By Denise on Oct 15, 2008

I have many concerns about the law enforcement in GA that I would like brought out into the open. I have no intention on stopping until I see something is done and my issues addressed.

Since moving to GA in 2005 I have found that some law enforcement personal take matters into their own hands feeling no need to follow procurers set forth by the GA laws.

I was involved in a MVA roll-over with my ex husband behind the wheel. He was suppose to be the designated driver and I was unaware he had been drinking.

I was unable to obtain a copy of the accident report; I was told as where others that also tried to obtain a copy that they had no record of the accident on file. This went on for months. I asked for and received copies of the Trauma and hospital reports from the night of the accident. His blood was drawn and he was three times over the legal limit.

I called the Internal Affairs Department trying to find answers. Strangely enough they where able to email me a copy of the accident report. I found the responding officers name and called to question why he had not followed through with the GA crime lab to check the driver’s blood alcohol level. The officer told me that because he had received nothing back from the lab he took this to mean the driver was not DUI but he would follow through now by finding the lab results and if the driver was in fact DUI at the time of the accident the law would be applied.

The Officer promised to keep me informed and call me back with an update as soon as he had answers. I never received a call, so I called the Officer back and was now being told that although he did now have a copy of the drivers blood alcohol and he was indeed DUI at the time of the accident it had been to long for them to do anything about it.

I was also told that because he was now my ex husband I was just trying to cause trouble and that the department could not help me. In emailing the Internal Affairs back with the Officers response I was now being told by the Internal Affairs Department that the Officer was doing me a favor by not sighting the driver for DUI because he would have also had to issue me a citation for allowing the driver to drink while intoxicated. I do have copies of this email.

I want to know why a driver who is clearly intoxicated can cause so much pain and suffering but not even be issued a citation. I want to know why the GA Sheriffs Department is pretending this never happened when I have copies of all documents saying otherwise. I want to know how the system in GA can be so bad that I am pulled over for DUI but had not been drinking was given a breathalyzer which read 0 and yet I was handcuffed and brought to the jail house to take another one (which also read 0) but a driver who is extremely intoxicated and the cause of a severe accident is not even given a warning. This would have been his third DUI.

Shall we just wait until someone is killed then say we should have done something about it? The accident happened on May 13, 2006. The report (for unknown reasons) just because available to me October 2008.

Thank you, Denise Savage
10/15/2008

By Monrovia, California on Jun 28, 2008

I found this post at the following link:
http://thefcblog.com/2008/06/26/the-latest-suit-against-the-city-short-history-of-activity/

Upset in MNV Says:
MPDCopsupporter is 100% right. The department makes us write tickets to meet their quota. Lt. Mike Lee is currently the head of Traffic and is making people fill a quota (although his direction comes from the Chief and Captains)…thought the residents of Monrovia would like to know that us cops are tired of being forced to write them “chicken s***” tickets just to meet the department’s quota. Quotas are illegal. Oh yeah, this quota has been going on for years and is SOP (Standard operating procedure).

I encourage all of you to call the Chief and City Council and express your outrage over this.

Is this something the NMA would look into?

By Norma on Jun 13, 2008

Does anybody know anything about the legality of installment plans for traffic tickets? How about purginf old tickets?

By mbrandall on Apr 17, 2008

I feel the DUI laws are totally off the wall. I have had a good driving record for over thirty years. I was charged with driving under the influence. The policeman who pulled me over followed me for five miles, before he decided that I have failed to keep right, turning into a road three miles back. He embellished his report and omitted to write on the report he had followed me five miles with no driving descrepancies. Once convicted of this charge, your record follows you as if you are as bad a criminal as a pedophile, even if you have no former infractions on your driving record. I think this situation is way out of control. So, how do we start to regain control of this horrid situation?

By John B. on Feb 12, 2008

The problem is a lack of professionalism in law enforcement. Only a high school diploma or GED is required as a prerequisite to going to the academy and getting a badge, gun and stick. Many of these folks have “authority issues” and really get off on bullying the public they were hired to serve. There is no excuse for treating people the way Debi (above) was treated. How about a little compassion and empathy? If the cops can’t see someone is having an asthma attack, they should be fired. If they can’t understand that aerosol inhalers contain chemicals that register as alcohol on their equipment, they should be fired. If they treat the public with a lack of respect, they should be fired. In short, non-professional behavior should be met with strict sanction - these guys have the power of arrest and over life and death with their badge and gun.

