Only the best from Bexar County's finest... (San Antonio, Anton: homeowner, title)

[rd2007]

you have a much larger audience on social networking sites, so it is easier to find exactly what you need and it's free.. what better way to find out what is on the minds of an entire city than reading hundreds of them constantly expressing their opinions and concerns? the only other way to do that is to call or personally interview people, but you miss out on a lot of external factors that are easy to find on a web forum and it's free..
You ney-sayers will see the light in the very near future.

edit for clarity- I am talking about using the forum to discover a topic, not to get an actual news story. A reporter may find sources in the forum, but only the super liberal media would use a blogger or forum post as a sole source for a story..

[TexHwyMan]

Wow, I think a lot of people on this thread are taking other people's postings out of context or to an extreme, which is unfortunate. However, it does show what a sensitive issue this is to some people, and explains why there is such distrust on both sides of the badge.

First of all, I don't think anybody is saying that all cops are bad or that the entire BCSO or SAPD is corrupt, etc. But I think that there are, unfortunately, a significant number of cops who exhibit the characteristics mentioned by the OP and some others here-- that being an unprofessional, arrogant, haughty, above-the-law, and/or reckless attitude. Myself and many people I know have encountered this type of bahavior at least once, and it does sour one's opinion of law enforcement. It does seem that a certain percentage of police officers have an "us-versus-them" mentality, and if you don't wear a badge, then you're "them". That's how I see things, and it's a direct result of those unpleasent run-ins with police in the past without having done anything to provoke such an attitude. Despite that, I know that the majority of cops are good (indeed most of the ones I've dealt with have been), but I'm still on-guard every time I have to interact with an officer, and I shouldn't have to be. What ever happened to "Officer Friendly"?

Now, to the incident posted by the OP. Those of you who say he had no business stopping the officer because he may have been on his way to an emergency call are just plain wrong. As others have said-- and as common sense should tell you-- if he were actually responding to a call, the officer would not have stopped, or at least would not have stopped for as long as he did. Furthermore, IMO, his extended harassment of the OP and calling for reinforcements was completely unjustified, especially given the ultimate anticlimactic outcome of things. If nothing else, the officer should have just driven away.

As for the issue about speeding tickets and enforcement (you knew I had to chime-in on this ), I do believe police rely too much on catching speeders. While traveling at an excessive speed in a school zone or neighborhood is obviously dangerous, exceeding the posted speed limit on the freeway is unlikely to cause an accident (up to a point, obviously). Yet that's where the police seem to concentrate their enforcement. Why? Because lots of people do it so it's an easy way to generate beaucoup revenue and look like you're trying to improve safety, and it can be done quite efficiently-- you can sit on the side of the road and the speeders come to you, and there's a machine (radar) that does the job of identifying the culprits. I think many people would agree that there are other, far more dangerous actions that we see everyday on which our enforcement resources would be better spent. In any case, speed enforcement as it is currently practiced does very little for traffic safety, and to claim to use that as a mechanism to look for other crimes (drug running, DWI, etc.) is really just a feeble justification for a lucrative but ineffective practice, not to mention being yet one more thing to add to the public's collective skeptitism. Obviously, I could discuss this topic ad naseum, but I will digress.

[majormadmax]

[quote=wCat;7866554]

Really? So a 'big brother' system is better, and more lucrative?

I put on the brakes at any paragraph that starts with 'allegedly'....sozzy!

And also being one that has lived in Europe....it gets tiresome to read the ad nauseum comparisons to the 'Europeans'. I don't mind gleaning the good concepts out and trying to apply them to better our way of living.....but overall, there is a LOT about our way of life that could work for them as well.
But that's a topic that strays too far from this thread.....as well as the SA forum. I'm just sayin.....

That's funny, because I put on the brakes at any mention of 'Big Brother;' because it automatically invokes an image of the kind of people who use that term as wearing tin foil hats and mad paranoia over contrails, black helicopters, and government UFO conspiracies! Y'know...folks like
this!

But to the point, on one hand you are demanding increased enforcement of the speed limits; but a tool that helps do so such as speed cameras invokes such a response as an allegation of 'Big Brother?' Sounds a bit like a double standard to me.

And what is "sozzy?"

