The official "Ask a cop/deputy anything!" thread

[UncleWede]

Have you seen video of Newsom trying to deflect responsibility for the death of Officer Carrasco? The perp is out on AB 109 instead of being in jail, and he tries to blame the DA for not prosecuting the perp. She put him away, AB 109 let him out.

RIP Carrasco.

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Have you seen video of Newsom trying to deflect responsibility for the death of Officer Carrasco? The perp is out on AB 109 instead of being in jail, and he tries to blame the DA for not prosecuting the perp. She put him away, AB 109 let him out.

RIP Carrasco.

I literally just read that a few minutes ago.

RIP

[///d]

I'm currently listening to the Joe Rogan Podcast episode with Mike Glover. For those who don't know who Mike Glover is, he is a 20 year veteran who served as a Special Forces Sniper with multiple combat tours. Mike talks about preparing oneself for emergency situations, disasters, dangerous situations, etc.

The topic about how people respond to high stress, traumatic, life or death situation was discussed and mass shootings was used as an example. People like to ask the question "why doesn't anyone try to stop the shooter?". He explains that in those situations most people are not train or conditioned to keep a clear mindset, instead the brain puts us into survival mode, and the majority of people lose control to natural instinct and hide, some black out, and some will just literally collapse and "play dead". He goes on to tell stories of highly trained guys who literally shut down in combat and can't even recollect what happened.

How often do you see this as police officers, with both other officers and with civilians? I've seen it with the military more than I'd like to admit.

[Oreo Cat]

How does transferring work in CHP? I am working towards getting to the academy but i also like to think ahead. I love the idea of being somewhere in the Eastern mountains of the state.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by ///d

I'm currently listening to the Joe Rogan Podcast episode with Mike Glover. For those who don't know who Mike Glover is, he is a 20 year veteran who served as a Special Forces Sniper with multiple combat tours. Mike talks about preparing oneself for emergency situations, disasters, dangerous situations, etc.

The topic about how people respond to high stress, traumatic, life or death situation was discussed and mass shootings was used as an example. People like to ask the question "why doesn't anyone try to stop the shooter?". He explains that in those situations most people are not train or conditioned to keep a clear mindset, instead the brain puts us into survival mode, and the majority of people lose control to natural instinct and hide, some black out, and some will just literally collapse and "play dead". He goes on to tell stories of highly trained guys who literally shut down in combat and can't even recollect what happened.

How often do you see this as police officers, with both other officers and with civilians? I've seen it with the military more than I'd like to admit.

Joe Rogan's podcasts are great......but I digress...


...to be frank, I don't usually see the repercussions of a highly tense situation impact police officers until after the incident concludes. We are like lemmings in a way. An issue arises and we flock to it, often without much thought. I would imagine it's much the same way with the military, albeit, with more immediacy. What I mean by that is, as law enforcement, a distress call for service gets dispatched and we roll immediately. We really don't have time to think about much except..........assess the call, determine what resources are needed, coordinate those resources, contain the location and address the problem as we arrive on scene (...and adjust as the situation evolves, usually rapidly). All of that happens within minutes of the call hitting the air. Once the situation is concluded and we finally have time to think, that's when the impact happens. I have yet to see an officer truly fail to react and just give up. If nothing else, I've been quite surprised at the resilience of the officers and deputies I've had the pleasure of working with (..or who I know via acquaintance). A case example, the deputies on my department who were shot in the face at the train terminal. In the moment, the female deputy reacted without thought despite facial trauma from bullet impacts and she saved her partner's life by applying a tourniquet, etc. The impact and life changes after the fact were huge though. He has left the department and I think she's leaving as well, if she hasn't already left. Being shot in the face is a big deal.

Originally Posted by Oreo Cat

How does transferring work in CHP? I am working towards getting to the academy but i also like to think ahead. I love the idea of being somewhere in the Eastern mountains of the state.

Transferring within the department is fairly easy, especially if you're looking to transfer to a spot that isn't popular among the officers. Once graduation is upon you, the department will have you compose a wish list of stations you want to train at. Recruits from SoCal usually try to get back to Southern California, recruits from NorCal try to get back to Northern California, etc. If you're looking to go to a mountain post, you shouldn't have a difficult time getting there at all. With that said, it's ultimately a decision based on department needs. If you're a NorCal resident who wants to stay up north, but SoCal needs most of the officers, you're going to SoCal (...probably Santa Fe Springs, East L.A., South L.A., etc.). You put get off training and put in your time (...usually a year-ish at your unit of assignment), and then put in your transfer. Fortunately for you, nobody really wants to work the mountains, so that should be a fairly easy move for you.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

... (...probably Santa Fe Springs, East L.A., South L.A., etc.)...

Ahhh... Some of the best garden spots in the LA basin! I grew up in Whittier (left in '75) and those areas were bad then. I hear Whittier isn't so bueno anymore, either.

On a side note, my dad grew up in South Central LA in the 30's & 40's on 100th something. He told me house across the street from his is now the southbound lanes of the Harbor Fwy. He also told me that Compton was originally Compton Farms... and quite exclusive.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Ahhh... Some of the best garden spots in the LA basin! I grew up in Whittier (left in '75) and those areas were bad then. I hear Whittier isn't so bueno anymore, either.

