I'm fed up...police traffic control near I-10W access road (medicine, good)

[Rustybolt]

Originally Posted by DexterCat

if they are blocking traffic, it requires approval from SAPD. since they are out there, blocking traffic as you put it, that means SAPD approved it. call SAPD. you wont get the answer youre seeking here.

Thanks Dex. Figured that would be the answer. Doubt my words would be heard or change anything.

[DexterCat]

Originally Posted by Rustybolt

Thanks Dex. Figured that would be the answer. Doubt my words would be heard or change anything.

no problem. despite what you may hear on this board, cops dont just stop traffic for no reason whatsoever. anything like that will require approval from the city or SAPD or a combination of both

/wife works for a LEO
//like to edumacate myself on weird laws

[Neshomamench]

Originally Posted by Rustybolt

If they were actually directing traffic I might understand. All they do is put out cones and sit in their vehicles with their lights on. Not complaining about OT or off duty or whatever. Complaing about the traffic situation they are creating. They are doing more harm than good. That is my whole point. This isn't a discussin about OT or off duty time. Sorry if you got that impression. This is about creating a traffic nuisance.

YOU think they are doing more harm than good. I realize that is one of the possibilities but your view of it is myopic. You lack all the information. All you have is what you see and that is often one way to be wrong...and never being able to understand why.

Again, I dont know the exact situation so I must recognize the possibility that your claims are valid...but my experience tells me otherwise. What you see and the way you see it is simply not well informed in the situation.

Most people cant even begin to imagine that what they see is simply not a total truth...just one part.

Let me give you a very simple example that happened to me the other day.

I was directing traffic at a T intersection. The "top" of the "T" was a long straight road. The intersecting road was only about 50 yards long and then there was another major road.

I had to let the intersecting short road "go" more than the long straight road. If the intersecting road got backed up, it caused a dangerous sitation on the other major road. If the Long straigt road backed up, it was just inconvenient.

The result was, I would let many cars on the interstecting road go and then let a few on the long straight road go when I could but as soon as the 50 yard long intersecting road started to fill up, I had no choice but to let them go...and keep going.

I had one person (in the long straight road) pull over and yell at me and two other people actually took the time to file complaints. All they could understand is I was letting many cars go in the other road and then would let a very few of them through. All they had was what they saw, which was not enough information for them to undertand the reality.

Of course all the compaints were dismissed but the point is, what you see doesnt always make you right.

The world is a much bigger place than the bits of information that come your way. To make that applicable to this case, putting the cones up that "causes more harm than good" is more than likely in response to a major accident or a number of them. Creating a way for the people in the businss to get out safely, even if it inconvenience you, is better than a number of major wrecks from the same thing.

[Neshomamench]

Originally Posted by DexterCat

no problem. despite what you may hear on this board, cops dont just stop traffic for no reason whatsoever. anything like that will require approval from the city or SAPD or a combination of both

/wife works for a LEO
//like to edumacate myself on weird laws

That is not quite the whole story. Like I said, an off duty job for most any agency (and again, in particular SAPD) does require the Officer to submit the details of the off duty job and then to receive approval. SAPD officers actually have to carry the permission slip on them.

However, a Texas Peace Officer (a cop in Texas) can stop traffic if he feels the need. Remember as well, there are a number of agencies besides SAPD who Police in San Antonio.

I can shut down (any Texas Peace Officer) the interstate (or any road) If I think it needs to be done. I dont need anyones permission. There are many reason I would do just that (or any kind of traffic direction). It also needs to be remembered that a Peace Officer in Texas retain his powers 24/7. (the reason he can work as a Peace Officer "off duty") If "off duty" cop thinks he needs to do something with traffic, he can as well. Of course, I understand this is not the case with a guy who is doing it as a side job.

[L210]

Why do you have to be so condescending? Instead of saying "you don't know this" and "you don't know that," you can just explain the difference between things without insulting people's intelligence.

[Neshomamench]

Originally Posted by L210

Why do you have to be so condescending? Instead of saying "you don't know this" and "you don't know that," you can just explain the difference between things without insulting people's intelligence.

I think I explained things rather well. I very openly put on the table that his observations could be correct and then explained why I thought they probably were not.

There are right and wrong answers in this world. If I know a lot about something and someone else knows little. My chances of being on the right side of the issue are high. Of course, so is my bias. I realize that as well. That is not the point though. If you dont care, believe, or are biased yourself because you didnt like the delivery, oh well and good luck with that.

[Rustybolt]

Originally Posted by Neshomamench

Again, I dont know the exact situation so I must recognize the possibility that your claims are valid

Thanks for throwing me a bone amidst your lengthy diatribe on the intricacies and mysteries of traffic enforcement.

[L210]

Originally Posted by Neshomamench

I think I explained things rather well. I very openly put on the table that his observations could be correct and then explained why I thought they probably were not.

There are right and wrong answers in this world. If I know a lot about something and someone else knows little. My chances of being on the right side of the issue are high. Of course, so is my bias. I realize that as well. That is not the point though. If you dont care, believe, or are biased yourself because you didnt like the delivery, oh well and good luck with that.

I don't think you have any idea what I'm talking about. My point is that you can be more polite when explaining things instead of insulting people's intelligence. Did they not teach you communication skills in the academy? Instead of saying, "You don't know the difference between off-duty pay and overtime," it would be more polite to say, "There is a difference between off-duty pay from a private entity and and overtime paid by the police department." There is no need to make people feel like they're stupid just to puff up your ego.

[Neshomamench]

Originally Posted by L210

I don't think you have any idea what I'm talking about. My point is that you can be more polite when explaining things instead of insulting people's intelligence. Did they not teach you communication skills in the academy? Instead of saying, "You don't know the difference between off-duty pay and overtime," it would be more polite to say, "There is a difference between off-duty pay from a private entity and and overtime paid by the police department." There is no need to make people feel like they're stupid just to puff up your ego.

I wonder if you can see the irony in telling me how I am doing it the wrong way...because it was not your way...and then telling me I have the ego problem and the problem with "politness."

Again, oh well and good luck with that.

[Soviet]

Originally Posted by L210

I don't think you have any idea what I'm talking about. My point is that you can be more polite when explaining things instead of insulting people's intelligence. Did they not teach you communication skills in the academy? Instead of saying, "You don't know the difference between off-duty pay and overtime," it would be more polite to say, "There is a difference between off-duty pay from a private entity and and overtime paid by the police department." There is no need to make people feel like they're stupid just to puff up your ego.

I made some posts on a Police Officers forum asking clarification on some issues & their responses were similar to this, except Nesomamench's are far more polite and with less vulgarity. Many cops are just arrogant and they consider things only from their own point of view, not the civvies' points of view. It's pretty pathetic, when you take into account the fact that the civvies are ignorant whereby the officers are (supposedly) knowledgeable and were themselves civilians once.

It's just another reason I mistrust and dislike police officers.