Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackArcher101
Why? Because that would be turning a blind eye to the law. As well, you can't use ignorance as a plea for innocence.
A lot of people jump on cops for giving them tickets for stupid things like tint, exhaust, noise, etc.... but they don't realize that the police don't make the laws, they are only there to enforce them.
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Part of being a police officer is discretion. Penny-ante stuff like giving out tickets for expired insurance papers to someone in a car which ISN'T EVEN HIS is not showing discretion. You are punishing someone for an offence which is not only obscure, but which isn't even his fault - HE never left those papers in there, his brother did.
What does the officer accomplish by doing this, that he couldn't have done much more effectively by saying, "Hey, you're not supposed to keep old insurance paperwork in your car, I could give you a ticket for that. Tell your brother to throw them out in the future."
I know being a cop is hard - my dad was a cop for many years here in Calgary, and I've heard the stories. Still, any officer that just blindly applies the law, or worse, uses it to get back at members of the public he feels don't show the proper respect, is never going to anything more than a poor cop. It's like being a parent - you have to know when to punish and when to merely admonish.