[rd2007]

speaking of revenue generators.. there's currently one sitting in the sports park of Westcreek, where that tiny 20 MPH zone is. I would love to know who thought of that one, especially when it's not even a 100 feet from a 35 MPH sign. I know there's a park there, but it's far away from the road and no good parent should allow their kids to even get close to that road.
anyhow, it's BCSD and I guarantee you they aren't there looking out for the kid's safety. I know this because he has his radar on (my detector saw him way before I did) and there's no kids in the park because it's drizzly and about 40 degrees out here.

[Save_Burbank]

Originally Posted by rd2007

somebody should e-mail McManus a link to this thread...

Originally Posted by Save_Burbank

william.mcmanus@sanantonio.gov or email his assistant carla.zainie@sanantonio.gov


want the assistant chiefs?

Originally Posted by Save_Burbank

if you have an issue with BCSO, I suggest you contact heir top brass. kcoleman@bexar.org and mmeachum@bexar.org

otherwise there is too much drama going on here!

has the OP contacted any of these people? I mean if you are going to talk it, you should walk it.

[rd2007]

are you going to let us use your phone or computer/e-mail address?

remember, you have nothing to fear. They are only there to serve and protect....

[nrlatsha]

Originally Posted by rd2007

speaking of revenue generators.. there's currently one sitting in the sports park of Westcreek, where that tiny 20 MPH zone is. I would love to know who thought of that one, especially when it's not even a 100 feet from a 35 MPH sign. I know there's a park there, but it's far away from the road and no good parent should allow their kids to even get close to that road.
anyhow, it's BCSD and I guarantee you they aren't there looking out for the kid's safety. I know this because he has his radar on (my detector saw him way before I did) and there's no kids in the park because it's drizzly and about 40 degrees out here.

Almost every ticket can be fought with this: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) - FHWA Texas: Government Publications: Traffic Planning

Localities usually don't follow them correctly. Engineering & traffic studies are 9 times out of 10 performed incorrectly. If there is an area being used as an income generator, you can report them to the state. I haven't read the documents in a while, but most of the info you need to fight a ticket is in those documents.

[wCat]

[quote=majormadmax;7868972]

Originally Posted by wCat

That's funny, because I put on the brakes at any mention of 'Big Brother;' because it automatically invokes an image of the kind of people who use that term as wearing tin foil hats and mad paranoia over contrails, black helicopters, and government UFO conspiracies! Y'know...folks like
this!

But to the point, on one hand you are demanding increased enforcement of the speed limits; but a tool that helps do so such as speed cameras invokes such a response as an allegation of 'Big Brother?' Sounds a bit like a double standard to me.

And what is "sozzy?"

Not paranoia MMM.....that's a cop out answer! (pun intended to keep on topic! )

Here...this might help keep up with the net setters ....

Urban Dictionary: sozzy

[wCat]

[quote=majormadmax;7868972]

Originally Posted by wCat

But to the point, on one hand you are demanding increased enforcement of the speed limits; but a tool that helps do so such as speed cameras invokes such a response as an allegation of 'Big Brother?' Sounds a bit like a double standard to me.

And to be specific TO your point, we don't have speed cameras here on the scale that our Eurobuds do. I'm not demanding increased enforcement of the speed limit, I'm question your aversion to police doing their job here in San Antonio. You keep tossing in Europe...but we don't live in Europe. back atchya Maj!

[gwrober]

Originally Posted by rd2007

speaking of revenue generators.. there's currently one sitting in the sports park of Westcreek, where that tiny 20 MPH zone is. I would love to know who thought of that one, especially when it's not even a 100 feet from a 35 MPH sign. I know there's a park there, but it's far away from the road and no good parent should allow their kids to even get close to that road.
anyhow, it's BCSD and I guarantee you they aren't there looking out for the kid's safety. I know this because he has his radar on (my detector saw him way before I did) and there's no kids in the park because it's drizzly and about 40 degrees out here.

That speed limit was fought for by the folks that use that park - too many people flying by at any given time during the day, 20-30 feet above the park. Just asking for an accident. Yes there is a fence to keep the kiddies in, but that won't do anything to keep a 40-50 mph car fly down that hill and into the swings or slide. It wouldn't be an issue if people would drive the speed limit.