Originally Posted by
wphamilton
Very good point. I'd go so far as to say, if you're a cop and you don't know the law in a particular situation, don't even try to enforce a guess. It doesn't take a degree or a high IQ to realize when you don't actually know something.
You don't understand human nature at all; less intelligent people believe they know more than they do. There have been studies - and they indicate that the less intelligent or knowledgeable someone is, the more they overestimate their knowledge. In other words, they don't know what they don't know. That sherif "knows" that you can't block traffic...he also knows he'll never be held accountable if he's wrong and he knows that on scene he has near absolute power. If you appeal his "knowledgeable" enforcement you lose a day of work and time from your life. You still lose, and he still gets paid regardless.
Originally Posted by
DX-MAN
THIS.
Police Academy recruit training doesn't just involve learning how to use a gun/nightstick/taser/siren; they are expected to learn AT LEAST as much of the law as a citizen is expected to know, and then learn more. Trouble, is just like high school English and math, they don't learn it.
The average citizen doesn't understand basic legal terms, basic legal process or the grey area around any law. The average citizen shouldn't be enforcing on site decisions with near absolute power. It's an imperfect system - and we have due process to try and fix it later.
i get frustrated by non-sense like the OP went through too - I'm not telling him not to be annoyed and I'm not arguing the system is perfect. I'm explaining why this is common, and it's because we've given a lot of authority to people in difficult situations who often don't have the intelligence or training to wield that power. We have due process to address it later.