I'm addicted to reality cop shows. I knew I was addicted when I was watching "First 48" (a reality homicide show) and recognized (by name!) the Dallas SWAT team members assisting the detectives (from the TV reality show "Dallas SWAT" as opposed to "Detroit SWAT").
Anyway, I was wondering why it takes so many police officers to go after a car who is evading police. I passed by a scene the other day that made me wonder. There was one car with 2 people in handcuffs and 7 police cars.
From my obsession, I know that when an officer calls for help, everyone comes running. That makes sense to me. But, I counted 15 police cars once on a low speed chase. That wasn't counting some of the ones placed strategically to place tire strips for the evading car.
So, mirky, what's up with that?
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It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
Yea, I use to wonder the same thing whenI was stationed in Hawai'i. If you passed someone getting pulled over for speeding there was aways at least 3 other police cars at the scene.
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Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune--without the words And never stops at all.... --Emily Dickinson
Hmm, I must not fit the profile for trouble. I've only ever had one cop at a time pull me over.
I'd imagine if a car does something serious or suspicious enough they call for back up.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
If you're pulled over on a country road in a small town at night, the cop is likely to call in backup, just to make sure that nothing untoward happens.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
Hmm, I must not fit the profile for trouble. I've only ever had one cop at a time pull me over.
I'd imagine if a car does something serious or suspicious enough they call for back up.
It might depend on the area. The two times I have ever been pulled over there was only a single officer. In Hawai'i I was riding with a friend who got pulled over for having his radio turned up to loud, and a couple officers pulled him over.
That was actually a comical event seeing as he was driving in a convertable with the top down, and the radio wasn't up that loud.
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Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune--without the words And never stops at all.... --Emily Dickinson
The number of officers responding really depends on each individual circumstance. If we are chasing someone who has shot at us for example, the whole world is coming (BTDT), a typical traffic stop may just be one officer, with a second maybe driving by or stopping. It really varies from incident to incident.
I was stopped by at least 8 patrol cars outside of American Falls, Idaho once.
Were you shooting at the cops and they were chasing you?
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Lo, there I see my mother, my sisters, my brothers Lo, there I see the line of my people back to the beginning Lo, they call to me, they bid me take my place among them In the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live...forever
"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
I would have been scared to death, Jen, to have 8 cars with lights flashing!
I've never had any exciting police stories of my own. I was getting gas one night when I heard a car honking repeatedly. I didn't think much of it...just thought it was some teens goofing off. Well, the 3 policemen who were at the gas station didn't take kindly to it. They took off with lights flashing, sirens blazing, etc. I just chuckled thinking those kids were going to get a big, bad cop yelling at them.
Well, I found out that the car honking was honking at me. It was a couple of friends who saw me and were trying to get my attention. The police officers did pull them over and gave them a very rough time. No tickets, just a drill sargeant type of lecture.
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It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
Here's one story of me escaping from the police (mirk stop reading now ).
My friends and I were traveling to San Antonio TX by car from Indiana. Whew, that's a long drive. Mapquest said it would take 17 hrs. I was determined to prove it wrong. As I was driving through southern IL, there were several rocky cliffs we had to go through. I'm traveling around 95 mph (yeah, I was young and stupid) when I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a police officer had parked behind a cliff and was pointing a radar gun right at me. He had hidden himself so very well. I knew I was busted since I was the only car on that stretch of road. I slowed down to the speed limit waiting for the lights to flash behind me. About a mile or so up the road, I saw three motorcycle cops each had 3 cars pulled over. Apparently, Mr. Cop behind the cliff was radioing in to the other 3 officers which cars were speeding. Since I didn't get pulled over, I'm assuming that with 3 cars each, they were too busy to mess with me.
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It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
I was 17, going about 105, and had the radio up. Apparently a trooper tried to pull me over and I didn't see him. Eight miles or so later I suddenly saw many, many flashing lights behind me. They thought they were in a high-speed chase. I was just a stupid kid trying to get to Rexburg before midnight. When he pulled me over I was yelled at to put my hands on the roof, he had his hand on his holster, the whole thing. When he realized what was actually going on he was pretty relieved, albeit very miffed. I got a good lecture and he ticketed me for going 90 so he wouldn't have to take me in to jail.
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"There is order in the way the Lord reveals His will to mankind. . .we cannot receive revelation for someone else's stewardship." L. Tom Perry
Jen! That is hilarious and I can just picture some cutesy girl with her hair in a ponytail, chewing gum, singing along to the radio and then getting surprised by all the pretty lights behind her.
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It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
One time my dad was on this long strip of road with gradual hills... up... down.... up... down... somewhere between S. Idaho and Seattle. He's whizzing along around 100 and a cop passes him going the other way. He sees the cop's brake lights come on and thinks, 'I'm screwed.' So he takes her up to about 140 (some 40s Buick or something with a 500 engine), takes another couple hills and then slams on the brakes, flips a U, and starts driving the other direction, calm as a summer's breeze. After a few seconds the cop goes barrelling by and doesn't even notice him. Yeah!
Cop evasion.
I did my own evasion once when I ran a red-ish light making a left turn into the intersection. There was a cop first in line. This was a neighborhood area of Seattle and I wound round and round and left and right and up and down as best as I could. He couldn't find me.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Jen! That is hilarious and I can just picture some cutesy girl with her hair in a ponytail, chewing gum, singing along to the radio and then getting surprised by all the pretty lights behind her.
Yeah, that's pretty much the long and short of it. The cop said he knew I was telling the truth about not realizing he was there, because as soon as I saw him I practically slammed on the brakes.
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"There is order in the way the Lord reveals His will to mankind. . .we cannot receive revelation for someone else's stewardship." L. Tom Perry
Man, I have no cool stories at all. I've received exactly one speeding ticket in my life, and it was photo radar (zipping to the Stake Centre on a Saturday morning, and missed the change from 60 to 50 k.)
I've been pulled over by a policeman just once - in a parking lot. We'd just bought a brand-new white van a couple of days before, and it was still fabulously clean. What I didn't realize was my lovely husband had transferred the very dirty plates from our other very dirty van, and didn't bother to clean them.
I'm actually naive enough that I didn't know know that people will deliberately do that to plates to try to confuse a photo radar camera, so I was EXTREMELY embarassed and remorseful to the police officer who pulled me over. It must have been convincing because he scolded me and let me go.
That's my only story.
ETA: Crap, Jen, I just did the conversion on your 105 miles/hr. You were going 170? To quote my 12yo, who's sitting beside me, "HOLY FREAK!" (And I'm having a hard time even fathoming coco's 225 km/h.)
-- Edited by dianoia at 16:17, 2008-06-27
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They might not look it, but bunnies can really take care of themselves.
I have the job I have today because of a speeding ticket. I had been off the mission for about 4 months or so when I got a speeding ticket. I was so scared to tell my dad. I knew I could ease the telling if I could tell him I had found a full time job as well. So, I hit the streets and in 2 weeks found a great job. I never did tell him about the ticket.....
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It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
Jen! That is hilarious and I can just picture some cutesy girl with her hair in a ponytail, chewing gum, singing along to the radio and then getting surprised by all the pretty lights behind her.
You were going 170? To quote my 12yo, who's sitting beside me, "HOLY FREAK!" (And I'm having a hard time even fathoming coco's 225 km/h.)