Part of the answer is higher education standards for law enforcement officers. The level of maturity and self awareness brought about by a college education would benefit the profession. Another part of the answer is for local governments to learn to operate within the means of their tax base. Traffic tickets and court costs should not be considered as a stable source of revenue to fund government functions. The last part of the puzzle is for police to emphase serving the public rather than assuming the role of a “parent” and “tax collector” for society. Quotas and rigid enforcement of arbitrary laws only serve to drive a wedge between the public and police which is good for no one.

Bottom line is even if Debi was falling down drunk, she should have been treated with respect and sympathy. And why not? As a tax payer is she not due some compassion? She deserved to be listened to and her requests considered. Not kicked around and made fun of by a bunch of adolescent minded cops. And what of the “flash” comment? Was that necessary? I think not. Since they handcuffed her they could have draped a blanked over her shoulders for modesty. Is that too much to ask? I think not.

It seems that today’s society we have all been conditioned to think, “Well she deserved it because she had a few beers…” For those out there that hold that belief, just wait until the come for YOU!

By Landofthe Free? on Jan 23, 2008

Land of the Free? Only if you know judges and other so called officals…

My friend was pulled over for being in the wrong neiborhood by a cracked cop in Arizona, scary thing is they seem to have the right to pull you over for whatever reason they deem is “wrong doing”. When my friend protested, the cop said he could harrass her all he wanted..This is some scary stuff here

By barneyfife on Jan 19, 2008

Joe I set a rss feed on my MYSPACE and my website for thenewspaper.com I thank you for the info it seems our local Sheriff Dept has jumped on the band wagon with the tickets lately, I guess they need money after the holidays . I guess we will never know the whys BUT I will keep pointing out on my site every time I see or hear about our locals commiting such crimes against the local citizens around here .

http://www.freewebs.com/barneyfife1/

barney_fife_lives_in_booneville@yahoo.com

By Debi on Jan 9, 2008

I live in Florida; the police are the worst here. They literarily wait outside the bars and stop people for DUI’s. I have watched as they ticket people for traffic violations, yet you watch them commit the same violation they charge others with and use the badge to excuse themselves from the guidelines of the laws.

Last month I went out with my boyfriend who got fairly drunk. Due to the fact he is sitting right across from me in the car and had a mixture of Liquor and beer, the car smelled like booze. I had maybe 3 beers in a 6 hour span. When we were leaving the bar, which is less the 10 minutes from my apartment, I was driving a back road to (which is basically a short cut) The road curves in such a way that if you are impaired or speed you could loose control, right after the curve there is a set of RR tracks then less than 100 feet a stop sign.

I don’t like driving at night because I have astigmatism in my left eye which if an overhead light hits right can obstruct my vision. But I figured I was attempting to keep my boyfriend out of trouble. I police officer was waiting at a store right around the turn onto this road. (Length of this road is a quarter mile before the stop sign if that, and then to get to my street you take a left at the stop sign)His lights went on, he asked for my registration and license. Before I could get them out he shined a laser beam in my eyes and advises me to follow it which I did. By that time another cop came out of nowhere. He told me to get out of the car and proceeded to handcuff me for DUI. (BUT I WASN’T Drinking!)He took me off the site of arrest to do the sobriety test.

I explained to the police office I was missing two toes from working at a steel company and even showed him this disability. No acknowledgement. I was scared and embarrassed. He went over to turn on his camera, again I pleaded with him to acknowledge my disability. Three times I did this before he finally gave a sign of a basic acknowledgement. I let him know that even on my best day my balance is not there. He did not care and had me do toe to toe, Lift a foot off the ground and balance for a specific time frame. Of course I could not do these tests. They took me in.

Now in the time during the arrest, I had safety pins holding my blouse buttons together and upon a search they had me remove them. I’m somewhat busty so naturally I was popping out of my blouse in no time, I made a comment to the police officer about my blouse and his retort was I was flashing my boyfriend so what did it matter anyway. (It’s this sexual harassment in today’s society?)

