California Highway Patrol's Wrongful, Unprofessional Conduct

I know this might not be the forum to present this issue, however, I take my case here to this public forum for all to review freely. My issue is the wrongful and unprofessional conduct of California Highway Patrol Officers.

No less than four of my friends whom officers have pulled over for speeding offences have characterized the officer’s treatment of them as rude, arrogant, obtuse, malicious and vindictive. One even stated that on a 1 to 10 scale of rudeness, his officer was a 12! This abusive behavior is reckless, disrespectful and ends up doing harm to the reputation and public perception of CHP officers.

I asked some local officers what they felt about CHP officers and they admitted that the CHP regularly abuses local citizens that are stopped on the highway. The CHP makes the local community police officers look bad. Unlike the CHP, the local officers have to deal with gangs and the CHPs attitude towards citizens only multiplies the danger to fellow officers.

I would encourage an internal review and admonishment to all CHP officers that such behavior is completely unnecessary, not condoned nor tolerated. The CHP can perform its difficult and stressful job without the need for harassment of taxpaying citizens.

I welcome your personal remarks regarding this matter.

We don't know what happened - you haven't told us.

I will put my feelings about the issue as follows.

Until you are willing to place your blood, muscle, skin and bone between my family and the people that would harm them, your words don't mean very much.

It is easy to critique those that enforce the law. You want men and women that have to WEAR A GUN TO WORK to protect themselves to worry about your feelings as you break the law.

Sorry.

You are upset because your feelings were not as carefully protected as you think they should have been.

Maybe you should toughen up a little. Life has much larger valleys than this in store for you.

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Quoting johnmax65

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I know this might not be the forum to present this issue, however, I take my case here to this public forum for all to review freely. My issue is the wrongful and unprofessional conduct of California Highway Patrol Officers.

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You have experience with each and every one of the thousands of CHP officers?

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No less than four of my friends whom officers have pulled over for speeding offences have characterized the officer’s treatment of them as rude,arrogant, obtuse, malicious and vindictive. One even stated that on a 1 to 10 scale of rudeness, his officer was a 12! This abusive behavior is reckless, disrespectful and ends up doing harm to the reputation and public perception of CHP officers.

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If they truly believe that, they can report this to the local CHP office. In fact, if true, they SHOULD report them.

However, no one is happy about being ticketed, and most people argue with the officer about the citation. Some argue more vehemently than others. One technique to just diffuse or "blow off" the inevitable debate is to be short - terse and, perhaps, a little rude. When you stop dozens of people each day as the CHP does, you get tired of the debate, so you simply shrug it off and do not engage the driver. No, they should not act in such a way, but it happens.

I have been stopped by the CHP (once upon a time before I was a cop) and my wife has been stopped twice AFTER I was a cop, and at no time were they ever unprofessional. One was short and terse, but he was not unprofessional. Being short and non-responsive is not the same as being rude or unprofessional, yet many people equate such a lack of engagement as rude behavior. Note the officer does NOT have to debate the driver about the citation ... in fact, he really has to say very little to the driver.

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I asked some local officers what they felt about CHP officers and they admitted that the CHP regularly abuses local citizens that are stopped on the highway.

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I don't buy that. If that really is the case, this is all the more reason for you and your friends to complain to the office.

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I would encourage an internal review and admonishment to all CHP officers that such behavior is completely unnecessary, not condoned nor tolerated. The CHP can perform its difficult and stressful job without the need for harassment of taxpaying citizens.

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You DO realize that until someone lets the CHP at that office or at the Area Command level know, no such investigation will take place, right? Until they are aware of a problem, the supervisors and management will be unable to address the matter. If this is a chronic issue, then several people need to march in and voice their complaints. If not, then they need to stop complaining. Either act to change it, or let it go.


