Only once and it was definitely unpleasant. This was probably 10 years ago. It was 6 in the morning and someone started banging on our front door. Our dogs were barking and jumping on the door. DH and I grabbed robes and ran downstairs to the foyer. We could see shapes through the etched glass window but couldn't tell who was there.

I grabbed the dogs by the collar an DH opened the door - 2 police officers barged inside demanding to see Dave. One of them had his hand on his sidearm and the other warned me to put the dogs away.

We had no idea what was happening, they were wearing uniforms but didn't show any identification and they weren't from our local police department. DH told them there wasn't a Dave at our home and then asked them who they were and what Dave did they want.

They were not friendly to say the least. I still had the dogs by the collar and one of the officers yelled again to put them away. DH told them again that there wasn't a Dave in the house and that we don't have a Dave in the family.

By this time the kids were awake and coming down the stairs crying. DH asked them what address did they have for this 'Dave.' They told us the address and DH told them they had the wrong house and the wrong street.

They turned and left. No explanations, no apologies.

We called out local police department and they told us that it was a county wide directive to arrest people with outstanding bench warrants.

All of our other interactions with police have been pleasant and helpful.

Called them once about a group of bikers across the street from my office hollering and waving knives at each other. Begged the dispatcher to keep me anonymous. Three cop cars pulled up. 2 officers went to the confrontation. Third officer walked right across the street and into my office. I was furious. I am in the office alone the majority of the time!

I've had nothing but good experiences with police officers. When I discovered that my welder had been stolen--six months after the fact--the state cop went to the trouble of finding the thieves. The welder was long gone, but I appreciated the effort.

When a convicted child molester was released from prison, the police came around to tell everyone, and they still patrol occasionally.

As a reporter, I had a lot of contact with state and local cops. It was all good.

But Maire and Angela, your experiences definitely were not!

just routine stuff. ticket or 2, cop came to put down a deer hit by a car. but nothing more that that...I can't say the locals are tolerant of speeders of color..

I have had nothing but positive interaction with police officers where ever I have lived. I worked in various ERs and often dated police officers when I was younger. The police here are the best ever. They hire their new officers out of Iowa State University. I think a bachelor's degree is required for new hires here.

I had a bad traffic related incident when I lived in Florida. I exited the freeway and drove about 2 miles, stopped and got gas, and was leaving to go home when he pulled me over. He said I had been speeding at the freeway exit, and he had followed me and waited for me to get the gas. He accused me of going about 15 miles over the speed limit. I am generally not a speeder, and if I do it's only a few miles over, so this surprised me but I didn't question it as maybe I had been distracted or something.

He then told me that I better not try to challenge it at court, and if I did, he would tell them that I was going even faster than he was writing the ticket for and I would end up paying twice as much. I wish I had recorded it! Additionally, after I got a copy of the ticket, I looked at the address written on it where I was allegedly speeding, and I went there and the posted limit was higher than my speed! So not only did he threaten me, but I wasn't even speeding.

I look back and it makes me so mad that I put up with it as I am sure I could have won. But I was young with no support system and didn't feel comfortable challenging him so I just paid the ticket and went to traffic school to get it off my record.

Not really. Many years ago I was on my way to to the bowling alley in early afternoon. It was common knowledge even in that small quiet town that you didn't take your pocket book to the bowling alley.

I was pulled over and a very young officer said I was speeding, and asked for my permit, which of course was in my pocketbook. He told me to get in the squad car, which I did. Then he said he would have to give me a ticket, and reached into his shirt pocket. Oops! no ticket pad.

Ordinarily I would have made a humorous remark about that, but I could see his embarrassment, and I kept quiet. No harm. no foul, and I have to admit that I've told that little story several times. Poor Kid! I wonder if he ever told it?

Sue

I have only had them help me. I had a tenant threaten to pour concrete down my stool if I didn't come right over and return their deposit. I called the police, the officer asked me what kind of car I was driving and he said he would wait at the corner and follow me to the rental. He had a very serious talk with the man. He said if you damage any of her property or hurt anyone in her family I will come looking for you. YOu should have seen the look on the guy's face........priceless.

Only good experiences, wherever I've lived. Even in my college days in the late 70's, when their patience must have been sorely tried on a regular basis! I've always found law enforcement officers to be helpful, kind on more than one occasion, and bestowed with a sense of humor.

