The arrogant southern sheriff who holds himself and his men above the law is an old cliche’. Maybe it’s time to update the stereotype.
(Background: Here, Here and Here)
UPDATE: In the comments, Mitch points out that cops are known to break speed limits. I should point out that the officers in this case were not merely speeding but were driving in ways that endangered other motorists. They were also abusive to local police who, in response to numerous complaints, stopped them and asked them to slow down. One thing that stands out in the first discussion that I linked to, in which many of the participants are police, is how some police officers expect other police to tolerate their reckless or illegal behavior on grounds of “professional courtesy.” That even a few officers believe this — and I am sure that it’s much more than a few in many police agencies — IMO is evidence of systematic flaws in training, supervision and values. It is to these officers’ credit that they were returning from post-Katrina duty in New Orleans, which must have been no picnic. But lots of other people, including police officers from other States, also worked in New Orleans after the hurricane, didn’t drive like maniacs on their way back North, and didn’t treat the laws and citizens of jurisdictions other than their own with contempt.
It must be some kind of unwritten rule that cops are allowed to break speed limits no matter what. I’ve seen plenty of staties blowing by everything on the Mass. Pike without their roof lights on, going at least 85. When I lived next door to a town cop, he used to put on the lights and siren, then turn them off a block before his street and go home for lunch. His wife was a babe, so he may have had an excuse.