- Carl

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Quoting johnmax65

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No less than four of my friends whom officers have pulled over for speeding offences

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I have had a CA driver's license for over 20 years.
I have never received a ticket so I'm just wondering why your circle of friends have had so much contact with the CHP... ?
When people violate the law they are going to be treated as law breakers. And just FYI - member's of the CHP are also law abiding and tax paying citizens as well.

That's true ... I am not sure that in my circle of friends (most of which are NOT cops), I know four people that have had CHP contact in the last couple of decades (or longer), either. Other than work, the last time I was stopped by a CHP officer was outside of Napa in 1984 ... yep, got a speed ticket - 65 in a 55. Nice guy, too. But I was not a happy camper!

- Carl

If the OP and three of his closest friends all were pulled over by the CHP, I am guessing that none are older than 20.

If a bunch of kids gives a traffic cop a bunch of lip, they can expect lip in return.

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Quoting cyjeff

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If the OP and three of his closest friends all were pulled over by the CHP, I am guessing that none are older than 20.

If a bunch of kids gives a traffic cop a bunch of lip, they can expect lip in return.

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I would tend to concur.

- Carl

There is no excuse for unprofessional behavior. NO EXCUSE.

All jobs are somewhat stressful...all jobs require some work and thats why you get paid...

However, if the job is so stressful where you have to give the customers a hard time then you have to change your job. You must quit and get yourself another job.

If your a cop and cant help but act in an unprofessional manner because the job is too stressful then this job isnt for you. Quit and find something else to do...

Do not give me excuses as to why your conduct is unprofessional. If you cant handle it then quit...

If you can't handle the behavior of the CHP then stop doing things that will get you to be involved with one.

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Quoting johnmax65

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There is no excuse for unprofessional behavior. NO EXCUSE.

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There are several excuses for unprofessional behavior. Expedience, security, or, perhaps, the need to prove to children that their behavior is not to be tolerated.

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All jobs are somewhat stressful...all jobs require some work and thats why you get paid...

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I tell you what. When you start actually paying income tax, you can come back here and lecture me on what having a job means.

In the meantime, you will have to take our word for it. When your job involves standing on a highway while cars driving in the 70's are zooming by, you can start talking to me about stress.

Yes, you live in California. This means that your parents and teachers have gone out of their way to tell you that your opinion, wants and needs are important and should be important to everyone you meet.

They were wrong. Most of us don't care if you get your feelings hurt. We are not here to enhance your self image.

We just want to stop debating with a overly self important child about a traffic ticket and get off the highway berm.

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However, if the job is so stressful where you have to give the customers a hard time then you have to change your job. You must quit and get yourself another job.

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See above "when you start paying income taxes" quote.

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If your a cop and cant help but act in an unprofessional manner because the job is too stressful then this job isnt for you. Quit and find something else to do...

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First, the word you are looking for is "you're" - a contraction of "You" and "are".

What you are assuming is that YOUR definition of unprofessional behavior will be universally accepted as accurate.

My guess? Your definition is that a cop should kowtow to your wishes, listen patiently as you scramble for a believable reason for your actions, wait until you are off your cell phone call (its REALLY important) and then give you a warning.

Welcome to the real world.

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Do not give me excuses as to why your conduct is unprofessional. If you cant handle it then quit...

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What you don't realize is that it may be and IS professional conduct to issue the citation and resume patrol as quickly as possible. Any time a police car is on the side of the road with the lights flashing, all of the traffic begins to slow.

Yes, I know you think that the officer should stop and chat. That he/she should take the time to make sure that your emotional state is protected.

The rest of us just want to get to work.

Wow! Isn't someone cranky (johnmax65)!

I never condoned "unprofessional" conduct, only offered an explanation for it. Plus, what you describe as rude or unprofessional may not be anything of the sort. the officer is NOT required to be nice, to explain why he stopped or you, or debate the circumstances of the stop in any way. Many people equate being short or curt with being rude or unprofessional, and that just is not the case.

