COLUMN: Cops can be creeps, but that’s the exception
Every couple of Sundays, while I’m out for my Sunday morning constitutional, I’ll find myself walking down 600 East and notice a constant number of cars heading down that road, all going north. The people in these cars are dressed in church attire and one can’t help but assume that they are on their way to church.
Now relax, I’m not going to start commenting on church goers. The thing I’ve noticed is that there is almost always a police car parked on the side of the road holding up his speed gun. I only have two conclusions as to the purpose of this situation. First, this officer has a lot of stress and likes to constantly push the speed indicator trigger on the speed gun as a form of stress release, or second, which makes the most sense, the cop is making sure people don’t speed on their way to church.
When the people in blue are brought up in conversation, there are always a couple of people around commenting on the evils of such an institution. There are always comments about a particularly unpleasant bacony stench that has nothing to do with Canada. Pigs are also one of the more popular terms used when referring to the police. So what I want to know is why is so much hostility directed toward a group of people who are being paid to protect and serve?
Simple. Most police press is bad press. When a corrupt cop gets caught, or a group of police beat a black man for no good reason, the national news covers the play-by-play like Joan Rivers and her daughter commenting on what people are wearing at the latest Hollywood gathering event, only less annoying.
Being a cop is an interesting job, which basically consists of a traveling court. Police have the power and authority to take the information they have received from pulling you over and assess if you are guilty or not. Resulting in a fine, warning or “Have a nice day.”
Yes, some cops abuse their power, but you’re going to find that everywhere. Some bishops abuse their power, some teachers abuse their power, some movie stars, men, women, people in general abuse their power, and it’s wrong when they do but they are the exception, not the rule.
Hundreds of police get killed in the line of duty every year. As many as 875 police and security force personnel were killed in 1996 alone. Being a police officer is one of the worst jobs I can imagine. They are treated as one of the main evils of society where, in truth, they are simply doing their job to make life safer for the people around them.
People want cops to leave them alone under all circumstances but one: When you come home and notice someone has broken into your house and stolen your 25-year-old bottle of scotch, your 1850 edition of the King James Bible, your brand new 2-foot-high hand-blown tobacco pipe or your Spiderman No. 5 in mint condition. Who is the first person you call? That’s right, those trusty people in blue.
Remember, cops do not make the laws, they simply enforce them to the best of their ability. There are a lot of laws out there that don’t make that much sense, if any, and I’m sure there are police out there who would agree with that. Still, they do their job and bust people for silly things because in this state silly things are against the law and they have a job to do. And you know what, even though I get pissed and overly desirous to curse like a sailor when I get pulled over, I’m still glad they are out there trying to make things safer for people like me from people like me.
And the next time you get pulled over for speeding, even while on your way to church, or get a parking ticket, or get nailed with a DUI or MIP or for frolicking naked in the park after midnight (That only happened once, but I was young and in love.) don’t get pissed at the cops for doing their job. The fact is you broke the law, you were in the wrong and you deserve to get nailed for that. Case closed.
Richard Timothy is a senior majoring in technical writing. Comments may be e-mailed to
rtimothy@hotmail.com