I was just in Lawmen's (a gun shop off Tryon Blvd.) and there were about 10 officers of the law in there (badge & gun very visible on all of them).

A woman walks in and says that she has a flat tire in the parking lot and asked if anyone would mind showing her how to use the jack to jack her car up.

I stood around for a few moments thinking that for ONCE, I might not have to be the one to get dirty since there were SO MANY officers in there, and ya know...it's their job and all to help out civilians with this type of crap.

Probably 10 seconds tick by and not a single one of those pieces of shit even so much as glanced at her. One of the guys that worked at the store then announced that she needed help and asked if anyone could help her out. Still nothing.

(yes, I changed her tire for her)

This just gives me heartburn thinking about it. I know there are good officers out there, but c'mon. That's just plain sorry.

7/16/2009 2:57:39 PM

shoulda spit in their face

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 3:04 PM. Reason : maybe they couldnt do it for liability reasons]

7/16/2009 3:03:04 PM

Actually police officers aren't supposed to help in these situations, because if something goes wrong, they are held liable. They do not want to get sued or get the department sued.

7/16/2009 3:06:42 PM

they are police officers

not AAA

7/16/2009 3:08:13 PM

give me a freakin break.

7/16/2009 3:09:16 PM

^^^ exactly

you have people like John Edwards to thank for crap like that

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 3:09 PM. Reason : ^]

7/16/2009 3:09:28 PM

Quote :

"Actually police officers aren't supposed to help in these situations, because if something goes wrong, they are held liable. They do not want to get sued or get the department sued."

BULLSHIT

once i had this old POS crap Grand Am and had a blow out on I95
i was about 140LBS soaking wet and for the life of me couldnt get the bolts off to change the tire
i was jumping on the fucking tire iron and nothing
thank god this beast of sheriff drove by and stopped to see if he could help. he had to strain to crack those rusty bolts but i was so thankful he helped me out that day.

this story is pathetic...i guess those cops were on their breaks

7/16/2009 3:14:23 PM

Quote :

"...it's their job and all to help out civilians"

Is it?



"I said the law was powerless to help you, not punish you."

7/16/2009 3:15:03 PM

When I was a kid, I would travel between NC and MD a lot with either of my parents. A couple of times they had a flat tire and a state trooper would stop by, but refuse to personally help. He would call AAA for us if we needed it (this was a time before cell phones).

7/16/2009 3:16:28 PM

A better question is why all of them were hanging out instead of doing their job

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 3:18 PM. Reason : by job I mean arresting criminals]

7/16/2009 3:17:08 PM

This will devolve into a Soap Box thread in no time.

7/16/2009 3:17:52 PM

Quote :

"Actually police officers aren't supposed to help in these situations, because if something goes wrong, they are held liable. They do not want to get sued or get the department sued."

that makes u sound like the piece of shit for "not wanting to get dirty" since you were SO fuckin concerned about her

Quote :

"A better question is why all of them were hanging out instead of doing their job"

I would assume that a police officer at a gunshop, regardless of what they were doing or how many there are, is doing some facet of his or her job

cops arent always flying around wearing capes beating up muggers

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 3:20 PM. Reason : s]

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 3:20 PM. Reason : d]

7/16/2009 3:18:00 PM

Protect AND serve...

Or it's always seemed to be protect (my own ass) and serve (my own agenda)

Those cops were all douchebags

7/16/2009 3:19:26 PM

^^Wat?

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 3:19 PM. Reason : .]

7/16/2009 3:19:44 PM

Quote :

"A better question is why all of them were hanging out instead of doing their job"

i, too, work 24 hours a day for crappy pay

7/16/2009 3:20:57 PM

not you dude

7/16/2009 3:20:58 PM

Quote :

"...it's their job and all to help out civilians"

Not when they aren't on duty its not. I personally enjoy my time off away from my job and am not expected to perform it on my personal time, why should it be any different for them? The way you phrased the OP it seems that this situation is not new for you, do you also hate all of the bankers, businessmen, *insert other profession here* because they didn't jump at the chance to help someone change a flat?

Yeah, it is pretty shitty that none of the people there offered to help the lady, but if that is the straw that makes you lose all respect for Law Enforcement then you were looking for a reason. At least be honest about it.

7/16/2009 3:22:34 PM

Are you allowed to walk around in your uniform with your badge and be off duty?

7/16/2009 3:25:11 PM

no mention of uniform.

7/16/2009 3:33:52 PM

Badge and gun, absolutely. in fact many departments require it when in city limits. And yeah, no mention of uniform.

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 3:36 PM. Reason : 0]

7/16/2009 3:36:13 PM

Quote :

"it's their job and all to help out civilians with this type of crap."

Haha no it isn't. But they should've offered to help anyways if they could have...

This is one of those things you make a rookie do. "No problem ma'am, Officer Johnson would be happy to help. He's single too." Then everyone laughs...

7/16/2009 3:36:13 PM

Wasnt no rookies in that squad

them cats was hardened street vets

7/16/2009 3:37:35 PM

More than half were definitely in uniform. The others were in street clothes.

Normally I dont mind changing a tire at all. Just so happened that I was in a khaki suit and tie today (had just came from a business lunch and was stopping by on the way back to the office)

Bighit, dont even try and make me look like a badguy here...I've personally NEVER had an encounter with a police officer and thought that they werent a jackass, but that's beside the point. I give people the benefit of the doubt. There's just no way that not 1 out of the 10 or so officers shouldnt have stepped up.