As I said, if the entire local office is so out of control, then you and your friends need to parade down to the CHP office and make some complaints. If no one complains, then the supervisors may never know ... provided you really want to do something about "the problem". I suspect, however, all you really want to do is complain and seek out people who agree with you. Not very productive, but it might be cathartic, I suppose.

- Carl

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Quoting cdwjava

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Wow! Isn't someone cranky (johnmax65)!

I never condoned "unprofessional" conduct, only offered an explanation for it. Plus, what you describe as rude or unprofessional may not be anything of the sort. the officer is NOT required to be nice, to explain why he stopped or you, or debate the circumstances of the stop in any way. Many people equate being short or curt with being rude or unprofessional, and that just is not the case.

As I said, if the entire local office is so out of control, then you and your friends need to parade down to the CHP office and make some complaints. If no one complains, then the supervisors may never know ... provided you really want to do something about "the problem". I suspect, however, all you really want to do is complain and seek out people who agree with you. Not very productive, but it might be cathartic, I suppose.

- Carl

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But, But...

When they don't listen to me and protect my feelings and make sure I don't fail, my feelings get hurt.

My therapist said it wasn't good for my aura!

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Quoting cyjeff

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But, But...

When they don't listen to me and protect my feelings and make sure I don't fail, my feelings get hurt.

My therapist said it wasn't good for my aura!

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Ah, the "feel good" mentality of the public education system today.

"No, Johnny, two plus two does not equal twenty two, but that was a very good try! I understand and appreciate your answer, and respect the reasoning behind it. You are a bright and intelligent child and you should feel good about your answer!"

Today there are no winners and losers for some reason ... not really preparing them for the REAL world.

- Carl

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Quoting cdwjava

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Ah, the "feel good" mentality of the public education system today.

"No, Johnny, two plus two does not equal twenty two, but that was a very good try! I understand and appreciate your answer, and respect the reasoning behind it. You are a bright and intelligent child and you should feel good about your answer!"

Today there are no winners and losers for some reason ... not really preparing them for the REAL world.

- Carl

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I coached a tee ball team for a year when my eldest was old enough to play.

They refused to keep score. Said it was bad for the kids to be labelled "winner" or "loser".

I went up and down my bench. Every single kid knew what the score was and whether or not they were winning.

These kids are upset because a cop wouldn't stand next to their car and make sure that everything was explained to them....or would talk to their parents or friend on the cell phone... or make an exception for them... or listen to their tale of woe.

The OP says there is no excuse for unprofessional behavior. There is also an old saying about how there is no good excuse for ANY behavior.

A cop protects you and serves the public. No where in their oath are the words "to protect and to serve and to make sure that you feel better about yourself".

Why yes, my grandfather and father were police officers. Why do you ask?

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Quoting FlyinHawk®

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If you can't handle the behavior of the CHP then stop doing things that will get you to be involved with one.

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hey now...lets not be short and terse...

have some sensitivity to the issue will ya:rolleyes:

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Quoting cyjeff

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I coached a tee ball team for a year when my eldest was old enough to play.

They refused to keep score. Said it was bad for the kids to be labelled "winner" or "loser".

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Well, at T-Ball level, I don't have a problem with that - not even really at Farm level. These are learning levels, so I can live with that.

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I went up and down my bench. Every single kid knew what the score was and whether or not they were winning.

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Mine didn't. Besides, both benches often had it wrong - some by more, some by less - usually both teams thought they were winning unless things were going REALLY bad.

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These kids are upset because a cop wouldn't stand next to their car and make sure that everything was explained to them....or would talk to their parents or friend on the cell phone... or make an exception for them... or listen to their tale of woe.

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Yeah, I hear that all the time. Because the officer would not listen to their explanation, or (my favorite), because the officer would not give them a warning! Yep, some drivers seem to think they are entitled to a warning. This entire entitlement mentality these days drives me nuts!

