Only the best from Bexar County's finest... (home, subdivision)

[concernedSAcitizen]

Thank you for the well thought out post, mrstxcop. I understand what you are saying, and concede that perhaps the information regarding the specific officers should be posted elsewhere. I will have to consider the best way to do this.

[The Man in SATX]

Although I understand your concern with the BCS and how they act.. (I agree with you on this) I can only hope that you are just as vigilante in going after people who are actually doing things against us (thieves, criminals in general).

[rd2007]

This isn't the place for the specifics, but it is a very good topic for general discussion. I've never seen a more arrogant police force than what is here in Bexar County (SAPD and BCSD) and I have almost zero faith in them ever helping me. They need to remember that they are OUR employees and WE pay their salary. You would never (I'm sure there's an exception somewhere out there) see this type of attitude from the military or very many other people employed by the public. The only other exceptions are the very high up public officials that somehow think they are also above the law.
was this in very far west Bexar County by chance?

[wCat]

ouch!....I'm really shocked that this thread has turned into a "bash our police" thread.

The OP is talking about the Bexar County Sherrif's Dept....and a few of their "offenders". The title should reflect that....and not all of San Antonio.

I guess I'm the odd duck here again...but I've never experienced a hostile, angry, or unprofessional police officer in SA or Bexar County. I'm not suggesting they all have been overly friendly (which would be a bit odd anyway)....but professional and businesslike, yes!

That's not to say there aren't bad apples....but the sweeping generalizations referring to all of them sounds like an embittered citizen. If the BCSD is corrupt, then something should be done. It seems a few people seem to think that is the case. I have to agree that there are proper channels to handle something like this.....not taking videos and lynching them on the internet when they haven't been given due process. They may "serve" the public, but that doesn't give the public the right to prosecute them unfairly. They have the same rights we do.

My question to the OP....what exactly have you done and who have you talked to within the Sheriffs department to voice your concern? What was the response? Do you even know the chain of command? Who does the Sheriff's office answer to? I'm just asking to see if you have done your homework before you came here to form a group of vigilantes to back your claims. It will be very interesting to see how you proceed with this complaint.

Just in case you haven't contacted him....your first stop should be Kyle Coleman. His email is: kcoleman@bexar.org
He is the goto officer for traffic safety in Bexar County.

Every department has it's problems....no question...just don't take out the good ones in your efforts. Good luck!

[HisLilSecret]

Originally Posted by wCat

ouch!....I'm really shocked that this thread has turned into a "bash our police" thread.

The OP is talking about the Bexar County Sherrif's Dept....and a few of their "offenders". The title should reflect that....and not all of San Antonio.

You're right. The title is misleading. I thought this was going to be about SAPD not BCSD.

I guess I'm the odd duck here again...but I've never experienced a hostile, angry, or unprofessional police officer in SA or Bexar County. I'm not suggesting they all have been overly friendly (which would be a bit odd anyway)....but professional and businesslike, yes!

I agree with you on this. Most aren't as bad as people are making them out to be.

My question to the OP....what exactly have you done and who have you talked to within the Sheriffs department to voice your concern? What was the response? Do you even know the chain of command? Who does the Sheriff's office answer to? I'm just asking to see if you have done your homework before you came here to form a group of vigilantes to back your claims. It will be very interesting to see how you proceed with this complaint.

Just in case you haven't contacted him....your first stop should be Kyle Coleman. His email is: kcoleman@bexar.org
He is the goto officer for traffic safety in Bexar County.

Every department has it's problems....no question...just don't take out the good ones in your efforts. Good luck!

