Have you ever dealt with a dirty cop?

[Peaches999]

What was your story? It seems dirty cops suckle on the government dole hoping they will not be called out for their corruption.

[Thinkingabout]

1. Yes, it was not a pleasant experience but I did not think all was like this one,

Life goes on, I could not allow that experience to rule the rest of my life.

[Texasgal]

2. I was sexually assaulted by a

DPS officer in the middle of nowhere in west Texas in 1989. I reported my experience with the state and it never went anywhere.

[mucifer]

3. I have gotten off more than one ticket by telling the cop I am a nurse

that's about it. Once a cop got mad at me because I told him I was a nurse after he wrote the ticket for speeding. He told me to go to court. I went and pled not guilty. The cop waved at me in court. The judge dismissed it.

Ok not really much of a story and I don't a lot of tickets and now in Chicago most tickets come from red light cameras so I get them the same way others do.

[MattP]

4. I worked at a restaurant and I worked the night shift and we always had police come in

The cops had the bartender give me 100 proof schnapps and I got pretty sick at the time I thought it was cool but now I think it's pretty messed up it was the 80's they were off duty

[jiminvegas]

5. I'm a retired criminal defense attorney

I don't have time to write about all of the dirty cops I have dealt with.

[2naSalit]

6. Which One, Which Time?

Too many to write about.

[Awsi Dooger]

7. Yes, in Las Vegas

I was charged with a crime for literally walking through a casino. Nothing else. I sat there for 2 hours with my hands cuffed behind my back in a casino security office but I wasn't worried in the slightest. I was sure the police officer would listen to my story, check the evidence, and see that the charge was completely bogus. I envisioned him chastising and perhaps charging the casino and security personnel in question.

Uh, not exactly. As soon as the officer arrived it was blatantly obvious it was a rigged system, to use a currently popular term. He had nicknames for all the security personnel. This had happened many times previously. Sure enough, he allowed the lady security officer to ramble for 8 minutes, listing all my supposed offenses. It was difficult not to laugh. As I indicated, I merely walked through. I hadn't played a machine or done anything. That didn't prevent the onslaught of lies.

Once the woman finished, I started to speak when I noticed the officer was already filling out the form. He was charging me without listening to one sentence. I paused. He said, "Go ahead." I asked what he was doing. He got defensive and admitted he was already filling out the form.

Only then did I realize how crooked the system was, and the city was. It had long been reported that Las Vegas police more or less rubber stamped anything the casinos demanded. Now it was happening to me. After I got out of that room I told my story to other locals in the following days. Some of them were finishing sentences for me. They were familiar with the same slot security shift boss who charged me, the other security personnel who assisted, and the police officer who rubber stamped. My jaw was ajar in amazement.

This was my supposed crime: There was a series of slot machines called the "Vision" series. Aptly named because you could see how close you were to the bonus. Many tourists would be unaware of the bonus feature and abandon the machine on the verge of the bonus. It was a goldmine with selective intelligent play. Myself and others used those machines to supplement income. It was the equivalent of a $25 per hour cash job, plus it was fun and you got some exercise.

When a local wrote a book called, "Robbing the One-Armed Bandits" that described how to profit from those machines, it heightened the spotlight and the tension. Some casino workers didn't care. After all, those machines were still set to pay 92% or 95% or whatever. The bottom line didn't change. Others quit their jobs to play the machines, as in can't beat 'em join 'em. But some slot bosses were jealous and irate. They couldn't stand watching local guys walk in and cherry pick machines, often walking out of the casino with greater profit than they would be paid for their jacketed shift.

The solution was to kick those slot players out of the casino, even if they did nothing. Eventually as the machines dwindled in number some low class locals started a practice called "creating." That meant they would find a tourist, normally a lady, and stick her on the Vision machine while lying about the playing characteristics. They would have her play maximum coins, which boosted the bonus level, and then have her abandon the machine on the verge of the bonus. They would walk to another machine while a friend swooped in and played the Vision machine until the bonus was collected.

I despised those creators. I called them in countless times on the house phones, telling security that "creating" was in progress and describing where. Invariably they would arrive late and in the wrong place. I went nuts. You idiots, it's other there...

Anyway, once creating began those slot bosses now had an actual charge to levy. They would charge the Vision playing locals with "creating." Facts didn't matter.

When I had those handcuffs on my wrists for 2 hours I was chuckling at the absurdity of charging me with creating. Once the lady security officer read out the charges and the crooked police officer rubber stamped them, I offered to wager $50,000 on the videotape. Let's gamble. I asked the officer if he were going to review the tape. The lady security officer piped in:

"We don't have to show you anything."

"Of course you won't. There's nothing there."

At that point I sweetened the odds, my $50,000 to your $5000. Still no takers.

