Anyone Have a Positive Cop Story to Share?

I was slowly coming over a hill on a dirt road and saw a truck stopped in the middle of the road. It was very icy and I slid into a snow bank and got stuck. It was just me and my toddler in the car. The truck stayed for a minute and saw I was stuck and he just left! A state trooper drove by a few minutes later and pushed my car out for me. What a nice guy! Saved me from having to call a tow truck or walking a mile home with a toddler on a snowy dirt road at night to get my husband.

It's sad that the main stream media makes ALL cops out to be such bad people. They get better ratings reporting the bad stuff so they don't bother with the good deeds that are done more often.

My local news always reports on the good things that local cops (and county sheriff's) do, from helping the needy, to stopping and playing ball with kids.

It is not an easy job and they really never know what they will encounter that day, remember that they see the worst of humanity on a daily basis. I also see a lot of civilians creating problems for the police and starting trouble. There are good and bad people no matter what.

Several years ago, we were driving to visit our oldest daughter in college. We were on a rural 4 lane highway when we felt something odd with the car. We pulled over, and sure enough, the right rear tire was flat!

Hubby got out the equipment and started changing the tire. A few minutes later, local law enforcement (driving the other direction) turned around, and stopped behind us with lights flashing....

They insisted on changing the tire for us! That sure was a nice gesture!

I used to work with lots of police departments (I was at the ME), and I know there's some great officers out there. Related to my previous job, lots of cops have the unexplainably hard job of notifying a family about a death. I've seen hugs, offering tissues and reassurance, and giving little kids stuffed animals.

In the last town I lived in, the on-duty cops used to hand out donuts and food to the homeless people on Christmas and New Years. If it was cold they'd let the people sit and warmup in their cars or drive them to the soup kitchen.

I hate that a few bad apples ruin the whole bin. I'm grateful for LEOs. Every place has problems but if it weren't for them, we'd be worse for the wear.

Years ago I worked at a record store downtown. We'd caught someone shoplifting and I was closing alone; the guy came back and started pounding on the windows. I got down on the floor and dialed 911. The officer responding was very helpful and gave me a ride home (about five blocks away) from the store just to make sure *I* felt safe and that no one could follow me back.

Not too long later I ended up dating an officer who worked with schools through child protective services (CSD here). On our first date, I asked him what he did. He told me to guess; I asked for a hint and he replied "everyone hates me". Intervening in people's domestic problems is a necessary but thankless job. Later he was re-assigned to a gang task force. Within the time I knew him, he had to shoot a person. He was pretty shaken up by the whole thing and felt bad about it. It very much humanized police officers for me to hear him talk about this as well as his previous work in the schools. It gave me a lot of empathy for law enforcement that I hadn't had before.

I live near DC and we have had video's surfacing left and right about police breaking up teen squabbles by challenging the kids to dance offs! Love it! And another video just surfaced of a cop teaching a younger gentleman to tie a tie...so he can go on a job interview.

i've had many! being a middle class white woman i've been exempted from most of the cop horror stories (but even i have a few minor ones) so that's a thing. i'm horrified at the excesses demonstrated by SO many police and police departments across the nation. those who serve and protect should NEVER become predators. but i'm also horrified at the anti-cop backlash. it's understandable, but scary. i'm grateful for the thin blue line.
my own little story is getting pulled over for speeding (yes i was) in TN a couple of years ago. the TN state trooper with his gorgeous southern drawl was so courteous. he wrote me a warning, tilted back his hat and looked me in the eye. 'ma'am, i don't know how they do it in MD, but here in TN we surely do want you to get home safely. please slow down. y'all have a real nice day now.'
didn't hurt that he was eye candy neither.
;) khairete
S.

I have lots of cop stories. Great ones, and horrible ones. I lived in NYC for over a decade. There were the neighborhood cops that were really great with the locals and tourists. Then there were the ones who sexually harassed me while walking and one who gave me a stiff and expensive fake traffic ticket that was too hard to contest so I took a hit to my record and slim monthly budget. But I didn't have to deal with their excessive stop and frisk since I'm white. I was with my kids when two cops walked up to a man, grabbed him, put his hands behind his back and frisked him. My son said, "What did that guy do?"

