Not one to voice my opinion .. Not!
First let me say I am not prejudicial against the police. Those that do their job and do it well get accolades. Those that do not should get what any poor performer gets - the door. There is an appearance that the police do protect their own, and that hurts their overall image. It is one thing to stand up for another when they are in the right. But to always stand up for them, regardless of rightness is problematic.
There have been lots of comments about the poor cop and how they cannot afford this or that. I call BS on that one. I have a friend who happens to be a Sherrifs Deputy. Makes pretty good cash. Has a nice house (better than mine in fact). Has a vacation/winter home in south Florida. Keeps a Prowler there to drive. etc, etc. It is not a money issue.
I think the biggest problem is that tickets are seen by the public as a means of providing community income and not as a safety enforcing/improving element. If safety was the motivation a court would never lower the ticket and collect the same money. It is clear what they are after. So, the traffic cop is really the modern day revenue man. No wonder he has the same reputation in that duty.
Lastly my biggest beef with the police. That is not following what they are paid to do. I get so peeved when I witness a police car drive well over the speed limit, drive through traffic lights (especially if they hit their lights for just a moment to do so), tailgate and such. In almost all cases I witness they are not on a lights off run or anything. Just putting themselves above the law. And then the ultimate: when a police officer is pulled over when in civilian attire, driving their own vehicle, they are given a huge leeway from other police when so informed. A badge is to enforce the law not to break it freely.
Paragraph # 1 above, I totally agree.
Paragraph #2 above, I totally agree.
Paragraph #3 above, sort of agree. I think it serves both purposes, security and revenue. I see your point about the traffic cop, though where I was, the traffic cops, beside working traffic and writing tickets also handled all the big traffic accidents (involving death/serious injury, city-related accidents, etc.) They have specialized training in accident reconstruction and other things. My hats off to them in that regard. I am not a big fan of the cop that does
nothing but write tickets.
Paragraph # 4...I disagree with much of it. When we hit lights and siren, people tend to panic like a deer in the headlights. Many folks act unprdictably when seeing the lights and hearing the siren. Sure, everyone should slow and pull over to the right to let the emergency vehicle pass...but the majority don't. They slam on their brakes, they swerve, etc. To avoid this, sometimes we run without lights and siren (unless it is an absolute, gotta-get-there-now kinda call). Yes, we would drive over the speed limit, yes we sometimes hit lights and blow through a red light and turn them back off to continue on our way. Sometimes, you are going on a call that requires a stealth approach (like a hold-up alarm at the local store). You don't want to go in lights and siren, you want to catch the bad guy. Sure we are not perfect and some may abuse that ability (at which point it simply becomes an excuse). And yeah, I agree that cops (off-duty) get breaks when it comes to most traffic stops. As long as it isn't a very serious infraction (DUI, accident caused by the off-duty cop, etc), he probably gets off from receiving a ticket. The thought process is, this guy (the off-duty cop) is out there putting his life on the line and if I needed backup he would be there for me, I am gonna cut him some slack...officer discretion, same as getting a warning that many talk about getting...just with much greater frequency. Many times, even though they don't get a ticket, they get reported to their Sgt. or Lt. which carries its own problems for the offending officer. I am not saying it is right, but I have been on both sides of it (the stopper and the stoppee) and I have done it (there...its my mea culpa).
I wish we could explain everything that cops do, I am more than willing to explain anything in which I have had experience or training. That might help dispel some of the bad feelings about cops...not all, but some. I really wish I could help explain some things that would solve the whole "cops ****" mentality, but life's too short.
As hot as am reading through the posts on this thread, I can still manage to pull a smile when I read the original post knowing that your dumb@ss got what you were overdue for. 