On a side note, my dad grew up in South Central LA in the 30's & 40's on 100th something. He told me house across the street from his is now the southbound lanes of the Harbor Fwy. He also told me that Compton was originally Compton Farms... and quite exclusive.

Isn’t it crazy how things change and develop over time?!?

[jamesinaz]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Isn’t it crazy how things change and develop over time?!?

I grew up in Ferguson MO.

[Murf the Surf]

[QUOTE=Sedan_Clan;29802663]Joe Rogan's podcasts are great......but I digress...


...to be frank, I don't usually see the repercussions of a highly tense situation impact police officers until after the incident concludes. We are like lemmings in a way. An issue arises and we flock to it, often without much thought. I would imagine it's much the same way with the military, albeit, with more immediacy. What I mean by that is, as law enforcement, a distress call for service gets dispatched and we roll immediately. We really don't have time to think about much except..........assess the call, determine what resources are needed, coordinate those resources, contain the location and address the problem as we arrive on scene (...and adjust as the situation evolves, usually rapidly). All of that happens within minutes of the call hitting the air. Once the situation is concluded and we finally have time to think, that's when the impact happens. I have yet to see an officer truly fail to react and just give up. If nothing else, I've been quite surprised at the resilience of the officers and deputies I've had the pleasure of working with (..or who I know via acquaintance). A case example, the deputies on my department who were shot in the face at the train terminal. In the moment, the female deputy reacted without thought despite facial trauma from bullet impacts and she saved her partner's life by applying a tourniquet, etc. The impact and life changes after the fact were huge though. He has left the department and I think she's leaving as well, if she hasn't already left. Being shot in the face is a big deal.

Agreed, in my experience you rarely have time to think about what you're walking into. And it was rare in my experience to see officers panic and shut down during the event. There were a few cases where officers refused to get out of the car and one incident when an officer locked herself in the car while her partner was beaten, it was learned during the investigation that she never loaded her firearm when on duty. She was dealt with.

I will add that I am not making a statement that female officers were a problem, I worked with many and had faith in all of them to do the job, there were/are a small number of officers male and female who were notoriously slow responding to calls. It's not a gender thing.

[Fly320s]

Sedan,

A car is being driven at night. One headlight is inoperative.

Is there a legal requirement for the driver to drive with high-beams on, so that there are two headlights illuminated?

[Fly320s]

Sedan,

Next shower-thought question:

Have you ever "run a plate" and had the information come back to you that says, in essence, don't pull-over or ticket or arrest this driver? Other than diplomatic plates, does such a thing exist?

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by Fly320s

Sedan,

A car is being driven at night. One headlight is inoperative.

Is there a legal requirement for the driver to drive with high-beams on, so that there are two headlights illuminated?

No! Driving with the brights on [when near other vehicles] is a California Vehicle Code violation. Additionally, 24252 CVC states all lighting should be in good working order, thus, a burnt out headlight, taillight, etc. is grounds for a citation.

Originally Posted by Fly320s

Sedan,

Next shower-thought question:

Have you ever "run a plate" and had the information come back to you that says, in essence, don't pull-over or ticket or arrest this driver? Other than diplomatic plates, does such a thing exist?

Not really. The main information we receive is linked to the DMV. If the vehicle has a want/criminal association attached to it (…which would’ve been entered by a law enforcement agency), that information will appear as well.

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by Fly320s

Sedan,

A car is being driven at night. One headlight is inoperative.

Is there a legal requirement for the driver to drive with high-beams on, so that there are two headlights illuminated?

Sedan already covered it, but in a related note - wtf is up with so many people driving at night with NO lights on???? I see it multiple times a night here in the bay area. Generally it's in moderate to heavy traffic where there's enough ambient light from everyone else to still see somewhat decently, but...man. It's sketchy. I can't even turn the lights off in my car at night if I wanted to - not sure how these people are able to drive without them coming on automatically.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

Sedan already covered it, but in a related note - wtf is up with so many people driving at night with NO lights on???? I see it multiple times a night here in the bay area. Generally it's in moderate to heavy traffic where there's enough ambient light from everyone else to still see somewhat decently, but...man. It's sketchy. I can't even turn the lights off in my car at night if I wanted to - not sure how these people are able to drive without them coming on automatically.

When I’m in citation writing mode, the 24250 CVC violation you mentioned is one of the primary citations I write along with red light and stop sign violations. Those three violations are my true pet peeves. I rarely write speeding tickets (…unless I’m citing that as an associated factor in an injury traffic collision), tint tickets, plate tickets, etc…….and I let a lot of people off with warnings, but I rarely give passes for blowing stop signs or driving around at night without headlights on. Some of these drivers are absolutely oblivious.

I’ve had acquaintances, friends, etc. tell me the violations that bother me are no big deal…..