SEVERAL bad experiences. The worst involved the death of my niece and their coverup and harassment of my sister and BIL. There's a reason they're called PIGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I have more because I am more inclined to err on the side of caution and will absolutely call. I've called more than once for something to which I wasn't a party. A) I could hear him hitting her it was so hard. They were outside. I could also hear her screaming. They were there instantly. B) a rooster would crow every morning at 2AMish and wake my then infant son. There was a cock-fighting problem there. I just called and asked if it was legal to have chickens within city limits? Sure. You can even have a cow! But I never heard that rooster ever again. Not for years! C) I saw a car go off the road into a telephone pole and then careen back into the lane. The couple ahead of me, got out and knocked on the window. The driver sped off, almost hitting cars from oncoming traffic. And almost hitting the guy who was checking on them. I suspect they were avoiding being ticketed due to illicit behavior (drugs, cell phone, alcohol). I called to give the license plate, make, and model of the car in case someone wanted to prosecute over the destroyed property. Nothing but good responses there.

I've had good experience even when my about to be ex, at the time, lied. Twice. Once, he accused me of attacking him. We both went downtown after I pointed to the milk that he'd thrown in my face, and ended up all over the ceiling and picture fronts. I really hadn't done what he'd said. He is just a bully, and was mad because I wouldn't do what he said. He kept telling them, but I really just wanted you talk to her! Meaning, not arrest me. Either he was in cuffs and I wasn't, or we both weren't. Dismissed, and the police officer offered to drive me home, but not him. Next time, way more serious, he said I kidnapped my son. And I was smart enough to keep the child away from them, so he could retell in his own words what happened. It matched what I'd said, not what he said at all. The officer left. Both could've turned out worse. I truly believe he finally left me alone because of the second incident. I kept saying, can't he be charged with false accusations? While the police officer kept saying no, I'm not so sure he didn't say something to the ex in the end.

For many many years I had a stalker. One day, he actually mused to me how it'd be great when we were both dead because we "could be in heaven together". Uh no. I'm not planning on dying anytime soon. Did he have other plans? The police officer who handled my case had a stalker who drove her car through his livingroom. Funny, but after he talked with him (I didn't hear his discussion), he hasn't bothered me since. He did show up at my church for a couple of months, but he was with someone to whom he's married and they decided on another church. He did happen to like my pastor from many moons ago, but I think his wife figured out how much I felt uncomfortable around him. And he's toned it down.

I too had a knock at the door. They said I'd called about my husband hurting me. I said, he's sitting on the couch? They asked to see him. He was, sure enough, sitting on the couch, and looking quite puzzled. I said, are you looking for Greengate, because this is Gatewood? Not the real names. Yep, wrong address.

This post was edited by rob333 on Wed, Dec 3, 14 at 8:37

Never had anything bad happen to me. Once when we lived in an apartment, we had this crazy elderly lady living above us that insisted that we were making really loud noises and we were asleep at the time. Cops came and we told them that we were not making any noise and that there was a crazy woman living above us that hears things apparently and they saw that we were doing nothing and just asked us a few questions and left. The crazy old lady came running down the stairs about that time and was obviously CRAZY. That pretty much helped our case I think.

I will say that you have to always be respectful to them. They do not take kindly to arguments. It should always be "yes sir and no sir" to them!

None for me!

When I was a teenager I was picked up for vagrancy, and my arm magically broke itself.

But in general now I am an upstanding citizen ;)

Dances.

All good, even as a teen breaking curfews. I always say that cops don't get paid enough. Most of their encounters are with people that are very challenging to work with, I bet they love it when they encounter a sane, reasonable, grateful person.

Only pleasant or neutral experiences. Being stopped for speeding a few times in my younger days wasn't fun, but the officers were professional.

In the first couple of months after we bought this house, there were police cruisers in our driveway 3 times. The first time was when I was working on the house, but we hadn't even moved in. Someone had stolen a truck loaded with carpet, sold the carpet, and abandoned the truck on our rural road, a few yards from our driveway. A few weeks after we moved in, someone stole an ATV from my uncle across the field, but exited on our side--the sheriff wanted to know if we'd heard anything in the middle of the night. Soon after that, a young man went into the ditch in front of our house late at night, which necessitated TWO sheriff's cruisers, a state patrolman, full light display, the works.

Each time the officers just wanted information from us, but who knows what the other homeowners thought about the new neighbors.

A longer story: The last time the police were in our driveway was a little different. I'd left my (adult) daughters and my grandson at home, to spend the day at the flea market with my sister, BIL, and mother. I'd parked my truck at my sister's, locked it, and taken the key. When we returned, my BIL asked if I'd take a small heater that he'd repaired for my mother. When I dropped off the heater at my mother's I forgot to put the tailgate up on my pick-up, and drove home with it down. As I started to turn onto our road, I met a cruiser going the opposite direction, smiled pleasantly, and drove the final 1/4 mile in oblivion. After I pulled up to our detached garage, I spent a minute gathering my bags of goodies from the floorboard of the truck. As I stepped out, I turned to see a cruiser parked behind me, and another one pulling into my driveway.