7/16/2009 3:43:11 PM

ah, fair enough. I was making assumptions

7/16/2009 3:43:47 PM

you didnt even get an accurate count of the officers

it might have just been three, it could have been 40

7/16/2009 3:44:36 PM

Point being, there were officers. I don't particularly agree with the idea that you can go "off duty" as a cop. They wouldn't have stayed "off-duty" had someone tried to hold up that gun shop (this is totally hypothetical) and everyone would have been in agreement that they should have stopped that from happening.

I think they should equally be responsible for doing little stuff like helping ladies with their car jacks

7/16/2009 3:48:06 PM

theres no crime being commited in having a flat tire


plus they were probably doing police duty such as equipment issue or testing

7/16/2009 3:53:00 PM

a cop's job is not to change your tire


it's nice when an officer sees you in some kind of distress and offers you whatever aid he can just like it's nice when any other citizen sees you in some kind of distress and offers you whatever aid he can

why should people be falling all over themselves because "omfg there's a lady who can't change her tire!" ? self-reliance is a great thing.

7/16/2009 3:57:59 PM

Quote :

"the law is powerless to help you, not punish you."

7/16/2009 3:59:59 PM

Ahahaha, one of them had his wife in there and was trying to talk her into letting him buy some CRAZY full-auto (probably not really, but it looked like it) sub-machinegun looking thing. Definitely much smaller than an AR-15, although they said it'd accept an AR-15 stock.

He was definitely not doing anything related to his job. He was talking about using a shoestring as a sling and just throwing it up under a trenchcoat. Kinda retarded/scary if you ask me.

7/16/2009 4:00:48 PM

o wow i had no idea cops could not joke around while wearing a badge

I also had no idea they could not talk about legally purchasing weapons with their spouses

wow, i learn somethin new everyday


sometimes when i go purchase new steel toes with the company credit card, i talk about purchasing some boots for hiking, holy shit

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 4:03 PM. Reason : s]

7/16/2009 4:02:15 PM

I was biking home one night (~ 1 a.m.) and hit a rock in the road, went over the handle bars and both tires came off and rolled down the road. There was a cop sitting in his car drinking coffee and watch the whole thing. Didn't even come out to see if I'd been drinking, let alone if I was alright.

7/16/2009 4:02:51 PM

probably too busy laughin at your stupid ass

7/16/2009 4:04:03 PM

Maybe b/c we grant cops the right to arrest, beat, and sometimes kill people we should hold them to a higher standard . . . . . . . .

7/16/2009 4:05:36 PM

so we should hold cops to a higher standard for simply doing their jobs?

is this higher standard in their job description?

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 4:07 PM. Reason : d]

7/16/2009 4:07:13 PM

a cop's job is to "protect and serve"

Not sit on the highway with a radar detector and give out tickets (which is all I see them doing)

7/16/2009 4:08:43 PM

yea im so pissed that speeders and wreckless drivers get busted on our highways

quit goin 20 over and theyll quit pulling you over, switchin lanes and shit get real man

[Edited on July 16, 2009 at 4:10 PM. Reason : d]

7/16/2009 4:09:49 PM

Quote :

"so we should hold cops to a higher standard for simply doing their jobs? is this higher standard in their job description?"

yes and yes.

7/16/2009 4:09:52 PM

Yeah, gosh, because we all know you're a huge danger to everyone else for going 10 mph over the speed limit even if you are being completely safe in your driving.

And, wow, they must not be doing a very good job at catching the people who need catching because hundreds of thousands of people a year still get killed by drunk drivers.

Hmmmmm

7/16/2009 4:11:21 PM

drunk driving isnt speeding

what the fuck are you talking about, they do what they can plenty of people get busted driving drunk

but i guess cops arent doing their jobs because people still get murdered and youre still smokin weed

7/16/2009 4:12:44 PM

Quote :

"so we should hold cops to a higher standard for simply doing their jobs? is this higher standard in their job description?"

Im sayin with their job comes a lot of power, therefore I think its reasonable for us to expect them to use their position to help people when they can, not simply when they arent busy or when they feel like it.

Quote :

"went over the handle bars and both tires came off and rolled down the road."

how did the wheels come off?

7/16/2009 4:13:13 PM

They should spend some more time doing the important stuff is all, like helping ladies who don't know how to change their tire.

Or are they to good for that? I was unaware that cop = executive or white collar or above actual work

7/16/2009 4:13:54 PM

lmao you think cops dont do actual work

nigga you dont do "actual work"

7/16/2009 4:15:05 PM

Not always, but I would be willing to do the "actual work" of helping a lady change her flat tire if she needed it

7/16/2009 4:15:40 PM

Haha, dude..i'm not saying they cant screw off in their "off duty" time. I could care less.

He was holding the gun and wielding it around like he was freakin Tony Montana though. He acted like a ridiculously immature KID. I dont care who you are, that's dumb. But especially being a badged officer of the law, in the presence of his peers.

7/16/2009 4:16:06 PM

so what about a man, would you help change his flat tire or bitch out the cops who didn't?

7/16/2009 4:16:19 PM

i think maybe these cops should be reguarded not as shitty cops but instead a shitty excuse for a man. They might do their job better than any other cop around, but if a woman needs help like this and a man doesnt help, well then thats just a bunch of crap

7/16/2009 4:17:16 PM

I'd help him to, but I'd be considerably disappointed in A) the cops who were unwilling to actually help a civilian at a personal level and B) that a male in the US didn't know how to change his own tire

7/16/2009 4:17:46 PM

hed be on here posting about whata n00b the guy was for not being able to change his tire

wed never have heard about the cops

7/16/2009 4:17:49 PM

Quote :

"reguarded not as shitty cops"

does that mean they were guarded, became unguarded, and then got guarded again!?

REGUARDED

7/16/2009 4:18:54 PM