[cmohr]

For me, its not just the fact he was DUI, if maybe he had copped it on the chin, admitted he was wrong, I'd say harsh, but, he was breaking the law, but, he didn't, I would say, judging how all this has played out, that he most likely tried to play the "I'm a cop too" card at the time of his capture, then he wouldn't (and still doesn't) admit HIS mistake, that could end HIS career, He decided to drive under the infuence, knowing full well as a Law enforcement officer that it was an illegal act, He then decided to not take responsibility for his actions, and blame the arresting officer for HIS mistake, then he decided to go against all Work Place ethics and Harass and Bully the Arresting officer, If a normal member of the public was to do this, we all know what the outcome would be.

This guy made a choice to do the wrong thing, Drive under the infuence, BUT then he chose to Bully the Guy doing the right thing, a case of Bad, and then Worse, in my opinion, Its not just the original infrigdement that is the issue here, but what the guy doing the right thing has had to endure because one man thinks he's above the law, What about the guy doing his job propperly, why should he be ridiculled by his fellow workers for doing his job, Its more likely he will be suffering far greater stress and most likely be forced to leave his position because of an error in judgement of another, where are his rights?

[Jodokast96]

First time offenders everywhere are treated less harshly. Here, you only lose your license for 6 months the first time. That's a whole lot less harsh than the 2 year loss and 2-90 day jail sentence for the second offense or the 10 year loss and 6 month jail sentence for the third offense. I'm sure it's pretty much the same everywhere else. I can just about guarantee that the first time one is caught driving drunk is not the first time they've done it.

You really think a warning is going to work for someone who thinks they are above the law like this guy? You can't be that naive. Maybe you should try telling this to the woman at work whose son was killed because of this very crap you think is ok for cops to do. Her son is dead because a cop gave a girl a pass for a blowjob. But hey, it was probably only her first time, so what's the big deal. And of course everybody covered for everyone, so no one was ever prosecuted. If it's no big deal, why is anybody covering up for anyone? I guess it was no big deal either about the HS senior buried here last month in her prom dress because the friend that had just picked her up had been drinking before hand, blew a stop sign, and got t-boned. No big deal though, it was only the first time she got caught. Sorry Mags, you are as wrong on this one as you could ever be.

At a time when police corruption and misbehavior is at an all time high, you can not have stuff like this going on and expect anybody to respect the authority these officers are supposed to command. It's bad for the public, and it's bad for the cops. Nobody wins.

[Clicker]

If i were in his shoes, i probably would have done exactly what he did * i can say that because i'm not, there are just too many variables*, "uphold the law" that said, this "code among officers", i partially agree with up to the point of where it begins to duplicate the "code among criminals" where the actions become "muddy" and people start calling the whole police entity, "criminals" because the actions seem very "criminal" as the law is written.

[ve2vfd]

"in a perfect world": The rookie cop did the right thing. Nobody is above the law.

"in the real world": The rookie cop's career is finished. Chances are nobody will work with him, and he will be shunned by his brotherhood.

Being in a similar "business", I know darn well that we support each other to the end and deal with our problems amongst us. It comes with the territory when your co-workers lives depends on you and vice versa and work becomes your second family (and in many cases your "first" family). I know that if I publicly dishonour a brother at work I'll be shunned in every station, and might end up "accidentally" falling off a roof. I suspect it's one of the side effects of weaving such tight family bonds with your co-workers.

It's not pretty, it may not be right but it's the reality.

Pat

[unixrevolution]

Nobody is above the law. Nobody.

That rookie cop is my hero too. Drunk Driving is inexcusable, and cops really SHOULD know better.

Anybody who harasses the rookie for this should be fired. Period. Good on him for washing his hands of corruption.

[Lloydy]

"in a perfect world": The rookie cop did the right thing. Nobody is above the law.

"in the real world": The rookie cop's career is finished. Chances are nobody will work with him, and he will be shunned by his brotherhood.

Being in a similar "business", I know darn well that we support each other to the end and deal with our problems amongst us. It comes with the territory when your co-workers lives depends on you and vice versa and work becomes your second family (and in many cases your "first" family). I know that if I publicly dishonour a brother at work I'll be shunned in every station, and might end up "accidentally" falling off a roof. I suspect it's one of the side effects of weaving such tight family bonds with your co-workers.