It even comes in cops these days, too. One rookie (who did not pass probation ... go figure) asked me - on his FIRST DAY IN FIELD TRAINING - when he could take a week off of work to visit his girlfriend in southern California! Heck, when I was in field training, I asked for nothing and came to work even when sick - I went home when they TOLD me to!

It's a different generation.

- Carl

My dad's favorite was when he pulled over a speeder doing 30 over the limit.

In the days before air bags and padded dashboards.

The guy DEMANDED my father go out and capture "real criminals" rather than the taxpayers that were just trying to get to work to pay his salary!

About that time, my dad noticed the joint burning in the ashtray (ah, the summer of 68).

The guy had a couple of pounds of upper Californian bud in the trunk.

As my dad helped him into the bad of the squad car, he asked the driver, "So, if a guy illegally transporting 2 pounds of illegal drugs isn't a real criminal, what is your definition of the term?"

The vast majority of people pulled over by the CHP are not criminals and nor are they children. Most are hard working taxpaying home owning voting citizens of the United States whose only crime is going a little over the speed limit (a small infraction of the law). Therefore, the officer should treat the person they are pulling over as such. Just a regular joe who made a mistake going over the speed limit.

Now I wouldnt expect the officer to engage in a long winding debate on the side of the highway, but I do expect professionalism. This means foul and negative language directed at the driver should not be used. A professional business-like tone of voice and manner should be used. A little politeness too would also surely help out this stressful situation.

However, my experience and my friends experience has been different. The CHP officers have always been somewhat nasty and used raised voices at citizens who only made the mistake of throwing a piece of trash out their window or were going 5-10 over the limit without paying attention.

The response in this forum I received from CDWJava does not seem what I would expect from a person who supervises or manages people. His response seems somewhat unprofessional and I would have to question his experience.

I have written complaint letters to the CHP and have been called by CHP investigators to discuss my experiences. The investigator who called was indeed very professional and listened to my complaints. I'll give them credit for that. However, the reason why I write in this public forum is to make people aware of whats going on out there.

As well, my friends and myself are truck drivers and, as a truck driver in California, the CHP is in your face all the time such as at the scales or doing random commercial vehicle checks. Everytime I have come in contact with a CHP officer, there seems to be this air of unprofessional conduct. Whether it be uncalled for sarcastic remarks or foul language, its simply unprofessional.

There are a lot of stressful professions out there, but in most other professions there is simply no excuse to be treating people badly.

Is it acceptable to be using foul language at an older lady who just happened to be cruising a few mph over the limit? Well, it happened to my mother when she got a ticket for doing 70 in a 65.

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Quoting johnmax65

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The vast majority of people pulled over by the CHP are not criminals and nor are they children.

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Which is why most are treated as such. That does not mean they have to be all smiles and niceness. The officer can and often will be terse and very much like Joe Friday - "Just the facts ma'am." If that's rude and unprofessional to you, sorry, but that's life.

Of course, you really have not articulated WHAT all these CHP officers do to you and your friends, so it's impossible to say whether it's professional or not.

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The CHP officers have always been somewhat nasty and used raised voices at citizens who only made the mistake of throwing a piece of trash out their window or were going 5-10 over the limit without paying attention.

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The scolding comes for free.

Sorry, but sometimes people need to be chastised for their behavior.

Once again, if the officer was out of line, report him or her to their supervisor or the area commander.

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The response in this forum I received from CDWJava does not seem what I would expect from a person who supervises or manages people. His response seems somewhat unprofessional and I would have to question his experience.

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You have not articulated what conduct you are opposed to, so how can I form an opinion as to whether it was proper or not? I have been on the job for almost 18 years, and in supervision and management for almost 10 of those years. If/when you can articulate something that is clearly outside the pale, I will agree it was wrong. So far, I have heard generalities and your opinion that the officers were rude and unprofessional.

If you feel that the treatment you received from the officers was unprofessional, please, report it to their supervisor or area commander.

