Off duty...... What would you have done.

[rsuperu44]

Hi, I am a rookie police officer. I was driving with my family, wife+two little girls, on one of my days off. I was driving on a road that had to lanes for my direction of travel. I was in the left lane and there was a slow moving vehicle in front of me. I turned on my right turn signal to change lanes so I can pass on the right (its legal to pass on the right in ourstate)There was suv the right lane that was close to me, so i left my turn signal on and waited for the suv in right lane to pass ahead of us. The suv in the right lane honked his horn at me so I begain the lane change maneuver but reaized the suv on the right was kind of to close so i stopped and stayed in my lane. I was thinking what does this guy want. The suv passed us the driver screaming and flicking me off, also the driver threw some thing small at my car. Down the road at a red light we stopped next to each other. I badged the suv which had one male driver and a female passenger. The driver crused at me saying i all most hit him, that i was drunk, he could tell i was drinking, he is going beat my F ing a**, he didn't care that I was a cop, he was going to beat my F ing pig A**, and he asked me if i wanted to fight him. I replyed that I'm not going to fihgt you I have to little kids in the car. The female said that they wrote down my tag number, and she is pregnant. I said, ok lets stop and wait for the police. The driver did not stop crusing at me and they drove off straight ahead, I made a right at that light. I remeber their tag number.
To make things more interesting I think the suv is the same vehcile that did a uturn in front of my wife who was driving at 55 mph (the speed limit) causing her to swerve severely about a couple of weeks ago on the same street and area as the present incident. Last time I was in a different vehicle following my wife, I badged the SUV male driver at a red light, and told me he cant do a uturn in fornt of people driving 55 mph.

What do you think in general and what would you have done?

[icu650]

Your not going to like my answer. IMO you should have waited for the SUV to pass then put on your right hand signal to move over. This incident would never have happened if you were just a little more patient.. I further think that you better keep the badge in your pocket until you understand you don't want to get involved in off duty incidents such as this especially when you are involved. Talk to some old timers where you work, they will tell you.

[Samuel]

IMO, in general,

1. as ICU pointed out, you should stop badging everything in sight - keep a low profile, especially when your family is with you
2. you need to verify yourself here on this website if you claim to be sworn

When I'm off duty, I'm off duty. If Trouble comes looking for me, it's going to have to make a Considerable effort in order to find me. And, if it does, it's going to wish it never had...

[steelcityk9cop]

Any time you mix the badge and the safety of your family like you did it's not a smart move. All you did was draw attention to yourself and put your family at risk.

[rsuperu44]

I get the badge thing, i figured the same.
but what if whatever he trew would have damaged my expensive car.
what would you have done?
would it make sense to call police and follow the suv untill police arrive to sort things out?

just to further explain..... when he honked his horn at me it was a short blast, i thought he was signaling me to go ahead with the lane change but i guess he was letting me know he was there. I never left my lane to put anyone in danger... as far as traffic goes, no harm, no foul is how i see it.

[steelcityk9cop]

911 is your friend once things start to get wierd.

[icu650]

Just curious, How many police identification decals do you have on your windows or bumpers of your personal (expensive) car?

[G35 Mass]

I get the badge thing, i figured the same.
but what if whatever he trew would have damaged my expensive car.
what would you have done?
would it make sense to call police and follow the suv untill police arrive to sort things out?

A minor property crime? You're no different than anyone else.

IMO: You need to grow up.

[G35 Mass]

Just curious, How many police identification decals do you have on your windows or bumpers of your personal (expensive) car?

Lol. I didn't want to go down that road but I was also wondering, in my mind, how many LE shirts he wears and how many times a day he "inadvertently" flashes his wallet-mounted tin when conducting retail purchases...

Do you want to be a cop, or do you want to appear to be a cop? It's an honest question. A lot of guys just want to appear to be cops. Gun, badge, pretend they're on TV.

[Samuel]

To the OP,

It's normal to be proud of who/what you are, especially in the very beginning of your career. In this day and age, though, it does NOT pay to advertise! Shakespeare had it right - "The better part of valor is discretion..." Keeping a low profile off duty sometimes means letting aholes be aholes, swallowing your pride, backing down even though you know you're in the right, letting things go even though you would have handled it differently if you had been on duty, being a good witness, etc. Ask yourself, what's the worst thing that could happen? (cause whatever you can think of most likely Has already happened to one or more of us)

[MountainMan]

Now if you are an LEO what would you tell anyone else to do in the same situation? Stop badging everyone. Its asking for trouble.

I get the badge thing, i figured the same.
but what if whatever he trew would have damaged my expensive car.
what would you have done?
would it make sense to call police and follow the suv untill police arrive to sort things out?just to further explain..... when he honked his horn at me it was a short blast, i thought he was signaling me to go ahead with the lane change but i guess he was letting me know he was there. I never left my lane to put anyone in danger... as far as traffic goes, no harm, no foul is how i see it.

[CPL1897]

Hmmm..Where to even begin..You are gonna keep hearing lectures from us...I'll make it short and just say regardless of what your agency guidelines are, when off duty and with your family your priority needs to be YOUR FAMILY abd NOT that sparkling "NEW" piece
of metal in your wallet...I think I speak for most if us when I say "badging" when off-duty can cause serious safety risks to YOU and YOUR FAMILY and possible disciplinary action at your department ESPECIALLY for a minor traffic offense...With that said, I may have done the same immature and irresponsible thing thing 14 years ago when I was young and green and wanted to show everyone that I WAS THE LAW..What you will learn (took me many years) is 9 times out of 10 you dont want people to know your LAW ENFORCEMENT unless you have a "PLAN A" and PLAN B if its neccessary you take enforcement action (Yours or someone else in immenint danger, etc.

Sorry that wasnt as short as I planned and I could keep going but I wont..

Just remember FAMILY FIRST, YOUR SAFETY, BYSTANDERS SAFETY and DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS....

[CPL1897]

There are a groing number of OFF-DUTY LEO's getting mistaken for Bad Guys..Gettibg yourself in the middle of something like your doing could make you another statistic..AND none of us want that to happen..WE are a FAMILY and the last thing we want is to hear of a "brother" or "sister" being injured or killed when it could have been prevented..

[CPL1897]

After this IM DONE..I re-read his original post and quote about the expensive car and following the agressor while "Calling Police"...I hate to say it..BUT..He isnt verified and the phrases/words used DO NOT SOUND "right" for an LEO..Maybe academy student at most..Im not trying to offend him, just calling it like I see it...

[missouricop]

I agree with CPL. The wording has red flags for me too. "I badged the suv" ? I would have said that I identified myself as a police officer by showing him my badge, yes even here, even tho this is not an incident report for work.
Also, does everyone's spell check work because I like to fix my errors so it don't look like my computer screen is bleeding out.