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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA botched DUI arrest reveals a 'dirty little secret' about policing
What should have been one of the happiest times in Brianna Longoria’s life has spiraled into a yearslong nightmare.
The day after Longoria got married in December 2024, she was pulled over by a police officer in Phoenix. She figured the ordeal would be over when she passed a breathalyzer test, but she was shocked to learn she was being arrested for driving under the influence of drugs.
At the station, the officers processing her were captured in a candid moment that Longoria says reveals what was really happening.
One officer worried aloud that she would get kicked off the squad if she doesn’t “get a DUI.”
“But I’m like, I can’t just conjure one up. I have tried,” Anette Hannah can be heard saying in body camera footage.
“You can. You can,” Mary Metheny, the officer who initially stopped Longoria, replied.
The charges against Longoria were dropped, but she has filed a lawsuit that could take years to resolve.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/2026/05/30/police-ticket-quotas/90179215007/
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Dawson Leery
(19,588 posts)
Intractable
(2,420 posts)It's more about politicians and corporate masters than cops, but it works.
gulliver
(14,113 posts)Both cops (Anette Hannah and Mary Metheny) should be canned if they haven't already been. The fact they were even on the force could be a symptom of something I've brought up before. People have to want the jobs you want them to do.
Some of us think we can just raise police, teacher, and even political leader salaries. Pay them more, and you'll get better people in these tough, public facing jobs. But that's simplistic. These jobs have to be attractive if we want to get competent people to want them.
Shipwack
(3,112 posts)Require better entry qualifications.
Another issue, though, is training. Not better training, different training.
Right now, they are being taught the mindset that they are warriors in a warzone, instead of being guardians in a community. Every person they encounter is a possible enemy combatant, not a citizen needing help.
Wounded Bear
(64,711 posts)It shows.
gulliver
(14,113 posts)We have an "attracting the good" situation, not a "rejecting the bad." You can't go fishing with the idea that you're just going to put up a sign that says, "big fish only" on your boat and wait for the fish to jump into your boat.
These two bad cops probably had zero training that would yield warrior/warzone, gung ho, abusers. They seem like they are more probably just selfish and weak. The selfish and weak are more likely to shirk the tough parts of the job and let violent victimizers run amok in underserved communities.
paleotn
(22,831 posts)They all go hand in hand. Those who often protect us from dangerous elements in our society are also some of the lowest paid. Same for EMTs. Same for firefighters. Same for teachers. We want them to protect us, our property, and teach our kids at the highest level, but we want all that on the cheap. Really, really cheap. Well, if you want cheap, that's exactly what you're going to get.
Many of those attracted to the job in its current state figure getting to beat the shit out of people and kill them occasionally offsets the shit pay. We're attracting exactly the WRONG people to the occupation. You get what you're willing to pay for.
Buckeyeblue
(6,447 posts)They have an us versus them mentality. They should be in their communities building relationships. Getting to know people. Gaining trust. Checking in with those who are struggling the most, not to catch them breaking the law but seeing if the need help.
They shouldn't be evaluated on the number of arrests they make. The should be evaluated on the number of people's names they know.
relogic
(283 posts)“Another issue, though, is training. Not better training, different training.”
When one reads the plethora of police encounters escalating into brutal, eventual thuggery and too often lethality. You observe not a lack of training. The actions in these encounters many times show training that is designed to escalate and compound what would normally be a simple inquiry, but overbearing cops with egos put the civilian in an established, volatile dynamic.
If better training is the assumed remedy, what are the police departments instilling in their personnel? The culture of LEO is rife with authoritarian entitlement. That is the problem we face.
lavoosh99
(46 posts)because they are already indoctrinated into following orders and the chain of command thing. However, they also tend to be trained that anyone who isn't one of them is the enemy; kill or be killed; and the main objective is to get back safe at night. Imagine, if you will, if firefighters had the same mentality, "Fuck going into that burning building, I got to get home safe."
Jilly_in_VA
(14,652 posts)They just happened to get caught. They all do it, and don't think they don't. You can tell by the number of them out at certain times of the month.
Gymbo
(187 posts)I'm not sure if your conclusion is a correct one. Perhaps in some cities and in some conditions, yes, money could be an answer. In Los Angeles, Sheriff Department trainees earn $79,495 to $98,757 for the 22 week training session. Once you graduate, you will earn $84,827 to $143,117 and will work first assignments in custody, courts, or inmate transportation. As you advance so does your pay 2% after 30 months, to coveted positions, some increasing to 24%. Naturally an excellent health and pension plan comes with it.
As a citizen, I am generally happy with our sheriff department but they are far from acceptable to some communities and some ethnic communities. They also have the habit of being headlines in the newspaper all too frequently.
Shipwack
(3,112 posts)gopiscrap
(24,782 posts)paleotn
(22,831 posts)paleotn
(22,831 posts)Everything else in human society is a few, some, or many. In this case, a hell of a lot of them certainly are due to shit pay, bad training and attracting the wrong people, but don't say all. That's not helpful. That shows a lack of rational thought. And that helps exacerbate the problem.
spike jones
(2,028 posts)
LiberalArkie
(19,932 posts)the federal taxes thus flowing down to the cities and counties.