Do you want to effect a change? Or just complain asking for cheerleaders? Apparently, the experience of most the rest on this board is that your experience is opposite of ours. If you want to resolve the problem, report the activity.

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I have written complaint letters to the CHP and have been called by CHP investigators to discuss my experiences. The investigator who called was indeed very professional and listened to my complaints. I'll give them credit for that. However, the reason why I write in this public forum is to make people aware of whats going on out there.

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Good. Then they are aware of your views on the problem.

Note also that I, too, conduct internal investigations on officers and I want to know if my officers are fouling up. But, once again, most activity that people complain about is NOT unprofessional. Most the complaints we receive concern officers that are essentially doing their job, but not being overly "friendly" about this. Some officers are very terse and emotionless and this tends to cause some people to feel they are rude or unprofessional.

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Is it acceptable to be using foul language at an older lady who just happened to be cruising a few mph over the limit? Well, it happened to my mother when she got a ticket for doing 70 in a 65.

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Under most circumstances, that would not be acceptable. Did she make a complaint?

- Carl

Police officers tend to be blunt and brief in their discussions on traffic violations.

Why? Because if they show ANY easy familiarity or friendliness, either the officer gets a complaint for "hitting on" the driver or the driver believes that this officer is an easy mark and will let them off.

If you are speeding, you are a criminal. Until the officer validates your identity and the danger your car may represent, the officer will treat you with all of the friendliness he/she will give to a sleeping rattlesnake.

Too many officers have been shot and killed in traffic stops. When approaching your vehicle, the officer's primary goal is to go home that night... not to make sure that your feelings are enhanced.

Sorry. If you don't want to run into an officer, don't speed or throw your garbage out the window.

Of course... that behavior is okay, right?

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Quoting cyjeff

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Police officers tend to be blunt and brief in their discussions on traffic violations.

Why? Because if they show ANY easy familiarity or friendliness, either the officer gets a complaint for "hitting on" the driver or the driver believes that this officer is an easy mark and will let them off.

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Not to mention the safety issues ... when the attackers and killers of cops are interviewed, they tend to cite an officer's friendliness or lack of control as the main factor in their decision. An officer that is too friendly is easily distracted and taken off guard ... an officer that is short, terse, and refuses to get engaged is one that tends to exude an air of control.

Sometimes there is a method to the "attitude" madness.

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Too many officers have been shot and killed in traffic stops. When approaching your vehicle, the officer's primary goal is to go home that night... not to make sure that your feelings are enhanced.

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True enough.

There's a reason so many officers are killed. In fact, one of my friends was killed in December 2006 on a "routine" stop ... a peer in the same agency (who I did not have the pleasure of knowing as he came on after I left) was killed two years earlier ALSO on a traffic stop. Traffic stops are, statistically, very dangerous for officers. While this is not an excuse to be rude or unprofessional, it should allow some to understand why they might be "cold" or unfriendly.


- Carl

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Quoting johnmax65

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The CHP officers have always been somewhat nasty and used raised voices at citizens who only made the mistake of throwing a piece of trash out their window...

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It is a "mistake" when you leave a red sock in the washing machine and wash a load of whites. Throwing trash out of your truck window is lazy, disgusting and illegal. If if saw someone doing that I'd be undeniably nasty.

When I got stopped for doing 125 in a 70 on I-15 one night back when I lived in Cali. I still had a good meeting with the CHP officer that stopped me.

He had me pop my hood of my 91 T-bird and we sat on the side of I-15 at 230am bsing about what I had done to my car.

He gave me a ticket for doing 95 in a 70 and let me go on my way.

He gave me a huge break, didn't arrest me and didn't search my car.

Which he could have done all that plus towed my car to an impound lot.

What I have learned over my years is this. If you give the officers respect and tell them the truth. Most likely they will give you some kind of break and be nice to you and give you the same respect back.