A Food Discount?

And I've made no claims, so there really is no believing 'me' in this context. I've merely asked for any supporting facts; as of yet which there are none.

[NNN0LHI]

37. No thats not what I said I seen was it?

I said I have seen off duty police flashing their badges to get their discounts at restaurants for themselves and their families I have been at in that town.

You don't doubt that happens do you?

Don

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

38. Nope. Never Did.

The bullshit is the part about one of them then letting a severely intoxicated drunk driver go because of it. That's made up bullshit put into an op-ed just for sake of making a point that doesn't truly even exist. The article is a bunch of malarkey.

[vadawg]

39. question is if they do discounts for union members, firefighters

local members of the rotary club, even seniors do you also have a problem with that. As i said ther are a lot of companies that offer discounts to cops and their families, its called business, you get the customers in and coming back...

[Taitertots]

97. Its bribery

Seniors, unions, and rotary club members don't have a duty to everyone else that they are neglecting by giving special treatment to people who bribe them.

[Taitertots]

96. I've been let go because I go to the same bar as the police

When I was maybe a little more sauced than I felt when I left the bar.

Basically they said:
"Your too drunk to be driving... You should head right home"

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

106. That Makes Them Pretty Stupid. Also Not Sure I Believe You. Also Your Example Is IRRELEVANT Anyway.

Your little anecdote is irrelevant as it relates to the point of the OP. It also makes you look like a fuckin idiot for intentionally driving drunk (which is one of the most moronic things on the planet).

[cherokeeprogressive]

41. Whoa. Big town! 12,000 in 2000. I wonder what the population was when he got his first free

cup of coffee...

I gots no problem with this. If a business decides to give a certain group of people discounts, it should be done without the expectation of quid pro quo, and should be solely the decision of the business owner.

[Heidi]

28. I wonder how people would feel if local media reps were doing this?

And some are, but I wonder whether they would be as vigorously defended for this sort of behavior as law enforcement officers are. The issue is not only whether people in positions of public trust are actually doing anything unethical but how the public trust is undermined by even the appearance of impropriety.

[slampoet]

30. We had a cop here in Providence who was extorting services and food from 35 different businesses.

About ten years before this cop was fired i watched this officer come into the Cumberland Farms store on hope street and just fill up his coffee cup with soda and leave without paying. I asked the store clerk and he said It kept the store "Safer". Safer from WHAT??? (at the time Providence's biggest crime problem was political corruption and not street crime.)

It turns out a decade later that this cop was getting 15+ free meals a week, free dry cleaning, free gas, haircuts and pedicures, at least 10 free lattes a week, free beer and scotch and cigars, had threatened to deport a mechanic who didn't give him free tires, and there were about a dozen other things that he was EXTORTING from East Side shops.

He was fired from the Providence police department and unfortunately is reported to STILL be a cop now in small town Connecticut somewhere.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

34. Sounds Like The Exception To The Rule To Me (Or Any Other Sane Individual), As Opposed To The Rule.

[slampoet]

103. Not the exception. Police in Providence take money and services from area businesses all the time.

In your state do police supervise EVERY road construction and get paid overtime by the construction companies to do it?


Don't put up straw man of sanity before you read the Providence newspaper. Or haven't you heard of Vincent "Buddy" Cianci? Doreen Picard? The Plunderdome? Brian J. Sarault? Gov. Edward DiPrete?


Anyone who can read, insane or not, knows what RI police and political corruption is like. Ask someone who actually lives in Rhode Island and they will tell you exactly what the police here are like and that corruption is not an exception to the rule.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

105. Yes, The World Is No Larger Than Providence.

:eyes:

[slampoet]

110. Rolling eyes are so much easier than reseaching information, Eh?

Police aren't organized by world sized units, fool.

[Liberal_in_LA]

82. wow.. he was subsidizing his income in a major way.

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. This is why my local cops and fire fighters cannot take any freebies

from anybody, by department policy.

[vadawg]

51. yup a lot of times it comes down to location, as i said we cant take anything unless its company pol

policy, but we always have to pay if asked...

[Canuckistanian]

54. Do they really get entire free meals?

If so, that's completely unethical. If I were in line behind that cop, I'd report him.

It's wrong for the restaurant to offer free meals, but DOUBLY wrong for the cop to accept.

I'd be questioning what other "gifts" that cop was taking.