Now the cities and counties (especially the smaller ones) have to collect more in fines and penalties to survive.
The US has to go back to the higher tax rates and the federal turn back money. Thus lowering the property taxes and local sales taxes.
wnylib
(26,574 posts)way back in the mid 1980s. It was in the summer. A tavern about 7 blocks from my home was having a contest of local bands. I drove alone to meet some friends there. I drove an old Plymouth Fury.
I arrived early, around 5 pm, had a cheeseburger and fries and a vodka and tonic with my meal. I did not have another alcohol drink the rest of the night. Switched to only coke bc I would be driving myself home I was there for the music and my friends, not for the drinks.
Thee bands stopped playing around midnight. I stayed to talk with a friend who sang in one of the bands. I left around 1 am. When I turned the corner at the end of the block, a police car stopped me. There were two male cops. One asked, "Do you know that you ran up over the curb when you turned the corner?" I knew that I had not. My low hanging Fury would have had muffler or tail pipe damage if I had.
But I was alone. NO witnesses. I said that I had no knowledge of going over the curb and would have heard and felt the scrape.
The other cop said that I did not know about the curb because I was intoxicated. He said that my car reeked of beer. I said that nobody else was in my car and I do not drink beer because I am allergic to it. He and his partner were clearly trying to fake a DUI case.
He got angry and asked if I was claiming to spend an evening in a tavern without drinking. I said that I had one vodka drink at 5 pm. With a meal, then drank coke. He ordered me out of the car for a sobriety test. Heel to toe for 10 paces. Touch my fingertip to my nose. I aced it. I requested a breathalyzer test bc I knew I would pass it. He ordered me to do the heel to toe again, then touch my toes, etc., etc. No breathalyzer.
Finally his partner said to let it go. He said he would let me off with a warning but would ticket me next time. They followed me to my home and watched me go inside, then drove away.
I am a White female. If I were a POC, I am sure it would have been worse. It was scary enough being alone with 2 lying cops and no witnesses.
LiberalArkie
(19,932 posts)Texas inspection sticker.. You had to get the vehicle inspected before you could get new plates as I was moving from Arkansas to Houston.
He tool me to the JP. Always had a JP there in small towns.
The cop removed my wallet, opened all my luggage and piled in on the floor pulled my money out of my wallet and fined me what was in my wallet and pocket.
Luckily I had some money in my sock.. You know Texas even back then.
But I never had it happen in real towns or anywhere like it is now.
lostnfound
(17,657 posts)One victim tracked him down using ‘find my…’ to the cop’s HOUSE.
Cop had the man’s laptop at his house.
And lied about the DUI.
Cop earned $250K one year from all of the overtime for being in court for the DUI testimonies.
Probably ruined a lot of people’s lives, if they were fake.
cksmithy
(527 posts)have saliva tests that they use to determine suspected drug use for cannabis and cocaine. If positive, a blood test is then given at the station. On Britbox I've a watched series of real, actual police going about their business and how they react to people they pull over. Completely different then over here.
Blue Full Moon
(3,674 posts)Cops lie. They are there to protect rich people, companies, and property. If you knew how they talk. Mandatory psychology exams and background checks would be in place. If fired they should never be allowed to work as law enforcement again.
Jedi Guy
(3,503 posts)I can't speak for every department nationwide but psych exams and background checks are, I would say, the norm rather than the exception. When I joined a police department as a dispatcher, the process included two psych evaluations (one written and examined by a psychologist, one a face-to-face with a psychologist) and a very, very thorough background check. Thorough as in they called every single one of my living relatives, every employer I'd ever had, and even asked me to get contact information for my neighbors.
That was the standard process for all department employees, sworn and otherwise.
Furthermore, the department had a behavioral science team (shrinks) on the payroll. They were involved in all internal affairs investigations. They also had twice yearly check-ins with every officer to see where their heads were at, how they were managing the stress of the job, that kind of thing. They checked in with communications personnel twice yearly, too, both the police service operators who fielded 911 calls from the public and the dispatchers like me who only dealt directly with the officers. We frequently heard some really unpleasant things on the job and having someone to talk to about it was helpful.
Is that ubiquitous across the country? No, probably not, particularly when it comes to the little podunk agencies that serve small towns and sparsely-populated counties. They're not going to have the money for that kind of thing. I don't know if larger agencies use the same structure or resources as my old department but I'd feel confident in betting that they do something along those lines.
There's a lot wrong with policing in modern America. The "warrior" training is a big part of it, both in and of itself but also because if that's how they train it makes it obvious who they're looking to hire and undergo said training. The "warrior" training needs to go.
The blue wall of silence is also problematic, but that one I understand to a certain degree because it's just human nature. Any tight-knit group of people is going to have a mentality, unspoken or voiced, that they protect each other, look after each other, support each other, etc. And in some ways that's a good thing. You want that kind of camaraderie in your team until they cover up and lie for each other. This too is an outgrowth of the "warrior" training, the us vs. them mentality it inculcates, the unspoken threat that if an officer "snitches" on their blue brethren they may find that backup arrives a trifle late when the shit hits the fan.
