DEAR SGT. AL: COPS RUNNING RED LIGHTS:

DEAR SERGEANT AL: About a month ago I was found guilty of running a red light in traffic court, to find myself being a witness to a police radio car running a light last week in my neighborhood two blocks from my house. The officers didn’t have their lights or siren on at the time, and blasted through the light like a Playboy bunny out of the lid of a cake. I can’t tell you how furious I am that the police can get away with such behavior but I’m fined $150 plus three points on my license. God knows what my insurance company is going to do to me. And for what? So cops can decide who can or can’t get away with running a red light? How do you account for such behavior being a police supervisor yourself, and should I complain to the brass at the stationhouse? –PISSED OFF AT THE OUTRAGEOUS POLICE

Dear POATOP: First off, I am sorry to hear that you received a ticket for running a red light, and that you were found guilty in court. Judging from the tone of your email, I can sense your frustration and disappointment, and knowing personally from both issuing AND receiving a ticket, it’s not a pleasant experience. After your anger has subsided hopefully over time, I hope you can find it in your heart and your wiser adult judgment to see, that not only was the officer who gave you the ticket doing his/her job, but in doing so he/she was saving lives. In some ways I consider traffic light violations on a local road more dangerous than speeding on a highway. As careful as you thought you might have been regardless of the ticket, you are lucky you weren’t in an accident and no one was hurt.

Secondly, is the issue of cops breaking the rules and the law. No one should be above the law, particularly here in America, an embodiment of a nation that governs by rule of law, not people. As an officer of over twenty years, more than half of that time as a ranking officer, I have seen and investigated things that quite frankly, police should or should not be doing, and should be appropriately punished or rewarded. My own police career taught me that I myself am not perfect; God knows my shortcomings as much as I strived for perfection. I have made mistakes, and some of them BIG, both in my personal and professional life. My experiences have made me the man I am today, and I am glad I had the experiences I’ve had, good and bad. My character has SOLIDFIED me, and I wouldn’t trade it for anyone or anything else in the world. I’ve never knowingly or intentionally broken any laws under the color of authority, but I did at times knowingly bend some rules, and probably unknowingly or unintentionally outright broke rules at certain times. But thank goodness whatever it was I did, I know for sure as I’m looking at God, that while other people might or might not have gotten hurt, the bottom line is that no one was hurt but me, and whatever pain I inflicted, it probably was more about hurting myself more than anyone else. In spite of my flaws, I know that I am a good person. Lord knows I try to always do the right thing, although sometimes I may fail. The fact that I am a policeman is testament to that. I know that I am a good officer and a good police boss; my service record speaks for itself. And in that we need to do the same thing for the officers who you saw running that red light . . . 

To answer your questions directly, I am going to pretend that I am the desk officer in the station house for the officers you are coming in to complain about. I directly say to you let’s not rush to judgment here. We are so quick to convict an assailant when he commits a crime, when they deserve an inquiry to determine their guilt or innocence; should not the police when performing their duty deserve the same? Yes it seems an aberration for the police to be running a light in what I’m assuming is some kind of residential neighborhood. I’ll be the first to tell you that if those officers ran a light for no good reason they better be more afraid of what I’m going to do to them than what the C.O. of the precinct could ever do. Those cops are my men and I care about them, and appreciate the work they do for me, and for the people they serve. I’m quick to praise them, but they know I have little tolerance for screw-ups. I would circumcise those cops so fast that they would have no shoes to walk in on their foot post for a whole week, maybe even a month. But I would tell you let me speak to the officers first and see what was going on if I didn’t know. Unlike a common criminal they deserve the benefit of the doubt, and before I determine what happened, and I decide what punishment should be rendered if substantiated, I’m going to give them that benefit that they deserve. They’re big boys and accountable, they’ll take it like adults if punished, but they’re still good guys. Let’s remember, they are laying their lives to serve all of us.

Did you know, for example, that the best way for officers to approach a burglary run is covert with no lights and sirens? Responding to what’s called “a job in progress” with no emergency beacons is dangerous as it is, but it is an essential crime-fighting tool that works for some jobs, especially if the job is confirmed, and there’s an arrest, an arrest that could be IN YOUR HOUSE. Sometimes, the officers are overwhelmed with either fear or adrenaline that they sometimes actually forget to cut on the damn lights and sirens. How many times have we seen on TV police videos of car chases, the officer getting out of the car with his gun drawn, at the end of the chase without cutting OFF his siren? Sometimes when I’m in a hurry and especially when driving solo, there are so many goddamn buttons in these new cars, you’re ready for lift-off as opposed to a radio run! Sometimes these instances result in no injuries for one to not even notice the mistake the officers made en route. Sometimes the consequences are devastating if not deadly, that the cops in a hurry get into an accident and never make it to the job. That is the nature of police work.

My suggestion POATOP is if you know the cops yourself, go talk to them respectfully and sincerely. If not, go to the stationhouse and ask to speak privately to a police supervisor and express your concerns. A sergeant or lieutenant will do. A follow up phone call to you by the brass as opposed to anything on paper may suffice for the time being, and believe me, will capture the brass’s attention to take action. A good police boss like me will take the time and listen, and take your concerns seriously. I suggest you praise the officers at first, remember they are protecting you, your property, and your family, but tell the boss calmly and sincerely that you have concerns about the police running lights. Trust me, she or he is not just going to speak to those officers; they will also address the next roll call about your conversation: running red lights by radio cars marked or unmarked will not be tolerated and subject to disciplinary action. Don’t mention your red light ticket, which is immaterial and old history; don’t appear to be a sore loser or a crybaby--your concern is for the officers and whom they protect. Who knows, they might not be even paying attention to what they’re doing, that somehow you might be one day saving their lives as well. We are all in this together. The police look out for us and damn as I saw officers I knew and work with die in those towers on 9/11, we need to look out for them as well. I’ll let you go this time to decide how you want to handle this POATOP; but with my advice, you are now on your own. God bless you and those officers, and good luck.