Then I changed it again, my $50,000 to their $1000. Silence. I called them gutless, a casino that won't accept 50/1 odds on something they assert happened on their premises.

Finally the officer released the cuffs and I was escorted off the property. I considered going straight to the officer's precinct to speak to a superior but quickly I realized it was such a crooked system that I would likely be targeted further.

In court I plead, "Not guilty." A summer trial date was set. The assistant district attorney was impressive. He called me aside and said he'd like to work with me. He said my record was clean and this looked like an isolated incident so the state would lower the charges. I told him I'm not accepting lower charges since I literally did nothing. He said he had read the witness statements. That floored me because I'd called several times before going to court, asking for witness statements. I was told multiple times that they didn't exist. More outright lies by law enforcement agencies.

The witness statements were laughable. They were recitations of the "creating" charge, with everybody making themselves out to be a hero. I told the district attorney they were all lies. He said, "That may be. But they call their witnesses, you call your witnesses, and who knows?..."

Unfortunately I sensed he was correct. Truth played no role. They would be sitting there in uniforms and with impressive sounding titles so a jury and judge would be swayed by their lies more than my accurate description of walking through a casino and doing absolutely nothing. The assistant district attorney said he wouldn't count on the existence of a tape, that from his experience the tape disappears when it doesn't benefit the casino, especially in a lesser case without a high priced defense attorney.

By the way, I should mention that a friend and I eventually traced the animosity of the slot boss in question. Roughly two weeks earlier we had been in the same casino during the same shift and found a Vision machine on the edge of a bonus. We hit a nice spin and won basically $50 apiece. Big deal. But my friend remembered seeing that slot boss about 20 feet away and seething as we celebrated the nice spin. We theorized from that point forth he was determined to nab and charge us if he ever saw us in the casino again.

The assistant district attorney listened to my account and seemed to accept it. He offered to drop the charges, with nothing on my record. But he said he couldn't dismiss it completely. He said I'd have to "submit" the case and pay a $100 fine. To this day I'm not totally satisfied. I paid $100 for doing nothing. I was barred from the casino. This happened at Circus Circus. I was also barred from their sister properties, and there are many of them. This issue is partially why I left town. The other reason was that my large allotment of Apple stock was thriving so I didn't really need sports betting anymore.

I've been called to jury duty three times subsequently, twice in Las Vegas and once in Miami. Twice I was seated on a jury but excused during voir dire after telling my story, when asked if I have ever had problems with people in position of authority. Defense attorneys love it while prosecutors scramble to deflect. They don't appreciate that I can out talk them.

I'm not thrilled at getting tossed from these juries. I'd love to participate. But if that question is asked I have a civic duty to describe everything I experienced, and how it impacted my life. Both times other seated jurors have spoke up and changed their stories, apparently feeling more confident after I risked first. It indeed feels like a risk, with police officers seated in the courtroom and staring you down when negative words are spoken about one of their own.

Sorry for the very lengthy tale. I may have provided some versions of this story years ago but only now am I comfortable with the full version. I wasn't going to post anything until a DUer from Las Vegas hinted at police impropriety earlier in this thread.

[Iggo]

8. I worked graveyard at two different places: 7-11 and Carl's Jr.

Every cop who came through those doors was dirty.

Or did you think people give cops free shit in the middle of the night out of the goodness of their hearts?

[Tracer]

10. Once, a long time ago.

My then boyfriend raced cars at Thompson Raceway in CT.

After the races, we left the track in my car (a sporty convertible). We made a stop at a stop sign, and then turned right.

We hadn't gone 30 feet before the flashing lights and sirens were behind us.

The cop claimed we were speeding and ordered us to the police station (Webster, MA). They told us we'd have to pay $50 or stay in custody.

$50 was a lot of money at the time, and we didn't have it. So we had to call a friend who lived an hour away to come and bail us out.

I'm sure those cops made a lot of money out of people leaving Thompson.

[cwydro]

11. I've met many good cops.

When my father committed suicide, they were the most wonderful people anyone could imagine.

He shot himself rather than dealing with the cancer he had. We understood, but it was still an awful time.

The police involved were so understanding, so helpful.

Several brought food for my mom for days afterwards. I will never forget their kindness.

[Ron Obvious]

13. Thanks for sharing that story!

As with all people in society, the good people far outnumber the bad ones (and the indifferent vastly outnumber both), but we're only likely to hear about and remember the bad ones.

It's important to keep a healthy perspective to avoid becoming a cynic.

[mnmoderatedem]

12. my brother got rear ended by a cop in Chicago

clearly the cop's fault. Very apologetic and realized they were at fault. Along comes another cop on the scene. The two of them chat a while, and cop number two simply tells my brother to get back in his car and drive away.

No recourse, no reimbursement for his damage, because he happened to get hit by a cop.

Fortunately his car was a lease form his company.