Speeding Cops

Do cops that speed on the highway annoy you? My answer is yes, but Jared at Thinklings feels otherwise.

I know and agree lawmen aren't above the law. But I don't mind if my local police speed. I consider it a perk of the job. They have a lot to worry about; they bear a public burden I wouldn't bear. I like to think of them at least getting some satisfaction in driving fast. It's fun to drive fast. So I say let them have that small pleasure as a release of the pressures of their duties.

I don't mind when cops speed in their cruisers on the job. There are good reasons for them to do this, like seeing more traffic than what is immediately around them. So really, I don't have a problem with it. That is unless I'm pulled over for speeding when I was keeping pace with one.

But that applies only while on the job. Cops also routinely let each other and each other's families out of speeding tickets. It is a professional courtesy among law enforcement officers. I have a real problem with it. It is using your position for personal advantage, something civil servants like me (and presumable them) have foresworn.

For the record, cops are not above the law. It is perfectly reasonable to allow them some wiggle room while they are enforcing the law. But I have a real problem when they show contempt for the law. It is a poor and hypocritical example and it pisses me off.