Standing while black.

Sorry to stray from positive theme, and I'm thankful for cops and their bravery in a gun-crazy population. But if cops want the respect they certainly deserve then they need to clean up their departments.

NYPD is the best! Glad he made your son feel better.

this is nice to read. I am teaching my son that the police should be respected and looked up to. But deep down I know I've never had an actual positive experience so I do feel a bit of a hypocrite doing it, and that's a shame. Sorry not to answer your actual question. Not that I've ever been hurt by a police officer, I am female and white and have never been in a bad situation like that (Thank God). However, I can think offhand of three instances (and I've only probably had about 4-5 run-ins with officers in my entire 38 years, I am always one that is over-paranoid so that I DON'T get in trouble) that I definitely felt looked upon as a "criminal", when I was completely innocent, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I know there are good ones out there but at least in my area, most seem to have a swagger and a "better-than-you" attitude. As I said, doesn't mean I don't show respect to them and it also doesn't mean I wouldn't ask for help if I needed it (it's their job, to serve and protect), but I've never really met one I liked.

I sat and thought about this for a few minutes thinking that surely I have had a positive experience with the police at one point or another in my life. But no... the more I think about it, I think pretty much every interaction I've ever had with the police has involved them either being blatantly unhelpful (the time I had a flat tire by the side of the highway directly across the from the CHP station, and they all stood there pointing and laughing on the other side of the highway and watched me change my tire while semi trucks were whizzing by two feet from my head, rather than coming over to at least put their lights on so the trucks would have to move over a lane), or just plain acting like jerks (last day of the month, issuing me a ticket for going 38 in a 35, not 20 feet after the speed limit changed from 45 to 35... which I fought in court, and won, because seriously?!). Even so, my own personal experiences have still been quite a bit better than some I have observed, but haven't been directly involved in. I'm sure there are good cops out there, even if I haven't personally met one.

someone changed lanes in an intersection causing me to hit the brakes to avoid getting hit. the officer in the lane next to me waved at me and then pulled them over. i live in an area where its usually a cop doing something that we get ticketed for (like talking on the phone or speeding or changing lanes in an intersection.) so it was nice to see one doing their job right.

I was driving home to my parents house one weekend (6+ hour drive) and got pulled over on the interstate. I tend to drive a *bit* over the speed limit, so getting pulled over wasn't a new experience for me, but I was ticked off because I wasn't speeding this time. Anyways, the cop came up and said he noticed that something was dragging on my car and I was showering sparks as I drove and he offered to look at the back of the car to see what was going on. Sure enough, he found one of those commercial grade bungees with the metal hooks on the ends that had gotten stuck on my bumper. He took it off for me and away I went. Who knows how long it would have taken for me to realize it was there.

I also had an off duty cop see me hit a deer when I was in college and he stopped to make sure I was ok and able to reach someone to come and pick me up. Those were the days before everyone had a cell phone. Most cops are great; it's just those few bad apples that ruin the whole bunch.

I still remember the compassion of an officer who I had to make a police report to when my purse was stolen. In the grand scheme of things, it's small - a stolen purse. I could get through calling my credit cards and reporting them stolen. But then my brain started thinking about how my ID was in there with my address, as well as my apartment keys and I was afraid to go home (I lived alone at the time). And even if I wanted to go home, I didn't have any way to get there (no car keys, no money). He was really kind, let me cry, and then helped me contact a friend to come and get me.

Sorry, not a single one to share. I have plenty of negative though...

I was pulled over for not making a complete stop at a stop sign. The police officer asked if I knew why he pulled me over and I told him I did and that I had no excuse for not stopping. He said well since you smell good I will let you go this time. I wonder what would have happened if I had forgotten my deodorant?