….but let a person blow a stop sign or red light and total their car..….or hit their kid because they couldn’t see the car coming at night, and they’d be asking me to lynch the other person.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

Sedan already covered it, but in a related note - wtf is up with so many people driving at night with NO lights on???? I see it multiple times a night here in the bay area. Generally it's in moderate to heavy traffic where there's enough ambient light from everyone else to still see somewhat decently, but...man. It's sketchy. I can't even turn the lights off in my car at night if I wanted to - not sure how these people are able to drive without them coming on automatically.

I think that has a lot to do with the use of low-powered headlights as daytime running lights. Though, one would think that not having dash lights would be a clue.

[Fly320s]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

Sedan already covered it, but in a related note - wtf is up with so many people driving at night with NO lights on???? I see it multiple times a night here in the bay area. Generally it's in moderate to heavy traffic where there's enough ambient light from everyone else to still see somewhat decently, but...man. It's sketchy. I can't even turn the lights off in my car at night if I wanted to - not sure how these people are able to drive without them coming on automatically.

My guess is because modern cars have lighted dashboards. For us old-timers, a lighted dashboard meant the headlights are on. Couple that with daytime running lamps and people think their headlights are on.

I can let that go, but what really bugs me is when I flash my lights at those drivers and they don't react. They don't even seem to be aware that I flashed my lights at them. If someone flashes their lights at me, I assume I've done something wrong that I need to fix or that Sedan_Clan is around the corner watching for stop sign violations.

[///d]

Current technology and our laziness and desire to have everything automatic is the culprit. And a little bit of backl-it dashboards.

Back-lit dashboards because they are always lit up. My older vehicles that did not have daytime backlit gauges was easy to realize when you needed headlights because it was difficult to read your gauges from low light conditions. Not the case anymore.

DRL's because most people don't understand they are not as high of an output as your headlights, and your tail lights are not on. They dont realize these are not considered your headlights for inclement weather or low light conditions.

Auto-headlights. I once dated a gal who did not know how to manually turn on headlights. She had to drive my 1988 Toyota pickup home once at 9pm. It was getting dark but she didnt know how to turn the lights on because she has always had auto-lights, so she drove the whole way home without headlights.

I also have a friend who I had to call and explain to her how to turn her lights on when it was raining. She tried to tell me her lights were auto and she couldn't turn them on herself and the car had to do it.

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by ///d

Current technology and our laziness and desire to have everything automatic is the culprit. And a little bit of backl-it dashboards.

DRL's because most people don't understand they are not as high of an output as your headlights, and your tail lights are not on. They dont realize these are not considered your headlights for inclement weather or low light conditions.

Auto-headlights. I once dated a gal who did not know how to manually turn on headlights. She had to drive my 1988 Toyota pickup home once at 9pm. It was getting dark but she didnt know how to turn the lights on because she has always had auto-lights, so she drove the whole way home without headlights.

I also have a friend who I had to call and explain to her how to turn her lights on when it was raining. She tried to tell me her lights were auto and she couldn't turn them on herself and the car had to do it.

See that's the part I don't get - when I KNOW a car has auto-headlights, and they're STILL off. Like, that took extra effort to drive without lights on, so how can you be so oblivious?

I had a newish Tacoma work truck following me the other night. There was a sinkhole that had opened up due to the heavy rain, so this road had been converted from 2 lanes down to 1 lane with traffic taking turns in intermittently in each direction. Moderate to heavy traffic too.

For around 10 miles of bumper to bumper, stopped for several minutes at a time traffic, this dude had no lights on whatsoever. I tried flashing my interior lights, phone light, making hand signals, yelling out the window at him - nothing. I had the construction worker at the first entry point to the 1-lane section yell at him to put his lights on - he just kept driving. We got to the 2nd worker at the other end, maybe 1 mile before the road merged onto a 5 lane freeway, and I stopped traffic to get the worker's attention and told him to make the guy behind me turn his lights on before getting on the freeway. Construction guy understood immediately as soon as he glanced back, swore a couple times, then ran over and banged on the guy's window to tell him.

He turned his lights on and flashed me a couple times (in appreciation / understanding, I hope) and we got on the freeway and I bounced, but...for 8-10 miles this guy was oblivious and probably thought I was just crazy / distracted.

[Fly320s]

Yeah... most drivers are oblivious of most things. They drive by rote. They put their right foot at a comfortable angle and leave it there, which means they slow down going uphill and speed up going downhill. They do slow for curves, though, because curves are scary.

Those drivers also drive in packs, think the left lane is for anyone driving above the limit, regardless of traffic behind them, think that their auto-follow distance set to minimum is a good idea, and can't plan ahead more than 18 seconds.

[NorCalAthlete]

The Tacoma was new enough that he would have had to manually switch the lights off. That's the part that really bugs me - why would you ever do that with daytime running lights and auto headlights?

[freakystyly]

Auto shops would usually turn off your lights so they aren't a drain on the battery while work is being performed, etc.. same with the radio or other battery drains.

It's still surprising to see on roads with no ambient lights, there is no thought process. I'm noticing a lot of people with high beams and / or 1 operational headlight as well. More than 1 per day anyways.

[ezaircon4jc]

So experts, what's the rule on delivery trucks parking in the red/bike lane/right lane/painted island while making a delivery?