[cherokeeprogressive]

56. I live in the San Bernardino National Forest, home of many catastrophic forest fires.

Many homes and lives lost over the years. Brave men and women come from all over the country to fight our fires, most recently the Butler II and Slide fires. Not only did they eat free at most establishments in our little town of 6000+, people took all kinds of nourishment and things to their staging area. Even jackets because of the time of year it was. Firefighters eat free pretty much year-round up here.

How do you feel about that?

[Canuckistanian]

77. In that case, I have no problem

A cop accepting a free meal is almost like "protection money". The cop will keep an extra eye out on the establishment and maybe "forgive" minor violations.

But that scenario doesn't occur in a danger situation like a major disaster. No firefighter is going to "ignore" a fire in some area just because the people didn't feed them.

[vadawg]

59. do you also report anyone else who gets discounts at companies

what about employee discounts, senior discounts, union discounts, firefighter discounts. You do realise that companies gives discounts out to all sorts of groups and organizations...

[Canuckistanian]

74. I have less of a problem with discounts

But in principle, it's still WRONG.

[williesgirl]

69. Sounds like a sore subject for some here! I really don't care if they get free food as long as no

serious crimes go unpunished - either others or their own. I for one have been known to anonomously pick up the tab for an offier who I've witnessed being especially kind to teenagers, taking the time to help them out and make them more likely to seek advice or help from law enforcement due to their encounters. I pulled up to a Wendy's drive thru one day not too long ago and watched as a female officer got out of her car behind me to help two teenagers who were walking along side the road. One was limping pretty badly and she got out of her car to see if she could help them. Checked his leg and called for an ambulance. She had already placed her order before getting out of the car and came back to move hers out of the line after seeing his leg. When I pulled up to the cashier, I told her I wanted to pay for the officers order and have someone take the food out to her in the parking lot. Just paid and left but heard later that the teenager had been attacked by a dog and was frightened/hurt so they ran away from the dog and kept walking. Small local paper article said the boy might have lost his leg had she not stopped to help. Neither kid realized how seriously he was wounded.

[Vickers]

71. When I worked at a convenience store, policy was to give them free coffee

or fountain drinks.

I worked the night shift in a dicey location, so I was happy to have them hang around for a bit.

But a full meal? Seems like a conflict there...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

79. So, officer Friendly quits the force, runs for office, gets elected, and really starts collecting.

Which is why God invented lobbyists and made politicians corruptible.

[madville]

101. A restaurant near me and work gives 50% off

A bunch of us have breakfast/lunch there a few days a week. They do it for any police/fire/emt/military in uniform. A breakfast for $1.50 or lunch for $3.00, can't beat it. It's a national franchise too but this is the only location I know of that does it, must be something the owner of this location decided to do.

I don't see anything wrong with it, the manager has said they are acknowledging and thanking the people that protect the community and country. Some people are just jealous I think.

[Mother Of Four]

102. I think my fave story my husband told me...

Was a couple years back.

And yes, there are alot of stores that offer discounts or meals. Before I tell the really short story this is about how it goes: order your meal, have your money out...be ready and willing to pay. Pony up the cash, but don't make a scene or kick up a fuss if they refuse payment. It's embarrassing to the cashier/owner for you to make a scene, and 95% of the time they are just trying to show support of the local Dept and be nice. Nine times out of ten if they are offering a discount to the PD, they also offer to EMS, FD...any social support service. (I was EMS...so can vouch for that) The other rules of thumb are don't take your family there, don't "flash" your badge, don't take advantage by going there every time you're on shift. Be considerate, and aware that this is a KINDNESS and not a guarantee for free stuff.



Now...for the really short story.

Hubby goes to pull over a car, it's a local business owner. Said business owner gets out and shouts at my husband "Do you know who I am?!" Hubby answers "Yes sir, I certainly do. Here's your ticket."

Just because an officer gets coffee, maybe a free drink at the local Micky D's, Or a 50% discount at the family restaurant doesn't even remotely equal enough for him to risk losing his job because he lets a drunk driver continue on their way and kill someone else or themselves in an accident. I know it's hard to believe, with all the hype over the terrible cops out there...but the majority of officers are good people doing a job that no one else wants.

Here's a good video, it's funny but makes you think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HghaoDu9Ac

[vadawg]

104. [phone] 00000000000000 00000000000000000

you get the idea

[itsrobert]

109. The end of the November Knott's Berry Farm gives free admission to Police/Fire,EMT etc

Police officer pulls over a WWI bi-plane. Does he give the Snoopy a ticket?