First of all I’m 51 I don’t flash; second, you had me remove the pins that were holding me together! So off to the police station I go, hanging out of my shirt in front of a bunch of people at the station. I start crying because I was utterly embarrassed. They called me over to do the breathalyzer testing. I started to have an asthma attack. I’ve been on an inhaler for many years now, stress, colds and heat can set off my asthma. I had been using it most of the day due to a cold I had developed about a week before. I could no blow into the machine.

Well it seems they were so impatient to get the test results; they pulled my inhaler out of my purse and ordered me to use it. At this point the asthma was so bad I was getting light headed from lack of oxygen so of course I used it. In less than a minute they showed the tube into my face and demanded I blow, and their words were Blow Hard! I still was not able to blow hard, but the reading shot up to 1.33 the acceptable range is 0.08, the reading they took is the one they hit me on. My license was pulled that night; I spent the night and next day in jail. They are not suppose to allow any use of a substance during a test. If handicapped should they not be drawing blood?

As for the albutrol, DUH, Inhalants are bottom line DRUGS OFFICERS IT”S A GAS AEROSOL of course my level is going to shoot up. And to boot I’ve been using the inhaler all day. I remember a time in life when the police were there for the people, now it seems to be no matter who you are, if they stop you it the police and DMV against we the people who bottom line pay your salaries. Does anyone notice, (not saying it’s right but) there seem to be a lot more people shooting the police. After how I was treated, I fully understand why now. I was speaking with a lawyer about my case who advised me yes I have a case. He told me about a man who was diagnosed with lung cancer and had little lung capacity, this was diagnosed two days prior to a DUI arrest, and He could not do the breathalyzer, and was marked as refusal to do it.

He went to court, provided the documentation to verify why he was not able to do it, no blood test was offered and the DMV charged him even with the medical records. It’s a money making scheme people, we need to start standing against these injustices, until we do make this stand, and it’s only going to get worse.

By Joe on Dec 28, 2007

Barney, your web site is very interesting because I’m about to suggest to my state representative that it’s about time Oklahoma had anti-traffic citation quota law. We have none as of present! He’s a ex-municipal judge so I don’t know who he might be obligated too but I’m gonna try.
I’m currently studying and looking on the Internet at the many infractions and methods that law enforcement have used to avoid or get around traffic quota’s laws. I want to see if I can’t “build” a “air tight” law. I realize this is virtually impossible but at least I want to make it hard for them to do it. I have a copy of a Utah law that does a pretty good job of that but it didn’t even pass their legislature. Powerful lobbying organizations such as the Municipal League are guaranteed to fight this type of legislation. I’m not sure where the police organizations would stand on this issue. I would think it would be to their benefit freeing them up to do real police work instead of becoming revenuers for their respective municipality. One of our fine state representatives, who just happens to be a retired highway patrolmen, had the guts to stand up in our state legislature last session and blather that legislators had no right to regulate police business (or something to that effect). If the people’s legislature can’t….then who in the hell can!! The brashness of such. Telling the citizens they have no business regulating police activity is absurd. It the citizens’ state legislative body can establish and give authority to the police, they can damn sure regulate them.
It would probably take an attorney to formulate such a bill. Speaking of attorney’s, they are the experts. Why aren’t they more involved in righting these obvious wrongs and abuses as a matter of principal? I guess it all boils back down to money.
Oh, I’m up for suggestions too but lets be realistic. Barney (and the rest of you); if you haven’t been to http://www.thenewspaper.com/ I would highly recommend it. Don’t let the title fool you, it’s about the best source for up-to-date news on traffic control issues and abuse that I’ve found on the Internet so far. They make a good supplement to the the NMA web sites.
Barney, good luck on your struggle to right the wrongs of your police department. It’s people like you who are willing to stand up and be counted who will make a difference.You one of what seems to be a dying bread in this country.
While there’s nothing wrong with debating traffic issues, there comes a time when wagging our tongues isn’t enough. Legislators don’t give a damn what you blog on the Internet. It’s when your comments are addressed directly to them in the form of something like a email that they will pay attention and the more emails the more they pay attention. I am almost on a first name basis with my state legislators during the annual state legislative session and it’s almost always about traffic control issue/abuses.
Amazingly, part of the problem is; as far as I am aware, even NMA members of my own state of OK. don’t seem to be capable or willing to organize to focus on common goals. If NMA members, who are supposed to be interested in such, can’t be organized then it hard to say how the general public can. I’m not sure anymore what the answer is but one thing I am sure is that setting around debating what to do is not working because the police and municipalities whom they work for are becoming increasingly militant and extremist towards the driving public and the driving public are increasingly acting like a bunch of sheep huddled together wondering who the big bad wolves will pick off next. You just can’t tell anymore what your friendly revenuer is going to do to a driver at a traffic stop. Ask the Utah driver who recently got tasered at a traffic stop while his pregnant wife looked on in disbelief. And the officer thought it was funny to taser this driver. I believe we are going to see a lot more incidences like this. We all better start wearing carbon or metalic fiber garments. See http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/20/2083.asp

