No doubt you became very incensed and felt that the officer was being immoral for using his lights simply so he did not have to wait until the light turned green.
I know this, because I have had many people come to me and tell me how much that bothers them. And it would bother me too, were I not to have known the entire story.
Let's get one thing out of the way really quick, and I will be repeating this frequently. No population exists without it's sample of dumbasses. As well, no population exists without it's upper echelon. The police force is no different. You will inevitably have encountered or know someone who has encountered a dumb cop.
So, for me to say that no cop in the history of coppinghood has ever turned on his lights simply because he didn't want to wait for a light, would be ludicrous and definitely speak at the detriment of my veracity.
But, keeping that in mind, I know more good cops than bad cops. Like most populations, the majority of cops are good and try hard, bearing through the bad publicity brought to them by the dumbass few who can't seem to keep their foot out of their mouths and their heads out of their sleeves. Generally speaking, cops are good people (I'll talk about the statistics of good cops in another post).
So here is the side of the story. Remember the one from many paragraphs ago when you saw the cop use emergency equipment because he didn't want to wait for a light? I know this because I have turned on my lights many times to go through an intersection only to turn them off on the next block. Several dozen in fact. And not one time was I being impatient, as I hope you will see.
Here is an annotated transcript of what happened in the police car (from Officer Tim's perspective):
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Officer Handy: 345, car stop. Officers initiation of a car stop
Dispatch: 345, go ahead.
Officer Handy: Lincoln Mary Adam 435 Lincoln Mary Adam 435 at 10th and Main on a Red Ford F150The officer reads the license plate, location of the stop, and a vehicle description.
Dispatch: 1453 Some departments read off the time instead of saying "over and out"
5 minutes later
Dispatch: 345 status check
Officer Handy:
Officer Tim: Tim probably doesn't even hear this radio traffic as they learn to filter out anything not beginning with there number
10 seconds later
Dispatch: 345 status check
Officer Handy:
Officer Tim: Has just heard two unanswered status checks and his brain then registers the traffic. Officer Handy probably forgot to turn on or turn up his portable radio when he exited the car.
10 seconds later
Dispatch: 345 status check A tone is a single pitch note blared through the radio system to get someone's attention.
Officer Handy:
Officer Tim: Just pulled up to a red light and is starting to get worried, because normally, if the officer's portable radio is turned down, they will still hear the tone, turn the radio up, and respond. Officer Tim's heart starts pounding a little, because he knows what the possible situation is. He knows he has to assume the worst because that's how he has stayed alive so long on this job.
10 seconds later
Dispatch: Code 3, 10th and Main, Traffic stop, 345 is not answering his radio.
Officer Tim: Lights and sirens go on and he hits the gas because he may have just lost a buddy, a friend, a comrade and he is going to do anything possible so he does not have to go to his buddy's house, and tell Mrs. Handy that her husband died. Officer Tim keeps his action straight and sure, verifying the intersection is clear and proceeding as fast as the vehicle will go, though his blood pressure just increased drastically and his heart is racing.
5 seconds later
Officer Handy: I'm code 4. My portable was turned off.
Dispatch: Copy 345, code 4. All units disregard.
This is where Officer Tim turns off his lights after only 1/2 block because he is not justified in running emergency when there is none. He slows back to the speed limit and starts taking deep breaths because he was preparing for the worst, and now he has to bring himself back from that expectation to be ready for the call he was going to where a lady's $5 lawn ornament was stolen. After he regains his regular pulse, he calls Officer Handy on the phone, has a few choice words, in jest, and hangs up, silently glad that he still had his friend to call.
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The person in the car next to Officer Tim had no clue what just happened, except that Officer Tim was at the intersection, turned on his lights to get through the intersection, and turned them off on the other side.
I have been in Tim's situation many times and hope that reading this may change your perception of the Impatient Cop.
If you have any questions, comments, or stories, please feel free to comment!
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