Spring Break
David Breland
Call the police
Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: Opinion
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Nearly every time I hear a story about someone being pulled over in Starkville, the officer in the story is always rude or outright mean to the person telling the story. I am aware of personal biases of the storytellers, but nearly every time I hear one of these stories it's always about how mean the police officer was.
I will grant an exception. Last spring some friends and I had a crawfish boil for Super Bulldog Weekend, and, long story short, the police were called. The two responding officers to our complaint were extremely nice and very professional. I even made a phone call later that week to the police station to compliment the two officers.
This article will probably get me on SPD's radar for sure, but I am tired of how we're treated because we're college students. Then the police department wonders why municipal bond issuances are struck down to build a better police station and expand the police force by 25 officers. It's because we're already over-policed.
I've lived in Starkville for a few years now, and I've never been exposed to this kind of policing. When I say we're over-policed, I mean if you have an MSU decal on your car, and it's late at night, you better get ready to be under close scrutiny. I had a friend get pulled over for his tag light being out. I totally understand that your vehicle is supposed to be in full working order when on the road. But shouldn't that be a Class B offense, where if you were pulled over for speeding you could get a ticket for no tag light, too?
Or is it even legal for a police officer to sit outside the parking lot of a bar or nightclub to pull people over? I understand deterrence, but this is outright intimidation. Whenever a police officer in the performance of their duty impinges on your decision-making when you're fully legal in your actions, it is wrong. For example, police patrols that focus around banks on Fridays when there is a lot of money changing hands is good. Police patrols and presence to scare college kids is not. I understand that our peer group doesn't always make the best decisions. But just as it is wrong to be stopped for being a certain color, does that also not extend to age?
I will grant an exception. Last spring some friends and I had a crawfish boil for Super Bulldog Weekend, and, long story short, the police were called. The two responding officers to our complaint were extremely nice and very professional. I even made a phone call later that week to the police station to compliment the two officers.
This article will probably get me on SPD's radar for sure, but I am tired of how we're treated because we're college students. Then the police department wonders why municipal bond issuances are struck down to build a better police station and expand the police force by 25 officers. It's because we're already over-policed.
I've lived in Starkville for a few years now, and I've never been exposed to this kind of policing. When I say we're over-policed, I mean if you have an MSU decal on your car, and it's late at night, you better get ready to be under close scrutiny. I had a friend get pulled over for his tag light being out. I totally understand that your vehicle is supposed to be in full working order when on the road. But shouldn't that be a Class B offense, where if you were pulled over for speeding you could get a ticket for no tag light, too?
Or is it even legal for a police officer to sit outside the parking lot of a bar or nightclub to pull people over? I understand deterrence, but this is outright intimidation. Whenever a police officer in the performance of their duty impinges on your decision-making when you're fully legal in your actions, it is wrong. For example, police patrols that focus around banks on Fridays when there is a lot of money changing hands is good. Police patrols and presence to scare college kids is not. I understand that our peer group doesn't always make the best decisions. But just as it is wrong to be stopped for being a certain color, does that also not extend to age?
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