It's not pretty, it may not be right but it's the reality.

Pat

I'm not naive enough to expect a "perfect world" - I know that what you say is basically the way it is. But the whole 'brotherhood' bullshit is also the biggest part of the problem, it encourages and maintains a secret world where the 'brothers' look out for each other, but at what cost ? The police work for us - the citizens on the street that pay taxes, not for an closed 'brotherhood' where any problems are "dealt with amongst us", that just creates an environment where some people - not all - believe they can can get away with stuff that is wrong, immoral or illegal because 'the brothers' will cover their arse. It happens all the time, our local town paper here in the UK tonight has two cases of police being jailed for thinking they were above the law.

And looking out for your co workers safety and lives isn't dependent on this culture of 'brotherhood' either, it's just what normal working people do, I spent many years in a heavy engineering environment where we used cranes, worked in deep wells and underground chambers and sewers, we dealt with poisonous and explosive gasses and many hazards, we were trained to deal with them and that's what we did. There was no mythical and romantic 'brotherhood' needed to support that ethic, it was common decency and respect. It's what we did, nothing more.

Being scared of "accidentally falling off a roof" is nothing to be proud of, it's not a sign that you're working with honest and decent people.

It's not going to change very much if at all, sadly the culture is too ingrained.

[Lowell Goudge]

You need to note that this is not the first time a police officer has stopped and charged another with DUI.

consider this.

If you consider that all criminals start small and have their crimes escalate over time, to larger and more serious offenses, let's draw a parallel comparison between the argument that the arresting officer lets this go. Seems to be a trivial thing, give a guy a break, etc... But, where do you draw the line, next time he sees something wrong, perhaps a little more serious, does he let that go too, after all, it is not much worse than the DUI he let go, is it? Today, when the police are under soo much attention with respect to officers breaking the law, and officers not reporting when they see fellow officers break the law, you need somewhere to say enough is enough. You do not train young officers by telling them to turn a blind eye to the infractions of older officers, because if you do, you get the result you have today, where people are questioning the integrity of the police.

The infraction is not careere ending, police can be reassigned to other duties, that do not involve driving, they can be put into abuse programs etc.

The real issue with this case, is nobody likes a whistle blower. Tey are always sought out and discriminated against, it the reported harassment in this case, actually borders on misconduct with respect to the other officers, that is the issue that should be dealt with strongly. The DUI issue will sort itself out, that is what the courts are for, the internall harassment is actually a violation of the workplace standards legislation that established workplaces as being places that are free from harassment. In fact, the police union should take the lead in this issue, and tell their members to back off, but they do not appear to have done so. They are too busy defending someone who broke the laws, not as an officer, but as a private citizen.

[Clicker]

Just finished watching the movie Safe...supports all the negatives and there's no separation from reality

On the other hand Jason Statham did another good job with this action thriller.

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[Heie]

Even if I would have gotten fired for it, I would have arrested him. Without any hesitation. Hopefully that senior cop finds himself out of uniform and without retirement. Standards/laws are there for a reason, and when you are the one enforcing it, it is that much higher and the consequences that much more final.

-Heie

[RioRico]

Is no perfect world, probably won't be. All too many are "above the law". Power relationships create their own rules; nominal rules are irrelevant. Power buys 'justice'. Best way IMHO to craft rules is to recognize human realities. I've read of a traditional Chinese system (from centuries back): to gain promotion, destroy the career of the person whose position you want; uncover or fabricate some wrongdoing, etc. With that model, in this situation, the rookie busting a superior would mean advancement for the rookie. But that won't happen in a 'brotherhood' environment.

[opfor]

"in a perfect world": The rookie cop did the right thing. Nobody is above the law.

"in the real world": The rookie cop's career is finished. Chances are nobody will work with him, and he will be shunned by his brotherhood.

Unfortunatly this is probably closest to the truth. Locally we have a doctor that is known to have been pulled over at least three times. On another occasion, he and his car were recovered from the middle of a plowed field. Has ever been charged, let alone arrested, not on your life...:-(
RIP to the rookie's career...:-(