But complaining about the "us vs. them" mentality that cops have retreated into in one breath and then blurting out in the next that all cops are bastards is compounding the problem. It reinforces the notion that the public hates them, that the public is the enemy, that they can only rely on each other. It makes the blue wall of silence worse.
Immediately rushing to judgment every time something controversial happens rather than waiting for the facts to emerge likewise isn't helpful and, once again, teaches cops that the public hates them, that they'll never get a fair hearing in the court of public opinion, that they can only rely on each other.
I worked closely with police officers for over a year. Are all cops bastards? No. That's a simplistic and frankly childish worldview. Are all cops faultless heroes? Of course not, that's equally simplistic and childish. Cops are people doing a difficult, stressful job that most of us couldn't do and wouldn't want to do. Some of the cops I worked with were in the job for the right reasons, some of them were high on their own supply and liked throwing their weight around. Some of them were genuinely good and decent people, some were assholes I couldn't stand to be around.
As it turns out, reality is more complex than convenient slogans like ACAB and FTP.
FullySupportDems
(505 posts)"One officer worried aloud that she would get kicked off the squad if she doesn’t “get a DUI.”
“But I’m like, I can’t just conjure one up. I have tried,”
I notice the other officer agreed with her concern. Pressuring them this way to arrest and charge people seems corrupt from the start.
Fil1957
(914 posts)
BeneteauBum
(835 posts)Our state police detained her as she was filming an ICE detention. She was charged with jaywalking as she crossed a side street. Jaywalking is not discussed in our state’s pedestrian statute. The whole thing was obvious harassment and was dismissed in court yesterday. Obviously, our law enforcement doesn’t appreciate citizens standing up for their rights when bogus accusations are used to intimidate. I’ve had law enforcement tell me several times that the law doesn’t apply to them……pissed me off.
Peace ☮️
happybird
(5,411 posts)I am so grateful for body cameras!
Years ago, my ex and I were living a low life. Long story short, in 3 court cases, all in different counties/jurisdictions, 2 cases in one state, 1 in another state, two of the arresting officers lied in court. There was no need to. It was all minor stuff and each case was "plead guilty and get probabtion," as directed by public defenders. They had nothing to gain from lying.
But they lied anyway. Because they can.
GoodRaisin
(11,094 posts)
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,263 posts)no_hypocrisy
(55,504 posts)Last edited Sat May 30, 2026, 04:54 PM - Edit history (1)
My client was taken to the police station where she was administered a breathalyzer test.
She passed. But the cops weren't satisfied and made her take another, with them playing around with knobs on the machine.
She passed again. More knobs. The cops finally got a number they liked, and she was charged with DUI.
Dr. T
(742 posts)They forced me to take the breathalyzer test six times before getting the results they were looking for.
AZ8theist
(7,679 posts)Some good advise for these situations:
Dr. T
(742 posts)Ultimately, it got thrown out, but it cost me $250 for a lawyer. It emptied my savings account.
I had an adversarial relationship with the local police. They were hell bent on getting me for something.
Nice post, AZ8theist. That's news I can use.
Dr. T
(742 posts)DUI, speeding and who knows what else. ICE has that same problem. Arrest innocent people and hit your quota or else you (the cop) will suffer.
underpants
(197,361 posts)Interesting
One study of state highway patrol officers suggests that when a quota is in place, the number of tickets issued tends to peak near the middle of the month, but without a quota the number of tickets stays relatively consistent throughout the month, according to co-author Griffin Edwards, a professor of economics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“I think our research is interesting in that it does, at the very least, dispel this rumor of ticket counts going up near the end of the month," he said.
pecosbob
(8,511 posts)Predatory police departments is the problem.
SunImp
(2,729 posts)hatrack
(65,216 posts)Then they stood around with their collective thumb up their butt for an hour and 17 minutes (along with literally dozens of heavily armed "warriors" from multiple agencies) while a lone gunman massacred 21 schoolchildren and teachers.
AZProgressive
(30,008 posts)They were trying to manufacture a DUI when they didn't have a case and the victim's attorney alleges the department has quotas for DUI arrests.
This is the same Phoenix department that shoots people at a higher rate than the national average.
Figarosmom
(13,791 posts)I've seen quotas used in so many jobs and all it did was promote dishonesty and desperation. It is not a good method of increasing productivity. It just isn't.
2na fisherman
(372 posts)Many police departments nationwide get federal funding for more military SWAT type equipment due to the passing of right wing anti crime bills touting the fear of terrorism. So the taxpayer/citizens pay for ever greater police oppression. When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. So you must get "swatted" even if your phone is now considered a weapon used against police.
Aussie105
(8,231 posts)I went for an early morning drive because I couldn't sleep.
Got stopped 3 times in a short journey by the 'pull over, breathalyser time!' crews.
Realized later: It was the day after Xmas.
Me: tired but no alcohol or drugs in my system, just smiled, complied, didn't answer any questions, and enjoyed the look of disgust when the reading was zero.
Sorry/not sorry for not adding to your quota.
But the leading questions - a trap for the unwary!