[mark3253]

ConcernedSAcitizen, in your original post you gave a pretty detailed account of what happed that day. I believe it happened just the way you said including the ugly attitudes and the Sergeant threatening to arrest you if you post the pics in the internet. He probably thinks you are stupid enough to believe him. wCat stated in his first post that interfering with an officer going to an emergency call is definitely a criminal offense. Flagging down an officer anytime is ok and not considered interfering, therefore not a criminal offense. If the officer is on an emergency call he will not even stop to talk much less stay and try to harass you.
Like I said earlier, I believe your account in your first post but I gotta check you when in your second post you indicated the officers began asking your neighbors to sign affidavits stating the original Deputy was not speeding. First off I don't believe your complaint was taken seriously enough to have caused such a response. The actual problem stands on it's own merit, there is no need to embelish it with extra deeds which are not likely to have ocurred.
Now, when you ask for responses to a situation involving the police you will get opinions from those who either love a cop, hate a cop, or are a cop. Read between the lines of the responses and you can tell who is who. wCAT for example probably loves a cop but is not one. He seems pro police but writes like a very intelligent person who knows very little about criminal law. Now "01Snake" (who posted the 6th response) could very well be a cop. His comment about laughing in your face is in-line with a current active police officer who is allowed to remain anonymous. "mrstxcop" on the other hand would be hard to figure out if it weren't for her user name. She is married to a very good Policeman who by all accounts is quite a stand-up human as well. It is clear she loves a cop but it doesn't interfere with her posting fair information. It is possible to love a cop or be a cop and at the same time believe sometimes policemen do things which are illegal, immoral, ot just plain lazy. (Read the paper if you don't believe me) Police officers are human and as such can be as deviant as some of our non badge wearing criminals. I've been in this business for a long time and we should all understand pinning a badge on a deviant does not make said deviant normal. Likewise, just because a person is not wearing a badge does not make him a crook. Some cops forget that.
If you are interested in filing a complaint there is a professional standards division available.
Since you cannot prove the officer was speeding it will probaly just waste your time and a trip downtown. The Sheriff's Office will make it as inconvenient as possible for you. Here is the link BCSO Professional Standards and Integrity (http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/BCsheriff/internalaffairs.htm - broken link)

[wCat]

Mark.....while attempting to analyze all the "posters" including myself, you missed a few things. The OP mentioned that the officer called backup to "the scene"...which indicates they were responding to a call. That IS a criminal investigation in progress and it is illegal to interfere. WE (including you and me) weren't there...so WE don't really know what happened...and you admit that by taking issue with part of the OP's comments. So do you agree with the OP or not?

I'm not sure what your purpose was in dissecting the comments and posters, but you basically agreed with what I said. Take the proper channels. I personally don't "love a cop"....silly statement unless you're dating or married to one. I respect them. Period. I also agreed that there are bad apples. What's the problem?

[sapphire]

WCat is a she.
01Snake is a he.

And I feel for the guy that bags on the SO's office and then needs one at his house for protection. I'm not a "cop-lover", nor am I a cop, but it's sorta like whining about your food being cold to a waitress.....

I don't condone cops having an attitude, but like WCat, I've never experienced it first-hand. I'm not saying it doesn't happen........sure it does. Displaying their misdeeds on a public forum, basically calling them out, is not the answer. There are steps to take and WCat has provided Step 1. It's up to the OP and all concerned citizens to follow the rules--isn't that what y'all are complaining about? The cops not following the rules?

Also--just an FYI, not that it should make any difference, but we all know it does:

Starting Salary effective 8/25/08 $2,411.00 per month.
$2,524.00 upon graduation from our training academy
$2,683.00 per month after 1 year probationary period

$30K a year and you expect the cream of the crop?

[rd2007]

that pay scale is misleading because it does not include overtime, which is VERY easy to come by according to a coworker of mine who is married to an SAPD officer.

[rd2007]

I typed this a couple hours ago and forgot to hit submit.. oops

corruption in the BCSD isn't hard to find, just check out the local news and the number of SAPD officers arrested lately is not even close to normal. I'm just basing my opinion off what I've experienced in the many other places I've lived and this is the bottom of the pit here.
and I would not recommend contacting anyone in their offices because I do not trust them one bit. The chances of retribution are way too high and the level of corruption in this city doesn't help any. I think anyone that thinks things are normal (police wise) should seriously get out of the city more often..