Keep in mind that I'd been gone all day, and I knew my kids were there. The look of panic on my face must have convinced the officers that I was guilty of something. I looked toward my back door, which was standing open, then scanned the yard. The kids were all in the back yard, but my younger daughter was running toward me, saying, "Mom, what's wrong? Did you have a wreck?"

At the same time I was saying, "What's wrong? What happened? Is everyone OK?" We grabbed each other in a hug and continued the conversation, flea market bags still clutched in my hands.

Her: "Nothing's wrong--I thought you were in trouble."

Me: "No, I thought you were in trouble--so everyone's alright?"

The officer in the first car was listening, but hadn't left his vehicle. I walked over and asked if I could help him. It turns out that a neighbor's riding mower had just been stolen from his driveway, by someone in a white pick-up truck. The neighbor said that the culprits left in a hurry ... with the tailgate down.

The officer must have thought he already had the case solved as he made a U-turn and called for back-up. I was so relieved that my kids were OK, that I laughed when he told me why he'd followed me home. He asked me a few questions about where the truck had been, and if anyone else had used it. I had the feeling he was barely keeping a straight face as he left. He and the other officer conferred for a few minutes, at the end of the driveway. I assume they were having a good laugh of their own.

Fairly good experiences, but what many of them go thru, and having one in the family, and knowing so many personally (supervisor's husband one) I do know that they go thru and see so much I would not want to even think about being one. I wonder how anyone, especially the women can be ""polite"" when they go to a scene where a child has been either hurt or killed. I know my relative really felt it when he did search ard rescue when he found a child who had been killed in a accident that was the same age as his daughter. He went thru special counseling by choice and this happened twice. Needless to say, we did not discuss it with him.

(((marie's relative))) It is hard.

The police department in our quiet town encourages citizens to 'ride along' with an officer on patrol duty. My DH did it with an officer we've been acquainted with since he house-sat for us. Because we know him, he recounted calls to various properties as they drove past them -- including a few comical dealings with drunken nut cases. There were many more bloody 'domestic disturbances' and drug-related problems. He and a partner had also been dispatched to two separate homes to notify parents that their sons had committed suicide at their respective colleges.

See if your town offers this opportunity. You will see things you never before noted as possible threats -- because you are looking at the world from the perspective of someone who is paid to see them.

Your pulse will increase as you watch a 'routine' traffic stop, preparing, as the officer does, for all possible outcomes. One car pulled over while my DH was a witness contained two young men, both with outstanding warrants against them. 'Our' officer kept the situation under control until a second squad car arrived to take the men to the station. They would eventually be transported to the county jail. They were 'only' speeding a little when pulled over. A policeman never knows he will be giving a warning or dodging a bullet.

I married and divorced one...does that count? LOL!

The only good experiences I've had have been when I was stopped for speeding. I tended to drive a little too fast when I was younger. The officers always behaved professionally and treated me with respect.

In all other cases, none of which involved wrongdoing or suspected wrongdoing on my part, the officers were condescending, arrogant, critical and unhelpful.

On the other hand, the fire department officers in my town are gems.

I never have but when my neighbour built their house next door the police were always there and always watching the house because of their daughter. Until they moved in the only police presence we had in this neighbourhood were the policemen who lived here.

Never.

I was the daughter, wife, sister and Aunt of police officers. Of course, from being the child of a police officer and then marrying one, I had very intimate knowledge of the many difficult tasks and sometimes terrible emotional trials they experience, in their line of work.

I saw first hand all the support and comfort they are able to bring people in times of extreme stress and tragedy. But I also learned of the (fortunately low ratio of) police officers who use their authority to flaunt their arrogant, condescending, bullying attitudes towards anyone they consider inferior.

It's a shame when the wonderful, dedicated officers are affected by the terrible reputation the bad ones have in society, much like the majority of wonderful Catholic priests suffer from the terrible reputation of the rotten ones. Too bad that both vocations seem to have so much difficulty bringing culpability to the bad ones and getting rid of them.

I agree. Even though my personal experiences haven't been great, my uncle is a cop and he is the sweetest, kindest guy around so I certainly don't feel they are all bad. But the bad ones get the most publicity so they taint the profession unfortunately.

Never any trouble with the police in general... just a former police officer/ ex husband.

Cops make lousy family men.

Moni

No run-ins personally, , but I know a few of them and quite frankly, they have ego issues.

I was stopped a block from my house. The officer asked me if I knew what the speed limit was. I said 25mph. He them asked me how fast I thought I was going, I said 26mph. He yelled "YES"! 26mph!!!!!!!!!!

He detained me to berate me for speeding. DH & I joke about it to this day....

It's hard to generalize, don't you think? Cops who work in small towns probably don't have enough to do, like to throw their weight around and make mountains of mole hills. Cops in urban centers have too much to do and simply try to stay alive until the end of their work shift. As between the two settings, it's not the same job.