By Barney on Dec 28, 2007

Check out my Website at Booneville Ms,s Ticket Quota as written and Signed by the Cheif Or Police

http://www.freewebs.com/barneyfife1/

barney_fife_lives_in_booneville@yahoo.com

By Joe on Dec 27, 2007

That’s my whole point. There’s no way to get rid of bad cops unless they are so blantent as to attract news media attention and even then they sometimes don’t get fired. It’s a fatal flaw in our system. Police departments and municipalities don’t care as long as the revenue keeps flowing. The public has no say so the practice just keeps on. Once the citizens lost control of their police then the abuse has accelerated. Police are now so isolated from the citizens that they can practically get by with anything because whose going to do anything about it? Police departments are one of the few entities I know of that are allowed to investigate their own actions. Ever notice how many times a police department decides a officer in question is not guilty but if it goes before a jury in civil court the officer gets accused. I have to say it one more time…. take the revenue incentive out of traffic enforcement and you’ll go a long way in solving the problem.

By REX on Dec 5, 2007

I HAVE DRIVEN A BIG RIG ALL OVER THE US FOR OVER 35 YEARS,,,,,,,I HAVE FOUND OUT THERE ARE OF LOT OF LAW INFORCEMENT OFFICERS THAT ARE JUST DOWN RIGHT LIARS !!!!! I HAVE GOTTEN ONLY 3 TICKETS IN ALL MY DRIVING,,,,,,ONE WAS DUE ME,,,BUT THE OTHER TWO WERE AN INJUSTICE BY A LIEING OFFICER,,,,,,,,,

By Fritz on Nov 25, 2007

Roger, you made some good points. Part of the problem is that Law Enforcement have managed to isolate themselves from any say by the people. People are frustrated with the problem but have no where to turn. Remember when you could vote the police and fire commissioner out of office. Well, most cities have gone to council forms of government so citizens no long have any say over the priorities and conduct of their law enforcement. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a traffic ticket but I don’t have to be stopped to see the abusive behavior that traffic cops portray. Running around in unmarked cars just to write misdemeanor traffic violations in the name of revenue is a direct security problem for drivers yet if an impostor rapes or kills someone occasionally because of the drivers’ inability to determine who’s stopping them, I guess it’s worth it. The revenue must flow on.
It’s not uncommon for some municipal cops performance to be rated according the the number of citations they write yet I doubt that any reasonable person wouldn’t understand that this is gonna create a zest to write tickets….duh. But, since we’ve lost any control over cops, whose gonna change it. This is just one issue among many. There are good cops, maybe even a few traffic cops, but my beef with them is that they don’t stand up against this corrupt practice. It makes even the good cops look bad to the public. They all wear the same uniforms and we can’t tell the difference.
Even the legislators are challenged by law enforcement to “stay out of their business”. This spring a Oklahoma legislator stood up to the legislature and said he didn’t believe legislators should be setting policy for law enforcement. Of course, he was a retired Highway Patrol. So I guess that not even GOD shouldn’t touch this sacred cow.

By Joe on Nov 23, 2007

I’ve been driving for some 40 plus years and this past July got my first taste of Police Injustice in the form of a speeding ticket in Lawtey Florida (and of course, I was NOT speeding). I spent some time doing research on this nasty practice that goes on there and I wonder why, when there are so many people complaining of the same thing about this town (and area of similar towns on that stretch of highway), “why” has not some group of people gotten together and placed a Class Action Lawsuit against this town and it’s police department??? It would seem there to be enough of you (us) out there to do so! I know that I’d rather use my hard earned money in a way I choose to…NOT supporting their “criminal enterprise”!

By Officer Josh on Nov 18, 2007

Dan,

Way to stay on topic thanks for the spelling lesson cuz thats the issue here.

By Officer Josh on Nov 18, 2007

I agree roger the big problem is that some police enforce some laws and not others so your right its based on the individual police’s pet peave i should say. Mine is not so much speeding but DUI and Stop signs in busy intersection where there are alot of people “just stop” and look around i’ve been to so many incidents where people get hit or almost hit by a motorist cuz they wont take the extra 3 seconds to completely stop and look around.

By Dan on Nov 18, 2007

To Officer Josh learn how to spell, it’s seize.

By Roger on Nov 18, 2007

To officer JOSH,

The core problem in the US is that 90% of the population basis their perception of the Police on their personal experiences during traffic stops. Problem here is that the rest of the police force (guys trying to keep non traffic crime in control) get a raw deal out of it.

Until we as a nation set reasonable and consistent traffic laws and enforce them with traffic safety in mind over revenue enhancement, this will not change.

Most of the “them & us” attitude between citizens and police is driven by inconsistent and poorly enforced traffic laws.

I challenge you and your peers to consider this perspective and try to make a difference as individuals.

By Thom on Nov 13, 2007

To officer JOSH

It’s been reported that 50 million tickets were issued last year in the US. Many speed trap areas don’t allow any variance of the speed and your speedo is considered just as accurate as the so-called “radar device”. In the NMA news sources, they tell about Pendergrass GA, 491 residents in one mile stretch of highway they collected $557,776 in a year. It’s all about revenue. Different parts of the country the police/towns have varied importance to revenue collections and individual rights. I’ve driven in all the continental US including Alaska. The posting of proper speed limit signs (or none) vary greatly.

Refer to more data in my blog within the NMA page. There has to be (and will be) respect for each, otherwise we’re all losers.

By Officer Josh on Nov 12, 2007

This sounds like you all get alot of tickets? If you did the speed limit you wouldnt get one especially when most highway police give you 10-15 miles over before they pull you over. For the blood test part of it the states that allow police officers to take blood samples are trained to do so by medical staff and are required to pass a test. The siezing of the car is not the police fault but the DMV’s for listing it incorrectly so blame them. You are right though someone should have reemburst her for the towing.

By George Ott on Nov 12, 2007

Tell us what to do to protect ourselves from this invasion on our finances and civil rights. Please don’t tell me to write my congressman; not one of them has the scrotum to stand on the citizen’s side until it becomes an “item” whereas more than 3 or 4% of the driving population is aware of the “Motorist brutality”, that is being perpetrated against every one of us, for money alone.
What to do??
Thanks, GO

By Mike on Nov 10, 2007

After reading this sight I went to a link at TheNewspaper.com. I read about the teenager who video taped the officer at the checkpoint. I had seen the video earlier. Now his name and address are published on a police blog sight and police are waging a campaign of harrassment. Anything less than a full and complete investigation of this criminal conspiracy by the state attorney general and the U.S. justice department is negligence on their part. The police web sight contained clear threats and their behavior has been equivilant that of a criminal street gang. The “gaurdians of our liberty” are proving as usual to be as useful as you know what on a bull. We will hear cliches about “the majority of good hard working officers” and such while we get a lesson about the consequences of filing a complaint against a member of this dirty little fund raising goon squad. After listening to the things that officersaid it’s proffessional incompetence for any judge to accept his word at face value in court.

By RICK GOLD on Nov 6, 2007

IT IS AN ABSOLUTE TRAVESTY THAT THESE THINGS ARE GOING ON IN OUR COUNTRY. OPPRESSIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT STEALING MORE OF OUR FREEDOM BY STEALING MORE OF OUR MONEY.

NO PUBLIC OFFICIAL WORTH HIS SALT SHOULD ALLOW THIS KIND OF ACTIVITY ON THE PART OF LAW ENFORCEMENT. THE FACT THAT THE DO IS JUST ANOTHER TRAVESTY.

RICK GOLD

By steve on Nov 4, 2007

Nov 6 is get even day for ALBO FEES in Virginia. Remember to vote the bums out.

By Mr.Dana Fogg on Nov 4, 2007

With all the things that can be caught from blood,The only ones that are taking blood tests should be medically licensed to do so.